Nairobi is always the spot where people’s eye get big when we list our destinations, and of all of our stops, Nairobi had me the most nervous. It’s our first extended stay – just over 3 weeks – and we had very little idea of what to expect. Up till now, our only Africa exposure has been Morocco (where we got engaged) and now our 24 hours in Egypt, both of which are arguably quite different than anywhere in East Africa.
I’m so grateful we took the chance and made this stop a long one. Already, over the course of our first week in the city, my concerns, opinions, and impressions have changed dramatically. I’m excited to see how we feel after a few more weeks of getting to know the city and settling in.
We arrived in Nairobi at 2am after our whirlwind tour of Egypt. Exhausted, we reminded ourselves that this late arrival was the necessary byproduct of our amazing stopover to see the pyramids. First impressions: the airport was a lot smaller than expected, the freeway was much calmer than anticipated, and the night life is thriving around our accommodation – hundreds of people were still out 4am as we finally made it to our apartment. The apartment itself, and the building it’s in, are perfect for this stay. It has two bedroom, 3 bathrooms and enough space to finally unpack and live rather than travel. The building has a rooftop pool and gym plus a small store, coffee shop, and restaurant on the ground floor.
Because of our late arrival, we spent our first day doing absolutely nothing, letting the girls loose on their tablets and only going out in search of basic groceries and a local sim card. Immediately outside our fancy building with a full staff of security guards, was a different world. Broken or non-existent sidewalks, tons of people, busy traffic, and crosswalks that require you to just walk confidently out into the surging traffic and trust the cars and motorbikes will avoid hitting you. We followed closely behind a pair of locals, with the girls hands held tight as we traversed through our first crossing. We wandered a bit aimlessly through the grocery store, looking for foods that looked familiar or at least appetizing to the girls.
This is our first exposure to the wild pricing in Nairobi. Some things are quite inexpensive, a dollar or two for most fruits and veg, $4 for shirts and kids sandals, but then $8 for a small jar of pasta sauce or $14 for apple sauce [Prices mentioned are in CAD, converted from the Kenyan Shillings they actually use here]. Imported goods are clearly pricier, while locally grown or packaged items are cheaper, but we’ve continued to be confounded by it. A postcard cost was $6.50, a cup of coffee is typically $4-5, and we found pool sinky toys for $50. The lesson is to carefully check the price for each thing, because assuming it will be inexpensive will quickly be your downfall.
Our second day was rough. Both girls ended up in tears during morning their English lesson and we failed at finding a nearby playground and library. Google promised a 3 minute walk, but we only found barred gates and confusing streets to nowhere. We dragging ourselves back to the apartment defeated, sweaty, and tired. Along the way, we had our first unsettling experience: a man sprinted past us, chased by someone on a motorbike shouting in Swahili. We grabbed the girls’ hands and tried to calmly but quickly get out of the area as a crowd gathered and more shouting erupted. In retrospect, we think the runner had stolen something and the motorbike rider was chasing him down, but in the moment it was hair‑raising to think it could be something more dangerous—especially with the kids in tow. As usual, they were unfazed, simply remarking, “That was weird.”
Thankfully, after that trying day, we got some good advice and pep talks from friends and family back home. We went to bed determined to treat it as a lesson learned, not a deterrent to exploring further.
In our first week in Nairobi…
- We got good at taking our malaria pills
- No one has had any side effects and the girls are great at taking them and reminding us when we forget.
- Justin got a haircut
- We worked on finding a balance around using screens for the girls (still a work in progress)
- We reintroduced fruits and veggies into our diets
- We worked out in the gym at our apartment building
- The girls burned some energy off swimming in the pool
- We celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary
- We started cooking homemade meals
- We tried Kenyan beers
- We got into family game nights and the girls are learning to shuffle cards
- We hired a french tutor for the girls
- He comes twice a week to our apartment for $25 a session. Worth every penny
- We learned how to get around the city
- We did our first safari! Think I’ll do a separate post on that
- We’ve done a lot of laundry
- We started to find a rhythm with homeschooling
- We signed the girls up for forest camp
- It’s twice a week, 9 a.m.–1 p.m., $30 total for both the girls. Activities so far: shelter building, horseback riding, obstacle courses, and jewelry making. The girls love it, they’re making new friends and it gives us precious time to ourselves.
