Habari?
There is no better mirror,
than an old friend – Cape Verde
We just got back from Nairobi. We hadn’t been back in almost five years. We were excited to see our friends in NBO and to return to a few places, in this East African capital. And I had a list of tastes to revisit too; tangawezi (ginger beer), strong tea, AAA coffee, injera at a local Eritrean restaurant and a cool Tusker lager.
We landed at Jomo Kenyatta International airport. Memories flooded back of our first arrival here, now seven years ago. We had moved to Kenya for work. At the time, there had been a fire at the arrivals terminal. And so we queued in an old car park, awaiting a temporary stamp in our passports.
Several years on, arriving is very different. Construction of the new international arrivals terminal is complete; clean and contemporary. We were guided to the immigration desk, where we presented our application for a holiday visa. The immigration officer was friendly, fast and efficient. Within a few minutes, we were stamped into the country.
And we heard our first “Habari?” (how are you)
“Mzuri!” (good)
These were frequent greetings that punctuated the everyday, for the two years that we lived in Kenya.
We never wanted to leave Kenya. Without doubt, for me it was the best place in our ten years in international schools. And so ‘going back’ was always going to pull at the heartstrings a little.
On our first day back in the city, we headed through the traffic to The Circle Gallery to catch Michael Soi’s exhibition ‘Heaven Can Wait’. Michael Soi creates colourful, politically and culturally charged pieces. His work is now iconic Kenyan artwork, with international recognition.
In the evening we enjoyed a very special ‘welcome back’ gathering; a jolly. Familiar faces.
During our stay in Nairobi, we made to time to go back to places that we knew. So what had changed, in almost five years since we left?
We went to the Sarit centre, which had previously been a dated, dusty mall. Now we found a new wing, fancy floor tiles, new shops and a French supermarket. New, new, new. We made our way out of a new exit. Large paving stones had been laid, awaiting cement. There was construction dust and chaos everywhere.
We were greeted warmly by the Mall Manager, who was busy overseeing the work. He watched as we stode forward confidently. “Ah, you are the first ones to use my new exit”. We chatted. We told him where we were headed. He escorted me through the construction site and past some exposed electric wires.
I turned to him and said ” I bless your exit” and we all started laughing.
We hesitantly walked by Westgate shopping mall, the centre which had been attacked by terrorists in our first few weeks in Nairobi. I will always remember the sounds of the AK47s and the grenades, sounds I’d never heard before or since. The siege lasted for four days, a few hundred meters away from our apartment.
Now the mall has been rebuilt. The giant Nakaumatt elephant is gone, as is the smiling askari (security guard) who used to greet us. We didn’t see any acknowledgement of the terrorist attack that happened here, no tribute to the 67 who died there. It was all business as usual.
A few days later we walked to Diamond Plaza, following the roadside pathways from Westlands. After almost 24 hours of heavy rain, the red earth had turned to mud. We dodged cars and walked on the road.
Diamond Plaza was always a bit of a rough diamond. We liked it because it wasn’t a pretentious, fancy place. We made a beeline for our old favourite cafe, a sort of Kenyan ‘greasy spoon’, which used to dish up deep fried snacks. We went in search of hot bhajias and cool tangewezi ginger beer. The place was gone. Reduced to rubble.
Just next door, connected by a bridge, a new, bright and shiny mall was under construction. Progress, I guess.
We walked to our old Westlands apartment. Martin, the friendly askari who used to greet us every day was gone. The vast gardens in the compound were the same but the party people who used to gather around our Friday night firepits have left. Everyone from those days has moved on to pastures new; Switzerland, Shanghai, Dubai.
There are very few constants in this world. Looking around Nairobi, many things had changed. But the friendships made in NBO remain the same.
Our friend and host is petit, ‘Kazuri’ (small and beautiful) But she has a huge heart. She made us feel at home from start to finish; ‘a week long Karibu’. The welcome was warm. The bubbles were chilled. She organised everything to make our stay perfect.
There is no better mirror, than an old friend. Like us, her life is punctuated by people and travel. She values that above all else. We spent most of our time together talking, laughing and sharing news.
We have countless unique fabrics and artefacts from years of living in different countries. But the greatest ‘collectables’ have been some special international friendships, many VIPs.
Unrelated people. Unbreakable bonds.
Is there are place in the world where you moved to, where you made special friendships?
Have you gone back to a place where you used to live, and found many changes?
© Maggie M/Mother City Time