Last Sunday, Rick, Phyllis and I drove down into the valley (the Rift Valley, that is!)
to visit with the family of one of the Kenyan employees of RVA (the school where Rick and Phyllis work). Gibbon is one of the security guards at the school, and, as is common of security guards in this area, he is a member of the Masai tribe. We picked up a friend of Gibbon's--Fred--and drove nearly an hour and a half to get to the area where Gibbon and his extended family have their holdings. Here are some giraffes he spotted in the distance as we neared their compound---so he instructed Rick to just drive off into the bush to get up close and see them!---then we drove back to the road and continued on to his house...Because it is so far away from Kijabe, Gibbon only comes home on the weekends. We arrived in time for the church service at the Assembly of God church.
to visit with the family of one of the Kenyan employees of RVA (the school where Rick and Phyllis work). Gibbon is one of the security guards at the school, and, as is common of security guards in this area, he is a member of the Masai tribe. We picked up a friend of Gibbon's--Fred--and drove nearly an hour and a half to get to the area where Gibbon and his extended family have their holdings. Here are some giraffes he spotted in the distance as we neared their compound---so he instructed Rick to just drive off into the bush to get up close and see them!---then we drove back to the road and continued on to his house...Because it is so far away from Kijabe, Gibbon only comes home on the weekends. We arrived in time for the church service at the Assembly of God church.
After parking the truck under the shade of a tree with a small herd of cows, we went on inside to join the congregation of brightly dressed Masai worshippers. Actually, now that I look back on it, it really was the women who came to church in traditional Masai dress (complete with beautiful beaded necklaces and earrings)---the men wore suits. 
I'm not sure if the preachers were speaking Kiswahili or Masai, but I didn't understand a word---which was fine--it gave me an opportunity to just sort of meditate on how exotic, and yet how universal, my surroundings were. The women were dressed in their Sunday best, the children were cute as could be, and restive during the long service, peeking shyly at the strangers in their midst, and occasionally misbehaving
---we were all spending some time thinking about God in our own ways---then the singing started---four different choirs got up and did their thing---singing songs that the congregation knew, and sang along with---I joined in, too---it was easy enough to pick up the tunes!--and then dancing-
-back and forth, around and around---once the choirs were done, everyone went on up front, and we all danced together!---at our clumsy efforts, the children finally warmed up, and began laughing and holding our hands--
-we gave them great entertainment in return for their beautiful singing and dancing!!----when we went back to our seats, we were surrounded by children who competed to see who could sit the closest to the strangers, trying their best to squirm into our laps, stroking my long, fine hair, and doing lots of giggling---
after 2 hours of church, we finally climbed back into the truck to go to Gibbons house for lunch---recently married, Gibbon has had a tin house built for himself and his wife---
(here they are in this photo in front of it--)this is a source of pride for him, made possible by the regular employment he has at the school--however, the kitchen is located in an adjacent building, constucted in the traditional method with sticks and mud (and cow manure, too, I've heard!) We admire the wedding photos of Gibbon and his wife, Jackie---they were all in traditional dress for that--a lovely couple--and then we are served dinner. Jackie brings in the food, and helps to serve us, but then she leaves, and it's just the men and Phyllis and me---we eat, compliment the food, and talk a bit ---then Gibbon takes me out to meet his sister-in-law, who is in the traditional round, mud and stick house nearby--
-the door is tiny--even I have to lean down to get through--inside, it is cooler, but so dark that I can barely make my way to the seat that Gibbon points to---there is a fire going in the center of the room, and a small hole in the wall allows some of the smoke to escape, but it's pretty suffocating to me---
as my eyes slowly become accustomed to the dark, I can make out a woman across the fire from me, and I realize I'm sitting on a low platform that is also serving as a bed for someone behind me---Gibbon tells me that in the Masai tradition, a couple must prepare their home compound--it is up to the man to build the acacia-tree fence around the compound, but up to the woman to build the house--it usually takes up to 2 months---
she often gets help from her friends to put the roof on, but other than that, she's on her own!--I compliment her on the amazing job she's done---way better than I could!---and we return to the sunny, hot, but refreshingly airy outdoors---while out there, we take some pictures, meet Gibbon's dad, 
