Day 52: In The Garden of Eden...

          In the hills of Meru there is one place Baba has always loved the most.  He calls it the "Garden of Eden," for its many fruit trees, fair weather, and beautiful scenery.  Today we finally went to back to Eden.  But not all was well in paradise...
          Many times Baba had told me stories of the Garden of Eden, a piece of land in Meru.  At last I would get to see it for myself.  Shepard Isankiya came back to pick Baba and I up again and take us there.  We got as far as John Palankyo's old house (he was a good friend and old bible student of Baba's) before Baba's memory ran out, and we had to ask for directions.  A group of three really nice young men (who were also looking for a little money) happily agreed to show us the way.
          Baba had describe this place to me often.  The property had once belonged to my babu, and was so full of trees, you couldn't see the noon day sun.  And every single one of those trees was a fruit tree.  Not just one type or variety, either, but many, many, many kinds, the likes of which have never been seen in America.  One type of fruit Baba wanted to show me was called Tope-tope.  It's slightly smaller than a football. Inside the white flesh is soft and tastes like strawberry-vanilla-banana ice cream.  Honestly, folks, Americans are getting ripped off by our food industry.  The bananas you commonly buy in the supermarket over here are called Malali.  Tell anyone you eat Malali and they will either laugh their heads off or stare at you incredulous.  The only thing Malai are used for over here is cow fodder.  No one eats Malali, not when there are so many other, better varieties of bananas around.  And that's just bananas.  Not only are we being sold inferior quality fruits, but there are so many other kinds of awesome fruits out there that we don't even know about.  The saddest part of it all is that these other fruits are becoming extinct as people are chopping them down to make room to grow stupid American fruits.
          At long last, we arrived at the property, and I got to see the Garden of Eden for myself.  There wasn't much left to see.  No more fruit trees, they had all been replaced with...corn.  A lot of the land had been sold, and what was left of the property was being managed by Moses Siyalo Urio (who's babu was the brother of my babu).  They had one rundown house, a few fruit trees, and a corn field.  We hiked up a hill behind the house in hopes of a nice view down the hillside to the valley below.  Unfortunately, there were to many trees blocking the view for much to be seen in that direction.  We could look behind us however at what was left of Baba's Garden of Eden.  Which was not much really.  Baba lamented how changed everything was, "The older generation has left nothing for the younger!".

          After the rather disappointing trip to the garden of Eden, we moved on to visit the rest of my relatives in the area and go to the top of LaMiika, the second highest hill in Meru (a view that would most likely not disappoint).  This time Moses and Erick accompanied us as our guide.  First we drove a long ways up the hills of Meru to Peter's Mama's (my Shangazi) house.  She lives in a tiny house on a large property with fields of grass, a few cows, and a small banana plantation.  We had got as far as her driveway before realizing that we had forgot to get some tea leaves and sugar.  So we waited while Erick ran back down the road to a store to get some.
          Peter's Mama was very glad to see us.  She lives all alone with one girl named Upendo to help her.  Peter left for America in Kansas City, Kansas where his working as a finish carpenter.  Peter's Mama and my Baba talked for a while and then she led us on a quick tour of the property before we said our goodbyes.  From there we went to say a quick hi to Moses's sister, Eli-amulika Jackson, who lived just a couple seconds away.  Upendo, along with a few other kids from the area tagged along with us and waited in the back of Isankiya's pickup.  After Moses's sister, we visited Peter's wife, who also lived in that same area.  Word must have gotten out that we were in the area, as she had cold sodas waiting for us.
          After visiting Peter's wife, the only stop left was the top of LaMiika. We drove past a school along the way, and more kids joined our expedition.  By the time we got to the top of LaMiika, there were about eight kids follow us (okay, following me) around.  At the top of LaMiika was a small farm that grew corn (of course).  The sides of the hill were steep and didn't have many trees, giving me a good view of the rest of Meru and the valley beyond.  I could see the towns of Usa River, Michoni, Tengeru, and even Arusha.  I could also see my Cousin Amos's house.
          After taking lots of pictures it was finally time to head home.  We drove back down the hill, knocking kids off the back one by one till it was just Baba, Isankiya, and me.  We made a brief stop off at Amos's house, and he gave me the Great Rod Of Power.  Its this short rod that is held by the head of the family as the symbol of his office.  Now I could order people to do whatever I wanted!  I haven't used it yet, as I'm still trying to decide what I want first...


E’ya! - Tate


Jump to: Day 47 or Day 53