Days .5 and Day One

.5
I get through the organized chaos of the airport to the hostel and am surrounded by white people.There is also a dance party on the lot next door that may as well be in our dorm and then, the rooster. The damn rooster is crowing for the remainder of the night that there is no dance party. I want to throttle the rooster.

One
I walked down the road to my hotel with very little problem. People are offering to take me in their unmarked taxis, but it is a 4 minute walk. I decline and point to where I'm going with a smile.

I get to the hotel and there is no sign of anyone from my tour. Eventually my roommate shows up. I am tired of being cooped up and decide to go for coffee.

There is very little in life that prepares you for the opposite. In Canada, I am basically the majority; I am a white female. A few times in my life I have been in the minority - at Fowler, anytime I was in Northeast Calgary. These weren't so bad because while I was a minority, I wasn't alone. I always had other white people with or near me.
In Nairobi, this is not the case. I had no other white people with me. I am used to attracting attention when I walk at home. I have purple hair. In Nairobi, I attract it because I am the only white person. It is a little unnerving, though I don't feel unsafe.

There is no rhyme or reason to the roads. It is chaos. I figure I can just cross when everyone else does. This works. I don't find coffee because it is way too crowded to find anything. I go back to the hotel

After meeting the group, five of us need to get things from the store. We catch a cab and go to a 24 hour mall type place. We have to go through metal detectors to get in. After we leave, our cab is late in returning for us and children approach s for money, watches, my Canada maple leaf luggage tag on my purse, anything we have. They won't leave us alone. They are touching us as well. Their mother/guardian is trying to get money from someone in the group. The cab eventually returns and we go back to the hotel for dinner and bed.