...these are a few of my favourite things...

I'm back! I totally forgot I promised you an entry dedicated to road side sellers. They amused me with their determination and baffled me with their unending source of products. 

So, along the streets of Nairobi, and along the main highways out of the city you find people just walking down the middle of the road, or alongside the left hand side carrying all sorts of items that they are trying to sell to you, while you are stuck in traffic basically. It's amazing what you can buy from the comfort of your car seat.

I kept a list on my phone everytime I saw new things. I'm sure there were more, but in the week leading up to Christmas there was seasonal choice too, so not a totally accurate picture of year round wares.

So, from 30000ft as we fly across Asia to our Hong Kong stopover, I bring you: 

Taija's List of Roadside Shopping (who needs online!?)

In no particular order...I could have bought:

Sugar cane (which we did! I had to try it once)

Newspapers

Phone chargers for the car

Puppies (yes, real ones...so cute!)

Slices of watermelon (I'm taking slices of a whole...HUGE!)

Oranges

Cold water

Biscuits

Fire extinguishers

Mobile credit (known as airtime scratch cards)

Car floor mats

Car steering wheel covers

Sunglasses

World/Africa maps

Bras

Cookbooks (they tried to sell me a low-fat cookbook, rude!)

Bags of onions

Christmas decorations

Christmas trees (fake)

Lego houses (pre-built to save you time!)

Phew! What a choice! I learned quickly that when you see these guys it's best to wind up the window and don't make eye contact, especially if they see a white person! 

I'll admit, the puppies were tempting, but wouldn't have fit in my suitcase ;)

There you go. Roadside shopping. Not sure the idea will catch on in Oz?

What I've learned...

No song title for this post. I've had a shocking migraine all day so my brain can't think in lyrics!

We have come to the end of our time in Kenya, I am very ready to fly home tomorrow, though my hubby is a bit sad to be leaving his hometown. I'm trying to keep his spirits up with my wit, charm and my tea making skills...poor love.

I've really had a good month, and just as things are starting to feel like the 'norm' and less of a culture shock, it's time to pack up and go back to Aussie life. We have wedding gifts waiting to be opened at home, and I've got to make room in my wardrobe for all his clothes! The real test of married life is about to begin!

Anyway, as a bit of a tribute to my time here, I came up with 10 things I've learned this month. I'm sure I'd be able to come up with more if I had taken notes or didn't feel so sick today, but here they are!

1. Kenyans love news. They literally stop conversations to watch the 7pm Swahili news and then again at 9pm for the English news. 

2. A woman/wife/missus is often referred to as 'mama'. The gate guards for our residential area often say 'hello mama' to me when we come and go from the apartment. My husband refers to me as 'mama' when talking about me in Kiswahili. It doesn't mean I'm a mother.

3. I still get a little frustrated when we run late for others, or other run late for us..but it doesn't seem to bother Kenyans, as long as they know you're still coming. 1/2 hour late is on time.

4. Everyone has PAYG electricity, you buy tokens to top up your supply and a display keeps track of usage. (I know this has been circulated in Oz, but has never quite caught on with the masses)

5. Kenyan prayers are long. Like "i should have gone to the loo before we started" long. Even longer when you don't understand the language. Still, it has been lovely having friends and relatives wanting to pray with us before we leave their house etc.

6. Shopping centres have security gates like at the airport that you have to walk through. The irony is, they collect your bag in a basket, but there is no scanner to make sure your not carrying a weapon in your bag..they often just asked you to open it. Sometimes instead of gates they have those scanning wands.

7. Sprite isn't the same as lemonade, and Coke is incredibly popular.

8. Some shopping centre toilets have a toilet paper dispenser by the sinks, not in each cubicle. I got caught out once (thankfully I had tissues!) but learned to grab the paper first on subsequent visits haha.

9. Speed bumps are rarely sign posted and rarely have any sort of markings on them (occasionally white lines that have faded). Going at 60kph in the dark, then spotting a bump just before you reach it, is a good way to test seatbelts!

10. The CBD has traffic lights, but if there is no police officer around to watch traffic, most people just ignore the red lights... And the roundabouts in the city have traffic lights that stop you half way around the roundabout. So confusing.

