Foreigner In Kenya, Chapter 6

 A fine day in Nairobi, I was in the bar, had a beer, actually there were two, but what the heck, people were talking, it was loud, several televisions made us happy with a sports program that nobody was interested in. Suddenly an outcry. Someone had come from the street, ran out of breath, stood in the doorway, shouted: "People, traffic jam!" Everyone jumped up and ran out. The waiter afterwards, some had forgotten to pay. In a few minutes the bar was empty. I was alone. I asked the waiter, "What happened?" "It jams again." "And they want to avoid the traffic jam?" "No, they want to take part." I was just amazed. I drank another beer. Fresh and cold. After an hour they came back. They beamed all over their faces. Some had red cheeks, they were so excited. "How was it?" Asked the waiter. "Wonderful. We were stuck in a traffic jam, nobody could go forward, nobody backward, neither right nor left. We didn't leave any space. It was wonderful, wonderful!" That's the way it is in Nairobi. Traffic jam every day. The streets are full. Everyone knows it and yet everyone gets behind the wheel. Why do you do this to yourself? Some because they have to, others - and that's the majority - because they want to. It's the nouveau riche who drive big, fat cars, they have to be shown. Everyone has to see it, you can afford it! You don't belong to the large group of Matatu users, you drive your own car! Anyone stuck in a traffic jam will be seen and that is important. See and be seen. That's why you are completely relaxed when you arrive. It is always hoped that the neighbor in the traffic jam is someone you have never seen. That is the greatest happiness. People in traffic jams burn a lot of fuel, that's the same. At the same time it pollutes the environment. But what the heck, a little lead in the blood won't do any harm. What is harmful is not to be seen. You could also drive Matatu, that would save a lot, but the disadvantage is that you cannot run your own vehicle. And so it keeps building up. No life without traffic jams! Only those who accumulate live!

A Foreigner in Kenya, Chapter 2

 I don't really have to wait long, but this short amount of time I have to wait gives me time to look around. Two policemen face me, passengers come and go. Many relatives come with them to say goodbye to loved ones or to make sure that the love leaves the country. Everything is possible. Cars come, unload someone, and leave soon. It's coming and going. It's warm, not hot, just warm. I start to sweat in my jacket. I can't see that well either, so I have to clean my glasses. Quickly, I don't have time, the car could come at any moment and I have to read the license plate. A small vehicle has come to take me away. I wave to him, he stops. It's a middle-aged man. Anyone younger than me is middle-aged, which is kind of reassuring. He's got his smartphone in his hand and taps it around. "We're going to the Y Hotel on X Street?" He asks me. I can only confirm. We're leaving. Now some other thoughts come to my head. What I noticed is the fact that there were only a few white people on the plane. When I was waiting for the car, I hadn't seen a single white man! We leave the airport, drive on the highway, for us it's a "normal" road, a federal highway. I have some time, the drive to the hotel is not far, only the traffic slows down. There are strange curves that I can't really understand. But this is Kenya and someone will have thought something. "Not many foreigners here?" I ask the driver. "There are some," he replies. "They don't come in as many numbers as they used to." "Yes," I agree, "It is difficult and expensive. Now everyone needs a negative PCR test in order to be able to get on the plane at all, and here in Kenya that is also checked, which is actually unnecessary, since the airline already has it Checked. Two are better! "" This damn pandemic is killing us all. "" Business is getting less, "I mean. "Issue freeze, restrictions, all of this is wrecking us." "I can imagine that. There was also the lockdown for a few months, which certainly left its mark. It sure hit the economy." He agrees. Then he asks: "How is it in your country?" "Not better. More than a million people have lost their jobs. That doesn't sound too bad, but we only have 3.5 million who go to work. That's a million a lot." "How big is your country?" "Not big, you can hardly find it on the map, we only count nine million." The driver laughs. "A little bigger than Nairobi." "How many people are in Nairobi?" I ask. "I'm not sure, but about five million." "A big city," I can only agree. The Nairobi skyline appears. Skyscrapers shoot into the sky. They stand close together. They give each other shadows. One construction site after the other, one traffic jam after the other, actually just traffic jams. It's being built like crazy. It's the Chinese who build there, which I don't really understand because, I think there are a lot of younger engineers in Kenya who can do that too. However, there must be a drifty reason why this construction project is being carried out by foreigners. The driver doesn't know, so it remains a mystery to me too. Later I found out that an expressway was being built from the airport to Nairobi.