Day 2

Nairobi seems to have the most perfect climate.  Windows stay open all day. No bugs fly in. Not too breezy.  Not too hot. Not too cold. Unless you are a native and then you put on a thick sweater and claim it's freezing.  

In other adventures, this morning I registered a SIM card.  Each country has different hoops to jump through.  Bangladesh - no problem; India - not worth it; but Kenya - doable. The semi-laborious process involved entering my ID info into the vendor's phone, which was connected to the provider's registration system. I'm not sure whether the transaction location (see below) is of concern but regardless, I now have cellular access which is not only convenient but feels a tad bit safer.

Back at the office...every Friday, the campus holds a coffee break.  It is a time for announcements and introductions of new staff and visitors.  I am only here two days, but my Kenyan colleague decided I should be introduced.  I was and survived my impromptu public speaking debut. Among the announcements was an explanation of why God created Kenyan's on the 8th day - half the joke was in Swahili and lost on me but I think it had to do with them being fun-loving which led to an invitation to this evening's Rastafarian bbq.  Considering I have nothing else planned once back in my gated community, seems like something worth checking out.  

Getting Acclimated

Fortunately day one looked up. I had lunch with a colleague who is a native white South African and just moved here from Uganda. She talked about where she's lived all over the continent, working for USAID, her aspirations to become a Kenyan citizen (requires 7 yrs of residence and Swahili skills), and she lives in a suburb of Nairobi called Karen, named after Out...(sorry, bunging jumping spider almost landed on my keyboard)...of Africa Karen Blixen, where she keeps horses.

This evening I accompanied colleagues out to a swank seafood restaurant.  We were a Scottish HR head, an N. Irish/Brit veterinarian, a career expat American economist who hasn't been west of the Rockies, a Dutch knowledge management specialist, a German journalism student and me.  The conversation ranged from Zanzibar vacation spots to animal castration methods.  Very educational.

I am spending these two days at our research center partner's offices - they research livestock but the campus houses numerous research centers.  It is located on a hill to the west of Nairobi and is rather picturesque containing manicured lawns, pastures, cow barns, greenhouses, bar, restaurant, cafe, swimming pool, store, travel agency, bank, hostel for visitors and staff housing.  I am staying in a local guesthouse located behind four gates.

Into Africa

Now, now I can say I have been to Africa.  No more of this: well, I've sort of been to Africa because I was in JoBurg and I mean I went to townships and...greeted with the nods and ah yeses that follow as true Africa veterans acknowledge that I don't have travel cred.  Visa stamp in my passport and I am legit.

My first day in Nairobi I had to remember to expect that most things won't work quite right and require work arounds.  So far, my alarm didn't go off or gave up (hustle to get ready), only to find that I couldn't figure out the hot water (cold hair wash), and my computer battery was drained because the cord won't stay in the adapter (jam a chair up against it) and the dry air led to a rare nose bleed which saw me running around the research center corridors to locate tissues while avoiding anyone seeing this bloodied stranger and reassure the alarmed washroom cleaning lady that all was well (calmly wash up and carry on).  All before 10am.  Just another day of international travel.

View from the ILRI campus, Nairobi