Writing blogs are somewhat difficult because I am not sure who I am addressing. Hello there people of the internet.
This post will be one of very few that isn't accompanied with a visual element. It’s because I cannot just whip my camera out on the street and I wouldn’t take pictures left and right of my commute anyway. Also, as my roommate Maddi puts it, everything is “similar but different.” She literally just walked into the living room after trying our new “gherkins in vinegar” and remarked, “These pickles continue the trend of similar but different.” I'm not going to exoticize.
It is not so exciting to see pictures of streets, sidewalks, and people traveling to work. It looks like anywhere. But there are some nuances that make this city this city. In Nairobi, when traveling within the downtown area, it is faster to walk than to be in a car. We walk thirty minutes to school every morning. (I have to be vague for security reasons.) The streets are quite peaceful at 7 a.m. I usually sing songs in my head, preferably tunes I’ve heard a million times and can repeat word for word. These include hits by the Beatles, Death Cab for Cutie, Dr. Dog, and Tracy Chapman. Sometimes I’ll rewind the songs over and over until I have to return to reality to cross the street properly.
My fam bam would faint if they saw how people cross the street here. I have become accustomed to a whole new closeness with vehicles. Always joining a group, I’ll weave in front of buses and compacts, all jammed at the intersection in traffic. There is no sense of “you go” then “she goes” then “I go” here — “We all go.” As for the pedestrians? We walk when we see the opportunity. There are a few crosswalks at major intersections but the walk lights make no sense, are not timed appropriately whatsoever, so you’re better off just figuring it out yourself. No one faint please. (You have to be cautious about this accidentally scaring people stuff when you are the little one.)
At peak hours, traffic is moving at 2 mph if it is moving at all. If I’m stuck in a cab, I have learned to not become stressed by time, but I sit back, relax, and enjoy the sunshine. It takes two hours to get back from my internship on busy days. Often times I fall asleep, only to be woken up by one of my friends when we arrive at a destination. If not then, I wake up when a big truck goes by and I get a nasty whiff of exhaust (the Clean Water trucks spew out black smoke…irony). The pollution likes to disturb my slumber in addition to shorten my life span with every breath. I try to keep the windows only cracked but sometimes dust from the front will reach me in the back. It sticks to the beads of sweat on my skin that are produced by the blankets of sun surrounding me. But I don’t find it too bothersome. (For safety reasons, it is important to note that I’d never allow myself to doze off if I wasn’t in the car with a friend. But when I’m out and about, I don’t ever travel alone.)
We have yet to experience the kind of heat that makes a person sweat puddles a day. The hottest day I’ve met was 118 degrees four years ago in Zambia. I expect Mother Nature will begin to steam Kenya in the coming weeks. I like to say I am prepared since I have experienced living in a sauna before, but never in a city like Nairobi. I worry my flexible, tough exterior will wear off and you’ll hear me complaining about the heat. Thankfully, my parents raised Tana and I to be pretty scrappy young things so let’s hope I don’t turn into a pansy now.
The weather has been beautiful. It is springtime, so the mornings are chilly and midday is hot and the evenings are cool. I like to do my readings on the balcony as the sun goes down. I take a picture of the sunset almost every night. I’m that person. The colors the sun creates as it goes to sleep are the most vibrant I’ve ever seen. And Delaware has amazing sunsets. But the sky isn’t as big and the color spectrum isn’t as broad as it is here. Why do we say goodnight to the moon when it is the sun who is sleeping? The poor sun has been going to bed this whole time without us wishing it sweet dreams.
When it dips beneath the horizon, I either go inside or wrap myself in my blanket and bring out a light to continue studying. The mosquitoes are arriving, so the past week I’ve been spending less late hours on the balcony. My left foot is already covered in bites. So it goes.
This post will be one of very few that isn't accompanied with a visual element. It’s because I cannot just whip my camera out on the street and I wouldn’t take pictures left and right of my commute anyway. Also, as my roommate Maddi puts it, everything is “similar but different.” She literally just walked into the living room after trying our new “gherkins in vinegar” and remarked, “These pickles continue the trend of similar but different.” I'm not going to exoticize.
It is not so exciting to see pictures of streets, sidewalks, and people traveling to work. It looks like anywhere. But there are some nuances that make this city this city. In Nairobi, when traveling within the downtown area, it is faster to walk than to be in a car. We walk thirty minutes to school every morning. (I have to be vague for security reasons.) The streets are quite peaceful at 7 a.m. I usually sing songs in my head, preferably tunes I’ve heard a million times and can repeat word for word. These include hits by the Beatles, Death Cab for Cutie, Dr. Dog, and Tracy Chapman. Sometimes I’ll rewind the songs over and over until I have to return to reality to cross the street properly.
My fam bam would faint if they saw how people cross the street here. I have become accustomed to a whole new closeness with vehicles. Always joining a group, I’ll weave in front of buses and compacts, all jammed at the intersection in traffic. There is no sense of “you go” then “she goes” then “I go” here — “We all go.” As for the pedestrians? We walk when we see the opportunity. There are a few crosswalks at major intersections but the walk lights make no sense, are not timed appropriately whatsoever, so you’re better off just figuring it out yourself. No one faint please. (You have to be cautious about this accidentally scaring people stuff when you are the little one.)
At peak hours, traffic is moving at 2 mph if it is moving at all. If I’m stuck in a cab, I have learned to not become stressed by time, but I sit back, relax, and enjoy the sunshine. It takes two hours to get back from my internship on busy days. Often times I fall asleep, only to be woken up by one of my friends when we arrive at a destination. If not then, I wake up when a big truck goes by and I get a nasty whiff of exhaust (the Clean Water trucks spew out black smoke…irony). The pollution likes to disturb my slumber in addition to shorten my life span with every breath. I try to keep the windows only cracked but sometimes dust from the front will reach me in the back. It sticks to the beads of sweat on my skin that are produced by the blankets of sun surrounding me. But I don’t find it too bothersome. (For safety reasons, it is important to note that I’d never allow myself to doze off if I wasn’t in the car with a friend. But when I’m out and about, I don’t ever travel alone.)
We have yet to experience the kind of heat that makes a person sweat puddles a day. The hottest day I’ve met was 118 degrees four years ago in Zambia. I expect Mother Nature will begin to steam Kenya in the coming weeks. I like to say I am prepared since I have experienced living in a sauna before, but never in a city like Nairobi. I worry my flexible, tough exterior will wear off and you’ll hear me complaining about the heat. Thankfully, my parents raised Tana and I to be pretty scrappy young things so let’s hope I don’t turn into a pansy now.
The weather has been beautiful. It is springtime, so the mornings are chilly and midday is hot and the evenings are cool. I like to do my readings on the balcony as the sun goes down. I take a picture of the sunset almost every night. I’m that person. The colors the sun creates as it goes to sleep are the most vibrant I’ve ever seen. And Delaware has amazing sunsets. But the sky isn’t as big and the color spectrum isn’t as broad as it is here. Why do we say goodnight to the moon when it is the sun who is sleeping? The poor sun has been going to bed this whole time without us wishing it sweet dreams.
When it dips beneath the horizon, I either go inside or wrap myself in my blanket and bring out a light to continue studying. The mosquitoes are arriving, so the past week I’ve been spending less late hours on the balcony. My left foot is already covered in bites. So it goes.