Random Thoughts of a Girl in Nairobi

   This is not what you think it is. Or maybe it’s exactly what you think it is. I suppose that depends on what you’re thinking. But seriously. It seems like writing a ‘dear future husband’ letter is the new milestone for all female bloggers and micro-bloggers ( the people on tumblr etc ) under the age of 30. Talk about peer pressure! But I have firmly refused to fall into this trend because I'm a rebel with a number of causes under my belt. Maybe I’ll wait until the trend dies out. I like doing things that nobody else is currently doing. Like reading books like ‘The fault in our stars’ before they become super popular and they are my own personal best kept secret. Call me Miss Independent.  I think I'm digressing.    So anyway, most of these letters and posts are series of demands about what these women are expecting from their potential better halves. Or whatever Hollywood-inspired fairytale they may be thinking about. Rarely do you find one where ...

1. A writer knows how to read between the lines of another writers work.  We catch-onto things that ordinary readers can't. 2. Writers observe the world a lot.  We pinpoint things about you that you didn't even think we noticed. Hence, 3. We get lost inside our own heads a lot.   We always have ideas floating around so It's not personal, I promise. 4. Writers use a lot of new vocabulary. We also read a lot so we end saying things like 'keep one apprised' instead of 'keep one updated'. 5. We get obsessive once inspired. That's the thing about ideas,  they demand to be written down. Like an itch you just have to scratch. 6. Writer's block is like having a phantom limb. You miss an integral part of yourself and  It drives you crazy! 7. We use similes ....a lot! Case in point, exhibit A: Me What does being a writer mean to you? Ciao...

   I don't know about other countries,  but in Kenya the phrase 'visiting day ' refers almost exclusively to boarding schools. It stirs up nostalgic feelings about mom's cooking and an opportunity to finally use a phone after weeks in boarding school. It was that day set aside for your best school uniform. Hair was washed and tamed to submission,  shoes were so shiny an army General would be proud. Nobody ate breakfast because they were trying to save room for home -food.    Well now, I'm on the other end of the spectrum. My mom and I were up at 6.30am this morning ( A Saturday! ) to cook because the food needs to be as fresh as possible. Chapatti, coconut rice,  chicken, meatballs, salads. Sigh! You name it,  we made it.  The love is very strong in this house. Then after a quick shower and a cup of tea,  we were off.    Going to my brother 's school is in itself a road trip because it's in a different county. So ...

Everything's fine? Everything's ok? Not really!    You know what I'm talking about.  The kind of Christianity where everything is fine and everything is OK.  Where we're happy all the time because Jesus took our problems away. The kind where everything is right in the world and nobody suggests that you may be wrong. The kind where we say one thing and mean the other. The kind where we're all dressed-up but broken inside. That kind of Christianity.    There are two sides to every coin and this is the flip-side. There are things things that you may be struggling with and Jesus can take those off your hands...  but it's a process. God is not a magician and He can't make it all go away overnight because how will you ever learn. How will you not fall back into the same patterns without knowing what it cost for you to get of them. Even addicts don't necessarily get clean by going cold turkey. not without serious adverse effe...