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Today was our second full day in Kenya, and we were starting to get acclimated to our morning routine. We were all eager to get to breakfast and the market, so we headed downstairs to our bus a couple minutes early. Once we were all loaded on the bus we realized we were missing Dr. Jalloh, but Dr. B played it off as him just being himself. Shortly after Jalloh appeared, we were greeted by another surprise… our beloved President Hinton! She hopped on the bus and exclaimed, "Is this the bus to the Market?” We were all so excited and happy to see her! An overwhelming sound of joy and excitement filled the bus. Seeing her, and finding out she would join us for a couple of days here in Kenya, was such an unexpected but welcome surprise.
We then headed to breakfast at the Luke again where we tried a traditional Kenyan fried bread called Mandazi. We were each sure to get a couple, and they were delightful. They reminded us of American beignets but they were not as sweet. We also had mango, watermelon, waffles, eggs, potatoes, bacon, and tea/coffee. Then we were set for our day.
Next stop: the Maasai Market in downtown Nairobi.
On our way (driven again by the fantastic Bonnie), Dr. Irene and Carol (our Kenyan hosts) provided some tips to help prepare us. When Kenyans see you, they already know you’re American and call us mzungu (wazungo in the plural), which means American or white foreigners. The vendors and their brokers expect that white or American tourists will have lots of disposable money, so they will inflate their prices. We were told to always go lower for this reason and to let our Kenyan friends Dr. Irene, Carol, Winters, and Palessa bargain in Swahili on our behalf. Many people will also try to get you to their tent, so we were warned to prepare for them to surround us and persuade us to come with them to their spot. Another big tip was to walk around first before agreeing to buy anything, because you might see the same item somewhere else for a better price or with a better look, maybe because of the color or style.
Once we arrived, we split up into 5 groups and got to shopping. I think most of us felt very nervous for how this would go, because we were worried about lowballing someone or overpaying for something. Since we rarely do this in America, it was definitely something that we had to adjust to.
Ny’Ree, Dr.Jalloh, Dr.Irene, Izzy, Angel, and President Hinton moved as one group. We knew we wanted to look at everything before buying, so we were just looking and asking them what their price was so that we could compare it against other prices of people who were selling the same thing. During this time of JUST looking, everyone was crowding us and really trying to get us to buy their stuff. They would also follow us and tell us, “Come look at what I made, sista,” “slowly, slowly,” and “looking is free.” They called all of us “sista” (as in sister), except Dr. Jalloh obviously, LOL!!!. When we were actually starting to buy stuff, they would tell us a super high number, after which we countered with something like “No, I can only do 500 Kenyan Shillings.” They would try to tell us it’s worth more because it’s handmade, etc., so we would have one of the experienced hosts step in and help us out with negotiating or making sure the price was fair. Sometimes we negotiated a price for 10 minutes below the asking price, but once you tell them you’ll get it from somewhere else or that someone else told us a lower price, they will then accept your negotiated price.
This lady told us it takes her one full day to make the necklaces with the tiny beads that she’s holding.
From left to right: shopkeeper, Izzy, Ny'Ree, and shopkeeper browsing beautiful dresses for the Safari Park Hotel dinner.
Many of us received 1000’s and 100’s in Kenyan Shillings (KES) when we converted our money. The exchange rate was about 128 KES to $1 USD. Most of our bills were thousand dollar notes (~$7.81). To prevent us from having to pull out our money in front of those crowded around us, Drs. Jalloh or Irene would use m-pesa (similar to CashApp or Zelle in America but used more widely) to pay for our things. We paid them back once we were back in the van.
We all had so much fun today indulging in this culture, learning new skills, and building confidence.This was an amazing experience and we all got so much stuff and gifts for family and friends. Although at times the market was a bit overwhelming, we already want to go back.
Ny’Ree was somewhat good at negotiating, so people kept asking where she was from. She would tell them, “I don’t know… you tell me!” They would laugh and guess different African countries or India. She agreed with whatever they guessed. One guy said, surprised, “But you’re not as dark as me!” She joked, “You don’t know we come in different shades?!” He laughed and put his arm up to Ny’Ree’s to compare skin color.
Lastly, we went to the Safari Park Hotel for dinner and a show. After some time for exploration and photographs, we sat down for a feast of meats (except for our two vegetarians and one pescatarian.) We enjoyed various types of meat, including camel, goat, chicken, turkey, pork loin, pork ribs, and beef sausage with dipping sauces. We tried a new food, ugali, which President Hinton said reminded her of grits but stiffer. It is a boiled corn side eaten with your meat main.
At the conclusion of our meal, the stage lit up, music blared, and dancers entered the stage. It was one of the most powerful shows we have ever seen!! There was a man who put fire in his mouth without pain, and we still have no idea how he could do that. We don’t understand the method at all, but if they could teach us how to do it, we really want to try. Also, there was a very scary performance where a man did multiple handstands on the edge of a tower of stacked chairs. Our hearts beat so fast while watching, because it looked very dangerous. He almost reached the ceiling at the end!
The dancing was amazing and full of energy. Yuzuki resolved to try it too.” So, if you see someone dancing in the library during finals week at Hollins, it is probably her.
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