Random Thoughts of a Girl in Nairobi

 ***Click here for part 1 , part 2 and part 3 ***  I'm black! That's something I've never really been consciously aware of. I've been aware of the fact that I'm female and that it might cause situations to turn out differently as a result. I've been aware of my class. I've been aware of my tribe. But never in my life has the colour of my skin and the texture of my hair been on the spotlight. In Americanah Chimamanda says that Africans only become aware of their blackness when they leave Africa. And I found that surprisingly true!    Reception about the colour of your skin in India depends on who you encounter. If you meet an Indian one of three things is likely to happen: 1. They stare . My friends and I have stopped entire market places and shops just because the people around stopped to guffaw at our blackness. All this despite the fact that I've seen South Indians with skin darker than my own.  If you're lucky,  that's all that happens. I...

***Click here for part 1 and part 2 *** Chennai airport during the floods...It was shut down!   This week a friend asked me how I've been. That was a interesting question. The answer is a bit complicated.    See, These are the things they  don't tell you in disaster flicks. You're phone will not be fully charged. No you will not have power. Your kitchen will not be fully stocked with enough non-perishables to last you the whole time. And mother nature is unpredictable!      Those who have been  to Chennai, India know that they basically built a city on a marshland with zero drainage. It started insidiously really. It rained on Monday evening,  and the whole of Tuesday. A cyclone apparently. Then on Tuesday evening they opened 3 dams and shut off the power telling us it would be restored by Wednesday morning . So was I worried with my phone battery at 30%? Nah! The fact that our usual take-out joints wouldn't  deliver food ...