1.Teenager. I have a 14 year old who
thinks that over 50% of what I say is SOOOO lame – make that 90% - totes, LOL,
cray, cray, whatevs – I feel like the embodiment of Kris Jenner right now. Said daughter gone away to school which is horrible.
I’m trying to encourage her to become an online sensation (such as teen fave
Zoella who, incidentally, has just bought her very own million pound house in
Brighton) so then my daughter can buy her own
clothes online and stop bugging me with emails that just consist of weblinks to
random US fashion houses selling crop tops and eye-wateringly short shorts and
miniskirts.
2.Local News. I’ve stopped reading the
local newspapers. Phew, that’s a relief!
Honestly, I couldn’t bear it any longer.
3.Job. Loving enjoying my job as a local magazine
editor, which goes hand-in-hand with a hefty dose of frustrations, but hey, I’m
out there actually working, engaging. The best thing? It’s part time – so definitely
can’t complain. Just ticked off two years and only just beginning to get the
hang of it. Not sure why it’s taken so long to get my head above water on this
one?
4.School Run. The traffic is
horrendous. More horrendous than is
imaginable. Picture this; kids on a bus
for 2 hours to get to school. And the
bus leaves at 6.30am. It’s still dark!! Alarm now goes off at 5.40am to take
the younger two to school. Reduction in fuel prices made Nairobi residents race
to their car ignitions, keys in hand and suddenly it seems like the number of
cars on the road has doubled (again...). #Tired.
5.Friends. Loads of stalwart expat friends
have left. Last year was the final straw
when the security situation in Nairobi went haywire. There was a big exodus,
but don’t worry – from what I read, they have been replaced by young Harvard
grads who are here in Nairobi in their droves investing in tech and socially
responsible, do-good start-ups which are all bound to be ‘the next big thing’ globally! I blame MPesa for catching the world’s
attention. Problem is; I haven’t met any of them yet. They are too busy working
7am-1am apparently. Bloomberg article about the young Americans
6.Weather. The weather is great (lots of
sun and the odd dose of rain but only when we particularly need it). Proper
rains due end of March and it’s all downhill from there.
7.World Affairs. Kenya is (finally) not
featuring on my BBC news app on a weekly basis.
Phew. We’re clinging on to ‘not being in the news’, as this as it’s the
best news we’ve had in ages!
8.Hubby (do we hate that word?). My
husband continues to be addicted to his smartphone, even though it’s Lent and
this might have been the perfect opportunity to give it up. Here are the games that we have finger swiped
our way through over the past 4 years (in this exact order); Angry Birds,
Temple Run, Hill Climb, Flappy Bird, Bubble Shooter, Jelly Splash and now
Crossy Road. In fact, I’m not entirely
against these games. They are a great stress
reliever and make ‘waiting’ a lot more manageable. Shame the phone battery life
runs out so fast. L
9.Home. What else? Oh, the house is
great. So pleased with the extra space
and no regrets there – but the landscape has changed. We are now hemmed in by
monstrously large town houses on two sides and the building site at the bottom of
the garden has been going on for two years and counting... Goodbye trees, hello
massive orange painted walls, balconies, towers, windows overlooking and a grey
block boundary wall topped by an electric fence that make us feel like we are
bordering Colditz.
10.Nairobi Life. Life is changing here in
Kenya crazy-fast at the moment. This
blog is all about dispelling myths or preconceived ideas about expat life in
Nairobi. A Danish friend who lived here seven years ago and came back on holiday
said ‘it’s just the same – there are more buildings and new roads but in
between are the old, familiar places that we used to love.’ But i feel that the city has moved on. Nairobi
is a seething, churning, melting pot metropolis and there’s a feeling of optimism,
entrepreneurship and ‘anything is possible’ here right now. As usual, life is never boring.