Maasai Homestay

Yesterday we had our Maasai home stay! It was super fun. We got there around 8:30am and started off trying to chat and drinking chai. We went to the shamba (garden) and they showed us how they take care of the garden and we got to help a bit (some damn hard work!) then we came home and made lunch which was ugali and cabbage which Manasi and I got to help make. After lunch we relaxed and the mamas braided some of my hair the way the Maasai do. Then we did some dishes really quickly before we went out and got firewood. Basically they go into the land around their houses (sometimes a little far away) and chop branches off of trees with machetes. I got to try and I was awful at it. My mama had so much strength and could just chop the branches off so easily, it was super impressive! After that we carried the kuni (firewood) wrapped in bundles of rope with our heads! Basically you bundle the wood in rope and leave slack so that you can use the slack loop to put on your forehead to carry the wood. It was interesting and really heavy! Then we made some more chai and got to play with the kids a bit and try to have conversations with the mamas again. It was such a great day! I wish I updated sooner because I didn't get to go as in depth about my experience but be assured that it was super amazing! Work has just been piling up and we've been really busy. Luckily, we just passed in two assignments that we had to do and we have a final exam on Saturday and then we start Directed Research. Time is flying so fast and I am nervous and excited at the same time! The picture below is a picture of one of the kids, Stella, from my home stay. She was precious and adorable!