It's coming to bedtime, most of the packing is done but we have a few items drying on the line outside to remember in the morning. Also, I realised how much I had bought as souvenirs and gifts today because they pretty much filled my entire suitcase! Luckily hubbys is roomy and can fit some of my leftover clothes in. We get 30kg each and on the way here we only had around 15-17kg each so even though the bags look full, I'm pretty confident we haven't added an extra 15 kg each even with buying 5kg of maize meal and sour porridge flour!

If I don't get time for a final post tomorrow or during stopovers, consider this my farewell from Kenya. I've loved the people I've met, I hope to develop really good friendships with them. I've grown really fond of my inlaws and will miss some of the quirks of this place. 

I love my husband more now that I've seen where he's come from, and why he has the plans and ideas that he has. I love his family loyalty and his giving nature. I like Kenya. I will definitely return. I'm not in love with Kenya yet, but I think our relationship can only grow stronger from here onwards.

I can't wait to sleep in my own bed again :) 

Asante sana for following my adventures!

Good tidings we bring, to you and your kin...

Happy New Year! Officially the start of 2016 today, so what better way to spend it than updating this blog haha! I wanted to cover how we spent Christmas and the final week of 2015.

First off, Christmas. Christmas Eve was spent visiting one of E's cousins and his wife, they made us a nice rice dish lunch- it was tasty, but I couldn't finish it. I struggle to stomach that much rice as I've mentioned before but it always makes me feel bad that I can never finish the food they give me, especially when I know they can't afford much more. Still, it was a nice visit and I can tick two more rellies off the list.

In the evening we visited E's oldest nephew, his partner and their new 3-week baby. This nephew is quite close in age to his uncle because of the age gap between my inlaws children is 15 years between first and last born. On the same property, lives this nephews brother, paternal grandparents and aunt/uncles and cousins. Confusing as it is, E refers to this side of the family as his in-laws even though that's a broad connection through his sister (deceased). 

We had chai and biscuits with them and said hello to all that side of the family and then went home.

Christmas Day we slept in! Nice! I made pancakes and eventually we picked up mum, dad and little nephew to take them out for lunch, our treat. It was interesting to see my inlaws at a more westernised cafe- they weren't sure what to eat or how to choose but it went down well and everyone enjoyed it. We got a puncture on the way back to their place, so that delayed our return as we were looking for a place to get a new tyre. We stayed at their house until evening, handed out the presents we bought for them, and then mum sent us home with a stack of chapatis and some arrowroot for later. Overall a pleasant day with family, quiet and chilled and it didn't rain at all like predicted! 

Boxing Day, we made a trip over to another aunties house, Aunty Mary. She made the most delicious pancakes. I don't know the secret but they were thin, yet not too thin; crispy on the edges but soft in the middle; sweet enough not to need toppings and oh so moreish. I had three, but I could easily have eaten the whole plate. Ok maybe not the whole plate, but you get the idea. I tried recreating them on Monday but still didn't quite get it right.

The next few days we had mostly to ourselves, visited the elephant orphanage near the city and babysat little nephew. We caught up with a couple more friends for a drink and had some time to relax and watch some tv. The weather has been amazing this past week or so, minimal rain and not as humid as when I first arrived so that's been really nice.

That brings us to NYE, which was quite relaxed, drinks with friends and then watching the concerts broadcasted on tv until midnight. We ate pizza and chocolate and went to bed around 1am (well I did anyway!) today, January 1, we've spent the afternoon with mum and dad, eating nyama choma and drinking chai. My father in law told me I'm on my way to being Kenyan, and that I'll know I've truly transitioned when the bones on my plate are completely clean. 

I'm not sure my teeth are quite ready for that challenge, but who knows!

Money money money, must be funny, in a rich (white) mans world.

The Maasai markets.

Nairobi's version of Portobello Road in Notting Hill, or the Queen Vic markets in Melbourne (on a smaller scale)... It's the place to buy your trinkets and souvenirs and they can spot a mzungu a mile away (obviously!)

It goes without saying that I wanted to do some shopping. There's something about curios and trinkets to remember a trip or experience and just seeing some of the lovely arts and crafts is always exciting. I made a list of the types of items I wanted to get for myself and my family back home for Christmas and with my very own Kenyan in tow, we went to browse the goods.

I had read blog entries and articles about markets in Kenya, it's all about the bargaining. I'm not used to doing that back home, haggling can be considered rude if done in the wrong place so I wanted to find out what the norm is here. 

