This past Saturday a group of us wanted to check out a mall
called Village Market. We weren’t too sure what to think, but when we arrived
we were surprised by everything about it. It was incredibly western, incredibly
expensive, and incredibly nice. We walked around the mall for a bit, not really
buying a lot, but just enjoying the atmosphere. Once we were about ready to
leave, we realized we were not far at all from the US Embassy as well as the UN
Headquarters (they’re conveniently across the street from each other). We
decided to venture to them, and after getting some directions from the guards we
started our walk. It was a perfect temperature out, partly cloudy, and not too
dusty. We trekked along the road, every few feet having to stop and admire bits
of houses we could see through breaks in the trees and fences. They were
massive mansions, with huge yards, perched atop small hills with a beautiful
view of Nairobi City on one side and the start of the rural areas to the other.
We eventually found the embassy (after asking a few guards
along the way), and were amazed at the beautiful sight of a huge gray wall that
greeted us. We had found the service entrance. We said hello to one of the
guards, then walked a bit. We decided to stop to figure out our taxi situation,
and call them so they could be on their way. A few of my classmates were not
feeling well, so I stopped with them while others ventured on up ahead. As we
are sitting in the shade, a security guard approached us. We were all expecting
him to scold us for sitting on the grass and tell us to move along. Instead the
conversation went like this: “Hello. Are you citizens of the US?’ “Yes we are.”
“Okay. Do you need help? What’s going on?” “Oh we are okay, just taking a rest
in the shade while we are waiting for our taxis” “Okay. We saw you on the
cameras and there was a call over the radio about possibly distressed
Americans. Did you need us to call taxis for you?” “Oh. Thanks, but ours are
already on their way!” “Okay. What brings you to Kenya?” “Study Abroad through
American University” “Oh, great! Well welcome to Kenya, and let me know if you
need anything”
The guard then reported back to the gate and him and another
guard stayed outside, occasionally glancing over at us to make sure we 1) were
not up to mischief and 2) to make sure we were still safe.
After this I decided to go and regroup with the rest of my
classmates. I enjoyed a nice walk, saying hello to the guards along the way. As
I almost reached my classmates, and as I was admiring the front of the US
Embassy and the UN Offices, a Kenyan Police Officer (with their typical AK-47
firearms) walked up to me and said Hello. I said hey, and told him I was just
meeting my classmates. He said no problem. A few minutes later, I passed back
by him and decided to strike up a conversation. He asked me what brought me to
Kenya, and if I was enjoying it. I told him it was a great and beautiful
country. Then the conversation got quite humorous. “So would you like to stay
in Kenya?” he asked me, I responded “Yeah that would be awesome, although I’d
need a job in Public Health”, “Well, my cousin is available and you could get
an attachment with the United Nations!” he joked “But you’d have to give me
some cows first”. I could help by laugh and explain to him my first marriage
offer, and how I wasn’t expecting how many cows I should have brought with me
to Kenya. We continued to joke around about marriage possibilities (both his
and mine), and he was telling me how trustworthy Kenyan women were. When one of
our cabs showed up, I talked to the driver, then let others get in to pick up
the rest of our group around the corner. He asked if everything was okay, then
immediately pulled out his phone to start calling another cab for us. I
explained to him that the other one was one its way, and it would be here
shortly. While we were waiting he continued to joke around with us and finally
introduced himself as Michael. I gave him a handshake as I was leaving, and my
classmates later joked “You know that handshake? Little did you know that was a
binding agreement! Congratulations Wyatt, now go find some cows before he
brings his cousin!”
It was an amazing Saturday and to be able to stand between
the US Embassy and the UN Offices was a one of a kind feeling.
Receiving my second marriage offer was an incredibly
different, but also one of a kind feeling.
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