I hope your flights went well. We have a few hours until the bus leaves, so, if you'll throw your suitcase in the back of the taxi we'll go run a few errands before we head to that end of town.
Keep your eyes open. You'll notice a lot of things that are different than America. More people are out on foot, and the traffic is crazier -- there is logic to it all, though... I think.
Enjoy yourself for a few minutes. We're going to stop by Java House and get some food, because I haven't eaten beef in a while -- and they have milkshakes, both things that you can't get outside of the big city. Lol. The people sitting around you now are the upper class of Nairobi, thus the very western feel of the place.
No worries. You'll see plenty of non-western things before you get back on the plane. I just want to give you a chance to realize that not all of Kenya is like "my place," as it would be referred to in good Kenyan English. Right now, you're sitting in a busy coffee shop, where you can order a latte or a milkshake and a bacon cheese burger or a quesadilla. The only real clue that you're in Africa is the language(s) you hear around you. Most of it is Swahili. The rest are Bantu languages ("mother tongues" for the different downcountry tribes). You might even catch a little German or Chinese. This restaurant is popular with the ex-expatriate community (people living in a country different from the one that issued their passport).
If you'll follow me after you finish you food, we'll stop by an ATM so you can withdraw some cash. The current exchange rate is at about 76 Kenyan shillings to 1 US dollar, so you won't really be spending as much as it feels like you are. Lol.
Even though this part of Nairobi feels safe, and it more or less is, you're more likely to get pick pocketed here than on the other end of your long bus ride (plus that jet lagged look on your face marks you as an easy target. :D). So, you can tuck most of that away into your bags where it will be safe. A thousand or so in smaller bills will be plenty to cover you for the rest of our journey across the country.
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