A Morning in Nairobi!

I thought I’d give you a look into a typical morning for me in Nairobi!

In contrast to the peaceful, secluded week we spent at Lake Nakuru, life in Nairobi is full of life, noise, and somewhat organized chaos.

7:00 AM:  Rise and Shine

At 6:30 AM I wake up to the noises of children getting on various school buses to ride at least an hour to school.  My own host brothers (11 and 6 years old) get up at 5:30 AM in order to catch their school bus at 6:20 AM. My brothers go to a private school over an hour away from our home.  Most children in Nairobi attend local public schools, but parents will send their children to private schools if they can afford the tuition costs.  Private schools in Kenya definitely have more resources and provide a better education for students. (Throughout the semester I will be doing research on the Kenyan education system, so I’m sure you will be hearing a lot more about Kenyan schools!) Though I am not a morning person at all (just ask my past roommates and family members) I think I could almost be a morning person here.  It is so much easier to wake up knowing a day of beautiful weather and the sun is waiting!  

7:45 AM:  Breakfast of CHAImpions

After getting ready for the day, I walk downstairs to a breakfast of toast, chai tea, and sometimes a fried egg or piece of fruit.  Kenyans love their chai.  For them, a big cup of chai and some bread will get them through the day, sometimes until dinner.  The first week at Lake Nakuru we religiously had chai at breakfast and though we didn’t have much structure for the rest of the day, we without a doubt had a break for chai every morning.  I remember the first day in Kenya I couldn’t drink more than three sips of my chai.  I remember thinking it wasn’t the same chai that I love from the Purple Onion in Minneapolis (The chai here is simply milk and tea and then sugar is added as needed) and I couldn’t understand drinking warm tea when it’s 80 degrees out. Now, I can’t leave the house without drinking chai (I actually just bought a travel mug yesterday so I can take some with me as I walk to class on the days I am running late which if you know me well is more days than not!).  I also started to have two cups of tea at break time! I can’t imagine how much I’ll be drinking when I leave in May!

8:00 AM:  The Journey to Nazarene

At 8:00 AM, I leave my house to begin my thirty-minute walk to school.  We all take classes at the Central Church of Nazarene.  Because our program is condensed into only seven weeks of class in Nairobi, we just take classes in our MSID cohort.  Most of our professors come to teach us at Nazarene, but also have other classes at the University of Nairobi.  All of the students in my program live with host families in estates within walking distance of our school.  Most neighborhoods or estates here are gated communities with security guards who are hired collectively by residents.  In our area, the houses are mostly identical two story townhomes with three to four bedrooms. 

By the time I start walking, Nairobi is bustling.  I see people in business clothes, children in school uniforms, elderly men in tattered and dirty clothing, babies in a cloth wrap strapped to their moms, college students with laptop cases and books, women setting up their stands to sell fresh produce, among many others.  The first couple days walking to class, I barely looked up from the ground as I navigated the uneven terrain.  Most of the path to school is a makeshift mud/gravel path alongside the bustling roads.  Along one stretch, a sidewalk does exist, but is in dire need of repair as huge chucks of concrete are missing.  I also have to dodge around piles of garbage, other people, oncoming bikes, and sometimes even vehicles when the sidewalk disappears or I have to avoid a puddle of water. 

Now I can navigate the streets without thinking twice, but it definitely took some time to get used to.  I also pass through Kenyatta Market on my way to school every day.  It is a huge market (kind of like a farmer’s market in America) where anything and everything is sold at individual stands and kiosks.  I frequently stop to get mangoes (they are sooo delicious here) and apples.  As a blonde American girl, I stick out quite a bit especially in this area of Nairobi where there is little diversity.   Without fail, several different groups of people will shout out “Hi!” “How are you?!”  “Taxi?” or “Mzungu!” Mzungu is the Swahili word for white person.  After a couple of weeks of passing the same people every morning and answering in Swahili, the locals have realized I am staying here for some time and look at me as less of a tourist! 

8:30 (ish): Classes Start

Our classes are supposed to start at 8:30 AM, but have yet to actually start on time!  Some of our professors operate on Kenyan time so we usually start around 8:45 AM or 9:00 AM.  I really wish professors in America ran on Kenyan time then I would never be late! In Kenya, there is a lot less emphasis on sticking to a schedule.  In America, we have a long list of things to do every day and often stick to a tight schedule to complete each item.  In Kenya, people also have a list of things to accomplish for the day, but there is less emphasis on what time things get done.  With each day in Kenya, my classmates and I are definitely getting used to Kenyan time.  We seem to arrive just a little later to class every day.  Personally, I find myself looking at the time less often than I do in the states.  In the US, every minute counts, but here time is a lot more fluid and flexible.  It was hard at first to adjust to this new way of thinking about time, but it has actually been refreshing change from my usual life of jam packed days, impending deadlines, and constant checklists!

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM:  Wakati wa Chai Tena (Time for Chai again!)

This is one of our favorite times of the day as I don't think any of us have had snack at school since fifth grade! We get to drink chai, eat cookies, relax, and soak up the sun!

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM  Class

And there’s a morning in my shoes!  I will be posting soon about my adventures from the past two weekends!