Sopa?
That's "How are you?" in kimasai (the Masai language), pronounced "soba". Then you answer "ipa" which sounds like "eba" and means "fine".
I've been staying in Lenkijape since Tuesday. There's no electricity, but I'm getting used to it.
I've been writing my journals on a paper (under candle light) so I'll have to type it up some other time. Just to give you some ideas what I'm doing in Lenkijape (officially called Eluanata): I went to a fellowship on Wednesday. It took 50 minutes to get there by foot. The closest home from school and church is at least 15 minutes away. The day goes by so slowly. The place is so quiet. I'm eating mostly potatoes and cabbages. The primary school closed yesterday, and closing ceremony was super long (and boring, since I didn't understand a word of it). I'm learning some kimasai. I can (theoretically) count to 10,000.
Next week I'll be going to Masai Mara with the teachers. I hear that's where they filmed the scenery to the movie Lion King and changed it to animation. I hope I get to see some simba (that's "lion" in kiswahili). We'll be staying there for 3-4 days. I'm pretty excited.
Sere! ("Bye" in kimasai)
Friday, August 04, 2006
Doxa in Kenya: Tour de Kenya
Monday, July 31.
Doesn't it feel so good when you come home from a really long workout, you take a nice, warm shower, and you put on your clean, dry clothes? I almost had that experience today except that instead of a warm shower, I had a cold bucket shower, and instead of a clean dry clothes, I had to wear the same clothes which smelled like a goat. The only clean piece of clothes I had was my underwear. But it was actually quite nice taking a shower with cold water. Sine the weather isn't very warm here, when I shower with warm water (I have to boil some water in the pot, and mix it with cold water in a bucket), the water would evaporate off my skin and I would feel even colder. So it was actually better to use cold water. That's why in a very hot day, you should take a shower with hot water, so you can feel cool after the shower.
So what's this "workout" that I'm talking about? Basically, pastor and I rode bicycles all the way to Namanga. It was an hour ride each way going up and down some hills. I thought Rev. Kim would come to Kiluani today, so I figured he could pick me up to go to Lenkijape, but apparently he went straight to Lenkijape. I couldn't get a hold of him either. So I was just sitting in the clinic watching as PuiMeng saw the patients. The day was warm, so I was actually dozing off while I sat there. The thing is, many of the patients have similar problems, so it was almost like seeing the same patient over and over. It's really good to know what the common problems and needs are for these people. If I ever come back to Maasai (I just found out that's how you really spell it) in the future as a doctor, I would be more efficient knowing their needs. Anyway, as I was dozing off, pastor came by and saved me from boredom. He was going to the post office in Namanga, and we were going to take a matatu, but decided to ride the bicycle instead.
Being a musungu in rural Africa is like being a celebrity, or perhaps a rafiki (friend in kiswahili) to all the kids. As I pedaled through the main road, kids would wave at me and shout "Hallo--!" and "Hawayoo-!" They would jump up and down and keep shouting even after I wave them back. I wonder who tells them to do that when they see a musungu. I'm sure they teach in schools how to greet a musungu (or just in English). It's funny because no matter how you greet somebody, they would reply "fine." I though they just anticipated to say "How are you?" but I had multiple occasions where I was greeted back with a "Fine" when I said "Hi." In kiswahili, you say "habari" (short for "how are you") and the other person would say "mzuri" (good). In kimaasai, you greet someone with "soba" and the person would reply "eba." You can also greet someone of similar age by saying, "hawaiya" and the person would say "hawaiya" back. I think I've said this before, but kids greet older people by bowing their head slightly, and the older person would touch their heads. They can start shaking hands once they are circumcised. Anyhow, I've digressed a lot from talking about my bike ride to Namanga.
