Let me first tell you that I decided to try and even out my tan by lying by our nice apartment pool and swimming. Okay I consider myself a relatively smart individual that learns from the past at least at a basic level. You may recall from a previous blog I torched my back at Wimbledon due to the delightful sun and lack of sunscreen. This time I also went sunscreen free since “I would only be out there for a bit and it would probably be fine”…WRONG. I read for awhile and could not tell until hours later inside that I resembled the lobster at a lobster boil. Ahhh yes my chest and stomach matched my back from a week ago – lobster red. Brilliant. Please learn from my mistakes. Sunscreen is a must.
Anyway, Liz and Maki arrived safely last Wednesday. Liz got in around lunch time, so we decided to head to the grocery store, and on the way we had another nice excited Kenyan yelling Jambo (hi) to us and being quite the chatty Cathy (he almost put me to shame). The amusement came when he called me his “chocolate sista” due to my recent tan and exclaimed that Liz was my “white sista!!” and that she would not catch up with my level of color. We eventually managed to escape the ramblings and got to the Nakumatt. We got some supplies including crackers named Salticrax (true story) and Cream Crackers as well as a giant jug of water which proved too tough to carry back. We decided to hop on the constantly talked about MATATU (pictures coming SOON)!
Let me describe this delightfully cheap and extremely entertaining form of transportation to you. You can ride a good 20-30 minutes in the CRAZY crammed hippie style van (used loosely to mean a giant metal box on wheels with not quite normal seating) for $0.50 - $0.75 US! The décor varies, but it usually feels like an Episode of “That 70s Show” and there are often “Obama is one of us” and Jesus related stickers – in both English and Swahili. There is a driver of the fine vehicle and a master of the sliding door who doubles as a salesman/banker and organizer of passengers. He literally jumps out yelling the price “30, 30, 30…” convincing you to join the party. Party? You say. Well, it IS a large gathering (16+ people) in a small space with loud music (usually US 90s throw backs or African music) and pure entertainment as people from all walks of life cram in and get off at numerous random stopping points (just knock on the metal roof to be let out). There are people in suits, parents with kids, foreigners, farmers etc. Matatus work well for short distances and can’t be beat for cultural experiences.
Later Liz and I met Jackie for our first Swahili food at a street vendor style restaurant in Mombasa. Liz and I tried a classic dish of chicken birani – steamed rice with a full hardboiled egg in a brown sauce with a banana on the side which I ate as dessert. This dish was pretty good and with all of the spicy sauce they gave me it became better. I had that super hot red sauce somewhere before but still can’t place it. Oh well. We learned from the man giving us our food options that lots of full fish (one appeared to be gazing at me as it floated in sauce) and seafood is eaten in various forms of coconut based sauces. He listed a dozen seafood/fish items in coconut before I chimed in “so you don’t like coconut in Kenya??” He appreciated this dry comment and was delighted to offer me the chicken. That night due to Jackie’s kind invitation we grabbed our first Kenyan beer and as I ordered the “Tusker” at the poolside bar I was asked “warm or cold?” Confused for a moment I clarified…”the beer?!?!” He said “yes.” I said “COLD for SURE.” He laughed and later I got a cold one. It was a pretty good beer, and I have had a couple more Tuskers since while watching World Cup matches (clearly on EVERYWHERE with Kenyan soaps as a close second).
Maki was due to arrive after midnight and poor Liz was jetlagged, so she crashed as I waited up in anticipation. Maki got in safely and later Maki and Liz were awake in the middle of the night due to the insane time difference.
Finally we had our full team ready to go (pictured above), so we had an official meeting with GSE owner Jackie at her office. Being matatu masters Liz and I taught Maki the ropes and got us to her office. We brainstormed with Jackie and then planned to divide and conquer. I have really enjoyed Liz and Maki’s company and great ideas related to the GSE project. The three of us celebrated at a nice Italian restaurant (there are numerous Indian and Italian restaurants and those cuisines have been easier to find than Swahili food). The food was GREAT; the cheap wine not-so-much per Liz and Maki. I also truly learned what “sawa” meant since the waiter said it 25 times as I ordered (sawa sawa sawa…). I finally confirmed, “sawa means okay right??” The waiter confirmed, and I have enjoyed using the phrase since.
This is now plenty long, so I will save my beach weekend in Watamu for the next blog…sawa, sawa, sawa?? Happy 4th of July weekend in the USA!! Sarah
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