Random Thoughts of a Girl in Nairobi

   The beginning depended on the type of composition. If I had been given a title, I'd start by describing how I woke up and ate the sumptuous breakfast my mother had lovingly prepared. If I'd been given a starting line or ending line,  I'd jump right into the story feet-first without even knowing what it would eventually be about. But I'd have  had all  that figured out by the end of the first paragraph.    I'd get all poetic and talk about how the birds sang like angels or the shower reminded me of Victoria fallls. Never mind the fact that I've never heard an angel sing and I've never seen Victoria fallls. Similies earn you marks kids....remember that!    My stories tended to gravitate towards the narration of kidnappings, hi-jackings or robberies. For some reason we'd decided that action -packed stories like these made for better story-telling. They gave you the opportunity to use phrases like 'shaking in fear like a chameleon on a ...

   I recently finished a 30-day ab and squat challenge that I downloaded off pinterest . How does it feel?  Epic! That is if you totally ignore the soreness in my obliques..but no pain no gain right?  Around this time  last year I developed a keen interest in my health that was driven by two-parts med-student syndrome and one-part vanity. Med-student syndrome because med school just made me very aware of how real heart disease,  diabetes, hypertension and other stuff  is.  That's just drama I'm not willing to deal with in my life if I can avoid it.  I also have a family history of diabetes, stroke and arthritis so I'm not going to stretch my luck too far.   And the vanity you ask?  I like wearing fitting clothes. ...having a pot belly just isn't conducive to such wardrobe tendencies.    But my fitness goals aren't just about losing weight. They involve  eating cleaner and drinking more water and yes....

There is strength in numbers...don't you ever forget that    I’m not talking about the grabbing of public land or anything of that magnitude. Cases like those usually set our tongues wagging. They make us hold protests and sign petitions and cause a ruckus until the issue is dealt with. No, I’m talking about corruption on a smaller scale. Like when you go to get your car inspected and you have to give someone a ‘bonus’ or your vehicle will be deemed un-roadworthy...even if it’s brand new. Or when you use a Matatu and they charge more than the set fare...even though you all know you’re being conned.    My experience was the latter. I was on my way home on Saturday. I pick my matatus at Odeon. Just before the Matatu left, the guy in charge of the stage came and told us that the fare was 30 bob. He asked us to make sure we only paid that. We all nodded half-heartedly. This always happens. The guy in charge says 30 bob, but the conductor almost always asks ...

   For the past one month as part of my fourth year of medical training, I have been rotating in the department of Obstetrics and gynaecology ( basically the guys who specialise in pregnancy and other  female problems ). As we started going through the clinical areas, one thing became clear: Kenyan women don’t know as much as they should about something that could probably kill them. Wait, let me re-phrase that. Something that will definitely kill them if not caught early and dealt with...and it’s scary. So I’m going to give you a couple of facts to help you grasp the gravity of the situation. If you’re a guy and you’re reading this, you should forward this to any woman who is close to you...you might just save a life. Now you know where your cervix is!  Generally speaking, cervical cancer is more prevalent than breast cancer among Kenyan  women.  It mostly occurs in women aged 35-39 years and 60-64 years. We've  made such a brouhaha abou...

   This is undoubtedly one of my favourite cake recipes ever! There’s just something exciting about little bits of chocolate that you’ll randomly find within a cake with every bite. This is also one of the laziest cake recipes I have and it can easily be used to make a large cake instead of cupcakes if one were to reduce the baking temperature to gas mark 3.  So without further ado: Ingredients: 400 gm self-raising flour 150 gm sugar 150 gm butter/ margarine 200 ml milk 4 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla essence 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ a bar of cooking chocolate 1 heaped teaspoon of icing sugar Utensils: Large mixing bowl Wooden spoon Blender Sieve Cupcake tray Cupcake liner Method: 1.        Pre-heat oven to gas mark 5. 2.        Sieve the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Sieved flour 3.        Put the sugar...