Re-Entry (2) - Welcome Home to Nairobi

Different times. A different focus.

The last time I returned to Nairobi I was coming back after having been away only two weeks, and that after having been in Kenya for only a brief introductory two-weeks of living here. So that re-entry was not at all like this one. On 11 December 2009, I was returning to Nairobi after having been here for a very short time, and I was very unsettled about my life in Kenya.

Not so on Easter Night. Now, having lived in Nairobi for four months, sharing a house with a beautiful and very kind couple, embraced by splendid friends, enthusiastically received by professional colleagues in an important assignment, volunteering with a new NGO that is going to have a serious and life-changing impact on the lives of many young Africans, I came back to Nairobi comfortable, relaxed about being here, and anxious to continue on with what I had been doing (and, sadly, well aware that this next phase of my time in Kenya is going to be limited).

Not unexpectedly, the impressions are different this time. For one thing, I've learned to relax about the Kenyan - muzungu relationship. Being an American (or Westerner, for that matter) I was originally concerned about how I - as a white man - was to act and, especially, about how I would be perceived.

I shouldn't have worried. This re-entry made it very clear that I'm now just another one of the people in Kenya. Yes, there are probably some folks (individuals, not ethnic groups or races) who might try to take advantage of or exploit differences. But for most of the people I've met in Kenya, there is already such a mix of races, tribes, ethnic groups, economic and professional classes, religions, and such that it would be a real effort to pursue any sort of prejudice based on that sort of thing. We're all just people - a mixed bag of people - and we all have our prejudices based on our up-bringing and our life experiences but we generally don't pre-judge simply because some looks different or is from a different community. So I no longer worried about being welcome back into my life in Kenya.

And of course there is much I was anxious to get back to.

Let's start with the food. I couldn't wait to start beginning my day again with my coffee, a banana, and a chapati, the wonderful flatbread I like so much. Such a simple breakfast and oh, so nutrituous! Eating a different cuisine, I had missed all the boiled vegetables, so fresh and so good (and probably the reason I lost so much weight over those four months - eating healthy fresh fruit and vegetables and walking between four and five miles a day back and forth to work). And I was really looking forward to having ugali, githeri, Kenyan-fried cabbage, and irio again. Even the nyama choma - the marinated grilled meat (which I don't eat often but when I do I really like it) was thought about from time to time in places like Geneva and San Francisco.

Finally, as I think is pretty clear here, I was anxious to get back to the people I've come to care so much about. The Kenyans, and in particular the ones who have befriended me and make me feel so much at home, are extremely welcoming people and I am very comfortable with them. Whatever the next assignment is and wherever it takes me, I'm going to remember with much pleasure my friends in Kenya.

Rio de Janeiro - Quick Impressions

It is probably not very kind to describe one's impressions of Rio de Janeiro so soon after the awful disaster of the flooding of last week, especially if those impressions are not altogether positive.

But I'll forge ahead and hope my friends won't think me callous if I share a few thoughts based on what was probably too brief a time in this fabled city.

In connection with my current assignment with the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT), I was asked to attend the World Urban Forum, a huge event held every second year and one of the most important gatherings of people affiliated with the entire larger subject of sustainable urbanization. My task is to work with UN-HABITAT's KM team to devise a knowledge strategy for the organization, and coming to this meeting fit right into my work. What better opportunity to drill deep than at such a gathering of world leaders, academics, donors, NGOs, and many other thousands of people who would be coming together in Rio to network about this important issue?

And the work was superb, and since this is my personal blog, I won't go into detail about the excellence of the conference and the continuing high quality of the presentations, meetings, focus groups, knowledge networking opportunities, and all those other elements that lure us to professional conferences. It was a privilege to be amongst such dedicated and knowledgeable people - all willing to speak freely and frankly about the subject of sustainable urbanization - and the consultancy assignment was considerably enhanced by being able to meet with and interact with so many leaders in the field (a brief description is at the SMR blog and the official World Urban Forum site has much information about the conference). 

