June 17

I went clubbing with Richard, my neighbor who has been living in Nairobi for the last ten years. He's a Muganda, but he also speaks fluent KiSwahili. We met up with his friend Rose who is also from Nairobi (except she's Kenyan). We started out in Bukoto near where we live with a couple of beers, some nice roasted pork (spicy) and matooke. Yum. Then we moved into town to Hotel Equatoria, where Rose was staying. She put a couple of drinks on her room tab for us, so that was nice. I learned how to say thank you in KiSwahili: 'asante.' So that was cool. Then we went to a bar in the middle of town that had nice flat screens showing football and a DJ, and that was fun until the cops showed up with automatic weapons in tow telling people to be quiet. Apparently some diplomats with penthouse apartments nearby were complaining about the noise. It was only 10 PM and they're livingin aa comercial district. Get a grip. It's weird getting used to seeing these dudes with huge guns, though. It's a safe city in that regard. Outside banks you often see guys with AK-47s. Pretty strange, but nobody ever fires them. I often wonder if they're even loaded or if they're just to scare people enough that they won't try anything stupid. Anyway, I don't want you to worry about it . . . it's a very safe place, so long as you know what you're doing and you keep your wits about you.