10. There are approximately 4 million residents of Nairobi. There is a speed bump for every single one of them.
9. Nairobi is the host for the annual 124 mile Rhino Run. This makes child's play of getting gored by a bull in Pamplona.
8. The Solar Ice Rink boasts 15,000 square meters (area of the total sports complex that houses it). It is the largest ice rink in Africa and the first ice rink in East Africa.
7. Malaria is very rare in Nairobi according to medical experts in Nairobi and there are surprisingly few mosquitos here. But I wouldn't chuck the malaria prophylaxis yet.
6. Odd dining options: The Iguana Bar and Grill serves Mexican and Indian food and Tanager Bar and Restaurant serves Chinese and African food.
5. Narcissism in Nairobi: A local bride had her wedding cake made to look like herself.
3. Nairobi hosts the Slum Film Festival, an annual festival celebrating films about slums. I hope it has a category for films by slum residents. I wonder if Slumdog Millionaire made the cut?
2. According to Transparency International's 2013 study of corruption in Kenya, 58% of individuals that had legal issues reported paying bribes to the Judiciary. 77% of individuals having business with the police paid bribes. I guess the police assumed these two riders on the back of a truck couldn't afford to pay the bribe for the ticket.
1. A local pastor has banned women from wearing underwear during services underwear during services so that "God can enter their bodies more easily". He did not ban men from wearing their knickers. I suppose this pastor of the Lord's Propeller Redemption Church did not want male congregants to have God enter their bodies through their orifice.
20/01/15: As I am working in the slum of Kayole-Soweto this morning fighting with Excel, this gem of Hollywood's early attempt to help people just like the ones I am trying to help comes blaring out of one of the residents' home. Sorry, but this was too strangely funny and too utterly sick not to share.
This post is dedicated to Dr. Lisa Richey. Check out the book she co-authored with her husband Dr. Stephano Ponte Brand Aid: Shopping Well to Save the World. She researches the effects of celebrity fundraising on international development.
Only in Kenya
Thursday 10:00 a.m. EAT (East Africa Time): So I leave my office to go next door to buy the morning caffeine rush. When I get to the little hole in the wall shop, I see that no one is there to sell my drug of choice. I decide to wait a bit. About 5 minutes later, this guy shows up and stands behind me in line for about 5 minutes, then he opens the cage door, which is unlocked (the cage door is the door that is closed when the store is open and closed. When the store is open the cage is closed to prevent someone from just walking in and stealing the money. When the store is closed, you can do the math.). I assume that the shopkeeper is around the corner for a few minutes. Who knows?
So the dude walks into the store, he looks at me and says "What can I get for you?". So I say I want a coke in a plastic bottle. Then he mentions a price that is about 10 bob higher (that's local lingo for a small number of Kenyan shillings) than I normally pay. So I say "No. Sixty bob" and I give my 60 shillings and go back to work.
Was I on Candid Camera or what?
Today in the news
23.01.15 Heard at 7:30 a.m. local time on Nairobi radio station KISS FM:
The International Criminal Court is an unholy alliance.
Almost as good as dubya's Axis of Evil comment. Maybe the Unholy Alliance will publish a cookbook like the Axis of Evil did.
And this week's top story goes to the two (or three) donkeys who may or may not have won the annual donkey race in Nairobi leading to a riot at the finish line. TV reports indicated that there were only six donkeys in the race. If all three are declared winners, the donkeys will be just like US children where everyone is a winner no matter where they finish.
