Masai Party!

Loneliness is not an issue these days. There are 25 students camped out in the backyard this week. That is a lot when I have become accustomed to being alone. In addition, my friend Stacy came to visit for two days. She arrived via pikipiki on Sunday and we walked to the treehouse to give her a taste of what that side of my research is. On Monday morning, we were invited to a Masai party. Seven cows were killed. The Masai kill by suffocation so that the blood is retained in the body. A bit gruesome. They then skin it and actually drink the blood that had drained and pooled in the hide. Enjoy these gruesome pictures!

Picha

Kilimanjaro peaked out from behind its cloudy shroud the other day and I was happy to get a picture of my house which is situated between Mt. Meru and Mt. Kilimanjaro.
I figure the only way I am going to get a decent shot of me with elephants will be to take many self portraits and hope one turns out. I am very happy the elephants are there- can you tell?

Mtoto habari

I am happy to report that the little puppy has fully recovered. He spent 3 days in my arms and 3 nights keeping me up at night, but he is now back with his remaining brother and sister at Rose's house. I enjoyed taking him to the treehouse to observe elephants one day and it was a hoot to pretend he was my baby, however odd it may be to the villagers who played along a little. Although he is still tiny compared to his siblings, he has an affection for me that they don't have. Rose has decided to keep him and let me name him "Simon." Rose has a friend named Simon who thinks it is hilarious. I am just glad he is not offended. Now, we call him Simon Mtu: Simon the man.

Unahitaji dawa?

Working in the village, I have been exposed to a lot of requests from the local people. From the kids it is usually “Naomba zawadi” (I request a gift), but the adults aren’t quite as forward. One woman said to me, “I have a problem.” Of course I replied, “What?” She preceded to tell me about how the church needs money and asked quite boldly for a donation. Churches ask for money at home and it even bothers me there so I had no problem telling her hapana. I hear frequently about the ailments of whoever is in our company and because there is so much aspirin, Tylenol, and ibuprofen leftover from previous students, I have begun carrying it with me to give to those with headaches. Perhaps I am encouraging the notion that white people are all doctors, but really I am just trying to dispense the dawa I have before it expires.

Utafiti habari

This crop season is coming to a close. This past week has been busy with trying to conclude all the interviews and measure the damage in the fields one more time. The trouble with the suspicious participant seems to have diminished. After our meeting with him and the chairman he told me there was no problem but maybe we could ask him questions later. This has me thinking that there is a problem and he is just tired of talking about it. However, his misgivings have not caused problems with any of the other participants and still when we see him we give him a friendly greeting. Perhaps he will change his mind about me eventually. I had a very pleasant experience with a new participant yesterday. Half of his crop has been destroyed by bush pigs this season, but rather than moping around, he has used his head to come up with clever ideas to dissuade them. He has fashioned an ingenious noisemaker using a post, a chain and some corrugated metal. It has worked marvelously well and I admire his creativity. His family has been extremely welcoming and accommodating.

Wageni Mwingi!

We are now in the high tourist season and the pace has definitely picked up at the tourist camp on the ranch. I thought I might be bothered by so many “foreigners” invading my territory at the treehouse, but it has not been so. I guess the loneliness has gotten to me because whenever I see guests walking toward the treehouse, I find myself hoping that they speak English so I can chat. This past week I was asked to do a lecture on my research. There was a group of 17 tourists who came to the treehouse to hear me speak. They were mostly retirees from America. I really enjoyed telling them all about what I am doing and a few came up afterwards to explain that their grandchild or friend’s grandchild really liked animals and asked for advice on how to proceed.

In addition, there is a group of students arriving today. Last time the students were English and it was nice to have company. This time, there are 25 students and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little worried about the invasion. Nonetheless, it is nice to have voices outside and someone to talk to when I return from the day’s work.

A friend of mine is also arriving today. She has graduated from GSU and was in my Chemical Ecology class last fall. I am really excited for her visit and to share my experience with someone. She will be here for 2 nights and I am trying to think of every possible activity we can cram into our time together.

In Memory...

Mwewe is gone now. In the end, the decision was not all that difficult. Last Tuesday, Mwewe kept me up all night long. He couldn’t get comfortable when he was lying down and his breathing was deep, slow, and definitely labored. I had talked to a mzungu on the ranch about the dog and that I really felt he had suffered enough. He said I could simply stab it in the heart with a knife. Easier said than done. I was close to being able to do it but having never killed anything before, I had a hard time convincing myself that I could do it right the first time to end his suffering immediately. The following morning I went searching for the mzungu that had no misgivings about killing things and he mercifully borrowed a gun from the owner of the ranch and I brought him to Mwewe. We received very strange looks from the villagers as I was rushing to Rose’s house and a mzungu with a gun followed closely behind me.

It is now a week later and still the participants in my study are talking about Mwewe’s demise. I believe it was more the manner in which he died that has caused people to talk. It is not every day you see a mzungu in the village, much less two, one of whom was carrying a gun. The story has made it all the way to the next village and circled back to the workers on the ranch. I have explained many times that he was suffering and it was a merciful thing to do. They seem to understand but I can’t help but wonder what they are saying when they speak fast.