This is a continuation from the previous discussion:
Kenyans in the US hardly help each other out. Kenyans here wamezoea kuchimbana, kuibiana mabibi, chuki na fitina na kutosaidiana. In fact, some even rat each other out to the immigration so that their fellow citizen is deported. So sad. Stay away from toxic ones if you can. These ones will try to even set you in trouble with the law as most Kenyans who are new here are not aware of the laws here that are not considered serious in Kenya. For instance, never ever let a fellow Kenyan drive your car mkitoka rave. Rather park it and get a Uber. They will deliberately crash your car and disappear so that the cops will presume you drove it and charge you with DUI.
Madoubles. Before you settle and hit it big after finishing college, you will have to deal with madoubles. This means working two or three jobs meaning you don’t know what a weekend is, or sleep very little, usually 4 hours on average. Hard life.
Papers are very important. Without papers, you will find yourself working dead-end jobs such as janitor, CNA (kuosha tunyanye) or in restaurants and gas stations. Illegals live a very very tough life. Like @Purple said recently, it is a rat life.
Old timers act as gatekeepers. Stay away from those Kenyans who brag that they have been here longer than you and hence know everything. They will advise you to do nursing, take CNA classes etc. Yet there are other good career choices such as engineering, accounting, IT, medicine or professors. Focus on what you are good at and ignore the naysayers. These old timers tend to be toxic and hate seeing newcomers progress rapidly economically. They can drag you down if you let them.
Cars are super cheap. Here, you can get your dream car easily if you are willing to work hard for it. Almost everyone, including college and senior high schoolers drive a car. It is not a status symbol here unless it is a luxury ride such as a Ferrari or Lambo.
life becomes very easy when you realise and learn to respect everyones opinion but then again for people like you with low self esteem can never get this
I met this kenyan at work, a nurse mundu wa nyuba in her late 40s hivi. I recognized her last name from her name badge and excitedly introduced myself and we started chit-chatting. The next day I meet her in the cafeteria and she tells me that she has a fundraiser at her house the coming weekend and she’s expecting me to attend. Me kwanza I don’t like going to people’s houses so I politely declined coz I was on duty that weekend and I knew I would be too exhausted to go anywhere. Do you know that was the last time she ever talked to me? She sees me at work and passes by, no greetings. Kenyans are a tough nut to crack. I don’t feel bad anymore so I also ignore her but what I regret most is why did I even bother introducing myself? That experience taught me to become very hands-off with kenyans, that’s the best way to live a peaceful life.
I think for me what I would tell people is prepare to put in the time. Immigrants who come here must re-tool their education to fit into the American standard. There are no shortcuts to success but if you’re willing to advance your education and better yourself, it’s possible to live a good life. What is the definition of a good life? Being able to earn enough to buy a nice house, enjoy vacations and fund your retirement.
