Church and School

Habari? Mzuri! How are you? Good!
Yesterday was a free day, meaning no classes! A dozen of us went to an Assemblies of God church and it was so cool to compare it to the one I attend in campus. The church was made of plastered brick and cement with a metal ceiling. Plastic chairs created the seating and an array of fabric hung behind the glass alter. The music came from an old keyboard with two microphones and, as the usual keyboard player was travelling, young boys played the songs. It reminded me of karaoke! The service started similarly to the ones I am used to except the music was very loud and all in Swahili and Maasai. Oh, and a stray dog tried to enter the building so one of the elders ran out to hit it with a rock. A giant lizard kept climbing up and down the walls as well. The service lasted over three hours and included a lot of dancing, singing, and talking by multiple men. Of course, we were also introduced and asked to a song.

After church, we made bracelets with some Maasai women. This is their way of life, making ornamentation for members of their family and to sell. I made a bracelet for my mom (shout out!) and it took forever! I have so much more respect for these women and how diligent they are with this form of art! Then, I went to the local secondary boarding school with Greg and Moriah as well as the interns Jenna and John. We got lost along the way and ended up trudging through the jungle, crawling through a fence, and surprising some male students who were showering! Finally, we made it to the sports field and spent the rest of the time being asked a ton of questions about if I was married, how much I payed to come to Kenya, and why I didn't know Swahili, etc. The people here do not tend to have a personal bubble so sometimes I feel like I'm being suffocated by the crowds, but it was a really good time!

Today we spent the morning surveying group land. In groups of three with a Maasai guide, we plotted five 30 x 30 meter areas 200 meters apart. In these areas we identified all the vegetation as well as the possible effects elephants and humans had on it. This included pulled bark, missing branches, etc. Basically we walked around the African Savannah for almost three hours looking at bushes and trees! It was cool to hear the guide tell us about different plants and such as well as seeing a herd of zebras almost 20 feet away!

On our way back, Jackson was driving and I told him to keep his eyes out for a Swahili Bible. Immediately he did a u-turn, jumped out of the car, and went into a shop on the side of the road. He beckoned me in and I was able to get a Bible for 600 shillings (about 6 USD). It is gorgeous! I was so excited! This afternoon we are completing data analysis.

I am really enjoying the people here, both those from the States and the locals. Asante! Thanks!