Wedding, etc.

(I wrote this over several days so it is really scrambled!)

The big excitement this week is the wedding. Dan and Irene, both employees from MCCH, are getting married Saturday, December 5^th. It is supposed to start at 10:00 a.m., but we have learned that even “Roberts Creek Time” seems more predictable than “Kenyan Time.” So we won’t leave home until noon. I asked our host family if the wedding ceremony itself will be kind of short, and the answer was “oh no – it takes the bride at least one hour to walk down the aisle, then the introduction and speeches of all the guests, etc. ...” So we’re looking at a day’s event on hard chairs, but it will so interesting. Will tell more about it after I’ve gone.

We were invited to the Fundraiser ceremony for Dan‘s and Irene’s wedding, and it was quite lengthy but so entertaining (dancing girls, singing by a choir, speeches from every uncle, aunt, both sets of parents, cousins, sisters and brothers of both families – and they’re big families! – each gift was presented in groups, the parents group, the siblings, down to the neighbors turn to walk up to the bride and present their gift). Right in the middle of the whole service, the rains came, and when they come, it pours! But that did not stop the ceremony. Kenyans don’t get in a flap – they just continue as usual. So our meal was served in a little mud hut while waiting for the rains to stop. I was handed a whole cooked chicken as I was one of the special guests. I was to help myself then share it around. We had chicken and rice, which was a very special meal. Evidently anyone can attend the wedding and/or fundraiser and eat, and it would be considered rude in Africa to turn any person away without feeding them. People just kept coming from the neighborhood until there was no food left. It is okay to run out of food and not feed someone, but you happily accept anyone who arrives and try to feed them. As we left the fundraiser, our vehicle got stuck in the mud that was quite mucky from the rains. I’m sure the whole community came to see the production it took to get free. Then the matatu that was behind us got stuck – was good to see how Kenyans all work together to solve any problem.

Yesterday was Friday. Candice and I went into Kitale. Our matatu dropped us off right at Lina Moja (mile long), blocks full of little wooden stalls where people sell shoes, clothes, vegetables, fruits – anything you can think of and it’s crowded with shoppers. I bought a dress for $1.50 Canadian. When you’re in the open market place and find a dress you might be interested in, you just try it on ... right there in the middle of the crowd. When we got to the bras, it was very entertaining to see this lady try a bra on over her sweater, her friend did the hooks in the back for her while she adjusted the front part with her hands being sure the cups would be the right size, etc.! I dared Candice to do the same, but she bailed out! Majority of the clothes for sale are from the States/Canada – items that are used or nobody would buy them. It was exciting to see a t-shirt from “The Garden City – Victoria, B.C.”

I have to go back to the e-mail of our bus trip to Uganda. A lady went up to the conductor and obviously told him she needed a bathroom stop. So stop they did and all these people jump off the bus, walk over to the trees and relieve themselves. It’s very common – see it all the time at the side of the road while driving. We have so many inhibitions – they just do these things and no one is interested in looking or makes any comments.

Okay, I have attended the wedding and what fun it was - a true African wedding! It was held at Mercy Home. Dorcas, the very talented tailor who works at MCCH, had made beautiful dresses for the girls and new shirts for all the boys for Christmas, but they were told they could wear them for the wedding. The children looked so lovely, happy and had such a great time. Sure enough the wedding was scheduled to start at 10 a.m. – the wedding party arrived at 2 p.m. and the aisle routine did take an hour, but that’s because they do little dance steps together as they walk 1”, then do the dance steps again – another inch ahead! The procession started with the three little ring bearers, ushers, flower girls, lady attendants m then bride and groom each doing the little dance steps then going ahead one inch. It poured right in the middle of the procession and no one flinches, just proceeds. The bride looked beautiful in her long white dress and train and a crown on her head that lit up. The train is draped over the groom after the vows/rings are done. I won’t go into all the details, but I continue to learn to be patient so I will enjoy what is going on because that’s what you’re there for. We in the West are so busy hustling and bustling here, there and everywhere that even our mind cannot stop sometimes. But here ... better relax because nothing is going to go any faster! I still have to find out what the dowry was Dan had to ‘pay’ as I’ve been told 13 cows, but I think that’s a bit too much!

I have bronchitis now. Went to a doctor here – very professional and gentle. The visit and lab work cost 450 shillings ($6.25 Canadian). The antibiotics cost 1400 shillings ($20 Canadian). It’s a slow week at MCCH as each child has gone “home” (either to their relatives house or to a teachers home) for a week so no children are at MCCH. We have Trudy’s and Dane’s sponsor child, Alphine, here with us. She is so lovely and mature. We are really enjoying her.

Okay, it’s no secret how much I ‘love’ taking the matatus!!! The ‘hill’ used to be my first dislike, but I’ve become so used to climbing it now that it has fallen to number two and these matatu rides are my least favorite. So a matatu stops where we are to be picked up. It’s already full with 15 people in it, but they’ll cram in us five as well. This one had parked so close to the edge of the road where there is about an 8” drop, then the climb up into the matatu – well, I could NOT do it. So they drove down the drop off and told me to get in front (“you.” Then they point to the front seat.) The knees don’t bend, I was carrying a heavy bag and my empty water bottle – well, it took every bit of strength to get up into this matatu. By then my skirt is up around my middle and my face is beat red and dripping wet. Embarrassed and mortified. I know it’s pride – have to love it! And, yes, third are cold showers. Candice said it would keep my humor if I watch my facial expression in the mirror as the cold water hits my body! Tried that this morning after coming out of my toasty bed – not humorous!

The chicken house is being cleaned out so that next week the chickens will be put into their new home. It’s a masterpiece. We have ordered another hundred chicks so we will be in full swing very soon. The greenhouse is now being built. It will house tomatoes especially as there is a huge market for them.

All the secondary students who board away from MCCH have come ‘home’ for the year-end break (all of December) and so have the five college students. It’s been very rewarding to see how the children from MCCH grow up into such well-balanced adults. They enjoy seeing their ‘brothers and sisters’ and give them lots of encouragement and attention while ‘home.’

Are you all hustling around doing Christmas activities? We did buy a little artificial tree that we have decorated and light each night. It’s very hard to relate to Christmas coming. It just is not a big commercial issue here. Stella, the niece of our host family who lives here, had not heard of Santa Claus and she will be in Grade 8 next year, so the “have you been a good girl this year” tradition with Santa just does not happen.

Until next blog entry, hope you’re enjoying your pre-Christmas traditions.

Nancy