Day 8 Visit the Maisaa School

Despite listening to cowbells all night, I slept well. I was grateful that I didn't have to get up to go to the bathroom until morning. I was an early riser. The only people up were our Maisaa guardians who had kept the bonfire going all night. I got up and sat by the fire. They stirred up the coals and got it burning brightly again for me. The sun was coming up and the city that is about 20 Kilometers away was fading from sight. The cattle were stirring but still inside their acacia thorn fence. Camillio got hot coffee and hot water going. A good friend at work gave my a huge box of Nestles no sugar added hot cocoa packets. I have never seen a box of cocoa packets that big before. I brought a bunch on the trip with me. That hot cocoa really hit the spot this morning. Our guards looked so tired. We visited for a time and had our breakfast. We watched a blood gathering. An unwilling young bull was captured by leather straps on his back legs. A tourniquet was tied around his neck to make his carotid artery bulge. An arrow equipped with a blade on top was shot at close range into his neck several times until blood spurted. Usually the blood is collected into a cup and given to the sick or the weak such as those who have given birth, the ill, or the recently circumcised. This blood collection does not kill the cow. Then we packed up and walked over to the school. Although I went slow and I used my cane, this was too far for me to walk. After a half hour we arrived at the school. School was delayed a week due to political unrest and was due to start today but no one had arrived yet. I had seen several girls wearing the school uniform and they were beautiful. The dresses were orange and colorful - a tight blend of many, many orange roses. I couldn't have picked out a finer uniform myself. Two teenage boys brought me in the office and we went over several tests. The first test was all religious questions such as who killed his brother Abel? The second test was questions from botany, health, math and English. The boys read the questions out loud and we took turns giving the answer. We had some discussion over one question. The question was, "HIV can be spread in the following ways: a. sharing a spoon b. kissing c. sleeping together or d. sharing blood." The boys thought the answer was d, sharing blood. I agreed but I asked about c, sleeping together. "No," they said. "Not from sleeping together." I didn't want to be culturally rude here or say anything wrong but this was an important point to me. So I asked, "Does sleeping together mean sleeping in the same room or does it mean mating?" The boys told me it meant sleeping in the same area, not mating. We are sitting extremely close together with our heads bent over the same piece of paper. I brushed my teeth but I don't feel clean after sleeping in my clothes and not having a shower this morning. I wonder why these boys don't smell. They don't have access to running water. We walked through the river bed on the way here - it was bone dry. They don't take showers. I doubt they brush their teeth yet their breath is sweet. I have b.o. but they don't? Why? Is it sweat that causes body odor or is it the bacteria and yeast on sweaty skin that causes the smell? After a long time without a shower, does body odor not get worse and go away on it's own? Does our body produce extra oils because we keep washing the oil off with soap and hot water? None of the people I met here had body odor. That astounds me. I work with people who have body odor. I know how bad some people can smell if they don't shower. I drop off some ink pens for the school and exchange addresses with one of the teachers. The van picks us up and we head back to Narok and to the lodge at Masai Mara National Park. We drop Jonathon off in Narok so he can visit his first wife again. Camillio and Roland also leave to head back to their homes. At the gates of the park we are greeted by very aggressive Maisaa jewelry saleswomen. As we wait for Migwi to pay the park fee, one of the women opens my window and thrusts some necklaces at me. I say, "Hapana. No, thank you." several times. She keeps selling to me so I look away. She does not like this. She hits me in the head with the necklace to get my attention. OK, I wasn't going to buy from her before but I'm really not going to buy after she hits me in the head. Some of the women thrust their bracelets and necklaces into the van trusting we will pay. Migwe is impatient and drives off before one of my companions digs out the 300 shillings she owes. We trust they will remember us in two days when we leave. At the lodge they greet us with warm, wet and white terry cloth towels. I can't believe how dirty my towel is. We check into our rooms and have a few minutes before lunch. My back is killing me now. I always have pain but usually the pain does not overwhelm me. My companions head to the river to check out the hippos. I decide to skip lunch and rest my back. I lie down on the bed and try to relax. After reading for a couple hours I feel much better and we head out on another game drive. This park is truly astounding. We head out from the lodge and in no time we are out in the wilderness. There are huge hills in every direction. I can see for at least 20 miles all around me and I see no sign of human except for the "grass in the middle lane" we drove on. There are no cell phone towers, no electric wires, no buildings, no roads, no nothing except grass and trees and hills and wildlife. Everything is so wild it almost doesn't look real. We drive for 10 or 20 miles this afternoon and see nothing civilized, nothing modern, nothing but African frontier. I know I am in a special place. I am so grateful that things worked out and I could come to this heavenly spot. I probably appreciate it more because I almost didn't get to come. We spot a cheetah and drive over to see it. The cheetah turns it's head away from us. We meow but it is obviously working hard at ignoring us. This is one aloof cat. We end up having to drive around to the other side to get a photograph but it won't look at us straight on. We see Maisai giraffe and lions. Sometimes I think Migwe, our driver, gets too close. One of the lions is looking directly at me. I get nervous. I think I may look like lunch. Yes, I am in a van but what good is a van against the King of the Jungle? That night we have a 5 course dinner in the lodge. I am given too much food again but everything is delicious. The soup is a clear cabbage soup and tastes hearty and scrumptious. The salad has cabbage, peppers, carrots, onions and tomatoes with a delicious vinaigrette. I pass on the bread. I choose the pasta and the sauce is spicy and tasty. I have no room for dessert. At this lodge we're not the only customers. I hear some groups that sound German, Belgium and British. While we are eating a group of 12 Maisai warriors (young men in full dress and long hair) come in singing and dancing. They dance around each table for several minutes. They circle our table very closely. They sing and dance. Once in awhile one lets out a high ululating cry. We love the performance. I realize that it is only because I just spent a night with the Maisai tribe that I am so comfortable. If I had this experience the first or second night in Africa, I would have peed my pants for sure. But tonight I am a well educated, fully indoctrinated visitor and I love every single minute of the Maisai serenade.