#3

Hamjambo!

Hello everyone, it’s been another week since I’ve written and so much has happened! I started classes on Monday at the Africa Nazarine University in Nairobi. I’m not actually taking any classes at Nazarine though, it’s just the building that they let us meet in. It’s about a 45-50 minute walk from my house, and 15 minutes from the MSID office. I meet up with some other kids who live in a neighborhood beyond mine at around 7:30 am everyday (which is 10:30 pm your time). We have two lessons in the morning, 2.5 hours each, and one in the afternoon. They vary on a daily basis but include International Development, Country Analysis, Kiswahili and our individualized Tracks i.e., Environmental Science, Public Health, Microbusiness, Education, and mine, Social Services. The classes have been challenging, especially since the rest of my life here feels like an extended summer vacation, but all of the content is really interesting. Kiswahili is going well, but we build on it so quickly that I feel like I have so much information and knowledge already, after only 3 classes. There is a cheap cantina attached to the school, so I can always get a big bowl of ndegu and chapati (lentils and beans with a handmade thick tortilla thang) for less than 75 cents. We also have a tea break in the morning with lots of chai, duh.

If we don’t have afternoon classes, me and my friends might go out to lunch somewhere around school. We discovered this amazing hidden Egyptian restaurant in this grassy courtyard the other day and I figure we are going to become regulars there. The owner adores us, and theres complimentary hookahs with all the meals. He immediately let us plug in a laptop to the soundsystem and promised to invite us back for bellydancing shows and events in the future. He doesn’t advertise at all because he intends the restaurant to be a secret oasis, and they are doing really well for only being open a few months. Falafel sandwiches are only one hundred shillings and they let us drink beers. There’s a law in Kenya right now that has been recently contested in court, that alcohol is only allowed to be sold from 5-11pm. We have yet to be turned down when asking for Tuskers (the most common beer) but they usually don’t have enough cold ones to satisfy us. Traditionally, Tuskers are drank warm.

I was a bit bummed to miss my mom and boyfriend’s birthday last week, but was fortunate enough to be able to talk to both of them for a bit each on their perspective Days. I had birthday cards written out an everything, but haven’t made it to the post office downtown yet. Sorry, babes. It’s a bit of a bummer to be missing the 21 birthday of Sarah Rose, Monica, Jordan, etc. while I’m away especially because I love birthdays so much. Plus I’ll be coming back and still be ‘illegal’ for a few months until mine in August. I will party in solidarity on the equator for all of you.

We are all so excited about the Super Bowl! GO PACKERZZZZZ! We spent the last game at an internet café streaming it online until 2:30 am so next week we will likely just get a bunch of hotel rooms and party there. I don’t think it’ll even start until 3 am our time, but our Director is a big football fan and is likely going to cancel our classes on Monday for us. I’m so excited! The only sad part about this amazing gift is that I wish I could watch it in Minneapolis in the snow with my Sibling Summit. I don’t even have any spirit gear!!!! Hold it down for me, Wisco. Mama’s watching the game from across the world.

This past week we explored downtown Nairobi a little bit, in an attempt to get our bearings. It is always so busy and hustle bustle, which I love of course. One of the things that really bothers me though is that they have a serious shortage of garbage cans here. I’ve already written a reflective assignment from an urban scholar perspective about what this means for the community, water systems, and the collective ideology. The culture of littering is just so depressing to me, especially when the administration lacks the resources to have a quality trash collection service. Most people here still burn their trash, even at the National Parks. It is difficult to go from Seward to Nairobi and see the daily differences from an environmental standpoint.  Then again, I understand that recycling systems are the luxury of a society that can afford them.

Still struggling to quit smoking. Especially while drinking, plus smoking is allowed inside. They are so cheap and tempting! Let’s not talk about it.

I’ve really enjoyed getting to know all the people in my program, and I know I’m making lasting friends here. It’s great to have peers going through the same challenges with homestays and homework, etc. This is one of the major factors why I chose an experiential learning program versus being an isolated transfer student at some big school like University of Cape Town. Our days end early though, since everyone needs to be home before 6 pm when the sun sets. I’m lucky enough to come home to a kitten cuddle puddle almost everyday. I have never liked cats, but these 8 little babies are just too cute to not love. The one in the forefront is my brave little girl, who comes out to see me, then meowed to the others to emerge. MMMMM I wanna catz.

UPDATE: two dead kittens found in the yard today! Noooooooo

We have been going out a little bit on the weekends though! For all the little dance bugs like me, we had been looking forward to this all week. Last night we started up at a restaurant near Tom’s house, and I couldn’t resist the chance to have a burger and fries. Around 9:30 pm we went out to a bar in an area called Westlands that had live music, which was great. A bit of an older crowd, but that did not prevent us from being the only people dancing and singing along gathered around our picnic table. There is also an adjacent part with an empty dance floor, which we naturally took over completely. The music wasn’t too great so a lot of us left around 11:30 to go to a real club. This was the best decision we could’ve made. It was packed and so fun. The dancefloor was so fun, and all of us were just having a blast and a good sweat. So much fun. We didn’t end up leaving until 3:30 or so and it didn’t seem like anyone else was really slowing down. It was really great to dance with all my friends and be a little wild with them. Followed by a sleepover at Amanda’s and homemade doughnuts in the morning. So great.

