The first thing I noticed when I first landed in this country almost a decade ago is the richness in culture. Starting from the greetings, to the way children behave when in the presence of grownups, to the music, to the dresses made from Khangas and vitenges, etc. I found this place quite different from my homeland where culture is saved for events like the various community-based cultural nights with themes based on the culture of the particular tribe that would be hosting the event on that particular night.

Yesterday I did something I haven’t done in almost six months; going to my usual saloon to have my hair braided. One of the reasons why I haven’t done this for such a long time is because it takes a lot of time, a resource I seem not to be having a lot of lately. The other reason is because it makes my behind ache seriously… not that I lack natural cushioning, but sitting down for not less than six hours on a hard seat can cause even the healthiest behind to feel numb.

Many of the mornings when I leave home after 7am there is this group of young men who are always lazing around the neighborhood’s “jobless corner”, commonly known as "Kijiweni". When you look at them, it seems like they really have nothing better to do with their lives. Every time I see them "wako juu ya story" meaning they are totally engrossed in the stories and conversations they always animatedly share.

The other day a former colleague contacted me telling me he was looking for a job. Considering it has been a long time since we communicated, I was instantly concerned thinking he had lost his good paying job for some reason. Having made that assumption, I opted to ask him what had happened to his job, to which he clarified that he was still working at the same place he'd been for some years now, but he was looking for greener pastures. At first I could not comprehend why he'd want to move away from such a lucrative job; until he explained it to me.

I have to admit that God is very patient. I'm not saying this because today is Sunday and my pastor maybe reading this paper, but I say this because I think human beings are very complex beings; hard to please, impossible to understand and sometimes ridiculously inhuman! But despite all these weaknesses (and more) He still loves us unconditionally, gives us opportunities daily to change our ways and when we don't, He still finds ways of bringing us back on track.

Do you ever go through some days that make you wonder who had conspired with who to drive you insane? Well, that's the kind of day I had on Friday 5th July, 2013. To start with, I woke up to realize that none of my phones were working; sim cards weren't registering to their respective networks. Why all the lines? I'm still trying to figure that out but just in case you get an answer before I do please let me know.