Kenyan Hospitality

Nothing like blogging in front of the fireplace in my room (that is how the room is heated - I'll be freezing by morning). The road was long (24 hours) but I am finally back in Kenya. It is hard to contain the smile on my face as I ride down the road lined with with red dirt. People are milling about everywhere. The man pulling the large wagon on two wheels will not move for our car. It is just as important that he get his goods to market. Opposite him, the young teenager convincingly reminds the donkeys pulling his wagon that he needs them to move a little faster. I have stepped back in time where life is not simpler, but it simply is. Six guys are each carrying long 2x4 pieces of lumber....It looks like they have a long walk in front of them. The sun is warm for me and I am amazed to see people in winter coats and wool hats. To them it is cold (about 71 degrees) while everyone at home pulls out the shorts when we finally hit 60.

Tonight an invitation to dinner was presented by the family of one of our students. He is 24 but looks all of 15 years old. The "road" was bumpy to say the least, but well worth almost puking in the back seat. The family is one of the warmest I have met. The mother (who by the way looks about 24 - though she is much older) immediately hugs us all and wears a beautiful smile. She has cooked a feast that could easily feed 30 people - though we are only 10. I am chastised gently as I do not pile my plate heavily enough. When I am done, she reminds me that I must have more... and I certainly do. She has made the meal, almost entirely, from her home. She makes us fresh eggs for an appetizer followed by a dish of potatoes, maize, greens and spices called Mukimo. There is a goat stew (he was alive this morning)...chapati, rice, chicken (also alive this morning), kale/spinach, cabbage and carrots....we take honey from wild bees for dessert - it truly tastes like caramel and has the same consistency. After dinner, I watch as mama milks the cow and feeds 2/3 of it to the calf (the rest will go to her family)- the calf buries his nose in the sweet warmth of his mother's milk. It is a sight to see. How amazing that the meal was cooked entirely in a small wood fireplace and over a pot on the floor containing coal. Because there is no port nearby, the family made its own fish pond - which now has over 2000 fish in it. They are working on a second. Besides supplying food for themselves, they sell to the community and local restaurants. As dinner wound down, about six goats - from down the road - wanted to see what all the ruckus was about and who these Americans were. Our hosts' daughter went out to shoo them away from peaking in the window....'twas a sight!

Not a bad way to start my visit to Nyahururu. My tummy is full and my soul feels warm. Tomorrow off to visit three of the participants businesses...stay tuned.

Simply Surreal

Sitting under my mosquito net....words could never describe the last few days. As mosquitos buzz around my room and I shelter myself from the fear of contracting malaria, I am pensive about the people that I have watched struggle for simple existence. A few days ago I watched a majestic, old male lion saunter in front of my safari jeep - just a few feet from me. He clearly knew that I was in his world .... and would respect my smallness next to him. I watched a zebra as he barely escaped becoming breakfast to another. The open wound on his leg was his painful reminder that he would live to see another day on the Mara. Springtime on the Mara is so beautiful. Watching life renew itself....Mamas...elephants, zebras, lions, giraffes....all with their new babies...doing everything they can to escort them to adulthood. We watched young, teenage lions care for their baby siblings as mama stood by keeping a keen eye on everything around her... Words can never purely describe what the heart feels in this moment.

Today, I sat with my new friends in the front yard of Barak Obama's grandmother. We sat with her and chatted for about 40 minutes. Imagine yourself traveling through the bumpy dirt "roads." We traveled for 40 minutes to go just a few kilometers....just a few miles from the Ugandan boarder. She was a charming woman who explained that her pride in her grandson was strongest when he succeeded in helping the world find peace. Anything else would not due. Her smile was infectious and she reminded me that without peace we achieve nothing.

On our way home from Mama's house, we stopped in the local "supemarket" to purchase school supplies. We will use these supplies to surprise a slum school that we visited last week. Every student will have a new notebook and pencil. Simple for us, but these eager children covet their school supplies as though they were gold. They hunger for knowledge and never hesitate to share their smile with a visitor. I can't wait to see their faces when they see their new supplies.

So much for now. Sleep is calling me and I must begin teaching early in the morning....

Children Screaming Mazunga! Mazunga!

Today carried us through the slums on the outskirts of Kisumu. I have never seen so many hopeful faces and beautiful children. Children running and laughing as they came to the car to greet the Mazunga (white people) -yes...to them I, too, was white (they told me so)- who were visiting them. Their beautiful smiling faces. We visited the home of our new friend, Debra. How nice it was of her to share her home with us and introduce her son - a handsome young man who plans to always take care of his mother.

Riding along the dirt road that winds through the slum, we find the dusty road lined with every business you could imagine. I am astonished as I see the popcorn popper hard at work outside of the small lean-to that houses the local provisions shop. People dart to and fro, on foot and by bicycle, as our taxi driver tries vigilantly to escape the pothole that will surely devour our car. We nearly devour one of the many people who dart in front of us too.

More to come...as I lay beneath my bed net and sleep steals me.

Get Ready for the Journey

How do I prepare for a journey that will take me to the other side of the planet? The camera has been tested, the batteries are charged and I have tucked my toothbrush safely into the side pocket of my suitcase. I've read everything that I can to help me to be culturally respectful to the people who will share my life for the next three weeks.

Our journey together begins on Friday as I board a plane that will take me closer to my many stops: London, Nairobi, Kisumu, Siaya and Nyahururu. I am both exhausted and exhilarated as I think of what lies ahead. The red dirt awaits.