Man, I did
not intend on writing an entry every day but so much
is happening, it's hard to skip over things. I assume
this will die down at some point, but it looks like
I'll have 20 entries this month. And it just hit me
that I would only need 14 entries a month the
rest of the year to hit 1000 on January 2nd - the 10
year anniversary. With all that will be happening this
year (hell even the 4-square entries this summer),
that's easily doable... and absolutely destroys what
I'm about to announce the next entry. LOL. I'll deal
with that tomorrow, for now - welcome to
Nairobi:
If your
computer can handle it (meaning it doesn't stutter
once it's loaded) click the "HQ"
button.
So far jet-lag has
trumped culture shock as I'm too tired to be too
surprised by the surroundings, but maybe I just won't
be 'cause it's not the first time I've seen this type
of poverty -- even if it is my first time in person.
If this lack of shock continues however, I may
just have to take my place as the world's most
empathetic man. 'Cause I do take what I see on tv and
the internet to heart. When I see injustices, etc. I
do feel them. So it's like I've been here before, just
in higher definition.
Linda was pretty
excited to pick me up and because getting a visa took
so long at one point she figured I wasn't coming. She
bounced up and down which made her stand out even more
than the white skin. :-) Then it was onto the
cab...
First thing that
catches you is the complete lack of roads. The
majority of what you drive on is dirt and since it had
just rained, it was pretty rough. The whole left side
of the road thing is pretty much a suggestion as every
free space that's available is immediately taken by
the next speeding car. Think Manhattan without laws.
If you look over
to the right you can see the little shanties that sell
all sorts of stuff. It's just packed with nearly every
square inch being taken up with people walking... or
honestly just sitting there watching. And the stares
Linda and I got, even from within the cab, were
pretty awesome. White is like being a celebrity in
Nairobi... except nobody smiles. LOL. I assume I am a
target and I act accordingly.
Finally
got to the couchsurfing host's house and Judy
was cordial as can be. She lives with her
boyfriend Roomba who was also warm and
inviting. Both speak english (as well as a
million other languages) and Judy in
particular has a helluva grasp on it. Joking
as anyone our age would. After a little nap
(of about 9 hours) in the middle of the
day she took Linda and I out to a bar to eat,
drink and talk. Before I joined them
I stopped off at an internet
cafe...
...which
is every bit dial-up and every bit
infuriating. Forget videos -- I only
think I was able to get my 2 London
entries up with pictures (they were
closing and at the very end I emailed
Gordon the actual entries and still have no
idea if that even went through). It was cheap
however. 30 shillings for a half-hour (40
cents), but it took that long to do 5 minutes
of work. We are going on safari for the next
3 days and I won't have internet until Sunday
at which point I believe I'm going to be
there all goddamned day.
I met
up with them at the bar and must admit I was
just giddy. How fun is it to experience
another culture like this with someone who
grew up here? This is why I was ranting about
couchsurfing.com so much in the last entry.
THIS is how I tried to do Japan, and would've
had 10 times the experience if it was with
someone who actually lived there. Oh and
dinner! All I can think of is how unsanitary
some of you will find this, but I was in
heaven.
Meat that
has been out for who knows how long on a
wooden slab outside. You pick your meat, they
cook it and bring it to you with a bit of
salt...
These are
horrible pics from my pocket-cam but we ended
up with about 5 times this much for around
$9. Just sprinkle a little salt on a piece
that they cut for you and pop it in your
mouth. So much food. That and a beer?
Perfect. Carbs? What are carbs. It freaking
rocked.
The guy to the far
right actually had a machine gun over his shoulder. He
was in riot gear 'cause there was a pretty big
up-rising between two tribes in town today. One lady
was killed. I'll be honest though... it doesn't really
phase you. You pay attention to your business, not
theirs. It's Big-City Living 101. Mind your
business.
Well, tomorrow is
set and The Journey will be going "pen & paper"
for the first time since I wrote about the death of my
grandmother while flying out to see her on her
deathbed in 2000. Never posted those. It's funny, at
the time that seemed like it was too personal for the
site. I just read the entries the other day and wished
I had posted them. I may next year sometime. Anyway, I
look forward to being able to use my HD cam a bunch
and not this little flip beyotch. It's great for
convenience, but I hate goin' back in
quality.
Alright - driver
gets here at 6am, and I have to try and get some
sleep.
