Yahtzee's Triumphant Return to Nairobi

Yahtzee’s Triumphant Return to Nairobi

Or; The B is Back

my lil plane

After three tough weeks, I was so excited to return to my comfortable bed and the various and delicious foods of Nairobi.   The morning of my flight I packed up and waited in particularly brutal sun for my drive to the airport, which I could see from the guesthouse.  It was frustrating to see the airport waiting for me while I waited for my delayed driver, but I knew it wouldn’t be long before I was “home!” 

some leftover bits

The airport in Lodwar is interesting.  You approach a padlocked gate and sort of wait until an attendant notices you and comes to let you in.  Then they sort of motion towards a small container that people are gathered around and you think “I guess I should go in that container.”  This is not a thought I  have had before but I wandered into the open back end.  Inside is a short conveyer belt and x-ray to walk through.  Next time I’m going to heavily overpack my luggage with treasures of the desert because they have no mechanism to weigh your bags.  After you get checked you are sent to a lady with a computer who looks up your name and hand-writes a ticket.  Some guy will put your suitcase in a hand cart and you try to find shade to wait in.  It is all very bizarre and surreal.

security!

I was so happy when I watched my little plane roll down the runway and kick out some bewildered and bedraggled passengers so that we could line up and find a seat.  I settled in and started sweating and never stopped.  The air conditioning was broken on the little plane!  No AC!  And you cannot exactly crack a window on an airplane.  Two sweaty hours later we landed and I collected my bag (tiny plane= quick luggage return) and hopped in a cab to go home.  By now my excitement was reaching its nexus because I had big, big plans for the night.  Surprise!  My buddy Sonia was in Nairobi and we had a date night planned!  At home I destructively unpacked, wrapped up a package of Desert Treasures for Sonia and took a brief and brisk shower.  For my first time in Kenya I got to go full diva princess with my makeup and clothes and it felt FANTASTIC.  I packed an overnight bag and hopped in a cab, feeling like Rihanna/Beyonce/Erin all in one.

I enjoy getting out of cabs at restaurants.  It feels like something special is about to happen and I am a VIP.  I was led into a cozy and really lovely restaurant so that I could meet Sonia and we could make a lot of noise and generally bother the old-school 3^rd generation British Kenyans enjoying cocktails in the little half-inside/half-outside seating area.  It was so good to see a familiar face after almost two months here!

Dinner was all I could have dreamed of and more.  We had samosas, wings, bleu cheese gnocchi (CHEESE!), pork belly, sushi—the works.  After three weeks of lentils I was pleased as punch and ignored my rebelling stomach as I stuffed it all in.  We even had crème brulee and volcano cake and ice cream.  I was a happy camper. 

Another good adventure of the day was the drive home.  I say drive because Sonia is house sitting right now, and a car was a part of the deal.   It feels like a game watching someone drive on the “wrong” side, which is probably an indication that I should not attempt to drive here.  She did a really good job avoiding the frequent potholes on poorly lit roads, and soon we were “home.”

The house Sonia is staying at is sort of like a little USA.  It is a guarded compound for US citizen AID employees, and it is just like a little Edina suburb.  Little yards and gardens and a playground and a pool—its very serene and sweet.  The house itself is really nice and homey too.  We sat around awhile then decided to try out the Westlands bars, which was funny.  We went to a place that the cab driver called “Black D.”  Can we talk about this name, guys?  Let’s not.  The music was good old-school hip hop and the crowd was good, too.  We even identified a man dancing alone with knee-length dreads that we decided to call 2 Chainz.  We were home and exhausted by two, while the parties continued well into the night.

The next day we drove around the city, which was busy on a Monday because it was a national holiday, Mashujaa Day, or Heroes Day.  We went to the hotel Sonia stayed at for a few months and check out the pool, then shopped at Village Market, where I discovered a new and pricey lipstick brand to obsess over.  It was really fun and relaxing to check out the expat-y, upper and middle class scene of Nairobi, but I know I would feel dirty if I spent that much money and lived like that every day.  (For the record, neither I nor Sonia usually operate

like this)