Day 18: Peacock Feathers and Goat Heads

I woke up early and headed outside to go to the bathrooms. On my way back I saw a gigantic bird in our campsite so I quickly grabbed my camera from the tent. Then when I turned around a second giant bird was there as well, I knew that one was a peacock and it was beautiful.

Isaac came from somewhere and I excitedly pointed out the two birds to him. The peacock dropped a feather so Isaac gladly held it up for a picture upon my request.
I found out the other bird was a marble stork. I sat down for coffee and continued to watch the birds. After showers and breakfast we broke camp ahead of schedule and we were on our way to Maasai lands.

Our Maasai escort, Jonathon met us for lunch in town where we were also able to do a little shopping and use a cyber cafe. Jonathon was nice but it was different to suddenly have a new person teaching and leading our group.

As we drove through the closest town to Jonathon's Maasai home we were told to not take any pictures until we were at his place. We passed by a mob of people with clubs escorting a guy in his underwear and his hands tied together. Jonathon explained that he must have attempted to steal something so he was going to get beat. Another strong reminder that we weren't at home anymore. It actually made me feel sick to my stomach. I didn't like knowing someone's safety was clearly in danger and there was nothing I could do about it. Also, driving through this town I did not get the smiling faces and waves I normally did and I was quickly uncomfortable. I did not feel welcome there and I didn't understand why, why I would be somewhere I wasn't welcome and why I wasn't welcome.

After the longest dirt road in the world we finally arrived at Jonathon's home. Jonathon had two wives and explained that they lived in two separate houses. His first wife was his parents choice and his second wife was his personal choice. He had three children but he only seemed excited about his boy, which was the youngest.

He had us introduce ourselves to the three "newly circumsized boys" as he referred to them and they hung around on and off during our visit there. He also had us all pile into his house which was made of sticks, mud and manure. Packed in there like sardines I could barely stand up straight and we were bulging out the door.


The house was a hallway, two beds of some sort and a fire pit in the middle with a four inch hole in the wall for ventilation. There was another set of rooms where the youngest goat and calf would sleep as well. We also got a tour of the fenced area where the cows would sleep which Jonathon was excited about but the rest of us were more entertained by the giant spider on the fence.

We made our way down to camp where we met the two goats we would be eating that night. We also watched the "newly circumsized boys" start a fire with two sticks, manure and a machete. Afterwards a few of us made an attempt at it which was only good for laughs.

Most of the classmates went off to watch the goats being killed. I elected not to.

We hung out and watched the goats being roasted on spears over the fire. The two goat heads were just laying on the ground nearby for later that night. We ate dinner of which I had mostly chapati and fruit with only a little goat.

After dinner we gathered around the fire for traditional Maasai songs and dances. All were performed by men which was a little disappointing but the songs were cool to hear none-the-less. It was usually one person singing while the others made deep harmonic raspy breathing noises to the beat.

After that was completed we said goodnight to the Maasai and Isaac, who was the only one who accepted the offer to sleep in Jonathon's house. Two Maasai men stayed to guard our camp for the night.

Once most of the students went to sleep the Maasai guards started cutting apart the goats head for soup. Pat, Brandon and Kate watched while Sarah and I looked away most of the time. Camido, our cook, was also there and just held on to the goats eyes for a while. He translated for the Maasai asking if you could put a goats eye in a human and if it would work. We figured not so much. Laughter and being grossed out continued on throughout the night. The Maasai taught me a few words in the Maasai language before I retired for the night.

Day 17: Rise and Shine! It's Safari Time!

Rise and Shine! We woke up before the sun in order to get an early morning game drive in. This time we saw giraffes closer then you could imagine and our first lion; a female sleeping in a tree. She woke up every now and then to look at us. We also got quite a few good baboon pictures enjoying family time, which was fun to observe. Pictures below!

After safari we packed up and hit the road again. This time we were headed to Narasha. Muthoga told us we were coming up to some tea farms and pointed ahead. I looked out the window thinking they didn't look like the tea farms in commercials but it was cool none-the-less. Muthoga looked at me, followed my gaze and said, "that's corn." Oops! It was short corn, in my defense.

