Kenya

Kenya

Today I’m going to be fitting some curtains on some bare windows in my shack in Tala, Kenya. One window in particular, in the hallway leading to the bathroom, is quite scary to walk by at night when it’s light inside and dark outside; only God knows who is outside peeking in. I have nice bars on my windows, so I’m not afraid anyone’s going to break in, but it still creeps me out!

I went to the market and talked to a few fundis (“fundi” is the Swahili word for someone with a trade, like plumbing, tailoring, etc) about making some simple curtains. I don’t need anything special, as this place is pretty much a bachelor’s pad since Sara left (haha). I was quickly directed to the area of the market where all America’s old crap goes. After digging through the piles of old clothes, sheets, etc I found a large curtain that would fit the bill. I handed the lady 180 shillings ($2.50) and I was off!
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Kenya, Travel

Most of you know I had a brief holiday to Tanzania last week, but until now I have been quiet on how it all went. Rest assured, ladies and gentlemen, other than the semi-shocking experience with my hair cut this week, I am OK! The hair is growing back and I’m actually getting lots of compliments around Tala. Hah, they just don’t understand the beach/hippie thing here I guess! Before I get to the trip, a brief bit of background…

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Tanzania is just to the south of Kenya, and while it has a similar population the country covers some 300,000 square kilometers more area than Kenya. The country received independence a few years before Kenya, and immediately pursued socialist economic policies. I spoke with several people who credit Tanzania’s strong society (yet poor economy) with their socialist beginnings. Even now, with over 100 ethnic groups (keep in mind Kenya has about 40), everyone speaks one language and is united over a common Tanzanian identity. Kenya, on the other hand, followed “free market” economic policies and made English an official language in addition to Swahili; as a result Kenya’s economy is the strongest in East Africa today. Continue Reading

Kenya

… was definitely not on a haircut. Fifty cents on a lollipop or a pack of gum, sure, but not for something as precious as the Jesus hair. Even today as I walked towards my hairless doom I was asked if I was a Jew from Israel (like Jesus). Well it will be a long time before anyone makes that mistake again!

At least it was cheap!

Every week and a half or so I cruise to the kinyozi (barber shop) and get my beard trimmed for about thirty cents; it’s a good deal and they do a great job. Because my hair is getting to be too long, I asked if he’d be able to cut my hair and he enthusiastically said, “Yes! I can do it.” After a few rounds of “Really? Are you sure?” I decided I’d go for it. How bad could it be?

Pretty bad, it turns out. Already wary of African hair cutting technique because of Sara’s experience earlier this year, I spent a few minutes explaining what I wanted done: no “style,” just a trim, and basically “make it look like it would have two months ago.” You know, cut a quarter inch here, half inch there. I handed him the pair of hair cutting scissors I had brought, and he started snipping away! I asked if he wanted to get it wet and he said, “No, it must be dry.” And then he resumed grabbing large areas of hair and cutting. One inch here, one and a half there…

So “A” for effort, but… I think I might do it myself next time. hahaha!