Sunny Sunday afternoon in Nairobi and our friends took us out to the local mall, Junction. First stop: Bonk. This t-shirt shop was launched by one of Erik's friends and has stellar, sweet designs based on Kenyan symbols and clever plays on words.
The mall was more massive and sophisticated than I ever imagined and obviously the go-to place for expats and affluent Kenyans alike.
We had lunch at Nairobi Java House, launched by two American aid workers who had been disabused of the effectiveness of their work in the Sudan, and who are now rather successful entrepreneurs.
The menu looks like it was lifted straight from an American family restaurant and the vibe mirrors Panera. They (thankfully) had the main cuisine of children ages 2-10 ... chicken tenders and fries!
I have been really impressed by the quality of design in general, both online and in the city.
It is safe to say that Erik, in his position as director of Ushahidi and the iHub, knows everyone who is making stuff happen in technology.
We ran into several people from the iHub community, including Jamila (above), co-founder of m:Farm and Angela (below), a member of iHub Research.
The mall was stacked with quality food shops and a mini-Walmart-like grocery superstore where one can buy everything from coffee beans to vacuum cleaners and large-scale plasma screens.
After lunch, we treated the kids to a little bungie bounce entertainment set up in the Mall parking lot.
As the heat of the day cranked up, we retreated back to the compound garden.
We lounged around the house in the afternoon, the girls making bracelets with Momma D and getting gussied up for the Masaai Market.
This open air market moves around the city, taking over the parking lot of the YaYa Center on Sundays.
My mom talked a good game about how much a negotiator she is... but when left unsupervised, she was fleeced just as briskly as I was.
However, the resulting full Maasai costume for my daughter was well worth it!
One salesman, David, came up to me several times while I was working with the Maasai Mama, saying: "Peetah! You must help your mama. She is in need of assistance!"
Mom was sliding down the slippery slope of negotiation on some paintings and sinking fast in an inflated pricing bog.
Meanwhile, David was buttering me up for his own sweet negotiation, calling me "Red Bull".
At one point in the negotiation, David said: "I respect you. I respect your beard. I respect your family. But I do not respect the price you propose!"
His first price was 22,000 Kshe ($275) then we settled on 17,500 Kshe ($218). After I purchased, he admitted that I could have gotten it at 12,500 Kshe ($156) which means it was probobly worth 1,250 Kshe ($15).