I’m finally settled in Nairobi. Last night was the first night sleeping in my new place. I’m now located in Westlands, one of Nairobi’s ritzy suburbs. The complex is very secure, but pretty secluded — that means it’s very quiet! It’s a nice place, a three bedroom apartment with a huge sitting area, kitchen, and several balconies. The apartment is located on Waiyaki Way, just past Sarit Centre in Westlands. That means there’s no traffic jam in the mornings, and it’s just a fifteen minute matatu (minibus used for public transportation) ride up the road. It’s about fifteen minutes the other direction if I want to go to downtown Nairobi. Not bad!

I don’t own much stuff here in Kenya (mostly clothes), but moving was still kinda lame. It took me three separate trips, I guess it’s because I only have two medium-size bags. I brought a buddy from Tala with me for the last trip. The room I’m renting has a bed, cabinets, and a bathroom with a shower, one of the bonuses of paying a bit more per month here since I might not be staying after December. All I really had to buy were those blue curtains hanging over the window. My roommate likes having parties, and I’m getting old, so they’ll be handy if I want to be a party pooper and go to sleep early and not worry about people peeping in the window!

My roommate is dude from New York who has been in Kenya for ten years. He’s a pretty eccentric guy, into photography, digital video, science fiction, and seems to have lived all over the world over the past dozen or so years. He moved into the place just a few months ago, so he’s still getting the decor down. The living room is pretty big and relaxing, and there’s a nice balcony right outside with lots of plants. There’s no TV but plenty of computers. We also have two dogs, both brought here from the United States a few weeks ago. I’m teaching them Swahili, but one of them only responds to Russian. Peanut, a black something or other, is sleeping on my bed as we speak. They bark excitedly when I come home.

Highlights include:

• No scorpions or snakes
• No mosquitos (so no net!)
• Close to work

Oh, my roommate’s name is Stephen.