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sitting in the jeep in the suoshanbu nature reserve, the clear evening breeze brushed across my cheeks, carrying the scent of moist soil from the grassland after the rain. as the sun was setting, we took the last photo of the giraffe of the day, put away the paper and pen for recording, and drove to our temporary volunteer home amid the singing.

amid the rustling sound of leaves sweeping across the roof of the car, a cry of surprise suddenly broke through: "rainbow!" we leaned out of the car and looked around, only to see a faint rainbow looming among the thick clouds among the rolling hills. we drove towards the rainbow on a bumpy road that the local drivers called "african massage," and ended our first week of social practice in kenya.

rainbow in suoshanbu nature reserve, photo by mu ruiying

according to legend, there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. but i believe that it is not gold at the end of the rainbow, but something far more precious, a beautiful treasure that the world has prepared for all mankind - kenya itself.

the speeding open jeep, the warm and soft rainbow, and the protected area at an altitude of nearly 3,000 meters perfectly matched my impression of kenya: speed, temperature, and altitude.

author: mu ruiying, undergraduate student of tsinghua university weiyang academy, class of 2023

01

kenyan speed: relaxation and efficiency

after two weeks of short time together, whenever i mention kenyan people, i always think of the phrase "hakuna matata" from "the lion king". in swahili, the official language of kenya, this means "don't worry". kenyan people seem to have always kept this phrase in mind, and they naturally feel relaxed no matter what they do: the volunteers of the reserve who invited us to watch the sunrise but were late, the driver who repaired the car all the way to nairobi airport and almost missed the flight, the train with a maximum speed of only 100 kilometers per hour, and the so-called "high-speed" roads that often need to travel at the speed of cattle and sheep...

of course, it is unfair to hastily label the kenyan people as "slow" or even "procrastinating", but it is true that these enthusiastic people do not feel serious anxiety about chasing time. they seem to be more willing to obey the sound of nature's breathing rather than the ticking of mechanical watches.

however, when we set off from beijing, one thing pre-emptively explained to us how fast kenya was. for some reason, a member of the detachment had a problem with his visa, and had to re-apply for it before departure. we were all prepared for him to arrive two or three days later than the main group, but miraculously, the visa that normally takes about three working days to get a result was completed in 20 minutes. what's even more astonishing is that this day was an ordinary weekend during the summer vacation. it's hard for us to imagine how they, who are used to saying "hakuna matata", found out that this classmate's flight was about to take off, and how they hurriedly processed his electronic visa within 20 minutes. we can't see their faces through the computer screen, but we can clearly outline a simple, enthusiastic, and welcoming african smile. the cold words of the electronic visa seemed to have warmth, like a handshake across the indian ocean, leading us to the ancient and magical land of kenya.

02

kenya temperature: cold days and warm people

as soon as i stepped off the plane, an unexpected coolness caressed my fingertips along the gangway. from 35 degrees at noon in beijing to 19 degrees in the early morning in nairobi, the equatorial region that was hot and dry all year round in my shallow imagination was quietly replaced by a cool and comfortable coastal country. however, in this place where there is almost no air conditioning and it can even be called "cold" in the morning and evening, we were deeply moved by the scorching heat.

nairobi, kenya

when we arrived in kenya, the first words we heard came from an old man who was on the same flight. "welcome to kenya!" he smiled a luxurious smile, which diluted the chill in the early morning and made us feel at home when we first set foot on this strange land. we were so moved that we put this old man on the list of "extremely enthusiastic".

however, in the less than two weeks of practice, we gradually realized that this simplicity, enthusiasm and loveliness did not appear by chance. the hotel that prepared "welcome drinks" for us, the bartender who watched the olympics with us, the room cleaner who tucked my stuffed bear into bed, the local children who waved and excitedly shouted "how are you" to us, the shop owner who sold us cheap and good-quality small things and gave us many gifts, and the deep and emotional volunteers, media people, and entrepreneurs we met along the way... in almost every place, the kenyan people showed us the luxurious smile that we first saw at the airport: two rows of white teeth, upturned eyebrows, and crescent-shaped eyes.

during the discussion, this intimacy and warmth was finally given a name. a local reporter couldn't help laughing when she heard our description of the local people's warm attitude. "it's the kenyan way." she said. "it's the african way." another reporter added. the kenyan way shows a distinct personality that is very different from the reserved and gentle chinese character. however, above the frost of cultural differences, there is a rainbow bridge built with fiery enthusiasm. the warmth of kenya closes the distance between hearts.

03

kenya altitude: high altitude and high development

located on the east african plateau, kenya has an average altitude of 1,500 meters. but its height is not only reflected in the terrain, nor is it just the height of hospitality, but also the height of development. in recent years, as one of the fastest-growing countries in africa, the kenyan government has launched the kenya vision 2030, intending to make efforts in environmental protection, social development, economic growth, etc., aiming to actively seek solutions for sustainable development.

when we were still preparing for this trip, we heard that kenya had the most stringent "plastic ban" in the world. the subsequent trip gave us a deeper and more thorough understanding of the sustainable development goals (sdgs). from animal lectures, giraffe monitoring, bird population counting, removal of invasive plants, participating in the construction of local primary schools to volunteer youth forums, on the one hand, kenya shocked our hearts with its rich and diverse flora and fauna, geographical features that are completely different from china, and customs and folkways that we had only seen in books and on tv before. on the other hand, we also did our best to implement the sustainable development goals and protect this land during our short trip.

members of the detachment carry out international volunteer work on giraffe monitoring. photo by lin yuan

we met special envoy xia huang by chance at the united nations office in nairobi. looking up, there are 195 fluttering flags; looking down, there is the brick-red land of kenya; looking forward, there is an undulating green field... if we understand the sdgs from a theoretical level at the united nations, then we truly understand the sdgs in practice at the national zoo, soshanbu conservation area, and masai mara conservation area. at the youth forum, we gathered with volunteers from kenya, japan, uganda, the united states and other places, and talked about the original intention of participating in animal protection and the impression of kenya. we had a great chat, just like old friends. suddenly, i remembered the earnest teaching of special envoy xia at the united nations: "hope rests on you." this sentence was originally said by chairman mao: "you young people are full of vigor and vitality, and are in a prosperous period, like the sun at eight or nine o'clock in the morning. hope rests on you." perhaps, the height embodied by kenya is not only her own, but also a vivid display of the height of the world and the height of the youth.

the short two-week practice started at the nairobi airport, where the sky was slightly bright, and ended at the glassy waters of mombasa and the coastline where no garbage could be seen with the naked eye. on the plane back home, we saw a rainbow again - it looked like an arc from high in the sky, as if marking a location on the map. the plane rushed into the clouds, and kenya was far away behind us like a dream. but we remember her speed, temperature and height, remember where the world's treasures are buried, and remember that nature has injected blood into our souls - humans will live with it.