Sometimes it's hard to be a grown up. And by sometimes, I mean right now. Right now, it is hard to be an independent American woman in a foreign city that doesn't seem to know what to do with me. Or, if I'm being honest, I don't know what to do with it.
My eighteen-hour journey across the world was fairly uneventful. The Zurich airport was beautiful, as was the empty seat next to me on the way to Nairobi. Though the traffic on the way to my home stay was atrocious, we made it without any major incident. I must have thanked God at least thirty times that I won't have to drive while I'm here though - I consider myself a courageous person, but I don't think I was born with enough bravery to take on Nairobi's drivers.
The house I'm staying in has many bedrooms filled with many people. The homeowner is a lovely woman who I already consider a friend, and the other folks living with us quietly keep to themselves for the most part. I have a basement room with an en suite bath and built in closets. Though it's a simple and somewhat bare room, I feel sure that it will serve me well while I'm here. The bed is plenty comfy. I even have a TV, a luxury that I don't even have in Washington!
There are two reasons that this house makes me nervous, though:
#1: I was unable to get the hot water to work this morning. I know that makes me sound like such a diva, but cold showers are just not something I'm used to. Hopefully it won't take me long to adjust.
#2: I'm told that my office is a 20 minute walk from the house, which I thought would be no big deal. But today I learned that Nairobi doesn't believe in sidewalks, and my mom always told me not to play in the street. Hopefully at my first day of work tomorrow I can get information about transportation to and from work.
Earlier today, I went on my first Kenyan Adventure: to the mall! My host called a friend of hers who drives a taxi, and he took me to the nearest shopping center. I got a Kenyan cell phone, an outlet converter, a new book, and some groceries. This adventure is a great example of me not knowing what to do with Nairobi. Cars undergo a full search by security officers upon entering the parking lot, and every shopper must go through a metal detector and bag search to enter the mall. The cell phone and computer stores have well-armed Kenyan state police standing outside. There are cameras everywhere. I wasn't very comfortable with all of this security, but I understand why people in Nairobi would take comfort in it. After the Westgate Mall shooting, I'm sure everyone here felt much safer with the visibly heightened security, kind of like Americans felt right after the post-9/11 airport security measures took effect. Even with that knowledge, I still have to say that I am not, nor have I ever been, nor will I ever be, comfortable around machine guns. And I'm okay with that.
Tomorrow is my first day of work. I am nervouscurioushopefulscaredexcited to get started. I guess part of being a grown up is having complex emotions like that, huh? I know my work will be rewarding and teach me so much, but I'm starting to realize exactly how big a challenge this summer will be. Things aren't perfect right now, but I will work hard to make them better. 'Cause I'm a grown up!
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