Your Excellency, parents, teachers and fellow students. I have attended ISK for six years and believe that it can be a destructive experience.
It is destructive to ignorance, racism and parochialism. A student who comes to the International School of Kenya will encounter an impressive cross section of the people of the world. He or she will acquire an international understanding that can be a valuable asset for the rest of their lives.
In my time at school, I have been impressed with countless acts of harmony. I have seen sports teams that resemble United Nations meetings. I have heard a Norwegian student explain to a Japanese one the Masai way of starting a fire. I have felt the excitement as Israelis and Arabs work together to find a settlement... for the price of chocolate at the student store. Of course conflicts do arise, but rarely between cultures or nationality groups.
People ask "doesn't it get boring going to the same school for so long?" But because of the huge turn over of students and teachers it feels almost like you are in a different school every year. And after every year, your friends disperse to every continent and if you have kept in touch, the world practically becomes your school.
There are only three or four people here today who were in my sixth grade class, but there are only thirty or forty countries where I don't know anyone. In a few weeks the class of 1988 will scatter and we will never see some of our classmates again. There are many people who will write, and visit each other from years to come. These friendships are more important than the class as a whole.
I have recently read a book by Kurt Vonnegut which talks about this sort of thing. He describes a group of people such as a class, religion, or even a country as being "Granfalloons." These are groups of people joined together by a common characteristic or by chance but not necessarily by choice.
He writes "If you want to study a 'Granfalloon,' just remove the skin of a toy balloon." This means that a group of people may be associated with each other only at a surface level because of political views, nationality, language or culture.
When people are together because of friendship or love alone, Vonnegut calls their relationship a 'Karass.' I see many members of my 'Karass' here today. Students in the senior class, other friends and my family. When dealing with people, it is important to know who you care about and who are just members of the 'Granfalloon.'
At I.S.K., thanks to the outstanding Intercultural program, many of us have had opportunities to meet people from all parts of Kenya and often find Karass members in a remote village or island.
Kenya is one of the best countries in the world to grow up in. The physical beauty of the country together with the quality of the people make the place irresistibly appealing and so hard to leave.
The school has given us the chance to venture north to Turkana with the vast desert and the Samburu tribe. We can travel east to Lamu, with Mosques, dhows and the Swahili people. We have gone west to visit the people ofLake Victoria in their homes and schools. We even go up, to the top of Mt. Kenya with rugged mountain guides and a case or two of frostbite.
On these trips, it is always interesting to see which aspects of culture rub off on whom. It is just as funny seeing a boy who has lived his whole life in Ohio gulping down a sufiria of blood with the Masai as it is seeing the Warrior standing next to him brandishing a spear and an I.S.K. baseball cap.
I.S.K. students on these trips are always impressed by the courage, ingenuity, humour and strength. I am happy that Kiswahili will be offered next year because communication is essential when reaching out from a Granfalloon.
I am disappointed that I am graduating alongside so few Kenyan students because with their insights and knowledge of their home country, they could be as valuable as teachers. I hope that the school will encourage more local enrollment in the near future.
Residents of Africa have many challenges to face: Droughts, famine, disease and bad driving. I have been chased by a buffalo to within one inch of my life but have hardly thought for one minute about the dangers of Acid rain or nuclear threats. As many of us return to the west we can tell of the sanctuary in which we have lived. Many people have never known the feeling of security that we know here. In that sense, Africa can be an example to the West.
We in the graduating class also have concern and maybe even fear. Leaving the relative security of home, school and friends all at once is a big move. Perhaps we should look at these funny hats and shiny suits as cocoons that we will shed tonight and enjoy new freedom and responsibility.
We leave much behind tonight, hard wooden chairs, asking permission to go to the rest room, raising hands before speaking. But I hope that we can bring with us our friends, our Karass.
Finally, I ask the parents and teachers here tonight "Were your High School days some of the best in your life?" like I have heard so many times. If it is so, I hope it will not be the case for us. Schooldays are fun, but I'm looking forward to things getting better and better for us until our last days. Because our 50th class reunion is going to be at the Mkebe and it's going to be wild.
Thank You.
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