Back From Hiatus!

AAAAAAAAAH, I'm back. Did you miss me? Didja? I know it probably sounds lame, but I TOTALLY missed blogging.

First off, I'm really sorry for not posting anything of substance in the last, eek, 20ish days. It is always my intent to keep this blog updated and interesting, and I'm sorry that it took so long to get back to it. Suffice it to say, I had good reason. My roommate had some health issues that landed her in the hospital and its been a crazy, hectic, worry-filled period. HOWEVER, she's definitely on the mend, and out of the hospital, and we got the added bonus of her mom coming over to Kenya for a visit, so there's definitely a silver lining. Plus, I'm back! You no longer have to go to bed at night sadly wondering what is going on in my life!

Now, obviously, this is not going to be like my normal entries, with descriptions down to the minute detail because, come on, that would be the longest entry ever. But I will provide you with some highlights to catch you up, and then get back to regularly scheduled broadcasts...er...blog posts.

So. What's been going on in Kenya?

Traffic. And traffic police.

"WHAT?!" You may be asking yourself. "Could it be that in the past three weeks no one has solved the problem of traffic in Nairobi." Sad but true. However, I did spend the last two weeks in a taxi with Paul, shuttling between home, work, and the hospital, so I really REALLY can't complain. Paul is great. He lets me ask all my (sometimes stupid sounding, I'm sure) questions and just knows all the ins and outs of the city so we usually make pretty good time. Our goal is always to be MOVING. Sometimes it is achingly slow, and over Martian landscape roads, but I feel better as long as we're not stuck, engine off, waiting for whoever is messing things up down the line to get their shit together.

Some days, traffic is not half bad.

What?! This is not the Mombasa Road traffic I know (and hate)!

And some days, like last Thursday, it is atrocious. Paul and I tried to game the system and take a back way home (which we have done successfully before) but instead it took me nearly 3 hours to make it home. We were parked, for periods up to 20 minutes, behind a guy who turned his car off, reclined his seat, and decided to nap. The ONLY upsides were that 1) we were in shade instead of baking in direct sunlight, and 2) we were relatively close to a chocolate factory and when the wind picked up it smelled like chocolate chip cookies instead of exhaust. Its all about the little things.

Oh...that's more like it.

I DID have the opportunity to experience a super fun facet of traffic that I'd not yet seen, though. Traffic police. Monday, on the way back from work, Paul and I strayed a bit from the usual course to stop and get a cake for D's birthday. The cake was very pretty (see below), but was literally the worst cake I've ever put in my mouth. The cake part was suuuuuuuper dry, like stale bread, and the icing was basically royal icing that shattered when you cut it. The anti-delicious.

Ignore the fact that I look a mess and exhausted. This picture is about the cake.

Anyway, we got back on Mombasa Road and were heading towards town, but not in our usual lane (we are always in the far-right fast lane, but since we stopped at the store, we were still in the far-left slow lane). At one point, another road merges, and as there was a big clot of traffic, Paul pulled into the merge lane to get ahead a bit. Let me start by saying that Paul NEVER does this, and I don't know why he decided to that day. Immediately, we see a police officer a short ways down the road and realize this was a tactical error. Paul tries to merge back into traffic, but the officer angrily waves him over and we pull off to the side.

I remain seated in the passenger seat and Paul gets out to try and talk his way out of a ticket, both in Kiswahili and Gikuyu, the the language of the Kikuyu tribe of which both happened to be a member (this is not terribly surprising as it is the largest tribe in Kenya, but still worth noting). The guy was not having any of it. He saw me, a mzungu, and with his eyes lit up with dollar signs like a cartoon character. After talking with Paul for a while, and not having any of it, he came around to the passenger side and told me through my open window that Paul had been "overlapping" and could not be allowed to get away with it. We had to go to the police station (up the street) where he would be fined 10,000Ksh ($114). He would have to report to traffic court the next morning, and if he failed to do so, the money would be forfeited to the city government. If Paul were unable to pay the 10,000Ksh, his car would be impounded.

Fun.

Most traffic cops here don't have a car or even a motorcycle, so he made me sit in the back and he got in the passenger seat to catch a lift to the station. It took us about 20 minutes to get there (again, see: traffic) and the whole time he and Paul were carrying on an urgent conversation in the front seats. I sat quietly in the back. Later Paul informed that the officer was grilling him about me (where I worked, if I was married, if I had kids, how long I had been in Kenya, where we were going, etc). Every once in a while, the officer would ask me the same questions in English, apparently because he thought Paul was lying. He also kept asking Paul why I was so quiet. He truthfully responded that I have only been here a month and don't speak Kiswahili yet. The officer didn't really believe him, and I am still not sure why this was SO surprising, but whatever. Paul's later advice was that even when I do speak Kiswahili, I should always only speak English to police officers, because they will try to trip me up and like seeing foreigners uncomfortable. Noted.

Anyway, during this time, Paul was also trying to work out a bribe. Corruption is the way things work here, and it is just what you do. Apparently, the officer told me about the 10,000Ksh fine before we left thinking I'd just give it to him on the way and we could call it a day. Um...missed that signal. Paul tried to talk him down, and offered 1,000Ksh, which the officer refused because it was too low. Paul told him that he would have to ask me for money, and the officer got all slick and said that he couldn't ask while he was in the car, but that when we got to the police station, he would get out and maybe Paul could follow. He specifically told Paul that he was going for a higher fine because I was a white girl. Ah, the joys of being a perpetual foreigner. Anyway, we got to the station, the officer got out, I gave Paul 3,000Ksh ($34) and he paid the guy off and we left. Ugh. Never a dull moment.

