Supa!

Hi Everyone,

This is a blog I wrote on Friday but had not been able to post till today. Supa means hello is Maa, the local Masai language.

It has been two exciting days since my last blog. Yesterday, we went on another lion monitoring drive where we came across a mating pair of lions. These supposedly are the most dangerous lions along with a mother and cubs. However, they were so exhausted from mating that they really did not care we were within feet of them. Lions mate up to 55 times a day for an entire week without eating or drinking so they had more important things on their mind than the jeep full of people with cameras.

Today, I went on my first elephant monitoring drive. Here, we try to spot as many elephant herds in the area during our 3 hour drive. The elephants migrate often so the number is always changing. We came acoss two this morning. One herd consisted of 27 animals that had 3 babies and 2 large bulls. The second herd only had 7 individuals, 4 cows and 3 babies. I never thought I would get the chance to be so close to the largest land animal on the planet in their natural habitat but to come within feet of them is amazing. I know we have all seen them in the circus or the zoo but to see them in the wild is so much more impressive. The sheer size of the bulls makes anyone feel insignificant in comparison.

This afternoon I also had my first lesson with the local primary school. We split our group into two, half worked with the 5th and 6th graders and the others were with the 3rd and 4th graders. I worked with the younger kids today and we decided to have an art lesson where we taught the students to make origami butterflies. While there is both a language barrier in the school and the simple fact that paper is not readily available, so the children have very limited experience folding, it went very well. Like any class, you have your sharp students who get the new concept after they are first told and there are those that never fully grasp what you are trying to teach them. Thankfully, my group was very smart and I know enough Maa (the local language) and used the proper hand signals to get my point across. Once the butterflies were completed, we handed out animal stickers to all the students. To American students, a sticker may bring a few minutes or less of excitement but to my students, giving them a simple sticker was like I was giving them a piece of gold. The very sight of the sticker box made the noise level in the small wooden classroom elevate by 100. I am so excited that I get the opportunity to work with these wonderful children for the next 5 weeks. I have only met them once but they already hold a special place in my heart. Especially a little girl names Felista. She is very sweet and took a special interest in me the second I walked in. When I showed her how to make the butterfly, she immediately started helping the other students. She is a very special little girl and I am happy she is in my class.

On our way home from the school, we ran into a bad rain storm. I called home during the storm and the rain was so heavy that by the end of the conversation, it was nearly impossible to hear my mom and dad speak. Tin roofs and heavy rain make quite a lot of noise. Now I am about to sit down to dinner with the other volunteers and hopefully, if the rain stops, we will have a bon fire with the guiding school students. Tomorrow is our day off from all activites so we will have a chance to relax. I’m sure I will have plenty of time to explain more of the area I happen to find myself in then.

Love to you all at home or abroad.