It’s an hour before midnight and you wouldn’t believe how tranquil and relaxed the ever busy, chaotic and noisy city is. The daytime hustle and bustle has died down and the ever crowded streets are now deserted. The few people remaining are hurrying home to get some rest before resuming the next day’s fast paced ‘Shamba la Mawe’ life. Yoooh! Life in Nairobi can drive you nuts, especially for ‘Pwani’ dwellers like us.

Heh! The hectic life here isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, especially mine. I grew up in the most chilled out places in the country; the famous ‘Gateway to Northern Kenya’. It is known for its captivating semi-arid landscapes, expansive savannas, and ethereal sunsets and cool breeze (dry wind from Mt Kenya since we are on the lee ward side)in the morning and evening.I spent 13 years of my life there, then moved to Kikuyu, the ‘Green City Suburb’. Oh goodness, apart from the constant biting cold that always drove me bananas, Kikuyu’s cool, peaceful surrounding coupled with lush, extensive, greenery was always refreshing.

Now to add cherry on top, the Lord allowed me to experience the serene environment in the ‘Cradle of Tourism’! There, the open grassland surrounded by stunning hills was always alive with the natural sounds of birds and other wildlife, making the experience feel celestial. With such a background, I always feel like a deer in the headlights everytime I am in the heart of the city — the Rio De Kanairo.

The chaos always begin with the early morning crawling traffic getting into CBD, then it trickles down to the overwhelming sea of humanity consisting of street vendors calling out to passersby, matatu touts shouting their destinations and aggressively trying to woo you into getting into their matatu, crowds pressing in from all sides as people rush to and from work, vehicle horns blaring left, right and center, and every other time, you have to watch out for the occasional motorbike zipping by just few inches from your body. For some reason, the air in Nairobi is always charged with urgency, like every second matters and something will definitely go wrong big time if you slowed down a bit.

In stark contrast, the coastal region, particularly Diani, offers a different vibe altogether. Life there is slower, and less urgent. The atmosphere is more relaxed and easy going, yaani twende kwa mwendo wa aste aste kwa raha zetu mwanangu😅 Greetings fly all over the place at any time of the day even with strangers by the roadside because it is considered respectful to do that. “Waeza potea njia mwanangu, ukahitaji usaidizi😉”, it’s what they say. Compared to Nairobi’s frantic energy, the coast is actually a breath of fresh air — a place that taught me to pause, unwind every other time, and appreciate life without the constant urgency.

Anyway, since we are now in Nairobi, we have to go through the real transition struggle. From courteous swahili tuk-tuk riders to some rough Nairobian matatu touts, from walking care-free to always having my handbag glued to my side and covered by my hands, from beautiful beach sandals to warm boots to withstand the current cold weather, from beautiful sundresses to warm pants and trench coats, and from steel toes (mine safety boots) to stilletos because yoooh, my new assignment requires me to dress officially🤣. The adjustments are real, aren’t they?

All in all, our Good Lord will enable us to conquer! Happy November!