Megan the Mzungu

I just got back from my rural home stay in Meru, Kenya. My experience was unbelievable and has really made me question my way of life. I have the utmost respect for the Ameru people and their lifestyle of simplicity and hard work. I would journal each night to help me remember what I did and instead of boring you with each and every detail I will only relay the most important, interesting and incredible things that we did.

Here is the break down of my family:

Baba (dad) Joseph- was the Chief of the village. This was a very powerful position and required a lot of poise and confidence--both of which he had along with a lot of pride. He was a very generous guy who was beyond excited to share his accomplishments and life with me.
Mama Monika- was a business woman, this meant she sold used clothes at the open air market. Mama was the powerhouse of the family basically what mama said, went. She was nothing but pleasant and had many questions which stimulated very intriguing conversations throughout the week.
Hilary 23 years old- Hilary is my unemployed brother who is looking for work and living in Nairobi but came home for a few days to hang out with me. He was very curious and interested in my life in America. He was always smiling and very in tune with making sure I was doing alright.
Nancy 20 years old- Nancy is the cousin in the family. She finished secondary school and is waiting to be enrolled at a technical college in Meru. Meanwhile she was living in the house and was my closest friend while I was there. I spent my days doing what Nancy did and followed her around.
Remmy 19 years old- Remmy also just finished secondary school and was working for the IEBC (Kenyan Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission). I had many great conversations about cars, music and cell phones in the US...all of which I have little knowledge but we got by smoothly.
Kendi 11 years old- Kendi was a little fire cracker. She had an infinite amount of contagious energy and loved to always be playing. There was nothing that could wipe the smile off her face and she loved parading me around like her little puppy.
Rose 9 years old- I really enjoyed spending time with Rose because although she was a bit more quite then Kendi we shared a strong connection and she loved teaching me little special facts about Kenya and her rich culture.

The home was in the middle of the village (prime location for CONSTANT visitors). My family was well off and had access to many great assets because they had so many connections through their different village affiliations. That being said, I think I can safely say I met every single member of the village over the course of my stay. I cannot remember many of their names, it was quite overwhelming, but it was a great way to practice my broken Kiswahili.

The days were filled with house chores, shamba (farm) deeds, chai time, and LOTS of socializing. I have grown very accustomed to the social nature and actually quite enjoy it! I think it is safe to say the majority of the Kimeru conversations that my family had were simply gossip about the rest of the community, but I found their dramatic gestures to be entertaining.

My biggest mistake from this week was telling my family I enjoyed Mango's and Chapati (bread). Because it is currently mango season the family mango tree was bursting with juicy mango's that would drop 10-20 mango's a day--and because of this abundance I was, at some points, forced to eat a mango ever 2 hours. At this point in time I cannot think of consuming another mango or even the thought of chapati (which was the same thing--just consumed too much too often)!

One of the most interesting experiences I had was at the Church on Sunday. My family was East Africa Pentecostal Church (EAPC) which is a sect of Christianity and also meant attending a service from 11:00am-2:00pm. Af first I was overwhelmed by the incredible amount of energy that radiated from the people attending the service. It was very clear that church was a highlight of the week and a very social outlet for the Kenyans. Secondly, upon entrance into the church the women sat on the left and the men on the right. The pews were a lot more squished then anything I have experienced. Shoulder to shoulder was an understatement--it was more like sitting on top of each other. I got used to that after about the first hour. The service was not only energetic but very powerful as it clearly touched many of the participants in the church to the point where it moved them to cry and shout loudly. This was unlike any experience that I have had--this opened my eyes to how powerful God is in the lives of Kenyans. During the beginning of the service I was asked to give a speech about my religion (which I hardly practice and have little knowledge about). In my broken Swahili I delivered a 10ish minute speech and concluded it by saying "God Bless", because my host father told me this would be a hit, and boy was he right. The crowd exploded with laughter, excitement and cheering.

I would say the crux of my stay in Meru was when we hiked the hills of Chugu village. It all started with my tour at the local coffee factory (which I am convinced has not run since the 60's, but my father was convinced otherwise...I was pretty confused by the spider webs and rusty chains, buuuut who's to judge). From the coffee factory you can see a beautiful landscape of incredibly lush, green, rolling hills. I asked if we could hike them, and with great hesitance, and probably confusion, my family agreed. The process up was very interesting because it was clear that hiking was not a thing that was done often...or ever really. It's funny because I can rave about just how strong and hardworking these Kenyans are, but I can honestly say that hiking is not their strongest suit. No shame. On that note, we did eventually make it to the top where the view was breath taking. People say pictures are worth a thousand words, but this view was just incredible and one that no picture could ever explain.

Dinner was a family activity but very different then American family style, conversation-driven dinners--in Meru it was all about the TV dinners. This was a huge shock to me and was something that I never quite caught on too. Anyhow, while it was a bit awkward at first the TV dinners became a normal occurrence and was something I looked forward to...slightly. This was only because my family was hooked on the Spanish Telenovelas which were one of the funniest things I have seen. The show was a Spanish soap opera, very dramatic, with English voice over (the voice overs did not line up with the lips which added to the attraction to the show). However, the best part was how into the show everybody got. Each night at 7:50 La Fuerza would come on and the room would go silent as everyone was immersed with their food and the exciting drama filled show. I found out later, once with all the SLU students again, that these Spanish Telenovelas were a hit amongst all the families--who knew!

It was very easy to connect with the Ameru people because they were so open and willing to establish conversations despite a huge language barrier. I made solid efforts to extend myself and be friendly with as many people as I could. I often spent my mornings at the local salon, learning how to knit and braid. However, my favorite part of the salon was the 2.5 year old named Whitney (pronounced Whitt-a-knee in a high pitched voice). It is easy for me to say this, because of my contagious affection to children, but Whitney was the greatest kid I have ever met. She was so respectful, thoughtful and mature--which are all very rare traits to find in a small child. We would play for hours not understanding a thing each other was saying. At first I was nervous that things would be awkward or uncomfortable because we could not communicate but I quickly found ways around it by using body language--probably one of the most powerful lessons I have learned from my stay.

Overall my stay reminded me how incredibly big our world is--and the power of culture. I am forever grateful for this experience and to be cliché for a second I have gained the utmost respect for the lifestyle of the Ameru people. It is just incredible how these people live. I am finding it really hard to justify my way of life coming from a such a contrasting lifestyle of pure simplicity (one which I find myself adopting--to some extent.

Here are some pictures from my time in Meru!

Nancy, Kendi, Rose and I at the top of the Chugu Hill hike

My family taking one of the many "rests" on the hike up

Teaching Kendi how to dance

Nancy making Chapati

Attempting to make chapati

Baba Joshua being a boss

Whitney 

Washing clothes

This looks a lot easier then it actually is...

Planting our family tree

Showing the Mzungu (white person) off

Giving my gifts--Family photo!