African Adujustment

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This will be my 5th day in Nairobi. I woke for an early morning meeting over breakfast just a minute or two from the West Gate mall where the tragedies occurred just a few weeks ago. Typical of the time of year it was a pleasant 16C/60F when I woke and will get to a high of about 32C/90F today. I have spent my days getting into the swing of life here, going to the office, shops, and restaurants. Learning about what work I will be doing and the practicalities of going about your daily ritual in a developing country.

Not far from me is a shopping centre called The Junction that has all the things you might require like a grocery store called the Nakumat (actually its more than a grocery store as it sells furniture, clothes, linens, toys, all sorts of items you might need). There is also a food court and some very high quality clothing and accessory stores, electronic stores etc. You get the idea. If you could drive normally to get there its perhaps a 5 minute drive, but in the terrible Nairobi traffic I think we made it in 50 minutes! In the photo you can see what is a two lane highway turns into five rows of cars going one direction in pure chaos and one lane of traffic squeezing by in the opposing direction. Ive driven twice so far and it's nerve wracking to be driving a large Pajero on the opposite side of the road in a country with no road rules...but manageable. I've learned in my short time here you have to have two things in abundance: patience and a good sense of humour!

I was able to get most of the items I would normally purchase for myself in North America, but they are imported from all over the world and there is no guarantee if you bought it today it will be there tomorrow. My main focus was to get the things required to make my father a proper thanksgiving dinner and I found turkey, gravy, potatoes, corn, beans, and luckily i brought the stuffing mix with me! So tomorrow we will sit down to a lovely dinner. The only thing missing are the Pilsbury crecent rolls. Oh well!

I also have had the opportunity to visit one of the most famous restaurants in Nairobi, the Carnivore. It is a bit of a tourist trap, but it does serve an excellent meal and it was a special treat on Friday at lunch for us. You can sit down in the section where you pay a flat price of $27 for lunch and they will bring you as much as you can eat of any meat on the menu as well as sides and dessert. However, we opted for the slightly less expensive a la carte menu where I ordered 1/4 kilo of meat with a side of potatoes and a beautiful fresh garden salad. You can see from the picture the meat options which are spit roasted. Being adventurous I of course chose the "exotic" ostrich and crocodile! It was exceptionally tasty. The ostrich is like a very tender beef and the crocodile was rolled in curry and spices and then done on a kebab and has a texture like a combination of chicken and squid... white meat but a bit chewy! I recommend it ;-) I have been to this restaurant before and was amazed to see where I played as a child on a tire swing suspended from a large acacia tree there was now a giant children's play fortress! Otherwise, the place was exactly as I remembered it.

The Carnivore is the closest proper restaurant to where I work at the Wilson Airport, but for the most part we will go to the Aero Club for meals. This was the place I spent the most of my time as a child and I felt very comfortable sitting there with my father listening earlier in the week listening to him speak with the pilots about a tragic accident that had occurred Wednesday night where a Cessna 150 went down as well as the gossip of the different airlines in the area. We will spend a lot of time in the club, in fact my father has just said I have to stop now so we can head over to do some work and socialize....

So those are my thoughts and experiences for now, more to come!

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Photos

Jacaranda Tree
I've arrived in the height of the Jacaranda Bloom. The beautiful purple trees are scattered all over the city - stunning!

Lunch at the Club
My father sitting on the patio at the Aero Club with a glass of passion fruit before we order lunch

Club Lounge
Very much unchanged since my childhood. The only thing missing sadly are the World War II veterans recounting stores of their days flying in the war

Twigas
twiga - swahili word for giraffe, these sculptures are common and can be purchased for a high price at shops like these or negotiated for on the side of the roads by the artisans themselves. love them!

Jungle Gym at Carnivore
Connie I wish I could bring Lola here to play! She could spend a whole day happily here as this is just one wing of the beautiful play area

Lunch at the Carnivore
Can you tell I'm my father's daughter? ;)

The Carnivore Spit
KARIBU - Welcome, they are happy to pose for pictures for tourists but I snuck this one in

Carnivore Menu
for reference 84 Kenyan shilling is about 1 USD

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Just found your blog
Sounds like you've got a great adventure ahead of you. Looking forward to reading more.