This is Kenya, but it doesn't have to be

"This is Kenya" is something we hear most weeks. We don't hear it when we are enjoying the majestic view of Mount Kenya, or when we are having sundowners at Kiboko Bay overlooking Lake Victoria, or even when we are enjoying a Tusker beer and some nyama choma (roast meat) in a joint down town.

"This is Kenya" is the catch-all excuse for corruption, traffic, pollution and bureaucracy. It is meant to tell you: this is Kenya, and there is nothing you or I can do about it, not only that but there will be a day when you leave to go back to your cosseted western life style and you will forget us.

We hear it when we are kept waiting hours on end for meetings, when the electrician won't reconnect the power until he gets a bribe and when the taxi driver gets lost despite telling you he knew where he was going.

Other people may have heard it as "This is Africa", and it is a poor palliative. It smacks of an element of self-hatred which is unwarranted.

When we hear "This is Kenya" it fails to recognize all the other aspects of Kenya. Kenya isn't just slums and safaris, just as France isn't just cheese and wine or the UK is beer and football. We have been here a short time and are only beginning to understand and appreciate everything this country and its people has to offer.

Kenya isn't perfect, Kenya can frustrate, but it is changing and changing fast. I'd like people to say "This is Kenya, but it doesn't have to be" and one day to say "This is Kenya and it is amazing"