The train is dashing through tunnels, gliding over bridges. But I sit there feeling homesick. The initial excitement of coming to Europe has now left an emptiness in my stomach. It is not that I am hungry. I simply miss theugali and sukuma wiki.
I miss the hustle and bustle of Korogocho. The nostalgic smell of the dark dirty soil. The tantalizing smell of nyama choma. The concealed fragrance of Omo from the washing of the clothes on the streets. The jostling crowds and the rubbing of shoulders. The bustling activity around the kiosks. The dirges sung by drunkards as they stagger their way home. The freedom of the children running around.
When you are in those wretched hovels of Nairobi’s slums you dream of being in the skyscrapers of America – or in the castles of Europe. But when you are here, suddenly you feel lonely. Strange!
It is not that the people here are unkind. In fact they are very polite. Very well trained in social etiquette. Simply, you are a stranger. You are not […]
Short Story
Short Story – Under the Baobob
“Judy, what are you dreaming about?” The threatening voice of the teacher woke me up. I was indeed awake. But it was true that I was dreaming – daydreaming. What was I dreaming about? About the baobab tree that stood on our school campus? Yes and no.
There stood a baobab at our school campus. It stood right on the path between our classrooms and our dormitories. No one knew how old it was. But for sure, it looked quite old, as most baobabs are. Its trunk was decorated or, one could say, dirtied by a myriad of graffiti that ranged from names of girls who were once students in our school to names of boys who perhaps were once friends of our girls.
This morning the baobab had warned me as I walked to class.
I was actually thinking about Flora. As I sat in the class that day I watched Flora. She had her head down. Perhaps she didn’t take the porridge that morning. Most […]