Today after church we were supposed to visit a Kenyan family at their house for lunch. We were looking forward to it. But since I was sick Friday and Saturday, we decided to wait until this morning (Sunday) to get directions. When I woke up and felt better, I was glad that we would be able to keep our engagement. However, whenever I called our host, he told me that since I had been sick that "in his culture" he could not ask me to come to his house since he had not visited me while I was unwell. He therefore said that he and his family would visit us at our place for tea. Although disappointed by the missed luncheon date, I was intrigued by this cultural twist. To top it off, when they arrived, they brought gifts. They brought a sack of bananas for us and three long sugar canes (uncut) for the children.
It turned into a delightful afternoon. We visited, drank tea, laughed, shared stories about how our transition was going, and just got to know one another better. The children of course had a great time together playing, running, shouting and so on.
I got to thinking about this "cultural" experience. As an American, if someone was sick, we would just reschedule the dinner. And we would surely not change it into the sick person becoming the "host". But I think I understand the difference and importance of this "twist". Travel from place to place here can be tiresome. The roads are bumpy and the traffic difficult. But that is for those of us with vehicles. If we had to travel the distance on foot it would even be a greater hardship. So, having the sick person stay at home and just "hosting" a tea is actually more thoughtful. It saves on travel. It allows the sick person to sit in their "comfortable" chair.
So today, I was the unwell being visited. I was glad for it. I learned something about the culture and the people here.
In fact, I am already starting to feel better...
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