Random Thoughts of a Girl in Nairobi

   I haven’t written anything in months. Forget half baked-drafts shoved into my laptop’s archives to maybe someday see the light of day. Forget sentences started and typed mid-way only to be hastily erased. I haven’t written anything in months, except that one book review last month when I was essentially performing CPR on my creative side. I haven’t written anything in months and I’m still trying to figure-out why.    Part of it is probably the fact that this internship is very involving. Fine, that’s more than an understatement. If I’m not working, then I’m sleeping. Or reading. Or watching a quarter of a movie that will take me 4 days to finish. Or responding to texts hours or days too late. ( I’m going to take a moment now to apologise to everyone I ever gave grief about being a bad texter when I was in med school because I was running on student-time and you were trying to adult! I have become a bad-texter ).    I’m heading towar...

   I feel cheated by our education system. I have a problem with several aspects but I especially have a problem when it comes to the teaching of history. I feel like there are major parts that were skimmed over. Sure, they covered all the major bases about how Kenya was colonized and there were segregated schools for the different races. But it never talked about how Nairobi was basically partitioned into areas where the settlers lived, where the Asian community lived and where the Africans lived. We were taught about how colonialism was a good thing for us Africans and that they British might have overstepped their bounds a bit by mistreating Africans thus leading to the need for the Mau Mau rebellion. Maybe it was inappropriate to explain torture and human-rights violations to 12-year olds. But they glossed over the fact that thousands of Africans died due to outbreaks of diseases that had never been experienced in the continent before. That means that we had no immun...

   This meme is a running joke between me and my friends. Or my friends and I. We occasionally post on social media about how we have successfully 'adulted' for the day. ' Adulting ' being the act of successfully doing something grown- up that you've never done before.Keyword being: successfully. And I know that there is a section of baby-boomers that's sick of this millennial habit of constantly documenting our supposed triumphs for the whole world to see, but I'm pretty sure they'd be doing the same thing if they'd this technology at their disposal in their hey-day. Heck! who I am I kidding?! They did do the same thing.. through phone calls, letters and postcards.    But back to the meme. Being an adult is hard work.. the first time around anyway. I had an experience last year when I accompanied 3 teenage girls to the hospital. Reason being we were at camp and I was a counsellor and they had some injuries that needed to be looked at by a docto...

  Human beings are such ridiculously myopic beings. Whenever a public figure makes a mistake, we focus on that one incident and completely forget all the good they had previously done. It’s easier for us to focus on the bad in a situation and forget all the good. Even in our own personal lives. When something bad happens to us, we focus on it, lament about, worry about it, tell the whole world about it and promptly forget about anything else that was positive in our lives. I think the author of this hymn was onto that. Because the lyrics hit so close to home with an accuracy that is timeless.    There is something refreshing about counting one’s blessings. It’s a reminder that whatever situation you are in is really not that bad and that this too shall pass. It gives you the strength to go on. It reminds you that indeed God is still here and He is still good.    So I don’t know about you, but I’ve made a decision to do it more regularly. For myself...

  Forgive the apparent typo, but there really is no better way to express this than by the use of a recently-coined millennial verb. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the word ‘adulting’ made its way into next year’s edition of the oxford dictionary. We seem to be borrowing so much from pop culture these days. Now for everyone born before 1980, according to urban dictionary ‘adulting’ can be defined as ‘ doing grown-up things and holding responsibilities such as, a 9-5 job, a mortgage/rent, a car payment, or anything else that makes one think of grown ups ’. Okay? All good? Now that we’re on the same page allow me to make my list.    Successful adulting is: 1.        Pretending to know what you’re doing 80% of the time and actually knowing what you’re doing only 20% of the time. I have early childhood memories of my parents being total ninjas at stuff. I recently found myself in similar situations and shockingly reali...

    2nd Timothy 3:16-17  All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,  that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (NKJV)    I came across this verse as I was doing my morning Quiet time. I'm currently reading one chapter a day, going from one New Testament book to the other. I started with Romans a few months ago and I'm currently on 2nd Timothy. As of now, my plan is to go to the end of the New testament, then go back to the gospels before starting the Old Testament. A bit unorthodox, I know but it works for me. But I digress.    So I came across this verse this morning and then it struck a thought! I googled the NIV version of the same verse for the sake of comparison and it says this: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, c...