At Namanga, I was greeted by strangers with "Konnichiwa" ("hello" in Japanese), "An-nyung-ha-sae-yo" (the same in Korean), and some random phrase that sounded like Chinese. Some people would just yell, "Chinese." In Sierra Leone, some people called me "China." I guess being called "Chinese" is better than "China." Though people greeted me, I tried to avoid them in Namanga. It's a border city, and a lot of musungu pass through there. I wouldn't be surprised if they were trying to sell something to me. There are many traditional Maasai ladies (mostly very old) selling Maasai necklaces and bracelets. After stopping by at the post office, we went to a small café for a bottle soda and some mandazi (kind of like deep fried chapati). I met Selei, Lemomo's younger brother there. After that, we rode our bicycles across the border to Tanzania. Actually, there's nothing that really looks like a boarder except for a wide dusty space with shops on both sides. There are the immigration offices where I bought my visa, but people can go back and forth between Kenya and Tanzania as they wish. I thought that was quite strange. Now I'm thinking maybe I didn't have to spend $50 just to get a visa. But I guess it's an "insurance" incase you get stopped by a police for some reason. For musungus, the passport is the ID, although I wasn't carrying my passport when I went to Namanga.
On the way back from Namanga, we saw a herd of camels. So we stopped to take pictures, then the guy tending the camels tried to stop us saying he wants money for the picture. Then the pastor asked if the camels belonged t him. Then it turns out he's just a worker looking after the animals. So we went ahead and took the pictures. As soon as we passed the big group of camels, we saw a few of them that were much bigger than the others. I thought I was looking at a miniature of brontosaurus. Their back was about 8 feet hight and their head even higher. Then the shepherd came back and told us we could take as many pictures as we wanted. He even let me touch the camel.
After two hours of bike ride on a rock-hard seat, my butt is quite sore. It was definitely a good exercise though. I needed it to burn away some goat fat that I had last night.
For dinner, we had a soup made of goat intestines. They cut open the stomach, washed it, and boiled it with the neck. The boys were keeping the head, so I took the tongue and roasted it. The tongue was pretty good, but the soup was pretty disgusting. The taste wasn't so bad, but the smell was nasty. I couldn't finish it, so I gave half of my plate to Henry. He was very happy to finish it. The guys cook and eat separately, and they said they were going to roast the head tonight. I'm sure they're done eating by now. They said they'll save a piece for me to eat tomorrow... We'll see how it turns out. I wonder which part of the head I'll get.
I'm tired of blowing off little bugs off my screen every two seconds. So I'm going to turn off the computer now. I'll start writing with a pen and paper tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be going to Lenkijape.
Doesn't it feel so good when you come home from a really long workout, you take a nice, warm shower, and you put on your clean, dry clothes? I almost had that experience today except that instead of a warm shower, I had a cold bucket shower, and instead of a clean dry clothes, I had to wear the same clothes which smelled like a goat. The only clean piece of clothes I had was my underwear. But it was actually quite nice taking a shower with cold water. Sine the weather isn't very warm here, when I shower with warm water (I have to boil some water in the pot, and mix it with cold water in a bucket), the water would evaporate off my skin and I would feel even colder. So it was actually better to use cold water. That's why in a very hot day, you should take a shower with hot water, so you can feel cool after the shower.
So what's this "workout" that I'm talking about? Basically, pastor and I rode bicycles all the way to Namanga. It was an hour ride each way going up and down some hills. I thought Rev. Kim would come to Kiluani today, so I figured he could pick me up to go to Lenkijape, but apparently he went straight to Lenkijape. I couldn't get a hold of him either. So I was just sitting in the clinic watching as PuiMeng saw the patients. The day was warm, so I was actually dozing off while I sat there. The thing is, many of the patients have similar problems, so it was almost like seeing the same patient over and over. It's really good to know what the common problems and needs are for these people. If I ever come back to Maasai (I just found out that's how you really spell it) in the future as a doctor, I would be more efficient knowing their needs. Anyway, as I was dozing off, pastor came by and saved me from boredom. He was going to the post office in Namanga, and we were going to take a matatu, but decided to ride the bicycle instead.
