Nothing in Nairobi

The warm Saturday sunlight is certainly doing a poor job of motivating me to run later in the day. Hanging out in one of my favourite cafes with friends and sangria, I stop and marvel at just how awesome my life is. Stepping back from my thoughts, I tune back into what one of my friends is saying. 

"Yeah, I've been living in Kenya about two months, but I really haven't done much or visited many places!" 

The rest of us all nod in agreement as we chime in with talk of how fast time is passing, how little there is to do, how difficult it is to find (and motivate ourselves to participate in) things to do outside of dancing/drinking/eating/working. Blah blah blah... you know the drill. 

Slowly, we trail off as we realise our friend is still speaking about how much she hasn't been able to do since she got to Kenya. 

"I mean, one weekend we travelled to Uganda, and did some rafting there. Another weekend, I went camping to Naivasha, and then we did skydiving in Diani the week after. Went biking in Hells Gate last weekend... but yeah, other than that, really haven't been anywhere!"

She pauses expectantly, waiting for us to agree. It takes us a while to articulate the fact that the "little" she has done in two months is more than many Kenyans do in a year!

Does this sound familiar to any of you? 

While the above situation may be a little embellished, it's definitely got elements of conversations that I've had with friends and coworkers, and I'm pretty sure that my situation is not unique.

Is it true that there is 'nothing to do' if you live in Nairobi? Not at all, as is shown to us time and again by foreigners living here. Rather, we tend to take all that this city (/country/region) has to offer for granted, and we settle in to our comfort zones. Laziness definitely adds to the equation.

However, I don't think that this is a uniquely Kenyan thing. Many people I know who live in other cities/ countries don't fully take advantage of them until they really get to see things from the perspective of tourists.

What am I getting at? Personally, I'm trying to stop being lazy and take advantage of all that Kenya has to offer: from little things like weekly Zumba to going to fun events within the city skydiving in Diani. And of course, I'll write about them!

What do I want from you? Let me know about activities you've tried out or would love to try out in Nairobi (or in Kenya), places you've visited or are planning to, and I'll do my best to get them on here!

Winding Down: A Family Vacation

First of all, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! Apologies for silence this month; but also, THANK YOU! Thank you to all of you for being such a great audience this year. My readership in 2015 has been the highest ever- especially so in December, which is crazy because I've only published one post this month so far! So thank you, for reading, and keeping up with the Kenyan Nomad, and all the wonderful feedback you've given me this year.

As we count down to my favourite holiday of the year, I wanted to share some snippets from my recent family vacation. My parents and I headed to the Rift Valley from the 20th to the 24th, and I decided to completely unplug! My phone was on airplane mode most of the time, I absolutely didn't check my messages, emails or Facebook at all, and I got to spend some time actually reading! I didn't manage to fit in as much as I would've liked, but I did read 'The Pilgrimage' by Paulo Coelho and 'Social Intelligence' by Daniel Goleman.

There were so many things I loved about this vacation (and we're not just talking about the food here). I got to spend lots of fun time with my parents, do some long distance driving in Kenya, took some long walks that should really be part of my routine in the city (and got some gorgeous pictures on these that I'll be sharing below, went for two blissful spa treatments, and (this is going to sound crazy for those of you who know me) went swimming for the first time in FIVE years. I know, I can't believe it either. Me being me, I jumped right in and did more laps than I ought to, so I was a little sore at the end of the day, but the amazing massage at the spa helped lots. Plus, I got to go to bed before 9 for the first time in ages!

My least favourite part of this vacation? Discovering that I'm apparently some sort of mosquito magnet. Seriously, if I'm in a room with nine other people and a bunch of mosquitoes, I'll be the only one covered in red bumps the next day. Discrimination or attraction? You tell me?

Anyway, I'm definitely rested and rejuvenated and looking forward to the end of 2015 and what 2016 will bring. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking!

Pic by Nimrod Levy

Pic by Nimrod Levy