I am writing today for James. He is doing laundry by hand in a series of
buckets and basins in the yard between the two guest houses. We came to Migori from Bware yesterday after
a long walk to see about 4 families.
More about that later. What I
want to write about now is the delightful custom of tea breaks. Tea breaks happen roughly at breakfast time
“morning tea”, lunch time “afternoon tea”, and in the evening before dinner
“evening tea”. But they can also happen
anytime during the rounds of home visits.
Which is where the Rehydration comes in. It is 80 degrees plus. The sun is hot. We are walking through flat fields of maze,
banana, tobacco, beans, sugar cane. Up
long hills and down stoney paths. We are
hot!! James and I carry water, The 3
women we walk with do not. Why you ask?
Because of Chai.
Chai is milk boiled with tea leaves then strained into a
thermos. Many hostesses add sugar to the
thermos to make a creamy sweet drink with a little tea boast. Chai is taken hot even on the hottest of days. It is served in a formal way. First the chai comes out in a serving
thermos. It is followed by a dish of
something, perhaps, bananas grown just outside! You must drink 2 or, even, 3
cups – 6 ounces a piece –12 ounces of
rehydration.
Chai, it seems, cannot be refused. We have taken Chai in the homes of Community
Health Workers we gather on the way. We
have taken Chai at several family homes.
Sometimes the home is spacious with two couch-like benches on either
side of a nice table covered with a cloth and center runner of lace. Other times we step down into a house so dark
we can barely see the hand hewn benches and table. The floor is dirt and the walls are plaster
with wattle (a mixture of the good red earth and cow dung). We take tea the same way and then start to do
physical assessments for this elder and
that child and the very old woman on her pallet in the other room. Four
visits,five visits, Screen and refer—just
like at home—except here there is Chai .
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