As soon as they saw me, it was "hello sister! Come see my shop" or "jambo, just a few minutes of your time please madam..." I politely told them all that I was just looking first, to see the whole market and if I came back around I might visit them. It's so pushy and you're constantly declining invitations to buy, even saying "I'm not looking for those today thank you" usually falls on deaf ears.

As soon as we had done a loop around, E asked me if I had spotted what I wanted to buy, when I said yes I saw a least three things..he said, "right now we go get the best price".

The initial price they ask for is ridiculous. For example, I really wanted some little kiisi stone animals, which you can buy everywhere. In the shops they range from about $2-4 each depending where and how big they are. One seller got me to select which ones I liked and he would "give me a good deal, cheapest at markets". Yeah right, 5 little characters no larger than eggs, he wrote down his price on some paper and told me he would name is price, then I would name mine. No mor bargaining- mine would win. I had read up on this paper and pen technique so I was ready for it and knew what was expected.

His price? 4500ksh ($50+ Aussie dollars) 

I laughed. I actually looked at him as said, 'that's ridiculous. I've seen them for 200ksh each in my local mall!'

So the conversation goes, I name my price. I decided on 500ksh (100 each). He said that one of the statues was bigger and he couldn't agree, but he would let me have the other 4 for that price. I told him that was fine, I'll take the four. Then he decided to tempt me with the 5th one for another 300ksh. I declined and told him I only have 500ksh to spend on them. My hubby jumps in and says loudly 'we can get them cheaper elsewhere, let's go' and that sold the deal. The seller wrapped them up and I handed over 500ksh (about $7). Apparently I could have bargained even lower, but I was happy to pay that, these guys have to make a living too and compared to the price I can get them in Australia, it was a good deal.

I managed to get a good deal on some Maasai blankets at 670ksh each, most shops sell them around 1200-2000ksh each. 

What I really really wanted was a wooden bowl with the big 5 on it. I saw one in a shop in Australia for $60 and I knew I could get it cheaper. The shop at Amboseli was selling them for about 2500ksh, but I hesitated. 

Anyway, I found what I wanted. The lady asked for 4500ksh. I told her that was the price I would pay back in Australia, so that wasn't a good bargain. She asked me what I wanted to pay. I told her 1800ksh, she negotiated to 2000 (about $30). I should have started lower, but my inexperience made me nervous and E wasn't too sure what they were worth. I wasn't leaving without it though so I parted with 2000ksh and I'm happy. It's exactly what I wanted. It's an oval bowl and has carvings of animals around the rim. I hope it fits in my luggage! I wish I had more money to get another one as a gift, but it wasn't cheap compared to other souvenirs. 

Still, I love it. LOVE IT.

I spent probably more than I would have if I had better negotiating skills, E isn't a shopper so he helped where he could and got the price firm from sellers for me instead of them changing their price half way through negotiations. He thinks I paid too much still. 

Oh well, my first time haggling. Next time I'll be more ruthless! It's hard when you know some items are mass produced and cost next to nothing, but then there are local artisans who have made items themselves and you want to give them an income. I still have some items to buy, but I might just try the mall instead.

We are family... (I got all my aunties/uncles/cousins with me)

It's been said that when you marry someone, you marry their family. A truly profound statement. I saw a book in a store the other day which was titled: '"I married you, not your family"- and nine other relationship myths that will ruin your marriage'

I jokingly pointed it out to my new husband and he smiled in agreement that it was fitting to see that book in the midst of us buying Christmas gifts for his side of the family. But it stuck in my mind as a reminder of what we both committed to 3 weeks ago.

Family here in Kenya is a big deal, but not without its similarities to families back home. I wanted to share some of the cultural observations that I've noticed in the past week or so which has been very mentally exhausting for me at times as I've met more and more new Kenyan relatives.

Once one Aunty or uncle knows you're in town (especially if you have been living overseas and now bringing a foreign wife back with you), it soon follows that everyone will know. And everyone will want to see you both. We have spent all this past week going from home to home, me being introduced to aunties, uncles and cousins, nephews, grand-nephews, friends, friends of friends.... Etc. Drinking copious amounts of chai, eating anything from rice dishes, to meat dishes, chapatis, pancakes, fruit, salads, ugali... and whatever else they have rustled up to serve. Even when you're just popping in for a cuppa, there's usually food first. Even if you've just had a meal at one place, there will be more food to eat at the next and because it is rude not to accept it, you eat some more...until you think your tummy will burst. 

