AMBOSELI !

Hi everyone! I am back at the compound in Nairobi and finishing up my last 2 weeks of classes - it's going to be a long few weeks because we all have so many projects, presentations, and papers due all at the same time.

Anyways, we just got back from a weekend on the beach in Mombasa - it was amazing - we had a house right on the beach with a cook who made us lots of meals with the local seafood. We had time to relax and enjoy ourselves. One day we went snorkeling and went on camel rides on the beach. The rest of the time we spent in the ocean and pool.

Before Mombasa we spent 9 days in Amboseli where we lived at the Maasai Study Center near the Amboseli National Park at the bottom of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The trip was incredible - we really got to see how the Maasai live - and it wasn't a tourist experience at all. The Maasai land has been decreased over the years by the governemt, now the land is broken up into a handful of community ranches. Each ranch has a council of members that make decisions for everyone living there. Each person owns their own animals (they are traditionally pastoralists - but now some are converting to agriculture) and they share the land they use for grazing. Some of the ranches are now trying to sub-divide so that each person will own a separate piece of land - it was very interesting talking to different kinds of people about this matter. We stayed in the study center which is on the Kuku Ranch. The study center has a main open-air lodge for eating and lectures, and we all slept in separate tents. The tents had screens on all sides - I felt like I was literally sleeping outside - it was a little intimidating after realizing that all the animals of the area roam freely at night - the parks do not have fences at all!!

One morning we walked to school with local children who have to wake up at 4am and walk many miles to school that starts at 7:30am. It was rough getting up at 4:30 - but I learned so much walking with the kids to school and then talking to more of them once we got there. Another day we played soccer with them - they had their best players play against us - so naturally they won. We also spent time visiting the village market and talking with local farmers who constantly are annoyed with wildlife from the parks (especially elephants!!) getting into their crops. Towards the end of the week we split into groups of 2 and went on a home-stay with a Maasai family. This was probably the biggest challenge I have faced so far on this trip (besides my ankle). Jessie and I stayed with James, a man who works at the study center, and his family. He (38) has a 22 year old wife named Grace and 4 girls. Jessie and I followed his wife around for 2 days doing all the things that a 'real' Maasai woman does. MEN JUST SIT AROUND! We collected wood one afternoon - which involved climbing all over hills and through brush collecting sticks that had thorns all over them. We strapped all the wood into a bunch and hung it over our backs by holding the bundle with a string attached to our head like a head-band. We also cut lots of veggies, washed dishes, helped Grace cook, collected water from a nearby stream, watched the goats, made jewelry with the other women who live near James (all the homes together in one area make up a Boma) -and SMEARED THE HOUSE WITH COW DUNG! One morning James told us to follow Grace into the area where the cows slept. We had to pick up the freshest cow dung we could find WITH OUR HANDS and bring it back to the house and make a huge pile. Then we had to mix the pile with water and smear it all over the house to fix the cracks in the walls. At night Jessie and I slept in a hut by ourselves with 8 goats. James said some of the goats come in the huts at night because it is too dangerous / cold for them outside. Picture this though - each hut is only the size of a big car! I couldn't fully stand up in it. We slept on a bed of sticks and cow hide and tried to sleep as we listened to goats making noises and peeing all night. The huts are very warm all the time because they have no windows. It was a rough night - but I made it and I am really glad I got to experience Maasai life.

When we were not learning about the Maasai, we were out on Safari. We went on 2 day long safaris in Amboseli National Park, and another evening drive in a sanctuary near the study center. We saw so many animals - and it was so much more exciting to see them in their natural environment and not in a zoo. We saw elephants everywhere (the park has an over-population problem), also wildebeest, zebra, warthogs, cheetah, hyena, ostrich.......so so many animals. On our second Safari day we really wanted to see a lion - and my safari truck was the only one that got to see 2 male lions up close right next to the road. We watched them for a few minutes and then they walked off into the grass to stalk prey - it was unbelievable! I never got tired of seeing all the animals! Everywhere you looked there were more, and many of them co-exist peacefully together.

Here are some pictures:

* My Maasai host family + more + Jessie

* Making jewelry

* Mixing the cow dung with water - almost ready to smear the house

* Vultures eating a dead animal

* LION!

* Me with giraffe

* Giraffe

* School we walked to and also played soccer at

* School kids

* Me with Maasai women after dancing with them

* On a hill overlooking Amboseli National Park

* Cheetah

* On top of safari truck

* Hyena

* Wildebeest

* Mt. Kilimanjaro

Hope you are all having a great fall! Talk to you soon!