Kisses from Kenya Episode 23: Off the Market & On the Move

EPISODE 23: Off the Market & On the Move

It's birthday season, Vuyanzi is taking herself off the market again, and Democrats Abroad Kenya just hosted the first-ever Democrats Abroad AGM on the African continent. No big deal. Brendan explains why Nairobi was the right place to do it - and what it means to bring that kind of gathering to this city.

In this episode:

• Opening conversation - birthday shenanigans and Vuyanzi's latest decision to remove herself from romantic circulation, which both hosts agree they've heard before
• Whose America Is It Anyway? - The Democrats Abroad AGM comes to Nairobi: why here, why now, and what DAKE is actually building on the ground
• Lost in Translation - "that's alright" versus "that's okay" and why the distinction matters more than it should; Brendan learns Kenyan poker on the train
• All Joy Matters - Queer Joy: a Black queer panel at the AGM that delivered; Black Joy: dancing, full stop

Democrats Abroad Kenya, Democrats Abroad AGM Nairobi, Black diaspora podcast, American abroad Kenya, DAKE, African diaspora, queer Africa, living in Kenya, overseas Democrats

Kisses from Kenya is the podcast for Americans living abroad who haven't stopped paying attention. Subscribe and join the conversation.

#KissesFromKenya #DemocratsAbroad #AGMNairobi #BlackDiaspora #AmericanAbroad #DAKE #AfricanDiaspora #NairobiPodcast #QueerJoy #OverseasVoters

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:06

Hey, Kisses from Kenya is produced by Democrats Abroad Kenya, but everything you hear in this podcast reflects our personal perspectives.

Brendan 0:17

As Americans living in Kenya. Yes. Nothing we say should be taken as the official stance of Democrats Abroad Kenya, Democrats Abroad Global, or the Democratic Party. And this is an entertainment space and not an official policy platform.

SPEAKER_01 0:33

Thank you. Wait, could you hear me? Because my voice is messed up.

Brendan 0:39

Girl, they can always hear you.

SPEAKER_01 0:42

No, my voice is messed up.

Brendan 0:43

All right, so then attend schools for the auditorily impaired.

SPEAKER_01 0:49

I was waiting to see how you were gonna do it. I was like, what do we call them these days? It's not a channel changer, but I want to tell you a little bit about my my birthday shenanigans. Okay. So I will tell you, I invited the whole roster.

Brendan 1:03

But did you want to like Game of Thrones them against each other? Or did you want them to like tag tune back again? There it is.

SPEAKER_01 1:12

I was wondering what it would be like. However, however, no one had given a positive answer. So when I woke up yesterday morning, because yesterday was my birthday, May 28th, Jim and I. Jim and I full effect. And so basically you're doing a lot of eye rolling today. And those of you don't know, I'm just gonna say that he's being very spicy today. He'll be nice for the podcast, but he's I've been yelled at, cursed at, called names, called the podcast on me on the internet.

Brendan 1:47

Like emotional violence against you.

SPEAKER_01 1:49

It has been, but it'll be nice for the channel.

Brendan 1:52

But I think that she didn't deserve it, I assure you.

SPEAKER_01 1:55

So I will say she ate all my chicken muggets. I just ate three. And I want to say that I invited the roster, but no one had given me a straight answer. Now, yesterday when I woke up on my birthday, I'm like, I don't want to live this life like this anymore. I gotta, I gotta.

Brendan 2:14

She had her 25th redemption realization of you know the four months that we've been doing this podcast. You know, you know, every time she's like, I'm not gonna be a hoe no more. What's the final time? That's a long ago. I want the hoe. And I'm in the internet, I won't take it back because I did the shit.

SPEAKER_01 2:38

I don't even know what that is. Hello, everyone. Welcome to Kisses from Kenya. I am Vuyanzi.

Brendan 2:45

And I'm Brendan.

