So, Nairobi is a LOT how I thought it would be. I was under no grand illusions about that one. I was welcomed at the airport, in a parking lot due to the recent fire at arrivals, with some massive speakers blasting Mariah Carey, loads of security guards and the smell of fried chicken, and I smiled, because it felt so weirdly familiar. For the first time ever, I had someone waiting for me at arrivals with my name on a board and I felt to so organised and clever, arriving in Nairobi at 3.25 am, it seemed like a good idea. The guy driving me was hilarious, blasting some classic tunes in car and chewing gum so furiously (I mean so, SO furiously) I could hardly make out what he was saying, I spent the entire car journey laughing, both at and with him.
I threw myself into a big group of people at the camp the next morning and of course, they've been backpacking through Africa for 56 days, which meant that not only were they dripping in beaded bracelets and covered in bright coloured printed pants with a Tuskers in their hands, they knew ABSOLUTELY everything about Africa and the people here, pssh. I just had to keep quiet and smile but in my head I was all like WHAT?! BAHAHAHA, you RIDICULOUS humans, as I do. So yeah, I went to the Masai Market with them, shuddup, and got hassled like I never have in my life by some of the most seriously skilled sweet talkers I've ever met. Really. They're hilarious, with their pen and little piece of paper and their cellphone calculators out and ready to work out all sorts of crazy percentages and "deals" for you. "Oh you are not mzungu, you're an Africa sister, from South Africa" *and in a small whispery voice says*: "for you I don't give same price as which I do for THEM, because they are not Afffrican, sister, you see, we are friends, okay so 2000ksh for that kikoi sister" hahahaha "a brother does NOT charge a sister 2000 for a kikoi, no deal". So anyways, I got the kikoi for a lot less than that but still paid way more than I know I should have, but only because he was pestering me so persistently and had spent so much time harassing me when he could have been milking another foreigner.
I'm off to Mombasa at 7pm tonight and should get there around 10am tomorrow, but not after I've seen the baby elephants at the orphanage, yeah got roped into that one too, but come on... BABY ELEPHANTS
