Entertaining Auditors!

I’ve had the "arduous" task this weekend of being tour guide to a group of auditors who’re over from the US and UK. (Actually, they’ve been very easy to have around, both in and out of work, and have indeed been quite entertaining at times!) There are plenty of places that we could have taken them, but we decided on a trip to Lake Naivasha. En route, we stopped at one of the viewpoints looking out over the Rift Valley. As usual when at such a viewpoint, we were strongly encouraged to look in the stalls of local crafts. I was sure I didn’t want to buy anything, but wound up coming away with a musical instrument which I’d not seen before. It seems to be a cross between a harp and a guitar. I’ll have to see if an ethnomusicologist friend knows what it is, and how it should be played! The sale technique was interesting. The guy was determined to enter into a bargaining situation, which I initially resisted. His willpower, however, was stronger than mine, and somehow I found myself going to get some money once he’d actually packaged it in a “free plastic bag”! We passed a couple of IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp in the Rift Valley. A reminder that some people are still displaced, nearly 9 months on from the troubles. Once at the lake, we took a boat over to Crescent Island which took us very close to a couple of groups of hippo. On the ‘island’ itself (it’s actually a peninsular), we walked amongst wildebeest, gazelle, zebra and giraffe, whilst listening to the calls of Fish Eagles, soaring in the skies above us. What a wonderful day out! Back to work and the audit tomorrow!

Karibu (Welcome to) Nairobi!

In England, people talk about the weather – here in Nairobi, it’s the traffic! And with good reason too as sitting in traffic jams can take up an inordinate part of the day. I arrived back on Monday from a wonderful couple of weeks in the UK seeing family, and what was the first thing to greet me? A traffic jam! I’m writing this from the office now, rather wondering what I’m going to find on the way home. It’s only 6 km, but it’s a journey that has been known to take 1hr 40 mins. Whilst that was (hopefully) an extreme case, an hour’s journey is becoming increasingly common. Add to that a number of drivers who do whatever it takes to get in front (most of which you wouldn’t find in the Highway Code!), and you end up with something that can’t be avoided but which can be quite a stressful part of life.