Rio de Janeiro? Well, as I say, it is a fabled city, and certainly Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire have a lot to answer for, since for many folks "Flying Down to Rio" is their early introduction to the city. And wasn't there some sort of Rita Hayworth connection back when we were going to the movies to indulge our fantasies about exotic places?

No matter.

Rio's not like that now. For Mr. Guy, it was an extremely unusual business trip. For one thing, I had not reckoned on the heat. How all those business executives (and security guards) manage in their black suits all day long is a mystery to me. I showed up the first day in my usual management consultant's suit-and-tie and found myself immediately drenched to the skin. 

After nearly fainting from the 40-degree heat (that's C - about 100 degrees F, I believe!) - and thank you Anonymous Security Guard for taking care of me and finding me some water) - I fortunately discovered that the UN-HABITAT stand was selling t-shirts and some of them fit me nicely, so I quickly became the agency's most enthusiastic t-shirt model....

The conference venue was on the other side of the city from the Copacabana, the beach area, and while the delegates were housed in lovely resort hotels across the wide boulevard from the beach (which is - by anybody's standards - simply spectacular in its beauty), it was an unwise visitor who walked about outdoors. The combination of warnings about not walking about alone (even in the daytime hours) and the heat simply made it practical to limit one's hotel egress to the open door of the waiting taxi (bless the hotel

staff for their excellent service in this regard).

The journey to the conference venue took about 25-35 minutes, and it was interesting to observe the streets as you rode along. The city is obviously in the grips of a financial depression, and the millions of citizens living in the slums are testament to the concept that if something isn't done about the world's cities, society is going to be in a terrible fix, sooner rather than later.

The signs are everywhere. Rio is not a clean city, and it is surprising after being in other large cities to see the extent of dirt, leftover construction materials, and falling-down construction sites and deserted structures just littering the place up. Graffiti is everywhere, simply everywhere, and to think about what's happening to the city as you ride along (admittedly in your air-conditioned taxi, safe from having to be part of the rough edges of city life) is to realize that if something is not done to reduce the inequality in urban society, it's just hard to tell what the future is going to be like.


The distant conference venue was (despite the bleakness of other parts of the city) an example of how a major city is trying to do what it can. All along the harbor are these huge warehouse, left over I suppose from the great days of commercial shipping and probably dating - one would guess - from in the early part of the last century. Deserted for a long time, the warehouses are now part of Rio de Janeiro's campaign to "re-birth" itself and to that end, a massive effort has been put into turning the six long warehouses - stretched out along the harborside - into a world-class convention center. It's not there yet, but the signs are there, and given a few more years, a collection of innovative

and enthusiastic architects and designers, and a few million (billion?) dollars, this could be one of the great conference venues of the world.

So despite the heat and the sad prospect of what could be seen in other neighborhoods, the beauty of the harbor is readily apparent (and the harbor was the subject of the only photographs I was able to take, beyond some taken at the conference itself - plenty of other images of Rio de Janeiro are available particularly here). 


The conference was hosted by the Brazilian government, and it was obvious the country's and the city's leaders were very pleased to be able to offer Brazilian hospitality to conference attendees, and we were all thankful to them - and to UN-HABITAT's conference planners - for doing such a fine job.

Mt. Diablo

Not to compete with the rock climbing in Hell's Gate in Kenya, there was a
mountain excursion in the San Francisco Bay Area, a leisurely (on a very
cold but beautiful day) to the top of Mt. Diablo.

Very spectacular, and although we drove up the mountain, stopping to see the
views every so often, we saw several people on bicycles and I was impressed.

And even more impressed with I told one of my local friends that we had done
this and she casually remarked that, "oh, yes, we ride our bikes up there
pretty often."

I guess that's California for you. And explains why my friend is so healthy!

The views are spectacular. And while my friends in Kenya will notice some
similarities to what I've seen and shared in that beautiful land, the
terrain is pretty different here. And of course since it is still early in
the year, these Northern California trees are not yet in full leaf (but
perhaps that's even better, since it opens up the view a little more).

