Getting Kisumu'ed and Other Randomness

When we moved to Kenya back in 2011, I quickly found that no task was ever completed in the time that I originally planned.  Let's say I had a list of five things that I needed to accomplish in Kisumu in an afternoon.  I would drive from one side of town to the other, from shop to shop, and before I knew it, the clock would read 5 PM, and only two of my tasks would have been completed!  Hence, the term "Getting Kisumu'ed" was coined.  Things just take a whole lot longer to complete in Kenya; there is no other way to explain it!  The best way to approach errand running in Kisumu, though, is to expect things to take a long time, then if they go really quickly, you are pleasantly surprised!

Kisumu'ed at Kenya Power:  In Kisumu, you have to prepay for your electricity, meaning that you go to Kenya Power, pay for your electricity up front, and they give you a code to punch into a box at your house.  That code provides you with a certain number of kilowatt hours of electricity.   Well, our power ran out at about 4 AM yesterday morning, so I went to Kenya Power to purchase more electricity.  I waited in line for about 15 minutes to pre-pay for electricity at our house (not a bad wait for Kenya Power).  When I arrived at the window, they informed me that the one computer that operated pre-pay electricity was broken and asked that I have a seat while they fixed the computer.  After sitting for another 15 minutes, a young man walked by with the broken CPU and returned about 10 minutes later.  After 20 minutes of rehooking and rebooting, the computer was finally operational again, and I was able to purchase electricity.  So, in the Kenya Power example, a 15-minute visit turned into an hour visit - Classic Kisumu'ing!

 Kisumu'ed at Safaricom:  When I was back in the US, I purchased a phone from my dad, but I've had a little trouble getting it to work correctly in Kenya.  So, I went by the local Safaricom offices to see if they could help.  Safaricom is Kenya's leading cell phone service provider, and overall they are a pretty good company.  But, they have some long lines!  I was prepared, though, for the Safaricom Kisumu'ing, and had purchased a newspaper ahead of time.  Unfortunately, though, the newspaper only lasted for half of the full hour it took to work my way through the queue (yes, I said queue; we are very British here). 

 Randomness #1:  I thought this mama did a great job of presenting her produce.  Check out the cool way she stacked her oranges.  I asked her if I could take the photo, then she insisted that I buy 100 Kenyan Shillings worth (about $1.25).  The picture was worth it!

 Randomness #2:  Hungry, but on the run?  No problem!  There are people all over town like this man selling food.  You can purchase hot dogs, sausages, samosas . . . . the list could go on!  I've never had one of the hot dogs before, but I'll have to try one (if I get hungry enough).

Randomness #3:  This is Oginga Odinga Street, the equivalent of Main Street, Kisumu.  This is where most of the banks reside in town, as well as a number of supermarkets, hardware stores, and electronic stores.  They keep the road pretty clean, and tuk-tuk's, bicycles, and motorcycle taxis are not allowed to keep traffic flowing (even though there is a tuk-tuk on the right side of the photo).  It's a fun road to walk down and to check out the shops and hawkers wares who work in the area.