Looking Back on Kenya

On July 1, 2007 I took a trip that would be the most eye-opening, most beautiful and perhaps the most important voyage I would take for a long time. I traveled with my two sisters, my aunt and Kenyan uncle and their three daughters, to Nairobi, Kenya. I always knew that I would get to Africa someday, but I was not sure when or with whom, or to which African country. An opportunity presented itself when, in the spring of 2006, while visiting my sisters in New York City, I made a stop in Easton, Pennsylvania to spend easter with my aunt and uncle and cousins. I hadn't seen them in eight years, since they left Milwaukee for the east coast when I was a teenager. My uncle mentioned to me that they were planning a trip to Kenya for his parents' memorial. I half-jokingly said, "Can I come?" My uncle replied, sure you can. In that moment I got serious about it, envisioning myself in the savannah watching zebras, giraffes, and African sunsets. I excitedly mentioned to my sisters that I invited myself along on their trip and they, too, wanted to come, fast forward a year and a couple of months later, and there we were, the eight of us on board a Virgin Atlantic flight bound for Nairobi.
One of the biggest misconceptions I had about Africa was that it would be hot. It did not occur to me, even after having been to many other tropical countries, that it would get cool enough to warrant wearing a sweater and jeans. In Africa, no way! Well, yes, that is exactly how it turned out to be and I brought only a jean jacket, a few pairs of socks, and no jeans at all, just three pairs of light pants in anticipation of cool weather, but not cool enough for jeans. That was the last picture I had in my mind. Walking around in jeans in the east African sunshine. As it turned out the sunshine I had anticipated turned out to be mere patches of sunshine in between overcast skies mixed with the pollution of Nairobi. Night brought on a deeper chill.
The eight of us spent our first week in the capital going out to clubs, and having fun with members of my uncle's family. We were immediately and warmly embraced by them as if we were a part of their family. On our first night, we went out to Klub House, a very popular Nairobi nightspot, where I had to bundle up for the cool weather! During our first night out, we indulged in one of our favorite treats. Many years ago when my aunt and uncle lived in Milwaukee, my aunt was introduced to a savory, spicy appetizer gifted to the Kenyans from east Indians called samosas. One of my fondest memories of going to her house as a child was knowing that she would make those samosas for us. Made of ground beef, onions, garam masala (various Indian spices), wrapped in egg roll skins and then fried, and, in the Kenyan style, sprinkled with lime juice, they are bursting with flavor, and simply beyond delicious. Klub House is known for serving some of the best samosas in town, and when Brian, one of my uncle's cousins, told us this, we knew we would be eating a lot of them that night! We ordered thirty of them!