Napa in the Spring

What visit to Northern California would be complete without a visit to Napa?

Beautiful countryside, delightful friends, and a splendid day out.

Guy St. Clair - Andrew Berner - Dale and Debi Stanley enjoying a good time
together, with Guy and Andrew very grateful to Dale and Debi for their
splendid California hospitality.

The Catsup Tower

And while San Francisco is famous for some of its towers – Transamerica, Coit, the supports of the two suspension bridges, etc., the city may one day be more famous for its catsup tower.

While visiting a friend’s garage recently, one’s eye alights on a packing box labeled: “Catsup Tower.”

Yes, you read that right, and Keith – obliging fellow that he is – agreed to display the contents.

When he was a lad, Keith Stanley’s artistic apprenticeship was occupied with a number of splendid adventures in design. Not the least of which was his version of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, built from catsup packets.

Never again will a visit to a fast-food restaurant be the same! I’ll forever be wondering about how many catsup packets I can take away, and what Keith might make of them.

Well done, sir.

Brussels - Geneva - New York - San Francisco (2)

So the connection here is a little stretched, since it has been three weeks
since I left Geneva (and a little more since I left Brussels) but I'll do
what I can.

Back to New York to work at the U.N., catch up with some friends (not too
many - too busy and the time too short), see a show (my favorite Sondheim -
"A Little Night Music" with Angela Lansbury and Catherina Zita-Jones - just
terrific), give a speech (see the SMR International blog), and head out to
San Francisco to work on the West Coast for a while.

And to attend a family wedding (well, extended family, I suppose), which is
my real reason for being in America at this particular time.

As with Brussels, couldn't resist having a few days to play around in the
city, and since San Francisco is one of my favorite cities, capture a few
images to help me remember why I love this place so much.

Interesting - as always - building decorations and of course a couple of
famous landmarks. Washington Square in North Beach is always fun to visit
and photograph and the Sts. Peter and Paul Church offers a uniquely San
Francisco-esque view. Naturally the two towers are fun, seen from everywhere
in the city.

And I have to find my art nouveau wherever I go. In San Francisco it's in
the lobby of my favorite hotel, the Galleria Park, right in the heart of the
city at Sutter and Kearny. Here it is, a mecca for lovers of art nouveau,
even if it is (probably) a modern adaptation. It's still pleasant to look at
and, on a cool San Francisco afternoon, sit in front of and talk about how
lovely it is to be in one of the world's great cities.

Brussels - Geneva - New York - San Francisco

A blog is, I suppose, something of a diary - and particularly a travel diary
for people who move about a lot - when one does interesting things.

But sometimes we get caught up in the mundane and don't get to post what or
when we want to post, which I seem to recall is an on-going issue for people
who like to keep diaries. Since we don't live in the 18th century anymore,
it's hard to fit it all in, and keeping a diary I expect is 'way down the
list for most 20th-century folks!

So it's been a while since I left Geneva, and truth to tell, there wasn't
much to tell. Work went well, and I got done what I went to Geneva to do.

The hotel (shown here) was pretty ordinary but it worked. I didn't have to
sleep in the streets!

But there wasn't time to visit the sites, and I'm sorry not to have had a
tour of the Palais des Nations and the other U.N. buildings in Geneva.
Perhaps there will be another assignment to Geneva one of these days.

Saw only one work of art, oddly enough directly outside my hotel window. But
very special, and well worth the time I was able to spend looking at it.

Could find out nothing about this piece of sculpture, and I somehow had the
sense that it was in a temporary location, since so much construction is
going on in the area, especially behind a huge shopping mall just across the
road. And the setting seems very strange for such an important work of art.

Still, I found it kind of fascinating, and I'm intrigued that the sculptor
gave the kiters - whom most of us would think of as boys and not as men -
the forms of adult men. An interesting little intellectual excursion into an
artist's way of thinking, I suppose. Very nice.