Homosexuality

Reuben and I were staying at a hotel in Embu last night (don't worry, I'll fill in the details soon). We wanted to be economical, so we decided to just share a room. The place didn't have any rooms with two beds, so we would have to share a bed. No big deal, right? Nope.

Just as we had settled in and were about to crash, the clerk came and knocked on the door. He said that his boss had just told him that sharing rooms wasn't allowed. I figured this was just a scheme to put us in two rooms and thus defeat our thriftiness so I decided to speak with the manager. The clerk kept apologizing profusely. I talked (in kiswahili) about the fact that we earn the same wages as most Kenyans and that we weren't tourists, but rather advisors here to visit some farms. The manager was unmoved.

Then the clerk started to explain the reason (very apologetically). They were worried about two men sharing the room. I could see where this was going. I know that there are plenty of suspicions of Western values. I could tell the clerk was really uncomfortable with what he was saying, so I stopped him (the manager, on the other hand, was silent the whole time and seemed to enjoy his subordinate's discomfort). Reuben and I do not share complexion, so claiming to be brothers wasn't really going to work. I thought about trying to claim that we were cousins and trying to take a big stand. Then I remembered how exhausted I was. And I realized that having my own bed would actually be kinda nice. In the end, I just accepted it. The whole thing bothers me a bit.

Oh well, lesson learned. I won't stay at Eden Safari Lodge next time I'm in Embu.