During the last few days in Nairobi it has become painfully clear to me that if I decide to live in any city for an extended period of time, I absolutely can not live the “expatriate lifestyle”. Almost every part of every day has felt manufactured and surreal. Hamburgers, hummus and pita bread, cinnamon rolls, and a whole bunch of other crap that was obviously imported and that I would almost never touch at home. So why am I eating it here?!?!? Why is it “so difficult” to find a restaurant that prepares Kenyan food??? Though I will admit that during Havanna night, I thoroughly enjoyed the prawns and tostones! =)
But it is extremely frustrating when the wait staff is a caught off guard when I request Kenya tea or coffee and insist that I do not want Lipton, Tetley, or an Americano. I pay $2 every morning for Mayorga coffee, which is in my opinion the absolute best Kenyan coffee in DC and it doesn’t hurt that their “African” blend is a mixture of beans from Kenya, Ethiopia, Cameroon, and Uganda. But since I’ve been in Kenya, it’s been almost impossible to get “local” coffee! This doesn’t make sense…
Oh, but it does. While on my way to Java House, a popular spot in expat central, I asked my driver to recommend a good Kenyan restaurant for my last night in town. He immediately told me that I wouldn’t like Kenyan food, if I didn’t like meat. Who told him that I didn’t like meat?!?!? In his defense, this is what he assumed. I’m sure he’s come across quite a few vegetarians from abroad.
I hope that I’ll get the chance to visit again soon because don’t feel like I’ve experienced Kenya at all. I haven’t seen anything that distinguishes it from any other city in the world. But then again, I am off to Juba shortly, so I may be in store for quite a treat... be it good or bad...
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