Leo and Neema, a Kenyan Wedding

It has been a rather unexpectedly difficult couple of days. It all started on arrival in Nairobi when I waited around for my checked luggage for an hour. Despite having checked in at the same time as Young and being on a simple, direct flight from Dubai to Nairobi, my bag somehow did not make it. Both of Young’s bags did. I too am at a loss as to how to explain that. In any case, the next hour was dedicated to trying to figure out where my bag was and to arguing with the Emirates baggage handlers as to when I could expect my bags and if they were going to give me any money. The end result? No idea about the bag, no money until later, and making my poor friend Neema late for her own wedding rehearsal.

I spent the next day trying to recover my bag. Thankfully, I got it by 7pm, but it was not an enjoyable process… both for me and for my suit, which has been the only clothing I have had access to in the past three days. Thank gosh I dry cleaned it in Bangkok, but the poor thing has not stayed clean for very long.

In any case, today is the big day. As I write this, we are waiting to head out to pick up Neema for the wedding. Neema’s fiancé Leo has been kind enough to host Young and I for the past two nights. It’s been hectic but also fun, as we’ve been surrounded by some of Leo’s best friends here in the house. Neema and Leo are both Kenyan – Kikuyu actually, so they’re from the same tribe. Leo works at a local church, and Neema is a park warden here in Nairobi. They met on a church mission to a remote area in Kenya called Pokot, where they stayed and worked for 10 days. On the way back, Leo asked Neema on a date and they ended up going bowling and having pizza. That was the start of it all.

I’ll write more later on Neema and Leo, including some of the harder decisions they have had to make and are going to make in the future, but for now, I’ve got to try to get to Neema’s place to see the picking up of the bride.