Things I just don’t understand about Kenya (6/19/09)

1. Winter hats. It is winter here. The temperature is probably at least 75 degrees F during the day. I am hot walking around in a t-shirt, and today I witnessed several individuals wearing winter hats around the city. I even saw one man getting off his motorcycle wearing a dark winter coat and a hood with a helmet on top (as he parked his motorcycle on the sidewalk).

2. Speaking of parking on the sidewalk, the traffic here is incredible. I know I mentioned before that there are traffic lights, but either they don’t work or they are ignored. The cars drive on the opposite side of the road, and today I rode in the front seat of a taxi. I was afraid to take my eyes off of the road, especially when our driver sped between a bus and a car to change “lanes” and then proceeded to slam on the breaks to avoid hitting a pedestrian. Being a pedestrian is probably even more dangerous, and Marla, Mo and I have taken to following other people across the street because we figure they know when it’s safe. There’s a market right near the SOTENI office, so when we went to buy water, we tried to blend in with a group of students all wearing uniforms. I don’t think anyone noticed. Plus, every time I glance at a car it looks like there is no driver since they’re sitting on the right side of the car. (ps – Since writing this Mo and I traveled to Mituntu in the car of a SOTENI member. I was terrified more than once, but an especially notable moment was when we passed two trucks around a curve, on a bridge, leading uphill, with a clear solid yellow line in the middle of the road. I had been warned about the traffic here, and it has not failed to disappoint. Even yesterday we rode home in the dark going very fast downhill on a dirt road with scattered rocks and ditches. Yet another death defying vehicle experience.) All of this before even getting on a pikipiki (motorbike sans helmets).

3. Walking up stairs. Since they drive on the opposite side of the road, I wasn’t sure if they then walk on the opposite side of the sidewalk, up stairs, in a hallway, etc. While this may seem like a minor issue, it has actually caused a few moments of confusion. I still have yet to figure it out.

4. Why the name “Mo” is so difficult. No matter how he says it, no one gets his name right immediately. Some still just cannot get it. Who knew there could be so many variations in pronunciation!

5. The bucket. When I first saw the large bucket in the shower, I thought maybe there wasn’t a drain and I needed to try to collect the water there. Then I saw the drain and realized how difficult catching the water would be, and decided that couldn’t be right. Then I thought maybe it was for filling with water so you could conserve water, but warm water only comes out of the shower part after you flip the water heater switch, and catching water from the shower was illogical. It would make sense to fill it from the lower tap, but that only seemed to have freezing water, so that didn’t make any sense either. Thinking I was the only one perplexed by the presence of the bucket, I mentioned it last night when Marla, Mo and I were at dinner. As soon as I brought it up, Mo started laughing hysterically, Marla and I looked at each other and burst out laughing, and none of us had any explanation for them.