Funnily enough, because most of the food is carb-based, you fill up so fast, but then you're starving again by the time you get home late at night...so you eat more bread because it's cheap and filling and doesn't require cooking. For a person that has spent almost two years changing my diet to low carb, high protein/fat, going back to a very high carb/ low fat way of eating has messed my insides up. Without going into too much detail, I'm sure you can imagine the sounds and smells that are plaguing me presently. Haha, moving on!!

Anyway, let me go back to the beginning- when you arrive at your hosts place, there's a lot of "Karibu, karibu" which means 'welcome' in Kiswahili, usually that's followed by 'asante sana' (thank you very much) and you're told to 'sit anywhere!'

When greeting a Kenyan, depending on how comfortable they are with you (and especially for me being the newcomer and foreigner), they will extend a hand to shake (except it's more of just a gentle grasp) or embrace you with a 'one cheek, other cheek, first cheek again' touch while holding your hand or hugging. I've had all variations, so I'm assuming that's either a sign of how comfortable they are with me, or just how they do it as individuals. It's very genuine and very welcoming either way. Whenever someone else arrives, they make their way around the room shaking hands even to their parents. There's such a sense of good manners and acknowledging each person, it's really lovely to observe.

I've been told at every home that I am most welcome and I am now family and Kenya is my home so I am very welcomed. It's an answer to prayer really, I left Australia thinking it could go either way, and all I desired was just to be accepted. It's heartwarming.

After introductions and hellos, it's time to eat! 

Food can be eaten with your fingers, it's quite acceptable and even encouraged at times. Usually someone (either the aunt or a cousin) will bring a bowl and jug around to each person so that they can wash their hands before eating. One thing I've noticed about Kenyans is that they have such servant hearts. The younger generation never complain when told they are to serve the tea, or take the wash bowl around to the guests, and the older generations encourage you to keep eating until all the food has gone (which has been one of my struggles as I just can't eat big serves). They have given us their best from what they have, gone to lengths to make certain dishes for us and it's really humbling when you know the place you're visiting is not as "well off" as the last, yet they want to share what they have with you, even if it's just a simple rice dish.

Once the meal is finished, then tea is served (chai). Kenyans love their chai. It's made in large quantities on the stove and then stored in a big vacuum flask to keep hot for the rest of the day. They enjoy it very hot and very sweet. E and I don't take sugar in our tea, and I have found a few relatives look a little surprised when we decline the sugar bowl. I've seen three to five spoonfuls of sugar go into some tea cups! The tea usually has a bit of tea masala spice in it and it's very milky. I quite like it actually, but I'll be happy to go home and have a cup of plain old English Breakfast with a dash of milk in just over a weeks time. I've drunk so much tea in the past week... So so much. :)

I think I've tried every traditional Kenyan dish now. Some I love, some I could leave haha.

Chapatis- a flatbread made of flour and water, there's a process to make them soft and flaky and they are so simple, yet so moreish!

Ugali- a starchy maize meal cake. It's cooked in a big pot and turned out onto a plate, then eaten with your hands. We were very lucky to have our ugali made by a Luhya woman (the tribe most famous for perfecting the art of ugali) and it was soft, and had a delicious smoky flavour from being cooked over an open fire. The Kenyans ate so much of it, but I just couldn't fit more than a few slices in!

Pilau- spiced rice. Nothing unusual. Spices include cumin, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves.

Sukumawiki-  braised kale with tomatoes and onion and seasonings. It also often has coriander in it, but I can't eat that so it's been left out. It's really tasty and quite salty and goes perfectly with ugali.

Githeri- a bean and potato stew, sometimes with maize (corn) kernels in it too.

Mukimo/mokimo (also called Irio?)- mashed githeri (or mashed potato and peas), sometimes with dried kale power to give it a green colour. I could only manage a few mouthfuls, it was so sticky and so starchy I found it hard to swallow (literally!)

Matoke- potato and banana stew. The banana is not sweet, it's a green savoury banana (we call them plantains). My mother-in-law added a bit of chilli to hers. I didn't mind it, but couldn't eat it everyday.

