Doing, Not Doing

Suddenly, work is picking up, trips and friends are multiplying in number, and time is flying. As it should be. Times like these call for bulleted lists.

In case you wanted to know more of my day to day experience -- this is for you!

Things I am Doing

• Developing FilmAid's Dropbox account (SHOUT OUT to Matt Spitz for being awesome; ask him why!) and Salesforce database, for use across our teams in London and Nairobi
• Project managing the writing and design of our annual report
• Working through transition of staff in my office, trying to plan out how work (particularly communications) gets done with not enough staff. Aka working at a non-profit.
• Getting to know my way hip, super hard working and impressive Kenyan colleagues.
• Hanging out with loads of wonderful Australians and picking up their patterns of speech.
• Making friends with some open hearted, deeply empathetic and inspiring individuals. Wow.
• Listening to a lot of people's stories about their religious and spiritual backgrounds (If I speak to someone for more than 20 minutes, the conversation will get there 75% of the time)
• Eating the same thing for lunch every day: dengu (lentil stew) with rice or ugali (maize mash), a side of kachumbari (tomato and onion) and fresh juice (if the blender is working! not often the case but I ask every day!)
• Getting out of Nairobi to see beautiful countryside and wildlife (pictures coming from this weekend!!)
• Dancing to Beyonce and learning songs on ukelele
• Loads and loads of yoga with Samson, a teacher from Africa yoga project
• When I'm in town, going to Catholic church with a young American family also from the Bay Area, then joining them for brunch!
• Washing my underwear in the sink
• Relying on a few very kind and trustworthy taxi drivers, who make navigating the city possible in the day to day

Summary: I am living a very comfortable and fun life, getting to know interesting people, and generally having a great time.

Things I am Not Doing

• "Serving," not really. FilmAid is a NGO doing both humanitarian and development work. But I'm working rather than volunteering. For that and other reasons, my mentality is very different from my time in Cape Town. I'm less critical, more sure of my role. For better or worse, I feel that I have something to contribute here, based on my experience working for FilmAid in New York for a year, and given prior relationships (even from afar) with my colleagues.
• Getting stressed out about work, so far - yeah! Something about the atmosphere here, even if things are extremely hectic, is far more laid back. Either it gets done today, or the next day. Maybe I'm on tourist mode or maybe I'm not picking up on how Kenyans deal with stress, but I'll roll with it for now.
• Fully sharing my beliefs/identity, unless I am clearly with like minded company. Kenyan society is very conservative, very Christian, and people perceived as outsiders aren't necessarily viewed or treated well. (Sound like any other places on the planet, near or far?) That being said, I haven't had any negative experiences.
• Going for any night time walks. Security and safety issues in Kenya lead to a more restricted lifestyle -- there are rules about where is safe and what is okay -- but within that, I do feel free. I'm lucky that I have a salary which covers living in a nice area, and taking cab rides whenever I need them.

Summary: I'm navigating day by day and person by person. It's been very interesting.

Coming up in the next post -- Pictures from Lake Naivasha!