Nairobi: So Missed Yet Cannot Be Tolerated.

Nairobi City

Homesickness. Oxford Online Dictionary defines it as experiencing a longing for one's home during a period of absence from it. See, I was in Kilifi for about twelve days, at the beginning of July, and at some point I started feeling homesickness. For a few hours I was depressed and didn't speak much. I was missing that which I'm familiar with. Familiar routines, familiar faces, familiar environment, I missed my four fish's naughtiness, I missed my bed, I missed even the smell of my perfumes!! It was terrible, but only for a few hours and then I realized that I had seven days to go and had no much choice, but to style up, get my act together and continue with the church mission work that had taken me there. And anyway, nobody told me it was going to be easy. And to make matters worse, life around me just seemed to go on as normal! If anything, despite the fatigue, everyone was jolly and happy.  

A boat floating near the Kilifi Bridge

So I picked up my moodiness and went about my business as usual. Then fast forward to the return date. Having missed the city so much, I wanted to get home as quickly as possible. I even decided that a bus ride would be too long, so I took a flight from Mombasa. Fourth five minutes later, I landed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), Nairobi. As soon as I walked off the plane, then it hit me! Firstly, it was too cold for my liking. Coast was so warm and sweaters were never part of the attire. Then I arrive in the city and its so cold my saliva is almost freezing in my mouth. I immediately felt like taking the return flight to Mombasa.

Sunset in Kilifi

Who wants to come back to a cold and dull city. It was cloudy, dusty, chilly and even dark! On getting to Mombasa road on my way home, your guess is as good as mine, there was quite some traffic snarl up. In just ten minutes, we'd passed by two road accidents on Mombasa Road. Traffic had backed up several kilometers. Goodness gracious...!  Some of the places are just blessed like this town called Kilifi. Traffic jams is a foreign concept to the residents of this seaside town.                                     The evenings in Kilifi were something to behold. When strolling home, our Kilifi home, one had the privilege to watch the most beautiful sunsets! When in Nairobi, I have no idea which direction/bearing of this town the sun goes down to sleep. It is a concrete jungle all around me and all I know is that there is light in the morning and later in the evening there is darkness, hardly would I get to see the sun.

Boat's Parking Lot, near the Kilifi Bridge

I have never seen the sun rise in the city. I would love to watch the sun rise. I love nature and just watching God's creation manifest its grandeur each morning. To experience the serenity of each morning is my desire. It is calm and so reassuring to sit on the beach each morning and see the day unfold. And that is what Kilifi offered me each day.  Life was good down at the coast. I had the time to breath and enjoy each breathe. Close my eyes and let the breeze gently cool off my brow. Now, that was a good life.      

So, we manage to snake through the traffic and an hour later we are headed to my house. Of course by now, I can feel the "warm welcome" from dear beloved city. All the honking from motorists, rough matatu drivers, music blaring from vehicles around us, the air just felt polluted and I think I was seeing like a million people at ago. I just felt congested and my space interfered with! All of a sudden there was people everywhere I looked.   Needless to say, I wonder whether Santa has indicated to the City Fathers that he would like to relocate to the City in the Sun. For the sun had deliberately refused to shine in the dear city for a few weeks now and temperatures are really low. I wonder whether North Pole gets this cold. Maybe Santa should move to the tropics!!  He might just like it and probably he'll stop looking that old with all the white hair and beard....ok ok, I digress. It's not Christmas yet. 

Nairobi is a beautiful city and the economy of the country is generated from this wonderful place. Life is fast, things move at jet speeds, and people live round the clock. I also appreciate the fact that it is also my place of work since food must be put on the table.  But my many days out of town, living in Kilifi for all those days taught me a great lesson. That it is not all about the hustle and bustle. There is more to life than rushing to beat the rush hour. That one must craete time to breath and let go and just rejuvinate. That we all need to learn how to breath again. Just taking in each moment, loving every second of it. That God created this beautiful world so that we can have a little heaven down here.

I loved my Kilifi trip and I look forward to going to another "out of place" location in this country and just ressetting those factory settings that can be so out of tune due to the crazy schedules.

God bless.

Damaris