Things I will miss and things I will not miss about Kenya

So, tomorrow I am leaving.

After 6 months in this country, I can definitely affirm that I will miss:

1. The awesome taste of Kenyan fruit - especially of pineapple, mangos and watermelon.

2. People selling, bargaining and working in the streets - while in the West all these activities are confined inside a shop or a room.

3. The diligence of Kenyan people in washing their hands before food, and the mothers of the house coming to wash my hands with a basin and a jug of water because I am the guest.

4. The diligence of Kenyan people in wearing masks - I am sure I will miss this I the UK.

5. The taste of Chapati.

6. Kenyan mothers, their strength, their dedication and love for their kids, their resilience to Life challenges. They have been so inspirational. Always with their kids hanged to their back, always ready to breastfeed. So naturally Mother Nature's.

7. The colours of African Kitenge, the awesome traditional dresses.

8. African music and to see Kenyans fuelled by it, immediately happy and jovial - even though music is always played too loud and earplugs are the most essential thing to bring to this country. 

9. The green of the landscape of the Rift valley. Always blooming, always flourishing, always fertile. 

10. Crazy tales about traditional medicine and witchcraft, a must of local conversations.

11. The seconddhand markets, unfoundable in Italy, but ethically and practically awesome to buy and reuse at a cheap price.

12. How cheap life is in Kenya! My bank account will cry once back in the UK!

13. Kenyan panoramas: they have everything! Mountains, hills, coasts, volcanos, natural reserves, beaches, cliffs....

(To be continued)

I will not miss:

1. People calling me mzungu at every time of the day and the night.

2. Washing my clothes by hands.

3. Sleeping under a mosquito net.

4. The traffic, the crazy drivers, the danger of taking a motorbike or walking at the edge of the street. The death sentence of crossing a road - even on zebra crossing. 

5. That you cannot be out at night because it is dangerous.

6. That there are no parks or green areas in all Eldoret, and that if you want some peace and fresh air you need to leave the town.

7. The mud - which is everywhere in the rainy season.

8. The dust, which is everywhere in the dry season and acts as a foundation: it is indeed called "the African make up".

9. The African tea - or, better, the half kilo sugar per liter that it is mixed with the water.

10. Unpopular: the ugali 

11. The fact that "cheese" is not in the Kenyan dictionary. 

12. People trying to extort me money - always, all the time.

13. Eating by hands - I really struggled go touch the food with my hands and couldn't go over the awful sticky feeling of dirt. Culture, I suppose.

Considered the above, I am looking forward to:

- a washing machine

- a walk in Sefton park

- a pizza

- being anonymous 

- good coffee (Kenya produces some of the best coffee but it is all exported!).

- a chunk of good Italian Alps' cheese

- cutleries

- pavements

...

            Somewhere in Mount Elgon