I met with Abderashid this morning, and spent a rather pleasant afternoon in central Nairobi. After discussing my research design and drinking tea on the veranda, we took a matatu (bus) over to the Kenyatta National Museum (I invited my roommate Navnit as well). For several months I had been very excited about visiting this institution as it is operated by the renown anthropologist, Richard Leaky. Upon arrival we learned that the museum is closed for renovation. The project was to have ended in June, yet the official date is now September and the local people told me that I will have more luck if I return in January. So much for Australopithecus Afarensis.
Unable to view the collection, we strayed into the neighboring Snake Park, a small zoo of reptiles with an aquarium and an attached garden of African succulents and cacti. True to third world form, we were assigned a tour guide who went into great detail about every snake, lizard, fish, and aloe plant. It was...okay. At least I did get to see some fierce creatures like the African Mamba and an a gigantic soft-shelled turtle which the tour guide told me is a popular meal in the USA (????).
Afterward we walked further into the city and ate at an Islamic restaurant, Al-Halaal (which I believe translates as "the permissible"). The server informed us that nothing on the menu was available except steak, fish, tea, and coffee (maybe that is the only food permitted at that time? Everyone was Muslim and it was next to mosque, there might be more going on than being a simple restaurant but I am not sure). He recommended that we not eat the steak, as the meat had been sitting out for many hours (which I assume meant days). Abderashid left for prayer at the adjacent mosque while Navnit and I looked forward to our delectable fish entrees.
I was quite surprised when the fish arrived. Expecting little more than a dead fish on a dirty plate, it arrived breaded and baked with a side salad, a lime, a cup of chili and two loaves of bread. The tea was a large kettle of hot milk chai with steel cup of raw sugar - likely the best chai I have ever drank. I could not have hoped for a better meal. Later Abderashid went to his home in the Somali neighborhood of Nairobi (which I hope to later visit), while Navnit and I walked back to our place.
My first impressions of Nairobi are quite positive, and I am finding this place to be much more pleasant than any preconception would have allowed. The "burnt" smell in the air from this morning was not the general atmosphere (such as to be found within New Delhi or the South Bronx), but can be traced to the neighboring "food court," - just think of a bunch of men standing around a goat on a skewer (I will definitely visit tomorrow - aint no goat better than goat on stick). The burnt smell was nothing more than the aromatic essence of flaming goat hair.
Overall the city is clean and the people are wonderful. I could actually live here for many years. It is wonderful balance of formal and informal. You always know how to behave, yet never feel nervous or stressed. It could be considered the ultimate balance of social discourse when compared to Ohio and Japan. Within Ohio, I often it difficult to discern preferred behavior patterns among homogeneous social groups and am consequently polarized by the predominance of informality. The idea "make your self at home" is utterly absurd and leaves me feeling quite uncomfortable most of the time. Within Japan it is possible to always know how to behave, but one will often feel that you are nonetheless inadequate due to social ignorance (yes I am offering a gift of gratitude, but am I using the correct words, bow, hand, etc.?...probably not). Nairobi allows one to always feel welcomed and gracious at the same time.
Being a "developing nation," I expected much more dishonesty among people and was surprised to discover how people operate on a truly personal level. For example, upon arrival at the bus depot, we needed to find a connecting bus to travel to the museum. After approaching a stranger to ask for direction, the man grasped my hand with a handshake, and stepped closer in an intimate fashion. He walked with me to the bus, holding our grasped hands before us, wanting to know about my time within this country, earnest to know if I am enjoying it. This was not awkward or entrepreneurial, but was a simple act of honest concern and inter-human respect. Almost everyone I speak with here engages a similar manner. Somehow, when conversing with people in this country, much of the crowded and colorful environment seems to dissipate, and a new space folds over this other person and myself. Thus far, I find that the greatest characteristic of Africa is it's ability to allow one to be human.
I heard a worthwhile quote from the aged expat on the back porch (mentioned in preceding blog). We spoke at great length about the Peace Corps. which he believed to be the only NGO within Africa that actually contributes to the lives of the people - and he had a rather compelling argument. He also discarded this rather poetic line, which I find rather consistent with the lone day I have spent here:
"Of the Peace Corps workers who are sent to Latin America, they return to the US consumed with ideals and thoughts which are inherently political. On the other hand, those who are stationed within Asia always return home much more philosophical and speculative. And yet those who return from Africa are the most enriched, as upon leaving Africa, they always find themselves laughing." - Dean,
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