To dare is to believe. I once read a story of an author saying that he was afraid of the angels asking him why he let his talent go to waste.
He wrote that we are born with a gift in us and we never live our lives until that time we realize that the gift was not meant for us. It was meant to inspire others.
It all takes a leap of faith such as mine. But I was luckier to meet my lecturer Professor Andrew who opened my eyes.
“Come on Sue (Susan), you can do this,” I heard my best friend Tracy shouting from the back of the class as I clutched my acoustic guitar, walking towards the front.
As a backbencher, we loved sitting in the last row as classes went on. Sometimes, I would spend a minute listening to my song audios, recorded via my phone, edit the lyrics here and there and pre-plan for performances at our largest hall.
Professor Andrew, whose communication class was one of the best to attend would always take like 30 minutes before the sessions to ask us to showcase our art.
That day, I would pluck Jasmine's strings. Oh sorry, Jasmine is my maroon acoustic guitar, one that I bought at Ksh5,000 on Luthuli Avenue. It was money drawn from my first HELB loan in the first year.
“My name is Sue and this is Jasmine. Today I’m gonna play you the song Just the Way You Are by Tarrus Riley. Join in if you can.
She wants to be like dem people on TV
She wants to look like dem girls on the magazines
She's got big dreams (Big dreams) to see herself on the big screen
She asked, do you love me? I say, you're just right, absolutely
I love you just the way you are, girl, you don't have to change, you don't have to do a thing, no
Just the way you are, girl.
And that was how I found myself in Kisumu, with three other classmates on a vacation from our Mombasa-based campus.
Professor Andrew loved supporting talent and on our last day after vacation, I was to meet a producer and director who were shooting a music video in the city, for a chat.
“You are almost finishing campus and you ought to find the right connections to get that breakthrough,” he stated.
I never knew Kisumu City was such a lovely town. Trust me, having been born and raised in Mombasa, the furthest I have travelled is Nairobi.
Thanks to Professor Andrew who paid for our tickets via Jambojet who partnered with Magical Kenya to bring us amazing flying and accommodation packages.
With me were Cherryl, Martin and Paul, the three ran an artwork kiosk at the school, where they showcased and sold their creativity.
The trio were to visit an art theatre in Kisumu City. Cherryl was from Western anyways and was quite familiar with the city. But on that day we all were guests.
First, the breathtaking scenery of flying above the magnificent Lake Victoria to land at Kisumu International seizes your attention.
From afar, one could think you’d land straight into the waters, it was glimmering in the early morning sunshine, as beautiful as an amphitheatre.
The waters were tranquil and we joked about spotting crocodiles and hippos from afar. Obvious we would see them later on. Lake Victoria is an eldritch beauty on its own and I couldn’t wait to take photos near it or listen to the folktales of its origin and naming.
They say that at night, the sky lands on the water. Haa! It literally doesn’t come down. But there’s a beauty in watching fishermen light their lamps to attract fish. Looks like a galaxy of stars at night.
We were also scheduled to tour the refurbished port where the famous ships plying the lake dock.
“Kisumu here we are. The weather’s here hot like Mombasa,” I joked as we put our suitcases inside the taxis’ boots.
We were off to a contemporary hotel located in the heart of Kisumu City, along the highway of Kisumu Kakamega Road. Where the Lake Basin Mall is only a couple of steps away from the hotel, and directly near the biggest shopping centre.
Our guide spoke highly of the various unique sites we would visit, the breathtaking landscapes, the warmth of the Kisumu city residents, and eating fish by the lakeside.
The Tuk Tuk drives were captivating. The mad rush of experiencing Kenya’s third city. The traffic though was not as mad as in Nairobi or Mombasa. It's easier to navigate around.
During the days of our tour, we visited a national park, took photos inside the museum, saw crocodiles and ate fish at Luangni and visited the famous Kondele.
But it was the boat riding while sightseeing the beautiful scenery encompassing cool caves and hills.
We cruised Lake Victoria on a speed boat. I heard that years ago, the riders used to row wooden boats. They still are but the safety for tourists was enhanced.
We approached a boat that was bound to the shore with its anchor safely tipped in the harbour. The rider who asked us to call him jovial Ondiek - the happy one - handed us orange life jackets and welcomed us aboard his boat nicknamed - Mor Mor (Happy).
I let my hands glide in the water as Mor Mor floated over the Lake. There was a limit to how far we could go. We weren’t supposed to tease the still waters where they ran deep.
My phone rang. My meeting with the music directors was scheduled for 4 pm that day - a big step in my music career.
Anyways, you can relive more experiences in Kenya by checking out Kenya Tourism Board’s page magicalkenya.com. Tembea Kenya and have fun.