Asante, Nairobi: Part III

 4 min. read

(c) E.U. Pirker

Whilst half my research team and most conference participants head out for a wildlife excursion, Geraldine, Elif and I return to the hotel. My two colleagues plan to work on their presentations and I hope to get some rest.  Unfortunately, by the time we arrive, there’s too little time to relax before the hair appointment that I’ve scheduled with a stylist friend of a friend. Since I’ll be moderating the session the following morning, I want to look sharp.

Moreover, I feel it’s a cultural imperative to get my hair done when back on Black African soil. It would be a waste otherwise, with all that Motherland skill at very modest prices. The hairdresser, Betsy is an hour late. Fortunately, the results are worth the wait. My canerows turn out as good as I’d hoped, if not better. Betsy has a good and gentle hand. The plaits are neat but not uncomfortably tight. I’m so delighted, I give Betsy a bear hug and a healthy tip - and even then, it’s still a heck of a bargain.  At some point, Geraldine comes to keep us company in my room as Betsy works away. My braids will attract compliments from conference staff, attendees and most colleagues (Maddox either doesn’t notice or chooses not to comment). Geraldine, Elaine and Annette, Brigitta’s daughter, all ask for Betsy’s details.

It’s Elif and G’s turn the following morning to present, whilst I moderate this final part of our panel. Both of them do an exemplary job, giving well-rounded interventions that remain within the allotted timeframe (unlike yours truly). It’s a much more attractive time slot; late morning, after the keynote speech. The audience numbers are similar to the day before nevertheless, albeit with mostly new faces. After G and Elif’s presentations, the whole team join them at the front of the small lecture hall for a de facto roundtable that is positively received. At the end of the session, I take Elif aside, knowing how insecure she has been ahead of her paper.

That was an excellent presentation, lady. I say, with mock-tough love, You just need to start believing in how talented you are.

During the afternoon, most of the team attends a session on creoles, moderated by Elaine. The first speaker, whose paper to which Elaine has pegged some of her intervention, is a no-show. The third member of the panel - an Igbo academic and the sole Nigerian present not from the Diaspora - does an entertaining presentation on the socio-political significance of Pidgin in contemporary Nigeria, as expressed through the poetry of Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo. During the Q&A, I challenge an Hispanophone Esperanto-specialist with some very suspect and colonial-sounding views on the ‘usefulness’ of creoles.

By the closing session, a roundtable featuring a number of authors who publish in Kiswahili, I’m knackered. I plan to return to the hotel, grab a quick nap if I can, eat dinner at the in-house restaurant and catch the second night of the DJ's weekly residency. As we’re about to set off, Brigitta asks if we’d be interested in joining her and some other academic colleagues at the Geco Tribe bar. According to the website, the menu is versatile and reasonably priced. More importantly, there’s a Friday night Jazz house band. That sells it for me. When I mention our plans to author and keynote speaker, Yvonne Owuor before she signs my copy of Dust, she’s effusive about the bar.

Friday nights in Nairobi are a thing, she beams.

Despite my fatigue, it feels too good to miss. I like to catch live music wherever possible when I visit a new city. I couldn’t have predicted I’d have the time or opportunity for such a cultural outing during the short period I’m in Nairobi.

We catch a cab as a group across town to the gated area where Geco is situated. The ride is a chance to see the bustle of Nairobi at night and much more of the city than before.

Rather than the average-sized bar/restaurant I presume, Geco is a sprawling establishment half of which is outdoors. Thankfully, the weather is being kind that evening.  The bar's clientele is cosmopolitan. We spot some familiar faces from the conference at a table and squeeze in a few more chairs. The food is great value for money, with portions so generous that takeaway boxes are requested.

I make brand new acquaintances and catch up with some conference participants with whom I’ve only had fleeting interaction. Amongst these is Xiao, a Malaysian-Chinese MA student with whom I have some theory as well as allyship with the Palestinian cause in common. We spend the night speaking about Xiao’s time studying in the UK, Malaysia’s long-standing solidarity with Palestine, having his preconceptions about the African continent challenged and cultural differences between mainland China and its South-East Asian diaspora, amongst other topics. Much of the discussion is educational for me.

Meanwhile, the consensus is that the house band is fantastic. Joined by musicians from Lusophone Africa and the US, their fusion sound encompasses covers of popular Jazz tunes, Soul and R&B medleys, some Hi-Life and more besides. This suits my taste better than the Malian concert a few nights earlier.

As we settle the bill and prepare to leave, Maddox asks how I’ve found it. 

Great music, good company and good conversation? Bliss.

The evening is all the more enjoyable for being rather spontaneous. There wasn’t enough time for me to build expectations.

There’s more convivial conversation on the cab ride home. This kind of relaxed setting, away from the Brussels’ routine, creates room for a certain openness. I feel I’ve learned a good deal more about my colleagues during the week.

Part I, Part II, Part IV & Part V coming soon...