Along the way we were all given a challenge. When Kenyan merchants see a white person strolling by they automatically sky rocket their price so Muthoga and Gichuru gave teams of two money and items to purchase and what amount is a fair price to pay. Tina and I got 250ksh and were told that a fair price for two watermelons was 120ksh each. We didn't have a lot of wiggle room and I was determined to pay less then 120ksh each. In order to do this I needed to be ready to deal in Kiswahili. Tina and I strolled around the market and finally a guy asked what we were looking for. We told him we needed two watermelons and he quickly weighed them out.

"Pesa ngapi?" I asked.

"350" he replied.

"Ghali sana," I exclaimed, "mbili mia." (Too expensive, 200.)

"Sawa," he said. It was almost too easy! I wanted to go again but thats all I had on my list so Tina and I just continued to walk the market. Once we ended up in the fish section of the market we bolted out of there as the smell and sights of fish not on ice was not pleasant so we waited outside.

Gichuru told us we could head towards the van and wait if we wanted. Tara, myself and a few others began our walk through downtown and immediately became the show. One guy followed me for a while telling my he liked my body and that I must work out in a gym, I just laughed and said asante. When we got to the corner an older boy came up and started asking for money. I said "hapana" repeatedly but the kid would not back off. Out of no where Gichuru showed up and told us to come back and wait by the market. The boy continued to follow us despite whatever Gichuru had said to him in Kiswahili. He touched Tara's arm and with authority she told him not to touch her. Gichuru turned around and gave him a look and the boy squeezed between me and Tara and took off.

We waited for everyone else to finish and in the mean time I practiced my Kiswahili with the locals. Gichuru asked how we did and I told him 100ksh a piece. He smiled and said it was cheaper then the price he gave us. Ndiyo! Was he expecting anything else?

When we arrived to our campsite we immediately walked out to the dock for a hippo seeking boat ride. The driver of the boat would whistle and then throw fish into the water to allow us to observe and take pictures of the fish eagles diving in for a catch. It was pretty cool. We then made our way across the lake to a swampier area where we observed several hippos. It was a fun ride and little scary, hippos can flip boats and I for one, would prefer not to swim with the hippos.

From there we stopped by the Joy Adamson Museum for chai, assorted desserts and an educational video. There were two men, I'm assuming from Kenya, that spotted us from a distance and asked to get their picture taken with our group. It was a little weird.
We went back to camp for dinner. Dinner is sometimes my favorite part of the day because everyone is together laughing and talking. Its a good opportunity also, to ask Muthoga and Gichuru questions about Kenyan culture. During this dinner we learned that the tips that we gave the porters were more then likely going to pay for a trimester of their children's high school education which is not provided by the government at no cost. Muthoga said that paying for high school is doable for most Kenyans but it is very hard.

After dinner we walked down to a lookout tower on the beach and watched for hippos coming out of the water to graze. After 15mins my patience ran out and like many others I left and headed back to camp, journaled for a while and hung out with Sarah and Kate. Others returned later to say there were hippos on the beach but I had already been falling asleep at the table so I just crawled into my tent and fell straight to sleep.

Day 16: Janelle! Get away from the curtain!!

I woke early this morning to have breakfast with the kids before they left for school. We took pictures and packed up our things. I left items I didn't need with Purity and packed up a few things to give to Amos.

Above: The chicken coop... Middle: Where you shower yourself.... Bottom: The backyard and neighbors buildings

When we got to the school the classroom we had painted was decorated with streamers and balloons of some sort (their balloons are actually beach balls). The head teacher asked me for my email address so I gave it to her secretly hoping she was going to offer me future opportunities. We all stood in front of the classroom holding a UMN flag for pictures. The kids were all gathered around as they cut the ribbon and unveiled a plaque for our class's work in getting the classroom built.

We stood again for more pictures and then went inside the classroom with the 6th grade class, whom the classroom was for. They all sat in their desks and sang a song for us in gratitude for our help. I really choked back tears. They were so incredibly happy and thankful. After a lot of "asantes" and "karibus" we climbed into the van and began our journey down to Maasai.

As planned we stopped at the gas station in town where Amos was waiting for me. I gave him the few items I had packed for him and said goodbye. He said he was going to miss me and I told him likewise. It was hard leaving the town that felt like home for the better part of the last two weeks.

