Kenyeji Weekend

Kenyeji Weekend (Kenyeji is local, or native)

This past weekend I went up north to visit Tom, another peace corps volunteer. He is based near a town called Maua, which translates to “flower” in Kiswahili, but more on the flora of the area later. A few other volunteers came too, and we prepared for a weekend of comradery.

We went for a quick jog in the cool hills of Maua, and other than being much more green and hilly than Matuu, I noticed that the children we passed on the jog were more aggressive with their Mzungu calls. When I run in Matuu, they generally squeal with delight and reach their fist out for a “gota” (a fist bump, not unlike a fist bump in America). But here they were all screaming at the top of their lungs and not ceasing when we greeted them. I have a lot of respect for Tom not loosing his cool every time he goes out, despite the fact that these kids have seen him a lot for the past two years.

After the run, we went to Tom’s friend’s farm nearby. We slaughtered a goat to be roasted all day, and helped with the skinning, and cleaning part. It was my third goat to help with this process, so I was starting to know the steps better, but Tom’s friend gave us a lesson in goat organ-pathology. We learned how to check to make sure that the goat was healthy, and how to tell if the goat was slaughtered properly or died of a natural cause (some people try to sell a goat that died of disease and say that it was freshly slaughtered, so now I’ll be able to call them out on it!). I also got a lesson on dairy goat breeds, which is good because some of the groups I work with in Matuu are looking to start dairy goat rearing, though they hesitate with the initial investment.

So for the flowers of Maua: Maua is known for it’s Miraa and tea cultivation. Miraa is a mild stimulant (actually in the amphetamine family, I think) and is common among many parts of Kenya. It is a tree, and when chewed for a long time it produces a caffeine-like buzz. Almost all of the public bus drivers in Matuu are constantly chewing it to keep them alert while they drive, which is a little scary sometimes, as they tend to want the rest of the world to move as fast as their minds are moving. So on this farm I also got a lesson in how to pick the best miraa, and the differences in the two most predominant species in Kenya. Apparently the conditions in Maua (climate, altitude, and volcanic soil) are so unique and favorable for miraa, they export everyday not only all over kenya, but also to Somalia and other parts of the world.

After the miraa lesson I went back to helping to roast the goat and stoke the fire. Tom had made some of the local honey brew that I love so much, so we started drinking some as soon as the meat started getting close to done. I also brought bottle of my pineapple wine to share. This continued until we were all ready to slip into a legitimate food coma and we went back to Tom’s.

The next day we went for a hike in the hills near-by and shared some boiled arrow roots (also home grown by Tom) with some children who followed us all the way up to the top of a small mountain. When we got back to Tom’s, we started preparing our dinner. Tom had built a brick oven earlier in his service, so we built a fire in it to warm up the bricks and started preparing yet another feast only this time it wasn’t goat on the menu, but Pizza! It took a long time to heat the oven and prepare all the ingredients, but it was worth it in the end. We ended up being able to bake 6 small pizzas and a few rolls in the oven to share with Tom’s neighbors.

So that was the end of my amazing weekend, and now this week I am finally starting on the Citdo orphanage water project. So hopefully the next entry I write will be dedicated to it’s completion. Thanks to everyone who donated to the project! I will post pictures of the project as I go on.