Thursday, December 4, 2008
The culmination of my Semester in Africa
It is crazy to think that my study abroad program in East Africa has culminated today. This morning I woke up to a room full of packed suitcases. When I headed to breakfast everyone was sitting at the tables chatting in a somber manner. With only minutes left as a group everyone was feeling nostalgic and wishing the trip was not quite over. After breakfast ended the students heading to Nairobi on the morning bus brought their bags to the reception area of the hotel and we all said our goodbyes. We hugged and professed how much we are going to miss one another even though we all know we will be seeing each other in a month. It is crazy to think that I will not wake up next to the same people I have been spending all my time with tomorrow. My emotions are mixed; i am sad about the trip ending, but am beyond excited about returning home and seeing my friends and family.
These last few weeks my head has been filled with these mixed emotions. There have been times when i have been so exhausted of wearing the same three outfits, continuously being dirty, and having flies EVERYWHERE! But I have always been able to check myself and appreciate every moment of my time here. It is weird having a chapter such as this one end because I know I will never experience anything quite like it again. I may return to East Africa one day, but my trip will never be like this one. I will never make so many close life-long friends in such a short time. I feel blessed to have met so many amazing people this trip, both my fellow students and the Africans we interacted with.
My worldview has changed greatly and I honestly feel like a more educated and well-rounded human being because of this trip. There have been many tough times, but looking back all the hardships and bumps in the road seem so insignificant. What really matters is that i experienced these bumps and was able to overcome them and therefore grow.
Lastly I would like to thank all of you readers for tuning into my blog. It has been great reading your comments these past few months. Your comments have gotten me through these hard days because even though i am so far from all of you, i have still felt connected.
Although this trip is ending, I know the memories I have had here the stories will last me a lifetime. What I have experienced here in East Africa will always be apart of who i am and I feel blessed to have had these experiences.
Thank you all for your love and support, see you December 11th!!!!!!
These last few weeks my head has been filled with these mixed emotions. There have been times when i have been so exhausted of wearing the same three outfits, continuously being dirty, and having flies EVERYWHERE! But I have always been able to check myself and appreciate every moment of my time here. It is weird having a chapter such as this one end because I know I will never experience anything quite like it again. I may return to East Africa one day, but my trip will never be like this one. I will never make so many close life-long friends in such a short time. I feel blessed to have met so many amazing people this trip, both my fellow students and the Africans we interacted with.
My worldview has changed greatly and I honestly feel like a more educated and well-rounded human being because of this trip. There have been many tough times, but looking back all the hardships and bumps in the road seem so insignificant. What really matters is that i experienced these bumps and was able to overcome them and therefore grow.
Lastly I would like to thank all of you readers for tuning into my blog. It has been great reading your comments these past few months. Your comments have gotten me through these hard days because even though i am so far from all of you, i have still felt connected.
Although this trip is ending, I know the memories I have had here the stories will last me a lifetime. What I have experienced here in East Africa will always be apart of who i am and I feel blessed to have had these experiences.
Thank you all for your love and support, see you December 11th!!!!!!
Bomestay Day two
I awoke at 6:30 to beams of light shining through the cracks of the boma's walls. Each stream danced before my eyes as smoke from the fire raised upwards. The noises of the morning were filled with the sounds of cows moving out of the boma's interior and into the surrounding grasslands. When i finally got the urge to sit up, my host family was circuled around the fire drinking their morning cup of chai. Once they noticed me sit up they handed me a a morning cup of chai as well as a few peices of chapati.
Soon after I finished my chapati my host-mom summoned me to come with her and fetch water. We grabbed two containedrs, one small the other big, and headed towards teh river. As we got closer to it I was able to make out who the Mzungu sitting on the banks were. To my delight Sonia and Mika were at the river resting while their host families filled up their water jugs. We all shared our experiences from the past night and morning. Collectively we all got very little sleep. First nights in new environments ares never very good in terms of getting good sleep. The fact that the beds were an inch too short for my legs didn't help either. But because I was so excited about the first days activities I hardly noticed my own fatigue.
After fetching water we returned home for a cup of ugi. Ugi is a porridge like food that is one of the Maasia's staple foods. As I sipped it down out of the coup I couldnt help but gag down small bits at a time. I am not a fan of drinking substances with chunks in them.
All homestays consist of numerous moments where you are either forced(through respectful obligations) to eat a whole plate of food you don't like, or drink a cup of a substance you can barely get down. This is why it is so easy to gain weight on homestays!
When I finished my ugi we walked past a few bomas to a boma that was in its construction phase. This boma turned out to be a new boma for my family. For approximately an our I helped my mom work on the house. I found out that in between the sticks and cow dung, Maasai put the branches with leaves inside as insulation. I helped her stick brances in between the sticks until we rean out. When we ran out we headed into the nearby forset and cut down some wood for fire. In the forest we met up with Sonia and her host family again. In the forst we ran around and out cut down firewood. Once enough was collected we harnessed a peice of cowhide around it and place the cow hid strap on our forehead with the wood resting on our lower backs.