On the way to Maasai we stopped at a waterfall and also at a scenic overlook of the Great Rift Valley as pictured below.

After a few hours of driving and lunch we went straight into a game drive where we saw thousands and thousands of flamingos on Lake Nakuru. We also saw several other wildlife as pictured below.

Afterwards we got our lodge rooms that were within the park and everyone enjoyed dinner together sharing stories about our homestays and squirming from the sight of all the bugs and spiders. After much food, fun and laughter we retired to our rooms where we discovered beetles that were bigger then my thumb, much bigger. I pulled out my bed from against the wall in an effort to avoid any contact with bugs. I began to close the curtains when Meghan, who handles all things wildlife with ease said,

"Janelle! Get away from the curtain!!"

Needless to say I spun away from the curtain as quickly as possible with a scream and a mini freak out. Sure enough there was a giant beetle on the curtain! Meghan knocked it off and smashed it with her shoe in complete disgust as yellow stuff oozed out of the squashed beetle. Yuck.

I made sure to tuck my mosquito net in securely which I had become quite good at throughout the days. I wrote in my journal for a while but fell asleep well before the other six girls in my room even turned out the light. Apparently I was tired.

Day 15: Class, Safari and Fearing for your Life

Breakfast has become my absolute favorite in Kenya, french toast and coffee again!! We walked to school and met with the head teacher in her office where we broke up and went off to teach class. Josey and I took the 8th grade class. The head teacher had said to give them hope so I wrote on the board:

"It'll cost you nothing to dream and everything not to."

I tried to start a discussion about the quote but all the students just sat quietly and stared at us. We asked everyone to think of goals they had and then we were interrupted by the deputy teacher and Connie. They led a pen-palship with 2nd graders from Minnesota who had sent them letters. Josey and I did our best to help the students read the writing and understand what they were saying. The students replied and colored pictures for them. One of the students asked the deputy teacher if she could keep one of the magenta crayons. He shook his head no. It reminded me again of where we were and how much we take the simple things for granted.

After the pen-pal session was over we tried to continue our discussion. Silence. Josey asked what time lunch was and everyone laughed. We heard a bell similar to that on an ice cream truck, again everyone laughed when we asked what it was.

We saw Isaac and Sarah walking by and called them in. Both gave their opinion on what the quote meant. After they left everyone went around and said one of their goals, which were all career oriented. The students wanted to be teachers, electrical engineers, doctors, pilots, nurses and the like. By then class was almost over so I wrote one more quote on the board:

"Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgement that something else

is more important than fear." ~Ambrose Redmoon

I explained that that and the previous quote were two that helped me to keep dreaming and to face my fears in order to achieve my dreams, like going to Kenya.

We headed for chai and sorted through our recreation equipment. The kids were out in the yard playing and we could hear them all screaming. We looked out to see 6'4" Pat running around with his arms in the air, he was being chased. It was hilarious to see. He finally made it over to us and Josey had to go fill her water bottle. She made it half way across the school yard before she was surrounded and forced to stop. We watched her try to make her way to the water pump but she had a circle of school children around her at least five people deep on either side. I told Pat to run out there and distract them but then Connie stepped out to take a picture. Like the flip of a switch they all screamed and ran towards Connie. This is where their discipline came into play as apparently there is a line thats not to be crossed and we were on the other side because just like that all the kids stopped twenty feet shy of Connie. Connie stood there and took pictures while Josey ran to the water pump.

After chai we joined the kids in the school yard to teach them how to play our favorite games. I choose wiffle ball along with Josey and Kate. It was a bit more tricky teaching a game they had never seen before but eventually it started to make sense to them. I found Esther, who stayed in the same house as we did and I taught her how to pitch. She really was a natural at it, I was surprised.

I tried to rotate to teach a different game but instead got surrounded by a bunch of girls. They touched my hair, asked me questions about home and tried to teach me new phrases in Kikuyu. When they found out I had a husband they were shocked that he hadn't come with me. It was a common theme in Kenya, everyone told me to come back and bring my husband next time. I would like to do that very much.