Nyama choma- roasted meat. Usually beef (cheap but tough) or goat (expensive but softer). It's cooked over charcoal and rivals any of our Weber roasts for flavour, but not texture. It's very chewy and your teeth get a workout. Still, very very tasty if you're a meat eater! I saw a few stalls cooking 'kuku choma' which is roast chicken.

Kachumbari- a side salad of tomatoes and onions, sometimes chilli and sometimes coriander.

Mandazi- deliciously light triangle doughnuts. They have a hint of cardamom or something in them, we had them for breakfast down at Amboseli. Yum! 

Mutura- I didn't eat this one, it's a traditional Kenyan sausage made from ground meat and goats blood, encased in intestines. I'll pass thanks. (I refused to try black pudding in the UK too!)

So that's a but about family and food. It's hard to put down in words all the experiences and thoughts that go through my mind everyday here, it's so much to absorb and I've found it hard to focus at times especially when the aunts and uncles return to speaking Kikuyu or Kiswahili because it's easier for them to maintain a conversation (but they go back to English if speaking directly to me or a topic that I might be interested in). Usually I just smile and sit quietly enjoying my chai while they all catch up in their mother-tongue.

Apparently I'm on my way to being Kenyan. I'm not so sure I'm ready to live up to that expectation, but it's really nice to be accepted and welcomed into the family I've married.

I come from a land down under....

Merry Christmas! This isn't a festive post by any means, but I've not had chance to catch up on my blog all week and suddenly the 25th is upon us. I'll do my best to fill you all in with the family/Christmas happenings before the end of the weekend!

What a super busy week I've had.

I realised that we have less than 10 days before we jet home to Australia, this month has really flown (pun intended!).

This post is going to be very honest, and it's not my intention to be negative or bring down the country and peoples that have entertained and astonished me over the past three weeks, but I feel it is important to have that one post which highlights the difference between where I am right now and where I have come from. Bear with me, please read this with objective eyes and an open mind.

I'm first to admit that I have had a pretty good life. We didn't grow up with lots of money and fancy cars, houses and lots of treats but we had a great childhood and I've always had a roof over my head and food on the table. I have never gone without, and never felt like I was missing out on the everyday essentials to make life comfortable. I've also never really experienced poverty, even from a bystanders viewpoint. I've never known what it is like to walk down a road that's so unstable and damaged that ankle injuries are almost a given and I've never had neighbours whose houses have been made of scrap materials and makeshift fences to keep the criminals out. In fact, I've never lived in a house that was surrounded by a fence or a wall.

I remember one of the thoughts that went through my head when I first saw the streets of suburban Nairobi as we headed to my inlaws house. "Wow, this place is a lot poorer than I thought."

I was under the impression that the 'burbs were somewhat like ours back home, with bituminised roads, street signs and shops and services within 5 minutes of home...after all, Nairobi is a developing city!

In actuality, the suburbs of Nairobi are mostly like this, but also not.

There are bituminised roads, some are beautifully smooth and well maintained- especially where government buildings are. But there's a lot of areas where the bitumen has been poured and flattened once...with unfinished rough edges, then left to diminish into a combination of giant potholes and loose rubble. One minute you're driving on a smooth surface at 60kph, and the next left or right turn sees the speed reduce to about 10kph as you navigate your way over very uneven roads.

Most suburban streets have no signage. There are a few places in Nairobi that we drove past where houses were actually given a number and a designated address, but most places don't. It makes it hard using a GPS when there isn't actually a street name, or a house number. People rely on memory, routine and landmarks to get them to their destination. Majority of homes are part of apartment blocks, where space is maximised to host the most amount of housing in the smallest of spaces. More on that later...

The shops and services are there, heaps of them. Butchers, salons, groceries, milk bars, hotels, hot food, cold food, car washes, repair shops, technology shops...you name it. They just don't look anything like ours back home. Anything. 

I'm not talking about the big indoor shopping malls, they are pretty standard across both countries, I'm focusing on those little sets of shops that you pop into on your way home, the local deli, pizza bar and chemist type shops.