At two the translators roundes us all up to discuss whether there were any issues facing us, as well as to give us an oppurtunity to share our experiences. It is amazing how much one can find to share with their friends after being separated for only 24 hours.
When i returned home I sat on my bed and observed my family. As I sat there taking in everything and everyone I had a hard time fathoming the fact that I was in a Maasai boma, not just visiting, or stopping by, but living there.
Soon after I finished my chapati my host-mom summoned me to come with her and fetch water. We grabbed two containedrs, one small the other big, and headed towards teh river. As we got closer to it I was able to make out who the Mzungu sitting on the banks were. To my delight Sonia and Mika were at the river resting while their host families filled up their water jugs. We all shared our experiences from the past night and morning. Collectively we all got very little sleep. First nights in new environments ares never very good in terms of getting good sleep. The fact that the beds were an inch too short for my legs didn't help either. But because I was so excited about the first days activities I hardly noticed my own fatigue.
After fetching water we returned home for a cup of ugi. Ugi is a porridge like food that is one of the Maasia's staple foods. As I sipped it down out of the coup I couldnt help but gag down small bits at a time. I am not a fan of drinking substances with chunks in them.
All homestays consist of numerous moments where you are either forced(through respectful obligations) to eat a whole plate of food you don't like, or drink a cup of a substance you can barely get down. This is why it is so easy to gain weight on homestays!
When I finished my ugi we walked past a few bomas to a boma that was in its construction phase. This boma turned out to be a new boma for my family. For approximately an our I helped my mom work on the house. I found out that in between the sticks and cow dung, Maasai put the branches with leaves inside as insulation. I helped her stick brances in between the sticks until we rean out. When we ran out we headed into the nearby forset and cut down some wood for fire. In the forest we met up with Sonia and her host family again. In the forst we ran around and out cut down firewood. Once enough was collected we harnessed a peice of cowhide around it and place the cow hid strap on our forehead with the wood resting on our lower backs.
At two the translators roundes us all up to discuss whether there were any issues facing us, as well as to give us an oppurtunity to share our experiences. It is amazing how much one can find to share with their friends after being separated for only 24 hours.
When i returned home I sat on my bed and observed my family. As I sat there taking in everything and everyone I had a hard time fathoming the fact that I was in a Maasai boma, not just visiting, or stopping by, but living there.
Bomestay Day One
The way one feels before a homestay no matter what country one is in, is unanimous regardless of how many homestays one has done. Whether i am walking or diving to my homestay, I am always filled with a mixture of uneasiness, excitement, anxiety, and occassionally a wish that it will be over soon. When in a group setting before a homestay, I have noticed that everyone is very quiet, although the quietness is often broken by awkward giggles. Feelings of anxiety are shared by all! I believe this is because we cannot imagine what an experience will be like, it is very hard for us to process it. Our inability to process what is going to happen causes us to feel uneasy and in some cases uncomfortable.
For the two days leading up to the Maasai homestay I was very nervous. No less nervous than I was before my Nairobi homestay or Tumbe homestay, but nervous nevertheless. Even though this is my third homestay in East Africa and my 7th in my life, I am still nervous before every one. I can say however that I was the most excited for the Maasai homestay. I have been intrigued by their culture for many years and the fact that I get/have the oppurtunity to live wtih them still amazes me.
After a long anxious day of wating for word that we were heading to our homestays, Timoti the coordinator, arrived on motorbike and told us to grab our bags. I grabbed my north face day pack which was filled with; a warm beanie for my newly shaven head, two water bottles, cold medicine for my new convenient cold, warm socks, sleeping bag, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and lastly sunscreen and headed on the path. When we all were ready some local men handed us each a walking stick and we headed off to the appointed area where our homestay mothers were supposed to meet us. As we walked along the road everyone was silent, far more quiet than I have been accustomed to us being these past few months. After less than ten minutes a line of women wearing brightly colored clothing could be spotted in the distance. As we neared them we all began to giggle, ironically our giggles were echoed by those of our soon to be hosts. They too attempted to break the anxiousness we all felt by laughing. As we neared them we formed a line directly in front of them and they came to shake our hands saying Supa (hello), response Ipa. This interaction was of the same formula as the good game handshakes that culminate most sports games.
Before I knew it I had shook the hand of the last woman in line and soon another women was grabbing my hand and stick, pulling me forward. She was to be the host-mom for the next three nights. The same process occured with everyone and soon we were all walking off in twos in the direction of our perspective bomas. On the walk there the Maasai women looked us up in down, giggling, and saying things we could not understand to one another. At the begginning we all seemed to be going in the same direction, but soon we all split off, two students going to bomas relatively close to one another.
Soon I arrived at a compound boundaried off by large acacia branches. My host-mom led me through the main gate and into our bomba. The boma I am living in does not resemble those I have seen depicted in books, or in my class readings. It is a rectangular structure, instead of a circular one, and is made of cow dung plastered onto branches used for support. Its roof is flat with dirt on top. There are even sprouts of grass on top of it giving it a hobbit like essence.
