I told you about the dolls I got for Natasha and Naini – whom I’ve been calling Diana (Diana is the next biggest one), well, they were very well received.  In fact the kids were ecstatic, and the Three Musketeers, Natasha, Naini and Sironka sang and danced for me.  It was a hoot!

Later – their mom had gone to get wood – I thought it had been way too quiet for way too long and was going out to see what they were up to, and Monica, the major small-child carer in the boma came running to say that the three had disappeared!  We went outside the fence to look around as the kids sometimes played there, but no luck.  So here I was looking at miles and miles of dessert scrubland and wondering where three missing kiddies were.  Monica thought about it for a while and decided that they’d probably gone to their friends’ house to show off the dolls and trucks.  We walked (and walked) to the ‘neighbour’s’ house and sure enough, there were the kids playing with their friends.  They got shooed home and I confiscated the trucks and dolls for 24 hours as a consequence. ’bout had a heart attack though, little rascals!

I don’t know what it is about this landscape – I’d never have thought I could fall in love with sandy scrubland, but I have, both here and in South Africa.  there is something so stark and beautiful, and kind of an endless, end-of-the-world feeling, and I could just walk through it or look at it for hours on end.

Oh, and I forgot to mention – little boys will be boys, where ever you are in the world.  The first thing Sironka did when he got his hands on the girls’ dolls was to look and see if they had panties on, then giggle.

- Tuesday -

The little kiosks are abandoned, I guess because the traffic going past them to shcool is over for the holidays.  Tipoi told me that the town council had been trying to develop that area as a “commercial centre”, but all that had evolved was these few little kiosks, maybe 10 or 12 feet square, made of corrugated tin, and selling bits and pieces of sweets and so on.

And I almost got lost again today.  All the landmarks I had marked out on my first extended stay here look entirely different in context of what has grown or greened around them with the small bit of rain that has fallen.  and to make matters more complicated, the main path to the school, power plant and clinic apparently ran across someone’s land, and they have now plowed it all up in order to plant maize, so I had to walk around, then try to pick up the right path on the other side.  As usual there was someone around herding the goats home who came over to make sure I was on the right path to my destination.  Actually I’m sure (as was the case in the country where I grew up) that no-one can even sneeze without everyone in a 20 mile radius knowing about it.  The country – any country – is definitely NOT the place to be if you want privacy!

ttyl,

guerreiro maasai

Joseph é um guerreiro da tribo Maasai na África. Há algum tempo atrás, ele encontrou um homem enquanto andava por uma poeirenta estrada africana. Esse homem contou para Joseph a história de Cristo e do amor de Deus que tornou possível o perdão de nossos pecados. Joseph se tornou um crente em Deus e se alegrou com a “estória de Jesus”. Com o passar do tempo, ele se tornou uma testemunha forte na fé em Cristo, até que conseguiu fazer a longa jornada saindo da África até Amsterdam (Holanda), para participar de uma conferência evangélica.

Enviar por email para seu amigo e divulgar no seu Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Sua maior esperança era encontrar o pastor Billy Graham, que iria falar durante a conferência. Robert era um membro da equipe do pastor Graham que verificava quais pessoas podiam visitar o pastor Graham. A história de Joseph o convenceu tanto que ele deixou que o guerreiro Maasai contasse sua história diretamente ao pastor Graham.

E aqui está a história de Joseph, o guerreiro Maasai:

“Depois que eu encontrei Jesus, eu fiquei tão empolgado que eu sabia que todos na aldeia onde eu morava ficariam felizes em encontrá-Lo também. Então eu fui de porta em porta dizendo a todos que encontrava sobre a cruz de Jesus e a salvação que Ele nos oferecia.

Para minha surpresa, meu povo não somente não se importava, mas eles se tornaram hostis comigo. Os homens me agarraram preso ao chão enquanto as mulheres me batiam com cabos de arame farpado. Depois eu fui arrastado para fora da aldeia e abandonado no deserto para morrer.”

De algum modo, Joseph conseguiu se arrastar para um poço de água e ali, depois de dois dias entre acordado e desmaiado, ele sentiu que tinha de novo forças para se levantar. Ele estava pasmo com a recepção hostil de sua família e amigos, pessoas que ele tinha conhecido desde que nasceu.

“Eu decidi que eu devia ter esquecido de ter contado algo importante na história que lhes havia dito sobre Cristo. Então eu ali ao lado do poço, comecei a repetir comigo mesmo a história uma, duas, várias vezes. Depois eu fui mancando de volta para a aldeia para contar de novo para eles sobre as Boas Novas de Jesus”.

Eu fui de novo de choça em choça contando a meus vizinhos e amigos sobre Jesus, que morreu por nós para que possamos receber o perdão e conhecer o Deus vivo. De novo, eles me jogaram ao chão e me bateram, até abrir meus ferimentos que já estavam começando a curar. Eu desmaiei e quando acordei vi que eles tinham me arrastado de novo para fora da aldeia, pensaram que eu estava morto”.

“Eu acordei, muito machucado, mas ainda vivo. Pela terceira vez eu consegui ir de volta para minha aldeia e comecei a testemunhar. Mas eles já estavam esperando por mim. Eu fui agarrado, jogado ao chão e quando começaram a bater de novo eu desmaiei. Quando eu acordei, desta vez eu estava na minha cama. Os vizinhos que antes me haviam surrado agora estavam cuidando de mim. Todo mundo na minha aldeia havia se tornado crente em Cristo”.

Depois que Joseph contou sua história ao pastor Billy Graham, ele levantou sua colorida roupa africana e mostrou as suas cicatrizes. O pastor Graham disse a Joseph: “Eu não sou digno de desatar seus sapatos, e mesmo assim você queria falar comigo?”.

