Just an average week in Nairobi

Actually, it's been quite an interesting week. A few highlights:

Wednesday: There was a breakfast media briefing taking place in the Ministry, held by the Permanent Secretary. I turned up looking for some free food (as I've mentioned before, meetings here invariably centre around food). The meeting went well enough, and television crews were present from 2 national news channels. Getting home that evening, I thought I'd just check the news to see if we got any coverage, only to be greeted by my own grinning mug tucking heartily into a fried egg on toast. Obviously, casting about the room for a reaction shock, they zoomed in on the only whitey there. I am now Tom Copple, as seen on TV.

Friday: Hanging out in a bar at 4 o'clock in the morning (oh yes, I'm quite the party animal), I found myself standing next to none other than K'Naan, the "world-renowned" Somali rapper, of whom I'm a massive fan. He's written the World Cup anthem and was due to perform the next day as the World Cup is passing through Africa on a ceremonial tour. Unfortunately, nobody I was with knew who he was, and didn't seem to be that impressed. However, he is currently Number One in my list of "people I've stood kind of near to", pushing "sharing a list with Gordon Brown while he was Chancellor" into second place.

Saturday: I managed to bag a ticket to the World Cup qualifier between Kenya and Nigeria (I was sitting in the cheap seats, a whopping £3 per ticket), and so, with raging hangover, I set off with a friend, George, from work. This was an important match, Nigeria needed to win to qualify for the World Cup, and Kenya needed to win to qualify for the African Cup of Nations (their World Cup dreams ended a long time ago). Given that Kenya have never beaten Nigeria in a competitive game before (this might not be true, but some guy I was talking to at the game seemed pretty convinced), I wasn't getting my hopes up, but others were more optimistic (We'll whack Eagles 5-0, says Kenyan sports Minister). It was a pretty normal build-up - my rising media career continued as I was interviewed by SuperSport, the international African sports cable network, ("As the only white face in the crowd, how do you rate Kenya's chances?"), but this all changed when Kenya scored in the 16th minute to go into the lead. I've been to a few football games in my time, and I've seen some pretty excited fans, but they just can't compare. We were mobbed from all sides, sprayed with God knows what, and I had my hand enthusiastically shaken by roughly half the people there. Sadly, their joy didn't last, and (some dodgy refereeing later), Nigeria took the lead. Another thing I've learnt about Kenyan fans, they don't like to lose:

1429: GOAL! Yakubu Ayegbeni fires the Super Eagles into the lead but the Kenyans surround the referee asking him to disallow the goal for offside. Angry Kenya fans throw missiles on to the pitch but the game carries on after the missiles are cleared from the field of play.

By "missiles", they mean an assortment of empty plastic bottles, rather more full plastic bottles, some glass bottles and strips of wood torn out of the terraces. Sitting in the lower terraces, very close to the field, this was a rather hairy experience, although to be fair the vast majority of fans were appealing for calm. A slightly unpleasant end to an otherwise fantastic experience.

Sunday: Near our flat is the Nairobi Arboretum, an idyllic green space with criss-crossing paths in the centre of the city. It's perfect for jogging, so I try to go most weekends (3 times out of 7 so far). Stretching against a tree halfway through my run this morning, I hear a screeching sound above my head. Looking up, I see two monkeys swinging through the branches. Suddenly, I notice a group of about a dozen or more converge around me - just eating, playing and fighting - seemingly totally oblivious to my presence. Everyone else is just walking past, as if this is the most normal thing in the world. Monkeys! This isn't something you tend to encounter running round Halstead; you're more likely to be run off the road by a speeding housewife in a 4x4. I have tried telling people here how exciting it is  to see monkeys while out jogging, but no-one seems to understand. It's like pointing out squirrels or pigeons back home.

One week, 4 exciting (for me) events, 0 pictures. I just might have to invest in a camera-phone.