Day 1 in Nairobi

I arrived last night. First I flew into Miami, then London Heathrow and finally, Nairobi; a trip that took close to a full 24 hours. My flight to London was magically upgraded by the seat number I chose, and I ended up in British Airways' "World Traveller Plus" class. I got early boarding, more seat room, a nicer pillow, awesome headphones (that they unfortunately made sure to take away) and free drinks, which I promptly took advantage of. It wasn't first class, but it was still damn nice as I would find out soon enough. The flight to Nairobi was economy class and I stared longingly at the seat room the "World Traveller's" got, believe you me. Then the airport. It took quite a while longer to get my visa then the comments on tripadvisor would have had me believe. Then (of course!) I discovered my bag hadn't made it (bastards!). I filed a claim and then walked out where Jay's mom was waving her hands around, surrounded by Jay's family.

Today Jay and her brother had to go do stuff to get their passports renewed. I'm glad I went along. When Jay's mom came upstairs she said we'd go to the hills later after the errands were done, but they took too long so we ended up just walking around Nairobi. It's super crowded and beautiful and really dirty. I was worried I'd think a city populated almost entirely by people who look nothing like me would seem bizaare and alien to me, but I'm happy to comment that wasn't the case. I did get quite a few looks though. Jay told me yesterday her mom followed me to the airport's bathrooms, because the men behind her had questioned her on "where she got [me]" and "could she leave me with [them]?" It made me sad, because I wanted to wander around by myself. Even in Cairo, I would sneak short trips by myself, telling my teachers that the students I was travelling with were running behind and would be by shortly. But I didn't stick out quite as much there, with my skin darkened by Jordan's sun, I could pass for a light-skinned Arab. Now I am back to my super pale, pasty complection and I am surrounded by much darker people. I used to daydream about cutting my hair off and passing as a man should things get too frustrating in Jordan, too for your own good sexist. Here I daydream about buying a burka to walk around freely. How contrary! But there are plenty of Muslim woman walking around in Nairobi in all types of outfits. Strangely, I rarely see them accompanied by men (I wonder why that is?) and rarely see the men (in long white robes and small caps) accompanied by women.

We stopped at a restaurant for lunch. The prices were similar to Jordan's (a meal with a drink cost around $5). I ordered chicken curry, but it was on the bone, and I felt ridiculous, but couldn't bring myself to eat it. So I ate "chips" and rice instead.

Now I'm back at the apartment Jay's family rented. In addition to her mom and brother (who both live in America), there are 3 aunts here and 4 children (two boys, two girls). I'm in love with the youngest, Dylan, who is only 1 year old. I'm sharing a queen-sized bed upstairs with Jay.

Good night Nairobi, Good night world!