A tribo Maasai tem cerca de 840 mil pessoas e antes eram nômades que viajavam entre o Quênia e a Tanzânia pastoreando gado, do qual vivem. Fisicamente, são altos e esbeltos. São temíveis guerreiros e para provar sua coragem um guerreiro Maasai costuma ir individualmente por sua própria iniciativa caçar um leão, armado apenas com uma lança e seu escudo. Se sobreviver e voltar, ele ganha status na sociedade Maasai. Suas roupas e penteados são extremamente elaborados como na foto acima.

Os Maasai não têm cavalos: tocam suas boiadas… a pé! E por isso têm grande preparo físico e performance em corridas, como dizem: passam a vida correndo atrás da boiada ou fugindo dela! Isso quando não têm que lutar contra alguma tribo vizinha que tenta roubar seu gado. Alguns Maasai participaram de maratonas em Londres, Nova York e outras cidades durante 2008 para levantar fundos para tratamento da água em suas aldeias e conservação da natureza.

Enviar por email para seu amigo e divulgar no seu Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

1) Zimbabwe (Victoria Falls)  3.5 Stars

Pro:

• intriguing political atmosphere and its effect on the people
• Many action packed activities: Walking with lions, riding elephants, the infamous bungee jump, Gorge jumping
• Enjoyed the hippy dive bar I went to

Con:

• Victoria Falls did not live up to its name (atleast in May)… I like Niagra
• Activities are high priced

2) Zambia (Zambezi River) 2 Stars

Pro:

• Campsite on Zambezi River was beautiful
• I love monkeys and there were thousands everywhere, also animals invade your campsite.. ever see the book “Monkey Portraits” (LOVE IT!)

Con: 

•  lack luster overall

3) Malawi 4 Stars – Personal Favorite

Pro:

• the reason it is my favorite is not because it is the best but because it involved connecting with the culture and the people
• People in Malawi are very friendly and happy even though they are the poorest (makes you open your eyes ALOT)
• The Area is beautiful, very lush, very relaxed and most of Malawi is on Lake Malawi

4) Tanzania 3.5 Stars

Pro:

• All about safaris, and Masaii Mara culture, Snake Park is a must campsite
• Ngorongoro crater is absolutely the most amazing spectacle in nature

Con:

• Serengeti was lack luster, in fact null luster (but only because of bad timing… MAKE SURE TO GO ON SAFARI WHEN THE MIGRATION IS THERE BEFORE YOU SPEND $400

5) Zanzibar 5 Stars

Pro:

• An island in the Indian Ocean almost speaks for itself. All Day Snorkeling, boating  and huge lunch was well worth the $10?!?!? what
• GO TO KENDWA ROCKS BAR ON HE NORTH SHORE AND DON”T FORGET THE MARKET ON THE SOUTH PART
• It is not just an Island, it has sooo much culture, history, and don’t forget to take a Spice Tour… well worth it!

6) Nairobi, Kenya 3 Stars

Pro:

• It is Nairobi, you must say that you have been there
• You are instantly a celebrity if you are White. I felt like Britney Spears (maybe not a pro)

Con:

• People Stalk you and hassle you
• It is not particularly safe
• Sites are nothing spectucular, unless you go kiss a Giraffe like me look at my travel page

7) Masai Mara (mostly Kenya) 4.5 Stars

Pro:

• The GREAT MIGRATION WAS HERE…. sort of. Not in full force but it was here.
• Felt like I was on the National geographic, scouting around… Kenya has more liberal laws about driving right up on animals
• The Masaii Mara culture is interesting. From circumsizing girls/boys to killing lions for manhood.

If you would like to see pictures check out my Flickr or you can facebook friend me (let me know who you are and why you are adding me!!!)  And as always, leave comments and feel free to ask questions.

New image in the dunes and lake photoshop contest

…
A Day In Masai Mara photoshop picture

What a day!!  The good, the bad and the ugly.

The trip there, was just that – a trip!  We stopped for a restroom break at a lookout over the Rift Valley.  the views were breathtaking.  the lookout was lined with craft stalls, and the owners of the stalls had put in restrooms precisely so that the guides with their tourists would stop, as there are really no other restrooms on the 4+ hour journey to the park, except those put up by the craft sellers.

And what advantage they take!!  I figures out afterwards (much too late for my wallet) that the prices they started negotiating at were about 20 times the reasonable sale price.  I got the prices for what I wanted down to the acceptable 25% of the start, so figure I only paid about 5 X what I should have.

Another scam they have is to say that they’ll take things in trade, if you say you don’t have nough money.  One guy offered me 500 KS credit against a purchase for a 90 KS lighter – so that made me wary right off, and I didn’t compound my stupidity.  They also ask for T-shirts, pins and so on, offering ridiculous “credits” for them – but at the profits they are conning out of unwary tourists, they can afford it!

I’ll post a photo here later of the main scam artist, though they all are cut from the same cloth.  My advice to anyone going to Maasai Mara or out to the Rift Lookout, is to buy NOTHING there.  They have decades of practice in this haggling business, and you will NOT win.

Another thing I learned later is to smell the blankets before you buy them.  If they smell like laundry soap instead of sizing, they have been used, and you don’t want them.  this is apparently something that happens a lot at the park gate, where you will be swarmed by women and girls selling things, and the stuff is all junk.  You will get much better almost anywhere else.  Keep your car windows closed – they will actually throw things into the car in an attempt to get you to buy them.  Another scam is to tell you that a carving or something is old – and they have liberally rubbed it with cow poop and mud to make it look like it wasn’t made yesterday, which it was.  And on the way back, we stopped at another craft stall – with a washroom of course – and I went out back and found the ‘factory’ where the “ebony” carvings are made with black paint and shoe polish.  Caveat emptor reigns here!

BUT – once that was over, and our van had struggled its way across miles of, to me trackless (or more precisely, too many tracks, mostly for goats) savannah, we made it to our camp, a tented camp, 8 KM (supposedly) outside the park.  I found out later it took an hour to drive those 8 km, so you can imagine the roads.

A tented camp is a great place to be.  Tembe, where I stayed in SA, was a tented camp lodge, though I stayed in the reserach cabins.

