Adventures, Big and Small

I know this post is ridiculously overdue. Sorry—I hope it satisfies your curiosity.

I've been working at KikoRomeo for almost two weeks now, and it feels like so much longer than that. I love it. Two hours after I arrived on my very first day, Ann (the head of the company) was already putting me to work sketching designs for an African dance troupe that is performing in Holland at the end of the month. Since then I've been creating and altering patterns, doing fittings, observing absolutely everything I can about Kiko, and getting to know my coworkers. My RISD pattern drafting class is coming in handy. Right now my work is focused more on pattern drafting than I would like, but Ann has promised that I will be doing more varied work soon. I came at a ridiculously busy time for them, so they're using me where they need me for now. And of course I'm learning tons. The Daughters of Africa dance troupe project is really interesting actually. Ann is using some of Kiko's recent Afro Punk collection for the first act, and for the second act, each girl's costume is inspired in part by the traditional dress of her home country. It's very cool. The first (and only) performance in Kenya is on the 16th of February. Tickets are 2500/- (about $34), so I might be working backstage in order to get in, but either way I can't wait to see it!

The people at KikoRomeo are lovely. Ann, the head designer and owner, is Scottish and quite spunky. I liked her the moment I met her, and I've only ever heard good things about her from other people. So far, I've seen mostly her business side, but we've had a few non-work related conversations. She's said in passing that she likes my designs. I'm hoping to be able to sit down with her at a not-so-busy time to talk over my work in more detail. I am very much looking forward to getting a design professional's opinion on my potential.

I spend most of my time each day with Norbert, the pattern drafter/designer who creates all of the patterns, makes sample garments and collection pieces, and does alterations for individual orders. He's Kenyan. We've gotten to talking as we work, asking each other the random questions we think of in order to learn more about each other. Sometimes I end up listening while he jabbers on in Kiswahili to the two fundis (pronounced foon-dees), Jumba and Denis even though they know I can't understand.. yet. Jumba and Denis are there to sew the clothes that Norbert and I cut patterns for. It's lovely not to have to interrupt the pattern process to sew.

Michael is Kenyan as well. He does the illustrations of the garments and technicals (simple straight-line sketches that show where the seams are when the garment is laid flat). I haven't done much work with Michael yet, but I'm sure I will be flat sketching alongside him soon. We've talked about everything from where we've traveled and want to travel to favorite designers and plans for launching our own fashion lines.

Lillianne and Martin are both Kenyans too. Lillianne is the Production Manager. I don't have much business interaction with her unless she needs a pattern to go to the factory for mass production, but she's lovely. Sometimes our lunch breaks overlap and we get to talking a bit. Martin is the accountant—I've gotten to know him least of all because he's always at his computer calculating budgets and expenses. He's got a great sense of style though. And then there's the workroom staff who all know my name because I'm new. I know Jehoshaphat and Eric, but I haven't been able to keep the other 8 or so names straight. I'm working on it.

Until today, my mom or dad was driving me to and from work, but it wasn't very convenient for them to be spending 4 hours on the road in addition to their normal workday. Rich, a former schoolmate of mine, very kindly showed me the matatu routes to get to work this morning. Matatus (pronounced mah-tah-tooz) are 14 passenger buses well-known for being overcrowded and for their pushy driving, but javing (the act of riding matatus) is so much more convenient than having one of my parents take 4 hours out of their day to drop me and pick me at work. So, matatu then Citi Hoppa bus then matatu again, then I walk a bit and I'm there. I just have to get on the right mats (which is sometimes harder than it looks). I think I got on the wrong one today, but, after getting off and picking a direction to walk that "felt right," somehow I ended up in a part of City Centre that I recognised. God is good—being lost in City Centre as a white young woman alone is not a good idea. It was nice to catch up with Rich as well. I hadn't seen him since I graduated, so we talked about all sorts of things on the bus ride. It made the two hours go by quickly.

Unfortunately, though riding matatus gives my parents a break from long hours on the road in Nairobi traffic, I have an even longer trip. It takes two hours for me to get to work in the morning, and two and a half to get home in the evening, which makes my day 11 hours long. The long rides are compounded by the overcrowded buses. The 100-seater bus I was on tonight started out with all the seats filled, and by the time we got to my stop there were thirty additional people standing in the aisle. Talk about being squished! Lillianne and I were talking at lunch today about how we just want to drop into bed after we get home at night. That's something I'm not used to yet—how tired I am after a full work week. But, even though I am tired, I am very happy to be so consistently excited about my work with Kiko—it's a luxury I haven't had in a long time, and certainly did not have at Wheaton.

The things I do miss from Wheaton are my friendships. And simply interaction with people my own age. It's challenging here to find young adults who are not away at school or constantly occupied with work. And how often you see them depends on where they live in Nairobi. Most things, especially meeting up with people, take more effort here, and I'm still getting used to that again. It's easily been the most challenging thing for me so far—building new friendships from nothing. Right now I very much identify with a sentiment a friend once expressed to me, that saying goodbye is hard, but saying hello is harder. I've had coffee with one lovely friend, Shiru, a fellow fashion student, with the promise of meeting again soon. My coworkers are friends. And my church is full of young adults, a few of whom I'm starting to get to know. So I am developing friendships, but slowly. And of course, being with my family again is wonderful.

As a slight side note, I heard today that Sally Dudmesh, the jewelry designer that I’m working with a bit later this month is back in Nairobi from her travels. So another adventure is starting soon!

I have to catch the bus in 7 hours. Goodnight, all.