Parents in Ancestral Home

June 17th

My biggest regret, which I’ll try to fix with a letter from the states was a miss-communication. I don’t know how it happened with Hellen’s father speaking English and she and her parents speaking Kikuyu, but I totally missed being given a Kikuyu name by her father as we met. I thought he was greeting me in his native language. Days later when I mentioned to Hellen that I’d like a Kenyan name, she said her father already called me Wanjiru, “Eldest Daughter”. (I’m about 11 years older than Hellen) I never thanked him properly. Later she said the racimo of bananas was probably for me and not Roberto. Well, we did the best we could and it was a mutual admiration society. They’re wonderful people. Had a feast. Yum. Hit the beans to separate them in the yard and visited the goats in their 2 story abode. It was a wonderful, peaceful rural compound.