Shirazi-Nyumbani Yangu

Mama teaching me how to make Mandazi

You can just call me Ummi. That is the name I got when I arrived at my village homestay in Shirazi. It is a coastal rural village where there is no electricity, no silverware and no plumbing. Basically this means I sat by lamplight, used my hands to eat everything and went to the bathroom outside for ten days. This may sound like torture, but it was actually so nice to get away from the pollution, noise, and chaos of Nairobi. There was no electricity to pollute the sky and at night the nyote na bingu (Stars and sky) were the brightest I’ve ever seen them. It was also really nice not having to worry about being messy because messiness is a way of life when the table is the same thing as the floor and the floor is made of dirt. Needless to say, I fit right in. In a way Shirazi reminded me of a tropical Maine because life seemed so simple there and moved at a slower pace. We were free to explore, run, get dirty and live how we wanted. I felt so at home.

Shirazi Barbie Stylin'

Part of feeling at home may have been my amazing family in Shirazi: Mama Birodi, my sister, brother and my uncle all made me feel like part of the family. I learned how to cook over the fire with my mom, which was so, much fun (something else I can check off my Kenya bucket list). The food was so good there which was good because we were all literally force fed until everything that had been cooked was gone! Everything was made with coconut and coconut milk, something I will definitely be bringing back with me to the US. I made chapatti, mandazi and so many other things that I am excited to share with you all. Here is one of the thirteen recipes that mama shared with me:

Coconut Maharague (Coconut Beans):

Ingredients- Beans, onion, coconut milk, tomato, beef seasoning, salt.

First boil the beans until they are soft.

Add onions, tomato and garlic to beans

Boil coconut milk and put into beans.

Henna! Mine is the hand on the right

I don’t know if there is anything I don’t like about that place- the heat may be the only exception. The heat paired with the humidity and long, modest clothing (it is a mainly Islamic village) made a killer combination. We took three “showers” a day, which was futile because immediately after you were covered in sweat. We didn’t let the sweat stop us from doing Shirazi in style. Everyday we were dressed by our moms in the craziest of clothing-which I thoroughly enjoyed because I felt like Shirazi Barbie. The costumes definitely made daily life more fun and adventures more interesting because it was always interesting to figure out how to maneuver in the outfits!

Casual Yoga by the Ramisi River

 During my  ten days there I explored so many places I don’t know if it would be possible to explain them all in this post. I saw the Shimoni slave caves, visited the clinic at Bodo (and got there on piki-piki, something to check off on my Kenya bucket list!), witnessed a traditional wedding (we danced until one thirty under the stars until we collapsed on the bamboo mats set outside under the stars), got henna on my hands and feet (it took 2 hrs!), explored the nearby town of Barabarani, Saw the island of Funzi, ate green mangos with masala while watching a football (soccer) game, and a hour walked to the Ramisi river (there were supposed to be crocodiles, but it was even too hot for them). The walk was nice and much needed to work off what my group has started to call the “chapatti body (ch-ah-pah-tee, bah-dee). 

Paradise Lost, so much better in person

One of the highlights of my tens days was going to Paradise lost. This is basically a sand bar off of Funzi that disappears with the tide. It. Was. Beautiful. We spent three hours there and got completely sunburned- but it was definitely worth it. It looked like we had been transported into a computer background or a postcard. It is so beautiful that I don’t know if I can actually describe it, so I will just post a picture and hope that it makes my point.                                                                                                                  

Passion Fruit from my friend 

Another of my favorite memories is when my mama took me to visit an expansive farm by the ocean. We collected cashew nuts to roast later and ate the cashew nut fruit. I didn’t know cashews had fruit, but it tasted good and vaguely like a cashew, imagine that! The old man that owns the farm showed us around and gave me a passion fruit to try. If I wasn’t already in love with Shirazi, that would have done it. I was officially in the land of fruit and love and I never wanted to leave.

Mama Yangu and the hat she gave me the last day

My heart broke when I had to say goodbye to my family and Shirazi. My mama said, “I have no happiness  because my daughter Ummi is leaving.”  The feeling could not have been more mutual. I miss them so much already and I am planning on returning for a visit during my Independent Study month.  I cannot wait because Shirazi nyumbani yangu katika Kenya- Shirazi is my home in Kenya.