This Is Africa

TIA (“This is Africa”) is the phrase our team says to each other when we experience something unusual here contrary to North American culture. For instance, there are traffic lights in Nairobi but hardly anyone uses them. Instead there are lots of roundabouts at intersections and occasionally there is an official directing traffic but somehow drivers know where everyone is going. Initially when you experience traffic here it seems like the cars approaching from the side are going to crash into you but the driver stops just in time so their bumper is just a few inches away. TIA.

Just a few days ago we had to get out and push our car to get it going. Yesterday after our team dinner Valentine was driving out from the parking spot when we noticed that everyone around us outside was pointing and looking at the front wheel of the matatu as our car slowly petered out along the street. Luckily we were close to a gas station so we could stop and change the flat tire. In the time that we were standing outside while the left front tire was being changed, two KK Security vans pulled up on either side of us. None of us had called security to come, but we were fortunate to have them notice us as foreigners at night, and just their presence made everyone feel safer. TIA.

Yesterday’s class, led by Les, was a unique networking session with all three groups from the St. Aloysius site and ICC. At the start we played some icebreaker games and the human knot which took a lot of teamwork and communication to get our group untangled! The students were then led through a simple game where they could see who amongst our group could be their potential suppliers and buyers for their businesses. The next activity was a thought provoking exercise to encourage the students to discuss their fears of opening a business. Each person wrote down their fears on cue cards which were distributed after we broke up into three groups. As we talked about each problem and came up with solutions to mitigate their fears, I could tell how relieved each of them felt after realizing they all shared common fears. Not only today was it great to see the students help each other out, but even in class the sense of friendship and community is so strong. I particularly enjoy watching Daniel, who previously ran a barber shop, share his business experiences with Alan who also wants to open a barber shop.

Tonight we stayed in a hut before we went out on our Masaai Mara safari. Barry, Eric and I started playing soccer on the grass and soon a Masaai villager, Jackson, came to join us. He showed us his spear, lion tooth necklace and clubs – and the greatest part of this all – he let me throw his spear! Only Kenya... TIA!