Nairobi Local Customs

I don't know weather this campaign started only this year but fact is, Nairobi looks to me much cleaner than I remembered it during my last year visit. Such a litter bins are disposed all over the city centre and the locals really care to keep Nairobi clean. In fact, it is much cleaner than some European cities I visited in last couple of years. Fact is, Nairobians love their town and are proud to be the part of it.

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Thomas is my favourite sculpture in Nairobi, it is work of South African artist Claudette Schreuders, and representating Thomas a Maasai guy who used to be Claudette's guard during her two months stay at Nairobi. "He lives in the city but his heart is at home", that's the way Claudette saw Thomas. Those who know Maasais cannot agree more then that. Claudette creates carved and painted wooden figures of Africans. The sculpture stands at busy Aga Khan Walk.
War Memorial Statues could be seen at the Kenyatta Avenue, it is statue of three African soldiers standing next to each other. The monumennt is memorial to the Africans who fought and died in both WWI and WWII. The British colonial government did recruit Africans to partecipate in that wars, in particularly to Asian front.
The Peace Pole stands right at the entrance to the big open space where the gigantic statue of Jomo kenyatta could be seen. It is memory of the bomb blast victims, in both Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, 7th August 1998. The message on the pole says: "May peace prevail on earth".

When I travel, one of my very favourite things to do is to look at the advertising ... it tells you so much about the culture of a place and it way that it perceives itself and its priorities.

I love this advert in Nairobi (pictured in July 2011) for all sorts of reasons.

Firstly, I think that it communicates such a powerful message on the part of the advertiser (Standard and Chartered Bank). "When Kenyans taught the world to run, we were there" (accompanied by a photo that was probably taken in the late 60s or early 70s) establishes the company's credentials in terms of length of involvement in the Kenyan market. Secondly, many international companies are accused of being opportunistically exploitative and not being committed to sticking it out in developing world economies - especially during hard times - and a 40 year track record is pretty persuasive evidence that this isn't the case with SCB in Kenya.

Secondly, my earliest perceptions of Kenya as a country (as opposed to it just being part of Africa) were formed by its athletes. In my youth, I was a moderately successful middle distance runner, and legendary Kenyan athletes like Kip Keino (who I think might be the chap in the front) and particularly the endearingly banana-toothed Mike Boit were among my heroes.

It was only once I moved to the developing world myself that I fully realised the power that sport has to uplift both individuals and communities. Unlike other sports which often have high barriers to entry in terms of specialist equipment and training, all that was required for runners - particularly back in that era - was natural ability, stamina and a blistering turn of pace (with running shoes being optional). This first generation of great Kenyan middle distance athletes not only paved the way for their predecessors to achieve world domination, but also helped to consolidate a sense of national pride during the post-independence period: a vulnerable time when many countries struggle to establish their national identity.

For those who are interested in where these great athletes are now, Kip Keino (double Olympic gold medallist) retired to his farm in Western Kenya and now splits his time between running an orphanage and serving as the chairman of the Kenyan Olympic Committee

Mike Boit (a man whose career was sadly blighted by Kenya's boycott of the 1976 and 1980 Olympics, and thus was only able to strike gold at Commonwealth level) went on to gain a slew of teaching degrees in the USA - proof positive of the education opportunities that his athletic talent opened up for him. He later became a Professor of Exercise and Sports Science at Kenyatta University and between 1990 and 1997, he served as Kenya's Commissioner of Sport.

And, as ever, one for the seriously trivia(l) minded ... I was enchanted to discover that Mike Boit's nephew Philip was the first Kenyan ever to compete in the Winter Olympics (at cross country skiing of all things!)

P.S. And no, just in case you're wondering, I don't work for either SCB or their advertising agency!!!

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The most popular food is beans and maize.
They usually boil it together in a mashed meal of beans, maize, kales and potatoes.
It comes out something sweet.

For the Massai …oh yes, here the most popular is their milk mixed with blood and honey. If you go to visit them you will surely be brought a bowl.
It happened to us, but we politely tried to avoid it. They kept insisting but it was no way that we could drink it with all those mosquitoes around.

The food here is mostly sweet, and they love the sweet potato and beans.
Vegies like broccoli, cauliflower courgettes are very popular.

In Kenya I have tasted the best pineapples ever!
Try them as they are really very cheap.

Kenyans are generally very friendly. They greet you with the word ‘jumbo’ and you reply with the same word back.

If you are in a group the greeting changes to ‘hamjambo’ and here the reply is ‘hatujambo’.

Because here in Kenya they have the Muslim influence women cover up bare arms and legs.

Light clothes are fine for the smartest social occasions.

Alcohol can be found and is available in the tourist areas near the coast.

I had some of my fellow travelers complain about this, and heard it from others too, so I figured I'd write here and set the record straight. According to my professor friend, many Kenyans drink their sodas, beer, and water at room temperature. It's just the way things are done. I'm not sure if it's due to the cost of refrigeration or what. And, while many restaurants and hotels have learned at least to ask customers whether they want it cold or not, some forget. So, if it is important to you, make sure while ordering you ask for your drinks cold, otherwise you'll be served room temperature beverages.

The Mau Mau revolution is one of the liberation of Kenya from the British. The Mau Mau war started early 1952 through the early 1960’s resulting in the independence of Kenya in 1963. Field Marshall Dedan Kimathi, the Mau Mau’s military commander was one of the main leaders of the Mau Mau and he is imortalised in statue in central Nairobi.

He was put on trial as a “terrorist leader” and sentenced Kimathi to death. On 18 February 1957 Dedan Kimathi was executed by lynching at the Kamiti Prison in Kenya. Kimathi is credited with the phrase “To die for one’s country is to live forever”.

You can see the statue on Kimathi Street. Its foundation stone was laid in December 11, 2006 and completed in 2007, 50 years after his death. It includes the quote 'it is better to die on our feet than live on our knees for fear of colonial rule' also created to Kimathi.

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There are grass median strips and roadside strips all over Nairobi. This is the case in most any city, of course.

The local residents have taken to grazing their animals along the roads in these large grass strips. This is understandable, and can be seen in many other countries.

What seems unusual to me is that here, in a fairly large urban area, the goats are simply allowed to run around on their own - without any apparent person looking after them.

Don't they disappear? Get stolen? Walk out into the busy street and get run over? Keep chasing after better grass, and eventually become lost?

I can't tell you how it all works or how the goats and their owners keep themselves sorted out. I can tell you that you will see them in many areas - except the core of downtown Nairobi.

This is just one of many interesting traffic features of driving in Nairobi, for those who have never experienced a city with this wide a variety of driving distractions.

As seen in the final photo (from the Kaster family collection), the goats find all sorts of castoffs to eat. Some of those discoveries don't bear thinking about.