The tents are huge, 300sq ft at least – high ceilings, double baffled so that there is good air circulation. Sealed floors, double flaps on windows and doors, one netting, and the other a storm flap for closing against the cold or rain.  Proper flush toilet and hot shower, and all that stuff.

After lunch and a half hour to rest, we set out on our evening game drive.  We saw so many things – elephants, giraffe, a couple types of antelope, one of which I dearly want to bring home for a pet, cutest thing you ever did see (Thompson’s gazelle), about a dozen different kinds of birds, zebras, and . . . .  drum roll . . .

a pair of cheetahs!!!!!!  (Which I’d also love to bring home)  I saw cheetahs – real live, beautiful cheetahs in their natural habitat.  What a thrill!

The park closes at 6:30 p.m. due to poachers, and all tourists have to be out, except those staying at the hotels and lodges right in the park, and they have to be in their hotels, not out gadding about or they might be mistaken for poachers and shot.

I’d love to have stayed at one of the hotels in the park in order to be right there and not have to make that hour drive, but their prices start at about $380.00US per night, per person.  Way too rich for my blood.

Our place was really excellent though – staff was wonderful.  Food (I really love to talk about – and eat – good food) was really good.  Hot water bottles were placed in your bed while you are at dinner to ward off the damp, and your room steward closes all the storm flaps and turns on your porch light.

Before and after dinner a chap with a guitar, who did some grounds work during the day, starts a big bonfire in the firepit outside the open air dining room and sings songs in several languages.  I suspect he was Congolese, both from the timbre of his voice and his rotund shape – not to mention I couldn’t see where his trousers waist was (Congolese wear them up almost under their armpits, very au courant in Lagos), and he did sing some rhumba in Lingala – but his English was too lacking to be able to really find out.  I did find out that he played with several bands in Mombassa, where he lived mostly.  He was good fun, doing everything from My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean, to Congolese Rhumba, to Swahili gospel.  I had fun doing some harmony singing with him when he did some ’60s and ’70s favourites like Country Roads.

Then, off to the tent.  Sat outside on the porch for quite a while just listening to the birds and frogs – and this animal called a hyrax, which looks like a tailless possum, and makes the loudest noise of any animal I have ever heard.  Silly looking thing is most closely related to an elephant, of all things.

It’s vocalisations start out with this bloodcurdling scream to mark territory, and then progresses to this sound that I can only liken to a stick being run along a wooden picket fence, with the sound magnified a zillion times through a loudspeaker.  You just cannot credit how such a small critter can make such a horrible, but fascinating racket.

As I sat there, the hyraxes quieted down and the cutest little bush babies started jumping out of somewhere and coming to hang on my tent poles, just staring at me.  I had to be perfectly still, as one movement larger than a small breath and they would be off.  And talk about jump!  These little things must have been 6 or 8 inches high, but seemed to have no trouble jumping 15 or more feet into a tree from a standing start on the ground.  It boggled the mind!

I have always been enchanted by bush babies, and in SA all the photos I tried to take resulted only in a pair of perfectly round, glowing eyes shining out of the dark.  But this time, the second night, I tried my video camera with the night setting and the backlight activated, and I think I got them!!

Tucked my weary bones into a lovely comfy bed, and drifted off to sleep lulled by the chorus of owls and frogs.  I could live like that for quite a while without tiring of it.

More later – someone else wants to use the computer.

In celebration of the birth of our Masai community project, we threw a party. A goat-slaughtering party.

Here’s a step-by-step guide so you can try it with your friends:

1. Take mbuzi goat into forest.

2. Strangle goat with bare hands.

3. Skin goat (with panga machete).

4. Poke goat’s jugular vein; casually drink oozing blood.

5. Hack goat apart limb from limb (with panga).

6. Chop firewood (with panga).

7. Roast goat and all its organs over fire.

8. Slice goat into bite-sized chunks (with panga).

9. Close eyes and awaken the inner carnivore.

10. Devour meat chunks until bloated or unconscious. Keep chewing. Meat makes you strong, they say.
Materials needed:
1 pair bare hands
1 goat
1 panga

Step 1

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 7

===================================
Yes, I drank the blood, straight from its neck. It tastes like fish. Of course I had a million questions beforehand: is it diseased, will I get AIDS, will I be eaten alive by intestinal worms? Their sympathetic grins were enough to shut me up. To me it means “Silly mzungu, we know what we’re doing,” which is the usual response when I ask scared-white-guy questions.

It took about 30 minutes to dissect the whole goat, head to toe, with that one panga. Impressive. In 9th grade biology we dissected a rat, and it took me 30 minutes to stop giggling at its oversized testicles.

A science lab you can eat

========================

This picture was a joke.

This picture was not.

Response time! What do you think? A few questions come to mind: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever dissected? For all our worries and hyper-hygiene practices, are Americans really that much healthier?

There was something about the way the Masai interacted with the land.

They knew it. Like a friend.

When we went hunting, I caught a revelatory glimpse into this knowing.

Hunting was the first time I had seen them actually run. We walked everywhere together, but there was something different, new, about the way they glided at this speed on their feet. They dart between bushes and leap over rocks, flowing like a breeze over the earth. They make use of each bend and turn, as if each bump in the soil was examined beforehand. They are so apart of the land, and the land is apart of them. They know it. They know and respect the zebras, they are a part of the zebras. And the zebras seem to understand them. The closest I ever got to the zebra while hunting- almost within throwing distance – it was watching me from the corner of its eyes. It understood. It knew what was going on. Zebra we come, we are hunting, we need food, you are our food, and although the zebras run away, they know.

————————————————————————
Then there was our family’s grandfather.
The grandfather had his place in the yard where he would spend all day. He would walk out of bed to the chair and sit. He only got up at dark to go back to bed.

He was also blind. But he saw in other ways, as many blind people can do.

One day, he heard a flock of birds chirping. He asked what bird it was. His grandson described the bird to him- the colors, the feathers.
It’s going to rain, he said knowingly.
That’s a nice thought, said my inner skeptic. Good luck with that one.