For part 1 click here   You learn... 1. How to be an expert at speaking your mother-tongue, if you have one... Especially when it comes to discussing cab fares and the prices of things. In my case,  that would be Swahili. The locals keep doing the same to you anyway, whether intentional or not. 2. Being away from home takes the concept of budgeting to a whole new level. You actually have a cash limit and it's not like mom or dad can just bail you out whenever like they do back home. You actually have to think about ATMs that accept visa or Mastercard, Western union , Moneygram and the transaction charges charged by each.  Therefore that automatically means that you have to spend your cash in more sensible ways so that you only use the above services when absolutely necessary. 3. It brings new meaning to being an adult. Where to spend the night,  where to eat,  how to get your laundry done, what to do if you get sick, what cab service to...

Rating: 5 stars Target audience: Young adult and adult    This is the kind of book that you have a love-hate relationship with. You will love it because of the amazing and unpredictable storyline and the way the writer handles his sentences; with a flourish. The story sucks you in and leaves you a bundle of nerves at times. You go through all kinds of stages from outrage to pleasant surprise. I mean, what are you supposed to do when you encounter passages like: A mother's advice to her daughter A middle-aged man defending his decision to marry a newly orphaned 16-year old girl At the labour ward    But you might hate it because it shows you just how ignorant you are of certain world events, despite all the fanfare about information being at our fingertips. Today we know more about the Kardashians than we do about what the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is really about! And though this book is fiction we've heard reports of some o...

  It’s not you, it’s him. This one is for the girls. All those girls who've been moaning to their friends about how there is a severe lack of datable guys in our generation. All those girls who are considering giving up on their standards so they can settle. All those girls who are feeling daily pressure to date someone, anyone...especially when Monday rolls around and their timelines blow-up with #MCM posts. I want you take a break from your wallowing and Hollywood rom-com binging and think about this for a moment: What if you haven’t met him because he’s not ready for you yet?    I’m a strong proponent of being the one. As in, becoming the kind of person you would want to date. You can read about that in a previous post . I’m also a strong proponent of dating God’s way and that His timing is best. I know we all acknowledge that there are things in our lives we may need to grow out of or sift through because at the back of our minds we know that they’re ...

   And by that I mean a generation that literally has no hope. And that’s ironic considering the sheer number of campaigns aimed at making us feel better about ourselves. Campaigns and strategies that we cling to with all we have. And it helps for a while. But you can’t put a band-aid on a bullet-wound and expect the bleeding to stop. It’s not practical because that’s not what bullet-wounds need.    We've lost hope in the prospect of wholesome relationships. We've lost hope in our parents. We've lost hope in the very systems in put in place to govern our society and help us live our day to day lives. Because most of us have been hurt ten times over or have seen the hurt in those closest to us. We tweet daily about corruption in the government and all the things wrong with the systems in place and rarely do we see our outcry come to fruition.    So it’s become easier to not care. To drink away into oblivion because it’s not necessarily our prob...

I have a bad habit of complaining unnecessarily about situations sometimes. And then my Christian senses ( kinda like spidey-senses but with more of a connection to Jesus ) kick-in and I remember that I've been through so much worse. That my petty issues are nothing in comparison to  say death on a cross. Oh,  And also Phillipians 2: 14-16 Do everything without grumbling or arguing,   so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of Godwithout fault in a warped and crooked generation.”Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky So basically I should be different from the world. That's what we were called for.    It's so easy to wallow in thoughts of what you don't have and forget what you do. Which is why I found myself reminding myself to count my blessings. It sounds so cliche but when it comes down to it,  it's a fundamental truth.    Take today for example. We went on a school visit to Tigoni ho...

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 ...

   We have just a few days left in 2014 and it has just dawned on me that I don't really believe in making new year's resolutions. In the evening of the 31st my mom and I will have a conversation where she'll ask me what my resolutions for 2015 are. Then I'll probably wrack my brain for a minute and say the first thing I think of. Something probably involving being less messy in my room (S he calls it a mess, I call it organised chaos ). I'll also probably mention something outrageous like getting a neck tattoo. But that's beside the point.    See if I really wanted to change my habits or behaviour I wouldn't wait for a sometimes over-hyped holiday to do it. I'd do it the moment I realised there was a problem. Or the moment someone held an intervention for me. But I wouldn't wait for the mass positivity of a made-up event such as 'New years resolutions' to spur me on. Let's be honest, it simply doesn't provide enough motivation...

   I've always wanted to try Shepherd's pie but I never did because we don't  have an actual pie-dish. But then I saw this recipe on Kawi Snippets and I just had to try it. She used a baking tin instead...talk about a light-bulb moment! She also used cheese and I love cheese! For the recipe, check out her blog here .    I however added my own twist to the dish. We had some left-over nyama choma ( Roasted goat ) in the fridge so I figured I'd just re-purpose it. I used the same recipe but swapped the mince-meat with nyama choma. I also garnished with tomatoes and parsley. Here's how it turned out: Meat in the baking tin...just needs the potato layer This is before baking. I'm a sucker for garnishes Fresh out of the oven Bon appetite! Ciao...

