Nairobi

Two whole days in Nairobi, what to say?

I don’t really know what I had been expecting, so I can’t gauge how different the city has been from my pre-arrival imaginings. We’d been told that there would be minimal culture clash in Nairobi, and to some extent I feel that this is true. Almost all of the signs and advertisements are in English; many of the popular brands here are familiar to the U.S.; there are roads and buildings and cell phones very much like the cities back home. Yet of course Nairobi distinguishes itself, with (what I find are, surprisingly) mostly subtle touches: the Kiswahili notices, the abundance of tropical fruits, the smell of dust and earth, and of course the skin color of the people we are surrounded by.

I think what strikes me the most about Nairobi is its resemblance to Beijing. I assume that some other people in our group may have been a little more unused to Nairobi than I felt I was, because I do think that Nairobi reminds me of cities I’d been to in China. The incredible congestion at rush hour; the proximity of the other cars on the road; the open markets where peddlers sell their wares from blankets laid on the ground. But not just the little things either. Both Nairobi and Beijing feel as though they are budding—little pockets of expensive, refined Western comforts, catering (at the moment) mostly to foreigners willing to pay for these conveniences, tucked throughout a landscape still rushing to catch up on itself. Both Nairobi and Beijing are rapidly developing cities, and it shows; the incongruence of highly modern technology and abysmal poverty (around half of Nairobi’s population lives in the slums) makes it seem that these cities have not quite figured out how best to cope with the sudden leaps they have made globalization-wise, and are still experimenting with ways to govern themselves. Like that awkward early-pubertal, I-don’t-really-know-what’s-happening-to-myself phase humans go through. Although I do think Beijing is “older” than Nairobi in this sense.

We spent the first day in Nairobi visiting, in order, the David Sheldrick elephant orphanage, the (Rothschild) giraffe park, the Kazuri bead workshop and the tourist market (which name I forget). The elephant orphanage and giraffe park were standard tourist attractions—very “African” and, I assume, pricey. In fact, I think we recognized some of the same tourists at both locations. I will admit that I am a sucker for this kind of thing, however—and it was quite an experience feeding and kissing a giraffe!

“Kazuri” means “small and beautiful” in Swahili, and the enterprise began with two women crafting and selling ceramic beads. It is now I think over 200 women strong, all single mothers, and provides them with a respectable and fair way to earn income. The beads are shaped by hand from pressed clay, fired in the kiln, and hand-glazed with incredible care. The women were also extremely friendly (just like almost every other Kenyan we’ve met!) and excused our poor attempts to converse with them in Swahili.

The market was another experience entirely. I cannot barter for my life and so became easy prey for the vendors—I’m quite sure they can smell out us soft-hearted souls! Thank goodness for Nupur, who helped me bargain (just remind me never to get on her wrong side). They have similar markets in China but I always try to avoid them because I know I always get conned.

This morning we spent going over the information for WISER Bridge, and after lunch we took the large Nairobi textbook store by storm. We were loud and demanding and took a long time, but we did buy over US$600 of supplies for the students in Muhuru Bay. So I guess the shop staff were happy, we were happy, and hopefully the students will be even happier. After this we stopped at Nakumatt, which Sheryl described quite aptly as “the Kenyan Wal-Mart,” and stocked up on essentials—cereal, peanut butter, and instant ramen. Toorrow morning, we are headed out to Muhuru Bay!