Hot times on the Equator

Greetings from Meru, Kenya on the east side of beautiful Mt. Kenya. Col and I arrived on Sunday after a night's stay in Nairobi. Contrary to popular belief, we were not greeted with machetes and burning tires - although that might make for a more exciting blog read. All is peaceful here where they boast "the best climate in the world."

We were greeted at the airport by our friends Bud and Sue Ozar. They are the parents of my college friend Kevin and have been living here for about 1.5 years doing mission work. It's so nice to land in an unfamiliar, recently war-torn city and be greeted by the always fun Ozars. I might make it a mandatory on any out-of-country trip we take. They wisked us away to our guest house and from there we had a Nairobi-style progression dinner. The guesthouse we stayed at was run by the cutest little Italian nuns and they sure made us feel at home with the Girardelli chocolates on the pillows. So far Africa was everything we thought it would be. Bon giorno!

We made our way to a local bar for some pre-dinner drinks and it was swell to be able to sit outside again. It was our first real taste of Kenya and our first taste of Tusker beer as well. I'm sold. Good-bye Smithwicks, hello Tusker. We had dinner at the guesthouse and moved next door for a sizzling chocolate dessert. Good thing Col and I beefed up before our trip in preparation of food deprivation... Erin, I should have packed that resist-a-band!

The following morning we headed north to Meru to begin our week as faux-missionaries. The drive was absolutely gorgeous. For some reason I had it in my head that we'd be going through arid flatlands. Instead I was reminded constantly of the trip Buhrf and I took to Hawaii... although instead of Hyatts and ABC stores on the side of the road there are banana salesmen and kids rolling tires. The hills are green and lush and the scenery changes from rice paddies to pineapple fields to tea plantations. We stopped half way for lunch at an old British country club, complete with pool and monkey.

Meru is a rather large town and it rarely sees any tourists. We were greeted with a few stares and curious glances but mostly friendly waves and big smiles. I have to hand it to the Kenyans - they win for best smiles of all time. Especially the little kids walking to school in their uniforms and wool hats who wave at the car. Mind you it's only 60 degrees but the wool hats are out in abundance. Oddly they still have them on when it heats up to 80 in the mid-afternoon. I guess temperature is all relative.

We settled into our Meru accommodations - a fabulous little house in the bishop's compound. The house was built by Italians as they send a lot of their volunteers here sporadically thoughout the year. We've got electricity, running water and posh mosquito netting over our twin beds. Living like royalty here in Meru. The Ozars started us out right with a fridge full of Coke Light and Tusker. Good people these missionaries. The house is also the safest place in the country. It takes Colin a good 15 minutes to get through all five of the locks and we are surrounded by an electric fence. The bishops compound also has its own security guards... with bow and arrows. Awesome. The bow and arrow tutorials that we've been getting are a real bonus to the experience.

The Ozars live right next door and we have been going over there every night to eat dinner. Col and I are incredibly lucky to have connected with them. Fabulous hosts and really great conversationalists. It's not a shocker why I am friends with their son.

The following day we made our way with Mrs. Ozar to the Children's Village - home of the school for boys and girls who have been affected by war, HIV/AIDS or other problems that have caused them to live on the streets. This was an overwhelming experience that is best saved for our next entry. It's 3:00 PM now and we are working at Mr. Ozar's office and need to get back on task. Far be it from us to slack off on our limited missionary time. Stay tuned for an update on the Children's Village!