Hujambo!

I was just riding the matatu to work when an mlevi (drunkard) got on the bus. As soon as he saw me he started shouting, “America!” and then something indistinguishable about Jesus. I don’t know if it was in English or Swahili because he was slurring. By now he had put his teddy bear in my lap (I know, what the hell?) and everyone on the bus was obviously staring at me. When I finally understood that he wanted me to say, “Amen” I just smiled and looked nervously around.

How can you out wit a charismatic drunk man with Jesus on his side? I admit I was at a loss for words… all I could come up with was, “I don’t say ‘Amen’.” I didn’t say it too loudly because I didn’t want to start a debate. I guess I shocked him but it didn’t matter because after a few seconds he went on shouting about America and Obama.

Randi has taken to the streets of Nairobi with vigor. From the moment she arrived she showed a prowess at navigating Nairobi’s busy streets, jumping out of moving matatus, and eating ugali (very thick corn flour porridge, staple food in Kenya) and vegetables with her hands. After we picked her up at the airport we stopped in town to get some pizzas. As we watched Randi weave in and out of traffic in front of us, one of my friends asked me if Randi had ever been to Africa before; she was surprised when I told her, “No!” In due time Randi will surely kuwa mjuaji (to be someone who knows… like to know the streets)!
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I saw something funny today. I see funny things most days actually, but I’ve been meaning to write about this one. According to the stickers on the window inside this matatu, not only is it driven well, it:

• Does not carry excess passengers
• Is operated by respectful, caring, and neat crew

Lucky me! But of course, who am I kidding? They can’t fool me; this matatu is dirty, slow, uncomfortable, and it is completely kama kawaida (as usual). Ok, it’s not hard to find a matatu obeying the watu 14 (14 people) law, but then you get whiplash because the driver thinks he’s qualifying for the Indy 500. Or, your driver is competent but the makanga (conductor) is rude and or over charges you. Let’s just be honest with each other: there is something wrong with every matatu in Kenya.
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Matatus are the main mode of public transport in Kenya. They’re decorated inside and out with pictures, TVs, satellites, etc. The most creative ones are obviously in Nairobi. I always laugh when I see matatus in town because most of them have funny things written on the windshield or body. For instance, they write how many passengers they usually carry. Some creative ones on the top of my head:

• 14 Passengers (the normal one)
• 14 Hustlers
• 14 Blacks (ahh! Am I allowed in?)
• Watu 14 (14 “people”)
• 14 Warembo (14 “beauties”)
• 14 Wateja (14 “customers”)

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I posted a few days ago about my life in Tala. The main purpose of that was to get some pictures of my surroundings up online, but I ended up writing a lot about life in Tala. I’ve posted at least one “a day in the life” entries in the past, but this is a bit different. I realize most people who read my blog regularly have, by now, formulated their own pictures of what goes on in Kenya. I wanted to continue the trend of showing photos, and I happened to be running errands in Nairobi today, so I snapped some photos around town (embarrassing at first, but I decided I didn’t care after a bit). Hopefully these pictures add some color and correctness to the ones you already had in your head. Enjoy.

I like Nairobi, there are a lot of young people and the town has lots of energy. I’ve been to large cities in the countries neighboring Kenya but I’ve never come across a place which felt as fast and forward-moving as Nairobi; just ask any high school or university student in Kenya, new slang is being manufactured every day in tao (“town”… Nairobi). Maybe it’s because I live here, but I really think Nairobi stands out from other capital cities in the region. It’s a great city (don’t mind the “Nairobbery” nickname).
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