Maasai Village (Sunday 18th)

On Sunday a group of 15 of us drove 4 hours on a dirt road to a Maasai village out near Mt. Kilimanjaro. The Maasai live mostly in Kenya, but there are some villages here in Tanzania. They live hours (by car) from everything. The village we went to was sort of in the plains area and it gets extremely windy. So basically dirt just blows all over the place and I have never seen dirtier children in my life. Lets just say I withstood the cold shower water for a lot longer than usual that night. I can't really begin to describe how these people live, so hopefully these pictures will do the trick.




Did I mention that we passed giraffes on the way?! Yes, they were far away (you have to look closely), and I was kicking myself for not having our good camera, but they were giraffes all the same. Hopefully I'll get some closer pictures on my safari this weekend.



When we arrived, they greeted us with singing and dancing. I have awesome videos, but they take too long to post here because of the slow connection.



Then, we spent time meeting everyone and playing with the children.



Then, we did the next logical thing and bought a goat from the village, which they proceeded to slaughter...and offered a cup full of blood straight from the neck which we could drink (I passed). I have pictures and videos, but for those of you who weren't forced to see it first hand, I'll let you off the hook...for now.



One of the security guards for one of the volunteer dorms here is from this particular Maasai village, which is how we were able to visit. He showed us the house he lives in with his wife and new baby. There are over 40 people in the village who live in 9 mud huts (one of which is for the cattle - mainly goats - although there is one less now). You'll also notice that there are no windows in the huts - because it is much cooler than letting in the desert sun.





Remember that poor little goat? We ate it. By "ate" I really mean that they cut off pieces of fat and the liver (I think it was the liver - we asked, but never quite got an answer), which they handed to us and stared at us while we chewed (it is rude to refuse). Those who know me know I'm a pretty good eater...but a huge chunk of a mystery organ, 5 chunks of fat, and a piece of actual meat that was so rare my dirty hands were now dripping blood down my wrists, was about all the goat I think I ever want.





Then, we were branded with a hot metal circle. Yes, you can see my scars when I get home.


A quick note: I think you can click on all the photos to see them bigger - I have been uploading them small since the connection is so slow. I'll keep working on the videos...