After a few days without internet access, I’m back in Nairobi and can resume my updates. I’ll have a post with lots of pictures of the safari soon, but first I wanted to share a few observations around Kenyan hospitality.
When a house guest comes for a visit, hospitality can kick into overdrive in Kenya. For virtually every meal I ate at someone’s home, not only would I be served first, but many times the children and even the other adults would refuse to serve themselves until I had at least started eating. Often the children and workers would eat in a second sitting after us. And trust me, the other volunteers and I tried insisting that they eat with us, but we were rarely successful.
I thought the level of adherence to hospitality customs was particularly interesting when I arrived at my latest host’s home. As you may have seen in my last post, my former host, Joshua, had major car problems on our trip. When we finally made it to our destination the next morning, my new host (Emmanuel) asked if Joshua could spend the day with us, but he politely explained that he needs to get his car fixed and then spend another 8 hours driving home. Before he could get on the road, they first sat down for tea. After tea, we all went to take a “quick” tour of Emmanuel’s school (both Joshua and Emmanuel run schools in Kenya). After a very interesting but thorough tour, we of course had another round of tea. That was followed by a short presentation by the students. At that point it was lunchtime, and of course we couldn’t send Joshua off without lunch. While we arrived that morning around 8:30 am, Joshua didn’t end up starting work on the car until early afternoon and finally hit the road around 2:30 or 3:00 pm. What I found most interesting was that not only did Emmanuel keep politely offering things, but Joshua kept politely accepting. I suppose it would have be considered rude for either of them to have acted any differently, even though they both knew Joshua had a long trip ahead of him.
I’ve encountered this custom several times while at the villages as well. Often after meeting with a women’s group, there was no way I was leaving without drinking at least two cups of tea and eating something. Even once when a storm was clearly about to hit, we still stayed for almost an hour, resulting in us standing in a random barn for 30 minutes on our way home to escape the torrential downpour. Overall I think it’s a nice custom, but be forewarned that there’s no such thing as a “quick visit” in Kenya.
I’ll be continuing work on the Kibera water kiosk model over the next several days, but I’ll also post a link very soon to some of the 250 pictures I took on my safari yesterday.
I think it’s a great thing. We are always so impatient and always on the go. It’s good to sit back and relax. Just take our time with life and enjoy the people around us…
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I heard a Kenyan / African expression before I arrived that went something like, “You have all the watches, but we have all the time”.
Very interesting place. I wouldn’t worry about the time. Just enjoy what you see and experience.
A second thought, those kids are beautiful! Thanks for sharing the photos.
That’s amazingly fascinating when compared to more Western cultures.
A team of us just got back from Burundi and Kenya and you are SO right about the hospitality. There is nothing like the hospitality you receive from Kenyans and Burundians!
Great post!
Found this site through JennyRain – I am actually leaving for Kibera here in the next couple of weeks with some teenagers from Austin. Thanks so much for the incredible glimpse at the culture we will be experiencing. 🙂
interesting post. i enjoyed this very much, it made me smile. do you ever find something worthwhile in those extra cups of tea? I mean, do you find it bonding or enlightening? I just think sometimes, i know for me, when i’m itching to get out of a place and i’m “forced” to stay out of kindness, theres usually an unexpected reward in the moment that i waited. is there any need for nurses out that way?
First, there is definitely a need for nurses in this area. Village Volunteers works with several programs that could benefit from volunteer nurses, but the one that jumps out at me is Sister Frieda’s in Kitale. Check out the link for more information.
http://www.villagevolunteers.org/village_sr_freda/sr_freda_main.php
Second, yes, it’s always ended up being worthwhile to stay around a little longer to hear a few more stories or learn something new.
Please let me know if you have any other questions. I’d be happy to discuss Kenya with you further if you’d like.
That’s so cute! I have friends who grew up in Kenya in missionary families. I’ll send them a link to your blog. 🙂
Jeremy, what a delightful story and charming custom and one I think we’d be richer for embracing in our own lives. We miss you here back home and look forward to more tales of your amazing journey. Safe travels, my friend.
Very cool to read that. Most blogs are people going to all kinds of exotic places, it’s nice to read about something a little different.
Great blog. I’m living in Macedonia and there’s also an unusual (to my American eyes) degree of hospitality here. After nine months here, though, I’m obviously adjusting to it – I too now think that three hours is a “short” visit.
the hospitality you describe is amazing, and one can only wish that our little corner of the world here in the US could boast such warmth and concern. We’re so hurried throughout our days that it’s a miracle if someone stops long enough to say hi and genuinely ask how a person is doing.
Our world would be a much better place if the hospitality you wrote of could be a standard worldwide.
Thank you so much for your blog. I too am passionate about providing clean water, health care and food for those who are in need. I have added you to my blogroll! Thank you http://www.thecrazylady.wordpress.com
Beautiful post- enjoyed reading it with my morning coffee!
These customs depict the inherent beauty and love these people possess. Your post reminds me of Greg Mortenson’s Three Cups of Tea, which is a book about one man’s mission to setup schools in Afghanistan. The title of the book is rather symbolic of the Afghan people’s customs – “The first cup of tea, you’re a stranger; the second cup you’re a guest and by the third cup you’re family.”