Today was busier than I had wanted it to be. Right after breakfast, Mary Lou wanted to go into town to return our skirts to FiFi’s for some slight alterations and to buy some supplies for her classes with the Albino Peacemaker women. Even though I wasn’t all that eager to go, I agreed because I did need to have my first skirt lengthened somehow. So, as always, we called Ray to drive us to FiFi’s. The young woman from Afrileo Collections was not there, so Mary Lou took off to explore stationery stores, while I stayed behind to wait and enjoy a cup of coffee. (John went somewhere, too, but I forget where.) Anyway, Leonica finally came in, and I explained what we needed done to our skirts and left them with her. Mary Lou returned without finding any index cards, so we left FiFi’s and walked toward Kitamu, my favorite cafe.
I had remembered a little stationery store near Kitamu which I thought might have index cards, but of course they didn’t. However, as we were looking at absolutely everything that they did have, Mary Lou found a pack of heavy stock card-like paper which she thought she could cut to size. John decided to walk back to Kundayo, but Mary Lou and I went on to Kitamu, where we found Terry Morton. While Terry ate her lunch, we had cold drinks before calling Ray to bring us back to Kundayo. I had some leftover pizza for my lunch and then took a nap.
Ray had previously invited us to his mother’s house for dinner this evening and said he would arrive between 6:30 and 7:00 to pick us up. So, soon after 7:00, he appeared, and off we drove down some narrow, unmarked dirt roads on the other side of our big highway. Except for downtown and some major highways, none of the roads or street here are marked, and I have never figured out how anyone can find any other house or small shop. Neighborhoods are like crazy mazes of bigger and littler dusty streets, twisting and turning without any apparent reason. But, of course, Ray knew where to go.
The family gathering was much smaller than it would have been on a weekend day, but Ray, Honorina, and Anita, Ray’s mother, aunt, cousin, and brother, George, were all there, as well as George’s little son. A couple of neighbors wandered in and out to greet us, too. Ray’s mother is a lovely woman, and I am always struck with how much Ray looks like her. His aunt and cousin are both teachers, so we had a good discussion about the state of the government schools, which have 60 to 70 students in each class with almost no textbooks or other materials. George had laryngitis, so we couldn’t visit much with him, but I think his electronic business is doing well. The women had prepared a wonderful buffet of rice, beans, fried chicken, chapatis, greens, salad, and watermelon. It was all very delicious, and I was touched by how much time and expenditure it represented.
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| Ray's cousin and mother |
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| The buffet prepared in our honor. |
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| My plate. The chapati was delicious! |
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| The children in the hall. |
Mary Lou mentioned that she had a ktenge, so Ray’s mother got out a couple of her dresses to show us what tailors can create with a length of cloth. Then, she brought out a full 6-yard piece of fabric, wrapped it around us, and said it was a gift. That was incredibly generous, and I had to wonder if Mary Lou realized how very special the whole evening was. She would never have been included in such a family dinner here without riding on the coattails of our longtime relationship with the Mtui family. They are a true treasure, and we are always honored to be invited to their mother’s home. (Unfortunately many of the photos we took did not turn out well because of a faulty camera setting.)
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| Wrapped up. |
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| Mama's dress. |
Finally, around 9:00, we said our good-byes, and Ray brought us back to Kundayo. I was exhausted and soon tried to go to sleep. However, I had a tumultuous night during which I awoke at least 5 times and had a vivid dream in which I was trying to hide from evil soldiers by slipping behind some white drapes. Fortunately, I woke John up, and he saved me from leaping out of bed and diving under the bedside table’s white tablecloth.
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