A Stroll Through My Nairobi Neighborhood

I thought I'd take you all on a nice leisurely journey through Jamhuri, my neighborhood in Nairobi. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Won't you be mine?

Oh, looks like a pretty usual day in Jamhuri. Rocky, unpaved roads, tons of tiny kiosks, clothes hanging off balconies... 

And don't forget about the chickens. They make excellent neighbors, really. 

Nairobians have this THING about washing their cars. My homestay mother washes her car every single morning. Unfortunately, because of the dirt roads, it comes home covered in dust every day. Futile or fastidious? I'll let you decide. This doesn't look much like your Highlands Ranch Waterworks, does it?

There are about three salons per half-mile of road here in Nairobi. To guesstimate, I think there's probably one salon per 79 residents. Women visit the salon once a week to get a new weave or style their hair. Men visit the barber- kinyozi - which often doubles as a phone-charging station because the building needs electrical outlets to power the razors. 

In Nairobi, there are no addresses. My school, for example, is "off Ole Odoume Road near the hill." The only way I could direct taxis to my house was to tell them, "Turn at the green kiosk!" After some confusion, I did figure out that green is surprising hard to see in the dark, and found that the Alvaro kiosk down the street was more directionally useful.

See? Spankin-clean cars. I could eat my breakfast off these cars. 

And a lovely rose outside my house : )