The sad thing is, and I cannot stress this enough, this is a totally common occurrence, and there is really nothing you can do about it. Thankfully I was with a driver that I trust implicitly, so I wasn't scared (just super annoyed). 

Work

Work has been good. People keep asking how I like my job, and my answer is as follows. I LOVE the idea of my job. I love the impact and the reach. I love doing something that I am passionate about. I love being creative and having a ton of flexibility and freedom to do what I want and think is best. I like the reality of my job. It is just a lot to get used to. Spending 10 hours a day sitting in front of a computer in a quiet room of adults is just SO different from what I am used to. But I am adjusting, and as my sleep schedule begins to regulate once again, I think it will be even better.  I can't believe I've already been here over a month. It has, at once, gone ridiculously fast, and extremely slowly. I think that is one of the biggest paradoxes of living abroad. 

This Friday I also got to go out to a school fairly close to my office for a bit. We went mid-afternoon, during lunch and "rest" (nap) time for our little ones, but that actually worked out well because I got to talk to the Academy Manager, and the teachers for Baby and Nursery class who gave some really valuable feedback about stuff that has gone well/poorly this term that we have the opportunity to change for Term 2. Also the kids were adorable.

Rather than being out in the country, like the last site I visited, this school is located right on the edge of a slum in Nairobi.

I was actually surprised by how much land they had, considering it was an urban school.

Kids out at play during lunch and recess.

View towards the slum from the manager's office.

Kids playing on a construction site next door.

Wonderful Baby Class teacher during nap time. Well...it is supposed to be nap time, haha.

Adorable.

Still pretty surprised by the camera.

Awkward family photo? Hahah, I love the cheeks on the little Jolly Green Giant on the right. What is his sidekick's name? I think it is Sprout.

Ahhh, wanted to steal this little boy. SO freakin' cute.

I think as long as I get out to the schools every once in a while I'll be able to maintain my enthusiasm and work through the long days trapped in the office. I also just discovered that there is no rule against taking your computer out on the sunny back deck, so I think we'll be taking advantage of that space soon.

There have been a few changes as the office, as well. Andrea left, deciding that this just wasn't the right job for her, and we got two new wazungu: Amanda and Theresa. We all get along quite well, so that's good. They were both in Nairobi already (for varying lengths of time) so they're also just good resources for living here. We eat lunch together every day (with Nuru) and have fun talks that alleviate some work stress. I finally got to meet all three founders, who are very cool, at a company-wide meeting where we talked about where the organization is going, and what kinds of fun things to expect over the next year. I finally signed my contract, so I'm set to stay for as long as I want, and things are overall going really well. 

Also one day the fingerprint scanners malfunctioned and no one could get in. They had to break through a wall. Never a dull moment.

Breakin' in.

The Apartment

Slowly, but surely, the apartment is becoming more and more like home. I have settled in (and spent an exorbitant amount of money doing so) but I feel like I'm well on my way. We had furniture delivered last weekend (now I have a bed and don't sleep on a mattress on the floor like a meth head!) so that was really nice. Below is a little photo tour of the apartment. It is certainly WAY bigger than anything I could afford in the US and considering the fact that the entirety of my studio apartment in Seoul (room, kitchen, entrance and bathroom) could easily fit into my bedroom with room to spare, I feel like I am moving up in the world, haha. I am hoping that the extensive repairs and minor remodels we have been doing are now done, and we get get down to enjoying our apartment rather than being frazzled by it! This weekend I bought a washer and dryer (AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH I AM SO EXCITED) and had my ensuite bathroom retrofitted by and electrician and plumber so that instead of just being a bathtub that fills with cold water, it is also a shower with an instant hot water heater on it. And the switch is in my room! That means I don't have to go out on the porch before my shower every morning! The little things!

When you walk into the apartment, you see our sitting room/living room to the left.

And our dining room to the right.

D had all of this furniture built by Kuria, our carpenter.

The dining room leads into the kitchen.

Which is a pretty decent size.

The kitchen has an entry to....

The pantry.

And the outdoor wash area.
LOOK AT MY NEW WASHER AND DRYER!

The back wash area also has a pretty little view.

On the front of the house we have a cute little porch. 

With a view of the rest of the complex.

When you walk down the main hallway, from the dining room and kitchen, you get to the bathrooms and bedrooms.

One bathroom has a shower and sink.

And the other has a toilet and sink.

I live in the master bedroom. It is gigantic. Check out my new bed and nightstand!

Close up! Ignore the random ass mix of kitenges and scarves that are a substitute for curtains until I get them made.

My room has storage space that dreams are made of....

And a cute little built in desk with a big mirror. Which I have decorated to the max.

And an ensuite bathroom.

That new shower and hot water heater was just installed yesterday by this guy.

We also have a good sized guest room, complete with cute new bed I just had made. When you come, it won't have blank canvases on it, those are just there because the cleaning lady was doing the floor.

Moral of the story: As you can see, we have lots of space. SO COME VISIT.