It rained.
For the first time in 8 months it rained.
He knew.

And it made me want to have that kind of connection, even a fraction of the knowing that they had.

During the last week-and-a-half of my stay in Kenya I have booked for a “safari” to two of the parks – Masai Mara for 3 days and this one for one day.

I had always dreamed of seeing the thousands of flamingoes who come to this park to ingest the minerals in the lake that turn them that bright pink, and now it looks as if that might be a sight that mankind is losing forever.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8055553.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8057316.stm

What are we doing to our world?  And how do we balance the needs of humankind with the needs of our furred and feathered neighbours?

The way it was 2 years ago

Masailer ya da Maasailer Tanzanya ve Kenya sınırları içinde bulunan ‘Masai Mara’ bölgesinde yarı göçebe bir hayat süren yerli halka verilen isimdir.

Maa dilini konuşurlar.

Maasai toplumunda ataerkillik egemendir; önemli kararlar genelde yaşlı erkekler tarafından alınır.

Toplumsal yaşantıyı genel olarak sözlü yasalar belirler. Resmi bir cezalandırma sistemi yoktur; genelde anlaşmazlıklar büyükbaş hayvan verilerek çözülür. Bunun dışında ‘amitu’ denilen barış yapma, veya ‘arop’ denilen özür dileme gibi sorunu kendi arasında çözme uygulamaları da bulunur.

Maasailerin dini tek tanrılıdır; tanrılarına Engai adı verilir. Engai çift doğası olan tek bir tanrıdır: Engai Narok (Siyah Tanrı) yardımseverdır, Engai Nanyokie (kırmızı Tanrı) ise cezalandırıcıdır.

“Tanrı Dağı”, Ol Doinyo Lengai, Tanzanya’nın kuzeyinde yer alır. Maasai dinsel sistemi içinde laibon adı verilen kişiler vardır; bunlar şamanistik tedavi, fal bakma ve kehanet dışında savaşlarda başarı ve bol yağış sağlama gibi görevleri vardır. Laibon’un saygınlığı sosyal konumundan çok, kişisel becerisinden kaynaklanır.

Maasaileri çoğunluğu Hıristıyanlığa geçmiştir, ayrıca bir miktar Müslüman da bulunmaktadır.

Maasile için renklerin anlamları vardır.

• Yeşil =Çayırlar
• Mavi =Gökyüzü
• Beyaz =Süt
• Kırmızı =Tehlike
• Siyah =Yağmur

Masailer kolye yaparken aşağıdaki renkleri birarada kullanmazlar.

• Koyu kahverengi ve siyah
• Koyu mavi ve siyah
• Sarı ve beyaz
• Kırmızı ve turuncu

Bu renkleri yan yana kullanabilmek için aralarına açık mavi koyuyorlar.

Masai Kabilesi’nde kızlar 13 yaşına geldiğinde, orgazm olmalarını engellemek için sünnet edilirler. Erkekler birden fazla kadınla evlenebilirler ve boşanmak neredeyse yasak.Masai erkeklerine göre eşler birbirlerini kıskanmaz…

Kahvaltıda ne yediklerini merak ediyorsanız, şu: Sabahları süte karıştırılmış kan ve et! Karbonhidrat nedir bilmiyorlar. Kaçınılmaz olarak hepsi tam bir kas yığını. Gitmek istedikleri yere yürüyerek gidiyorlar.

Masai gelini

Masai kadını

Masai kızları

muhteşem takılar

Masai Savaşçısı

kaynak:wikipedi

Well, I’m off to Kenya next week, so just setting up this blog so that at least I have that done. I don’t know how often I will be able to post, since I hear that there is no electricity or running water even, where I’ll be going this time. Going to have to discover the method for bucket baths again . . .

We’ll see – information is difficult to come by and is contradictory sometimes, so a lot will be waiting and seeing.

BUT – the one thing I wanted to do here is add a travel tip that has probably done more to make my travel comfortable than anything else.

That is to carry a small wash bag in your carry-on luggage. Take a face cloth, toothbrush, toothpaste as the bare necessities, and a change of socks and underclothing if you can fit it in. Not only does it mean that at layovers on long, long flights you have the chance to clean up and feel relatively human again, but if your luggage gets sent to Atlanta and you’re going to Amsterdam, you will have the basics until your luggage arrives or you can get to a store. Before I did this, the grubby feeling I’d have when I got off a plane after flights lasting many hours would just cast a pall on the wonder and excitement of being somewhere new and infinitely interesting.

The other thing I think is fairly important is to have hardsided luggage with a recessed lip so nothing can get in the lip and pry it apart. Zipper-closing luggage can be opened with a ball-point pen or any other pointed object, your stuff stolen and the luggage closed up again so that you don’t even know you’ve been teefed until you realise that certain things are not only not in the bag you were sure you packed them in, they’re not anywhere! And besides, you can sit on the hardsiders in those interminable airport check-in lines.

Don’t take traveller’s cheques, or US cash like we all used to do.  Just take your bank (ATM) card – but make sure that the country you are going to has the appropriate network, and actually uses ATM cards.  In some countries you can only use your credit card, so you’ll have to have a PIN for that.  Many countries interchange the terms too, so just because someone there tells you that you can use a bank card they still might really mean a credit card.  Check with your own bank before you leave home.

And – call your bank and credit card security, tell them the dates you will be gone, where you are going, where you are passing through, and which card numbers you are taking.  Otherwise, you risk having your card cut off if the bank gets an overseas charge and they can’t get hold of you to verify it.  And if charges come from overseas weeks or months after you are home (they often do, just because things can take time, ya know?) the bank will know that you are home and call to verify the charge if it looks iffy.  Don’t need someone keeping your credit card number and sending their kid to college on it, eh?

Just thought of another one.  You know how hard it is to figure out which luggage is yours on the carousel at the airport?  I spray paint a flower (well, that’s what it’s supposed to be anyway) or a pattern on my luggage.  Makes it easy to spot right away.  I’ve seen people who tried tying ribbons on their handles and stuff like that, but they always came off.  I love the time and aggravation it saves me.

