Hello from Nairobi!

I want to share how life is in Nairobi (and provide some nice reading material as you procrastinate on your responsibilities) And since I don’t use social media, this is the best alternative!

I have also posed some questions below for you, so feel free to respond if any of these questions inspire you as you reflect! 

I. Nature

1. My first day here, I was astonished when I heard birds chirping. I had just walked into a building so I thought that there was a speaker playing bird sounds. Everyday I see and hear real birds flying and chirping. But there is a real risk that as Nairobi develops, they may face what we faced in the US as habitats were destroyed:

   1. One-third of birds in the US and Canada have vanished since 1970 

   2. Disappearance of 2.9 billion birds over the last 50 years in US/Canada

   3. Do you see a lot of birds in your city? 

2. Behind the buildings, the Nairobi Skyline is full of biodiverse lush. Many trees have been cut because of infrastructure and real estate development, but there are still quite a lot of trees here. 

3. Right now, it's actually winter. I completely didn't realize and have only one pair of long pants and one long sleeve shirt… everyone here bundles up (like 3-4 layers) only though it’s 60 F or 18 C

II. Friends

1. I asked friends from Nairobi to introduce me to their friends here so I will be grabbing coffee and dinner with people here the next few days! 

   1. If you know anyone who might know someone in Nairobi, let me know! 

2. I’m so grateful for the experience of living in a new place and not knowing many people. This forces you to go out of your comfort zone to start conversations 

   1. Have you ever lived completely alone in a foreign country with little to no friends? How was that experience? If not, where would you go?

   2. I've also been reflecting a lot about how you make friends outside of a school or work environment. Parents obviously encourage kids not to talk to strangers. Growing up, they were constantly telling me to not share information about myself, work, or where I’m living. But how can you connect with someone and learn about someone else’s life if you are not willing to share anything about yourself?  

3. At the grocery store today, I met 4 Chinese people who've been living here for 7 to 10 years

   1. They were friendly and shared a few places that I should visit where there are more Chinese people. Right now they work in real estate development and have been working on a project called the Global Trade Center - the new tallest building in Nairobi. 

   2. There are so many layers to China's involvement in sub-Saharan Africa... I was speaking to someone yesterday who mentioned how there are Chinese people who live and moved to her hometown (a remote village) and speak her mother tongue better than she does 

III. Development

1. Everyone pays with M-PESA, a mobile money system through Safari.com. No one really uses cash, and this is a prime example of local innovation. I’m excited about growth potential in sub-Saharan Africa, especially how countries can leap-frog technologically (skipping the credit cards, on the road from cash to digital payments)

2. Nairobi Expressway - This was an infrastructure project also co-founded by the Chinese. But interestingly enough, the tolls are too high for most people to use it, so it is largely unused. It was also an infrastructure project that led to quite a destruction of nature and also divided the city

IV. Transportation / Logistics 

1. Driving on the left - from the first moment I arrived here, I was reminded of British colonialism. The currency is also called the “Kenyan Shilling”. The outlets are also British  

2. Ubers - When someone drives for an Uber, oftentimes they do not own their car. Rather they work for an agency / boss who owns the car who keeps their earnings, and the driver receives a salary instead. 

V. Food / Culture

1. I am in vegetarian heaven. Because there is such a substantial population of people who are vegetarian, every place I go to has separate vegetarian menus. This is again a reflection of British colonialism and the Indian indenture system which brought Indian laborers to British colonies (this system was started after slavery was abolished to replace slave labour). But many South Asians have been here for numerous generations and built community centers, places of worship, and hold leadership positions

2. Nairobi is tremendously diverse. I met someone whose father emigrated from Yemen, people who grew up in London or Paris and moved here for work, and countless people from the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, and numerous Chinese workers

   1. Where have you traveled or would like to travel that has a similarly diverse community? What led to diversity in that community?

VI. Final reflections

1. The election here was transparent beyond imagination. The government uploaded 46,229 forms from all the local precincts online. This may set a new standard for other countries as they battle claims of election fraud!

2. I feel energized to work on other (personal) projects related to international development instead of feeling drained and exhausted after work. 

VII. Places I’ll go 

1. Nairobi Garage - startup / co-working hub

2. National Park 

3. University of Nairobi - hopefully meet some university students

4. Nairobi Chinatown

5. If you have any other ideas of places I should go, let me know :D