Habari,
I've been back in the States since last Saturday, the 30,th to celebrate my mother's 70th birthday. Happy Birthday Mama Rose! August 8, 1941 was a great day in history. The entire time at home, I've been noticing all that I've taken for granted in the past. The first thing that caught my attention was how much I missed getting behind the wheel of a car and driving myself wherever I wanted to go.
I feel like a piece of my independence has been taken since I've been in Nairobi. You see, IBM provides transportation in the form of a car and driver. Don't get me wrong, I have NO desire to drive the streets of Nairobi and certainly not Lagos, but I do miss the independence. There's nothing like jumping in a car and taking yourself from point A to B.
The next thing I noticed was the comfort of my bed! Yes, my bed. The mattresses in Nairobi should be used as weapons. I'm not joking at all. You better be careful plopping down on a mattress in Nairobi, you may break a hip. LOL. I wake up with sore hips and lower back all of the time. I find myself sleeping on extra pillows because the mattress doesn't give at all. I had trouble trying to figure out what I would ship to Nairobi since I wasn't selling my house. Well, a mattress will be the first thing in the container.
Now, the first thing I did when I built my home in the States was furnish my bedroom, which included a plush pillow top mattress. I wanted my bed and bedroom to be my oasis. As I found myself complaining about the mattresses to Master Pu one day, I stopped to think that there are millions of people in the world who would be happy to have a hard mattress to sleep on. SMH. Yes we are spoiled.
After a few days at home, I also noticed that I brushed my teeth with tap water without checking for my Cipro prescription. Now I will have to retrain myself not to run my toothbrush under the tap water when I return to Nairobi on Saturday. Being able to drink water from the tap without fear is definitely something we Americans take for granted. Clean water is not something we hope for, it is expected. Actually my Indian colleague laughed at me one day when he found out I had never been to Africa or Indian. He said, “Oh you've only eaten clean food and breathed clean air.” He got such a kick out of that statement. I was not laughing.
Speaking of food, I'm not sure I mentioned that there are NO fast food chains in Nairobi. At least not any of the American fast food places we are use to. Any of you who have travelled the world knows that no matter what corner of the earth you travel to, you can ALWAYS find a McDonald's french fry. Well, not in Nairobi. There are no McDonald's, Kentucy Fried or Burger King. OMG. Chick-Fil-a is my favorite chain and its not even that wide-spread in the States. I've been eating chicken since I've been home. That's not a good habit, but I had to get it out of my system.
During my mother's birthday party this weekend, I freely ate everything in front of me without worrying about whether I would get sick or not. And, everything tasted exactly as I expected it to...delicious. I could feel the pounds I lost in Nairobi coming back with every bite. LOL The birthday cake from Denise's (those of you from Philly know these cakes are legendary) was amazing as usual.
When I had to venture into a particularly shady part of North Philly to pick up my mom's birthday cake, I realized that my time in Lagos served me well. Usually the chaos and lack of civility near 22nd street would put my nerves on edge. I was cool as a cucumber and a little uncivil myself. LOL. It will be interesting to see what type of person and business woman I will be when this assignment is over. I wonder if I will be any less spoiled. What do you think?
I'm going to enjoy my final few days in the States. This next stint in Nairobi will be a long one. I won't be home for Christmas. :-( Stay tuned people, the ride promises to be entertaining. Don't forget to sign up as a follower. See you from Nairobi next week.
Della Rochelle
Copyright © 2011 by Della Rochelle Williams
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