More Urban Homestay News

Today marks the sixth day of my urban homestay with the Gitau family in Nairobi. I must say that I've never had such a blast living with any other family. Butch (Trevor) and I have had so much fun spending afternoons swimming at The Windsor Club, the evenings checking out the Nairobi nightlife, and lazy mornings rocking out to our morning pump-up music driving to class despite the horrendous morning commuter traffic. Believe it or not, the infrastructure in Nairobi has remained largely unchanged since the British colonial era, a characteristic that helps explain the incredibly congested roads around rush hour in the morning and late afternoon. The morning drive in to the Ufungumano house where I take Swahili lessons would normally take only five minutes without traffic, but every morning it turns into a frustrating slow-moving thirty minute ride. The good news, however, is that the delayed journey grants me time to read a sizable portion of The Daily Nation, the paper that gives me great discussion material for my government class on the elections. Here, news about the campaigns is front page nearly every day. Here the paper boy is very much a fixture, and you will find one hawking the daily paper on every major corner. Unfortunately, they do not go around shouting "Extra, extra, read all about it! Uhuru slated to win in first round!". Still, it's nice to pay for the paper and actually sit down with it in the morning before class; it makes me feel all grown up to sit with the paper and a cup of chai before class and catch up with the latest developments.

Yesterday was a normal day, which means I left for school around 7:30 in the morning and returned at 4:30. Classes have been very interesting, and my Swahili is certainly improving, but still I am a bit hesitant when trying my Swahili in public. Last night marked my first night out in Nairobi (In Kenya for that matter) and Butch and I went out to Westlands to check out the scene with Katie, one of the other girls on the program who is living with his cousins. Because he is only 19 and was in the states last year when he would have started going out here, he was just as green to the night scene as I, which made last night interesting. I joked with him that following him into bars/clubs was like the blind leading the blind. Still, friends of his made some solid recommendations for places to check out and they panned out nicely. We actually met a fair number of American students at one of the bars, most of whom are here studying on an exchange from University of Minnesota with Nazarine University here in Nairobi.

After we hung around at the bars for a couple hours, we headed down the street to the night club that friends recommended we check out. It ended up being quite the place to be on a Thursday night. Although Katie and I were definitely the only two Mzungu in the whole club, we had so much fun and met many great people. Among them, was a couple of young guys who invited us into their private box. We soon learned that one of them had previously been running for MP for the local Westlands district, but that he had been bought out earlier that day by his main opponent. In exchange for his endorsement and promising the support of his followers, this young man (about 26) was given a brand new Range Rover Sport and a large sum of money. The money, of course, is what had put him in such a nice mood, so much so that Katie and I didn't pay for a drink the entire evening. It's a bit peculiar to hear a candid story of what is basically corruption or vote-buying, but that is simply the accepted way of life, and especially politics here. Butch explained to me, as many other people have, that EVERYONE and everything in Kenya has a price. Now I believe him.

As for the dancing...well that's a story entirely on its own. I must say, the girls here are some of the most amazing dancers I have ever seen. Almost intimidating, especially in such a busy nightclub with an Amazing DJ and light show, is the way these gorgeous African girls will "wind" to the beat in high heels that make you wonder how they even stand up. Being the adventurous scout that I am (Thanks Troop IV and Big Jay), I mustered up the courage to make my way onto the dance floor and see if I could keep up. Let me just say that I have never so much identified so much with the popular moniker White Man's Overbite. Perhaps the only encouraging part of the experience, at first at least, was the fact the the DJ was spinning all American beats, which I at least knew the words to. Luckily, I met Eve, a lovely girl from USIU (United States International University) who took pity on the poor mzungo who must've looked like a fish out of water on that dance floor. She offered to help me find my inner Kenyan and start dancing like one. After a frustrating while trying to figure out how to move my hips and avoid stepping on toes, I finally got the hang of it. Katie soon made it out onto the dance floor and we had a blast dancing for almost an hour. I'm not even ashamed to say that I'm sore today, because it quite an experience and I have NEVER danced so much in my life. We got back from the club around 4:30 and then hit the hay. Although my body is surely not adjusted to this lifestyle, I hope that it doesn't have to take this kind of sleep-deprivation abuse too regularly.

 Luckily, today we had the opportunity to visit Kibera Girls Soccer Academy, which was really interesting. The girls of KGSA are both driven and determined young women who strive to make a better life for themselves through hard work in the classroom and on the pitch. Many of the graduates of the young school have successfully managed to continue their education and pursue higher degrees and careers. In Kibera I was able to practice my Swahili with the kids without the pressure of sounding foolish in front of my peers or elders. The afternoon spent in Kibera, the largest slum in Kenya, was truly invaluable. Not only did I gain a better understanding of the struggles of the poorest Kenyan people, but also a greater appreciation of the privileges I have been blessed with my whole life. More to come on the Kibera experience, but for now I must go meet up with Butch and his friends. We're heading out to an Ethiopian restaurant for Josh's birthday. Apparently you eat with your hands at this place. I am wearing a white shirt; this should surely put my table manners to the test (Thanks Ruru and Grandpa). Well...when in Africa...