By Vrinda Gupta, Northwestern undergraduate student
My family has a history of spending brief periods in Kenya, Unfortunately, they spent no time there during my early childhood, although my parents lived in Nairobi for some time after they got married, but they moved back to India before I was born. Nonetheless, I always had the feeling that there was something for me there—not necessarily a history to uncover but maybe just something new to learn. My suspicions were confirmed after I visited Kenya for the first time when I was 10 years old. I decided then that I would live in Kenya someday, just like so many others in my family. Through the years, I always kept this idea in the back of my head, but without really doing much about it until I got the chance to visit Kenya again right before coming to college. I realized that experiencing the country at its fullest was still something I wanted. I also felt an exciting urgency because this was something that I could actually make possible. When I found out Northwestern offered courses in the Swahili language, I was eager to start right away. I could not have hoped for a better professor, Mwalimu Mwangi is always willing to dedicate time to students’ understanding of the language. When I could not make it to class due to schedule conflicts, he made sure I was able to stay up to date in office hours so I would not have to wait a year to continue. The language tables are welcoming social spaces to practice conversation and engage with current events and culture—the chai and samosas are also delicious. I can safely say that my time at Northwestern would not be complete without Swahili.
Vrinda Gupta is a sophomore who is majoring in psychology and South Asian studies.
This article originally ran in the PAS Newsletter, Spring/Winter 2025, Volume 35, Number 2.