In the suburbs of Nairobi, and further out into the rural areas, these shops are made from wood and tin, they look like homemade garden sheds and line the roads along with open air fruit/veg stalls. The butcheries have giant carcasses hanging in the front window where patrons can select their chunk of meat to roast later - nyama choma. The salons have poor lighting and plastic chairs where people come to get their hair done, or a manicure/pedicure treatment. The "everything" shops: the ones where you can buy soft drinks and lollies, bread, milk, Internet data and phone credit (airtime) etc, keep their shopkeepers safe by way of metal bars to form a barrier/cage so that you can only ask for what you want and the shopkeeper will pass it to you via a gap in the bars. Very occasionally I saw one where you could go "in" and browse the shelves, but this isn't common.

There are also places along the roads, usually in areas where the matatus stop, where people just set up their own stalls or ground spaces to sell their wares. Be those shoes, clothing, furniture, gas bottles, chapatis, grilled corn, pretty much anything they can tempt the crowds with. It's hectic, messy, fascinating and overwhelming.

Housing is interesting and it's only been today that I finally was able to see past the exterior and first impressions and really understand the issues going on here. People that live in houses/bungalows on their own piece of land vary from basic two-room places with evidence of man-made extensions to fit their growing families, or a central house not unlike our older homes, with one-bedroom "granny-flats"  scattered around the property. Mostly constructed like a garage that's been lined and compartmentalised to include a kitchenette and shower/toilet room. I can't quite find the right word to describe them. They are so small, but practical and functional. They also have huge walls with either barbed wire or broken glass cemented into the top of the wall to deter thieves. They are situated behind giant iron gates so that from "street view" you have no indication of what sort of house lies within those walls. It surprised me a few times when the roads leading to the house we were visiting were so bumpy and neglected, with shanty housing neighbouring either side, only to lead to an oasis of personal space behind those gates.

There are also many many apartment blocks as I mentioned earlier. They can range from 3 storeys high to 7, and usually are one-bedroom or a maximum of two (I've seen "3-bed apartment for rent" signs but haven't met anyone who lives in one). They are solid stone walls that have been rendered and plastered on the inside (and painted), the bathroom usually has an instant hot water shower and toilet in close proximity to each other plus a sink, and then there is a small kitchen and a living room which doubles as a dining space. I've not seen a dining table in any apartment so far, everyone eats on their lap or at a coffee table in the middle of the room. I often wondered if I could ever live in a one-bedroom unit or apartment back home and usually came to the conclusion that my answer is a resounding "no". Too small to really make it into a home. However, I also now can see how I'm so used to having "stuff" and "space" that if I were to strip my belongings back to the bare necessities and get rid of the "stuff", I could actually live minimally. I'm not sure for how long, but seeing how it's done here, where its not about how much you have but how well you make what you have work.

Kenya, in particular Nairobi, is a city of extremes. I've seen mansions, and shanty towns...I've seen well kept streets, and neglected roads, I've seen manicured gardens and rubbish piles on the side of the street. I've seen wealth, and I've seen poverty. All in the space of a 20km radius.

I'm very fortunate, blessed even. Our little 3-bedroom house back in Adelaide is what I would call a small house, bigger than a unit, but suitable for no more than three people...but in reality, I live in a spacious home that is secure and safe without the walls and barbed wire. My street is smooth and wide, the shops are air conditioned in summer and protected from the rain and wind in winter. I can't actually compare. The two places are not comparable. Not dissimilar, but not comparable. Does that even make sense? It really is a different world here. A developing world. 

I'm very aware now of what that means. 

And yet, for some reason...I feel at home. In both cities.

The tide is high and I'm holding on...

I wanted to show you the aftermath of those rains we had on Saturday. Speaking with some of the Maasai that live near the lodge, we found out that the rains were so hard they caused a dam to break and flood the surrounding area. We woke up to see the road out of Serena lodge looking like a rushing river with water flowing rapidly. There were a couple of 4wds that had gotten stuck and were slowly being filled with water and the grounds at the back of the lodge were also completely covered in water, so much so a hippo was spotted climbing out of the rushing water to find safety not 50m from where we had sat the day before! 

We ventured out in our 4wd and it did really well, once out of the Serena area and onto the roads that go around the park, we found it easy and quite suitable for driving on, however those roads leading into the lodge were another story all together! It was quite exciting, E has always wanted to go four-wheel driving so this was his chance to test out those skills!

Thankfully, Monday morning they had pretty much dried up and the water had drained away so we could leave without delay...