The Man Ain't Keeping Whitey Down

September 8, 2006:

After peeling myself off the bed at Miano's House, I realized it had been 3 days since my last shower, and I was still wearing the same clothes I had worn when I left Poland on the sixth. All in all, feeling tip-top.

It was this day that I would hang around Audi. A real cool dude who took me around to get all of the shit I had to throw out before getting on the plane (read: anything with liquid). He took me around downtown Nairobi in hopes of collecting the things I need as well as to instruct me where was safe and where in the city I should avoid and at what times. The best thing I have found in Kenya is their tolerance for me and my Canadian ways. First of all, no one stares when they see me, I am not new news to them. They don't stare me down like they are going to rob me of my possessions and they stop their cars before striking me down in the street. Which brings me to Audi's lesson 1: Walk across the streets at all times. Those of you who read my initial blog about Mexico noted how insane the drivers were in Mexico city... Well take that concept and triple it. People are by far the craziest I have ever seen ever. EVER. The first cab I was in almost killed someone and stop lights don't mean a thing to anyone. Crossing the street? Well I hope you brought a fresh pair of underwear.. Because they don't stop.. hell if you start running the speed the hell up, holding down the horn. So now I only cross the street when someone who knows the area crosses the street. Safety first in Kenya.

As I began collecting my stuff I found that many of the simple products we have in Canada, like soap and shampoo and hair gel are crazy expensive here. Which now makes gel a luxury item (Reminder that Canadian's are lucky).

Here is where stuff just about made me shit myself. As me and Audi were walking we were quickly stopped by 3 armed men in blue sweatshirts who immediately began questioning Audi in Swahili. I understood nothing so began feeling really nervous as I had just taken out cash to purchase a few things. They then asked him for his student card and looked it over carefully. They then turned to me and begun questioning me about my purpose in Kenya. They continually called me a Tourist over and over again and I was getting worried that I didn't have the right visa or that these men were going to rob me. One of the men took me aside and told me that they were Tourist police and they watch out for any foreigners (read: me) who are traveling with someone who looks like they might rob them on their way to the market or home (in the update to come about England this will sound VERY familiar). I was totally relieved to find out that the three men were not only police men... But men who were specifically designated to watch out that white people like me didn't get beat down. So DEFINITELY big props go out to the Police survive and the Kenyan courts who put 3x punishment laws into place for crimes committed against tourists. The Man sure ain't keepin' whitey down.

Who is keeping whitey down you may ask? Other white people. NEVER have I been stared at for such a long time with such enthusiasm then when I passed by two girls standing at the bank. They blatantly gawked at me as a cruised by with Audi and I honestly wondered if they realized that they were staring. While seeing another person of your race may bring a certain sense of awe in some situations, walking down the street is certainly not one of them. I was officially creeped out by two blond-haired blue eyed girls in Kenya.

First tastes of True Kenyan food hit me today. Up until then I had been eating greasy food from deep-friers, but it was time that I was taken for PROPER Kenyan food. That is just what Audi did.

On the menu:

- Green vegetables which looked a bit like seaweed, smelled like marijuana and tasted like good!
- Ground meal of some sort baked (looked a bit like potato pancakes, tasted like oatmeal)
- Fish Head

Yup. Fish head was my first real meal. And it was awesome. Never had I ever thought about munching down on a fish head when I was eating my processed tuna from a can in Canada, but this fish was one that everyone has to try. It was in a great tasting sauce and I was shown how to extract every little piece of meet from the bones. I remember being told that "waste" is the one word that will come to mind when I think of North America during my stay here in Kenya. That is more than the truth and it is day two. So much of what we do is thrown out in our huge garbage wastes which we plow under ground with our huge machines. Already I see that despite their cars which spew out black smog due to lack of regulation, and powerplants spewing out black coal smoke, the people of Kenya do not waste, and do not pollute nearly as much as North Americans do.

The Kenyans tried to haul me out again to ANOTHER night of partying (would have been 21 days straight) but this time I finally whined and put my food down enough that I was driven home to sleep under the safety of my bug net. So after a shave and a freezing cold shower I was out like a light, alone in a bed for the first time in a while.

Thanks,

Devan