The Ridiculocity of Tourists!

After church leo (today) it was off to buy school uniforms. School starts Tuesday. At church, I recorded some of the service so you can listen if you want. Some of the songs in the beginning are Kiswahili. I thought the sermon was good. We had a guest speaker from Toronto. Apparently he used to be the Senior Pastor of Nairobi Pentecostal, Valley Road.

My goodness, there have been so many improvements to Kenya since last I visited: the roads are smoother, there is less litter one the streets and along the roads, there have been many buildings built or remodeled. New shopping malls, initiatives to make a cleaner, greener city, etc. And Java House. I love Java House! It’s Starbucks + a restaurant…and they have non-Kenyan food too. So when you don’t think you can eat Sukuma and Ugali one more day, you can at least have a cheeseburger or a burrito con carne at Java House. And…the best part: they have Heinz Ketchup! Yup. in the bottle…al natural (as much as a artificially processed tomato can be). I had an iced Malindi macchiato and a quesadilla con carne today. With guacamole. I’m now recharged for the coming week. I think they have wireless there too. http://nairobijavahouse.com/html/home.htm. Nairobi is really becoming a modern city! Stanley, who goes to Univ. of Nairobi, says that most students event take notes in class on laptops. Though the Matatus and trucks (lorries) still cough out black, suffocating smoke. I could see myself living here for a while. I like the portion of Nairobi near University of Nairobi, Main Campus. I guess maybe kwani (because) it’s more like Seattle. It has hills and lots of trees. (we Seattleites tend to think we might fall off the earth without the comfort of mountains and trees to hold us in. just kidding.)

One other thing I have confirmed is that I do NOT like being a tourist!!! I’m always embarrassed to be taking pix all over the place…although I do want the snaps. However, it is especially hard to disguise your foreigner image when you look so clearly different from the native citizens and match so similarly in skin tone to all the sun-burned, map-carrying, camera-obsessed, safari-going, ridiculous-looking wazungu (techinically “Europeans” but used to refer to all white people)! Ay caramba, if you’re going to try to speak Kiswahili please don’t say ‘Jambo!’ (everyone will know you can’t actually speak it). Try Habari asubuhi? or Habari yako? at least…or you could try to say it with a proper accent rather than ‘JAAAM-BO!’, and ‘hapana’ (‘no’) is NOT pronounced ‘HAAAPAAANAAAA’, as I heard spew from a mzungu mouth today at the Yaya Centre Maasai Market. I get so embarrassed when all these wazungu march into some store in a huge group of khaki safari gear (or short shorts & tube tops). Then I have Kenyans asking me if I know them. NO! I do not! Just because we’re the same color does not mean we come from the same block! Not that I’m saying I am above and beyond or separate from being a tourist. I hate that my Kiswahili is limited to ‘tourist talk’, and wish that I could just know it. When I’m charged triple on the matatu kwani am mzungu, I want to be able to argue back in Kiswahili…then they will see that I’m a bit more seasoned and charged me the appropriate fare. I think my Kiswahili should be at least as good as my Spanish by the next time I come here. Humph. Now I’m all hot and bothered. Innit maber (‘Goodnight” in Luo).