Thursday, August 2, 2007

Knackered in Nairobi

Jambo Homies,

I am in Nairobi and I am wiped out (and hopefully not getting sick) from all the early mornings and long bus rides. Tracy leaves tomorrow morning so a quick update before we go out for our last dinner... I'm using my new favorite way of communicating - lists.

Things I Wish I Hadn't Already Lost in Transit:

1. My watch with the alarm in it.
2. My sleeping bag.
3. My extra key to the lock for the small bag where I keep my passport.

Tracy is loaning me her sleeping bag for the duration and her alarm clock too. Good lord. I've been so focused on not losing the video camera - or having it stolen, other items are falling out of my possession faster than I can shout "mother f---er!"

Situations That Can Only Be Explained With "This Is Africa":

1. At a big store in Nairobi which sells groceries, household goods and clothing I can buy a motorcycle, but not a watch.

2. Our bus from Dar Es Salaam to Nairobi lurches to the curb 3 blocks from the station. Instead of sending another bus or having us walk back, the onboard mechanic/flight attendant spends over 2 hours fixing our broken hydrolic brakes.

3. The higher quality buses show bad American movies, while the lower quality buses show bad Nigerian movies. After watching "She Devil" a movie about a gang of mermaids who teleport to the surface of the earth and hypnotize people by shooting lasers out of their eyes only to be undone by the power of Jesus, ala the Exorcist ("the power of Christ compels you") - it is clear, bad Nigerian movies are a higher quality experience.

Tomorrow I have a meeting with the Habitat, Nairobi group and then will visit a friend of a friend of a friend, who I met last night, at the US Embassy where she works before heading to her house to take advantage of an extra bed. Later need to book another 12 hour bus trip from Nairobi to Kampala to see the mountain gorillas.

Pictures I Wish I Had My Camera Out and Ready For:

1. Woman walking down the side of the road outside of Nairobi in a santa hat.
2. Man walking in downtown Nairobi with a Star Wars tie, which featured the faces of the characters.
3. Grocery store security guards with black riot gear helmets.

That's it for now. Thanks for reading!

Miss K

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kristian - you have me captivated, please keep up the postings! I was telling Una last weekend that I spent a good part of an afternoon last week reading about all your travels on your archive and I eagerly look for new updates from your Africa travels. It sounds like a fantastic and exciting and memorable trip and I look forward to hearing more and more! Take good care and keep up the lists, they're great!

Anonymous said...

Jambo FCKR!
Great to see your update. I feel as though my vacation can continue, vicariously through you!
Now you know how I felt in Madagascar without a sleeping bag and that sportswatch with the wrong time and alarm that couldn't be turned off.
Good luck with finding the Gorillas! Your African dreams are coming true.
Onward!
FCUK

amestolas said...

What a fantastic entry. I can very much visualize you in these situations. Keep the humorous entries coming. ~ allison