Our Second Home

You’d think after coming to Africa so many times (I think it’s around 14+ times now to East Africa), it would be no big deal. But, it still is the biggest deal ever! The planning…the coordinating of people and places and planes and trains and cars, getting visas and medicines…the purchasing of tickets and once again being faced with the question of do we really want to pay over $100 each extra just to have one more square inch of room on the plane?” and everything in us screaming, “YES!” but once again deciding no, it’s not worth it. Forty hours of travel just sucks, no matter how you do it! And, then the redundant packing of the same things…gathering them, finding room for them, swearing, “Next time, I’m going to be more organized!” All of this acquiring and packing being for me, a month long ordeal; for Roger a mere two days. Well, it’s all a pretty big deal…and, then, really, it’s Africa! We are going to Africa! Every single time I still can’t believe it…that I actually get to go to places like DR Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya!

Our flights are determined by who has the least expensive airfare at the time. Usually we are routed through Amsterdam or Dubai. We’ve not seen either city, so this time we decided to take our annual vacation by spending a few days in Amsterdam. It was wonderful…bicycles everywhere, steep steps, beautiful canals, lots of walking, museums and, of course, Anne Frank’s house. We took a train out to the town of Haarlem to visit Corrie Ten Boom’s house where she facilitated the hiding and routing into safe homes of over 800 Jews during the Nazi occupation of The Netherlands and visited Van Gogh’s stunning Irises and Sunflowers.

The thing about Europe is that it is … well, just so European! Each man and woman looks like they stepped out of Vogue, dressed in classy, upscale clothing looking as if they are going to or from a very special event, and yet, many are just hanging out at their neighborhood pub or in this case, like me, a tourist coming from some other country to see beautiful Amsterdam. Drinking beer seems to be a national pastime in The Netherlands and smoking cigarettes is still part of the cultural norm. And then, there’s also the phenomenon of actually getting high just passing by the many coffee shops where the only thing you will find on the menu is a list of cannabis (weed, marihuana or hash) options. For various gadgets and other magical items, including mushrooms, you can go to a “smart shop,” but for an actual coffee, only a good café will do! Aside from the uniqueness of Amsterdam, people are people all over the world with marriages and kids and jobs and fun times. We were invited to a neighborhood once-a-year event, where there was music, karaoke, dancing, food, tons of children and even a tournament where young dads exhibited their intense passion for football (soccer).

Here are just some of the things we saw and did:

We did really enjoy our time in Amsterdam, but getting on the plane to come on down to Nairobi felt not only exciting, but definitely the comfort of familiarity. I knew exactly what the plane would look like (KLM really never changes with the very unsettling color of blue enveloping everything, even the flight attendants); I knew what to expect when we arrived in Nairobi…first, we would each pay our $50 visa to come into Kenya, the immigration officer would flip through our multi-page passports looking for a clean page, stamp it and tell us to place our fingers on the pad for identification, sometimes taking our photo, sometimes not, and be surprised when I would say, “Habari Yako!” exercising one of my three phrases in Swahili, and smile warmly in response and tell me, “Welcome, Madam, to your second home!” All these things and more. It’s so wonderful to know exactly where to “top up” our air time on our phones, which ATM has the best rate to get money, where to go to get more time for our computer modems and then to find Daniel who gives us the best deal for getting to our hostel. These are the things that we’ve come to appreciate and know about landing in Africa. That, and arriving at Flora Hostel where a huge smile and an American hug from both Elizabeth and Scola who will declare, “Oh, Brooks, we have been expecting you and the husband.” They have come to save one of the three best rooms for us, ensuring a hot shower and mosquito nets with no tears. I laugh even thinking about the things that bring me excitement…visiting new and fascinating places…and then the comfort of the familiar and comfort of routine.