who has four wives, and wants to show us his compound, and his herd of cattle. His dad is dressed as a traditional Masai, with his red blanket, his staff, and his short stick w/ a metal top (used for whacking things---like heads, I think!)---he speaks no English, but it's pretty clear that he admires Rick's hat---he tries the direct approach, just transferring it from Rick's head to his, but Rick reclaims it---and we climb back into the truck to go home----it's been a wonderful day, listening to singing, watching the dancing, and exploring a traditional culture that is, surprisingly, managing to survive in this day and age---the Masai seem determined to hold on tightly to their traditions--maybe in part because they represent an ideal that continues to resonate with Kenyans across the board---other tribes may not agree with, or particularly like the Masai, but they do respect and admire their sheer presence--aside from their physical stature (think tall!), these are warriors, who have killed a lion in order to achieve that status----(altho' I have to admit, I've thought---how many lions are out there??? aren't they going to run out of lions one of these days???? hmmmm....I never did ask.....)---they do hold themselves with a certain assuredness---they've got---charisma!---so there is a strong incentive to continue those traditions that imbue them with this mystique, I would think---still, it's not an easy life, and not a particularly lucrative one, either, unless you're counting cows......
I'm not sure if the preachers were speaking Kiswahili or Masai, but I didn't understand a word---which was fine--it gave me an opportunity to just sort of meditate on how exotic, and yet how universal, my surroundings were. The women were dressed in their Sunday best, the children were cute as could be, and restive during the long service, peeking shyly at the strangers in their midst, and occasionally misbehaving
---we were all spending some time thinking about God in our own ways---then the singing started---four different choirs got up and did their thing---singing songs that the congregation knew, and sang along with---I joined in, too---it was easy enough to pick up the tunes!--and then dancing-
-back and forth, around and around---once the choirs were done, everyone went on up front, and we all danced together!---at our clumsy efforts, the children finally warmed up, and began laughing and holding our hands--
-we gave them great entertainment in return for their beautiful singing and dancing!!----when we went back to our seats, we were surrounded by children who competed to see who could sit the closest to the strangers, trying their best to squirm into our laps, stroking my long, fine hair, and doing lots of giggling---after 2 hours of church, we finally climbed back into the truck to go to Gibbons house for lunch---recently married, Gibbon has had a tin house built for himself and his wife---
(here they are in this photo in front of it--)this is a source of pride for him, made possible by the regular employment he has at the school--however, the kitchen is located in an adjacent building, constucted in the traditional method with sticks and mud (and cow manure, too, I've heard!) We admire the wedding photos of Gibbon and his wife, Jackie---they were all in traditional dress for that--a lovely couple--and then we are served dinner. Jackie brings in the food, and helps to serve us, but then she leaves, and it's just the men and Phyllis and me---we eat, compliment the food, and talk a bit ---then Gibbon takes me out to meet his sister-in-law, who is in the traditional round, mud and stick house nearby--
-the door is tiny--even I have to lean down to get through--inside, it is cooler, but so dark that I can barely make my way to the seat that Gibbon points to---there is a fire going in the center of the room, and a small hole in the wall allows some of the smoke to escape, but it's pretty suffocating to me---
as my eyes slowly become accustomed to the dark, I can make out a woman across the fire from me, and I realize I'm sitting on a low platform that is also serving as a bed for someone behind me---Gibbon tells me that in the Masai tradition, a couple must prepare their home compound--it is up to the man to build the acacia-tree fence around the compound, but up to the woman to build the house--it usually takes up to 2 months---
she often gets help from her friends to put the roof on, but other than that, she's on her own!--I compliment her on the amazing job she's done---way better than I could!---and we return to the sunny, hot, but refreshingly airy outdoors---while out there, we take some pictures, meet Gibbon's dad, 
who has four wives, and wants to show us his compound, and his herd of cattle. His dad is dressed as a traditional Masai, with his red blanket, his staff, and his short stick w/ a metal top (used for whacking things---like heads, I think!)---he speaks no English, but it's pretty clear that he admires Rick's hat---he tries the direct approach, just transferring it from Rick's head to his, but Rick reclaims it---and we climb back into the truck to go home----it's been a wonderful day, listening to singing, watching the dancing, and exploring a traditional culture that is, surprisingly, managing to survive in this day and age---the Masai seem determined to hold on tightly to their traditions--maybe in part because they represent an ideal that continues to resonate with Kenyans across the board---other tribes may not agree with, or particularly like the Masai, but they do respect and admire their sheer presence--aside from their physical stature (think tall!), these are warriors, who have killed a lion in order to achieve that status----(altho' I have to admit, I've thought---how many lions are out there??? aren't they going to run out of lions one of these days???? hmmmm....I never did ask.....)---they do hold themselves with a certain assuredness---they've got---charisma!---so there is a strong incentive to continue those traditions that imbue them with this mystique, I would think---still, it's not an easy life, and not a particularly lucrative one, either, unless you're counting cows......
