It has been already 3 weeks that I am experiencing all of the novelties of the Black Land. Since I was a teenager my interest in the african culture was growing with every book that I've read, with every movie that I've watched. There was always something driving me towards the tribal rhythms of the drums and energetic steps of traditional dances. My dream was to visit Mama Africa and see with my own eyes all the landscapes, crowded cities and colorful people that I was feeding my imagination with.
wooden sculpture in park next to National Museum
Fist impression of Nairobi could be put into few words: garbage, noise, car exhaust fumes, poverty and COLORS. But after first hours of being shocked with huge amount of stimuli, I started to notice more and more details in complexity of this enormously diverse agglomeration.
Walking down the streets forces all my senses to work on their best. Tired traders are barely visible from behind piles of fresh mango, avocados, pineapples, tomatoes, carrots, greens and roasted corn. The expression on their faces changes to a welcoming smile followed by "Hi mzungu!" every time that I pass by. Mzungu stands for white person but it literally means someone who wanders without purpose, someone that is constantly on the move. For the locals, especially sellers and beggars, to see a white person is an announcement of potential earnings. The stereotype of an European with a wallet full of dollars is very strong here and unfortunately it is being confirmed by tourists spending huge amounts in expensive restaurants and resorts. But this is not the only reason why they see us as cash machines. First one would be all the colonialists' influence on the local economy and their attitude towards Kenyans for hundreds of years. Then, we have all the missionaries and organisations that are coming here and giving the people clothes, building them houses, providing food. At the end there are tourists that are wearing branded clothes and leaving big tips that for locals can cover food costs for a week. All that and more accumulates in the simple mind of a Kenyan that is spending 1$ or less for a meal (that he might not get everyday) and creates a picture of equivalence of white skin and wealth. So except getting closer to them on a human level, making friends, being open and curious about their culture, we can not do much more to fight this stereotype. And let's be honest, most of white people are richer and better situated than most of the Africans and our everyday problems are way different than theirs.
workers waiting for job on the side of the road
Fully packed colorful buses called matatu change walking around Nairobi into an extreme experience. This is one of the cultural pearls that you can not find anywhere else in the world. Each of these vehicles is fully decorated outside and inside. Covered with graffiti, funny quotes, paintings of Bob Marley, movie characters, cartoons. Most of them are fully equipped with speakers and screens inside so that few hours spend in the traffic doesn't get too boring. They really want you to enjoy the ride, although my experience was quite tiring. We got into one of those matatu that was splashed with colours inside, had few screens playing video clips of black rappers in expensive cars accompanied by almost naked dancers shaking their booties few centimeters from the camera lens. The music was so loud that the base coming from the speakers attached with metal bits and screws to prevent them from being stolen, was drilling into my ears, heart and soul leaving the vibrating sensation even few minutes after leaving the bus. We were being thrown up and down on bumpy roads that made us feel like we are bouncing with the rhythm of tuff rap music. Our local friend laughed at our shocked faces and assured us that what we've experienced is not so terrible, that we could get even louder speakers and even more screens with sexy pole dancers... Funny contrast that appeared in this matatu - screens with almost porn videos were facing walls covered with religious stickers and posters of bands singing about Jesus and God's mercy. Thank you Kenya for making me laugh even in the hardest conditions :D
inside of our disco matatu
Kenya is my first African country and I am going to spend here 3 months exploring first the city parts, visiting slums and social community centers and afterward I am going to start the nature adventure. Each day here brings more thoughts and remarks that I will be sharing with you, so stay tuned!
If you are interested in Kenyan history, here are some documentary movies that I've watched before flying, to be aware of the place I am going to visit. Enjoy!
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