South B, Nairobi

And then on Sunday, we moved in.

But first was shopping.  What do you need when you start from scratch?  We spent three hours in a department store, spending our ‘soft-furnishing allowance’. We bought a mattress, a quilt, a stove, plates, cups, buckets, a mop. Splashed out on a kettle and a non-stick pan – because easy access to food and tea is non-negotiable.

Then the guys from the store loaded it into a VSO pick-up truck and we drove round to our new building in the area called ‘South B’.  Unlike some of the other volunteers, we’re being housed in a lively Kenyan neighbourhood, with hardly any other wagunzus (foreigners, white people).  It looks a little scary at first but we’ve been either welcomed or ignored, and either is fine.

Helen and all our newly bought stuff in the VSO truck (matress on the back)!

Dan and Meshack in our new, empty apartment

All our new purchases, and everything we’d brought to the UK was lugged up to the top floor (5^th floor - no lifts – sorry Jacob) and dumped into our bare flat. 

So, at 6pm on Sunday night we set to work arranging, and cleaning, and unpacking, and fixing, and cleaning, and finding and cooking and cleaning and cleaning and cleaning.

Moving in the night before we started work was a challenge.  Finding clean clothes, planning our new commutes across the city, learning to lock our front door (operating a padlock with one hand) and remembering our names was all a little too much for the very tired Helen and Dan…

Our new flat reminds me of the Alcatraz tour we took last year in San Francisco.  Let’s call it ‘institutional’.  But it’s very spacious, newly painted, very safe (the guards sit at the locked gate 24 hours a day) and has a fantastic view.  We can see the city skyline from our window, and you can’t miss the famous Kenyatta International Conference Centre with its flying-saucer roof.  We can also see schools, roads, office blocks and our local slum.  And from the roof of the building you can see across the city in the other direction and all the way out to the beautiful Ngong hills Southwest of town.  It’s a sight to see.

I do miss having hot water, a fridge, and peace and quiet but we’re doing our best to arrange for things to be fixed up. Pole pole they say here, ‘slowly’ we will build our lives.  But it has to start somewhere.

Special thanks go to: Meshack for arranging the flat, and waiting til the paint was dry before moving us in; Tito for ‘showing us the ropes’ and Alice and Eddie for welcoming us to the neighbourhood, enthusing about South B and for arming us ready for the big shop – you guys really gave us a fighting chance in Tusky’s…

Tune in next time for: commuting in Nairobi, and - Helen and Dan start work.