A Little Bit About Kenya

Greetings.

I am currently still in the United States. Unfortunately, this means I have few new experiences to report, but I am sure that this will change soon.

In the meantime, here is a little bit of background on Nairobi, the first city I will be visiting in Kenya. Although my information comes from a variety of sources, this is largely the sort of stuff you would find on wikipedia (from which I stole the map).

Nairobi, the capital city, is home to Jomo Kenyatta airport, and is the first place I will see when I arrive. With an estimated 3 to 4 million people, Nairobi is the largest city in Kenya, and the fourth largest in all of Africa.

The city is situated on the high central plain of Kenya at an altitude of 5,500 feet. This is good news for me, as it results in cooler air temperatures, and consequently, fewer malarial mosquitoes. Unfortunately, the majority of my time will be spent in Nakuru, Mombasa, and Eldoret (see map), where mosquitoes abound.

The city has been known in recent years as one of the most dangerous and violent cities in the world, even earning the nickname "Nairobbery." Kibera, one of the largest and poorest slums in the world, is located on government land near the city center. Great work has been done in recent years to increase the police force and decrease crime, but it is unclear how successful these efforts have been.

Many residents of Nairobi speak Swahili, although it has been heavily influenced by many of the local languages, as well as English. This pidgin is known as "Sheng," and many of the Kenyans I have met take pride in their ability to keep up with its rapidly developing vocabulary. I have been forewarned that Sheng will heavily corrupt my Swahili, and I look forward to experiencing it firsthand.

That's all for now,
Chris