It's a Wonderful Life: May 2011

We know, we know, we are the most infrequent bloggers. We apologize. But let us not dwell on that small detail. The fingers are caressing the the white-out marked letters on the ol' net cafe keyboard now. Alot has happened since we last wrote, it's a little overwhelming to think of writing a blog. Deep breath, away we go.

We have been here for over a month now and we can't believe how time has flown by. With the slow moving/layed-back culture of Kenya we feel like we are only starting to obtain some sort of routine. It doesn't help that we have been away almost every weekend for various activities. We have yet to work a full week of work as we have had to take most Friday afternoons off for travel time and sometimes miss Monday morning for travel depending on whether or not light permits us to travel home on Sunday nights. This past weekend we ventured to the Maasai Mara for a Safari. In Kitengella we are volunteers, on the Mara our foreheads are stamped "tourist".

At first we felt guilty that we signed up for the Safari and were afraid that we may not even be able to enjoy ourselves as we think of how many people in our community will never experience much outside keeping there home and family. There are many ways to experience and find enjoy in life though. We have seen that over and over here. As we bounced in the seats of our Safari van, after popping a gravol in (Kenya driving is bad enough when you are on a road), we can't help but forget the rest of the world and have our breath taken away by the majestic life around us.The land scape is just what you would picture of Africa. Mainly dry lands with scattered flat-topped trees; there are animals everywhere and I mean everywhere. I don't think there was an animal we didn't see. You don't drive far without seeing some life form. It's like my wise father says: "when people pay to shoot with their cameras and not their guns, it helps preserve one of the world's great ecosystems. The cats were our favourite; they have such swagger. We had a few good laughs quoting Leslie's "what a cat" under our breath.

On the second day we were able to visit a Maasai Village. Their way of life is so intriguing. They truly preserve their tribal culture; minus the cell phones and jerseys under their traditional cloaks. This particular village is unique in that it hosts people from the safaris on a daily basis. The benefit - the people speak English and can explain much of the cultural traditions. The downfall - it felt a bit too much like a tourist site invading the simplicity of their lives. As you enter the village they sing you a welcome song and do a little dance. They introduce you to the trees which each serve a purpose. There are trees from sandpaper to toilet paper. And the texture of each are much like the products we use. You then share a cup of blood together (this is where I chose to be the tourist photo snapper and Kale got to be the tourist consumer). What they do is tie a rope tightly around the neck of the cow serving as a tourniquet and as the vein bulges they shoot it with an arrow until the vein is punctured and the blood pours into the cup. They tie the rope around the puncture spot to stop the bleeding and bottoms up. Their diet consists of blood, meat and flour. Kale's kind of diet - my kind of weight loss program. After the blood feast they invite you into their homes which the women make of mud and sticks - these women work! There is one window for a streak of light, a small room for the children, a small room for the parents, and a small room for the baby goats or cattle to protect them from prey at night. They tell us that just the other night they lost a cow to a cheetah. So after you get to know these people (our host was the Chief's son Alex), they invite you into their home and allow you to ask as many questions as you want about their living...then it is business time - off to the market area of the village. Long story short Kale and I are not meant to be barterers. We did steal the shoes off of four of their feet but we paid a generous price for our goods. The income they get from the goods doesn't go to an individual but the village as a whole so hopefully it will be put to good use. We enjoy the Maasai people and hope to visit another village not as tourists but as friends.

After a four day weekend of Safari we realized how much Kitengela feels like home now. We were eager to get back. But of course when you really want to get somewhere there will be a delay. Van troubles!! We were delayed a couple hours and by the time we got to Nairobi our Safari guide Mike didn't want us to travel back in the dark. There was no room at the inn's of Fadhili host houses so us little lost hobos phoned our wonderful new friend Grace who welcomed us into our house with open arms. Another nights sleep til we reach our Kenyan home town. Home sweet home away from home.

We will try to mind the gap a bit between blogs.
LOVE ALWAYS

Our Safari Crew - Kudos Driver Jackson is hilarious. It was no monotone discovery channel tour.

Our hut for the night - a luxury with a hot shower! At night Masai men keep guard as you fall asleep to the sound of laughing hyenas.

Honeymoonesque.

Jumping during the welcome song.

Making fire with no match, no lighter, no gas - just sticks and grass.

There were to be more photos except that the camera battery died. Uploading does not take as long as we were told. We will charge up and add more.

Here are the more: