Most Kenyans don’t seem to value efficiency at all. Someone claimed they don’t have a word for it. And despite all the admiring talk about African ability to enjoy life and take it easy, the truth is that the unpractical way of doing things drives me nuts. Especially the local supermarket. Once I observed four employees cleaning the same spot on the floor: one was using the mop and the others stood around him, cheering ”that’s good work, man!” Queuing takes forever and the cashiers are amazingly slow and slack, while fifteen people work full time just to pack the purchased goods to tens of thin plastic bags. If I pay with a card, it takes several minutes before the staff gets the receipt to me for signing – it usually has to be fetched from some mysterical faraway place. And having the fruits weighed takes quite a while, which makes one really miss Finnish self-service.
Also, declaring you’re in a hurry has absolutely no effect whatsoever. It can take one and a half hours in a restaurant after you’ve told them you have a half-an-hour lunch break and they have assured you it is enough. When I ordered lunch to work last week, it arrived two hours later than promised. Still the delivery guy didn’t seem to grasp at all why I very undiplomatically told him to fuck off with his lunch.
If I could choose one project to carry out while I’m here, I would definitely go for establishing a public transport company. People take up to three hours to get through the traffic jam in the mornings because the city is so full of private cars. The reason is probably that matatus are small, uncomfortable and prone to crash.
Surprisingly, all this is inspiring. It’s been a while since I last felt as creative as here. My head is crowded with concrete ideas on how to rationalize things. I wish I knew how to start my own business or do something about the problems around me.
Yesterday I attended the opening of a plastic recycling centre in a slum area. I was appointed the embassy’s ”green officer”, so now I am trying to figure out how to run an green office pilot project in a city where recycling and transport arrangements suck. On the way to the recycling site our driver gave me a guided tour in one of Nairobi’s slums. Waste management is really a huge problem here: the streets were white and grey with dumped plastic as if they were covered with dirty snow.
Visiting a slum for the first time was an enlightening experience. I was surprised by the amount of economical activity. The entire area looked like a bustling small-scale business district, so it felt rather dynamic than hopeless. It is a pity I didn’t have my camera with me, but I hope to get to visit Kibera soon and take some pictures. It’s not dangerous: in a car I don’t risk to loose my belongings, and the embassy also has a contact person who can show us around.
As if it were to underline the outrageousness of the slum conditions, I had just spent a fun, reckless weekend at a comfortable camp site at Tsavo national park in southern Kenia, ordering drinks directly to the pool, spotting elephants and giraffes from the roof of our car and getting my face really burned. Documentation follows:
A lazy Sunday afternoon at the campsite
Us getting stuck in the mud. Another car had to come and pull us out. Luckily there were no lions around at the time.
Me at rocky rapids, where I also encountered a small crocodile. I didn't stay to take a picture.
And here's my flatmate Elisabet.
Finally a note on the internet connection: I've been to three different stores nine times altogether and am starting to give up. I now write my blog and even some emails at home and post them from work the following day. I could use Skype from an internet cafe for example next Saturday afternoon, so let me know if you want to chat.
2 comments:
Sorry love I guess you have been having a lot of TIA moments and as a Kenyan I do get frustrated a lot too sometimes.
Yeah, I've had quite a few especially during the last couple of weeks - but yesterday there was a breakthrough as well: the plumber had actually fixed the shower! He didn't finish the job completely so he'll still have to come visit us for a sixth time, but still the job is roughly done. I'm getting my optimism back :)
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