One Night in Nairobi

It always works out. Today has been a roller-coaster of anticipation. A few times while feeling a bit lonely I reminded myself of what an incredible opportunity this is! I am safe in the AACC (All Africa Conference of Churches) guest homes, which as I have been told is right next to the CRWRC offices. It’s a very nice place, basically a motel with extra service. I’m laying in a big comfy bed here, listening to music, distant dogs barking and constantly realizing that I am here in Kenya!

It was sad to leave my parents in Calagary and force the independence to set in. Weird, I know. Anyway, this is my parting photo.... maybe I'll come back a totally different person. hmmm......



I’ve already been served my first Kenyan meal of chicken/rice/ potatoes/vegetables, passion fruit juice, and fresh papaya/pineapple/ watermelon. It was delicious. After getting off the flight from Amsterdam to Nairobi I was a bit worried about getting a visa, my luggage, and seeing my name on a sign in a sea of Kenyan’s, all of whom would have given me a ride anywhere in a heartbeat. After some searching and a kind man calling CRWRC for me on his cell, I found Sammy the taxi driver who drives on the right side of the vehicle. It was a 25 minute drive here and Sammy and I made good conversation. He told me more about Kenya and what to expect of Kisumu. Apparently it’s very hot and the people there are educated but don’t like to work. I’ll soon find out if that’s true.

So tomorrow afternoon Sammy will pick me up again to bring me back to the airport so I can fly into Kisumu. Nairobi seems cool but very big and dangerous. I need to go to a bureau tomorrow to exchange money. Apparently the exchange rate is better. I’m embarrassed of one thing I did this evening; when I asked Sammy how much I owed him for the taxi and he said 1500, I laughed out loud only because I though he was joking because Stephan had told me to pay somewhere around $20 USD. He looked at me confused and handed me the bill saying I could pa it all tomorrow. I will have to explain the misunderstanding tomorrow. I have only been helped by men here and they are all very kind and smiley.

I made an array of friends over the last 2 days of flying. A helpful flight attendant from Calgary to Minneapolis told me not to worry too much about losing my packet of AMA travel info. Too many things to keep track of I guess. Fortunately I had another flight itinerary tucked in my binder. My new friend Lucy works in Toronto and is now a Canadian citizen but is home in Nairobi for 3 months to visit, just like me. The visa was not an issue at all thank goodness. I was one of many who had not pre-ordered a travel visa. Unfortunately from Minneapolis to Amsterdam I was stuck beside a big drunk American named Smokey on his way to the war in Iraq. He made a big fuss for everyone to be bothered by about being cut off after 8 shots of Jack Daniels. He just kept on talking to me and his breath made me ill. He kept saying how much he loved me and how he was so impressed/surprised by me as an attractive, smart and moral Canadian girl. For a while I was joking around with him, but then he was getting too drunk and kissed my head. I had to work hard to ignore him the rest of the flight. He had some very disturbing and hopeless opinions especially in regards to Africans and all non-Americans for that matter. I told him I disagreed with pretty much everything he said and there was no point in trying to change my mind. He laughed, rubbed my arm over-exuberantly and said, I love you little Canuck!
Enough about that. I want to forget those very long 7 hours.

It was about 25 degrees Celsius when we landed here at 8:30 pm. I was a little culture shocked upon arriving here and want to learn quickly how to ask these people questions without looking like a stupid foreigner, as well as make sure I’m not getting ripped off on everything. Stephan Luts set me up with trustworthy people though I think. I’ve been studying/practicing conversions anyway. Our dollar is the equivalent to about 64 Kenyan shillings.

Sammy told me how much of a gap there is between the rich and poor in Nairobi. It’s unreal how wealthy some people are here with 6.4 million living in poverty (according to a local billboard). Oh that gap. How will we begin to close the gap?

It’s 12:08am here and only 3:08pm at home.. it’s already getting light here. I need to get to sleep to prepare for another big day tomorrow. strange how sitting in moving vehicles all day and night can wipe you right out.