If I think of more stuff, I’ll add it as it comes up . . .   AND – if you have any great travel tips, why not share them here?

Hello people!

New news!!! I have introduced N to the K-Files. She doesn’t mind everyone knowing her name so N is now known as Niki. Niki is also my lovely housemate…we bake not so awesome chocolate cakes in our freetime and she blogs about that. Niki is also on twitter @EmeraldDru and the link to her blog is on there.

Back to the news. Niki read the K-files and decided that other little events should have been added in, therefore…once the K-Files have been completed we shall be starting K-Files Uncut! Woot!

So we’re up to Sunday on the Kenya Files and a trip to Amboseli.

We were finally allowed to have a lie in on Sunday morning, getting up at 8:30 instead of 6 a.m. Good Times. We went through the usual morning rituals, shower, food, malaria tablets.

At about 9 a.m ish we were once again herded into our respective vans and set out in the direction of Amboseli.

The drive seemed to me to take forever, maybe it was because I hadn’t eaten that much before downing my tablet and my stomach was now regretting that mistake.  But eventually we got there. This is what we’d been looking forward too really. Unfortunately one of the archaeology girls had to stay back at camp as she’d been quite ill the day before and she was a tad upset about that.

We were greeted by the usual women at the gate to the park. We had to stop for quite awhile whislt we waited for Jackson to sort out our entrance fees ect and the women were using this time to try and harrass us into buying beads and animal carvings. At one point one of the women tried to swap a carved giraffe for Niki’s Ipod. You can probably guess that, that swap didn’t go ahead.

The women lost interest pretty quickly when more tourists turned up and we made our way into Amboseli. We drove around the park for awhile spotting the usual Gazelles and Zebra, we were hoping to see lions but unfortunately we had no such luck. But we were given biscuits!!! We hadn’t had any sort of snack food in a week!

Ofcourse TMAPITW was in the van with us. I don’t know why, I’m sure she would have preferred to be in the van with her blonde sidekick, and we would have gladly crammed her in there.  She of course had to make little comments all the way around : “we’ve seen these!” and sighing, falling asleep at one point. This was Amboseli!!! it costs over £1000 to go and stay there and do the safari etc and she was just not interested.

Of course I was sat at the back of the van again…all cramped up. We were standing up to take photographs- well except TMAPITW who had seen everything before and had no need to pay attention to Amboseli but of course she managed to stand up in front of my camera everytime I was trying to take a photograph! Seriously I have 50+ photographs of the back of her head. Hmm attractive.

About half way round the safari we stopped at one of the lodges. We used this to our advantage, buying gifts for family and friends. We got pretty close to the monkeys at this point…no longer were they in trees in some distant trees but sitting next to us on the path (and stealing our lecturers sugar, very amusing). I regretted not having a set of 100% clean clothes to wear though, I mean in the camp we were okay to walk around in dusty clothes but Amboseli was where the rich people went and they weren’t walking around with dusty clothes, muddy boots and rucksacks.

It was nice though, nice to sit in a chair with a cushion and have someone bring you a cold glass of coke and laugh at the monkeys stealing Peter’s sugar. Niki and C went swimming, I would have joined them but alas I can not swim…interesting development though: L also went swimming so TMAPITW had no option but to sit with P and I. Of course she began taking to us as though she hadn’t been bitching about us and ignoring us for the past week. I tried to move but she followed us…and so did S. Woo, double the fun.

The comfort couldn’t last however and we had to load ourselves back into the vans and continue with the safari. I liked the second half better purely because we saw Elephants,  I mean, we’d seen Elephants around the camp but these were really close walking right infront of our vans…and there were baby Elephants!!

We were on the way to Observation Hill for dinner at this point and after an hour or two we got there. Of course..I don’t think we were expecting to have to climb all the way up the hill carrying big boxes of food. I was knackered when we got to the top!   This is where we discovered Niki’s phobia. Observation Hill has birds flitting round all over the place. Niki does not like birds. The number of birds increased once the food arrived and they didn’t disappear once we’d eaten it all. This made the lecture more fun though. We were all quietly listening to Jackson and Jr. talking about Elephants and the damage they cause but were frequently interrupted by Niki screaming and running away from birds; it didn’t matter though as the lecture came to a premature end after being hijacked by chinese tourists.

Instead of the lecture we had a photo session…at the edge of the fricking cliff,  staring into the sun. Genius. We had to stand there for about 10 minutes squinting into the sun whilst Jackson took the same picture on  at least 10 different cameras. Did no one remember Facebook? One person upload the picture and the rest of us will then steal that picture.

Going back down the hill was a lot easier than walking up it but it was still still boiling hot out there so I was glad to get back into the van once more (could have done without bein cramped in the back but never  mind!) The rest of the day was spent driving back to the camp, relaxing in our broken plastic garden chairs and having drunken conversations around the campfire.

Good Times

Dandi & Ugo – Live @ Club Masai

Mirror

One of the kids

Another one of the kids

This bird also followed me for awhile

my little chicken stalkers

A Maasai hut. Tiny and pitch black inside! I couldn’t see anything!

From July 23 to August 1 I traveled to Kenya, Africa with Compassion International. I journaled some of my thoughts as we visited some of the projects that Compassion has going on in Kenya:

7-25-09      God continues to remind me that I have all I need.

Visiting Masai was quite amazing. Felt awkward at times though. I don’t like the feeling that I’m exploiting people or gawking at their poverty. Taking pictures awkward and a bit weird but the people were gracious and didn’t seem to mind.

Seeing how the Masai live made an impression.  There is no TV, and cell phones are rare. Obviously there is no electricity or indoor plumbing, we discovered the “cho” (bathroom). I was a bit paranoid about eating some of the food but I didn’t want to offend our Masai hosts. So I think I managed to avoid any big pieces of goat meat in the potato stew and ate a bunch of the vegetables and broth.

