I never resided in those neighborhoods, but was a visitor, a stranger, with all my little rituals, such as greeting the neighbor on the staircase in the morning, my frantic searches for products that were not customarily sold there, my long, obsessive conversations with taxi drivers in order to gauge their political leanings and their views on checkpoints. 
Sijawahi kuishi maeneo hayo ila nilikuwa nayatembelea, mgeni na desturi zangu ndogo dogo kama vile kusalimia majirani kwenye ngazi asubuhi, kutafuta vitu ambavyo haviuzwi hapa kwa kawaida, mazungumzo yangu marefu na madereva taksi, ili kufahamu mlengo wao wa kisiasa na mitazamo yao juu ya vizuizi vya ukaguzi barabarani.