Being a musungu in rural Africa is like being a celebrity, or perhaps a rafiki (friend in kiswahili) to all the kids. As I pedaled through the main road, kids would wave at me and shout "Hallo--!" and "Hawayoo-!" They would jump up and down and keep shouting even after I wave them back. I wonder who tells them to do that when they see a musungu. I'm sure they teach in schools how to greet a musungu (or just in English). It's funny because no matter how you greet somebody, they would reply "fine." I though they just anticipated to say "How are you?" but I had multiple occasions where I was greeted back with a "Fine" when I said "Hi." In kiswahili, you say "habari" (short for "how are you") and the other person would say "mzuri" (good). In kimaasai, you greet someone with "soba" and the person would reply "eba." You can also greet someone of similar age by saying, "hawaiya" and the person would say "hawaiya" back. I think I've said this before, but kids greet older people by bowing their head slightly, and the older person would touch their heads. They can start shaking hands once they are circumcised. Anyhow, I've digressed a lot from talking about my bike ride to Namanga.
At Namanga, I was greeted by strangers with "Konnichiwa" ("hello" in Japanese), "An-nyung-ha-sae-yo" (the same in Korean), and some random phrase that sounded like Chinese. Some people would just yell, "Chinese." In Sierra Leone, some people called me "China." I guess being called "Chinese" is better than "China." Though people greeted me, I tried to avoid them in Namanga. It's a border city, and a lot of musungu pass through there. I wouldn't be surprised if they were trying to sell something to me. There are many traditional Maasai ladies (mostly very old) selling Maasai necklaces and bracelets. After stopping by at the post office, we went to a small café for a bottle soda and some mandazi (kind of like deep fried chapati). I met Selei, Lemomo's younger brother there. After that, we rode our bicycles across the border to Tanzania. Actually, there's nothing that really looks like a boarder except for a wide dusty space with shops on both sides. There are the immigration offices where I bought my visa, but people can go back and forth between Kenya and Tanzania as they wish. I thought that was quite strange. Now I'm thinking maybe I didn't have to spend $50 just to get a visa. But I guess it's an "insurance" incase you get stopped by a police for some reason. For musungus, the passport is the ID, although I wasn't carrying my passport when I went to Namanga.
On the way back from Namanga, we saw a herd of camels. So we stopped to take pictures, then the guy tending the camels tried to stop us saying he wants money for the picture. Then the pastor asked if the camels belonged t him. Then it turns out he's just a worker looking after the animals. So we went ahead and took the pictures. As soon as we passed the big group of camels, we saw a few of them that were much bigger than the others. I thought I was looking at a miniature of brontosaurus. Their back was about 8 feet hight and their head even higher. Then the shepherd came back and told us we could take as many pictures as we wanted. He even let me touch the camel.
After two hours of bike ride on a rock-hard seat, my butt is quite sore. It was definitely a good exercise though. I needed it to burn away some goat fat that I had last night.
For dinner, we had a soup made of goat intestines. They cut open the stomach, washed it, and boiled it with the neck. The boys were keeping the head, so I took the tongue and roasted it. The tongue was pretty good, but the soup was pretty disgusting. The taste wasn't so bad, but the smell was nasty. I couldn't finish it, so I gave half of my plate to Henry. He was very happy to finish it. The guys cook and eat separately, and they said they were going to roast the head tonight. I'm sure they're done eating by now. They said they'll save a piece for me to eat tomorrow... We'll see how it turns out. I wonder which part of the head I'll get.
I'm tired of blowing off little bugs off my screen every two seconds. So I'm going to turn off the computer now. I'll start writing with a pen and paper tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be going to Lenkijape.
Doxa in Kenya: Sunday School, Hiking, and Goat Feast
Sunday, July 30.
Wow. What a day. Today was definitely the highlight of my stay here in Kiluani. We just finished eating the goat we slaughtered, and I'm quite full.
