I've Arrived!

Girl, what dates you talking about? June 1st-2nd, 2012

Thankfully, my flight from Amsterdam to Nairobi was much much better. The in-flight entertainment was pretty wack but it was a peaceful flight with pretty decent food. The Kenyan Airways interpretation of jollof rice was a bit suspect, though. There is no saffron in jollof rice, just saying. 


First Impressions of Nairobi

I rolled into Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 6 in the morning. It appeared a lot of other flights came in at the same time because the airport was crazy busy at this time. The visa line was pretty long and my luggage took forever to show up in the baggage claim area because several other flights were unloaded before mine.  I noticed A LOT of Christian "missionary" folks as well as a comparable number of old, balding, unattractive white men with very young Kenyan girlfriends. The former reminded me of this old saying I heard growing up: "If you want to be rich in Africa, open a church". The latter reminded me of a discussion about how foreign female bodies serve as the sexual playgrounds of Western (read: white) men I had some time ago. I feel like these two things will probably be regular themes throughout this blog. Needless to say, I wore a grimace during most my time in the airport.

I was picked up by Douglas, an uncle of my bestie Hilda (yeah girl, you get a shoutout). My apartment is on the other side of the city center, so the ride was a good quick preview of the town center of Nairobi. We ran a few errands along the way and made a few stops.

Thus far, I am rather surprised by how expensive Nairobi is relative to what the average person makes. The wealth gap in Nairobi is quite visible. I drove past some uber mansions owned by politicians and ex-pats. We're talking HUGE estates with flawlessly manicured landscapes and luxury vehicles. At the same time, there were a couple of families that were living in the gutters of these very same mansions. I am currently staying in an apartment in what's considered a middle class neighborhood... the cost of living around here is comparable to that of Atlanta. I'm really wondering how non-super rich do in this town do it because I'm definitely finding that a lot of things here are too rich for my blood. I've heard rumblings about this from others but yeah... Nairobi is looking like a bit of a playground for ex-pats and heads of NGOs that bleed their budgets dry with ungodly wages. Of course, I've just arrived... so we will see if these impressions hold true for the duration of my stay. I'm also eager to compare and contrast Nairobi and Kisii.


Loving My Apartment

I am staying at the Samra Apartments. The cost of this place is comparable to that of a budget hotel in Nairobi (which is DAMN expensive) but the accommodations are much better. The staff here are wonderful and I really couldn't be happier with the place I'll be staying at for my short stay in Nairobi. I'm adjacent to a women's health center and walking distance from a supermarket. Sadly, the supermarket largely attracts expats and rich Kenyans, so it's mostly out of my price range but it's good for the essentials. I'll post pictures of the neighborhood over the next few days.

My first days have been pretty uneventful because I have been dead tired. On arrival day, I simply stayed home to rest and watch the national Madaraka Day ceremony on television. Today, I met up with some Rollins friends and acquaintances to go grocery shopping and watched some more TV. Telenovelas (with the WORST English dubs ever) and Nigerian movies appear to be popular here. 

Up Next: Tomorrow, I will be visiting Nairobi National Park!

P.S.: I was watching the Kenyan equivalent of the Home Shopping Network today. During an infomercial, this woman actually stated: "As a Christian, I believe in the miracle that Jesus turned water into wine. Now you are saying that I can have the same in my home with this Phillips AirFryer?". Lady, are you for real right now? *shaking my damn head*