I had a good feeling about today the second i woke up. It seemed the Norwegians had also rolled over a good mood from yesterday's meeting so we left the house with a very promising plan of attack.
Torbjoern wants to buy a car so we were going to check out the showrooms and Malin wanted to go shopping through the markets. Myself and Torbjoern needed to print some health insurance forms off first but unfortunately were not able to post the forms, so that would have to wait till Monday.
This type of setback in England would normally result in me redirecting to the pub to watch the footy, especially if the weather was as good back home as it was in Nakuru. Nakuru offers much more though and even though the thought of a cold beer was tempting, we had some used cars to browse.
Car salesmen in general (in my opinion) are about as honest as an African market is quiet...not very. On top of this we had the language barrier and the race card to deal with. Admittedly my new purchase didn't help Torbjoern give off the impression that he wasn't a tourist with lots of money to throw away. The first few showrooms were surprisingly frustrating and despite looking like redneck millionaires compared to the locals, we were not helped or approached by anyone!
En route to the next showroom I tried the culinary expertise of a local vender and bought a boiled egg served with some salsa. Not exactly an ideal snack in 30 degree heat, arguably ice cream is more common but I enjoyed it despite the initial shock of a surprisingly spicy salsa and the likelihood of obtaining salmonella.
The final showroom just annoyed us. I know salesmen aim high and allow a little bit of chipping away to make both parties happy but trying to sell a 20 year old rustbin Toyota for £4000 in Kenya...really? my reply was laugh and walk away. I told Torbjoern it was probably best to go car shopping with a local, befriend a local mechanic and most importantly, go looking without me.
By this time it was lunch so we waited at a friend's stall for Malin. The guys have known Eric who runs a clothes stall in town pretty much since they arrived in Kenya and they invited him around theirs for a few drinks tonight.
When Malin arrived we made our way to Gilani's where we ate the first time I met the guys. En route the guys bumped into a friend from the drop in centre (also called Eric) and invited him to join us for lunch. Eric agreed and the four of us went for lunch. As i missed out on the salad cart before i decided to go for it this time. It wasn't special, mixed salad with two sauces (one red, one pink) but I made myself a plate anyway. I was unsure of the sauces so just tried the tiniest spot of red sauce on my little finger.
Now I know the Africans like a little bit of spice but this sauce was ridiculous! The second I put it to my lips I knew I was in for a good few minutes of raging fire. I tried more of the pink sauce in the hope it was thousand island and would cool my lips slightly, worse luck, it was more hot sauce! I was in a very bad way but tried to hide it from the others with water and sharp intakes of breath.
Meanwhile, Torbjoern is telling Eric about what I do for a living and what I can offer the organisation. It all sounded very professional from Torbjoern but if you had looked over at me t the same time he was talking then i was giving off a far from professional look. I couldn't hold it any longer, my face was on fire! Ice was ordered and the guys took great pleasure in my suffering. Eventually my mouth regained feeling and I was able to tell Eric what I could offer. He was clearly very excited and I'm really looking forward to meeting more of the staff.
Unfortunately the food was average at best and it is tradition in Kenya to provide everything if you invite somebody. This means paying the bill if you invite people for a meal out and providing all food and drink if you invite people around your house. The kind and hospitable nature of the Norwegians meant that both Eric's would end up with a Saturday treat and me, well i was loving every minute of my recovery as they are just great people to be around.
We went for a big shop and then I embraced the Mazumbo-African lifestyle with a beer in a Tuktuk on the way home. Initial plans to make homemade pizza were delayed slightly by the distraction of a cold beer in the last few hours of setting sun. We sat outside in the garden for a good few hours till the sun set and Eric arrived and then till the fire that we made burnt out.
It was really good to have a chat with a local, hear how they live, their upbringing, what they believe and also vent a few frustrations and laugh about common annoyances over a few drinks. I was really enjoying the rare social get together and it felt so refreshing to unleash a few pet hates with likeminded people instead of carrying them around with me as i have done for the last 5 months.
We went inside to escape the mozzys and cook some pizza and also catch the football games and results. The timing of English football is quite convenient in Kenya and it means I have 3 more hours of productiveness before the football starts on a Saturday. When Eric left I was treated to some traditional Norwegian dancing called Halling dancing. It involves lots of knee bending, bouncing around and then kicking a hat off the end of a stick. My job was to provide the hat and hold the stick.
Each time the hat is kicked off the stick is raised, it was like Kung-fu meets the opposite of limbo and Malin managed to showcase her best Bruce lee impression by basically kicking the hat off my head!
I really enjoyed the whole day and night and not only am I learning lots about Kenyan lifestyle and culture, I'm learning lots about Norwegian culture too.
It's fair to say tomorrow will be a rest day for all of us.
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