Into Africa (from the pen of Cathy P.)

I have wanted to come to Africa for as long as I can remember. I remember a cousin telling me that one of our ancestors, Ludwig Von Wissmann, was an explorer of the “Dark Continent”; the details escape me. However, the allure of Africa most likely stems from that childhood memory. I discovered the writings of Isak Dinesen when I was in high school and her autobiographical book, Out of Africa, cemented the desire to visit this country. So you can imagine my thrill to discover that Mazzoldi House, the offices of the Apostles of Jesus in Kenya, are literally around the block from Karen Blixen’s house; the centerpiece of her stories in Out of Africa. Originally the house was part of a two thousand acre estate when Karen moved to Kenya with her new husband Baron Blixen. They acquired an additional four thousand acres and began a coffee plantation that became an abject failure. The property that the house and museum are on is maintained in its original form. When Karen Blixen, divorced from her husband decided to leave Africa and move back to Denmark, she auctioned off the furnishings of the house. However, she wrote down the names of the people to whom she auctioned the furnishings; consequently, when Kenya purchased the property as a museum, they were able to trace the furnishings and recollect original pieces. The many skin rugs that adorn the floors of the house, however were never recovered as they had all been given as gifts to the King of Denmark.

It is surreal to visit a place that you are familiar with from a book; whether fiction or non-fiction, books read the same – whether the place is Monticello or Rivendell, it becomes equally alive in your imagination. So, to see the table made out of millstone where Karen did her business dealings with the locals, to sit and gaze on her beloved Ngong Hills, to hear stories about her relationship with Denys Finch-Hatton carries with it the feeling of a waking dream. Something that had lived in my imagination was solid and beautiful and vibrant – And that is Africa to me now.