Totally Trivial Tidbits
Three Kinds of Floss. Yup, there were only three kinds of floss at Sun City Supermarket (formerly Uchumi) in Kisumu. I don’t think flossing is a regular part of oral hygiene here, although using toothpicks is, judging from how ubiquitous they are in every eatery joint and from the fact that they’re found next to the toothbrushes at the store. Needless to say, I didn’t find my favorite floss, the Johnson&Johnson woven mint flavored floss, and the floss I ended up buying was expensive and shreds under normal use despite claims on the packaging that it doesn’t. Most ironically of all, I floss more here than I ever did in the U.S.
Kalenjin Runners. You might have heard that the winner of the recent Chicago marathon fell on his arse right after crossing the finish line. The guy is from the Kalenjin tribe that lives in my area, and some of my co-workers know him way back when he owned a barber shop in their village. “Imagine, he used to be a humble barber and now he’s a millionaire.” A millionaire who nearly cracked his head on the finish line. The male and female winners of last weekend’s Nairobi marathon are also both Kalenjins. I’m so proud of my tribe.
One thing I won’t miss about Kenya. Having black boogers all the time.
Wisdom. We were watching Out of Africa last week; it was the first time any of us – Tony, Neetha and me - had ever seen it. A lot of the scenes are set to crisp, clean classical music (Mozart, mostly) and the Kenyan countryside is portrayed as pristine wilderness teaming with wildlife and Kikuyu warriors happily going about their lives in traditional dress, some with full time jobs as pleasant, mild-mannered servants to British colonists. Idyllic and unrealistic.
“I find it ironic that the movie sets Africa to Mozart. It’s so incongruous,” I said.
“But that’s basically what the British did to Kenya,” Tony said.
FOUND: FREE WIRELESS INTERNET IN KENYA!! Now that I have a cool laptop, I’ve gone in search of wireless internet. Java House at Adams Arcade and at the Junction in Nairobi both have free wi-fi, and there is a university about an hour’s bike ride from my town that has wireless for 1 shilling a minute. Life almost feels normal again! Happy meter = high.
Kalenjin Runners. You might have heard that the winner of the recent Chicago marathon fell on his arse right after crossing the finish line. The guy is from the Kalenjin tribe that lives in my area, and some of my co-workers know him way back when he owned a barber shop in their village. “Imagine, he used to be a humble barber and now he’s a millionaire.” A millionaire who nearly cracked his head on the finish line. The male and female winners of last weekend’s Nairobi marathon are also both Kalenjins. I’m so proud of my tribe.
One thing I won’t miss about Kenya. Having black boogers all the time.
Wisdom. We were watching Out of Africa last week; it was the first time any of us – Tony, Neetha and me - had ever seen it. A lot of the scenes are set to crisp, clean classical music (Mozart, mostly) and the Kenyan countryside is portrayed as pristine wilderness teaming with wildlife and Kikuyu warriors happily going about their lives in traditional dress, some with full time jobs as pleasant, mild-mannered servants to British colonists. Idyllic and unrealistic.
“I find it ironic that the movie sets Africa to Mozart. It’s so incongruous,” I said.
“But that’s basically what the British did to Kenya,” Tony said.
FOUND: FREE WIRELESS INTERNET IN KENYA!! Now that I have a cool laptop, I’ve gone in search of wireless internet. Java House at Adams Arcade and at the Junction in Nairobi both have free wi-fi, and there is a university about an hour’s bike ride from my town that has wireless for 1 shilling a minute. Life almost feels normal again! Happy meter = high.
posted by Justina at 9:33 PM
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