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

Homeward

There are no pictures to document final days in Delhi, partly because a storm rolled in and dumped rain on the city, plunging it further into its sepia tones.  Along with my boss' return, my last two days were spent trying to expedite health recovery and attending more meetings.  Both activities seemed pretty successful.  In other news, I missed seeing the Super Bowl since I was not able to find a TV channel which carried the game (just lots of cricket and the "other" football).  

My final night - before departing for my 2:30a flight - the noise from what I had thought was a several night festival reached a crescendo finally making me look out the window.  I was in time to see fireworks, and party goers greeting a brass band and a groom arriving on a white horse to his wedding festivities - being held under a large tent, in the rain, in the garbage park, just to the other side of the metro rail line.  Given license, one could wax poetic about that image - the grime and dirt of Delhi combined with the pageantry and vibrancy that is India.  Go with it.  In my lay over haze in Amsterdam, I certainly will, and I look forward to returning some day soon to experience more.

Into the Fog

I was determined to see the Taj Mahal during this trip.  In hindsight I should have been less attached to that outcome.  I'd arranged to depart at 4a in order to see the Taj at sunrise. Two young colleagues from the Delhi office thought it would be fun to come along.  I'd been battling my head cold this past week and just when I thought it was getting better, I woke up this morning decidedly worse - considered canceling but thought, oh it will be so worth it to see the Taj in its glory.  I chose wrongly.  

Our drive out took nearly twice as along as we'd anticipated due to the most dense fog bank I've every experienced.  For hours we drove with only a few feet of visibility.  We kept hoping that once we'd come to Agra, the fog would have burnt off.  No such luck.  You couldn't see the massive Taj Mahal until you were standing next to it - and even then it was like being in a cloud.  Coupled with this, maybe it was a combination of sinus infection, caffeine withdrawal and dehydration but I was stricken with a vice like, jackhammer, nauseating migraine.  Fortunately my travel companions noticed I was feeling horrible and we decided to head back to Delhi instead of going to Agra Fort.  After all, there's always next time.

Art & Yuppies

Thursday night, I joined a group from the office on a cross-town outing to see one of the research assistant's art on display in a hip new area of the city called Hauz Khas Village.  To get there involved a bus, metro with transfer and an auto (tuk-tuk).  The experience and the destination were worth it.  Gone was the dirt, noise, traffic and crowds of Delhi and in its place an enclave of buildings with narrow winding alleys housing high end boutiques, shops, cafes and restaurants - sort of shabby-chic.  It was fairly empty but apparently on the weekends this is THE place to be and full of "yuppies".  The art was hung in a covered alley wedged between a cafe and a beatnik bookshop.  

We then scaled five skinny stories to a rooftop restaurant terrace with a cold, foggy view of the city.  Fortunately, it was an early night, but getting back proved a challenge, since no auto wanted to drive far and my companions did not trust taxis.  In the end, one member of our group had a car and he nicely drove us the half hour across town where two of us needed to go.

Out and About

The head-cold has worsened, but since staying shut up in the hotel is just not an option, I've been spending the day working from the office, eating amazingly good and cheap lunches (a highlight of my day can you tell?) and having the occasional adventure.  The office is located in an amazing setting - a campus, housing a large number of agriculture related research centers.  

Tuesday evening I took the metro to meet a friend from DC whose partner is from Delhi and wanted to return home to do his dissertation research.  His area is geography and he is studying the role of the Delhi garbage pickers - how the amount of recyclables are declining causing worse sanitation and decreased livelihoods...I think.  My friend continues to work for the same organization he worked for in DC, but as a local hire.  In response to this pic, he wrote "Ah snow, falling in central Delhi".  Yeah that would be the particulates in the air.

Running the gauntlet from hotel to metro and from metro to our meeting place was not a pleasant experience but at least short-lived.  On the bright-side, I discovered the metro Ladies Car which was far more enjoyable and getting around on one's own is a satisfying accomplishment.