I'm back (to Nairobi)! As aforementioned, my program took me on a week long trip to Mombasa- which was quite an experience. We actually stayed in a beach resort- but not really the nicest beach resort. Imagine like a B-list beach resort. Still a resort, but we weren't eating cavier off of golden plates or anything of that sort.
I digress. Anyhow, I saw the indian ocean for the first time! I also got knocked into a dead coral reef by a (rouge?) wave, leading to a bit of skin loss around the bridge of my nose. Thus number one on my souvenier list (badass scar) seems to be taken care of. Immedietly afterwords we saw Fort Jesus (pictured above) and the Swahili Old Town. Both were goregous, unaturally so, especially as the sun set. I actually scared quite a few swahili children, as my ad hoc bandage situation slowly deterioated over the course of the tour.
The remaining days included the varied delights of Hunter's Choice, Animal Parks, and craft workshops, all of which I may or may not go into greater depth about at an untold later date/when I am starved for blogging material. Irregardless (I might be using this word wrong), I fed a Giraffe. Cool?
-I attended my first mass ever this morning, and found myself in the choir somehow. I don't know what the most awkward part was, the fact that I was the only mzungu (whitey) in there, that I can't sing, or that I was utterly confused the entire time because I've never been to a mass.
-It turns out that the mammals in my yard are actually sheep- my bad.
-After reading 'Consider the Lobster' by DFW and seeing so many all the time, I almost feel bad when i eat goat. Almost.
-I go to Mombasa next week, for swahili practice. I'm also staying in tropical resort while i'm there. Can i complain? No way.
-My internet access has plummeted since I've been here- this is maybe the 5th time i've logged on, and the first for more than 15 minutes. I'm actually more inclined to believe the people who say it wrecks concentration- I can already sit down and read a newspaper cover to cover without distraction, which is something I couldn't do when i got here.
-I went to the Masaai Market on Friday, and used my Swahili to not get entirely ripped off. Bargaining is mega fun, as expected.
This will probz be all until I get back from Mombasa.
Much like home, I take public transportation quite often here. However, the most popular form here is not the bus nor train, but the matatu. To picture a matatu, imagine an old VW bus knockoff, stuffed with seats (capacity is 14, but I am unsure if that counts the literal hanger-ons), blaring rap or reggae, often rocking a 24 inch TV screen. Also, imagine this beast covered in a strange mixture of religious homilies, American urban catchphrases, and bizarelly out of place logos. Needless to say, I love Matatus, as they make any trip involving transit quite exciting.
Also, it in Nairobi is important to get used to the animals, especially on the outskirts. Don’t be surprised if you see a large, unsupervised flock of ducks wade through a crowded market, the ducks and the marketers equally unfazed. Also, goats happen to be more common than dogs, as goats are a reliable source of meat for festive occasions, and happen to also double as lawnmowers.
The amazing friendliness of people here is further notable, but must be qualified. First, if you are obviously mzungu (white person/tourist), you will only get fake kindness. Secondly, even if people don’t judge you as a tourist, their kindness may still be a cover story for some scam. Needless to say, I get most of my practice in Kiswahili through clumsy attempts to communicate the fact that I will in fact, not give them 500 shillings. Still, folks here are simply nice.
Anyhow, I’ve been here about a week, and it’s profoundly great. The pace of life is enjoyably lax, with half hour tea breaks bleeding into 45 minutes, and lunch often going for hours, and nobody bats an eye. Every evening my host father an I exchange newspapers (he buys the Nation, I the Standard) over a pot of chai (tea), as I slowly make sense of this country and its politics and culture. Needless to say, it’s been a good week.
I am here (there?). I’ve actually been here for around 5 or so days, but my access to the internet has been pretty sporadic. So far, I’ve spent a lot of time just getting oriented, and getting to know my host family.
I live in Karen, which is a suburb of Nairobi. I’m actually the farthest student from the city, but I’m not that far, geographically. It just takes a while to get into the city because of traffic. Karen is named as such because it used to be the estate of Karen Biloxi. It still has a large white population, as my host mother pointed out as we were in the Nukamatt (which is sort of like a Kenyan Walmart), explaining it by saying that whites like Karen because it is so cold. Things are quite cold here recently, which has many Kenyans in a panic.
I will make a longer update soon, but this is being made on borrowed internet so I will be brief.
