Nairobi--the end of our visit

6.14.2010
Yesterday (Sunday) we went to the inappropriately named “Village Market” to shop and find internet access. It was less of a village market and more of a rich people mall complete with food court and even an Apple resaler. We had lunch and walked around, only buying some mangoes, passion fruit and some fresh juices to bring back to our guest house. I was able to talk to my mom through Skype on my phone through the wireless internet (how cool is that?!), and it made me really appreciate the easy internet access I am accustomed to in NY. Strangely, however, I also appreciate the lack of constant internet access. It feels nice to be unplugged. Things move at a more leisurely pace, and there is much time for reading and contemplating.
We got our baggage as well, and I was able to wash my hair and take most of a shower before the electricity went out in the whole compound. It came back on after an hour or so in time for dinner.
Ohhhh, I must speak of last night’s dinner. We asked Newton what was his favorite Kenyan dish, and if he could prepare it for us, which he seemed delighted to do. There were several dishes that all came together nicely: a maize/bean dish that you use to scoop up the sliced tomatoes with local hot peppers (yum!) and onions, grilled steak marinated with garlic and ginger, and quite literally the tastiest greens I have ever eaten. He sliced the greens (which were from the arrowroot plant) incredibly thinly and they were flavored quite nicely. There were also two kinds of arrowroot roots that he had boiled. One was purple-ish and the other was white. Claire LOVED the arrowroot, and as I had her in the ergo while we were eating, she helped herself from my plate, covering both of us in arrowroot bits. She is imitating us more and more each day (kind of scary!), and decided to feed me some of the arrowroot she was enjoying. It was adorable.
Claire’s food diary: pineapple, watermelon, arrowroot root.
While we were having coffee after our meal (which I am restricting myself from as it is giving me insomnia), James, one of the owners and husband to Elsbet, came in and we invited him to have dinner with us. It was disheartening to hear that often, Westerners were afraid to eat even the basic rice/potato dishes and terrified of the Kenyan food when they visited. Food is so intimately involved in most every culture, to not experience the food is to miss out on a whole lot.
Our stay in Nairobi is coming to an end, and we fly out to Kisumu tomorrow (Tuesday). We will be staying in a fully furnished place with wifi and satellite tv, which Casey negotiated for an excellent rate. I’m looking forward to it, though I will miss the attention and care that we have received while staying here.