The Funeral

First of all let me say that the trip, thankfully, was uneventul and even a little disappointing beccause I didn't even get to sit next to an African or any foreigner on my flight from Amterdam to Nairobi. Unless of course you consider an engineer from Minnesota foreign.

But from the moment I landed the adventure began. Gina and Steven met me at the airport in Nairobi and then took us to the hotel on the outskirts of town. I climbed into the front---they drive on the opposite side by the way---and was prepared for some crazy driving, including a petrol truck that almost hit us. Nairobi is a city of nearly 3 million. In Kenya as in Tanzania every place has a guard--homes, hotels, etc. It looked a bit sketchy at first, but was fine once we were inside the gate. Gina was just so excited to have hot running water.

I found out that night that the next day our task was to be a great one -- carrying the dead body of Steven's nephew back from Nairobi to a small village near Longido. Four family members climbed in the back with the luggage and Gina was in the back with the other two, while I had the front seat and was able to soak in all I could as we drove south. Red ribbons tied to the mirrors flapped in the breeze as we drove and onlookers stared at the coffin on top of this Land Rover full of people. As far as I am concerned Coca Cola should be responsible for paving all the roads in these countries because the only constant from town to town was a Coca Cola stand. They should at least be sending dentists to all these people. The towns looked very different from Nairobi---shanties on the side of the road with dirt everywhere. If you don't like dust I would suggest that Africa not be on your list of places to visit. It's everywhere.

When we arrived to the burial place we were asked to stay for the funeral. There is nothing so intimate as being with people who have just lost a loved one and I was only one of two wmungus(white people) blessed enough to witness the event. Just when you think you are experiencing one of the most uniques moments in the world cell phones start ringing---yes CELL phones. These people have no running water and live miles from anywhere and have cell service. My mom and dad cannot even get service in Lee, NH. So the next time you want to blam McDonald's for global commercialization you might want to blame the person who invented the CELL phone--wasn't that Al Gore? Afterward we went into the hut of the mourning Maasai family--a rare glimpse into a primitive world. As a symbol of repect we had to take a piece of meat and sit with the elders of the village---did I mention it was raw, well slightly seared, lamb? You can imagine how much fun that was for me especially as I was staring at a cow who was about five feet from me. Needless to say that was one of the most difficult things I have had to do so far.

That is all for now---I must go back to our house and eat some beans and rice.