Who was to know that I would ever put my foot firmly on Africa’s soil? I
say firmly because in 1964, I fleetingly touched Arica when going through the Suez Canal from Suez to Aden with a freighter on my way to Sarawak. It happened like this: Fr Philip and Fr Mathews, who had been serving in Sarawak mainly among the Ibans along the Rejang River had finished their contract of ten years and had to leave the country. They left and while at home in Kenya, they came up with the brilliant idea to invite some of the Sarawakians to visit for a holiday in Kenya, not just to visit the people but also to have a look at the wildlife in the north of Kenya where the famous Maasai tribe were living. I have heard
many stories about these very tall people and when the invitation came, I jumped at the chance and so did 15 other people. Indeed, it was a journey of my lifetime as I was so used to living in the jungle but this was a totally different cup of tea. No jungle but only savanna land. As far as you could see, there was only grassland, broken only by a forlorn skinny tree. There were no monkeys to play around in the trees. But I am now jumping the gun with this story. I was always under the impression that Africa was a hot steaming country. But how mistaken I
was.
The first morning in Nairobi was like enduring an icy cold shower. I got out of
bed and was greeted by a temperature of well below 10 degrees Celsius. Nothing to be afraid of, I thought, but then I was greeted by a shower that had never seen
hot water in its life. Well, I was like a shot away from under the shower. What happened was that the central heating that day was not exactly working as it should. We were staying in a convent and the nuns were very kind, inquiring after
our health and we were fed with a scrumptious breakfast together with some marvellous coffee. By 10am all the cold was forgotten and we were ready to go on safari to see the wild beasts.
It was fun just to have three large jeeps to ourselves and the first thing I saw was a giraffe sticking its head out over the fence. I was not alone with the ooh and
aah which were being heard over the whole national park. Everyone was
excited and the clicks of the cameras were non-stop. A bit further, it became
wilder and interesting. We saw a lion being served by his lioness. They are
really great animals and we could go very close to them. They were not interested
in us though we, of course, were very much interested and wanted to see more
of them but most of them were doing their midday siesta and were fast asleep.
After the lions, we saw on the horizon, a group of elephants. They were huge
creatures and if you’re wise, you’d keep your distance, unless of course, you want
to be trampled by them.
Whilst admiring nature and the animals, the jeep suddenly stopped and our driver was on his walkie talkie talking to the drivers of the other two jeeps. Apparently, one of the jeeps had lost a wheel because of the speed and wild manner of his driving. Some of the passengers were off loaded and had to make the dangerous walk to our jeep where they were arrived safely into our arms. Of course, we thought of ourselves as heroes, having rescued the stranded passengers. Really feeling proud of ourselves, we continued our safari. We had hoped that a stampede Wildebeests would cross the river where huge crocodiles would be waiting for a cheap meal. We were shown one of there giant crocodiles and there was no oh and ah but silence when seeing these ferocious animals opening their enormous mouths.
That was the first day and that night we were put up in tents. Alas, one of
the ladies refused to sleep alone in her tent, afraid that she would be visited that night. So she crawled into a tent beside mine which was already occupied by two ladies. I could not sleep the whole night because these three maidens made more noise than a whole group of elephants blasting their trumpets. They keep on and on twittering till the early morning and only by 5 am did they fall silent.
All the same, it was great fun and who cares about the lack of sleep when one is enjoying the trip. The next day, we were ushered into small boats and saw the water buffaloes, the deer, the birds and all kind of creatures you have never seen, big, small and large. It was a joy to see the spectacle. The only bother was
that the sun that day was fierce. Water, wind and sun is not exactly healthy for an orang putter and my face was as read as a beetroot and burnt as it I was burnt at the stake. For days on end I had trouble not to touch it. I was scared that I would
open the wounds. I felt like a martyr and in my dream, I saw the obituary of myself: St Albert burnt at the stake for admiring God’s creation.
The next day, we were off to the market. You won’t believe it but there were mountains of avocados heaped up along side the road and very very cheap. On top of that, they were also huge. I went into a supermarket and bought twelve of them to take home to Kuching. My luggage was of course overweight due to my greed and I was immediately punished for that. I had to pay a fine.
The following day, we were off to the Maasai people. They are indeed very tall and skin on bones, We were given some sticks and kind of very colourful blankets. A dance was performed and we were told that the one who jumps the highest did not have to pay as much as the others when it came down to pay for a dowry for the future wife. You would also get the first choice for the ladies. Of
course, I could have joined them but when I saw their accommodation, I got second thoughts and sheepishly pulled out of the competition. Puji Tuhan.
My dear reader, you may get the urge to go to Nairobi. Do not be afraid, just go
and you will enjoy it. I certainly did. The fun, the laughter of the people, and their
hospitality have no boundaries and the best I have kept for last.
One Sunday, we were invited to go to the Sunday Mass in a particular parish church. I was asked to be the main celebrant and had no idea what was coming. The singing, the dancing the vibrancy and the joy were unbelievable. Literally, everybody without exception was swinging and dancing and bringing offertory gifts meant for the poor, from tissue paper to flour, detergents to soap. There was no end to it; even children brought their little gifts.
To tell you the truth, I was so taken up by it that I had tears in my eyes. It was just
wonderful. An experience that we had no idea of! At the end of Mass, we looked at our watches and realised that we had been there for two hours but it had all gone without being bored, without being restless. Wow, in their poverty, these
people can be an example to all of us of how to praise and glorify God.
Let us try to do the same, not to be timid,……. to be spontaneous Christians.
Albert Jacobse MHM
Republished from Suara Magazine, Malaysia. Originally published in Issue 12 edition.
