BOSTON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Earlier today WikiLeaks, the controversial whistle-blowing website, released to the public classified information concerning the Harvard Business School J-term East Africa trek. Contrary to promises made by the African Business Club at the onset of the trip, WikiLeaks founder and editor in chief, Julian Assange, failed to embrace the trek’s credo: What happens in Africa, stays in Africa.
According to leaked cables, the 12-day, student-led trek began in Nairobi, Kenya at Google’s Sub-Saharan Africa office headquarters. Although Internet penetration is estimated at less than 10% in the region, Google is working with local teams to translate its search platform and content into more than 200 local languages. When asked to comment on the importance of Google’s translation initiatives, 16-year-old Nairobi native Tuwile responded, “I can poke a girl on facebook in any language, man.”
HBS students were impressed with Kenya’s omnipresent M-Pesa mobile money transfer service, which allows people with no bank accounts or Internet access to easily transfer money using their mobile phones. “I always had thought Kenya’s per capita income was relatively low, but people here throw around thousands of shillings like it is nothing,” reflected first-year student You Ning Sun, as he ordered another Tusker beer at the Southern Sun Mayfair Casino. Mr. Sun added, “Which is pretty much how my section-mates and I act on every trip.”
Following Nairobi, the students traveled to Tsavo, the largest national park in Kenya famous for its large elephant population. Students also enjoyed seeing giraffes, gazelles, secretary birds, baboons, and a lone jackal (although possibly a dog). Despite the impressive distance between the safari vehicles and the animals, crisis was narrowly averted when Kusum Chanrai, a Section A student, attempted to capture and hold hostage a lion. Fortunately for Ms. Chanrai, the lion deemed her too small to eat.
Between visits to every mall in East Africa, students toured a Masai village, home to the indigenous tribe traditionally dependent on livestock as their primary source of income. When offered ten cattle for her hand in marriage, first-year student Melanie Pope briefly considered but ultimately declined upon learning that the Masai do not practice Polyface-approved grazing practices.
The trip culminated in Zanzibar, an archipelago 25 miles from the Tanzanian coast and birthplace of Freddie Mercury. After exploring the historic Stone Town, students visited a spice plantation and sampled the native nutmeg seed, learning that the spice is an even more potent aphrodisiac than alcohol. In an unrelated newsfeed, HBS students Tehmina Haider and Priya Srivastava were quoted as wondering why all of the dishes tasted like “Christmas” at a recent small group dinner hosted by a male section-mate.
Despite the island’s beautiful sandy beaches and rich history, students became increasingly restless once HBS career hub released internship interview notifications on January 17th. First-year student and Iceland native Arni Sigurdsson explained the dilemma, “Yeah, the beaches are nice but one day I plan to own the country which owns the island which owns the beach. However, for that to happen, I first need to confirm my Blackstone interview by 9 AM.
