Most of my posts have been about settling into the "city" life of Nairobi, a city of 3 million people - the traffic, the smog, the roads, the stream of people. Fortunately, we have found a house out about 14 km (or 8 miles) from the city center. It does have more of the feel of a "country" setting. Yesterday, I was reminded of just how quickly you can go from city life to country life in Kenya.
Yesterday, I had to drive into the City Centre to follow up on my work permit. To get there I had to go through the congestion and smog of the "downtown" Nairobi. I did fairly well, didn't get lost, and didn't get honked at. I was proud of my progress as a "city dweller". As I returned, I had to be careful to avoid the family of baboons crossing the road. Then as I drove down our street, I had to slow down to avoid the 6 cows, 4 hens, 3 roosters, and 1 goat in the road. I had to laugh as I realized that despite living in a rural town of 13,000 in Newberry, South Carolina, I never ONCE had to slow down to avoid the farm animals in the middle of the street.
I find that here, in the "suburbs" of a major world city, that you can't escape the morning rooster!
Posted by: Joe | October 16, 2004 at 04:29 AM