"Ne naenda nyumbani"

"I go home" (I hope I've spelled it correctly). My nyumbani here in Beni is David and Kaswera Kasali's home, about 6-8 miles from UCBC. The Kasalis seem to be the Josstle of UCBC. Right now, in addition to David, Kaswera, and two of their sons who are here from the U.S., there are four other Americans staying here: 3 Wheaton grads who will be teaching at UCBC for the year, and a family friend of David and Kaswera's. I share a room with Linda, David's younger niece who is a student at UCBC. Two other Americans, Kara and Rachel Robinson, also Kasali family friends, had been staying at Kasalis for the last week (they are on their way back to Kenya today). Also in the home is David's mother, Maria.

The house is spacious, with plenty of open windows (except for mosquito hours). Even with the heat, there have been plenty of breezes. Meals are served at a large round table. Kaswera and Maria seem to be in charge of meal preparation, but there are others who come to help in the house. Because we only have electricity for a few hours at night when the generator is on, meals are prepared in a sort of "summer kitchen" with a coal or wood-burning stove (don't know which). Evening meals are hearty and savory. Breakfasts a delightful surprise and new each day. Today we had fresh papaya juice, pieces of papaya, slices of cheese, tomatoes, rolls. Another morning we had bread dipped in egg and friend (French toast sans syrup), avocado slices, and bananas. Peanut butter and jelly are always on the lazy Susan.

Kaswera prepares a hot meal that is brought to us at UCBC. We've had rice, steamed bananas, boiled potatoes, local spinach (don't remember the Swahili) that is chopped and cooked with garlic--butamo (delicious).

Evenings are brief, as the sun sets suddenly here near the Equator. We seem to go from light to dark within about 60-90 minutes. The generator is turned on soon after dark, and we have power for a couple of hours. Bedtime comes at just the right time for me--about 9 or 9:30. Actually, I've been ready to go to bed soon after dark!

Last night we had quite a sudden late night surprise. Loud singing with drums and loud praying woke us up at 12:30 am. There is a small "revival" church next door, and the congregation practices lively worship. The service continued for about 2 hours, alternating between singing and loud praying (where everyone engages vociferously and simultaneously). This morning's breakfast conversation began with queries about who was awake and who slept through it all. Wish I could have been one of those who said, "What noise?"