The Big City

I was under the impression I had been living in a city. You know- a teeming hub of industry and business; a place where people go to be with more people. I thought I was living in one, then I went to Nairobi last week. Suddenly, I was feeling more like a small town boy on his first trip to the big city. Nairobi is Lusaka on steroids; the set-up is similar but everything is bigger and there’s more of it. Also, it has some rage issues. Malls are also the foci of life, but these ones are usually far fancier and many times the size. There is also traffic, but Nairobi traffic is on a whole new level, boasting the biggest and baddest jams I've ever seen. Rage-wise; drivers are more aggressive and regularly pulls stunts like driving on the sidewalk or crossing the highway divide and taking over a lane on the opposite side. There’s also the crime issue. While we did get robbed, thankfully the perp was a monkey and we only lost some bananas. We did have a close call, though, with a mob blocking a road and waiting to ambush cars. In general, people watch their back much more and are wary of being caught outdoors alone or at night. On a more positive note, there is so much to do there. In a week alone we visited an elephant orphanage, a place where you can feed giraffes, and hiked in a forest preserve within the city. On top of that, we bowled, went to a water park, visited a museum, ate incredible food from Ethiopian to gelato, and explored the teeming city center.

  (At the elephant orphanage, photo credit Molly)

(Getting some love at the Giraffe Centre)

The Princeton in Africa retreat, the reason I was there, was fantastic. Sharing in the stories and experiences of the other fellows helped me better understand my own. For the first time, I felt like I was really part of a community and support network. Jane was our host, which was appropriate as she had visited many of us in the seven months prior. She paid us all back a hundred-fold. Her careful organizing and thoughtful planning made the week happen and let us enjoy everything Nairobi has to offer. On Wednesday, all the other fellows either went home or headed off to hike Kilimanjaro. I stuck around the city another two days. We took a minibus (matatu) out of town to visit Andrew, a friend I’ve known since middle school, and the first of my home friends I’ve met up with in Africa. We toured a sustainable farm/school where he worked in the past and was visiting from Uganda. Then we came back to the city and had some fun. All of this added up to an incredible week that renewed my enthusiasm and appreciation for this year and made me realize how much Lusaka has become home.

(PiAf fellows at the retreat)

(Andrew and I)