I am a changed man, literally.  After three days, I finally got my luggage and was able to change my clothes.  I am so happy, and so too is everyone around me, I’m sure.

The round-trip to the Nairobi airport took four hours in a taxi with a young man who didn’t speak English very well.  I tried to talk to him, but our conversation was strained.  However, he was listening to a radio station that plays American “smooth hits” from the 80’s and 90’s, and we were able to connect through song.  We sang and laughed as songs like “Red, Red Wine” by UB-40 and “The Girl Is Mine” by Michael Jackson came on.  He patiently waited while I had to go through customs twice, so when I came back out, I bought both of us cold Cokes, and we ventured back into the craziness of Nairobi traffic.  The road back to the retreat center was closed, so he took me another way – a way that took me through the town he lives in.  It’s a poverty-stricken town where most young men his age work long, hot hours in the tea fields.   He told me that he has been driving taxis for six years and feels blessed to work in a car rather than in the fields.

Below are pictures of why it takes so long to get anywhere in Nairobi and the surrounding area.

Round-abouts trip up drivers as do faulty traffic lights and daring walkers.

Sometimes these carts are pulled by donkeys, by men, or just broken down in the road.

Donkeys and goats are everywhere along the road, and sometimes they decide to cross.

Donkey and goats are everywhere along the road, and sometimes they decide to cross.