I’m a Chatty Traveler

Boniface was our partner for a week in exploring Lake Naivasha, driving us all over the area and sharing his perspectives on life in Kenya.

I like to chat when I travel. I walk into a pharmacy and my boys are tugging at me 20 minutes later to stop chatting it up with the clerk. I ask her every question she’ll generously answer about not only the product she’s selling, but about her favorite foods and restaurants and where she grew up and…

In Kenya, we take Ubers and Bolts everywhere we go. There’s no public transportation, and the matatu buses are so very confusing to a visitor like me (there’s no map, you just have to know where the bus is going). So fortunately, these app car services are super accessible and largely reliable (ask me about getting caught in a police chase once we’re back). Fortunately, with all of these cars with strangers, we get to chat. I don’t force people to answer my millions of questions about life in Kenya, I try to be aware of their comfort in these conversations. But quite often, my curiosity is fed through easy conversations with equally chatty drivers.

I’ve learned some perspectives on politics in Kenya. For example, some think every government is corrupt, and the taxes are completely unfair because if you have a little bit of money to bribe a tax collector or other government official, you don’t have to pay your fair share. So taxes are only collected amongst those who can’t afford the bribes.

I’ve learned that the city is full of new potholes and rough roads, thanks to the storms of the last month. Seasonally, the rain does so much damage and then it seems that all of Nairobi is waiting for the season to pass to start to repair the roads. Also, surprisingly, any day when school is open, the roads are super congested. The traffic on school days is unbelievably worse than when the kids are not at school.

I’ve learned that there are certain neighborhoods that even many locals don’t feel comfortable walking through.

I’ve learned that a few kilometers away from the posh neighborhood where foreigners tend to stay are filled with beautiful apartments and open fields and much more affordable rents where people from Nairobi choose to spend their time. 

I’ve learned that musicians in Kenya really struggled during the pandemic, and that some artists (like a driver I met) gave up on their music careers as a result of the devastation of the live music scene…yet it seems to be thriving once again so I’m hoping at least this lovely driver goes back to his passion!

I’ve learned that many drivers maintain an endless well of patience, cultivated by sitting in standstill traffic day in and day out. 

I’ve learned that I love this city.