Sunday school started at 9am. There were about 180 kids. I went up to the front and introduced myself, and all the kids sang a song for me. I didn't understand a word the sang, and I don't know if it was kiswahili or kimasai (Masai language), but I still enjoyed it. For the second half of Sunday school, we divided into small groups. I went to Pastor Stephen's group. There were about 6 girls at ages of around 12. I got to share with them about 1 Corinthians 10:31, and encouraged them to live for God's glory. Afterwards we had main service, but most of the kids left after Sunday school. There were only about 50 to 60 church members. They used to have all the students from the secondary school come to the church, but ever since the new principle took over, many of the students go to their own church they made at school. Apparently they don't even have a legitimate pastor, but basically they play loud music and dance around for service. During service, I fell asleep a few times briefly, but I was surprised to see some people deliberately sleeping (with their heads buried in their arms). During sermon, the pastor actually said please don't sleep during sermons, but some people still slept. After he said that I didn't fall asleep at all.
In the afternoon, I went up the mountain for some hiking with some of the guys. Originally we were going to bring ht goat up the mountain, slaughter it, and eat it there. But we started out too late, so we just walked up. I got to see the entire Kiluani (although it's mostly bushes). At one point I heard some bird noises down a hill. Nyingei told me they are guinea fowls. They are basically wild chicken. You can setup traps for it, catch it, and eat it. Unfortunately I didn't have time for that this time. I've been to tougher hikes (trekking across some mountains in Japan, Half Dome in Yosemite, and Mt. Fuji), but hiking in Kenya isn't just about the hike. It involves dodging thorns everywhere you go. There are small bushes with thorns, trees with thorns, tiny plants with thorns, and seeds with thorns scattered all over the ground. If you're not careful, you'll get little thorns all over your pants and socks and inside your shoes. I guess it should remind people of Genesis 3 when the ground was cursed and thorns came up of the ground. More importantly, it should remind us of what Jesus went through for us while wearing a crown made of thorns.
We came back down after a couple hours. I bought a goat for Ksh2000 ($27.97) from the secondary school, and we slaughtered it. Some how people manage to find out that we're slaughtering a goat tonight. So although we started with 7 or 8 people and were wondering if we could finish all the meat tonight, by the end we fed about 17 people. At least a third of them I've never seen, but I didn't care. I had enough to eat, and we only ate the meat. We still have the internal organs. Apparently Masai people eat the organs raw, and the kidney is the best part. As soon as they cut off the kidneys they were gone. I wonder what they taste like. It's basically filled with goat urine... Maybe it's salty because of that, and so they like it so much. We're saving the organs for tomorrow. They have to wash it and then make a soup or something. I ate so much goat meat today... My fart even smells like goat. Or maybe goats just smell like a fart.
Tomorrow, Rev. Kim is supposedly dropping by here on his way to Tanzania. If he's going back to Nairobi on Tuesday, I could probably get picked up then and be dropped off at Lenkijape. Otherwise I'll have to go to Lenkijape tomorrow. Or maybe I'll go to Tanzania with him. I don't know. I guess I'll find out.
I've had such a wonderful time in Kiluani. People are so friendly here. I've been really fun hanging out with the three guys who work in the clinic: Lemomo, Henry Nyingei, and Gideon Leshushu. They are the only ones close to my age here (23, 23, and 20, respectively). The secondary school kids seem a bit shy. They like to just gather and stand around me, but most of them don't say much if not nothing at all. Some of them are talkative and friendly though. The kids in the primary schools are more friendly and talkative, although they can't speak all that well.
Speaking of English, there's not a single person who can speak English properly here in Kiluani. I'm sure some of the nuances are British English, but most of the time I have to listen very carefully and try to figure out what they actually mean. Even PuiMeng, who is from Singapore, can't speak English all that well (she tends to put "la" at the end of many sentences). It's strange because English and Kisuwahili are the official languages of Kenya, but most Masai people don't even know what the national languages are. People who can speak English tend to say "Fannneee" (or "funny") when they mean "strange" or "weird." I remember Rev. Kim says that too. I think that's kind of fannneee.
Alright, they've turned off all the power, and I'm seeing bugs on the screen every minute. So many bugs are flying into my face too. I think a small one just flew into my right ear... jk. Geez, there are so many spiders in this room too. Why aren't they doing their job eating off the annoying bugs? Maybe they need to make better webs... Ugh.
