Fear Factor and the Meal Ticket Outta Africa
September 10, 2006
Hey everyone,
Well last lights party was Qwhite the experience. Let me tell you a little bit about what stood out (apart from me, absolutely everywhere I went).
After leaving you last night it was decided that Shivo and I would be going alone together. He is a pretty big dude, so I wasn't THAT worried about the situation. Unfortunately, we didn't make out of the office until the reasonable hour of 630PM and made the trek down to the first Matatu station to take the first bus down to downtown. Now let me tell you, I have always thought of downtown as being a reasonable area to head to for a night of leisure, and it is! If your definition of night of leisure is lying in a corner in the fetal position sobbing to yourself.
So needless to say the prospect of heading down there towards the end of the night was not really a reassuring one. But we were heading for the safest bus station place first. No luck.
We then proceeded past the rest of the options (as they were also non-existent) straight to the shit-shadiest bus station in all of Nairobi. Mmm Hmm... So as I was getting hassled by about 40 people to buy their shit, and having people try to convince me and Shivo to take their bus I was already getting really nervous. We purchased our tickets for the 2.5 hour bus ride: 200 shillings = 3 dollars, then got on the bus. It was here that the shit really started to freak me out. Some dude followed us on and demanded that he be paid for his "service of taking us to the bus" of which he did not. The dude smelled like North Battleford's liquor store on cheap Big Bear night. So I was pretty nervous. Shivo decided to go out and talk it over with the bus owner and try to get this other dude off our backs. Of course at this time I realized that I was the only white person in the whole of downtown and that everyone was doing their part to stare at me and add to my overloaded sense of fear.
Shivo came back and we were back in business. But he was getting restless after about an hour of waiting for the remaining 3 people it would take to fill the bus to capacity (they wait over an hour for just 3 people.. love it to DEATH) and went out to talk to the conductor. The fear rushed over me like no other, and I was getting really jumpy with the 30 people coming on and off the bus trying to sell me random shit. It was about that time that a preacher came on and started screaming at everyone when I was absolutely the most afraid I have ever been in my life. I was literally thinking that Shivo wouldn't be coming back and that I was going to have to navigate my own way around Nakuru myself.
Shivo came back on the bus and finally about 20 minutes later we left. Stopped promptly at the police station to shove off the bus and get patted down and searched.
Over all the frightened meter was WAY up until about half way through the trip.. when I realized that I had survived, and it was just another learning experience. The more I think about each of my travel experiences the more fear has played a serious role in helping me see what I am capable of. Not putting myself in the Fear Factor of jumping off buildings and alll the rest of that fake shit, this is like.. I could die here Fear. So that really hit me that I had just pushed my comfort level beyond just a few steps from the norm. I had literally jumped into something absolutely crazy with both feet. That is huge for growth and already I doubt I could return home to be the same person. Nothing expands boarders like overcoming a huge fear.
Ohh and Shivo told me that the first bus station is the station that nearly every white person stops and turns back at. So thanks to my buddy for not dropping that one until I was far out of the middle of downtown. Safe and sound overall.
The party was something absolutely insane. A bit of a eye-opener, so I am sure you see that I am charting into territory that I would classify as "not recommended for Professors, Parents or young people". That's right.. It's time for an update to Devan's FUN/PARTY Blog. Seriously.. a huge eye-opener for dudes, but a tad bit unsettling, especially given my task here in Kenya. Read on in the party blog and you will see why.
I will catch you up on today's news tomorrow.. I am off to take my first matatu by myself! No worries, safety first everyone!
Devan
Hey everyone,
Well last lights party was Qwhite the experience. Let me tell you a little bit about what stood out (apart from me, absolutely everywhere I went).
After leaving you last night it was decided that Shivo and I would be going alone together. He is a pretty big dude, so I wasn't THAT worried about the situation. Unfortunately, we didn't make out of the office until the reasonable hour of 630PM and made the trek down to the first Matatu station to take the first bus down to downtown. Now let me tell you, I have always thought of downtown as being a reasonable area to head to for a night of leisure, and it is! If your definition of night of leisure is lying in a corner in the fetal position sobbing to yourself.
So needless to say the prospect of heading down there towards the end of the night was not really a reassuring one. But we were heading for the safest bus station place first. No luck.
We then proceeded past the rest of the options (as they were also non-existent) straight to the shit-shadiest bus station in all of Nairobi. Mmm Hmm... So as I was getting hassled by about 40 people to buy their shit, and having people try to convince me and Shivo to take their bus I was already getting really nervous. We purchased our tickets for the 2.5 hour bus ride: 200 shillings = 3 dollars, then got on the bus. It was here that the shit really started to freak me out. Some dude followed us on and demanded that he be paid for his "service of taking us to the bus" of which he did not. The dude smelled like North Battleford's liquor store on cheap Big Bear night. So I was pretty nervous. Shivo decided to go out and talk it over with the bus owner and try to get this other dude off our backs. Of course at this time I realized that I was the only white person in the whole of downtown and that everyone was doing their part to stare at me and add to my overloaded sense of fear.
Shivo came back and we were back in business. But he was getting restless after about an hour of waiting for the remaining 3 people it would take to fill the bus to capacity (they wait over an hour for just 3 people.. love it to DEATH) and went out to talk to the conductor. The fear rushed over me like no other, and I was getting really jumpy with the 30 people coming on and off the bus trying to sell me random shit. It was about that time that a preacher came on and started screaming at everyone when I was absolutely the most afraid I have ever been in my life. I was literally thinking that Shivo wouldn't be coming back and that I was going to have to navigate my own way around Nakuru myself.
Shivo came back on the bus and finally about 20 minutes later we left. Stopped promptly at the police station to shove off the bus and get patted down and searched.
Over all the frightened meter was WAY up until about half way through the trip.. when I realized that I had survived, and it was just another learning experience. The more I think about each of my travel experiences the more fear has played a serious role in helping me see what I am capable of. Not putting myself in the Fear Factor of jumping off buildings and alll the rest of that fake shit, this is like.. I could die here Fear. So that really hit me that I had just pushed my comfort level beyond just a few steps from the norm. I had literally jumped into something absolutely crazy with both feet. That is huge for growth and already I doubt I could return home to be the same person. Nothing expands boarders like overcoming a huge fear.
Ohh and Shivo told me that the first bus station is the station that nearly every white person stops and turns back at. So thanks to my buddy for not dropping that one until I was far out of the middle of downtown. Safe and sound overall.
The party was something absolutely insane. A bit of a eye-opener, so I am sure you see that I am charting into territory that I would classify as "not recommended for Professors, Parents or young people". That's right.. It's time for an update to Devan's FUN/PARTY Blog. Seriously.. a huge eye-opener for dudes, but a tad bit unsettling, especially given my task here in Kenya. Read on in the party blog and you will see why.
I will catch you up on today's news tomorrow.. I am off to take my first matatu by myself! No worries, safety first everyone!
Devan
1 Comments:
At 8:30 AM, Layial said…
love the updates Dev...I am really glad that you are doing them...p.s. looked at the party blog nothing up yet???? dont keep me waiting devan!!!!
Take care
hmmm also one owrd for you Bona....
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