Hujambo!

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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Few of you have any clue how I live. Other than the “for just a fifty cents a day, you can sponsor…” commercials which used to air on TV, most people in the United States don’t know anything about what goes on in Africa. There aren’t any of those kids with flies in their eyes, swollen tummies, etc in Tala… I think you have to go to the slums of Nairobi to find those (Kibera, Mathare, Kariobangi). In order to both quench your appetite for information and to educate those of you who are clueless (or have terrible imaginations), here’s a little bit about where I’ve been staying for the past two years…

I live in a town called Tala. It’s not so much a town as a big market where people from surrounding villages come to conduct business. There aren’t many people who actually live in Tala (maybe 5,000?), but there are always people in transit through it, especially on market days. Most of the people in Tala come from one of the surrounding towns or villages (Nguluni, Kangundo, Kathiani, Sengani, Matungulu, Katine, Kinyui, Mitaboni, Kikambuani, etc!). We have two “market” days (Tuesday and Friday) and the place is packed on those days. You can find anything in Tala on a market day: cows, cabbage, honey, brooms, bows/arrows, rope, spare tires, speakers, drugs, prostitutes… anything.
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Today was a holiday, Madaraka Day, so I didn’t have to work. I spent the morning and the better part of the afternoon listening to loud music, cooking fried rice, and making notes for my class tomorrow. By the time I walked to the market it was almost 4:00 pm. There’s a funny phenomenon which happens in the developing world that you don’t really see in the United States: crazy people walk around town. I guess some homeless people are pretty crazy, but I’ve never seen it as bad in California as it is here. There are a few wazimu (“crazy person?”) in particular who I see often.

One of them really put on a show today. As I entered Tala’s market I saw he had placed a large stone and some trash on the road, and was running around with a stick. He didn’t have a shirt on, but had cut a hole in some large black trash bag or something, and was wearing that instead. Of course when he saw me he ran at me. I say “of course” because it seems like the crazies and the drunks are always excited in their own way when they see me. A few minutes later I was seated at a shop talking to some dudes and the crazy guy came back. This time he ran into the shop next door and stole a cardboard box. The lady in the shop was yelling, the crazy guy was yelling, and pretty soon he ran out and threw the box. We all laughed and talked about how crazy he was, if he was really crazy, etc. Haha!
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I took a few pictures on my phone last month as I was around Tala and Nairobi. I don’t have any pictures of Tala because I’m a bit embarrassed to walk around with a camera. I’m sure it would draw a lot of attention if I were to take some pictures of my favorite cafes, the streets, where I buy my vegetables, the bus station, etc. Everyone knows me and is used to me by now, but I’d still feel uncomfortable. I guess that’s why it’s nice to have a camera on the phone that I can just whip out and take a picture real quick. At least it’s a common thing, because even the local guys do that stuff.

This guy is Jaffeth. He is a tailor who works in Tala market. His little booth sits outside of the barber shop where I get my beard trimmed. I always sit and chat with him about stuff, he’s a lively character and he never asks me for tea or to sponsor anyone, but I make sure if I need any tailoring I bring it to him. I’ve been visiting the kinyozi for a year now ever since I came back to Kenya in March, 2008 without my own beard trimmer. Mine broke while I was in California. I think it’s better this way because I get to sit around and chat to the dudes, talk about the weather, gossip about people walking by, etc. It costs 20 Kenyan shillings to get a beard trim (less than half a US dollar).
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4224I think Matuu means “footsteps” in Kikamba. I made some footsteps there the other day. Matuu is about two or three hours from Tala depending on the car and the route. I passed straight from Tala through Kilamabogo instead of passing all the way through Nairobi and Thika. There are a few big dams in that area but the water was really low, and you’re not even allowed to swim or take pictures. We ended up going to the staff club at Kamburu Dam for some swimming (in a pool).

The chronology was something like this: arrive in Matuu, play with puppies, cook dinner, talk about Swahili, talk about politics, sleep, go to the dams, go swimming, eat grilled meat, sleep, come back to Tala.

Enjoy the pictures: http://thefro.org/gallery2/v/2009/matuu