Leaving frosty London, arriving in snow-ridden Zurich and several hours later in balmy Nairobi just below the equator was somewhat of an unusual experience for me. The fact that at the same point in time people are shoveling snow on one side of the globe and sweating buckets on the other seems fascinating to me – what a world.
Arriving in Nairobi at about half 7 in the evening, the process of getting visas, collecting luggage, exchanging currency and getting the bus to our accommodation was surprisingly a lot easier than I imagined. What really made an impression was the amount of security in and around the airport – security and police casually patrolling with AK-47s made it seem as if they knew something bad was going to happen, but apparently it’s just how it is everyday other day around Nairobi airport.
Apart from the grotty shower and below average beds, our accommodation isn’t too bad – we have a shopping center and a bar just outside our doorstep.
I got scanned and body-searched by security when entering the shopping center – it seems they’ve had problems with security in enclosed public areas before and can’t risk not scanning and searching everyone entering the shopping centre…again – what a world.

I’m really looking forward to starting out tomorrow, initially meeting our partners at Kenyatta university and conducting workshops. I won’t deny, I don’t expect us to be top notch tomorrow as we will need a short period of time to adjust to being on the opposite side of the classroom…nevertheless, I’m sure we will get used to it quickly enough and be able to deliver the workshops confidently.
I can not wait to go to more rural areas and spend time within African culture, but one step at a time.

Off to sit in the living room of the apartment for our workshop briefing with Pete and then off to hit the bar! Tusker beer is a must for those visiting Kenya for the first time 🙂 Just don’t put ice in your drinks!