SPEAKER_01 2:46

And I think it's important for you to see, those of you who are watching us on YouTube, that we are wearing the same shirts because we are recording this. Of course, you see, we're in a different space. We are recording this in the middle of the hotel holiday. We are there.

Brendan 3:05

Democrats abroad annual general meeting, which we are hosting here in Nairobi, and it's the first time it's ever come to the African continent.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

Oh, right. That's awesome. That's awesome. But by to my guys, like short compared to in this chair. Yeah, yeah. Why are you looking at it? Actually, I do like you meeting. I'm in the big guy. No, so I said I'm not, no, this is it. I really mean this this time. I woke up and I immediately I was talking to a friend of mine. He's like, God can't bless you with closed hands. So I released some of the hose.

Brendan 3:41

So I was like closed hands, but open legs are open.

SPEAKER_01 3:46

You know what I mean. No, so immediately I sent a text to catch and release the guy who I want to catch and release. Yeah, I sent a text to him. And then another guy I'll have a conversation with. Um, because we've always talked about one day we'll we'll stop venting, we'll stop to me. No, one day we're going to no one day we'll we'll stop kissing. No, one day we'll stop kissing each other. And then um why are you and then the other one is fading away. The other one is just fade away, that's okay. And then another one, when I see him, I'll let him know that we're done.

Brendan 4:34

Y'all, she's just gonna make a whole new roster. Like, she's calling this like a reboot, but it's like a refresh.

SPEAKER_01 4:42

So she said, y'all getting a little too comfortable for this time to clean house, get some strains, and I realized that there were four or five people on that roster, and I was like, oh my god, that's crazy. Like, who am I?

Brendan 4:56

Super woman. I think we operate an exponentially different playing field.

SPEAKER_01 5:03

What? I know for your roster, is it even called the roster at that point? It's called the team.

Brendan 5:10

It's the delegation, an Olympic delegation.

unknown 5:15

Okay.

Brendan 5:16

Some of them are created team sports, some of them operated individual sports, but they're all on the delegation together.

SPEAKER_01 5:22

And speaking of the delegation, uh, I will say that the reason why uh Brendan has been very spicy towards me, he has been such it's such a, I guess, a force of nature in getting all of these things together for the annual general meeting for Democrats abroad. Um, so tell us about what you're thinking. We are here now. You've done all this work for a long time, and here we are.

Brendan 5:50

What do you want me to say?

SPEAKER_01 5:52

Say, are you kidding me? After you curse me out, you've cursed everyone out. You I put all my words into my speech and talk, we'll talk about it because they won't, by the time they see this, the speeches will be over.

Brendan 6:05

True. Um, so of course, Democrats Abroad being the Democratic Party Committee abroad, which means that it is like the party committee that represents all Americans that live overseas, um, meets every year, you know, to do a bunch of stuff. Some of it's like maybe less exciting to some people, it's more like political housekeeping, you know, like the kind of business of meetings and business meetings. Um has to do with um discussing resolutions and like you know, essentially staking out positions that we would like um the DPCA to take with regards to certain issues and things like that, which I think is the part that people find more interesting. I love how you're you're such a grammar. Like it's like ringing and like you're not silencing the ring, you're like looking for the butt.

unknown 6:58

Anyway.

SPEAKER_01 6:59

Um I am a grandmother, so it's not offensive.

Brendan 7:03

Okay, Gravy. I'm showing you. So it's like, I mean it's an interesting, I think, opportunity to like bring people together. Um you know, like because a lot of us are like in the work, you know, it's like you're out there like talking to voters, like doing the different things that we do kind of day to day, which can be very kind of time intensive in and of itself. But it's also important to have those conversations about like who do we want to be? Like, what is the vision? You know, and I think that's the thing that's exciting about something like that.

SPEAKER_01 7:42

And so, I mean, and I think this is a good plug for even next year when you guys are by the time, of course, you're looking at this, this is over. But think about next year, those of you who live abroad, would you want to come to something like this? Can you remember some of the countries that are represented that came?