Yesterday we spent the day on an odyssey to the Giraffe Center, which is in an area called Karen, where all the rich white people and ex-pats live. We stopped to get a snack at a stripmall there on our way, and we could’ve been in Wayzata. So weird. I have yet to have a cup of coffee here, and just typing that word makes me want it so bad. Anyway, we met up with a couple classmates at the Giraffe Center, and this has been one of my favorite things so far.  The center has a circular raised building and platform so that the giraffes can come right up to you at face level. We got to feed them and interact with them and I got my first giraffe kiss! So looks like we can check that one off the bucket list. It was so bizarre to realized up close that they are basically just these giant elegant (and evolutionarily advantaged) horsies! It was so great to be able to spend a few hours here, even though my lipstick got smudged a bit. Fun facts: Their saliva is antiseptic and their tongues are anywhere from 33-40 cm long. It was so so so great, and an awesome extra activity to share with some friends on a Saturday afternoon.

Then some of us went downtown to the Maasai market in Nairobi. This is named for the traditional Maasai culture that I mentioned in the last post, though majority of the vendors here and no longer traditional Maasai. I really wanted to get a conga (which is a traditional fabric dress wrap that can be a skirt or a shawl) but there were so many that I didn’t really decide on any. Plus the whole haggling thing is not super comfortable for me, especially since I know I’m such a frugal low-baller that no one really wants to sell anything to me anyway. It was an extremely overwhelming experience though, because there are hundreds of vendors all situated in this gated parking lot in the heart of downtown, many of whom are selling the same things. Immediately, everyone started yelling at us and grabbing us to guide us to their booth, and I wanted to just scream. It was annoying but I guess that the nature of being a mzungu. We stayed for less than an hour before I was just exhausted and kinesthetically overwhelmed. I bought one necklace for 100 shillings. But I’m sure I’ll be back there soon, and I’m not really in any rush to buy things yet. I do need to get some dresses and longer skirts though for when I move to Mombasa in early march. The high concentration of Islam in that community requires much more conservative dressing than what I can get away with in Nairobi. But its also almost 100 degrees everyday, so we shall see.

My eye hurts. I think I got some sort of infection or something. A few days ago it was irritated at school, probably from rubbing it with sunscreen on my face. Yesterday it was fine though, and I wore my contacts and everything. But then this morning it feels sensitive to the touch and it kind of swelling with a little bump on it. I’ll figure it out. Savannah (my closest friend here, today) lives with a hostmom who works at a chemist (pharmacy) so I can probably just ask her for something if I need to. There’s no need for prescriptions or anything here. Don’t worry. No, seriously, don’t.

The shower situation is a bit rough, but only because of the cold water. In addition, the water is turned off every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, in Nairobi so we have to conserve a lot. I have a big bucket with chilly water that I splash myself with, as fast as possible. I’ve never taken a shower and gotten out to dry off and still see so much dirt on my towel. I have to wash my feet constantly, and they are significantly cut up and blistered at this point. Definitely gives me a new appreciation for the warm showers of the states, but I wouldn’t trade this experience for the world. I just have to make sure to keep my mouth closed J If I need to, I use the leftover water to hand-wash some of my clothes and hang them on the porch off of my bedroom. It’s so nice not to have to shave while I’m here. Or where deodorant. Not that I do much of those things anyway.

I have to admit, I miss the anonymity of the city at home. One of the things I always really appreciated about metropolitan hubs & central business district in general (urban nerd alert) is one’s ability to adopt several identities in any given time period while in the city. Based in music, culture, ethnic enclaves, occupation, passion, education, etc. While here in Nairobi, or anywhere in Kenya for that matter, I can never do that. I will never be more than the sole white person in my neighborhood. I will never be able to walk down the street without random strangers grabbing my arms to see how my skin feels. I have to vary my walk to school each morning so than the men on my street don’t expect me on my route at 7:40 am every day. I can never be invisible. I am getting yelled at and stared at, especially since we have been trained to walk in packs. I miss being able to blend and stand out when I want to. I hate that when someone tells me how much something costs, I know its gouged by double. I’m tired of being pointed at and laughed at. I miss dressing a certain way one day, and the city allowing me to embrace a differing persona. I know these are intrinsic issues that come along with culture shock, but I wonder if I stayed here for 10 years, raised a family, bought a home, if I would ever feel like I fit in. The difference between the U with 50,000 students, and my life as a Kenyan is insane. I know that once I build a community, things will feel different. I guess, I just miss being invisible once in a while.

That’s about all I have for ya’ll right now, and I’ll have another album of pictures up by tonight or tomorrow. A lot of them are silly dancing pictures from the restaurant, but valuable nonetheless. I have lots of Kiswahili homework to get to tonight. I’m sending all my good Africa vibes to you guys back home.

xxxo,

arf