By CHIQUITTA
Sometimes living in Nairobi is like living in a bubble, it is easy to believe that everything revolves around us, I mean hey, itâs the capital city, the metropolis, the beginning and the end of the riddle. In actuality Nairobi is just a modern version of the rest of the country. We still deal with much of the same issues the rest of the country does albeit in a different way. This does not make us more special and any breaks we receive are just by sheer luck. If you ask me, most Nairobians are just a generation away from country life and the way things are going, you can be sure there are many who are definitely thinking of relocating to the countryside. Anyway the bubble effect can best be described as living mental shelter that keeps you ignorant to what the rest of the world is really like here are a few effects of living in a bubble
The followers
Every urban city has a set of cool people who effect change in a number of ways. In Nairobi you will meet tech geeks, style mavens, musicians and artistes, all aiming for the top. Very few of these people may actually be worth your time. There is a plethora of people who enjoy the perks and image that come with being part of something new and though they never add anything to the mix they walk around proudly proclaiming their affinity or even using the aforementioned talents as their identity. In the fast moving setting of the urban world itâs sometimes hard to tell the real from the fake but as the saying goes you can fool most of the people most of the time but you canât fool all the people all the time.
Fashion and style
There has been burst of creativity when it comes to fashion and style but the advances seem to have been made by designers and their friends than the regular Joe on the street. Nairobi as a city is yet to find itâs own style identity as seen in cities like Kinshasa, South Africa or New York, Los Angeles or even Lagos. We still rely on other people to tell us what style is. We now call Kitenge material Ankara and deem it stylish yet it has really never been out of fashion. We walk around dressed like bootleg New York cities hipsters and call it style. We love to wear stockings with plastic flats on hot days. Still, all is not lost; if you stand at a street corner you will see the occasional flash of a stylish individual who does not need to try to hard.
Nairobbery
Nairobbery is usually used to refer to the cityâs network of thieves, pilferers and carjackers. We tend to forget that Nairobians get fleeced daily in their normal transactions. Matatuâs hike their fare wantonly and people pay, we are sold shiny sub-standard Chinese clothes and happily buy, how else would you explain the stalls that keep mushrooming at every corner. We go to so called upmarket venues with no parking and risk death by parking on a major highway just to get half a glass of tetra-packed wine for Sh500. Nairoberry is not always about a knife in a dark alley rather it is the sullen faced cashier who takes your money and doesnât even bother with a âthank you come againâ because they know you will be back, none the wiser, to spend your hard earned cash on their overpriced goods.