Brendan 7:58

Um we have guys from all over. I mean, there's people that have come like the furthest places, we have someone coming from Australia. Oh my gosh. We have people coming from South America and Central America and Canada.

SPEAKER_01 8:11

I met someone from Sweden.

Brendan 8:13

Yeah. We have a bunch of people from different countries in Europe, we have people coming from South Africa and coming from Morocco and Ghana. So we have a lot of representation from this continent, which is exciting for us.

SPEAKER_02 8:26

Yes.

Brendan 8:27

Um I mean just I mean, people from everywhere, which I think is exciting. But I mean the fact that people are like so. We actually have one person from the Democratic Party side of things. We have a few special guests, which I'll talk about in a few minutes. Yes. Um, because that's part of my joy for today. But uh one of our guests is coming all the way from the Northern Mariana Islands, which is I know the Northern Mariana Islands.

SPEAKER_01 8:55

I almost went there to work one day one time.

Brendan 8:58

So you know, that's like America's smallest, if we're being honest, colony, because that is what they are. Um but it's really amazing that she I mean, she's I think she started her journey in Guam at the airport there, and it's like 28 hours to get here. So it's exciting that people care enough to come so far to be with us.

SPEAKER_01 9:19

I I actually have been to the airport in Guam because one time it wasn't the Mariana Islands, but somewhere close to there, I worked at a um an island called Saipan for about a week. Yeah, and that's definitely a colony. And well, I just you know, sidebar. What was funny was they said there were a lot of factories there that had closed. And we're like, okay. And they said that when people, even though they were like sweatshops, they make them in the factories, and guess what? They were made in America. Yeah. So it's crazy. Yeah, so so um, okay, so let's keep going because I know we have to be quick today.

Brendan 9:56

Um we got some things to do, y'all.

SPEAKER_01 9:59

Yeah, but uh what about so a little bit of lust in translation for me um is that's all right or that's okay here versus no, but it's okay. Okay, so it's it's okay. So if I was going to give you, let's let's just do this as an example. If if you were going to give me a glass of water, you asked me, do I want water? And I said, that's okay. What does that mean to you? Yes or no? You're not focused.

Brendan 10:36

Well, I mean it's no if you I I I already know what the loss in translation is.

SPEAKER_01 10:41

Yeah, but but but I just want you to, just for the example, if I said that's okay, what would you say? Am I saying yes or no to you that we know of?

Brendan 10:54

I think if you said that's okay, then I would probably give it to you. If you said I'm okay, then I would not give it to you.

SPEAKER_01 11:00

No, you're you're too Kenyan now. No. I'm gonna tell you if I ask you.

Brendan 11:04

Am I lost in translation?

SPEAKER_01 11:06

You are lost in translation because I believe if you had not been here, if you were in New York in Schenectady or Louisiana, you would say that means no. So I get lost in translation because that's okay for me, means no, but then I forgot it means yes. If it's I'm okay here, if they say I'm okay, that's a no. And that's okay.

Brendan 11:31

Is my brain broken? I feel like I'm having a stroke.

SPEAKER_01 11:33

Like you said that somebody took you out for breakfast and they asked you, are you well?

Brendan 11:39

And I said no. And that was yesterday. So you can imagine I haven't improved since then.

SPEAKER_01 11:45

So I'm just saying for me, no, I'm I've worked it, I've worked on that to to get better at understanding that's okay. Um, any lesson translation for you? Oh, you're cheating. I have my list. I didn't get time to put it in there. Oh my goodness.

Brendan 12:02

The way she bullies me.

SPEAKER_01 12:04

Oh my goodness, you will not, your white tears will get you nowhere on this podcast.

