Transportation Curiosities

 Dear Family,

Do you want to know something incredible? Here in Kenya, there is not a whole lot of signs about speed limits, especially in the cities. I found this rather curious as we were being driven around by our drivers to get to and from the training center... How does one control traffic in Nairobi?

Answer: So throughout the cities, on major highways AND side roads, there are a series of speed bumps scattered about. In the daylight, it is easy to see them coming, and you slow down accordingly as to not "hit air". There will be instances where you are not paying attention, and will hit one of those too fast--this happened to me last night in a tuk-tuk vehicle, which is essentially a motorized small vehicle on three wheels. The driver is up front, and one to three passengers sit behind him in an open air vehicle that can move fairly quickly considering its small size. Our driver hit that bump so quickly that my entire upper body slammed into the roof before I realized what was happening--I had, as they call it "hit air"!

The other thing people in Kenya do to control traffic is to have all major intersections be round-abouts, some with traffic controllers in areas of downtown. This is quite a commitment in the larger areas of the city, but the key thing here is that it gets people to slow down. The rules for these intersections are also quite different from the U.S. from what I can tell, its much more of a free for all system with people cutting across abruptly (then again, we are also driving on the left hand side of the road, it confuses me significantly).

I will say being in the city meant many more options for getting around than out here in the countryside. Now that we live in a house near the beach, but far from our schools/town, it has meant a lot of adventurous travel (like the tuk-tuk mentioned earlier) or travel with a prearranged driver. Because our security has to be taken care of first, this has lead to a lot of juggling with all involved parties. Stay tuned as we begin to figure that out and I work more with our students.

I love and miss you all so dearly, but thank you for the words of support and encouragement throughout this adjustment period. Until next time, tuko pamoja!

Cheers,

Andi

Comments

  1. Miss EpicJanuary 25, 2022 at 11:13 AM

    Hit air😂😂

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A.M. UtterJanuary 26, 2022 at 9:48 AM

      You know, it was the best and worst part of the ride!

      Delete
  2. Alex ClasonJanuary 25, 2022 at 12:20 PM

    I miss you too, I hope you have a wonderful time in Kenya.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A.M. UtterJanuary 26, 2022 at 9:49 AM

      Thank you Alex! I hope to continue to stay in touch.

      Delete
  3. UnknownFebruary 2, 2022 at 6:31 PM

    So happy that you are keeping us informed. Thank you

    ReplyDelete

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