Since I'm going to Lenkijape, I'll have to write my journals on a paper under a candle light from now on. Goodbye world.
Wow. What a day. Today was definitely the highlight of my stay here in Kiluani. We just finished eating the goat we slaughtered, and I'm quite full.
Sunday school started at 9am. There were about 180 kids. I went up to the front and introduced myself, and all the kids sang a song for me. I didn't understand a word the sang, and I don't know if it was kiswahili or kimasai (Masai language), but I still enjoyed it. For the second half of Sunday school, we divided into small groups. I went to Pastor Stephen's group. There were about 6 girls at ages of around 12. I got to share with them about 1 Corinthians 10:31, and encouraged them to live for God's glory. Afterwards we had main service, but most of the kids left after Sunday school. There were only about 50 to 60 church members. They used to have all the students from the secondary school come to the church, but ever since the new principle took over, many of the students go to their own church they made at school. Apparently they don't even have a legitimate pastor, but basically they play loud music and dance around for service. During service, I fell asleep a few times briefly, but I was surprised to see some people deliberately sleeping (with their heads buried in their arms). During sermon, the pastor actually said please don't sleep during sermons, but some people still slept. After he said that I didn't fall asleep at all.
In the afternoon, I went up the mountain for some hiking with some of the guys. Originally we were going to bring ht goat up the mountain, slaughter it, and eat it there. But we started out too late, so we just walked up. I got to see the entire Kiluani (although it's mostly bushes). At one point I heard some bird noises down a hill. Nyingei told me they are guinea fowls. They are basically wild chicken. You can setup traps for it, catch it, and eat it. Unfortunately I didn't have time for that this time. I've been to tougher hikes (trekking across some mountains in Japan, Half Dome in Yosemite, and Mt. Fuji), but hiking in Kenya isn't just about the hike. It involves dodging thorns everywhere you go. There are small bushes with thorns, trees with thorns, tiny plants with thorns, and seeds with thorns scattered all over the ground. If you're not careful, you'll get little thorns all over your pants and socks and inside your shoes. I guess it should remind people of Genesis 3 when the ground was cursed and thorns came up of the ground. More importantly, it should remind us of what Jesus went through for us while wearing a crown made of thorns.
We came back down after a couple hours. I bought a goat for Ksh2000 ($27.97) from the secondary school, and we slaughtered it. Some how people manage to find out that we're slaughtering a goat tonight. So although we started with 7 or 8 people and were wondering if we could finish all the meat tonight, by the end we fed about 17 people. At least a third of them I've never seen, but I didn't care. I had enough to eat, and we only ate the meat. We still have the internal organs. Apparently Masai people eat the organs raw, and the kidney is the best part. As soon as they cut off the kidneys they were gone. I wonder what they taste like. It's basically filled with goat urine... Maybe it's salty because of that, and so they like it so much. We're saving the organs for tomorrow. They have to wash it and then make a soup or something. I ate so much goat meat today... My fart even smells like goat. Or maybe goats just smell like a fart.
Tomorrow, Rev. Kim is supposedly dropping by here on his way to Tanzania. If he's going back to Nairobi on Tuesday, I could probably get picked up then and be dropped off at Lenkijape. Otherwise I'll have to go to Lenkijape tomorrow. Or maybe I'll go to Tanzania with him. I don't know. I guess I'll find out.
I've had such a wonderful time in Kiluani. People are so friendly here. I've been really fun hanging out with the three guys who work in the clinic: Lemomo, Henry Nyingei, and Gideon Leshushu. They are the only ones close to my age here (23, 23, and 20, respectively). The secondary school kids seem a bit shy. They like to just gather and stand around me, but most of them don't say much if not nothing at all. Some of them are talkative and friendly though. The kids in the primary schools are more friendly and talkative, although they can't speak all that well.
