Kenya

A few months ago I was given a forty-shilling coin as part of my change in the grocery store. Cassandra hadn’t seen one before so she was really excited about it. Because they’re not very common we’ve started a little tradition of saving them.

At first it was just a joke… but now, just a few months later, we’ve amassed sixteen of them!

Stack of forty-shilling coins
Stack of forty-shilling coins

Unofficially known as the “ka Lucy” (little Lucy, after President Kibaki’s wife), these things were printed to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of Kenya’s independence.

Update (March 14, 2012): We now have 23 of them!
Update (August 30, 2013): We now have 59 of them!
Update (October 27, 2015): We now have 103 of them!

Kenya

As I walked into work today I passed this monstrous metal contraption in the Uthiru roundabout. I’ve ridden (and enjoyed) swing rides before, but I think I’ll pass on this one!

It’s closed today, but I’m sure it’ll be packed this weekend. It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt… that thing looks super shady.

Kenya

A few months ago we bought a car, a pink Toyota Vitz. It’s not pretty, but the price was right and it gets the job done. Cassandra mostly uses it to get to and from work, but it’s really convenient for things like grocery shopping, dinner in the evening, etc, or simply when matatus or taxis are a pain wherever it is you’re going.

Cassandra's pink Vitz
Cassandra’s pink Vitz

Ironically, I had never heard of a Vitz until well after I moved to Nairobi (apparently they’re called “Yaris” in the US), but now I see them everywhere. A buddy of mine even quipped, “It’s Nairobi’s favorite car,” most undoubtedly because of its price, small form factor, and the way it sips gas (as opposed to gulping, of course).

Anyways, living in Nairobi these past two years has been a wildly different experience than living in Tala. Unfortunately I never had the experience of driving around in Tala’s favorite car — just lots of run ins snakes, scorpions, and satanic goats. ;)