Right after the baskets it was time to each plant a small tree to help the environment and symbolize our time in Sagala. This was a fun activity that I really embraced as I excitedly used the shovel (pictured below). Then one of the neighborhood kids, 12 year-old Martin, stopped by and showed me around the village a little bit. He was very outgoing and funny, and we worked together to slowly understand each other. As I mentioned, it was very pretty and hilly terrain; the homes are scattered throughout the hills and there are little dirt walking paths that connect the people. Martin pointed out key locations like the school, church, and healthcare center. When I returned from that walk it was just in time to see Mama Musa complete the afternoon milking of their cow.
Later that night we had dinner that included maize. This was a huge white dense starch that resembled a large white cake, and we were encouraged to cut a cake-like slab to eat. I dove right in but soon struggled with the density and bland taste. Luckily they love very small extremely hot peppers, so I added that for flavor. We learned some Taita village words and brushed up on some basic Swahili. There was no World Cup on that night, but there were Kenyan soaps (just as dramatic as in the US) and interesting music videos (i.e. random people dancing in front of extremely random scenery/places), and eventually WWF Wrestling (not my fave) on the TV with one channel. I would have been happy to be TV free, but this was clearly a household evening ritual, so I was ready to soak in the culture and experience village life.
The next morning we started out early with what would become my favorite meal of the day. We had this porridge that was a darker creamy version of malt-o-meal! This was one of my favorites growing up, especially when I visited my Grandma Mc, so I was extremely happy. I topped it off with real sugar and there was bread and papaya as well. This breakfast was repeated the next couple of days with the added bonus of delightful thick crepe style pancakes the last morning, especially good when I added a bit of sugar and squeezed an orange on it.
After the delicious meal we took a long walk down to the flatter farming fields where the task was to hoe the land, dig small holes the size of soccer balls, add fertilizer (since the soil is dry and hard there), water them, then plant kale and water again. Unfortunately, I was of no help aside from picture taking – see below. My ear infection was bad, and I managed to add cold symptoms to the mix. This was my type of activity, so I was sad I could not actually participate. The field was about 10 feet by 25 feet and with five people working they got done pretty quickly. They then moved on to the next field to hoe it all in order to loosen the soil which looked like a lot of work. I started feeling extremely ill and weak, so I had to be walked back early. I barely made it back and then went straight to bed for 5 hours. They all kindly checked on me a few times (thanks again to Liz and Maki for helping and being patient with me!), and I could literally not even sit up or move. I forced down water with vitamins in it and continued to sleep.
I was sad to miss the bow and arrow making lesson and hiking the area to the Rev. Wray Museum in town. I was able to get up for dinner and a little discussion, but quickly headed back to bed for more sleep. When I woke up the next morning I was feeling a bit better and actually had some energy, which was good because I was most excited to see the local school and complete some of the other activities of the day.
We got into the van, because it was a bit of a hilly walk, and I probably would not have made it. We had a great time meeting with the head master of Mlondo Primary School and touring the school. The kids were extremely excited and the elementary school kids came out to take pictures with us and greet us. The 7th and 8th graders were taking comprehensive tests and could not be disturbed by us. I absolutely love spending time with kids and seeing their excitement level, so I instantly felt better while I was there. Sadly we had to leave the school eventually to tour the Mlondo Health Center. We met with the head doctor who had been there for 9 years, and we saw the facilities. There was even a woman about to give birth, which was way too much for me. Given my illness I stayed away from most of the facilities. It amazed me how many of the patients had to walk for hours to get to the center and how different the facilities and equipment are from what we are used to. It really causes you to reflect on how easy some things are in western countries and how many resources we have easy access to.
Later in the day we had my favorite lunch/dinner of the trip made by Mrs. Patience Mwang’ondi. We had pumpkin, lentils, mixed veggies (of course), and crazy good mangoes. After having this meal I think we should be eating more pumpkin in savory form in the US. It was quite good as were the lentils. I am so lucky that my Mom is a great cook (she always lets me make requests when I come home) and can often eat something at a restaurant and recreate it at home. (Mom – new request when I visit MN next – maybe your extremely good squash could have some pumpkin in it or perhaps you can explore pumpkin recipes??). Anyway, enough about the food. After lunch we were preparing to become Lord of the Dance. We were tasked with making traditional skirts from stringy plant material. This entailed braiding the waist line and adding long dyed sections to hand down from the waist line. I will add a picture since my description is just plain lacking.
After the creative skirt making it was time to plant onions, which I was still much too weak to do, so Maki and Liz headed out to get real work done while I stayed back and had Baba Musa show me the bow and arrows from the day before. It was fun to see them and to shoot a couple, but then it was nap time again. The real fun and games was to happen later when our skirts would be used.
The village had their best dancers come over to perform traditional Kitaita songs and dancing for us (see the picture below). This is usually only done on special occasions like wedding days. We had a lot of fun watching, taking pictures, and eventually dancing. I gave it my best but did not last long. I provided laughs for many, including the kids many of which I got to know and joked with me about it. Don’t worry there is video of me giving a once in a lifetime performance. That video will eventually be leaked for your enjoyment.
We all got to know one kid particularly well, 9 year old Lewis, since he lived in the house Liz stayed in and ate meals with us. He was a really nice and helpful kid, plus he was extremely funny and liked to learn random stuff from us like how to make origami with Maki or how to take pictures with our camera. Lewis lived in Mombasa and went to school there before and only recently moved to the village to live with his grandparents and attend school. He was definitely more of a city kid, but he told me that he was very happy to now live and play in the Taita Hills. I could see why. John, Margaux, Danny, and I would have loved playing there growing up. It reminded me of playing in the woods at the cabin, going to the little cave near my grandparents’ house, and handing out in the woods near our sledding hill. It was sad to say goodbye to him the next morning.
After our final breakfast we headed for the important activity of milking the cow with Mrs. Joyce Mwaore. Everyone was a bit hesitant including me, but I knew I had to leverage my true dairy state roots (I was born in Wisconsin, although none of my relatives were farmers). Everyone pressured me to get in there first, so I sat down by Bessie the cow (not sure if she had an actual Swahili name) and got to work. Not to gross you out but the utters actually felt like smooth leather, and it was not as disturbing as I thought. It was relatively hard work, but I was able to have some rhythm and get some milk. I am glad I tried it, but I don’t think I will be working on a farm any time soon (just not a natural).
Finally, we took some pictures together, said our goodbyes, and were back in the van for the painfully bumpy ride back to Voi and eventually to Tsavo for our safari! Until next time…Sarah.
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