Speaking of English, there's not a single person who can speak English properly here in Kiluani. I'm sure some of the nuances are British English, but most of the time I have to listen very carefully and try to figure out what they actually mean. Even PuiMeng, who is from Singapore, can't speak English all that well (she tends to put "la" at the end of many sentences). It's strange because English and Kisuwahili are the official languages of Kenya, but most Masai people don't even know what the national languages are. People who can speak English tend to say "Fannneee" (or "funny") when they mean "strange" or "weird." I remember Rev. Kim says that too. I think that's kind of fannneee.
Alright, they've turned off all the power, and I'm seeing bugs on the screen every minute. So many bugs are flying into my face too. I think a small one just flew into my right ear... jk. Geez, there are so many spiders in this room too. Why aren't they doing their job eating off the annoying bugs? Maybe they need to make better webs... Ugh.
Since I'm going to Lenkijape, I'll have to write my journals on a paper under a candle light from now on. Goodbye world.
Doxa in Kenya: Baby Goat, Guitar Lesson, and Double Chicken Feast
Saturday, July 29.
I fell asleep right as I was about to start writing my journal. I'm so tired, but there are so many things to talk about.
This morning there was a goat leashed and separated from the flock. I was wondering why it was leashed, then I saw a little baby goat curled up on the ground. At first I thought it was dead, but it was just very weak. The leashed goat was its mother, and she had given birth for the first time last night. The baby goat was so small and weak that it couldn't even stand on its own. So it could not get the milk from the mother on its own either. I wanted to help the baby goat, so I soaked a handkerchief with some cow milk (there was a bottle of it next to the goat), and tried feeding it. The baby goat wouldn't suck on the handkerchief, so I put my finder behind it. But by the time it started sucking on my finger covered in handkerchief, all the milk had dripped to the ground. I figured I would have to either milk the mother or get the baby to suck from the mother. No matter how I tried, the mother goat would not stay still, so I couldn't do either. Then Gideon Leshushu (one of the workers in the clinic) came and held the mother goat for me so I could get the baby to suck on the nipple. After the baby had some milk, it was gained some strength to stand on its own very briefly. But it was still very weak, so we had to keep feeding it periodically. Last time I saw it today, it could stand for a long time, and walk a short distance. I was really happy to see it getting better. Apparently it was a premature birth. I was told that last night when the mother gave birth, she didn't like the baby, but now she seems to like him. I hope it will grow up to be a big goat so it can feed many people... jk.
When I first came to Kiluani, it was right when PuiMeng was leading Bible study with some of the students from the secondary school. So when she came out, she introduced me to the boys (it's a boys only school). I said this before, but since it was finals week, we arranged to have math and physics lessons Tuesday and Wednesday. But nobody came both days. We had also arranged to have a guitar lesson today at 10am, but since nobody came the other two days, I thought they wouldn't come. So I was going to go to the fellowship with the pastor and PuiMeng. But they came. Their excuse for not coming the other days was that they were busy... oh well, whatever. So I decided to give them a little lesson. We were going to use the sancutuary, but it was being cleaned by some students, so I decided to use the guest house that I'm staying. We had a lesson till 12:30pm, and they left for lunch. They said they wanted to come back at 4pm, so I agreed to give more lesson. They came around 4pm, and since the sanctuary was being used by the choir, we used the guest house again. As I was giving the lesson, PuiMeng came in and seemed a bit surprised. She seemed somehow uneasy about something. Anyhow she said I should use the chapel because it's brighter there. I realized it was getting dark, but we could still see fine, so I said we were ok. Then she said I should let the students go because it's most dinner time (it was 6:05pm). So I told her that the students said they can still till 6:15. For some reason she sounded a bit upset, but she just left saying that they should go very soon. Anyhow, I finished giving the lesson, dismissed the students, and I went over to PuiMeng's place to give back her guitar. Then she told me that students aren't allowed in the guest house. She was a bit upset. I felt bad, so I told her I was sorry, and that I didn't know that they weren't allowed to be there. Then she said I should have asked for permission, and that I shouldn't take things like that for granted, and since I'm a