maasailand

saikeri...

i feel like i'm camping. we cook on a geko (like a charcoal fire) and at night, you can't use the outhouses (squatters) so, like camping. ha. there are SO many stars, life is relaxed, you don't shower much (just get dirty again, and sometimes, no water or have to wait for borehole to reopen or walk to get water), red/brown dirt everywhere, and my room has a sheet type thing for a window so at night, it gets cold...again, like camping. only not.

i have a maasai name: naserian. beatrice, my host mama, named me the night i got in. everyone gets a maasai name, and it's basically what you're called the whole time. she has never called me anything but my maasai name, and we all use each others maasai name. i live with nailante (becky, from australia) and she's great. we just had new volunteers come in the other day...a mother and a child (7 years) from australia as well. no one has had kids in this program so...it was a surprise. but they're doing great. and all the people in town are going crazy bc they have never seen a mzungu white kid before. there are more volunteers at the house right by us (we are all on the same compound) at maggies.

we live in "normal" like homes. most of the maasai live in manatas which are made of clay and sticks. they are awesome. some people have other buildings not manata style by their homes they use as well, but cook and sleep in the manata. nailante and i went to mama nailante's house the other day for chai and to chat. it was fun to talk to her (she told us about maasai people, and about how there are lions here in the area-there usually aren't-and then men are eating lots of goat and plan to hunt them that night. they didn't kill them yet, but, cool to hear about it).

i work at the primary school. teaching is difficult, but i'm getting better at this (45 kids and different disciplanary system, etc). i was encouraged the other day bc the math teacher said i was doing a good job (for some reason, he kept coming into the class to watch, thought that was a bad sign, ha), and a kid in my science class said "can you come in and teach us science during our free hour?" cute...so i did. i asked them what they wanted to learn about...we ended up talking about schools/kids in CO/USA.

i only teach a few hours a day, then mark their papers (i hate marking) then read, relax, walk, jog/yoga some days, eat, eat, eat, talk, and go to the market in town (if you blink while driving through town, you'd miss town). the women make beautiful beaded necklaces, bracelets, and belts. everyone wears them in maasai. i decided the other day, i will make them too. ha. so i went to town and bought lots of beads (the small ones) and medal and found plastic and started working. a girl who was at our house grabbed it to start showing me how (since i was just trying to figure it out on my own). i realized i was missing a tool. so i walked back to market and bought one. we went to beatrices shop and i started working there. maggie taught me more, and everyone in the shop was asking what i was doing...when we were leaving town, we went to see mama nailante and she was super impressed with my work. so were the other women. one women even helped me shave off the plastic (i'll just have to show you). the women were excited and so encouraging. i liked it.

matatu truck rides to town...i'll write on here what i put in my lil notebook. but before that...i felt i was to fall off last week. i was worried hitting a bump or a curve would fly me off. then i realized, i'd definately get grabbed and saved before harmed. which was a cool though because it felt like i'd feel safe doing a 'trust fall' with a group of people i do not know (i was alone in town at the end and took a truck back. i knew the driver but no one else. i sat in the bed of the truck). but i think that describes how stuff is here. if someone is to fall off the truck, everyone would make sure you didn't so you would be OK. this morning coming to town (Ngong, about 1 hour away, 24 km) i had my laso on (a thin blanket everyone wears. on truck rides, you put it over your face and upper body to keep the dirt from your face so much) the women by me would fix mine when it would get messed up (and i couldn't move to do it). it was sweet. i like it here. i like the people...A LOT!!!

7/10/10
i think one of my favorite/least favorite things about maasailand is the same. the truck rides. we pack into a small nissan truck equvalent to our blue toyota. there is first a spare tire in the middle of the bed, then benches on both sides and by the cab. i got here to the truck a about 4:30 p, but we didn't leave till maybe 6 or 7p. people start piling in the truck, all the stuff they bought from town then they themselves get in. the first people that pile in sit on the benches with the big bags of rice or whatever are put over the spare tire, or along the other free spaces on the truck bed, along with all other big purchases from the day. all is necessary stuff. next, people start getting creative. there is stuff tied to the cabs hood (a table, bags, boxes). you sart to sit on the rice bags. now, your arm to arm with the people sitting on the bench in front of you. i am on a burlap bag on the tire and on who know what else. once you think it is impossible to fit another person in, another two climb uin with boxes, bags, etc. and people start to resituate. there are literally 21 people in the bed of this truck (today, 7/17, we had 27 people in the truck bed. miseralbe! ha). the sun has set and i am writing on a mans elbow. everyone piles in and coveres their upper bodies with a laso or shukra (thin blankets) putting it at least over their head and shoulders. some leave a hole for their faces, some cover up completely so all you see is a blanket lump swaying back and forth. one lady is covering her head with her new wash basin. every now and again a cell phone goes off and someone starts trying to manuver around to grab it and answer it. people by you have to resituate to give you room to find your phone with a look of pain on their faces (not because they are annoyed, but because their bodies are so squished together). lots of people carry 'em in a lil carrying pouch around a string on their neck. you pop up and down another time. you push (using your arm) your leg to move it when it starts to go numb. ha. people talk in kimaasai-besides smiles, facial expressions, tones, and hand movements, i have no clue what is going on. i have an itch...suffer through. the man by me-well, in front of me and on me-is completely resting his arms, crossed, on my knees. "oop. mzingu" i hear my 'calling' (NOT name, ha). a girl who was sitting behind me on the bag has no more bag to sit on and she is not comfortable. we resituate again (thus forcing others to painfully resituate). no i am ok. a man by me is in a baby blue and white shukra. young or older, i can't tell but he is handsome. beaded bracelets on, maasai clothing made of red and plad. good smile and can tell he is good. a kid here sounds like he is throwing up (first kid i've seen take the truck into town). talked with man who speaks english. very nice, very interested in the US, CO, and me. told of uganda project and time there. he said, the women here make nice necklaces, and maybe i could sell those too in the US (like light give heat does). i feel selling stuff from here to the US is a good idea. i'm scared to start something, but feel, it would be good. beautiful stars. cool wind. crazy to think that i'm in africa. :)

ok...another long one. nailante and i are going to go to this shopping center one matatu drive away (15 min) to get mzungu burritos and shop at this huge grocery store called nakumat.

hope your summer is awesome!