Jumamosi

I spent last Saturday (swa. Jumamosi) with my new friend from Singapore, Grace, who is like an Asian, 38-year-old version of my dear friend Ramona. :D

We meant to go to a fashion show, but as it turned out to cost 55€ (!), we skipped and went out for lunch instead.

Afterwards we checked out an art gallery.

Then we went to Grace's place to relax for a while. Her place is soooo much nicer than mine, but she is also paying almost 2000€/month for it!

In the evening Grace took me to a party hosted by her co-worker and his wife. They were this really cool, young and stylish pair with an INCREDIBLE apartment. 

The party had a nice concept with a bit of a Valentine's theme. The guests picked a glass, tasted all kinds of wines and after the evening, everyone paid what they thought the party was worth.

(Grace's photo.) I picked the cup that matched my outfit. :P 

(Grace's photo.) We enjoyed nice cheeses and crackers (for those of you wondering, the black ones are charcoal crackers!)...

... and some chocolate-covered strawberries. (Grace's photo.)

(Grace's photo.) I met some really nice people at the party! Some were entrepreneurs, one worked for the US embassy, some worked for an NGO or did research and most of them were these "global" people, who've lived in many countries and enjoy the expat-lifestyle. I especially hit it off with the Americans, for some reason. ;) 

This is me with Grace (who, you guessed it, took this photo).

Kazi

... and that's a wrap for the first week at the new job!

Everything seems so new and interesting. I'm jumping in excitedly and doing my very best to give a good impression - efficient and thorough. The training is based on studying material regarding the business situation in East Africa: Kenya and Tanzania especially.

Evening reading

I'm also updating existing material about it while I study. At times you come across with something that seems like a good new business opportunity for Finnish businesses and perhaps that idea grows into a lead and I start collecting data about the market in that area a bit more.
At other times this information is collected for a business upon request. That business has then realized that it's too late to take their business to China (the boom happened already and now the competition is too strong) and that the time for Africa is now. One day I might be reading about the production of a certain beverage and the other day the topic might be the something huge like the metal industry.

It's incredibly interesting and educating.

Personal TOP 5 highlights of the first week on the job were, in no particular order:

1. noticing I can do a lot of work and I'll increasingly be able to do it as the Office is turning into a two-man office next week, i.e. this is not a "coffee-making" internship (which here would be extremely redundant since all they use is instant coffee, ha ha.).

2. I met the Ambassador and other personnel of the embassy and got invited to a barbecue-party with them next week

The view from the balcony of our Office. The embassy on the right.

3. my way to work proved to be very convenient. Even if this seems like a small thing, the benefits in a crowded city like Nairobi are HUGE. My Indian room-mate leaves home at 7:40 am only to sit in traffic for over an hour and to arrive to work at 9 am.

4. the work is organized in a laid-back but efficient way (for example since my boss is out of town tomorrow, I can work from home) and I get to be quite autonomous. There is also room for creativity and I get to pitch my ideas.

5. the previous interns have gotten amazing work opportunities thanks to the connectivity of the job and this seems to give you a great boost to your future career

Pesa

Like I mentioned before, the Kenyan currency is Kenyan Shilling (KES).

1 € = KES 104.

$1 = KES 91.

Most of the people pay with cash instead of credit cards and the mobile service for payment transfers, M-Pesa, is widely used (East Africans are better at this than Finns...).

So what is the price range in Kenya?

The rent for my room in a five-room apartment with a shared bathroom is KES 30 000, which is about 290 € ($329). If you didn't see the pictures of the flat, check them in the earlier post here.

A bus ride to work (short distance) is 20 shillings, or bobs, as they are called here, and a bus ride into town can be around 40-50 bobs.

Fuel to your car will cost you around 90 Ksh/liter. 

The price of food can be surprisingly high. There are a lot of Western products available in Nairobi nowadays and their prices are about the same (for example a Mars-chocolate bar is 0,80 €).

The first time I went grocery shopping I didn't really pay attention to prices that much (I was extremely tired and walked around the store like a zombie), and ended up paying ~40 € for basic essentials for a week. Afterwards I checked the receipt and here are some examples converted to euros:

1 l milk = 1,06 €
Loaf of bread = 2,07 €
500 g of minced meat = 2,67 €
6 eggs = 0,90 €

Today I did a bit more price comparison and bought this:

... which cost me 580 bobs = 5,50 €. Much better. ^^

A taxi ride within my area, which is called Westlands, costs about 3 €, but the restaurant I went to on Saturday was a bit further away (a 20 min. trip one way) and going there cost me around 17 € total. 

There are all kinds of restaurants in Nairobi in all price ranges. Last Saturday I had dinner at a pretty nice place and paid 15,50 € for a burger with fries and little over 7 € for a Strawberry Margarita, so not that different from places in Helsinki!

The Western style coffee house chain Java's is very popular and I've had lunch there a couple of times this week for 6-7 euros, when I had a salad and chicken wraps. But then yesterday I had lunch at a buffet style restaurant serving Kenyan food, and it cost little over 3 €, so you know, it varies a lot depending on the place.

Here's what I had, going clockwise from the top: salad, chapati, chicken with pilau (seasoned rice) and some kind of meat stew. Yummy!

