Off to the fair

15^th May 2011. This morning I had the blues and felt a little (or even a lot) sorry for myself. Being alone in Nairobi with Evan while I missed my friend’s 40^th birthday brunch in Jo’burg really amplified the loneliness of starting out in a new country with no support system. It’s been so long since I last did it, I think I’d forgotten just how isolated you can feel.

So I decided to clear my head and take Percy (on his lead) and Evan (in his pram) for a nice long walk around the area. About a kilometre from our house is the Waldorf School, and outside I saw a sign for an “Ecofair”. All the stalls were busy setting up and some of them looked really interesting, so I decided to return later in the day (without Percy).

Once Evan had eaten his lunch we went back out on another walk to the fair. It was so interesting – fantastic organic and ‘green’ products with the most stunning craft work and knitwear (not sure you need much of that here in Kenya, but stunning, none the less). Evan had a total blast in the kids’ playground, including his first time ever on a swing – which was a massive hit!

 One of the stalls sold the most beautiful picnic blankets with traditional Kenyan fabric on one side and then a waterproof layer on the other. I didn’t have enough money with me to buy one, but most definitely will soon. I got chatting to the owner of the business who was lovely and lives just a few roads away from us – so perhaps another opportunity to make a friend just there.

The other great thing was the food. Specifically an Indian stall that had the most amazing smells wafting out into the fair, compelling me to stop there for sure. I bought a ‘take-away’ paneer palak with naan bread which I ate for dinner. Delicious, very spicy, but delicious.

I’m still feeling homesick and a little sad, but at least we got out the house today and did something, saw people and had some new experiences and enjoyed the sunshine. 

All in all, not a bad day in Africa.