Still nearly 300 kids and their parents were warm and welcoming. The children at times seemed a bit shy or even afraid of us. I think they were particularly taken with the more fare-skinned pastors and visitors!  Thats okay, I’m not offended!!! (smile) Once it was time for selling their handmade crafts it was a bit crazy and you had to deal with being bombarded with bracelets, necklaces, belts, and other beaded crafts. All great stuff and I was able to pick up some cool bracelets for the girls. It was tough to say no though especially to the kids trying to sell their stuff.  Someone had even crafted an “Obama” breaded item. Isn’t that amazing!  The power of marketing!

Saw Zebras in the wild as we drove in and on our way back out as well, absolutely amazing!  Fairly long ride out to the area but well worth it. Saw a more primitive living family out away from the project. They lived in huts made out of cow dung and mud!! The women are responsible for building and maintaining the house, while the men take the herds to find water.  Polygamy is still practiced by some but Christianity is helping many of them leave that practice behind. Truly beautiful people in an amazing country.  I am grateful to be here.

Helt oväntat går Masai och vinner 10 000m när Defar får toksyra på upploppet. En prestigeseger för Kenya även om Dibaba saknades. Det här har Kenya väntat på! Glädjen i Masais ögon fick “Den Flygande Köttbullen” att smälta!

Permas Mall

• Asking Rental: from ~RM2500 to ~RM12000
• Location: Permas Mall, Permas Jaya, Masai, Johor, Malaysia
• Lot Size: 40′ x 65′
• Newly completed walkway shoplot for rent.
• Current occupants in Permas Mall include Maybank, Hotel, Pub, French restaurant, spa and etc. Surrounding developments include Jusco, Bestmart, etc.
• Residential developments in vicinity include strait view condo, pan vista apartment and etc.
• Kindly contact TopHills Realty 07-2363232 or email admin@tophills.com.my for more information.

• Are you interested in property in Iskandar Malaysia Development region? Iskandar Malaysia is set to become Southern Peninsular Malaysia’s most developed region, where living, entertainment, environment and business seamlessly converge within a bustling and vibrant metropolis. Please contact us now!

We went zebra hunting today- Uncle Moses, Israel, a cousin and I.

(It carries a different social stigma there; it is not done for sport but for necessity. Although I hesitated at first, I remembered that this was a different mindset, and by tagging along it would be a sign of respect to my friends.)

We went right past uncle Moses’s home, by the river where we had the CBO mbuzi slaughter party. There were some zebras grazing right there. Before I had practiced throwing the spear in my mind, rocking the spear back and forth. “Mental preparation is key.” I whispered to myself. “Very important…. Go through the motions in your mind a few times……..”

“Stephen”… yelled uncle Moses “… just throw the dam spear.”
=====================================
Hunting.

One of the most primal instincts to mankind.
Pacified and manicured by Western societies, now experienced only through video games or competitive hockey events.
Today I will fully awaken my inner hunting instincts.

Spears in hand, snarling dogs beside us, I march with 3 other men towards the river.
By the river is a field, and in the field there are zebras. Our zebras.

Hunting

We go hunting.

We are men and we go hunt.

To kill.

We go with men to hunt and kill, for food or fun. Big spears. Fast legs. To overpower outsmart the creature that is stronger than us.

Zebras in the field out there. They have seen us already. No stealth necessary. Now we just run. Chase until there‘s nowhere left to run.

Chasing chasing dam they are fast. Time speeds. Blurs. Streaks by.

White black stripes prancing retreating mocking us come back now please.
Legs whirling over flat endless green.
The metal cold sharp pointing aiming for that distant mocking prancing meat, the sharp is not home yet, it is not in flesh yet.
Stop moving white black speck come back with your friends.

Wind rushes past my ears, legs mechanically create new speed, veins surge with tension. Someone behind me is panting very loud. Meat speck is closer now. River is to our left, bending in front of us.

Running running spearing KILL. I am man I kill to eat. Chasing you to throw a spear KILL. This is me, this is me STRONG we have more strong than you, we are HUNTING YOU.

STOP NO no no no lets be civilized man there was a nice zebra plush doll at that booth in the airport, that will do just fine, easy plush doll, calm down.
Why am I still running.
Chase. Zebra. White black flat green cold metal…

Zebra and I emerge from the bend closer than ever before, almost within throwing distance.  The zebra glaring watching me from the corner of its eye. It knows. It knows what’s going on, why we are here, our game.

Frozen moment.

Time slows, and between each time the ground touches my feet a million thoughts pass. My legs are numb looking down observing them in motion startled how they move.

Arm poised overhead ready to throw, just one bit closer, hello zebra do you mind just one little prick with the metal sharp….

Zebra leaps ahead, big bounding escaping strides, the distance between us grows again.

Baadaye, say the others. Next time.

Zebra prances away laughing.

——-

April 8, 19:00 hrs.
(To be read aloud with a deep gloomy voice, of a traumatized old man)…

Back in the year 2009, I was living with the Masai tribe in a remote p art of Kenya. They told me of a place called Enkinyoei – a place of strange happenings and unexplained mysteries. When the Masai speak about it, the mood grows somber and their eyes fill with worry, as if even too much talk about it will summon a great evil out of its usual underground confinements.

Enkinyoei. There is a cave with a river inside, next to a deep deep pond. Inside the pond lives a very large mysterious snake-like creature. The bottom of the pond cannot be measured. They remember some mzungus (white people) came to measure it with their fancy equipment and tried to measure it – they couldn’t.

Sometimes in the morning, the creature will be seen jumping into the sky, its head high in the clouds, its tail still in the ground. Many have seen it- grandpa, grandma, and most of the older generation in the area. And in the evening it will return from the sky diving back into the pond. Its skin is shiny, “like an iron sheet,” says the grandpa. Sightings have been reported for around 40 years, but it could have been there longer. There might be more than one- maybe a whole family.

