Mary Muthoni Kariuki: My first week as an international student

There I was at JKIA waiting to board my flight, to England. My nose was running, partly because of the constant dust and sunny spell that Nairobi was under, mostly because my elder sister had infected me with it. Unfortunately I did not have any handkerchiefs with me and so I relied a lot on the serviettes that came along with the food. I was not hoping to develop a full blown cold before boarding my flight.

So I arrived in England via Manchester airport. Oh my! My two bags were really heavy, partly because I had to pack extra winter coats and shoes. I found myself at the railway station waiting for my train to Hull. Everyone was really nice and they helped me carry my bags. It was at the train station that I had my first feel of winter. My hands froze. That reminded me of the people back at home who like saying winter and summer when it’s cold and hot. If I had a gun at that point, I would… Now more than ever I felt like shouting ‘shut up! It’s not winter. This because winter as I have come to learn means below zero degrees temperatures, very long nights and wearing layers of clothes. Even right now I am in a room that is heated but I have a vest, then a long sleeved top, a jumper with a hood and a winter coat.

I am tempted to ask, why do we torture ourselves wearing boots and really tight trousers in such hot weather?  Those shoes were clearly not designed for cold weather.

I felt like asking God, why He bothers the good people down in Africa with cold and flus. It really makes no sense.

Here I was complaining about the sun one day and then complaining about the cold the next.

Me on a cold day in Kenya.

Its night already!

I have learnt that even when the sun shines, it’s cold.

My first week was very fascinating. My body just lost it as it tried to adjust. My cold went from a dust cold to a winter cold that was the only thing that adjusted fast enough. My nose was blocked constantly. My lips would freeze every time I went out. My duvet in my hotel was not warm enough and I felt like I was going to freeze to death. My face felt freezing cold each time I went out. Trust me ‘My dress my choice’ does not apply here. I am sure those who post nude photos here either do it over the summer or indoors. In Kenya I wore mostly dresses but in England all I can think that is that I do not have enough jeans. I had never worn boots seriously in my life but this time I wear them all the time.

I needed medication because of my flu, women issues and constant head ache.

‘Did I come to England to freeze to death?’ I asked myself.

Also I had to adjust to the crazy times that the sun set. Banange! Even when the sun rises it is still cold. On the first day, I am in a train headed to Hull York Medical School and by 5pm it was pitch dark. Now that did not make my adjusting easy. Darkness in Kenya means night. I mean 5 O’clock at night is not something that I am used to. Whenever I see darkness I feel tired. So for the first couple of days I found myself going to bed at 6pm and waking up at 4am. Then I had to keep myself busy until 8am when it was light.

The highlight for this first week is that I saw snow. I am not sure I can describe it, but on the second morning when I woke up it was snowing. That was really pretty!

It was only in my second week I began to think to myself…

‘I will survive!’