EXPERIENCE DIASPORA ISREAL AS
AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT . . .
By Francisco Ferdinard
My name is Francisco. I am a Kenyan living and currenly
pursuing a Master’s degree in Israel, majoring in International
relations. I am excited about studying conflict resolution and
global migration, but my major passions are travelling and
meeting new people. My best reads are the autobiographies of
many of these leaders, and 'No Higher Honor' by Condoleezza
Rice is one of my favorite books.
I have always loved travelling. At a very young age of twelve,
I knew the ends of Nairobi by virtue of the 'Megarider' card,
which I would use during my class 7 holidays to visit my
friends during the holidays. It's in university that I realized that
the world is a global village and one could go anywhere as
long as the heart and soul was for the idea!
After finishing university, the first thing I set out to do was
acquire a passport. To make sure I got my first stamp on the
documents, I travelled to Tanzania and Uganda. I also flew to
Ethiopia as part of a mission team to Addis Ababa. What I
experienced in terms of diverse cultures further intrigued me
and I soon developed an intense desire to always travel out of
the country at least once every year.
My opportunity to live outside Kenya came in September 2014
when I got a chance to study in Israel. Israel's education is
IDEA DIAPORA 21
well known world-over for its cutting edge advances in water
technology, agriculture and in counter terrorism. My university, Ben-Gurion University of The Negev, is located in the
southern part of Israel, a country whose size is roughly a sixth
of the area of Kenya’s Rift Valley Province.
Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion envisioned that
conquering the country’s desert, The Negev, would ensure the
realization of Israel’s full potential. His words ‘we shall make
the desert bloom’ became the rallying call around the establishment and development of major Israeli institutions and innovations in the Negev. The country has made numerous ground
breaking advances especially in information technology, desert
agriculture, irrigation, and water reclamation technologies
where salty water from the Mediterranean Sea is desalinated
and is used for drinking. Israel is also a major exporter of
vegetables and citrus fruits to Europe’s markets despite its
harsh desert climate.
Since my roots are in the cool Rift Valley part of Kenya, the
high desert temperatures were a huge challenge. Daytime
temperatures could sometimes hit highs of 40 degrees in the
Negev and the evenings would be extremely cold. I quickly
learnt to adapt to the climate and I would soon enjoy taking
hikes in the desert and nature trails nearby my university,