a day in the life-Nairobi

There aren't too many places in the world where you can see safari wildlife within the city limits. So when Faith suggested we go to the animal orphanage on Saturday, I figured life couldn't get much better than that. But, being a typical African, none of us had cars, so we used the favored method of transportation around here--the imfamous matatus. Now, Matatus arent too bad if you are African. No one tries to charge you exorbitantly, and they generally dont give you any hassle or special attention due to your skin color. For me, its a completely different story. But Faith knows the system, so I felt confident riding with her and her friend Eunice.

First stop of the day was back at Faith's place. As is tradition with African culture, she showed me her home and we took chai and a bread-like snack of our choice. Her place is in an area called Rondai. It took about 30 minutes to get there on the Matatu, so it is quite a ways out. She told me that it takes her an hour and a half in the morning to get to work because of all the traffic. She leaves before I am usually out of bed...

We got out and she and Eunice led the way into a shack village, around one corner after another, ducking under clothes lines, walking past mothers washing old plastic dishes, and children playing. As usual, most of the children stared in awe at my white skin. "They don't see too many mzungus around here, do they?" I asked Faith. We stopped at a door near the end of the corrugated aluminum line, and Faith opened the door.

Her entire house, the space that she shares with a friend, is smaller than the office at my house. There is a double bed pushed into one corner, with enough room for a small TV and a pile of dishes at its foot. There was a small table with two stools, as well as a few other accessories on the other side of the room.

After chai, we headed back into town to the game park. Faith had never seen a lion or a hyena before, so seeing both of those animals was a huge treat for her. My favorite part was the cheetahs. We were standing watching one of the cats, and a keeper came up. Faith started talking to him in rapid-fire swahili. Before I knew what in the world was going on, she told me to follow her as she ducked around behind the fence toward the gate, following the keeper. Next thing I know, we are in the cheetah cage, petting the cheetah. It acted just like a big cat, purring and licking my arm. I think it was there at a young age, so it is very tame. The lions and other animals were cool to see, but nothing beats petting a cheetah.

That afternoon, we planned on going to Bomas of Kenya, a place where different tribes come and show their native dances. It was really cool to see the different dances and the ways the different tribes dress.

All in all, it was a great day with Faith. I really enjoyed spending a day in the city with a local Kenyan.