Eventually I wandered over and semi-assisted Tara in teaching gymnastics. It was fun to watch both boys and girls get such a thrill over a few basic gymnastics moves. Shortly again I was surrounded, this time with Brandon. We taught them different was of giving high fives. The "up high, to the side, down low, too slow!" was their favorite and everybody wanted in. I continued to high five about fifty kids before I heard my name being called. It was time to pack up.

From there we piled in the vans and went to the Sweetwater Sanctuary. We did a short game drive through the park seeing giraffe, elephant, zebra, ostrich, rhino, impalas and several others.

We took a tour of the chimpanzee orphanage as well as a quick stop to visit a blind black rhino. After spending a week in Kenya somewhat living the Kenyan life it felt weird to be doing such touristy things again.

We did another short game drive as we raced out of the park. You have to be out by 6:30pm before nightfall so that your headlights don't disturb the wildlife.


We stopped at the equator for photos. There are apparently several "equator" signs that are located in places other then the equator, merchants put them there in order to get tourists to stop. Luckily our guides knew which ones were the right ones.
We didn't get back to the school until dark. Nancy had been waiting for us for over a hour. We had planned to go into town that night and get her hair done but it was too late. Instead we spent our last night together at the house and I made sure to get pictures of everyone.


I was able to call Amos with Nancy's phone. It was funny that I was too nervous to walk to the outhouse at night but there I sat in the backyard under the light of the stars talking on the phone like I was at home. I told Amos I was sorry we had gotten back too late for us to visit his wife's salon. I got his mail and email address so that we could keep in contact. I also had previously told him I would give him some of my bandanas so we made plans to meet in town the next day.

I ate dinner with the family and a random older guy was there. He asked me if my father was rich, I told him no. He asked where I lived in the states and I told him. Esther brought me a piece of paper and said he wanted my address written down and he gave me his. Nobody specifically told me who this guy was. I thought first about giving him a fake address but didn't because both Nancy and Purity had my real address and they might not understand why I wasn't comfortable. I thought what's the worst that could happen.

I was outside on the phone with Amos again and when I finished Nancy came out and told me that that man was rude and that I didn't have to be friendly with him. I told her it was too late, he already had my address, she apologized and we headed back in. (In Kenya, anyone is welcome in anyone's house for as long as they chose to stay, they do not need to announce themselves before coming over.) I gave Esther a note to give to her classmate that had passed me a note earlier in the day asking to be friends. I couldn't believe our time in Kambi was finished. The old man finally left and we went to sleep.

No more then ten minutes after we were all in bed I heard men's voices outside the house. There was a pound at the door and men talking in Kiswahili. Purity was replying to them but I couldn't understand a word. More words were exchanged and I called out to Nancy asking if everything was okay. She told me she was going to check.

My heart was racing!! I quickly grabbed my headlamp and got up to make sure our bedroom door was locked. I went over and sat with Tina on her bed which was farther from the door. We were both scared and sat in the dark listening to words we couldn't understand.

Nancy called out my name, "Janelle?"

"Yes?" I replied.

"They are here to see you!"

"Why? Who is it?" I was freaking out.

"They want to talk with you."

"Who is it?" I asked again.

I couldn't completely understand but I heard Muthoga's name in the reply so I thought it was Muthoga. Still a bit nervous I turned on my headlamp and with trembling fingers I unlocked the door and headed out. It was dark in the room and I squinted to see the faces of the three men. All I saw were three unfamiliar faces and a gun.

"I don't know these people," I told Purity and Nancy as I started to back away.

"No, no, it's okay. I'm Joseph," the man holding the gun replied, "I'm the local security and I'm here to check on your safety. Muthoga sent me."

They asked me my name and we exchanged a few words in Kiswahili. They asked me if I felt safe in Kambi and told them that this was the most nervous I had been the whole trip. They thought it was funny. I wanted them to leave. He just kept saying that he needed to hear that I felt safe from my mouth so that he could report it back to his government.

Telling me you're with the police or government was the last thing they should've said in an attempt to make me feel safe. Word on the street is those are the two most corrupt things in Kenya. Finally after replying to all of their questions they left. I was still freaked out, Nancy and Purity said it was okay. I went back to the room, told Tina what it was all about, locked the door and went back to bed.