As Carl and I made it to Meru we were pleasantly greeted by thirteen children at the Kithoka Amani Children's Home. It was a good thing I had a few bags and two crutches because every kid wanted to help us get our stuff into our room and they each wanted to carry something. They were all so adorable. But when I stepped out of the car with a metal leg one of the girls who I would later learn is Bessie, was staring with such concern over the state of my leg.
After settling in and getting oriented after a rest we made our way down to dinner where the kids were playing outside. They were mighty curious about my leg so with the help of Cecilia, the house mom, I explained what happened and that it was okay to touch, and no it didn't hurt me, etc... After dinner was very nice because once all the kids went to bed we stayed up and got to have an extended talk with our driver, Ashford. It was the first time I really felt like we were able to talk and learn more about each other. He is a great person.
On Friday morning we got to tour the grounds of International Peace Initiative (who runs the children's home) and our little friend came along (one of the kids). It's a beautiful place and they have small farming down to a science. Our Detroit farming friends would love to see what they have to offer. We even learned how to shuck black beans from the kids and spent a good chunk of time trying to help but I am not sure anything got done faster because of our presence. Carl got really good at hitting the pile of beans with the stick, the first step in the shucking.
In the afternoon we drove around Meru, went to visit some friends of my mom's, and drove through the market. While in a bit of a traffic jam in the market with our windows open a man came up to Carl's window, leaned in and started asking him questions, "who are you? Where are you from? Ooh, USA? Did you elect Obama?" without missing a step and wanting to make sure he had the right answer Carl said "yes, we elected Obama!". Well maybe not us personally but the answer seemed to be good enough for this man because he smiled and shook Carl's hand and walked away after that.
We got to walk on the campus of Kenyan Methodist University which has grown immensely since I saw it in 2004. It now boasts a medical school, and when I was there they had just a one room clinic in which they weren't allowed to advertise that they had free condoms to give away.
Friday evening we handed out footballs (soccer) and toys to the kids. I passed out stickers and somehow most of them ended up on my arms. We got to have a yummy dinner, Carl's new favorite food are Chipatis. And we had somewhat of a sharing time after dinner. The kids did a few dances for us, we had a guest friend who played the guitar and even Carl and I sang a few songs. It was really fun. It felt like we were part of the family. More after dinner conversation and then it was off to bed.
Saturday we departed early for Nairobi so that we could see some sights and downtown. It was about 4 hours into our ride and only 60 km from Nairobi when suddenly the Carl broke down. Hadn't we had enough car trouble? Guess not. We pulled over to a Mutatu station and were assisted by some other drivers who said it was needing to be fixed in a mechanic shop. So Ashford called the other driver who was coming from Amboseli to pick us up and take us to Nairobi, but that meant a wait. We got out and joined the patrons on the bench at the Mutatu stop. Carl was initially pretty nervous about the situation but as time went on it allowed him to see that it was just any bus stop and people were just going about their days.
We were the butt of a few jokes, Kenyans not used to seeing Mazungus at the mutatu , but overall it was no big deal. A "luxury shuttle" drove by, which was just a glorified mutatu and tried to pick us up, knowing that those white folks must have money. But we stayed put and waited for Ben. When he finally arrived, Ashford had bought some hand made rope which he tied the broken van to the working one.
We made it almost 30 km before it broke! Luckily Ben is a party man and a friend of his from Mombasa was driving by on the highway and had a metal hitch to let us borrow. We made it most of the way to the guest house but had to leave Ashford at an area where he could try to get the car fixed. It was really sad leaving him there as we had to say goodbye. Next to the highway is not the ideal setting for emotional goodbyes and I had grown quite attached to Ashford. He was a very nice, cautious, friendly, thoughtful guy and I am so glad we got to spend the week with him.
So after a shower and a dinner with Chipatis one last time we repacked and were off to the airport. As we drove the street back to the airport I found myself getting really choked up and teary eyed because this land has really treated me well and I don't know how soon I'll be able to get back here. I love Africa so much, I miss it already but I was so glad to have the opportunity to call it home. Even if just for a little while.
Great story!
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