This is just a collection of thing that I’ve forgotten to mention in previous posts. I don’t know how people who go on long vacations recount everything. Even with this documentation, there are things that I realize later on that I’ve neglected to mention:
– When I arrived in Kipkaren on Monday, I was greeted by the children from the children’s home singing. They had a “ribbon cutting ceremony” (basically several vines tied together) and I went one by one greeting them. Some handed me flowers. Their smiles were priceless. It was a wonderful welcome to the village.
– Yesterday was a day of firsts. Not only did I cross a stream in a skirt and dress shoes (see previous post), but it was the first time I carried a basket full of breakable mugs by moonlight down a rocky path and it was the first time that I went to sleep listening to the sound of boys singing in the bush. These fifteen year-old boys had been in the bush for a month as they underwent the rite of circumcision which signifies their passage into manhood. It was very odd to be lying in bed and watching “The Cutting Edge” while listening to young men sing songs that had been passed down through generations.
– There are animals everywhere. Goats and chickens wander during the day and know which home they belong to and return at night. On Juli and my walk yesterday, we met the cows heading out for their weekly cow lick (the process of getting them de-ticked.) There are also dogs and kittens (although in Kenya – they don’t really have pets. The dogs and cats remain unnamed.) At night, the chorus of crickets is amazing and the symphony of birds in the morning is indescribable. The diversity of God’s creatures is truly majestic.
– It’s remarkable to see how Western culture has crept in. In a town where many don’t have enough to eat, you see “Just Do It” t-shirts, Coca-Cola bottles, and other emblems of Western businesses. As a student of organizations, I marvel at the effectiveness of their communications. Separately though, I must wonder whether we are serving the people well through these messages.