Brendan 12:11

Prepium, prepium white tears. Um, so actually, like there's one interesting one that happened a couple of weeks ago, which is um there's this, it's like a Kenyan card game. But like they call it poker. Oh, do you want to play poker with us? And so I'm like, yeah, like thinking that we're playing like you know, poker. Royal flesh, like you know, that that kind of stuff. It's like it's some uh I don't even what what is it? It's like if Crazy Aids had like a weird baby with like what else would that be? It's like one of those ones where like each card means something different, you know, like certain cards, it's like it's like Uno and Crazy Eats had like a baby, but it's like with like a regular deck of cards. So there's like certain ones that mean like skip, and there's certain ones that mean reverse, and there's certain ones. Oh wow but then like queens and eights, it's like if you play, it's called a question card, so a question needs an answer. So it's like you have to play the question and then an answer, which is another card. And like, but you also have to like say it because you say like Nico Kadi, which means like I'm ready to go out, so it's like Uno. Yeah, and you have to say that or else you can't go out.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

Yeah, that just my head.

Brendan 13:35

It's like a localized one. No, I I got it. Well, I was like learning to play this while drinking on a train. Not while the train was being run on like a physical train of the SGR. Although I couldn't give the other context it would have incentivized me to learn it faster.

SPEAKER_01 13:55

Okay, okay, I got it.

Brendan 13:58

Where are my rewards? I've won, I've run the round.

SPEAKER_01 14:01

Oh my gosh. Uh I can't laugh anymore. I'm getting so sleepy from it.

Brendan 14:05

I've been screaming at her for the last like two hours and she's just been cackling the whole time.

SPEAKER_01 14:10

I know I'm I'm tired of laughing now. I get okay. Let's just go and talk about it.

Brendan 14:16

That's why you sound like you're about to be on a respirator. I know, no, like what we were talking about earlier with the ancestors.

SPEAKER_01 14:23

This is is is it a um a red thing? Okay. So so no, I'm exhausted from laughing so hard. Stop making me laugh. Let's talk about it.

Brendan 14:34

Would you rather that I make you cry?

unknown 14:36

No, no.

SPEAKER_01 14:41

I don't know if I can make it for the rest of this. Because I'm like, Give us your black. Maybe this is menopausal. I don't know.

Brendan 14:49

Perimenopause?

SPEAKER_01 14:50

I don't know. It's not really perimet.

Brendan 14:52

Is your is your black joy perimenopause?

SPEAKER_01 14:56

My black joy is last night I for my birthday, I was dancing so hard. And and I always dance hard. And I think the thing is this people are like, oh, your vibe, oh my gosh, you're I'm in my own world. That's what no one understands. When I'm dancing, I think it's I'm in a video and it's a video shoot, and everyone's, you know, I'm somehow that doesn't surprise me. But so if I think it and I shut everyone out, like I don't care about anyone else. And so therefore it makes it look like like I don't know, like I have, I mean, I have confidence, but it probably projects even more because I don't give an F about anyone around me, and I'm just there for the music. And for my birthday, I danced and I danced. I gotta send you a video of me dancing. Um, I was the queen of sorry I missed that. It doesn't feel real. Get the F off my hand. This is not real. I was the queen of your life. It feels weird. So weird.

unknown 16:02

So weird.

SPEAKER_01 16:03

Oh no, stay down, Robin. Stay down, stay down, stay down, stay down.

Brendan 16:08

Extra, extra, extra money in the back.

unknown 16:12

Oh gosh.

Brendan 16:13

Okay. You know a lot about coming inside. Is that your family?

SPEAKER_02 16:37

Okay.

Brendan 16:38

The first time I've had a woman in my hotel in a long time.

SPEAKER_01 16:44

First than the last time we've crashed his room, we've drank his water.

Brendan 16:49

Somebody told me yesterday he was like, you have very pansexual energy. And I was like, I mean, I identify as pansexual. So really, I mean it's like if it looks good, I might eat it.

SPEAKER_01 17:06

Oh gosh, okay, joy, joy, your joy. Joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, yes.

Brendan 17:11

Um, my so we were talking about the AGM. Um, and so I am very excited, I'm very proud. If you look at our list of VIPs. So, like the people who are coming to speak tonight, yeah, at the reception, the people that are gonna be speaking at the dinners, like the people that have flown in. Wow, there's only one white person. Very nice, and she's a lesbian.

