Nairobi Take 4

While staying in Nairobi is sometimes not as fun as being in the villages, there is still plenty to do here. Last week, Marla’s parents arrived from the US to spend some time in Kenya. I went with them to the Nairobi National Museum (I wasn’t sure if I should go because I was working on a proposal that was due the next day and wasn’t nearly complete yet, but then the power went off in the office so I took that as a sign and took off). Visiting the museum was a good way to sort of synthesize all of the different cultures I have seen so far, and to get a better understanding of their histories. Before the museum, we went to the Nairobi Hospital so that Marla’s mom, the VP of Nursing at Hartford Hospital, could visit an American patient with a serious spinal cord injury who is going to be flown back to the US. The crazy part is that the woman is being flown to Hartford Hospital. Pretty remarkable coincidence.

I have to admit my favorite part of the day was dinner. Honestly I can’t complain too much about the food here, especially in Nairobi where there is a variety of choices, some more American-like than others. But it seems that any time I order something American, the item I get is just not what I was expecting. But on Thursday night we went to a nice Italian restaurant. I ordered fettuccine with mushrooms and some alfredo-like sauce, and then had chocolate cake with ice cream for dessert. It was amazing. I hadn’t had any of those items for a long time. In fact the only ice cream I’ve had tasted like cheese, I swear. Needless to say I went to sleep that night full and happy.

On Saturday, we went on a bit of an adventure. There was rumored to be this hill where gravity goes the opposite way, so that rainwater flows up the hill, it’s harder to bike down than up, and cars in neutral roll up the hill. Edward had first introduced this anomaly, and then Marion confirmed and said she’d seen it on television recently. A couple of other sources agreed that they’d heard of it, too. I was not persuaded at all though. Obviously it was impossible. There was only one way to get an answer, and that was to drive to Machakos and see for ourselves.

Marion, Edward and I rode out, armed with some gas station snacks and a couple bottles of Fanta. After finally determining which of the many hills we drove over was the hill, we got out. A couple of locals greeted us, ready to show off their attraction. They first had the driver of the car go to the bottom of the hill, put the car in neutral, and see where it went. No joke, it slowly rolled up the hill. All the way. I have it on video. Then one guy poured water onto the hill, and again, with all seriousness, the water flowed towards the top of the hill again (I am still a little suspicious of that one, as I think there may have been a slight flattening of the hill at that point anyway). I even saw a bottle roll up the hill. There are trenches created by rainwater that come from the bottom of the hill before drifting off the side of the road.

The traditional story behind the hill is that two brothers married the same woman, and one brother’s house was at the top of the hill, the other’s at the bottom. Every week, the wife would switch houses to spend an equal amount of time with both of her husbands. Apparently the two men were not satisfied with this arrangement, however, and argued over it even after their deaths. The struggle between them continues to this day, but the brother at the top of the hill has thus far proven stronger, which is why things flow up to him.

I still am not certain I can believe what I saw.

We made it back to Nairobi in time to see a play, “The Morning After,” about a groom who deserts his bride at the altar because he still has not gotten over the death of his first wife in a tragic, somewhat mysterious car accident. Luckily the play was in English, and the few phrases in Swahili didn’t seem to hinder my understanding too much (at least I didn’t notice if I missed anything!).
I’m spending this week in Nairobi working at the office, and then I’m boarding a flight back to the US on Monday. I can’t believe the summer’s nearing its end, and that my time here is almost over. Right now I’m off to meet the Assistant Minister of Education with Edward, Pat, and two of the Kenyan interns. I'll probably try to have dinner with Hilary Clinton tonight, if she's available.

By the way, thanks for the post, Nat!

Baadaye!