Halftime

This week, the SE101 program reached the halfway point, and looking back over the past few days of teaching, I am really starting to see the students developing their business plans, gaining more confidence, and refining their entrepreneurial thinking. It's exciting as an instructor to be able to work with such a group of ambitious businesspeople, and I find that it is not only the students who are gaining knowledge, but I too am learning so much about their lives here in Nairobi.

This afternoon, I was able to chat with a group of students after class, going through the day's lesson, sharing some jokes, and explaining cultural differences (they are still expecting me to ride a matatu during rush hour traffic in Nairobi--hmmm, we'll see about that...). I wanted to get their feedback about how the course is so far, to make sure that they were getting real value out of their time with us. What I was told was that our lessons presented exactly what they needed for their business ambitions-- it was clear, it was useful, and it was actually... quite fun! Getting feedback from the students, whether positive or not so positive, is an important part of our roles as SE101 instructors, and it seems, so far, so good!

The business plans are starting to materialize, and I can see that the students are really taking more time to seriously think through their finances and marketing strategies. I was so impressed to see one of the St. Aloysius students, Patrick, take the time to put some great details into the location of his proposed cyber-cafe. The map he drew described precisely where he wanted to open his business-- and he had researched and found every single residential flat around his desired location. He even took the time to draw in the bus stop just a block away that would bring people to the area and increase his cyber-cafe's foot traffic. Patrick's work was a nice reminder that these business plans are real, and that the students were really putting in the effort to make sure they materialize.

Aside from teaching though, my visit to Nairobi has been full of fun and interesting experiences. Besides being able to see the big sightseeing places like the totally amazing Rift Valley and Nairobi National Museum, I have really enjoyed all the simple things the city has to offer too. During our lunch break from class, I like to take a quick walk down a dusty dirt road to a fellow selling grilled corn/maize in a small stand made of corrugated sheet metal . When I first met him, he let out a huge smile and shook my hand tightly, while sitting on a massive mountain of corn husks. From then on, I creatively decided to call him the "Corn Guy." What I found especially cool was when I wanted to pay him for one of these grilled treats. I handed him 20Ksh, thinking this was the price, thanked him in my horribly broken Swahili, and started walking back. A moment later, I felt a tap on my shoulder and the Corn Guy chased me down to return to me 5Ksh change. I was so pleased to see this act of honesty, as he could have very easily taken the extra money from an naive customer like me! I know where I'm going for my lunch snack tomorrow...

The next half of our time in Nairobi is going to be great, and I am sure that the SE101 team is really looking forward to it.