Meru area is a much dryer place than Mukurwe-ini. To me,
it looks much more what I had in my mind when I first thought of going to
Africa. It made me think of the Lion King near Pride Rock in that there are
some scattered hills with dry savannah in between. The picture I am posting was
taken from the church steps as we waited for the service. Meru itself is a
large city with all the typical amenities one would expect but with a Kenyan
flavor of course.
We were welcomed in Meru by a very kind woman that has
long been a friend to Canadians coming over with Farmers Helping Farmers. On
our way to her house, we had to stop a few times to get directions. When we
stopped near the stadium, a drunken man walked up to the car and asked Anika
and I if we had come for
servants. We were both very offended that he would think that. It was only
later on, when we went were at Jennifer’s house, and she was telling us about a
rugby game being played at the stadium that day between a team from Nairobi and
the Meru team, the Servants that we understood what the man had actually been
asking us.
On
Saturday, Jennifer took us to a Water Day Celebration. There were a number of
groups which sang including a group dressed in local cultural costumes. There
were also a number of long winded speeches by a large number of people. The
main message was that “Water is life”. It was also an occasion to celebrate the
many water projects that have occurred in the last few years in the area. At
the end of the gathering, food was served. It was three dishes: mashed
potatoes, beef and chicken. The mashed potatoes looked like they were cooked in
gravy, as they has a creamy-brownish appearance. It tasted great to me, at
least until Anika discovered something rather chewy in hers. When she pulled
out half of a chicken’s foot, it didn’t seem all that tasty anymore.
On our way
home, we stopped at the Nakumate. The best way I can describe the store is
calling it the Kenyan version of a Walmart or Zellers. We purchased a number of
sweets to hold us over for a while before going to Jennifer’s for supper and
some much needed sleep.
The view along the drive to Meru
The view along the road not far from the celebration
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