guest I should be especially sensitive. The relationship with the school and the mission hasn't been very good since the government took over the school and a new principle came, so she said I should be careful with anything that has to do with school. She also told me I need to get permission to go anywhere around the premises. I could only tell her I'm sorry, I didn't know. I would have said I'll be careful next time, but I'm leaving soon and there most likely won't be a next time. I felt bad, but I thought it was a bit unfair. Yes, I'm a guest, and I need to be careful how I behave. I also wouldn't take stuff for granted, and I don't think I was taking stuff for granted. I didn't see any problem with letting the boys in the house. Apparently the last time the boys were in the mission house, things went missing. So they don't want students in there any more. But how was I supposed to know? I think it was more of her responsibility to tell me rules like that. Also, none of the students said anything to me when I let them in. Was I being insensitive or taking things for granted? I hope not. Oh well, I should just forget about it... well, now that I wrote all about it, it's probably bit harder to forget, but I think I feel better letting it out somehow. I guess that's just her personality. PuiMeng seems to get easily annoyed with small things, and she's quite confrontational. If there's anything small that she doesn't like, she'll say it. So I'll just take it as her personality, and I'll suppose there's nothing wrong with that. I don't like it, but it helps me become more mature and patient. I like learning to live with people I can't get along with very easily. It opens my mind and widens my heart, I think. That's how I think of my experience in my fraternity. We were all really different, but we were in the same fraternity because of Christ. I learned to live with people I would never be friends with or hangout with otherwise, and I've learned love them as they are. God brings people together for a reason. We can get annoyed at each other, but we can always learn something from our differences. Nonetheless, I really respect PuiMeng for being out here and helping the people the way she does. I can't even imagine being single at her age (probably somewhere in the 30's) living in a place like this. She's been here for 5 years already. Jackson (the driver) told me yesterday that she actually prefers being single.
Since I treated everyone last night with the chicken, PuiMeng, Pastor Stephen, and Isaiah chipped in to get two chickens for us and the workers to eat. So we had a big feast with us four, Lemomo, Leshushu, Nyingei, and Henry. I got to see Isaiah slaughtering the chicken and draining their blood. I recorded a video of the process, so you'll get to see it later. I learned that real Masai people don't eat chicken. I also learned that if you are a moran (Masai warrior) and if a woman sees your food, you can't eat it. Strange but interesting traditions...
Tomorrow after church, I'm taking a goat (about Ksh1200 to Ksh2000) up the mountain with some of the guys. Nyingei will slaughter and prepare the goat. We'll roast the goat whole and eat it there and come down after dark. It will be an interesting experience.
I fell asleep right as I was about to start writing my journal. I'm so tired, but there are so many things to talk about.
This morning there was a goat leashed and separated from the flock. I was wondering why it was leashed, then I saw a little baby goat curled up on the ground. At first I thought it was dead, but it was just very weak. The leashed goat was its mother, and she had given birth for the first time last night. The baby goat was so small and weak that it couldn't even stand on its own. So it could not get the milk from the mother on its own either. I wanted to help the baby goat, so I soaked a handkerchief with some cow milk (there was a bottle of it next to the goat), and tried feeding it. The baby goat wouldn't suck on the handkerchief, so I put my finder behind it. But by the time it started sucking on my finger covered in handkerchief, all the milk had dripped to the ground. I figured I would have to either milk the mother or get the baby to suck from the mother. No matter how I tried, the mother goat would not stay still, so I couldn't do either. Then Gideon Leshushu (one of the workers in the clinic) came and held the mother goat for me so I could get the baby to suck on the nipple. After the baby had some milk, it was gained some strength to stand on its own very briefly. But it was still very weak, so we had to keep feeding it periodically. Last time I saw it today, it could stand for a long time, and walk a short distance. I was really happy to see it getting better. Apparently it was a premature birth. I was told that last night when the mother gave birth, she didn't like the baby, but now she seems to like him. I hope it will grow up to be a big goat so it can feed many people... jk.
