A Fine Romance

Last night's outing to the romantic Ali Barbour's Cave restaurant did not turn out the way we had envisioned but it sure made a great case study for the next day's lesson on conflict resolution.  But first - a picture:

Courtesy of the internet - my camera couldn't handle the lighting

Indeed the restaurant is in a cave with a roof open to the sky.  We asked what happens when it rains.  The response "The Masai cover the roof with a canopy".  They weren't kidding - a Masai in traditional garb was standing by the front door.  Anyway - At our resort several trainees and trainers had been approached by an older white South African man who wondered what this "women's empowerment course" was all about and did we realize the negative effect this would have on Kenyan women etc.  He himself had a young female Kenyan companion. As luck would have it - he and she were dining at Ali's at the next table.  We were fourteen and were perhaps a bit louder than the diner hoping for a quiet experience would like.  All of sudden he towered over our table shouting that we should be ashamed of ourselves and that we were "disgusting" and who did we think we were with our Bill Gates funding etc, etc, etc.  It was alarming and disturbing.  Long story short, the spit-fire members of our group backed down, and the hostess quietly got him back to his table.  He told her we were ruining the resort and were ruining the restaurant.  Hmm.  To think that this sort of mentality is probably not as rare as it should be was a bitter reminder.  

Team Day

I survived both team day and the feedback it was geared to produce.  While it was the learning experienced it was proclaimed to be, I will not be looking to repeat the activity.  On our forth day, after being Myer-Briggs typed we were divided into teams.  Let the games begin.  We participated in four activities each designed to demonstrate how we lead or function in a group setting.  The deck was stacked so there would be challenges.  Introverted leaders would be hijacked by extroverts, structured people wouldn't give space to roundabout thinkers, observing types would withdraw when they felt not listened to, etc. etc.  After each round our facilitator "helped" us uncover the strengths and weaknesses we bring to leader or team member roles.  Considering what this could have been like, I lucked out with a really great team.  Even as we went through our positive and "constructive" feedback this morning, there was still a sense of camaraderie and that we were, in fact, the best team.  Most of us also felt that the constructive feedback were things we already knew we needed to work on - no surprises.  

Tonight we are heading out to what one of my well-traveled Rotary friends calls "the most romantic restaurant ever".  Who better to experience illuminated cave dining on the coast of Kenya with than a group of ladies.  Reviews tomorrow!  

Team Baobab (black&white attire coincidental)

Leaders in-Training

The women's leadership training is three days in and going rather well.  Having never attended such a training but having had questionable group learning experiences in the past, I've been trying to keep an open mind.  The trainers are both American and African and the group of 30 ladies, as mentioned, come from most parts of the world - either native or ex-pat.  Course work includes doing a 360 leadership/management assessment from your colleagues (done pre-training), a Myers-Briggs test, learning about emotional intelligence and tomorrow will be team day.  We've been told to wear comfortable clothes...open mind, open mind. 

Like most things, it's the people that count and they have been very interesting and friendly.  Being here, reminds me that I've been extremely lucky to have never experienced gender-bias, partly from having worked and studied in female dominated fields and having had supportive male supervisors.  Among this group, that is not the norm. Most of them come from patriarchal societies where getting a passport, bank loan or other significant action requires a husband's, father's or brother's approval.  And they are often the only senior woman in their work where they frequently face defiance from male colleagues.   They handle all this plus manage a family (with domestic help) which makes them admirable and successful now matter how you look at it.  

Our group photo under the baobab tree.

At the Equator

It was a bit of a clunky trip from Nairobi to Mombasa.  My back-up alarm, the landlady knocking on my door, woke me at 6am for my morning flight.  Turns out I was to pay USD cash for my stay.  Hmm, I was able to pay half with a promise to somehow get the balance to her by other means.  Flight to Mombasa went well however the drive to Diani beach should have been easy but due to it being the 50^th anniversary of Kenyan independence (Happy Madaraka!), there was a traffic jam to get to the ferry.  It was a long, hot three hour journey. 

Foot traffic onto ferry

Am getting used to being in an equatorial climate again plus not being surprised to see the other inhabitants: giant millipedes, monkeys, colorful lizards and crabs. For the geographically minded this is where I am: http://goo.gl/maps/rFMbG. It’s a nice resort and getting to know the other training attendees over meals has been good. Women from Nepal, Rome, Cairo, US, Africa all working for various research or intergovernmental organizations.  The first session starts this afternoon.  This morning I managed a sweaty run on the beach though due to security that means running back and forth between the two guards like some sort of tropical pong game. 

  

 

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