eating our greens

The five senses in Kenya...

taste

Sukuma wiki is a staple food in Kenya. It literally means 'push the week', the kind of food that makes the budget go further. You may know it as kale, the trendy, healthy, all-over-pinterest food that is becoming more and more popular in Australia. We sometimes eat it Kenyan style, cooked up with onions and tomatoes. Or we make a variation of this kale, apple and pancetta salad, it's delicious!

touch

Everyone in my office shakes hands with everyone else, every morning.

hear

It's not uncommon to hear the wailing siren of an ambulance two or three times a day. We assume they're mostly responding to traffic accidents, which must be a nightmare on Nairobi's congested roads. There was a huge traffic jam on our road at 10pm one night and an ambulance got stuck amongst the vehicles. We listened to the siren wail for at least 15 minutes.

see

Decorated matatus, the public transport vans. From fairy lights to scripture verses, playboy stickers to multicoloured vinyl padding on the roof, I even rode in a van boasting 'NO CHOLESTEROL' across its bumper.

smell

The delicious scent of a leg of pork roasting in the over. Smurf Haus was ovenless, and we got by, but how nice it is to grill, bake and roast to our hearts delight!

this is a bed

 

... a bed with a diamonte-studded, gold faux leather, couch-style bed head and built-in speakers. 

In the shape of a circle. 

Available at our local supermarket, along with just about anything else you could ever think of...

...except circle-shaped bed linen.

on the streets

We've been snapping sneaky iPhone photos as we drive through Nairobi. I hope it gives you a better idea of what we see each day. Ten points to those who can spot the goat!

bento box date

Featuring two Australians, eating bento at a Japanese / Lebanese restaurant, in the capital city of Kenya. We are so global right now.

We didn't realise just how big the bento box really is, we'll be sharing next time!

this is street-side entertainment

 

As we wait for our bus to fill, we are thoroughly entertained - by street performers doing tricks on the footpath, and two little girls sneaking smiles at us from the seat in front.

big city livin'

The same day we stumbled across the market, we also visited the Kenyatta International Conference Centre to get a birds eye view of our new home. There's a viewing platform at the top of the building and we spent a good twenty minutes snapping photos and wondering where the strange twilight-zone haze came from. Nairobi can get pretty overcast / smoggy, but it really was a crazy hazy day.

We then discovered an opened door and narrow hallway around the back of the building, climbed up a few flights of stairs and found ourselves standing in the middle of a helipad and on top of the world!

Much like Brisbane, most of our day-to-day life is out in the 'burbs, where the highrises aren't so high, but the traffic is just as bad. But I wonder, does this large African city look like what you imagine Nairobi to be?

 

This is Sauti Sol

We saw these guys live at Blankets and Wine and now I can't get this song out of my head!