As I entered the house I took a right and soon was in the open chamber area. Inside this area there are three sleeping areas, a small fire pit, and a shelf where pots, gourds, and salt is stored. This chamber area is sectioned off from the area where the cows are kept by small twigs placed close together. Inside the Boma there is also an area where the calves are kept. The inside of the boma is quite dark, and when the fire is lit, smokey. My first hours inside the boma resembled the first hours of inside the bomba resembled the first hours of all homestays, awkward smiles, giggles, and enthusiastic attempts to communicate. Luckily we had translators who came around to aid us in communicating with our families. This made things a lot easier and way more practical. Without the translators we wouldn't have been able to communicate at all. Most Maasai adults do not know Kiswahili, and all do not English. With Kiswahili as our lengua franca I am forced to practice, rack my bran of all the words I know. Sadly they sum up to around 35 words making my interactions with people very amusing.
After drinking an entire cup of tea with fresh milk my bladder began to call. I asked the translator where the restroom was. She resonded that there wasn't one, and that I should go behind the house. Conveniently my bladder called at the same time as my host-dad and brother were returning with the cows. So instead of peacefully being behind the house, I was forced to hide behind two bulls, and pray that no one moved them. When i finished and walked around them a crowd of young kids stood starring at me with looks of amusement, obviously knowing what had just taken place. This little account of my first bathroom experience , I hope gives you all insight into what life in a Maasai boma has been like this first day.
For the two days leading up to the Maasai homestay I was very nervous. No less nervous than I was before my Nairobi homestay or Tumbe homestay, but nervous nevertheless. Even though this is my third homestay in East Africa and my 7th in my life, I am still nervous before every one. I can say however that I was the most excited for the Maasai homestay. I have been intrigued by their culture for many years and the fact that I get/have the oppurtunity to live wtih them still amazes me.
After a long anxious day of wating for word that we were heading to our homestays, Timoti the coordinator, arrived on motorbike and told us to grab our bags. I grabbed my north face day pack which was filled with; a warm beanie for my newly shaven head, two water bottles, cold medicine for my new convenient cold, warm socks, sleeping bag, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and lastly sunscreen and headed on the path. When we all were ready some local men handed us each a walking stick and we headed off to the appointed area where our homestay mothers were supposed to meet us. As we walked along the road everyone was silent, far more quiet than I have been accustomed to us being these past few months. After less than ten minutes a line of women wearing brightly colored clothing could be spotted in the distance. As we neared them we all began to giggle, ironically our giggles were echoed by those of our soon to be hosts. They too attempted to break the anxiousness we all felt by laughing. As we neared them we formed a line directly in front of them and they came to shake our hands saying Supa (hello), response Ipa. This interaction was of the same formula as the good game handshakes that culminate most sports games.
Before I knew it I had shook the hand of the last woman in line and soon another women was grabbing my hand and stick, pulling me forward. She was to be the host-mom for the next three nights. The same process occured with everyone and soon we were all walking off in twos in the direction of our perspective bomas. On the walk there the Maasai women looked us up in down, giggling, and saying things we could not understand to one another. At the begginning we all seemed to be going in the same direction, but soon we all split off, two students going to bomas relatively close to one another.
Soon I arrived at a compound boundaried off by large acacia branches. My host-mom led me through the main gate and into our bomba. The boma I am living in does not resemble those I have seen depicted in books, or in my class readings. It is a rectangular structure, instead of a circular one, and is made of cow dung plastered onto branches used for support. Its roof is flat with dirt on top. There are even sprouts of grass on top of it giving it a hobbit like essence.
As I entered the house I took a right and soon was in the open chamber area. Inside this area there are three sleeping areas, a small fire pit, and a shelf where pots, gourds, and salt is stored. This chamber area is sectioned off from the area where the cows are kept by small twigs placed close together. Inside the Boma there is also an area where the calves are kept. The inside of the boma is quite dark, and when the fire is lit, smokey. My first hours inside the boma resembled the first hours of inside the bomba resembled the first hours of all homestays, awkward smiles, giggles, and enthusiastic attempts to communicate. Luckily we had translators who came around to aid us in communicating with our families. This made things a lot easier and way more practical. Without the translators we wouldn't have been able to communicate at all. Most Maasai adults do not know Kiswahili, and all do not English. With Kiswahili as our lengua franca I am forced to practice, rack my bran of all the words I know. Sadly they sum up to around 35 words making my interactions with people very amusing.
After drinking an entire cup of tea with fresh milk my bladder began to call. I asked the translator where the restroom was. She resonded that there wasn't one, and that I should go behind the house. Conveniently my bladder called at the same time as my host-dad and brother were returning with the cows. So instead of peacefully being behind the house, I was forced to hide behind two bulls, and pray that no one moved them. When i finished and walked around them a crowd of young kids stood starring at me with looks of amusement, obviously knowing what had just taken place. This little account of my first bathroom experience , I hope gives you all insight into what life in a Maasai boma has been like this first day.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Bomestay
Maasai Boma Homestay, 3 nights 4 days
Chopping wood
My homestay brothers and I
Out in front of the boma
Mika and I carrying water on our headsSafari II
Wildebeest kickin it with an eegret in Ngorogoro Crater
Eating some giraffe bones we found lying on the side of the road
Dorky Safari tourists!
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