How to get a free place to shield against cold and rain in Nairobi without any expense

So you are in town, you had an appointment with a friend to meet at 4pm then all of a sudden it begins to pour like it will never rain again. You had been sitting at joblesi near Hilton Hotel or laying at Jeevanjee Gardens. Or maybe you were just hanging around the bus stop waiting for fares to go down before you can board the mat to go home.

If you ever find yourself in such a situation, don’t panic, don’t even contemplate going to a nearby cafe for a cheap cup tea or supu.

This is what you should do; walk to the nearest supermarket, don’t push and shove with those buying their evening meal or cereals and milk for tomorrow’s breakfast, make your way to the upper floors or to the back section depending of the supermarket’s set up.

Your aim is to find where electronics are stocked. Approach each item and look at the specifications with a lot of attention. If you find an attendant nearby, do the honourable thing, engage a brother/sister is some conversation. Ask them about the details of the electronics on display as though you want to buy some.

That is where you expand your knowledge about gadgets as you wait for the rain to subside or as you wait for you a pal to send you a ‘please call me’ indicating that he/she is at the point you agreed to meet.

It is not easy standing next to fancy machines talking about football or politics with fellow supermarket attendants, so help a brother shed some boredom, ask the attendant what is the difference between Plasma, LCD, LED, HD, and UHD TVs find out which is the best between a regular DVD and a Blu-ray player. Do not leave a hint that you are just passing by.

If you don’t fancy electronics, make your way to the boutique section, admire some clothes, shoes and the likes.

When your time to leave comes, go out confidently and board the mat home after an evening well spent learning, or meet your friend and go spend the money you have sharing a plate of chips and free tomato sauce before parting ways or head home together.

The only disadvantage to this style of waiting is that some supermarket sections with electronics can be very hot and stuffy, secondly you end up spending more energy walking around than you’ll recover when you sit for that plate of chips or cup of tea with that fellow hustler.

This is skill is applicable in other towns too.