Rebecca and I have named our apartment "Denis the Menace" for the oddities and quirks that are quickly making it feel like home. When I was anticipating this year abroad, I had absolutely no idea what to envision when I thought of my potential home-life. As this weekend marks the end of my first month in Nairobi, I thought I'd share a bit of the images that are becoming characteristic of 'home' here. We've met a man who sells flowers on one of the corners we pass on our walk home from work. Moses the Flower Man has provided the buds that brighten our living spaces. We've been using old bottles for vases; my favorite spot for our flowers is in the window overlooking the roundabout by our house. The windowsill gets great light that filters through the leaves and petals. I never grew up a coffee person, yet here I am waking up every morning to French press my Kenyan coffee. I savor the few minutes I get before work to sit at the window and catch up on emails and news from home over a beautiful and aromatic cup of hot coffee. When we get home from work, if I'm ambitious I'll go for a quick run but more often than not I snuggle up on one of our couches. There's nothing quite so cozy as a blanket draped on a couch. A few weekends back Rebecca and I bought a traditional Masai blanket to use in our living room. It's since settled as a pseudo-slipcover for one of the couches and suits the space quite well. I've been lucky to call a variety of the world's corners 'home' in the past few years, and this move to Nairobi will be the longest I've lived in one place in over four years. Only a month into my time here, I'm already feeling accustomed to and familiar with the home Rebecca and I share. I'm looking forward to settling in even more in the coming months.
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