Nairobi
Today is our first day in Nairobi. We arrived last night to a pleasant evening. When we arrived at the airport I was immediately reminded of my 2 days spent at the airport in 2007. It almost felt like an old friend. After getting our visa's we got our luggage (all of it arrived!) and went out to meet Maureen and Francis. Our arrival was at 7:30 so by 9:00 we had the van loaded up and where heading to the WBS office (and the home of Maureen and Francis.
It was a very pleasant evening last night. About 60 deg with a slight breeze. Driving from the airport Brent and set in the back and joked about the road conditions. The roads where empty and I told him, “Just wait until tomorrow” When we arrived at the WBS office we found they had prepared a room with several beds and misquote nets. I wasted no time and went right to sleep. I slept for 9 hours without moving.
This morning we awoke to another great East Africa morning (about 60 and slightly overcast). Like most city houses the WBS office and house have a great garden and plot of land for cultivating small staple crops like corn, kale (similar to “greens”) and bananas. We had a great breakfast of bread, jam, and wonderful chi. Most chi tea here is made with fresh milk and real sugar so the taste us just heavenly. The only problem with it is that no matter how hard I try when I get home I can never make it the same.
Today we plan on driving around Nairobi getting some last minute supplies and hopefully find an internet cafe. I will post more soon....
So I never got to post this but I will tell you what we did anyway. After breakfast and walking around we went downtown to exchange money and get some food. We ate at a great place called the village market. It was near “embassy row” the section of town that has all of the international embassy houses. The market was a very nice semi trendy outdoor mall with a food court filled with international cusine. There was italian food, Tai food, pizza, and even a great bistro. The food court was filled with all kinds of chic rich foreign people. Walking around you could hear several languages and see delegates from every country.
After lunch we walked around and shopped. I found a sim card for my phone so I could call home and we wet to a large supermarket and got some supplies. After shopping we went downtown to get bibles and let Francis (the WBS worker) go by the court office to take care of business. Downtown was completely different than the uber-cool market. It was jam packed with too many people in to small of an area. Diesel smoke filled every corner of the air and the traffic was the worst I have ever been in.
Nairobi is a town of extremes where the super rich and the super poor co-exist in an atmosphere set in paradise. From the house of the us consulate to a slum of 700,000 people we saw it all. Overall I like Nairobi quite a bit. Even with all the people and all the pollution it is one of the more beautiful cities I have been to. I could almost see the ghost of Hemmingway setting in a downtown bar drinking a Tusker (the local beer) discussing hunting. The old world charm and new world problems seem to have collided into a international dilemma of conscienceness. Driving through the city you see signs of everything. Love and hate, peace and war, anger and joy, rich and poor, God and godless, all crammed together in the garden of eden. Parts of it I loved, parts I hated, all of it made me feel. I shall not forget Nairobi soon.
Internet is proving hard to come by so far. Right now I am in a really shady partof townand its getting dark. I gotta go....I will try to post as much as possible later.
It was a very pleasant evening last night. About 60 deg with a slight breeze. Driving from the airport Brent and set in the back and joked about the road conditions. The roads where empty and I told him, “Just wait until tomorrow” When we arrived at the WBS office we found they had prepared a room with several beds and misquote nets. I wasted no time and went right to sleep. I slept for 9 hours without moving.
This morning we awoke to another great East Africa morning (about 60 and slightly overcast). Like most city houses the WBS office and house have a great garden and plot of land for cultivating small staple crops like corn, kale (similar to “greens”) and bananas. We had a great breakfast of bread, jam, and wonderful chi. Most chi tea here is made with fresh milk and real sugar so the taste us just heavenly. The only problem with it is that no matter how hard I try when I get home I can never make it the same.
Today we plan on driving around Nairobi getting some last minute supplies and hopefully find an internet cafe. I will post more soon....
So I never got to post this but I will tell you what we did anyway. After breakfast and walking around we went downtown to exchange money and get some food. We ate at a great place called the village market. It was near “embassy row” the section of town that has all of the international embassy houses. The market was a very nice semi trendy outdoor mall with a food court filled with international cusine. There was italian food, Tai food, pizza, and even a great bistro. The food court was filled with all kinds of chic rich foreign people. Walking around you could hear several languages and see delegates from every country.
After lunch we walked around and shopped. I found a sim card for my phone so I could call home and we wet to a large supermarket and got some supplies. After shopping we went downtown to get bibles and let Francis (the WBS worker) go by the court office to take care of business. Downtown was completely different than the uber-cool market. It was jam packed with too many people in to small of an area. Diesel smoke filled every corner of the air and the traffic was the worst I have ever been in.
Nairobi is a town of extremes where the super rich and the super poor co-exist in an atmosphere set in paradise. From the house of the us consulate to a slum of 700,000 people we saw it all. Overall I like Nairobi quite a bit. Even with all the people and all the pollution it is one of the more beautiful cities I have been to. I could almost see the ghost of Hemmingway setting in a downtown bar drinking a Tusker (the local beer) discussing hunting. The old world charm and new world problems seem to have collided into a international dilemma of conscienceness. Driving through the city you see signs of everything. Love and hate, peace and war, anger and joy, rich and poor, God and godless, all crammed together in the garden of eden. Parts of it I loved, parts I hated, all of it made me feel. I shall not forget Nairobi soon.
Internet is proving hard to come by so far. Right now I am in a really shady partof townand its getting dark. I gotta go....I will try to post as much as possible later.
posted by Paul at Tuesday, October 07, 2008
5 Comments:
Oh how we love reading about all of you in Nairobi! Aren't Mauryn and Francis the greatest? we sent you a message.....it should be on the WBS computer.
Sometimes here in the USA we can smell all those smells in Nairobi! And we can often close our eyes while driving here and still vividly see in our mind the Kenyans walking everywhere as they do there. (Did you see the Raid Kills Dudus Dead sign? ha ha)
When you drive through the Rift Valley, have Francis tell you about the magnegtic pull. He'll know what I'm talking about.
And the chai...oh yes, the way they make the chai there....there is none like it....and we can never duplicate it back here either!
We are praying for each of you ~ your success and your safety.
In His love,
Linda & Skip
You mention Hemingway so you know I have to leave a reply. Our continued prayers from KC for you (as well as Jane and the boys in the States). All the best for a God-filled trip...and don't mess with the lions like you did in '07.
MWF
Thanks for the update Paul. Hope everything continues to go well.
Tim B
Doubtful that you've ever actually read Hemmingway, but glad you're all doing well nontheless.
Hey, Paul
Good to hear of your return trip to Africa! Know that the Unruh family will be praying for your journey to and from.
Best,
Jim, Jana, Grant, Jill, Ross, and Faith
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