July 2, 2007

I had to take the day off work on Friday because of a horrific “illness” that I think may have been caused by rabbit I ate for Thursday night dinner. The power was out at the hostel, so I couldn’t see my food, and thought I was eating chicken. Whatever African bug I got, it by far outdid anything Canadian I have ever seen. It was a rough night, but I seemed to improve by the next evening after sticking to water and ginger ale.

I spent the weekend at Kevina and her fiancé Njoro’s house in Karen, which is about 30 minutes outside of the city. The area is a big contrast from where I am staying. The houses are huge and sit on massive properties with amazing trees and plants growing everywhere. They live right by the area where Out of Africa was filmed. I also learned that during colonial times only white people were allowed in Karen.

My trip to Karen started off pretty rough. I still wasn’t feeling great, but decided that I would be able to make the bus trip to meet up with Njoro near his work so I could get a drive with him. After standing at the bus stop for about 20 minutes, and realizing I had no idea what the hell was going on- I contacted a couple of people to try to figure out which bus to get on. Most people take “matatus” which are these white vans that usually have sound systems with extra base, whatever paint, sticker or symbol the owner feels like pasting on the car- and some times black lighting. As the van approaches the bus stop, the conductor hangs out the open door and yells out the destination of the bus in Swahili, then crams as many people into the van as they can. I decided to stick to the normal city bus- but ended up getting on the wrong one. I took a huge detour down towards the Kibera slums (thought to be the largest urban slum in Africa- housing over 1 million people) where I had to wait for the bus driver to get lunch before I could take the bus all the way back to where I started (arriving an hour later) in the heaviest traffic I have ever seen. I’m pretty sure there are no traffic laws in Kenya. There are no traffic lights (except right in the city centre), and often no lanes, or rules about turning at intersections- it’s all about who can be the most aggressive driver.

Saturday was a relaxing day. Faizil, another friend of Kevina and Njoro’s was also staying with them, as well as another Kenyan girl Rachel. We went for breakfast at a “mzungu” (white) java house, then Kevina and I went downtown to a Maasai (a Kenyan tribe) market where they sell a ton of stuff- giraffe sculptures, plates, jewelry, art- I got a cool little mask from Congo. That night we went to Patrick, Muratha and Kumbi’s place (other friends) where I helped make a big Pad Thai dinner with Kevina. One thing I’ve learned is that Kenyans LOVE meat (and drinking). Apparently the Pad Thai wasn’t meaty enough so the guys ordered in goat to supplement the meal. The purpose of the night was to discuss Njoro and Kevina’s wedding- which was really interesting because there are a ton of Kenyan traditions that need to be followed, and they need to have committee meetings to make sure that everything is being done properly.

Sunday night we went out to celebrate Canada day! Some UN interns that Kevina knows through work were having a Canada Day barbeque up near the UN (quite far from Karen). On the way we passed by the US embassy which has the craziest security I have ever seen (I’m guessing because of the bombing). Unfortunately Faizil’s car broke down on the way, so we were very late. Kevina, Rachel and I left the guys to deal with the car and took some drinks up to a nearby restaurant until the car was fixed. We actually kept the mechanic in the car with us all the way there just in case something happened again. Some areas in Nairobi are much more dangerous than I was expecting. Everyday thugs, as they call them, highjack cars and mug people- so I was very happy that it was still light out when the car died. The bbq was fun- definitely more Kenyans than Canadians. Of course the occasion was celebrated by roasting a big goat (which is actually pretty tasty).