I dare you, to do the positivity challenge. At first glance it looks like just some facebook fad that people are suddenly into but theres a sudden beauty in the thinking underliying it. All your life you've heard the phrase count your blessings,but have you ever taken time to actually do it.? I think I experienced what it was like through this challenge. I did day one wondering if I had enough content for day two..but by the time day two finally rolled-around, I was eager! Apparently being thankful and counting your blessings is good for the soul and I found myself with a near constant smile on my face and a spring in my step. So go on, Try it! And even when it's over, keep on thanking God for the little things. Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Ciao...

   I’m going to make a confession. For the past approximately 4 years my hair has entirely been in braids. I’d undo one set of braids and get another re-done literally the next day...for four years! Don’t judge me yet because mine is a story many of you might identify with.     Like most African girls, I was told growing-up that my hair was ‘difficult’ or ‘too much trouble’ and therefore the only way to make it manageable was to relax it. I’ve only relaxed my hair twice in my lifetime and both times it ended with a haircut because the breakage was so bad. The first time was in primary school and the second was in form 2 of high school. You can only imagine how frustrated I was both times. The non-stop braiding regime began after high school. The aim being for me to grow my hair to a certain length then probably relax it ( again ). It’s not that I have anything against short hair; it looks incredible on some people. It’s just that some girls prefer flowers...

   Religious persecution is stupid! You hear? Stupid! I don’t understand what makes anyone think that you can force somebody else to adhere to your religion. You came to this earth alone and God will judge you alone. So I don’t see how your neighbour’s ‘unbelief’ or ‘wrongdoing’ will affect you. Aren’t you supposed to be worrying about your own wrongdoing? And don’t look at me like you haven’t got any.    I mean sure, the Bible charges Christians to spread the Gospel. But it doesn’t tell them to hold-people at gun-point and make them pledge allegiance to Jesus! Our job is just to tell them not force them. Remember that verse where the disciples were told to shake the dust off their feet at a town where they weren’t welcome? Luke 9:5 New King James Version (NKJV)  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” Plus the whole idea of being hateful to others is pretty...

       Gosh I really need a boyfriend! I am not the first girl in history to have this thought and I certainly won't be the last. It happens when you're feeling sad...or want someone to vent to....or are lonely...or everyone around you seems to be in coupled bliss. And you only see the sunshine and rainbows that come with having a significant other. You only see the cuteness and the mushiness and the happiness. You are ready to settle for anything with an XY chromosome that has no aversion towards you.    But you forget that he may have annoying habits. He may be rude to your family. He might have nothing in common with you. You might fight. You might not like his choice of friends. You forget that relationships are messy. You forget that there is a good reason to be picky about guys. You don't have to be 'happily married' at 22, a few more years won't kill you. You don't have to settle just for the sake. Songs of Solomon 8:4 I charge you, O daughte...

I've decided to come out of the closet. And it's funny because I watched a video last year that had the same title but the message didn't really strike me until recently...when I was making a very small decision in my life. Now...hold on before your imagination runs wild. I'm talking about the closet that you might be automatically thinking about. I'm talking about Closet-Christians...get it? no? let me explain. I'm talking about the people who walk around terrified that their not-necessarily-born-again friends and colleagues would judge them if they found out that they were saved. I'm talking about the people who euphemise going to church on Sunday as 'being busy during the weekend'. I'm talking about the people who skip praying before lunch at school to avoid potentially awkward questions and possibly stares. And I promise I'm not judging you because I know what it feels like to be in your shoes...sometimes I still walk in them. It...

I really wasn't planning on doing a birthday post or anything. But for the past 1 week as my 22nd birthday had been approaching, I found myself thinking about my life a lot. Thinking about things that I need to do not because someone's told me to, but because I'm a grown up and I have certain responsibilities. I've found myself waking up some mornings and going like 'No Val, you can't do this coz of A,B,C,D.....or Val today you're going to suck it up and to A,B,C,D because it needs to be done and it's going to set standards for the rest of my life. A friend of mine who I've known for a while is getting married this weekend so I'm just at the point in my life where I realize that We're all growing up and moving on and taking big steps. To some extent you get sucker-punched in the gut by the shock and realization of it all...but also I feel excited! Like I'm having some kind of adrenaline rush because I can't wait to see how it all o...