I wanted to add a bit about the Masai Village we were able to visit while on our safari. It was day 2 of our safari to the Masai Mara. After spending the day out on a “game drive,” George our driver dropped us off at a Masai Village near our campsite. Alex, the chief’s son, greeted us. He let us know that we could ask as many questions as we wanted while at the village. Some of the warriors performed a traditional ceremonial dance for us, complete with jumping. He explained that the Masai warriors have to spend 5 years in the wild. They can come back to the village periodically for visits, but they have to learn how to be tough and survive on their own in the wild. Apparently, the mark of the best warriors is being able to kill a lion while out in the wild. The warriors work together to kill about 1 lion a year. Alex had a huge scar on his knee that he said came from the claw of a lion he and others were trying to kill. While out in the wild, the Masai warriors let their hair grow long. Once they spend 5 years away and kill a lion, they are welcomed back into the village. From there, they can cut their hair and have the choice of the most beautiful bride. Is typical of the Masai people to marry outside of their own village.
Alex then led us on a walking tour of the village. The village is arranged in a circular shape with the houses on the outside and a large protected area in the middle for the cattle. This is because the Masai are a herding tribe and rely heavily on their cows and goats for food. They grow hardly any crops, so their animals are very important to them. The houses are made of sticks and mud. The roofs consist of straw and cow poop. Apparently, the women build the houses and keep them, while the men shepherd the animals. Alex brought us into his brother’s house, which was very dark and warm. They were boiling water for dinner over a small open fire. There were small sections of the house set aside for baby cows and coats to sleep at night. To be honest, we were a little unsure about going into this dark house alone while the rest of our group was elsewhere, but it turned out ok!
After the tour of the village, we passed through the Masai market where the women were selling the bracelets and other goods they made. The Masai people, especially the men, typically wear a piece of plaid cloth wrapped around their body and tied with a belt. It is a sign of beauty to wear many beads, bracelets, etc. They also wear shoes made out of pieces of tire! In some families, the men choose to gauge their ears so that eventually there are gaping holes in their earlobes. Emily and I each bought some souvenirs at the Masai market. It is sort of nerve-wrecking to have women following you around trying to get you to buy whatever they’re selling, but we chose to buy from this beautiful young girl named Anne.
After the market, we stopped at the village school. This was the most interesting part of the entire day for me. We got to meet a couple of teachers and even see a teacher grading some paper. In one classroom, there are up to 78 students being taught by 1 teacher, in a room smaller than any classroom at Logan. It was very interesting to see. Apparently, children come from many Masai villages all around the area. They learn math, science, social studies, religion, English, geography and history. On the walls of the classroom were paintings of the ABCs, digestive system, and multiplication. It was really sad for me to see that the kids only had a few dusty books lying all over the floor. The government apparently supplies notebooks and pencils. I felt very lucky to work in a place like Logan where we have SO MANY resources, great parents, and wonderful teachers to work with such small class sizes. One teacher I spoke with was surprised to learn that where I come from, there are 2 teachers for a class size of about 17. I felt very inspired upon leaving the school, and got to thinking about what sort of teacher mentorship programs are available for teachers in small villages like this. It’s something I would really like to look into and perhaps pursue in the future.
After reading all of that, we want to let you all know that today, July 5th, we’ll be leaving to volunteer on an organic farm. The organization we’re working for is KIOF- Kenya’s Institute of Organic Farming. We’re really excited to get our hands dirty and learn a lot. We’re not sure how accessible internet will be, so we might not be able to update for a week. Also, the internet that we’ve been using isn’t the fastest, so uploading pictures is very difficult. We’ll keep trying because we know you all want to see these amazing things we keep talking about!
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