Finally, after 1.5 days of travel, we arrive at Tetulia. How we got there, I will never be able to tell you! From what I could tell, we passed through many small villages. The children would run out to the road with huge smiles and call to their friends that vehicles were passing. People would look up from their daily chores with curiosity as to why there was a progression of automobiles coming through their quiet village. Much like the look of curiosity I gave them as I tried to figure out what it was that they were doing. Some were walking cattle down the road, some were herding goats (and many many baby goats), some were washing fabrics, and some were just sweeping the entryway to their hut.

We turned into the guarded gates of the guest portion of Tetulia, met by several employees and managers. You didn’t even have to get out of the car before your breath was stolen by the beauty of the surroundings. The visual is the first thing that affects you, soon to be followed by the sweet smell of life. Organic life. I was then shown to my room which was called “Wild Life”. (I somehow think I was probably the most wild of the life to come to this peaceful place.) The guest houses and the guest house portion of the garden were something out of a fairy tale. I can’t even begin to describe how incredibly ornate it was and unfortunately I don’t think my amature pictures do it justice. Everything is a color of green that I didn’t know existed. Everywhere there is life. Whether it be a pond of fish, a stable of cows, a patch of carrots, a hibiscus bush, or simply crickets and birds, there is just so much life. And at night, the sounds of frogs and tik tiki lizards take over for the birds.

In the first 5 minutes of being at Tetulia I knew I was about to experience more than tea, more than organic farming, and more than a new culture. I was about to experience a completely new way of living.