Location: Nairobi, Kenya

How?! How am I not supposed to start every adventure with just straight up screaming? I was practically vibrating for the whole of last week at work as I tried to concentrate on literally anything productive. I received an email the night before leaving home and it said:

If you can get away with it, go ahead and scream ‘I’M GOING TO KENYA!’”

I was laying in bed at 1 AM and I didn’t want to give Winnie a heart attack so I sort of whisper screamed it to myself in the dark and fluttered my feet under the blankets. But guys…

I’M IN KENYA!

I had quite the adventure getting here with two 10 hour overnight flights in one day (the time change really did not work in my favour there). BUT! I have arrived safe, sound, sweaty, and a bit on the squirrelly side from lack of sleep.

I landed at 8 AM in Nairobi and the airport was tinier and a lot less airporty than I expected in a capital city. My excitement turned to nerves as I deplaned and started feeling some culture shock. The airport was kind of like an unorganized warehouse with tin walls put up to demarcate different areas, and took hours just to get out of the main room, despite me only having a carry-on. There were bottlenecks in passport control and luggage screening where hundreds of people from different planes were waiting in one line, with armed military men in red berets posted at all exits.

I’ve never been to the African continent before, so everything is brand new and unfamiliar. The world feels like it has tilted off its axis just a little as I have no idea about the social rules of engagement, customs or standards yet. I’m not usually a super nervous traveller so I adopted an of-course-I-know-what-I-am-doing face and pressed on.

I bet that face doesn’t look the way I think it does.

On my taxi ride to the apartment I barely had time to register the scenery around me before it would drastically shift. One second I’m looking at modern sky-scrapers and glass buildings, then right next to that a shanty-town, and then oh look a lush green park space full of human sized birds. My driver couldn’t tell me the English name of the birds when I asked but I think we landed on them being marabou storks. I also think he was trying to poke fun at me for being the same size as them. They were literally 5 feet tall and just waltzing around the park like it was no big deal!

I arrived at the apartment and was really feeling s-m-a-r-t as I tried to work out the key system, then the water heater, then the water dispenser, then the shower. Nothing at all works how I think it should, so I’m glad to have some time to myself to awkwardly fumble through while I wait for…

Pauline to join me!!!

Wait. Retcon that. I think it’s more accurate to say I am joining her… seven months ago she sent me a picture of a ticket she booked and I was like ‘omg can I come?!’ kind of as a joke but also like…

Clearly not really.

I had the entire day to myself to wait for her, and my whole plan was just ‘leave the apartment, you ninny.’ I am grateful I didn’t book anything today with how high-strung I was feeling so a slow start to dip my toes in was perfect. I cleaned myself up and ventured down the road just far enough to find a café to read at for a couple of hours. I people watched from inside, barely focusing on my book as I let myself sink into being here. I stopped into a small supermarket on the way home to grab some snacks for Pauline’s late night arrival, and even just that gave me a little confidence boost.

I was able to pay more attention to the details around me on my walk home, and was excited to see iconic acacia trees, jacarandas blooming bright purple flowers, and African tulip trees with bright orange blooms. All day I had been hearing Hadada Ibis birds (who are so loud it sounds like the windows are open when they aren’t) and finally got to see them flying by on their way back to roost for the evening.

I am now sitting on our little green balcony, listening to the ibis’ (normal sized birds by the way) and writing as I wait for Pauline. We are hitting the ground running tomorrow with big exciting things!

Nerves aside, I am elated to be back out adventuring.

Here we go!

Sav