Our plans for the day were fairly vague. They broadly involved going to town and meeting up with Dee's friends. She happily snapped away with her new camera at the important buildings her uncle pointed out as we drove through central Nairobi, eventually arriving at the Stage Market, where her aunt has a shop.
The market is so different to the ones in South Africa, where most vendors specialize in specific products (such as clothing or electronics). Here, though, everyone sells a wide variety of items. While the premisis may be small, it has been efficiently organized to stock a truckload of goods. Aunt Terry's shop displayed everything from wallets to flashlights to kitchen knives, which she sells at wholesale prices to vendors and hawkers.
It was here that I met the mother and brother of Dee's cousin, Villy, who lives in Durban. One thing kenyans cannot be faulted on is their friendliness. When I visited Durban with Dee earlier this year, I was greeted as a friend and left as part of the family. At no point was I ever a stranger.
And it was in this fashion that her aunt margaret and cousin tony welcomed me to the shop. Dee's aunt was excited to have us visiting, I think, because she took us through the market, introducing us to her friends at other shops.
Cultural differences became apparent when an older woman stood to give me her seat, which I respectfully declined. Quickly, Dorothy whispered under her breath, 'Vicky, sit down.' So, I did, dutifully. She explained later that in Kenya it's rude to refuse when someone offers you something, even if it means taking a seat away from an older person.
Her cousin, Tony, offered to take us through town, knowing full well that we'd get hopelessly lost on our own. Our first stop was to see a very good friend of Dee's, who she hadn't seen in 7 years. As the two glossed over the events they'd missed in each other's lives, I played around on Tony's phone, one which isn't available in South Africa yet. I was shocked to find out how cheap it was to buy brand new in Nairobi - less than a third of what we pay in South Africa. No need to travel to the East to buy cheap electronics, it seems...
Wandering the crowded streets and weaving through the taxis can really work on one's appetite, so we headed off to a busy restaurant. There were no tables free, but apparently what counts is seating availability. We were simply added to a table of people we didn't know, where we proceeded to have lunch while being ignored by them. It was bizarre.
Before we left, we decided to make use of the 'washroom' as they are called here. Another weird kenyan phenomenon awaited us - the toilets are sunken so that the rim is level with the ground and you have to squat over it. For the first time, I realized how difficult it is to aim when you pee. But hey, at least dirty toilet seats are not a problem.
Tony insisted that we try Tuskers, the local brew, so we headed off to a pub that overlooked the street from the second floor. The street is a lot more interesting at a safe vantage point where you can see what people get up to, and Dee and I had fun commenting on what different people were wearing. The beer wasn't too bad, I suppose, but I'm not really a beer person. It gets better the more you drink it, anyway. ;)
One of Dee's friends from Botswana, Nelly, came to join us. She excitedly announced that she was getting married, and wanted the scoop on married life from me. When I showed her a photo of my husband, she reasoned that it was a good thing i got a ring onto his finger before another women got hold of his good looking self. What can I say? She got me ;)
The plan was to take a taxi home, but the queues in the streets were worryingly long. Tony explained that it wasn't a problem because most people were waiting for the fares drop as the night wore on. Nevertheless, we still had to push our way on and grab a seat on the vehicle destined to get us home.
While taxis in kenya drive as badly (if not worse) as those in South Africa, its actually a lot less irritating when you are being transported by one. For one thing, it's faster. By ramping pavements and forcing their way between other cars, they keep moving when everyone else is standing still. We had a few close shaves and I think our taxi might've removed someone's side mirror, but driving in nairobi is never fast enough to be dangerous. The traffic is just too bad. I will never complain about a traffic jam on the N1 ever again.
Actually, the trip was quite a lot of fun. The driver had the radio turned up and dee and I sang along and boogied in our seats. But maybe thats just novelty speaking...
