First Impressions?!? Uuuuh....

ahoy ahoy! i fear this might be a long entry as i haven't had internet for a few days and lemme just say it's been quite the adventure. So let's start off at where i left off last...so i landed safe and sound in Istanbul and regretted not bringing my left over liras so that i could buy some turkish delight at the airport. i then boarded a wonderful airplane and slept most of the way to Nairobi. We landed at 1:30am, i breezed through customs, had my picture taken by the border guard because i'm staying on for longer than 90 days, 15 minutes later had my bags, and THEN made the mistake of messaging a friend saying "everything went perfectly, let's just hope Bernard's waiting outside, hahaha!" (Bernard is my coordinator here in Kenya). i spoke too soon. way way WAY too soon. i walk out to the hall and alas. it's 2am and no Bernard. i was smart enough to write down Bernard's cell phone number before i left but wasn't ready to risk $4/minute roaming fees that Roger's had warned me about. Also, i was pretty sure my dad would slaughter me. So for the sake of my life, i hung around the airport, where i was hounded by taxi drivers all promising to take me to the best hotel for the cheapest price if i just got in their cars. At this point, i messaged my mother begging me to tell me something good, as i was on the verge of crying in public at Kenyatta airport. She told me to find a police officer, which i did, who led me to the only open stall at the airport, which was a tour guide company. Inside, i saw a lost and somewhat confused looking Canadian and immediately christened him my new best friend and we decided to go spend the night at the "youth hostel" the lady behind the counter offered us for "only" 20 euros a night. Keep in mind i use the term "youth hostel" VERY generously. We got into some shady black car and drove to the center of Nairobi, walked up an alleyway where homeless people were sleeping and knocked on a door, at which point we were taken to the 9th floor of a decrepit building and shown our "room" which consisted of bunk beds, with mattresses which looked like...well...you don't wanna know like what but there was noooo way any part of my body which could be covered in bed bugs was touching that thing. Oh, there was also no running water, and the entire place smelled a little like pee and there was a shady looking man with a mischievous smile encouraging us to go to sleep. It was at this point, at 5am in the morning, that i sent various messages to various people that said some variation of: "i wanna go home." Needless to say, i slept in my clothes, with all my money and documents taped to my body in one way or another, on top of a sleeping mat that Aric (new Canadian best friend) had graciously offered me to sleep on. So long story short, the next morning we wandered around Nairobi and thanks to some magical emailing on behalf of my brother (THANK YOU!) Bernard managed to get in contact with me (he had confused the dates of when i was coming since it was at 1am, understandable). He met up with Aric and i and we went to the hotel where i'm currently chilling at, which may not be the Hilton, but has a flushing toilet, hot running water, and a mosquito net over the bed. Consider me sold.

So. That was day 1. Aric left me on sunday to embark on a 35 day safari which will take him all the way down to Johannesburg (i would like to think that i'm above being jealous but no. no i am not.) i spent the day with Bernard and another one of our colleagues, eating traditional Kenyan food with out hands at an outdoor grill (something called kuku choma, a chicken stew type thing that everyone here LOVES), drinking some beers and buying candles as the power had gone out in the hotel the night before and rolling blackouts are the norm here as the country is currently experiencing a drought. Today (Monday) i went into town with a work colleague and bought me some internets so that i could keep in touch with all of you and ate some more chicken stew with our hands. Thank God i didn't get a manicure before i left ;) I spent the afternoon meeting with the rest of the people that work at NFCI (which didn't take long as the NGO only employs 5 people) and i met with the director to talk about where i go now that i'm here. We've decided to spend the next little while preparing a time table for me and looking for ways to fit me into the projects that are currently underway. 

So let's get to some first impressions. Nairobi is a bustling city that is ALIVE all the time. Everyone i have met so far has been super nice and very interested in where i'm from and what Canada is like. The driveway to my hotel goes out onto a dirt road, and two of the three roads i walk on to work are unpaved. So it's slightly different than Canada. Also, since i am living a little outside the city center (the aforementioned hotel), i get stared at any time i leave the hotel as there are no other white people in this area. This might take a little bit of getting used to, as i keep thinking there's something wrong with me or i have something on me and then i realize, NOPE! I'M JUST WHITE! Go figure. Surprisingly enough, the weather has not been as scorching as i expected it to be. On the contrary, mornings and evenings are actually quite chilly, to the point where i'm cold even in a sweater. When the sun is out in the afternoon, though, it can get pretty intense. 

i've also managed to learn a few interesting things about Kenya in the short time that i've been here. For example, it's illegal to smoke in public here. As in you cannot smoke anywhere in the street. i found this out on Saturday when Aric and i were walking down Kenyatta Avenue, Nairobi's main street. Aric was casually smoking a cigarette. After a few dirty looks and frantic gestures from strangers, a polite taxi driver came up to us to tell Aric that what he was doing was VERY illegal. i told Bernard this story today and he informed me that had a policeman caught us instead, we could've been fined or even sent to jail, at which point i thought that if in my first 24 hours of being in Kenya i'd been stranded at the airport, slept for two hours in that god awful "hostel" and THEN arrested because Aric was smoking, i would have probably gotten in a cab, gone straight to the airport and paid $10,000 for a flight back home. But thank GOD that didn't happen because lord knows i don't have that kind of coin. Another interesting tidbit: a lot of Kenyans prefer their beer warm. In fact, when ordering beer, you have to specify that you want a COLD beer, otherwise you get a HOT beer. This is so because apparently a lot of the local watering holes are very poor and don't have refrigerators, so people have gotten so used to the fact that beer comes warm that they now prefer it. i could hardly believe this myself, but trust me friends, it is VERY true. 

Alright, i think i've written enough to keep everyone busy for the next three hours or so. but lemme just say that i love you all very much and i already miss everyone terribly. i wish you could all come and be here to experience the warm beer with me!

LOVE LOVE LOVE!