Kenyan friends

Today we were invited over for dinner to Alfred and Nancy's house. Nancy is the lady we employ that helps Julie around the house. Alfred works at the hospital in the sterilization department (cleaning surgical instruments, not doing vasectomies). They are a great couple.

They live just down the street, within a stone's throw from our house. Julie has been over a few times, but this was my first time to visit them in their home. We visited for a couple hours, which drew the attention of the neighbors, so all the local kids started gathering around the house. Liam really wanted to go out and play with them.





We had a wonderful dinner. We had ugali, which was a first for us in Kenya. It is a staple here, made from maize, which you cook in water, down to a mushy consistency that you can mold in your hands, and dip into another side dish. Today we had goat, cooked with onions and tomatoes. Very delicious.

It started raining during the meal, cooling off the afternoon and making a pleasant noise coming down on their tin roof. Their house is very typical for a Kenyan home. One room, which contains a bed, separated from the rest of the room by a curtain. They have a table and a few stools. There is a small pot of coals, which Nancy used to boil water and cook the food. The inside is wall-papered with newspaper which serves as both decoration and insulation. We read a headline about Beyonce at an awards show. There is no electricity or running water.

Another missionary dropped by our apartment to bring us some dessert. He knocked on the door but we weren't home. Luckily, the local kids saw him and directed him to where we were. He gave us some pecan pie, which we shared with our friends. Alfred's brother Raymond was visiting from Kericho (which is about an hour away). They had never seen a pecan before, so this meal included a first for them as well.



We had a wonderful time visiting with them. I learned several more Swahili words, we talked about our families, jobs, popular music (guess who is very popular in Kenya -- Kenny Rogers!!), and politics (everyone here is a big fan of Obama, he even has his own flavor of gum). We were honored to be invited over, and we could tell it was an honor for them to have mzungus (white people) visit them in their home. For example, Raymond stayed later than he had planned to visit with us, and ended up missing his ride back to Kericho, so he will have to take a sick day tomorrow, which he was more than happy to do.

We said our goodbyes and shook hands, a very common custom here. Alfred explained that now it is customary that we should shake hands whenever we see each other. It was a joy for us to experience the warm hospitality of this young Kenyan family, that we can now call our new friends.