Living Between Two Worlds

Living in two different worlds may sound a better idea for people who have never found themselves in such a situation but for some of us who have tried that it is rather embarrassing. I was born and brought up in the rural areas of my country where the means of livelihood were different from the kind of found in the city. Those days there were no electricity, people used the same language and vehicles were rear and people most of the time walked on foot, to make the more interesting shoes were rear commodities. Living this kind of lifestyle may seem to be difficult compared to the lifestyle in the city but for us who experienced it was totally interesting and fun.

It was not until the time came when I had to live this kind of life and join the famous Nairobi city I realized that it was difficult to live between two worlds. I can remember very well that I had turned eighteen that month and had already finished my form four exams. The idea of going to town was very interesting to me since I was going to town little did I know that it was the high time my lifestyle was beginning to change. As a teenager having brought up in the remote areas of the country I knew nothing about Nairobi except the issue of the “upside down lights” of the city as they called by the rural folks, which referred to electricity lights. Since I was going to college I was accompanied by father and the journey seemed never to end since it was my first day to travel by a vehicle as I also schooled in the rural area. Finally I could tell my arrival to the city because of the lights which were every where and more surprising to me was the different languages I heard different people talk. It was at this moment that I realized my life had really turned to a different page. Things started working not for the best as I thought but for the worse.

In the village everything was provided and when you to the shop or hotel you just ordered using your vernacular but things here were changing. The only language I could understand was Swahili and very little English. The problem was that it was also difficult to understand them since I went to a rural day school where vernacular conversing was normal and a trend of the school. It dawned on me when I went to the shop and ordered for bread with my vernacular language and no one responded little did I know that he did not understand my language. Life continued to be a struggle for me because it was even difficult to socialize as no one wished to identify with me.To make the matter worse things were totally bad in college where everything was English. The lectures were done in pure English and I could not understand as our high school teachers were highly obsessed with vernacular assent and even explained in the native language. My college mates were also a nightmare to me as there seemed to be no who came from my area. In fact I was always alone and I was feeling so lonely whenever I saw a group of people conversing I would pass by them to hear if they talking my language but it was all in vain.

The most embarrassing moment was the day when we were given an assignment which was to be presented in class. We did the assignment and gave out for marking then it came the day of presentation. As I was reading my essay students kept complaining that they not understanding until I came to loose confidence started shivering and I finally collapsed. The only thing I remember was the lecturer commenting that I had good ideas. The following morning I was the talk of the day as everyone was pointing at me. Things were becoming worse each and every new day. I was beginning to loose my confidence slowly by slowly and my self esteem was going down since no body cared about me. I felt like I was living in another world where people were less concerned about other people’s life. I kept regretting the day I came to the city and I blamed it all on my father who brought me there.

Things never came to an end with this, because I remember another day when I went to shop in the supermarket. I went straight to the shelves picking the items I wanted and putting them in my bag. Then I stood there stranded where to be since I was the only person shopping at that time until one the merciless attendants came and confronted me saying I was a thief. I left the place so embarrassed and confused such I was almost run over by a car while crossing the road.

It was until by the end of my second month in college when I started seen some light at the end of the tunnel. One day as I was resting at the field thinking of how I will leave the city without my father’s knowledge, a college mate came over. More surprisingly she greeted me in my native language, I felt like heaven was opening for me to enter even without repenting my sins. I looked at the guy and I could not recognize him but my conscious was sensing some good news. The guy introduced himself only to realize that he was my long lost cousin whose family leaved in the city. He was informed about me by my caring mother who was worried about my life in town. I suddenly felt a kind of relieve from captive. We could talk freely with him and he made me feel like I was back usual life style. We shared a lot with him and he was always there for me. He oriented me to the city lifestyle until I came to cope with everything.

The feeling of living in two different worlds whereby when alone I had to live my usual rural life but when outside like in college I felt like am in another world. Each day now became a brighter day in my life as he introduced me to different issues. I started regaining my confidence and I started socializing with others through my cousin. By the end of my first year in college I was familiar with everything in Nairobi and life became what I had never thought it can ever be. My grades also went up and those who looked down upon me began consulting me. It was from this experience that I came to realize that living between two worlds is real heard. This happens especially when you have to meet the odds of the two different worlds.