thanks to Phyllis for almost ALL of the photos of our trip to Gibbon's church and home!--I did lots of watching, and listening, singing, and dancing---she did most of the snapping!!!
A few days later, we drove another of Rick's workers home to his property in the hilly country up behind the school--only about a 20 minute drive. Mwenga, a plumber at RVA, lives with his wife and four children on a farm on which he raises vegetables, chickens, and a few cows. His farm is bordered on all sides by the farms of his extended family---brothers, sisters, nephews, etc.... His shamba, or garden, reminds me of my mother's garden back home--it seems to be looking very healthy and productive compared to most of the gardens I've seen on my visit (everyone keeps commenting on what a dry season they're having)--and it turns out that, due to his plumbing expertise, he has managed to set up a system of pipes to bring water up to all of his family's farms--one of the brothers works in refrigeration, and has been able to help with the solar energy system they use for their electricity, and another brother is a carpenter, who has helped to build many of the family outbuildings---this is an extended Kikiyu family, and one can see how this industriousness, and determination to improve their holdings, has resulted, over the years, in the Kikiyu being the well-to-do class in Kenya, and in their being the focus of some anger and jealousy on the part of other tribes...This is a well-educated family by Kenyan standards---we meet Samuel, the 18-yr.old son, who is home on term break from the secondary school he attends--as we sit around the living room after supper, he asks many astute questions about the US--"What do you think about the electoral college being able to decide who wins your elections?"---"How do you manage to have peace in your country, without the kind of fighting we have in Africa?"--"What do you think about Obama?" "Will he win?"---"How is school in the US different from school here in Kenya--what subjects do students take?"---etc.etc.---Unlike other homes we've visited, here in Mwenga's home the women come and join the conversation after dinner has been eaten---his wife wants to know who I voted for in the primary--(MANY people ask me this--I'm really glad that I can, in all honesty, answer--"I voted for Obama!")--however, Mwenga's wife wants to know---"Why didn't you vote for Hilary Clinton---don't you think a woman should be president?"---I answer---"I absolutely think a woman could be president, and I would really LIKE a woman president--just not THIS woman---" at that, they all laugh---I wish I'd had a tape recorder, so I could have a record of all the conversation we had in that little living room, with its tin walls and dirt floor, illuminated by a single solar-powered light bulb---another one of those unexpected, unlooked-for, amazing experiences----unfortunately--as you may have noticed, we don't have ANY PICTURES---both Phyllis and I were just exhausted that night--we REALLY didn't want to go off and visit this family for supper--it was only Rick's insisting that we'd accepted the invitation that got us both into the car--we weren't expecting anything more than a boring evening trying to be polite, and neither one of us thought to bring a camera.....just goes to show you never know what's coming.....
And, finally---just days before I returned home, Phyllis took me to visit a tea farm, run by a white Kenyan family who have lived here for three--going on four--generations---I feel like I really need to put the rest of this on a separate post--I'm getting tired of writing, and you must be getting tired of reading!---
here's what's coming up!!
here's what's coming up!!tea country!!!
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