Induction? You mean, orientation?

After arriving late in the evening in Nairobi on 1/11/11 (I just wanted a reason to mention the fun date) I spent the next day recovering from jet lag and lounging about the guest house and trying not to scare others with my lingering manly voice.  Eugene from the Nairobi Skillshare office came by on Thursday morning with Evans, my guide to the "induction" process.  This must be a Britishism* (look it up, I swear it's a word; if it's not it should be) because I laughed out loud (also a possible side effect from jetlag and being heavily medicated for a sinus infection) when he told me that I would spend the next few days getting inducted and he just looked at me strangely.  I refrained from asking what I was getting inducted into, the Hall of Fame for Awesomeness perhaps?  A cult?  Childbirth?  (*My theory was confirmed when I got a follow up email from the UK office wishing me a nice induction.)

Anyhow, after side stepping that potential cultural faux pas I spent the day with Evans learning about Kenyan culture and security.  This would have been an awesome introduction to the country last year when I initially moved here, I would have felt so much more comfortable and less like someone thrown into a new city, in a new country, on a new continent and told to sink or swim.  Anyhow, it was a fun day and I enjoyed hearing stories about Evans' time living in the States and practicing my meager Kswahili skills.  I was even able to construct a simple sentence on my own, Tutaonana kesho saa tatu.  It was an exciting moment.

Later that evening while chowing down on some delish Ethiopian food with one of my friends I was reminded once again that I need to get back into the swing of British English.  She was telling a story about someone who was pissed and I could not for the life of me figure out why this guy would be mad.  I finally asked her and realized she was talking about him being drunk.  Now to relearn my mother tongue as well as a whole new one.

Swahili phrase of the day: 
Tutaonana kesho saa tatu- See you tomorrow at nine