The start of a new adventure

Today I started my new adventure in Nairobi by flying there from Frankfurt. Flying of course was not ideal (388 kg CO2 emissions are quite a lot for one day), however the alternative suggestions of driving for 146 hours (=6 days of driving without a break) did not seem truly feasible if I was to be back at work on Monday. Additionally a small back-of-the envelope calculation based on the assumption of 0,33 kg CO2/personal-km in a passenger car and 9000km to Nairobi, showed that a car trip would have produced 2900 kg CO2. Moreover, according to a friend for a car drive to Kenya I would have needed an experienced friend/guide along who would have known where the places with gasolene are and what bribes would be appropriate at which point. So maybe in this rare case a flight was the lesser evil + a lot more convenient for me. Trains between Europe and Sub-Sahran Africa are unfortunately at this point only a pipe dream.

After 8 hours of flying I arrived in Nairobi and somehow 10 hours had passed (time differences can be interesting especially if one country changes to daylight saving time and the other one doesn't). The Jomo Kenyatta International airport itself was well organized and the Covid entry regulations were probably better than what I would have experienced at home as surveys on health conditions were sent out before hand, heat cameras were set up and the temperature of passengers were measured. The passport control took a bit longer though the reason for the delay were apparently the new German passports as they could not be scanned and all data had to be entered by hand. As it was a full plane (apparently the first time since Covid erupted that the plane was that full again according to the pilot) with a lot of Germans that was not the quickest process. I won't lose a lot of further words about the airport because in my experience most airports are very similar. In comparison the ride to my accomodation was a different experience to home: While in Kenya cars in theory drive on the left hand side, in practice you drive where there is space and if a car suddenly passes you from the left that is no surprise. Even more interesting was the comment of my driver: "At your home you stop at red lights, don't you? Well in Kenya if there are no other cars it is more of a suggestion and possibly even dangerous as the car behind you might drive ontop of you if you hold in front of a red light". I am sure this was a bit of an exaggeration and I will update you when I know more about Kenyan traffic. For the moment though I am not planning to drive anytime soon inside the city.

Then around 11pm I arrived at my new home for the upcoming months and was warmly welcomed by my landlady. After a warm tea, a refreshing shower and some unpacking my tired head fell into bed and the first night of many in Kenya started.