A Trip to Nairobi, Kenya - Epilogue
Uhuru Gardens, the Last Dance
Pink neon lights color the sky as we dance my last night away. Music bussin’, drinks flowing, vibes vibing. Uhuru Gardens is packed. It’s Kunye Festival—a big afrohouse event.
“I’m thinking of shooting my shot,” my friend says, her voice slightly above the music.
“Nice! Who?” I ask. She explains it’s some guy she’s had a crush on for a minute. He’s here. Perhaps even under the same canopy—the main one behind the stage. “You should do it!” I say. ”You gotta do it! What’s the worst that could happen?”
“True. True.” she nods.
I consider finding a dance partner myself, but decide against it after gauging the crowd. I’m not about to walk around aimlessly. I opt to solo-dance instead.
In my famous two step move, mixed with some head bobbing and side to side swaying, I let the DJ take control. I’m no dancer, but damn it I’ll have a good time.
I two-step even harder when the track changes to a song I’m really feeling, working up a sweat as the music courses through my veins. Then I hear it.
“Aee! Aee! Aee! Aee!”, a voice barely above the music and a body bumping into my left side matching my rhythm. When I shift my gaze in its direction, a petite dark skinned girl with cute tiny braids in a white top and blue jeans is two stepping beside me, and smiling.
“DJ ni mnoma sana—” she starts to say when our eyes meet. Only stopping mid sentence when she notices the confusion on my face. “Oh I’m sorry, I just assumed you’re Kenyan.”
“Oh that’s fine. A reasonable assumption,” I say, smiling.
Somewhere in between light conversation and synchronized two steps, our bodies meld. In the famous Nigerian saying: Na from clap, dance dey start.
And dance we do.
The DJ’s cooking, we’re eating. Time barely registers.
The night goes on, and on, and on…
Now a dull grey-brown colors the sky—my view from a Java shop at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
My time in Nairobi is up.
And as I sit here, waiting on my boarding call, it’s hard not to lose myself in thought.
Thoughts of a cold Manyatta in hand and the beautiful performance at Geco.
Thoughts of the girls who made my hike up Ngong Hills bearable.
Thoughts of the poets, poems, and musicians at Cheche bookshop & Cafe.
Thoughts of the city, and the way it makes me yearn for something simpler. Its people, and the many ways they showed me kindness: the hotel staff teaching me little bits of Swahili every day; the chef going out of her way to make me a Kenyan dish—matoke—free of charge, simply because I wanted one.
It’s been good. Really good—mzuri sana.
So as I board the plane, mentally saying goodbye, I know without a doubt, I’ll be back.
Notes
Tips
You can use GetYourGuide or Tripadvisor to find activities or tours.
For payments, your Master or Visa cards work just fine in Nairobi.
For transport, Uber’s available.
For mobile data, you can get a local sim from safaricom on arrival, or get an e-sim.
And this closes out the series :)
Song of the day - We Don’t Need Money To Be Rich by Mutoriah
