kenya, part two

My last day in Kenya proved the most interesting. Before my visit, Marianne befriended a pair of Kenyan brothers, received no less than a dozen marriage proposals from their closest kin, and arranged for us to dine with them at Carnivore, a famous game eatery in Nairobi that boasts the only legal lion meat in the city. We met John David (one brother) at the old Stanley Hotel in downtown Nairobi, where Sylvester served imported beer and carefully measured one ounce glasses of scotch. Peter Hanningtone (second brother) and his wife picked us up and we headed to Carnivore. At dinner we feasted on ostrich, camel, lamb, beef, and crocodile (no lion that evening). Peter explained how a Kenyan man's great responsibility is to satisfy his wife morning, noon, and night, lest she shack up with the next door neighbor. His his wife asked me if I believed in god and told me that I looked like Jesus (I guess she doesn’t see too many white guys with goatees around Nairobi. In Cairo I fit in until I speak, but not in Kenya).

Peter works at a bank and is middle class Kenyan. He owns a car and lives in a gated community a short ways from downtown Nairobi. (But he has a frustrating commute nonetheless. He travels 20 minutes from his house on a potholed, gravel road, and then 3 times the distance to his office in only 15 minutes. The Kenyan Army, which runs an installation off that road, maintains that for security reasons the road must stay uneven. Peter has organized his community, however, and the best lawyer in Kenya fights this claim in court.) Peter lives next to the airport and housed us the night before I flew out. On the car ride home he told us about life in Kenya.

70% of Kenyans live in villages. The villages are isolated, rural, and villagers rely on farming for livelihood. Two streams run near his family's village, one for bathing, one for drinking. Peter’s village lies 5-10 kilometers away from the nearest general store, and about a 12 hour car ride from his permanent home in Nairobi. Peter drives his family to the village four times a year in their car, but most villagers take buses to Nairobi, as very few own automobiles. Peter stays for two weeks at a time with his wife and daughter. Now married, he’s built a 3 room house for himself (two bedrooms, one sitting room), and uses a kitchen located nearby. Peter and his brother grew up with their father in Nairobi while their mother stayed in the village, tending to the crops. Now that his eldest children have grown and house their younger brothers and sisters (there are about 7), Peter’s father has returned home.

The village may be far from town, but Peter explained that the villagers keep up on world events. They listen regularly to BBC and Voice of America on shortwave radio. When Peter returns for his quarterly visits, everyone asks about "the fighter" (literally the boxer) George W. Bush. Rather than asking about Bush the American President, they ask how the fighter who challenges Saddam Hussein is faring. They probably know that Bush is President of the United States, but they know him better for his struggle against Saddam. The presidency, and the United States, are mentioned rarely, if mentioned at all.

I can not imagine returning for two weeks to a village lacking running water or electricity. After all, Peter lives in a lovely, modern house that would fit effortlessly in any American town. But he assures me that the village is quiet and relaxing, and he’s always sorry to head back to Nairobi.

Peter and his family approach religion with an all-encompassing framework. He and his wife are Christian, but their housekeeper is Muslim, and they alternate their prayers. When we returned home for dinner we said a prayer before sleeping (to Christ), and again when we awoke in the morning (to Allah).

As Peter drove us to the aiport in the morning, a boy in his late teens approached the car with a stack of newspapers and handed Peter two issues. Rather than pay him cash, Peter handed him a bank receipt, and informed him that yesterday he deposited a weekly sum into his bank account. As we drove away, Peter explained that he set up the bank account to instill in the young man fiscal responsibility and knowledge.