Watch the Walk

This week has been a rough one for dinner time. We have a particular neighbor who likes to drop by on her way to or from her house, or both, depending on the day. Often she just stops in for a few minutes, but sometimes she settles in for the long haul. She sits down, tells graphic stories about the misdeeds of neighbors and acquaintances, scrolls Facebook on her phone, calls friends, and generally just hangs out. One of the dinners that waited And this week her settling in has conveniently collided with our dinner time on multiple occasions. No matter what time we are finishing up dinner prep, she arrives just as the end is in sight. I'd say that it's intentional, but she couldn't have timed it better if she tried. It's not like we eat at the same time every night. I'd like to say that it's easy to just add another plate and go with it, but it's often not as easy as that. We don't often cook islander-style food at home. And sometimes... we e...

"You probably don't appreciate the traffic here." It was phrased as a statement, but I knew it was really a question. What do you think of the traffic? My Kenyan driver weaved through traffic, gently pushing his way into intersections and avoiding the pedestrians and motorcycle traffic as they intermingled with cars and trucks. Actually, I have a great appreciation for how traffic works in Nairobi. It's the truth. I appreciate the skill of drivers there, the way that they watch traffic and respond in accordance with it. I appreciate how everyone moves through roundabouts, getting where they need to go. Systems are systems. The US system of driving is nice-- you follow the rules of the road and normally things work out fine. But then there's distracted driving. The driver checking Facebook, taking a picture, answering texts, talking on the phone, setting up navigation. It doesn't take long for things to go wrong. In Nairobi it's a lot harder to be a d...