As Claire’s post may have highlighted, there are some aspects of Kenyan life that have gotten old over the last few months. The fact that it has taken a month for TelKom to come here to assess our installation, only to find that installation prices are entirely negotiable is one part of it. Knowing that we need to call in a Kenyan male in order to have a successful negotiation is another part of it.
Needing to bring the same Kenyan male to the hospital in order to get charged the right amount there is also annoying. Particularly when the doctor in charge who is jacking up the prices is simultaneously the owner of the hospital who is benefiting from said price inflation.
Knowing that the appointment me made with our usually conscientious drive for ten AM tomorrow will only actually happen at 9 AM or at 6 PM, at which point he will suddenly appear and want to leave within one minute, is also quite frustrating in a world where things actually need to get done.
However, I will say this for the apparent flexibility of life overseas: I am learning patience, and I am learning tolerance. There is so much we can’t control here, that it has stopped even becoming surprising when I can’t get my work done one day because the Shosho around here wanted me to sit in on a meeting held entirely in kikuyu where I do not talk for two hours. There’s nothing I can do about it, so what’s the point in getting stressed about all the work I can’t do.
I may only be learning patience with my own to-do list, and tolerance as it applies to my own late tendencies, (traits most people will be surprised to think I could ever improve upon) but I feel they are good traits nonetheless.
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