Walking the streets of Nairobi

One thing one learns when being in Africa is never to be rigid when you make plans!

I came to Nairobi  in November of last year. On my way to a fund raising safari walk up North country I arrived with a group of ladies and men at the hotel after a long flight only to find that our rooms had been given to another group that had decided to extend its stay! So adapt we did, grumpily at first because after all it was 11pm! Eventually we all had a fun time even though we had to be bused to another hotel less to our liking.

This time around, in July,  I did not want to spend time in Nairobi, but plans changed and here I was killing time before my flight to Lewa Downs  the next day. I decided to go walk around town, which is something I have never done in any African city. I decided to brave my fears and after being encouraged by a local friend I took off trying to look as inconspicuous as I could. Obviously that was impossible. I was the only white person in the street in midtown Nairobi.

The traffic was heavy and unruly as is often the case in Nairobi, but I managed to not get myself run over when I crossed the street and made my way towards the market area where I was told I would find small shops and mall. Nothing caught my attention, but I sure caught the eye of a few men looking for a shopping victim/tourist. I first rebuffed pleasantly a few who looked suspicious. When I became braver and ready for some “small adventure” I let myself be convinced to venture off the main road by cheerful, and persuasive James Munywoki who wanted to show me his father’s curio store. Perhaps I was reckless but it all turned out to be fun and safe.

In the midst of West and East African masks, and other wooden sculptures I found these quite amusing wooden figurines. Straight out of West Africa (Mali or Benin) they immediately caught my eye. Stiff  but colorful, stylish renditions of white colonialists, their slightly cartoony character appealed to my western sensibility.   When looking at them all grouped together I thought of a crowd of foreign bystanders watching some event like a parade or game of cricket! James and I bargained hard, he walked me to the ATM machine and the next thing I knew James was walking me back to the hotel carrying four figurines under his arm.  When I got home two weeks later I put them in my entry hall across my front door and my daughter told me they were her favorite art pieces.

Two months later I was in Ghana at the Artists Alliance Gallery in Accra and here is what I see! More figurines! I don’t miss a beat and get two more.

Read the next post for more about the arts in Ghana.

I wrote the draft of this blog post before I flew off to Ghana and since then the Nairobi tragedy at the West Gate Mall happened. I consider myself very lucky I had such a day and feel really sad for Kenya and the people who lost their lives.