Samoa / Nairobi, Kenya

I couldn't help noticing some similarities between Samoa and Nairobi.  In no particular order, here they are.

People notice I'm white.  I stand out in a crowd.

Some children smile when they see me.  Some scream in terror.  Most just stare.

People are surprised to see a tourist using local transport.  Taxis are much easier, but also about 100 times the price.

Fresh mangoes are in season.  Much cheaper than either the US or Samoa.

There is loud music on the local transport.  You can take either buses (where they allow only one person per seat) or the vans (which are like Samoa and pile them in).  I opted for the van since it came first and wasn't too crowded.

They have a "bus boy" on the vans.  The guy has basically the same role as the guys in Samoa- crowd control and they handle the money in Kenya.

People smile and say hello on the street.

Expats seem to live in very expensive and luxurious apartments and houses. The difference between here and Samoa is that here they are very heavily guarded.

Everyone but me has a cell phone.

Some differences?

Kenya has cheese.  All kinds of varieties of cheese.  I assume this is only true of the upscale places in Nairobi and not country wide.

Kenya has chocolate and great coffee.  They sell Snickers bars in my hostel, for heaven's sake.

Men here wear suits.  Or at least a shirt and a tie.

There's more but I'm hungry and running out of internet cash.  I'm off to buy some fresh mangoes and find a locals restaurant.