Young Kenyan Man in the U.S.A.

A massive 3 months of blogger's block finally comes to an end. I've touched down in Obama's land, Dallas Texas to be exact. The nice people at the US Embassy decided that I've earned the right to visit my sister and in-laws during my annual leave. (Scheduling the visa interview on the day of the inauguration found the people on a good mood). So for the next 4 weeks, it will be all about gaining weight, meeting friends from way back and generally forgetting about unga and other issues back home.

So what has changed?

I have dreadlocks: Finally, parents, teachers, lecturers and management out of the way, I've done one thing that I'd wanted to for a long time. Must admit, the attention is overwhelming, but maintaining the look is demanding. Why do chics go through all that trouble for dudes who most often than not will not notice your new hairdo?
Can you spot the black worms crawling all over my head???

I'm still single: Despite all the hulabaloo of the last post, kimeumana. Nothing happening in that direction. Guess this place will provide some necessary distraction.

I can spend: It seems that my aversion to spending money on myself has been subdued. Paying for an overseas holiday is no small feat, despite booking the cheapest mid-week return flights on BA. And now, trying to figure how to go for San Diego Sevens means that tukirudi nyumbani, we'll be starting from scratch.

But life ni fupi, so let's see how the holiday goes. Anywhere far away from stress of work is good enough for me.

Young Kenyan Man in Switzerland

After a 6 month hiatus I'm back to my globe trotting ways. This time it was a conference for users of some equipment that we use at work. The company is based in Switzerland, so they chose somewhere in the Alps for purposes of making their customers feel special. I now realize why managers go for conferences, they hold the purse strings. Being a techie, I went there simply because I use the equipment more than anyone else.



The highlight of course was a glacier walk in the Alps. Being a Kenyan born and bred in Nairobi, snow is something I'd only seen up Mt Kenya from far far away. The Eastern European guys had a field day taunting me that I'd freeze to death. Then they pelted me with snow and made me eat it!!! But it was so much fun, at -7 degrees.

Nyahururu eat your heart out!!!


One thing about this beautiful country is that it comes with a hefty price tag. Everything is priced over the moon, and being in a tourist town, it was insane even for the other Europeans in our group. Guess I'd better look but no touching...

Young Kenyan Man in Uganda

That's right, I'm refugeeing in UG. My 24 days leave will expire on the end of March and after been held hostage indoors for the better part of the last couple of weeks, I had to come to a decision to flee the country yet be in a position to be in touch with loved ones in case of anything (read One Network/Kama Kawaida).

Took a flight via Air Uganda and since these guys are making a comeback, it means first class treatment for economy class guys. Of course, it's not cheap compared to road, but considering what happened to my cousin this past friday, I'm glad I took the upstairs route.

He informed me that between Kisumu and Busia, the road is blocked by gangs of youth and the local cops are overwhelmed by the situation, such that these guys in their Akamba bus didn't get police escort automatically but had to go searching for it. Apparently even the cops are somewhat influenced by the tribal issues and only when they got a Kikuyu OCS somewhere in Luanda, were they able to travel safely to Busia.

They got stopped by a gang who demanded money to let them pass, and just after they'd done a mini harambee and the road cleared, another gang showed up with a tractor tyre and kerosene. They wanted to burn the bus and demanded for Kikuyus in it. Fortunately the driver had his wits with him and drove off, under a hail of stones.

Otherwise Kampala is ok, save for the heat and it was refreshing to attend a catholic mass on Sunday because the prayers for peace centered on Kenya. Guys here are quite concerned about the happenings back home, especially because of its effect on prices such as fuel.

I'll try enjoy the holiday, but thoughts go out to back home and that a peaceful resolution can be found soon.

Young Kenyan Man in Belgium

Nilipanda ndege, nikaenda majuu!!!

Hi good people. This is what happens when a Kenyan is translated to the first world. The same short I was randarandaring with all over Nairobi on Saturday, is the same one doing rounds in Brussels on Sunday. I'm here for 2 weeks, technical training (that's what the company sent me for) and hoping to get the most out of the experience.

Apparently this flying out thing isn't everything they say about it. Of course the numerous passport checks (4 in Kenya, 2 in Belgium) were a bit too much. The flight on SN Brussels was quite smooth, considering everyone has been a bit touchy about flying lately. The stewardesses however were not the kindest (is it coz we were in economy or coz we are black?) and the food was not the best.

Brussels is a beautiful city (as the picture outside our Hotel clearly shows) and we've spent the whole day roaming the city, visiting some of the major sites such as the Grand Place. My colleagues are wholly dependent on me, being the only chap in this group of 5 who can vibe french (Thank you Lord for the strength to skuma 4 years of KCSE French) and I actually have a good command of it, or is it the pressure coz guys don't vibe english alot. Surprisingly, we overheard a group of black jamaas vibing Kiswahili, the Nairobi dialect kabisa!

It's actually quite easy to visit and the street signs and maps guarantee that getting around is a piece of cake. The prices on the other hand are another thing, especially if you keep automatically converting everything to Kenya shillings and gasping in despair! At least it's the company footing the bill...

It's the beginning of summer and the sun set after 10 p.m. which was amazing to behold (despite learning all about it in school, looking at your watch is so surreal!). My first experience with a chic hasn't gone down well, jungu chile asks me if I wanted to use the net (computer at the hotel lobby) after her, and my high school french + all the english potead!!!! Let's hope that the rest of the 2 weeks brings better tales. A bientot!!!