So much to learn......

I have now been living in Africa for just over a year. Of course thats no time at all. But the arrival of a bunch of new people to coincide with the school term in September and the sad departure of some older hands means I am seen by some (in the very transient school community at least) as close to being a relatively established Nairobi inhabitant. I don't feel like that at all and whilst I've learnt lots - like how to tell when bananas are ready to pick, how to tuck the kids up at night under a mosquito net, that Nairobi is Massai for "very cold", not to be surprised by cars coming straight at you on the wrong side of the road and that an irregular power supply seriously reduces rows over screen time - each day I realise that I still have so much to learn about life in Nairobi, Kenya and the wider region.

Picking up the car from a service a few months ago. I checked that they had given me a full invoice. I checked that they had dealt with the overheating engine and slow puncture - yes, with the old, broken bit of the radiator as proof and no, with the flakey tyre just repumped and the bulge still obvious but no charge on the invoice. But I didn't check whether they had decided to take apart the rear door and then not to put it back together. I realised my mistake when I came to put a bit of shopping in the boot an hour later and found the inner bit of the door taking up the space. Turns out they were planning to fix our window but didn't have the part so just left it till they could get the part. Fair enough. But next time I will look more closely both at the things I've asked for and then at all the things I haven't and try and avoid the extra journey back to get it sorted - an early lesson here was that things just take longer and more attempts to get done.

I'm also learning lots at work, about working across multiple cultures, about how to make sure my home working time is productive despite occasionally being without power or Internet coverage - I keep my laptop charged and have found a few good coffee shops between home and school with wifi and power sockets (and good latte). And about the politics, opportunities and challenges for Kenya and the wider region. I'm getting to travel round a bit and have met some fascinating people from all walks of life with lots of interesting things to say - and alongside some of these people I've learnt that its unwise to base a pitch for funding solely on a power point presentation and a projector when your office has a very unreliable electricity supply.

I think we are all also learning to be more adaptable here whether it's changing our shopping list because the thing that's wanted isn't on the shelf, or changing our plans because some unexpected traffic makes them unrealistic, or changing the evening meal because there is no power, or understanding that cafes don't always have everything that's on their menu - although it was a bit surprising to find one the other day that didn't have anything on its extensive menu unless you wanted a burger with coffee. I can see why long term planning isn't really a feature of life here. As a good friend observed its more a case of learning that if you plan early you plan twice. And as someone who has tended to rely on a fair bit of careful planning to juggle the various things in my life that has taken a little bit of adjustment.



Anne