When I first came to Kiluani, it was right when PuiMeng was leading Bible study with some of the students from the secondary school. So when she came out, she introduced me to the boys (it's a boys only school). I said this before, but since it was finals week, we arranged to have math and physics lessons Tuesday and Wednesday. But nobody came both days. We had also arranged to have a guitar lesson today at 10am, but since nobody came the other two days, I thought they wouldn't come. So I was going to go to the fellowship with the pastor and PuiMeng. But they came. Their excuse for not coming the other days was that they were busy... oh well, whatever. So I decided to give them a little lesson. We were going to use the sancutuary, but it was being cleaned by some students, so I decided to use the guest house that I'm staying. We had a lesson till 12:30pm, and they left for lunch. They said they wanted to come back at 4pm, so I agreed to give more lesson. They came around 4pm, and since the sanctuary was being used by the choir, we used the guest house again. As I was giving the lesson, PuiMeng came in and seemed a bit surprised. She seemed somehow uneasy about something. Anyhow she said I should use the chapel because it's brighter there. I realized it was getting dark, but we could still see fine, so I said we were ok. Then she said I should let the students go because it's most dinner time (it was 6:05pm). So I told her that the students said they can still till 6:15. For some reason she sounded a bit upset, but she just left saying that they should go very soon. Anyhow, I finished giving the lesson, dismissed the students, and I went over to PuiMeng's place to give back her guitar. Then she told me that students aren't allowed in the guest house. She was a bit upset. I felt bad, so I told her I was sorry, and that I didn't know that they weren't allowed to be there. Then she said I should have asked for permission, and that I shouldn't take things like that for granted, and since I'm a guest I should be especially sensitive. The relationship with the school and the mission hasn't been very good since the government took over the school and a new principle came, so she said I should be careful with anything that has to do with school. She also told me I need to get permission to go anywhere around the premises. I could only tell her I'm sorry, I didn't know. I would have said I'll be careful next time, but I'm leaving soon and there most likely won't be a next time. I felt bad, but I thought it was a bit unfair. Yes, I'm a guest, and I need to be careful how I behave. I also wouldn't take stuff for granted, and I don't think I was taking stuff for granted. I didn't see any problem with letting the boys in the house. Apparently the last time the boys were in the mission house, things went missing. So they don't want students in there any more. But how was I supposed to know? I think it was more of her responsibility to tell me rules like that. Also, none of the students said anything to me when I let them in. Was I being insensitive or taking things for granted? I hope not. Oh well, I should just forget about it... well, now that I wrote all about it, it's probably bit harder to forget, but I think I feel better letting it out somehow. I guess that's just her personality. PuiMeng seems to get easily annoyed with small things, and she's quite confrontational. If there's anything small that she doesn't like, she'll say it. So I'll just take it as her personality, and I'll suppose there's nothing wrong with that. I don't like it, but it helps me become more mature and patient. I like learning to live with people I can't get along with very easily. It opens my mind and widens my heart, I think. That's how I think of my experience in my fraternity. We were all really different, but we were in the same fraternity because of Christ. I learned to live with people I would never be friends with or hangout with otherwise, and I've learned love them as they are. God brings people together for a reason. We can get annoyed at each other, but we can always learn something from our differences. Nonetheless, I really respect PuiMeng for being out here and helping the people the way she does. I can't even imagine being single at her age (probably somewhere in the 30's) living in a place like this. She's been here for 5 years already. Jackson (the driver) told me yesterday that she actually prefers being single.
Since I treated everyone last night with the chicken, PuiMeng, Pastor Stephen, and Isaiah chipped in to get two chickens for us and the workers to eat. So we had a big feast with us four, Lemomo, Leshushu, Nyingei, and Henry. I got to see Isaiah slaughtering the chicken and draining their blood. I recorded a video of the process, so you'll get to see it later. I learned that real Masai people don't eat chicken. I also learned that if you are a moran (Masai warrior) and if a woman sees your food, you can't eat it. Strange but interesting traditions...
Tomorrow after church, I'm taking a goat (about Ksh1200 to Ksh2000) up the mountain with some of the guys. Nyingei will slaughter and prepare the goat. We'll roast the goat whole and eat it there and come down after dark. It will be an interesting experience.
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