gracious morning sun
by Elouise
gracious morning sun
rises on spacious lawn set
for tea and crumpets
* * *
Well, maybe not tea and crumpets. But the social equivalent thereof. This is gracious Kenya service at its natural, well-groomed best. It’s early in the morning. You’re looking at the Naro Moru River Lodge. It’s late August 1999. D and I are there for a fall faculty retreat, along with 20-25 faculty and administrative colleagues from the seminary near Nairobi where we taught that fall.
This was my introduction to the laid-back beauty of post-British rule services for vacationers and tourists. That included in-country and foreign visitors such as D and I. I’d never in my life been treated to such gracious service. It existed in the Deep South when I was growing up, but not for me. I felt almost like Queen for a Day. Actually for a weekend.
When I think about hospitality to strangers, I think of simple things. Yet this and other experiences like it, though not simple, are also signs of hospitality. I found myself enjoying the weekend while feeling strangely out of place and out of time. More than a little self-conscious because I was a stranger, unsure about my place at the table. Hospitable as it was.
© Elouise Renich Fraser, 17 August 2015
Photo credit: DAFraser, August 1999
Naro Moru River Lodge, Nyeri, Kenya
Telling the Truth 
Beautiful scenery! I wish I might have had more opportunity to travel when I was younger.
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Isn’t it gorgeous? I relate to your wish, and remember school friends who sometimes got to travel out of the country on vacations. I tried not to be too envious… 🙂
Elouise
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Enjoying such hospitality can be hard for me because I often shift from being present and engaged to being an unengaged observer. More analytical, less authentic and vulnerable. Receiving hospitality is hard!
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You raise a really good point, David. Thanks for describing your own struggle. I can relate. For me, it’s a way of being safe–a form of hiding. Sometimes appropriate, but now more often self-defeating for me. Lots to ponder here about why we do this–and whether it’s time to risk showing a bit more of ourselves, or simply accepting the kindness someone is offering with no strings attached.
Elouise
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gracious morning sun. how beautiful!
It’s easy to understand DMW’s comment. My husband was like that.
I also when younger had wished to travel like so many others seem to do. I didn’t even eat at a restaurant until an adult. Aunt Leta
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Thanks for your comment, Leta. I’m with you. My travel didn’t begin until I was between seminary and university studies. As a child, we did eat in restaurants, but only if someone else paid! Definitely a big treat, not an everyday or even once a week or month event.
Elouise
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