“In Understanding Being Men”

Those were the words that were chiseled onto the wall as you walked into the dreaded “Naivasha Boarding”.

The first time my dad drove me into this establishment, I had no idea what was in store for me. All I was told was, to make sure I pass the interview.

The drive from Nairobi to Naivasha had its issues but was generally peaceful. I did not particularly enjoy being woken up that early and not only that, I knew I was going to miss my favorite cartoon show. After fussing and finally being arm twisted into the car. I just pouted and kept my mouth shut. (You can’t argue with mum and dad and win).  I actually enjoyed passing through Limuru and I saw young lads holding rabbits by the ears with one arm and waving their hands to attract attention of drivers. By this time I had forgotten I was mad and each time we passed those boys, I’d plead with my mum to buy me just one as a pet. Again, I was told that the only way I’d get a rabbit, was to first pass the school intake interview. I was somehow pleased when my dad pulled over by the road and within seconds, all kinds of plums and pears were being shoved into the windows. I really don’t know what happened but as fast as we had pulled over, we were soon on the way and I had a bag of plums and two huge pears on my laps. Before I could even take a healthy bite, my mum gave me those “don’t-eat-without-washing-eyes”. Silently, I pouted again. By the time we got past fly over, the reflection of beautiful Lake Naivasha made me forget about the plums and pears. When in Nairobi,  the largest mass of water was maybe Uhuru park or Nairobi Dam but seeing Lake Naivasha, makes one think they’ve seen another whole new world. You really appreciate God’s creation. Driving down that road was so much fun that now all I kept asking my folks was “can we go to Lake Naivasha?” and their answer was always “Only if you pass interview” What a deal ! For now, all I wanted was to be done with this interview because it seemed to be a big hindrance to my livelihood.  

After an hour’s drive, we were finally at the stone walled gate that had those words “In Understanding Being Men”.