Day 4 - Pineapple: The International Sign of Hospitality

When we lived in Boston, I took a tour of Salem where I learned that Pineapple was known as the international sign of hospitality. Pineapples were placed in windows as a signal to people that you were home and would receive visitors. Many older homes in Massachusetts use a decorative garland of fruit over their front door at Christmas containing pineapples as the centerpiece. It was in Boston that I fell in love with the idea of pineapples. They are such friendly fruit!

Tonight we had our first dinner guests since beginning our African month. Our dear friends, the Ziolas, bravely joined us for an authentic African chakula of red beans and chipati. For dessert, we had pineapple. Now, I may have fallen in love with the idea of pineapple while living in Boston, but it was eating pineapple grown in Uganda that made me fall in love with the fruit itself. Seriously, the best pineapple in the world can be found in Kenya and Uganda!

Hospitality here in America seems very different than what we have experienced in Africa. There are very few people that I know who would be 100% okay with me just showing up on their doorstep un-announced, without invitation and not have anxiety on some level letting me into their house. Okay, we have some close friends who we have that relationship with, but I know I'm not always 100% peaceful about receiving spontaneous guests. I don't keep a straight enough house or a full enough pantry to be a good hostess on a whim.

When we walk the trails in Africa, we are sent out with one or two interpreters. We walk until we see a home with an open door, then we announce ourselves with a hearty "Odi-odi!" (Swahili for 'knock-knock, are you home?') I was told that if a door is open, that family is receiving visitors, but if the door is closed, they are not.

People not only stop what they are doing to sit down and visit with you, but they offer you the best seat that they have. Sometimes they offer the only seat that they have (which may only raise you a few inches off the ground). Both the Kenyan and Ugandan people are cordial and attentive to whatever you have to say. Their mannerisms are interesting; they don't really look you in the eye and when they listen they make small gutteral sounds to indicate they are hearing you. They also tend to have serious expressions, but when they smile...wow. Their faces just light up.

Here in the States, if I see somebody coming to my door holding a book, I assume it's a Jehovah-Witness and I try to hide. If I'm unsuccessful, I manage to politely send them on their way as fast as possible. Not so with the African people I have met. One thing I find fascinating is that they have respect for the Bible as a holy book whether they believe in it or not. So when we share the gospel in Africa we don't just spout off memorized portions of scripture, we actually open our Bibles and read from them so they can see that the words don't belong to us, but to God.

If I stop and consider what I have experienced, I can really learn a lot about hospitality from my African brothers and sisters. It's not about having nice things or plenty to offer, but about offering the best thing you've got - YOU.

How about it? Can we lay aside our American perfectionism long enough to just sit down and visit with each other? Can we quit being self-conscious about our shortcomings in order to "know" and "be known?"

Odi-odi! Are you home?

- Julie