Mom and Brianna Visiting

(Preface: I know this is several months belated, but for some reason this never actually got posted! Enjoy belatedly.)


Clearly Momma Westwood can’t stay away from Korr – it’s stuck to her like a 2 inch acacia thorn. However, this time the youngest sister Brianna came along too! For weeks we discussed Madame Ann returning to school and what kinds of labs she would do, and we also, to the great interest of the students, discussed what my sister looked like, what she liked to do, and how to spell her name (which they spelled “Brihana” on her beaded bracelet anyways.) They arrived in the same cloud of dust that sent Alicia back to America for her month long furlough, so I had no time to be lonely.

We set right out to school for Mom to see all the kids and for Brianna and I to play some football. The 10 days of their visit were full of school visits for Mom in particular, and cultural experiences for the both of them. One night we walked across town to sleep in Amina’s (my language teacher and Mom’s friend) fabulous Samburu-hut guesthouse. Before the usual delectable dinner spread, we learned how to make mandazis, an African style donut, over a hot coal BBQ. Then, after a lovely chat over the main meal, Brianna and Mom got to experience sleeping in the most luxurious “hut” they’ll probably ever be in. Beds included.

We also got a significant cultural experience, walking out to Nebey with my night watchman to see Soriyo. Now, this was so special because Soriyo happens only 3 times a year and is one of the most respected traditions of the Rendille and one of the main supporting points for the argument that the Rendille are a lost tribe of Israel (an argument in which I have no real basis for an opinion.) Soriyo bears a significant resemblance to Passover. There’s the slaughtering of a perfect goat or sheep by the male head of the household, blood and milk is then spread on the door flap of the hut, a drop of blood is placed on the chest of each male, and then the women cook up the meat and they eat for days. It's a great honor to be invited to watch Soriyo because it is so sacred, and we even came home with a leg of lamb.

(Warriors about to slaughter the sacrificial lamb in front of a min.)


(Hanging out with Abaya's wife and two of his little girls in their min.)

Cultural experience number two was hiking out to Saale to spend the night in a traditional village with Inkoko and my Abiyo. It's a solid 1 1/2 hour trek so poor Brianna had a blister and Mom was so tired she fell asleep against the wall of the min as soon as we sat down. We chatted with the family, saw my brother Somo's camels, handed out photos I'd printed from my last trip out to their goob, and had a late dinner of rice and old Soriyo meat. My sister and I were fortunate enough to get a thin mattress, but because Mom was passed out we decided to leave her flat on the skins. In the morning she said she had pulled her head muscle - I don't think there is such a thing. If not very comfy the experience was very interesting for both of them, and I'm glad they got to see how the Rendille really live.

Ingurinit is a beautiful town at the base of the mountains that hedge the valley in which the Rendille live. It's filled with both Samburu and Rendille people, creating an interesting **** of cultures. There are also some missionary friends who live here and some fabulous "bathtubs" formed in the granite of a riverbed, so this was another stop Brianna and Mom needed to make. We hitched a ride with Amina (mentioned above) who was helping her cousin build some guesthouse mins just like hers. The morning was spent chatting with my friends the Richardsons, discussing if it was in fact safe to hike up to the bathtubs as there was a rumor of an insane lion wandering around, hiking up to the river despite the rumor, and watching Mom splash around a bit in the water which was much to cold for me.

(Mom hitting the slides.)

We then spent some time helping Amina with the building of her hut, really only being skilled enough to fill in the holes for the supporting posts with stones. After only a little work we were offered chai - I don't think we were really needed there. On the truck ride back to Korr, Brianna, Abednego, another one of the Tirrim teachers, and myself sat on the top rack of the truck bed, watching ostriches and dikdiks run out of the path of the vehicle. So, Brianna got a safari anyways.

Two days later, on Tuesday, I loaded Mom and Brianna onto a 6-seater plane and sent them back to Nairobi. I thought it would be easier to say "Goodbye" this time, but, the more normal it becomes to have my family visit, the more difficult it becomes to not have them here. I'm glad Mom got to come back and see her old friends, and I'm glad Brianna got to experience something so far out of the realm of her previous "box," but I didn't much coming back to an empty house.

And so, to ease my loneliness, Ingo and I sat on the couch picking out the "smartest" clothes in the InStyle magazine Brianna left me. (My sister seems to be worried I'll return to the States not just with the stories of a bush missionary, but the clothes of one too.)