Settling Down

I realize that I don’t often say anything negative about my Nairobi life. (Kvetching just isn’t my style, you know.) That said, coming from the party town of Delhi where we were out drinking once or twice a week and had a fairly large circle of friends to hang out with, Nairobi has been a bit of an adjustment.

Due to the security situation here, going out at night to party or drink isn’t a popular hobby amongst expats – far too many of whom are afraid of their own shadows. (I swear to the Goddess, I heard one woman say she never went on the “other” side of Waiyaki way since it was “dangerous.” Loser freak!) But I shouldn’t paint everyone with my jaded brush – there are, as I have been discovering lately, quite a few cool people.

Although I have not yet returned to my professional “Lady who Lunches” status that I had in Delhi, I have been seen out and about in Nairobi having bites (or bitings as they are known here) with various ladies. While no one has come close to replacing Queen E or MK, the folks here are cool in their own right.

One of the most interesting differences between the Delhi Ladies and those here is that Nairobi has more people who live here by choice and, rather freakishly, love it. Instead of having brief contracts that take them from country to country, several people we know have chosen to continue living in Nairobi long-term. For instance, one of Hubby’s colleagues had all of his children born here and the eldest is in high school.

As always, not having children can make it difficult to meet people in any expat community. But with the help of the Association and the Organization, I’ve managed to get to know some nice people that may someday get shout outs here in this blog.

But while we wait for that day and settle into our new lives with optimism for the future, there is always still this… I miss you guys back in Delhi!!!