SPEAKER_01 17:33

Okay, great. Good for her.

Brendan 17:34

Um, we have multiple other like lesbians. There's like a black queer man, like wow, it's like a whole just gang of all the people that like represent the future of the work that we're doing.

SPEAKER_01 17:47

These are the people in your neighborhood. In your neighborhood. That's Mr. Rogers.

Brendan 17:52

Uh I know Mr. Rogers.

SPEAKER_01 17:54

I don't think he was talking about them, but he probably wasn't talking about them.

Brendan 17:56

No, Mr. Rogers loved everyone.

SPEAKER_01 17:59

I don't think he's kind of judging.

Brendan 18:01

You don't, but you don't remember, like, he was the first person like in the 60s when like there's all the controversy about integrating pools, and he brought the mailman who is a black man, and they took their feet off and put it in the kitty pool together on live TV. It was like a watershed moment for children's television.

SPEAKER_01 18:18

Oh, okay. I have to Google that. Uh yes, okay, great. Okay. They integrated a pool on PBS. Why would we have to protect funding for Pope? First of all, I thought the mailman was white. This was in the 60s.

Brendan 18:35

It's like the original Mr. Rogers, like when he was still young. You know, he was on TV for like 40 years.

SPEAKER_01 18:40

Was he on TV for 40 years?

Brendan 18:42

Yeah, because he was still on when I was a kid.

SPEAKER_01 18:46

Damn. He was? You weren't watching repeats?

Vuyanzi 18:50

No.

SPEAKER_01 18:51

Fine. Okay, so oh, let's end it here.

Vuyanzi 18:54

Okay. Abrupt.

SPEAKER_01 19:00

I don't, I'm tired of laughing. I can't do this anymore. You guys remember we're not just here on YouTube. We are here on all your favorite podcasts, wherever you get your favorite podcast, you can find your faves right here, your Gemini, your favorite Gemini, favorite Sagittarius, right here on your What are your other two signs?

Brendan 19:16

Like what's your moon and your arising?

SPEAKER_01 19:18

I forget, I have to look.

Brendan 19:20

You know, my arising is Gemini.

SPEAKER_01 19:22

This is why we get along so well. Oh, I gotta look mine up too.

Brendan 19:30

And like a lot of my like really close friends are Tauruses and Gemini.

SPEAKER_01 19:34

You know, I've had a lot of affairs with Gemini men.

Brendan 19:37

Yeah, because you aw some hosts.

SPEAKER_01 19:40

Papa was a podcast. Papa was too.

Vuyanzi 19:46

Clearly.

SPEAKER_01 19:49

Okay, you guys, make sure you tune in, subscribe. Um, listen to us, download. No, we knew we need to keep reminding people.

Brendan 19:56

Watch us on YouTube, listen to us on all shows.

SPEAKER_01 19:59

And also comments, tell us some comments, tell us what you're thinking about this.

Brendan 20:03

Y'all don't ever be telling us nothing.

SPEAKER_01 20:05

Right. Not only thumbs up, but just write something there. We look forward to hearing from you. Anything else we want to remind them of doing?

Brendan 20:12

I mean, you know, it's well, by the time this goes up, it's gonna be deep into voter registration season for the 2026 midterm. Yes, primary should be mostly done by then. So make sure that you are registered to vote.

Vuyanzi 20:26

Yeah.

Brendan 20:27

And if you've registered, make sure you requested your absentee ballot. And if you've done that, make sure that you know you send it back.

SPEAKER_01 20:33

Yeah, I requested mine. Um, we'll see you take it from there.

Brendan 20:38

You know New York it's like sending a smoke signal into the ether, and you're like, will it come back? Or will it not? Does anyone know? That's a whole other discussion. But yeah. All right, chalm. This has been Kisses from Kenya. See you next time. Bye guys.

SPEAKER_01 20:59

Brendan, I don't know if I could do a three episode.