The African culture and people are so beautiful and mysterious to me. My family had the privilege of visiting with a lovely Ugandan family living right here in Hays, America. Incredibly welcoming and sweet, they gave me a little taste of the African mentality, and I am hungry for more.
Spending time in their home reminded me of the time I spent in my childhood best friend’s home in the Chicago area. Those are some of my favorite young memories, and they often centered on my first experiences with another culture. Our family friends, the Ochiengs, fascinated me. The father, Otieno, grew up in Kenya, and the mother, Kim, is from in Indiana. They produced Akelo and Okado, who have the most beautiful skin and features I have ever seen. They were (and probably still are) kind, and funny, and smart. My whole family loved coming over to their house. Besides the amazing stew, chapattis, chicken, and sima they served up, we always had a wonderful time with them. I was mesmerized by each detail of their multi-cultural life! I remember their little hand-knitted booties lined up by the door in size order, waiting to be replaced by their shoes when they entered the home. There was often Kenyan music playing. I used to ask Akelo to teach me the Swahili words, and I still remember them! I could spend the afternoon playing with her beautiful braids (when she let me), and got caught starting at the stunning photos of dark-skinned women and babies that adorned their walls. The art, the accents, the baskets, the drum beats, the scents, the faces— I remember tiny intricacies of each piece because I was already in love with Africa. God was already placing the African people in my heart, way down deep.
Spending time in their home reminded me of the time I spent in my childhood best friend’s home in the Chicago area. Those are some of my favorite young memories, and they often centered on my first experiences with another culture. Our family friends, the Ochiengs, fascinated me. The father, Otieno, grew up in Kenya, and the mother, Kim, is from in Indiana. They produced Akelo and Okado, who have the most beautiful skin and features I have ever seen. They were (and probably still are) kind, and funny, and smart. My whole family loved coming over to their house. Besides the amazing stew, chapattis, chicken, and sima they served up, we always had a wonderful time with them. I was mesmerized by each detail of their multi-cultural life! I remember their little hand-knitted booties lined up by the door in size order, waiting to be replaced by their shoes when they entered the home. There was often Kenyan music playing. I used to ask Akelo to teach me the Swahili words, and I still remember them! I could spend the afternoon playing with her beautiful braids (when she let me), and got caught starting at the stunning photos of dark-skinned women and babies that adorned their walls. The art, the accents, the baskets, the drum beats, the scents, the faces— I remember tiny intricacies of each piece because I was already in love with Africa. God was already placing the African people in my heart, way down deep.
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