Recently the water has receded, so some say the creature lives in the cave now.

When Grandfather was young, he went with his father and some Masai moraans (warriors) to see inside the cave. They painted the walls of the entrance with their face paint, wrote the name of their generation, and marked it with their handprints. Now Grandfather’s father was a seer- he was the clan’s spirit-man. As the warriors entered the cave, he sensed there was a great water coming from inside. So he said to them “Come, let us go up the banks of the basin to be safe.” But the men would not listen to him. So he took his son (Grandfather) and went back up the cliffs of the pond basin. As soon as they had reached the higher ground, the river surged and water filled the cave, sweeping away all the men and killing them.

They say one man has lived in the cave for at least 100 years- Grandfather saw him, his father saw him, and his father’s father saw him. The man is so tall you think he is a tree, and is covered in much hair and has very long teeth. He does not kill humans but he does scare them.

At night, the local residents can still hear the voices of those dead warriors screaming and shouting from inside the cave. Although the water drowned their bodies, they aren’t fully dead- their spirits still dwell inside the cave. (We visited James’s family, who lives close by, and hears the voice quite regularly at night).

Another group of Masai moraans went in, armed with spears and everything, but when they were halfway through the cave tunnel they were paralyzed by a strong spirit of fear, and did not dare take another step. They didn’t ‘see’ anything dangerous but knew they should turn back. What they did see was a light – rays from the sun? – at the other end of the tunnel. Where does it go? Where is it coming form? No one knows.

An mzungu also went in with cave-exploring spelunking equipment. “He had a flashlight on his head”, grandpa said. Again, about halfway through the tunnel he was gripped by the sense of fear- something was coming- and he quickly turned back.

Nowadays, the cave is home to a pack of hyenas and ‘other creatures’. The locals call it a ‘new breed of hyenas: they are bigger, meaner and more daring- they will even attack humans.’

One hyena entered a home near Birika and attacked a 9-year old boy, biting his head. The boy’s father happened to be weaponless at the time, but tried fending it off with his hands. Both are in the hospital now.

I went with David to see one of these dead hyenas a few days ago. It had stolen one of their neighbors cows, so the next day the man put poison on the cow’s carcass. When the hyenas came back to continue their feats, the poison killed it almost instantly. We found its body about 100 meters away from where the dead cow had been.

The hyena was big, ugly, and bloated. It eyes looked like it had died surprised, in a state of shock. It had bled a bit on the ground, from the neck or mouth. Now it was the one being eaten, by flies. I wonder if its friends had found it, came to visit. They were probably hungry for revenge.

Of course hyenas aren’t the only monsters creatures living in the cave. To this day, there are none who can explain what unknown terror lurks in the dark depths of that pit, that wound in the earth, that gateway to hell. If any brave soul has made it far enough to see, they didn’t come back out again.

This is not only some exaggerated legend or local fairy tale that exists only in the minds of the Masai elders. This is real. I was there. I saw it. Listen carefully so you don’t make the same mistakes less fortunate souls have made – souls who didn’t have a chance to be warned.

Now simply hearing these stories should have been enough to satisfy me- and warn me. But you may find that, in the quest to feed your insatiable appetite for adventure, it ends when you yourself are the one being eaten.

There were two other Masai youth – friends of mine- who were also curious to see the innards of this mystery. So we set off from their home into the vast bush to find this place, not knowing what we would encounter, carrying nothing but our walking sticks. We walked for 8 km before finding it, so by the time we arrived we were already tired and weak…..

April 9, 2:00am. This story needs to be finished later. I can’t right now- it’s messing with my head. Every time I go outside the dogs start barking at something, but it’s not me. Am I alone out there? If I listen closely to the night air I can hear voices… “YOU, human, who do you think you are to disturb us?” (Ok that’s a joke it’s not real). Not real. Not real notreal ntoe aelra noera ot rela hlpppppppppppp
Later, later, must sleep, must hide now.

We should have been looking behind us….

the white masai

Ad esempio, se una persona senza importanza di nome Ol-Onana (colui che è delicato, calmo, gentile) dovesse morire, il suo kraal non dirà ennannai per esprimere la gentilezza, ma userà un’altra parola (epolpol - ciò che è liscio).

Quando muore un anziano, il suo corpo non viene abbandonato come quello delle persone morte prematuramente. Il corpo viene trattato con unguenti, si fabbricano nuovi calzari, una pecora viene uccisa e il suo grasso arrostito.

Non conosco niente della cultura di quel popolo, ma l’abitudine di non nominare mai più qualcuno scomparso prima del dovuto mi pare affascinante. E’ una forma estrema di rimozione di quanto ci è in assoluto più sgradito, di quanto ci risulta in assoluto più inaccettabile, ingiusto ed inspiegabile. Sembra quasi che la morte prematura produca rabbia più che dolore, e che l’oblio sia la forma in cui essa viene agita.

Ho sempre pensato che nel nominare in modo sereno una persona cara che non c’è più sia contenuto un esorcismo che la trasforma in una storia. In fondo, che cosa è la morte, se non diventare in pochi istanti una fotografia? Come diceva mio padre – un altro che manca all’appello. Solo se al posto di una persona che c’era e non c’è più troviamo una storia possiamo cercare di schivare il dolore. Anche per alcuni popoli africani gli antenati diventano come dei, spesso bonari e protettivi, qualche volta bizzosi e dispettosi. Ma non sono più persone.

I Masai sembrano esprimere una cultura abbastanza materialista, che non crede nella sopravvivenza dell’anima dopo la morte. Fanno eccezione, come in tutte le culture, stregoni e uomini ricchi: quando questi muoiono, dal loro corpo in putrefazione, i Masai credono si formi un serpente sacro, che ritorna nel kraal dei loro figli per proteggerli. Per questa ragione, i Masai non uccidono quei serpenti che ritengono essere la reincarnazione dei loro cari: le donne che ne dovessero trovare uno nella loro capanna offriranno loro del latte, ed essi se ne andranno dopo averlo bevuto.

