Nairobi clubbing

So last night I went out with a few friends for our first night on the town in Nairobi. Since living with a host mom is like being back in high school again, I made sure to ask her permission first! With my freedom for the night confirmed, my neighbors Ken and Tony, and my brother Toti drove me to my friend Andre's house in another compound down the road. I was planning to just walk because it's pretty close, but it was already dark out and we live next to Kibera...this huge Nairobi slum. The guys said it wouldn't be safe even if they were with me...hence we drove. The compounds are safe inside, but we can't be out walking after dark. That will pretty much guarantee a mugging or worse. Then I chilled at Andres for while before Sarah came and picked us up in Lisa's taxi. It's typical to use just one or two specific drivers here who have decent prices & who you know a little bit. Just a good precaution considering they're not part of a taxi company per se. Lisa lives in the US but is Kenyan, so she knows things better than we do so far! With all of us finally squeezed into this tiny taxi, we drove into downtown Nairobi.

The club was in this UFO-looking thing on top of a gas station! It was reggae night, so the music was very chill but often familiar. LOVED IT. The vibe inside was so nuts--this big disco-y room with a disco ball and neon lights and a kind of planetarium thing going on with the ceiling. It was only 9:30 (still early to be out) so it was pretty empty aside from the few women already there. Sarah and I were wearing our daily conservative clothing: long skirt/anything that covers our thighs, tshirts, a sweater. But the women there were wearing an assortment of see-thru clothing, spandex miniskirts, tube tops and high heels! We didn't realize immediately that they were prostitutes! But we figured it out when they all gravitated to the two tables full of old white & asian men. We snagged a booth for ourselves and ordered a round of Tuskers, waiting for things to pick up. And wow, it REALLY picked up! By midnight the club was PACKED with people. It was mostly locals, the sex tourists, and us. We definitely stood out, but for the first time no one really seemed to notice or care...unlike in the smaller towns or when we're walking around Nairobi in a huge group. We danced for a while, and then later when we were back sitting down, the dance floor cleared and the lights went out! Then both male & female dancers came out wearing RIDICULOUS outfits (think spandex, sparkly, neon colors, REALLY revealing). They performed a few dances to songs like "Who let the dogs out?" and other random American music...and WOW their moves got pretty explicit! The girls spent most of their time with their legs wrapped around the guys' waists, gyrating to the music, crawling around...it was so nuts! Sarah got propositioned a bit later, probably the first of many. =P We danced until 3am, then found the taxi and got everyone home. Except for Sarah, who was locked out! She ended up spending the night at my house. We got to sleep at 4:30 or so, then woke up at 7:30 to get ourselves to our 8:30 class!

It was a crazy & amazing night. Perfect for our first time out. I can't wait to go out more over the next 6 weeks!! Nairobi is so fun and I love how different things are here. Everything we do and everywhere we go is new & exciting because we never know what to expect.

Until next time! Kwa heri!