A Glimpse into Our Life in Nairobi

http://brownfamily.blip.tv/file/4403317/

This is GREAT!! This was our life in Nairobi, at least the traffic and driving in the city part! I learned to drive these exact roads and did almost everyday, on the "wrong side of the road" I might add.  This guy goes by the turn to our house on Waiyaki Way and then takes you all the way to Caleb's old school, Rosslyn Academy. So, Caleb saw this everyday on his bus to school, actually you can see some Rosslyn buses in the video.  He goes by ABC Centre where I shopped for fresh veggies at Zucchini and meat at Gilani's every week, then Sarit Centre where we get water and groceries at Uchumi. He even took my shortcut behind Sarit Centre to Lower Kabete, love it! On the right is a furniture maker on the side of the road where I bought some bookshelves for our house. Then he goes by the hawkers road with the puppies for sale that Abigail loved and my friend Caroline who sells kids clothes everyday and bargained/bought some for our kids while stuck in traffic. Then West Gate Shopping center is on your right, where we might go for a date night to see a movie and eat at Art Cafe. Then up the hill, through the 4-way stop with chickens and fresh cut flowers for sale and where I often saw my friend Laurie coming from her house on the way to school.

Then Forest Lane, which we called Monkey Lane, because Abigail saw a monkey up in the trees one day and I passed a dead monkey with flourescent blood on the road. Up the hill, where the semi truck got stuck and started rolling backwards in front of me, but I quickly decided I didn't want to be there to see if he got unstuck and swerved around to pass him.  He passes the lady on the side of the road where I bought plants. I can even tell you where some of those big, doozy potholes are on these roads. You have to learn where they are or else you hit them and pray your car doesn't fall apart or flat a tire, which did happen to us, but not on this route he drove on this day.  He passes the UN compound where we would go to play ultimate frisbee sometimes and then the US Embassy which we never actually went into, but knew tons of folks that worked in there. Then he stops the video a few minutes short of Caleb's school which we LOVED!

The traffic is crazy in Nairobi and many times I got stuck in this traffic, and several times it took me an hour to get to his school, and once it took us 3 hours to get home from the airport returning from a 90 minute flight. Oh, I will miss many things about our life and friends in Nairobi, but I will not miss the traffic. I am glad to hear that Lane can already say that Kigali traffic is a sunny day compared to Nairobi. Whew, thank goodness! Secretly, I have to admit that many times I did enjoy, yes that's right, have fun driving these roads. Of course, not in the beginning, learning to drive in a right-side driver car but once I started learning my way around, finding the shortcuts to avoid big "jams", and driving like a local, I felt a wave of success! And, I did learn when to stay off the streets because I knew what traffic was out there if I decided to get in our car, like on rainy days or the first of the month when folks got paid, put "petrol" in their cars, and decided to drive. The end of the month believe it or not has less traffic for this reason.


Thanks Brown family for sharing this with us! What a fun walk or should I say crazy ride through memory lane.

Enjoy,
Anna