Turkana: the other side of Kenya
Posted by Social Matters , Tuesday, February 8, 2011 7:12 AM
Maybe my geography is wrong but they say that Kenya is arid and semi arid, guess they were talking about Turkana, the land of many hills, ridges, valleys, a very big lake which usually sits at the very top of the Kenyan map off course, speaking of the Kenyan map if you get Turkana, its feels like you are at the very end of what seems to be a very big but small country, it depends anyway if you are travelling by road or air. Though by road its way more interesting especially since you get to experience climatic changes, in Kitale and Kapenguria its actually raining and cool and as you approach Lokichar the heat and dry country is still evident. Yes I have said it, Kenya is not as big and vast as I expected, and oh yes Turkana seems like thousands of kilometers from Nairobi, and it actually seems to me like half of Kenya is Turkana, the sun here seems to be very different from the all friendly sun in the city that actually doesn’t get past annoying. In Turkana opening a blanket shop is actually not a very wise idea because nobody ever uses them while in Nairobi I have two plus the numerous bed sheets and bed covers that keep me warm in the dead of the night when the Nairobi cold bites. The big question of the day should be? Why did I carry my sweater? I am so not using it.
Whenever the pretty weather forecast women of KBC are busy forecasting the unpredictable weather and they always insist that in Lodwar they will be highs of 39 degrees and lows of 37 degrees, if the 28 in Nairobi when it’s most sunny bothers me, what would I do in 39? Drink like 4 litres of water in a day, wake up in the middle of the night to drink some more water, sleep with as little clothing as I can and still sweat as soon as I try to sleep, invest in a lot of shorts (loose fitting) and sun dresses(morality is debated here, men in Nairobi complain about the way women dress in Nairobi, they should visit Turkana and see how they women clad), wear sun glasses even if I normally don’t do shades in Nairobi, always carry a bottle of water with me for survival reasons as opposed to the weird reasons that most people in Nairobi do it for, if I am in the heart of Turkana as I am now a GPS always comes in handy because getting lost is easy because of all the ridges in their hundreds that all look so similar and off course with the possibility of water running out, and manyattas a rare phenomenon, a GPS is a very good equipment to have, the Turkana themselves SEEM TO KNOW the terrain really well.
I guess if is stayed here longer a Mohawk seems to be the way to go because maintaining hair in this hot almost like desert is a lot of work, the sand gets into my hair and if I let it down, my neck becomes too hot and sweaty, for the Turkana it must be all about the water scarcity for me its all about the sand, and though it comes off as easily, I am an African woman and washing hair every other day is a lot of work plus God did give us hair so that we could wash it every day, it is a sin, a BIG one. I wouldn’t mind cutting it all off because it gets so hot and weaves, or plaiting my hair of even letting it all down, just makes me all sweaty, but I am yet to think of such an extreme.
Then again I am in Rome, and I should dress as the Turkana women do, right? Where a skirt is all that matters, and the upper body is not as sexual as we all make it out to be. The exaggeration that the men in all the other parts of Kenya have adapted in the gospel according to men, that women should cover up as much as possible. I am convinced that covering is more of a missionary and colonial idea that it is African; we are in the tropics, meaning we enjoy a little bit more sun than everyone else.
I guess a fan is basic is most hotel and motel rooms in Lodwar while hot water is a must in most showers, its natural, it must be only Turkana that after an hour of carrying your water around it actually becomes hot, too hot and you still drink it and enjoy it to the last drop while longing for a glass of really cold water.
Well while in Nairobi we have problems with fifty cents coins in Turkana they mostly don’t accept the one shillings coin, but apparently still stork sweets and chewing gums for one shillings, its even worse in the cybers where all they have a five shilling coin to give you back for change.
Most of the items in Lodwar are very expensive at times costing twice as much as they in the former green city in the sun. Reason being transporting them to Lodwar from the rest of the country is very expensive. Funny enough the newspaper arrives at around 12.30pm every day via the fly 540 planes.
Nothing sets Lodwar apart from most towns in Kenya, apart from the lack of street lighting, and evidence that its growing and all that but if the fortune of this town were to change, then all that would come to hunt it because it is a poorly planned town, and the municipal council of Lodwar needs to be fired and replaced with professionals who actually know what they are doing.
The 300ml bottle of soda doesn’t exist in Lodwar at all, hope Coca cola company are actually reading this, I prefer my sodas rather small because struggling to finish a half litre of soda every now and then, doesn’t seem pretty sensible to me.
I actually agree with a book written by non-Kenyans as a guide to the country that Kikuyus have a tendency to pop out everywhere. Imagine arriving in Lodwar at 7pm, having not the slightest idea of who happens to be living in Lodwar and not knowing that Lodwar is actually in Turkana having always assumed that Lodwar is actually a town in North Eastern province and not the rift valley, and now somehow still unsure, as you wait for your means of transport to your hotel room, the all familiar sound pleasantly fills your eyes. “Mwangi!”and the conservation between three taxi men starts and end in Kikuyu, and there and then you realize that somehow you are still Kenya and it feels good.
Camel and donkey meat is a delicacy is this part of the cuntry, and donkeys actually do not do any work apart from sit pretty and get eaten, I am sure the Turkana would appalled to see the what other Kenyans, I am not naming names do with the poor animals, but at least they don’t eat them, they just steal to other people who eat them unknowingly.
Lastly the Turkana children must be the luckiest in the world, they get a siesta break from 1230om to 330pm because of the heat. Don’t we all wish every other school in Kenya was like that?
What has amazed me so far is the boat ride to Central Island on Lake Turkana, the island is amazing but boat ride makes the storm that Peter and rest of Jesus’ disciples were in seem like a joke, the whole time we were riding on waves, that is not funny especially if water keeps on getting in your boat and you have to frantically keep getting it out as well as the captain of the boat has to keep shuffling positions to maintain balance and prevent the boat from cup sizing. Only to get to the beautiful island swim near the shore of the Lake which should be infested with crocodiles apparently and head back to other side of the island on another scary ride.
