Maasai Homestay and Field Work

Maasai Homestay and Field Work

Yesterday we had our Maasai homestay. It was very interesting. When we first got there, we made chai, and then we went to go get water. It took us about 45 minutes to get to the river and back. Water is heavy, and carrying it on your head hurts. I lasted for about 3 seconds. The water was also not very clean, and we had to drink and cook from the water that we brought. After that, we went to gather firewood. We saw a giraffe as we worked, and I got to practice using a machete. I am also not very good at that. We then made and ate lunch. After, we got to make bead bracelets, and got to keep one. Mine is black and white, the only two colors they would let us use.

Today we went for fieldwork. We created a 30x30 meter area, and quantified any human or elephant damage done to the trees within. We then went 200m and did it again. We did this 6 times, so at the end we walked 1300m back to our car. That was fun, as it was almost noon and really hot. But we saw a mother and baby giraffe, Tommy gazelles, and an impala skull.

We have just classes for the rest of the day today and tomorrow, so nothing very exciting.

Kylie