Year: 2009

Kenya, Miscellaneous, Pictures

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.

Jaffeth, a tailor in Tala marketThis 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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Kenya

I just woke up and remembered a dream I was having… in Swahili.  It wasn’t all Swahili but it’s a sign that I’m on my way to being fluent.  You always hear people talking about whether they can dream in a language other than their mother tongue, so it must be a significant event.  I was never fluent in Spanish, but after studying it for five years and growing up in San Diego I probably got pretty close.  Having said that, I don’t remember having any dreams in Español.

As far as I can remember the dream, I was at a movie theater somewhere.  I think I had snuck in and gotten kicked out, or I dunno.  The part I remember is telling some little Kenyan kid ukiingia utachapwa (“if you enter you will get hit”).  That’s all I remember.  Maybe I wasn’t sneaking in, maybe I was working there, who knows.  Anyways, let’s hope I have more dreams in Swahili because it’s a pretty funny phenomenon.

On a side note, my Spanish sucks now. Any simple sentence I try to create in my head comes out in Swahili. Oh well. Hopefully it’s still in there somewhere.

Kenya, Pictures

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