Thank you www.worldvision.com.au and The Tanzania office. Amazing!

Going to Tanzania to visit my sponsor child was my primary reason for going to East Africa. Who knew that I would be so mesmerised and completely changed after the visit. Nairobi and Northern Tanzania, Arusha, were like no-where I had ever been before. There is so much room for growth and development- but the people also seem happy and thankful for what they have.

 

The people I met, the experiences I had, and the encounters with animals have left me yearning for more! I will visit Africa again in 2010 and seek interested people who want to carry a message and a mission!

Let yourself experience something completely new and open your eyes to the world of possibilities- and share those possibilities with people of the world.

Kenya, Tanzania – 10th – 14th December
 
Well, lets just say this was THE MOST interesting experience of my life. Going to Africa  COMPLETELY alone, with no contacts apart from the tour group I booked it with. I experienced extreme culture shock after my HORRIBLE 5 hour flight on Kenya Airways, and after spending 2 hours or more on the Tarmac, arriving at my hotel to find literally a 2×3m  room, I was not impressed.

After the initial panic attack and multiple attempts to contact any damily member I could, I grabbed some dinner. My lovely tour arranger Chris (www.eastafricashuttles.com), who was so welcoming, helped me to get in contact with mum. I was nervous at first but he really made me feel comfortable and assured me that no matter where I was in Africa, they would take care of me. For this reason, I think sometimes it is better to travel alone. Scary at first, but then you get more interaction with locals and you are often able to receive more help.

 The next day I caught a very interesting 6 hour bus ride to Arusha Tanzania – It was interesting to say the least, the roads aren’t exactly the best and I wouldn’t call the bus ’spacious’. But I got to see a lot more of the land this way and many small communities. Look, if anything, it’s an experience!! That’s what I will keep telling myself in any case…

 The hotel in Arusha was much better and my lovely new friend Hakim helped me settle in, another great staff member of east Africa shuttles. But I had major panic attacks that night because I couldn’t contact World Vision and I was meant to be seeing my Sponsor child Lazaro the next day – I was devastated and I collapsed into bed that night over it, exhausted and desperately sad.

Turns out my panic was FOR NO REASON- All was fantastic!!!! Isack came to get me from my hotel, I got driven to the site in the Shambaraii district, I cried when I met the people in the office, it was the most emotional experience of my life.  (im actually crying now as I write)

When I met Lazaro we  both fell to the ground in a bundle of emotion, he was so overwhelmed,. For him, this was a completely one off and first time experience, he had no idea how to act. The whole village came out to meet me and I got to hold this sweet, kind, innocent little boy that I had been sponsoring for 4 years. We were in the middle of the desert and I was in a real MASAI TRIBE.

 I cannot express how it feels to have a parent look you in the eye, like Lazaros parents did, and say thank you and know that you have done so much for this persons quality of life.

WORLD VISION!! PLEASE EVERYONE; SPONSOR A CHILD TODAY. Its only $40 a month and its the best thing you will ever do!! www.worldvision.com

We played soccer with the new ball I gifted to him and the family then cooked me a very special traditional meal. I gave him more gifts and we cried again, and then he gave me gifts for my family. A bracelet and a necklace. We took a tour of the village and I played with the other children. 2 children walked with me at all times on either side holding my hand. The translators and office workers walked with us and explained the community. INCREDIBLE. How many people get to experience this type of culture first hand. It is truly moving.

It was so hard to leave him but I know I will be back to see him. HONESTLY THE BEST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE and I want to do everything in my power to help. I sat in the car on the way back completely numb- shocked to the core and extremely contemplative. an experience like this makes one feel so small. So helpless. It really puts you in your place and makes you see that there is so much out there that is just so much bigger than us. Bigger than we can ever fathom.
 
Another day in Arusha, just looking at Markets and a night out with Hakim. Then the 6 hour bus again and the fun with visas and immigration to get back into Kenya.

Next I would have  a night and day in Nairobi. I went to Carnivore Restaurant . The most meat you will ever see in your life and the tastiest- including ostrich, turkey, beef and then some weird stuff like crocodile and giblets…. hmmmm.
 
My last day in Africa was so busy!!! I went to the David Sheldrick Elephant orhpanage (where I adopted an elephant), A giraffe sanctuary (where I kissed a giraffe) a crocodile farm ( where I held crocs, watched them feed, patted an angry camel, ran away from ostriches) and then back to the Elephant orphanage to play with my little Kimána and then off to my drivers house.

My drivers house was in a little village outside of Nairobi, where I was most definitely the only white person. I got to hold his new born baby and he said this was very special for his lovely wife Ann. I also met his nieces and nephews who liked playing with my hair and looking at my photos. A very unique experience to go to a real African home and simply through chatting with my driver and asking if he would take me there before he had to drive me to the airport. He was so happy and proud to take me there. He was worried that he would not be able to see his relatives and I had ended up having him out longer then it was meant to be. But being so obliging and giving me 110% service he stayed with me, so I said that I would go to his house with him so that he could see his relatives, If he didn’t mind. To see someone smile the way he did was such a great gift! The only sad part… my camera died.

 
Then another 14 hour flight…………………… to LONDON!
 
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=48882&id=511114236&l=7b55c05ed8- Visiting my sponsor child
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1076375&l=a5ea52173f&id=511114236- Kenya

Please Sponsor an Elephant. You then have the opportunity to go visit them in Africa and hold one as I did:

http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org

The pastoral Masai native gruop occupy the Narok and Kajiado districts of Kenya, and share the Olmaa language from which their name derives within Kenya with the Samburu and Ilchamus, and across the border in Tanzania with the Arusha and Baraguyu.

The Masai native People are trying to survive in the contemporary society.

They are a semi-nomadic people who lived under a communal land management system in Kenya . The movement of livestock is based on seasonal rotation. We can say that they have a responsible behavior with the management of their resources because they respect the environment and they utilize their tools in a sustainable manner.

Each tribe manages its own territory.