Tunaenda Rwanda!

While all of Finland is popping champagne and celebrating this Spring event by putting their white Matriculation hats on and storming the streets in the cold, I will be spending my Labour Day -eve on board the RwandAir, sipping my sparkling in the air on my way to Kigali, Rwanda!

My partner in crime this time is Oona and we will spend three nights and three days in this "land of a million smiles and a thousand hills".

On Labour Day, a national holiday also in Rwanda, we will head west to the border town of Gisenyi on the shore of Lake Kivu. 

On Saturday the plan is to return to the capital Kigali and visit a couple of genocide museums and - to balance the scales a bit - a couple of contemporary art galleries. 

On Sunday we're probably going out for brunch somewhere and visiting the market before heading to the airport in the evening. 

Reeeeeeally looking forward to this!

Have a wonderful Labour Day all of you!

Finnish election night in Nairobi

It was election day in Finland on Sunday. I was happy to be invited to follow the results' show at the home of a Finnish couple, working in Nairobi for the Finn Church Aid. 

 On the agenda was SAUNA, (which felt absolutely fantastic!), good food and of course, guessing the results of the elections. 

Here were my guesses - and with the tight race for second place, I did pretty well! 

The group of us consisted of Finns from all walks of life - some had stayed in Africa for 20 years, some for "just" a few. 

Being that there were a lot of people working for NGO's, development co-operation organizations and for the embassy, you can imagine how they reacted when we heard the results. With True Finns winning, there might be drastic changes to these people's lives... 

About Zanzibar

 I was lucky enough to travel away from the hustle and bustle of Nairobi and spend Easter at Zanzibar with my friend Grace! 

Small details of the trip:

Nairobi - Zanzibar City with Precision Air, 1h 50 min.

Two nights and one day in the lovely capital Zanzibar city, exploring the lovely old town of Stonetown by foot. 

Three days and four nights in the north coast town of Nungwi, which was basically a little shack town next to a row of budget or luxurious resorts on the white, sandy beaches (the contrast between the little village and our Doubletree by Hilton-resort was a bit painful...). 

Zanzibar City - Nairobi with Kenya Airways, 50 min. 

Flights were 330 €, and we got a good deal on the hotels since it was low-season.

 

The top 5 things about this trip: 

- Zanzibar is LOVELY. It is so beautiful, small, not as busy as Nairobi and a lot more quiet. It is also the most romantic place I've been to (mind you, I haven't traveled that much) - I wish L could have been there with me.

- Despite the rainy season having started, it only rained for a while on our first day in Nungwi. Other than that the weather was perfect: 25-30 degrees Celsius and sunny. :) 

- Compared to Nairobi, Zanzibar is very safe. We were actually able to walk in the streets after dark and, for example, enjoy some tasty street food at the market in Stonetown. It wasn't until I was walking on the beach barefoot, looking at the starry sky, that I realized how much I had missed the freedom of walking outside after dark.

- After awhile I got over my white man's guilt of staying at a quality hotel next to the village, where people clearly lived in poverty. I actually managed to relax on the beaches and get a proper tan! 

- I went snorkeling and I saw coral reefs for the first time in my life! It was a lot more scarier that I thought it would be, and when Grace decided to go diving at Nungwi, I opted out (also for budgetary reasons). 

When I was researching the destination, I came across a wonderful blog and we pretty much did everything that was mentioned there! Okay, we didn't go on a Spice Tour, since I had heard they're not that informative or interesting. Then again we met a couple of people who had been on a tour and loved it, so I don't know. 

But anyway, here are some pictures! :) 

House of Wonders. The first building in Zanzibar to have electricity, running water and an elevator. 

On our way to Prison Island.

At the tortoise sanctuary. 

Almost like Monopoly-money!

Stonetown is famous for the wonderfully odd and beautiful doors.

Our guide at Slave market. Here's what the blog I was talking about says about the Zanzibari slave trade: "Zanzibar has a more sinister claim to fame: the archipelago was a main slave-trading port in East Africa. For a deeper understanding of this dark chapter in its history, don’t miss the location of the world’s last open slave market, a deeply significant site where the Anglican Cathedral now stands as a symbolic triumph over inhumanity. Started by the Portuguese, the slave trade in Zanzibar reached its zenith with the Omani sultanate until it was outlawed by the British in 1873, thanks to the anti-slavery campaign led by the famous Scottish explorer, David Livingstone, who stayed in Zanzibar before his final expedition. Slaves from the African interior were transported here, where they were whipped and sold, then shipped off to the Middle East and as far as North America."

This is the most moving memorial I've ever been to. If I remember it correctly, it was made by a Swede. The chains are supposedly original.

At the Darajani market.

Street food market!

At Nungwi. Low tide.

Village of Nungwi.

Yes, I'm THAT cheesy.

Grace got us upgraded - free breakfast!

Last sunrise

Tunaenda Zanzibar!

Today I'm off to Zanzibar! The paradise island archipelago outside of Tanzania, a bit larger that Åland, home to about 1,3 million people (99 % muslim), and home of exotic spices and some funny looking monkeys.