Today we had lunch at a very unusual place, which was an Indian restaurant in an abandoned hotel - somewhere you would never find yourself unless you knew it was there. 

It was incredibly tasty! The lunch was my colleagues treat, so I don't know what exactly it cost, but I think it was closer to 30 €, including drinks, which is not that bad for three people.

Plane tickets for example to the lovely port-town of Mombasa with Kenya Airways are 99 € (off-season). A few examples on prices for round-trips to neighboring countries, that I'd love to visit: to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 380€, to Entebbe, Uganda 220 €, and to Kigali, Rwanda 250€... *dreaming*

Traffic

Traffic in Nairobi is mad(-dening). The shortest of distances can take forever by car during rush hour. I'm extremely happy to have found an apartment so close to work that it doesn't really affect my way to work. One of my room-mates has to commute to the other side of the city and it takes her 1,5-2 h to get work ONE WAY.

This is the simplest way for me to get to work. 

I walk to Waiyaki way to catch the bus from here: 

... and I can pretty much catch any bus, because they all go to town and so I don't have to wait long.

Even if the traffic looks like this: 

... it's such a short distance that it takes about 5-10 min. to get to my office. There's no official bus stop directly in front of the office building, but so far the driver stops at Eden Square when I ask. 

This is how it looks like outside the Office (check out the sidewalk, I don't understand how the local women walk on heels on these roads...):

Even if it looks wide enough in the picture, it feels really narrow, especially when someone walks toward you. Then you have to remember to pass them from the left since the left-side traffic applies for walking, too, and be careful not to get hit by that truck...

 I walked home the same way along Waiyaki Way on Monday and Tuesday and I felt like I'd be hit by a car instantly if I stumbled on the sidewalk and fell - you know, since I'm pretty gifted at stumbling... And Waiyaki Way has three-four lanes, so it's a pretty huge road. Passing it feels like a suicide attempt, but I just wait for a local to cross the road with, so that I dare to do it. :) Passing the road is also weird due to the left-side traffic, which will take a while to get used to.

Today I tried another route via Sarit Centre (you can see it on the map on top, marked with a star). It felt a lot safer, but took a while longer.

I mostly walked along School Lane and was met by a lot of kids in their green uniforms and smiley faces, which made me miss teaching...

Walking this way I really noticed how nice buildings they have here in Westlands.

Remember, all of Nairobi does NOT look this nice, even if the middle-class is rising and it seems like they're building something new in every corner. I just haven't dared to flip out my iPhone in those areas... Ü

First day at work

Starting a new job is like starting school. You're not completely sure about where to go, how to act and what your place is.

My approach to the insecurity of these issues was to practice my way to work in advance, to dress neutrally (a white silk shirt with blue capris and ballerinas) and to talk less than I normally would. I was put on the spot a couple of times, which I think I handled pretty well.

"How much do you know about energy production?" 
"Well, give me a little bit of time and some materials and I'll be alright."

The first day at the Office consisted of me reading up on current affairs - The Daily Nation, Business Daily, The Standard and The East African. I was listening to the guys talk business while I made several mental notes on things to Google later. When a feeling of utter incompetence and stupidity washed over me, I told myself: "Hey, if you taught Arts for a year without knowing how to paint or draw yourself AND survived, you can do this."

Back to Google.

Pictures

Inside of the bus on my way to check out the work place, which I found relatively easily. Music blasts on the radio. I had missed that.

Brookside Drive, the street my apartment complex is located on. 

My apartment complex is called Brookside Breeze. 

The compound has a gate with an electric fence, guarded by someone 24/7. 

Our apartment's balcony is on the third floor to the left here. 

The stairway to... our apartment.

Our door. The padlock is kept locked even if everyone's home, which I find a bit too careful, but as there was an armed burglary at this compound in December, I don't mind it.

Next up: 

A selfie-stick picture series of the apartment. Karibu! (Welcome!)

Bedroom. Having the mzungu-look down (mzungu = white person). 

My rent is KES 30 000 or 270 €, and I seem to have the smallest bedroom of the four, which I don't mind.

Outside my bedroom in the hall, the living room at the back.

Other side of the living room.

The dining room.

Cooking in the kitchen. Can you guess which highly original dish I'm preparing?

The hall. 

The bathroom, which I share with the Ugandan. The German and Indian have their own bathrooms. 

Waking up in a strange place

My thoughts: 

"I'm so tired."

"So this is where I'll wake up every day for six months, huh?"

"I miss L."

"Uh no, let's not think about that. Better fix up some breakfast."

"Hey, that's what I'd have for breakfast at home! Thank you mamma for getting me that portable coffee-maker at home!"

"I miss my kitchen."

"Oh a powercut! Thank you past-me who downloaded those seasons of 30 Rock and Hannibal on my laptop so the powercut doesn't affect my morning routines."

"Sooo the neighbours renovate on a Sunday here? Just when I thought I'd get away from the renovation noise going on at home..."

"I miss L."

"The power's back!"

"Hey, 30 Rock is funnier than I thought!"

"This bed is sooo comfortable! And this mosquito net that makes me feel like a little princess... ^^"

"I miss L."