A Foreigner In Kenya, Chapter 19

 Njama - the plot

We will leave it at that for now. We do not want to deal with it any further. As already mentioned, the plot is quickly found. What we don't know is whether it is a piece of land suitable for building a house. So we take the fundi with us. He also arrives with a tape measure. We go by bus. It's not far, about an hour away. If it weren't for the long waits and the many stops, the journey would take just under 40 minutes. So we arrive, get out, walk to the property. It is a bit off the beaten track, quiet, not far from the main road and not far from a small supermarket. A man is waiting for us, it is Patrick. He shows us the land. We take a look at it. Innocent grins. "I'm quite in love with this piece of land," he says to me. I'm a bit surprised, because that's not why I brought him along. He is supposed to measure the land, tell us if it is suitable for building a house. Whether he likes the land or not is his business. The owner comes, a certain Charles. It doesn't take long before two people come on a motorbike. They are the surveyors. They measure the land again with the fundi. Everything is OK, the fundi says. "The land costs 700,000," Charles says. "But because it's you, 600,000." I think, the monster doesn't. "We'll take it! It's so beautiful here!" I'm still thinking, calculating how many euros that is. That's all my savings! There's nothing left. The monster penetrates me. She already has a plan. "Everything is there!," she says, "electricity is there, not far away, water is there! Water is life! Here we have everything we need." Electricity is there, I see the electricity pillar not far away. Water I don't see. "Where is the water?", I ask. "There's a pipe over there, that's where the water will be diverted. Controlled by the government, it's pure drinking water!" I ask why he has lowered the price. He answers that he urgently needs money for his son. I don't have much left, so I agree. So we take it off. We leave. Next to the supermarket is a restaurant. I hadn't noticed it when we arrived, but the monster says, "Let's get something to eat, there in that restaurant." The Fundi didn't see it either. We wonder. The monster rushes into the restaurant without looking left or right, heading straight for her target. At first, neither I nor the Fundi can see anything, because it's dark in the restaurant. We run after her. At the back of the restaurant there is a garden with pleasant seating. We sit down. "How do you know your way around there?" I ask, "have you been there before?" "No, this is my first time here." The Fundi looks at me, I look at the Fundi. He shrugs his shoulder. We order something to eat. Meat, ugali and tomato salad. I don't like meat that much. The Fundi asks me: "You don't eat?" "I do eat, but not so much meat." "Why not?" "They are living creatures that have been killed so that we can eat them." The fundi wonders. "These animals are there to serve us." I don't agree at all. They are living creatures, just like us, created by God. That's what the Bible says. If someone now claims that the animals are there to serve us, he is elevating himself to God's level. And man is far from God. The food is excellent. The beer is cold. Everything fits together well. We are going home. It's not as easy as you might think. There is no terminus where we are, where the matatus are lined up, here they just stand still, you can get on or not, it depends on the space and the price, the two often don't go together. If there is room, the price is too high, if the price is right, there is no room. A vicious circle! We stand on the road and wait. One matatu after another comes, something always doesn't fit. You have to be patient, otherwise you are lost in Kenya. We finally made it. It was already getting dark, I was nervous, a matatu came by, we squeezed in. I feel like I'm in a consern box, squeezed in right and left between people I don't know. But what the hell, we are on our way back. We get home late. I'm going to buy, so we - the fundi, the monster and I - agree to meet before I sign the contract.