I'll leave tonight with Grace and come back to Nairobi on Tuesday morning. The flight is about 1,5 hours. We'll spend two nights in the historic capital Stonetown, the birthplace of one Farrok Bulsara (aka Freddie Mercury). Here's what we will do there: http://notwithoutmypassport.com/things-to-do-in-stone-town/

On Saturday we will head out to the northern part of the island with daladala's, take a dhow trip in the sunset and enjoy the lovely beaches of Nungwi. If I get a sweet deal someplace, I might try scuba diving for the first time!

 The weather report says sunny and 28 degrees Celsius, but with a 50 % probability or rain, thunder and lightning, so keep your fingers crossed!

Happy Easter everyone!

Routine is routine - even in Kenya

1/3 of the internship is done.
Two is the amount of months I've been in Nairobi.
Six is how it feels like.

First month in a nutshell:
- being sick
- being homesick
- trying to go out and meet new people, even if I've been dead tired
- figuring out my duties at work.

They say you can get used to almost anything in 30 days. I think that's true.

Second month = considerably easier.
Made new friends.

Went out more, and because I wanted to. 

Had more fun. 

Made great progress at work.

Established routine.

Routine is surprisingly comforting. My morning routines have become the same every day, the structure of my work days is fairly similar and during the weekends I go out and enjoy myself.

Occasionally I, of course, still miss home. In fact sometimes I miss the people back home so much it aches. Luckily those moments don't take over my life here (or do so only momentarily). I can think about my loved ones fondly, re-live a warm memory, and maybe send them a message on Whatsapp.

All in all I do like this place. Sure, I've complained my fair share (also in this blog) but I do enjoy the international atmosphere and the company of academic and driven people. I'm thankful for having a chance to learn so much and for continuously being impressed by my boss. I feel like my mind is blown by him on a weekly basis. This must be how the artists on the Voice feel like, when they're being mentored by a superstar.

I'm looking forward to this third month, which I expect to be all the more enjoyable than the second month. I'm going to the paradise island of ZANZIBAR over Easter and perhaps for a weekend trip to Kampala, Uganda at the end of the month!

Expat or immigrant?

The word expat has come up every once in awhile in my blog postings and for those of you not in the know, an expatriate  "is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country other than that of their citizenship. The word comes from the Latin terms ex ("out of") and patria ("country, fatherland"). In common usage, the term is often used in the context of professionals or skilled workers sent abroad by their companies."

But isn't that the same thing as an immigrant? It seems that this topic circulates among expats every once in a while, and when it does, it usually sparks up a heated argument, as it's done twice within a few months in the Facebook-group called Nairobi Expat Social (NES, closed group for expats/immigrants in Nairobi)... Some people think it's a racist term used by white people to describe themselves as they work abroad, as if to lift themselves up above the ordinary, the black, the poor immigrants. Sort of like: "When we Westerns go to another country, we're expats, but when other people come to our country, they're immigrants."

If you're interested to read more about the dilemma, you can check out this article in The Wall Street Journal, a commentary on it in the Guardian or in Finnish here.

I discussed this with my boss, who has spent the last 15 years away from Finland, working in China and Kenya. He thinks it's very simple: if you go somewhere to work, you're an expat. If you're staying in a country permanently, you're part of the society, you're maybe even applying for a citizenship there or planning to do so, you're an immigrant. No matter the skin color. So coming from the Western world, the columns state that I am then an expat and not an immigrant. However Koutonin urges people to fight the term, as it's racist, and "deny their privileges of a racist system".

I'm sorry, but I have to ask: doing a basically unpaid internship here, which privileges do I have in my everyday life here in Nairobi?
I can't wear shorts even if it's 30 degrees out.
 I can't go alone anywhere after dark.
I don't have my residency yet, so entrances to museums and national parks cost 2-10 times more for me.
People try to screw me over for money left, right and center - one of the most irritating ones being every bleeping morning when the matatu guy charges me another price than the local sitting next to me. Like, if you're going to do that, at least be discreet about it. If it's equality you want, it works both freakin ways.

PS. My boss feels that the term expat doesn't even apply to me, as I'm not really paid for my work and I'm here only for 6 months. He thinks I'm more like a visitor.

The most fun weekend so far

I finally had an awesome weekend!

On Saturday I went with Grace to listen to a classical concert, the first one in my life, which made Grace gasp: "Where on earth do you come from?!"

We heard four symphonies by Prokofiev, Elgar, Beethoven and Smetana. The experience was just lovely! 

Afterwards it was time for my first proper night of clubbing in Nairobi! Grace and I were joined by two locals, who drove us around and took us to all the most popular clubs in Westlands. We started from Havana, where they played the typical radio hits from the Western world.

At Tree House we enjoyed house music by a Swedish DJ, at Gypsies it was more reggae-styled music and at Black Diamond local radio hits and hip hop.

Biggest differences to clubbing in Finland: everyone drinks and drives, no cloak rooms, clubs are open until morning and you're allowed to smoke in-doors. 

On Sunday my "music weekend" continued with the Koroga Festival at Arboretum park.

It was very well organized and nice, which was good since entrance was 2000 bob! (20 € is a lot here...). 

Luckily the shows were in a tent, so we could stay for the whole day inspite of the heat.

I went with the intern at the embassy and her boyfriend.

There were three performers: Fena Gitu (Kenyan singer-songwriter), Nameless (one of the biggest hip hop artists in Kenya) and Yvonne Chaka Chaka (a South African singer). The picture here above shows the latter behind me - her show was amazing!

All in all, an excellent weekend music-wise!