More on Nairobi . . .

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After checking into the Country Lodge this morning, Dustin and I took a cab to downtown Nairobi to fulfill some research permit obligations. As I mentioned in my previous post, Nairobi appears peaceful yet bustling, and any resident we talked to assured us things were back to normal and would likely remain so, although they all lamented about the effect the political turmoil and subsequent violence has had on the economy. I was intrigued by what people had to say about the election and found, for the most part, that people spoke about it as you'd expect any civilized nation to reflect on a botched election - with a little shame, a little remorse, and a lot of hope for resolution and a prosperous future. It seems that Western media has drastically dramatized the situation - the vast majority of the country has visions of peace and a solid democracy, not civil war or a military coup. The few who are partaking in such violence represent the unemployed and misguided youth seeking a break from the daily monotony of watching cars drive by as they sit beneath the shade of a lone tree along a dusty road, or as they wait idly in Nairobi's surrounding slums for something exciting to happen. The fear now is how this may be a catalyst for tribalism that has been simmering the past quarter century. I have a feeling the next several months will see a steady ebb and flow of isolated violence until it finally disappears as the country regains trust in its government, provided the government can get its act together in that time.

At one point, I tried changing the subject with our young driver, Thomas, on the way into downtown Nairobi by asking him if he had a girlfriend. I don't know why, but the immediate response I always get when asking this question is a smile and a laugh. So I like asking it, naturally. I found out that Thomas had a girlfriend, as well as a young daughter. This took me somewhat by surprise - he was only 19 years old. His demeanor became somewhat solemn and introspective as he told me about his daughter, as if he were slightly ashamed for having a child out of wedlock and at such a young age. He continued to tell me that he had suddenly found himself in a situation requiring far more responsibility than he was prepared for. He seemed a bit regretful, but genuinely willing to accept the consequences and fulfill what was needed of him to provide love and care for his daughter. Thus, he was driving taxis, though this has become an unpredictable and difficult career in recent weeks as his daily trips have diminished greatly with the sudden decline in the usually dependable pool of tourists. Listening to Thomas reminded me of the importance of getting to know the people of Kenya while I'm here. I think that Western media often does a huge disservice to this continent by making broad generalizations and sweeping portrayals of Africa and its People - now that I'm here, I have the opportunity to learn the unique stories of these People, and I want to take advantage of it.

Unfortunately, there wasn't a whole lot of opportunity to "get to know" the People of Africa as Dustin and I ran around - quite literally - Nairobi all day. Getting research permits and a pupil's pass (which is a pretty sweet deal that gives me resident rates for pretty much everything in Kenya) requires dashing between several different levels of at least two buildings. Not exactly efficient. Good for people-watching, though . . . although I guarantee I was more the "watchee" than the "watcher" today. A trip to the National Museum was a pleasant deviation from the hustle and bustle of downtown. The National Museum has been under renovation for a couple years, and is soon to open. This gave it a sort of Jurassic Park feeling, in that everything was nice and new and grandiose, but there was almost nobody to enjoy it. Even if it had been open, it probably would have felt the same way because of the paucity of tourists.

We met up with Dustin's field assistant Wilson, briefly, who was coming in from Naivasha to visit his girlfriend. Wilson is finishing up a degree with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) at their school in Naivasha, while his girlfriend is learning French in Nairobi. It was nice to see Wilson, again, after two and a half years. He's a very pleasant, easy-going, and amiable guy. Very smart, too, and speaks English quite proficiently. I'm looking forward to working with him for the next 5 months.

We eventually found ourselves back at the Country Lodge a couple hours before sundown. I haven't slept more than a wink in the past 48 hours, and I'll be skipping dinner to fall asleep at 20h00 . . . tomorrow we find ourselves finally at Mpala!

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