Wednesday, 17 July 2013

Day 4 - A day of Kenyan spirituality and culture

Today was a day of Kenyan time at its finest.  We were going to church for the morning service and had to be ready for 8.30 in our best clothes (flip flops allowed) to make the start of the service.

Breakfast was at 8am, we were there at 8am but breakfast wasn’t and finally arrived at 8.20am.  Sausages today to go with doughnuts and toast Kenyan style!  Kenyan’s are devoutly Christian and God and the church are a major part of their lives.  What a fantastic opportunity to go to a local church and to experience such an important part of their lives. 


Arriving at church
The singing was amazing and it was definitely worth the visit but after the 3 hour service (which included a 1 hour sermon from the Pasteur) in the heat we were ready to leave.  When we left after 3 hours the service had not yet finished!

 
The alter or stage


Joining in with the singing

Lunch was our best example of Kenyan time yet – a whole hour late, but we are getting used to it and have learnt to wait for someone to come and find us when our meals are ready rather than turning up at the time given to sit and wait.

In the heat of the afternoon we got to experience more Kenyan life and went into town to visit the local markets.  Our first experience at bartering as we all shopped in the curio shop for souvenirs.  Some of us were really good at bartering and some less so but we all left with bags laden with traditional African gifts and smiling about the experience.  Good practice for next time we go shopping.

Next the local Kenyan market which was a bit different and more aimed at the locals than visitors but still an opportunity to experience real Kenyan life.  Here we were approached by street children begging for money but Dan had warned us not to give them money as this doesn’t help their situation – it was tough to ignore their pleas.


Nakuru market – pineapples for sale


Walking through the market
 
Tomorrow it’s off to our projects to begin work – there is a real sense of excitement and anticipation.

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