Back from safari!!!‏

Jambo! Hello!

I am back from safari and it was amazing!!! It is my hope that someday we will be able to take a safari all together. It was seriously unforgettable. We left the village here early on Friday morning to drive to Nairobi where the safari people were picking us up. The nine of us (one person didn't go) got picked up by vans with tops that can pop off and traveled 8 hours into the middle of the Sarengetti (I have no clue how to spell that). The drive was beautiful with a unique mixture of plains, valleys, and rolling hills. Wherever we looked there were Masei men and women. The Masei are a tribe that are known for their skills in killing lions with spears. The Masei have ears that hang down to their shoulders and are decorated with many different types of earring. All Masei wear red cloaks and believe that all the cattle in the world belong to them. They will "reclaim" cattle from other tribes (also called stealing in the rest of the world) because they deeply believe that they own all the cows in the world. Also Masei only eat cows. They drink the cow blood, eat the meat, use their fur for various things, and use their horns as cups. The Masei men are burned at the age of 15 on their legs and are not allowed to show any pain. They are burned in a ceremony when they officially become a man. I saw young Masei boys, probably no older than 10, hearding groups of hundreds of cattle with only a stick. I laughed as I tried to picture Jason or Daniel in charge of hundreds of cows as they wear their red cloak dresses. It was a funny image.

We arrived at Sarova Mara game camp in time for a late lunch and I thought I had arrived in heaven. I did not know that we were in a 5 star lodge with an amazing buffet. I was so appreciative of all of the food and it felt good to eat food I am used to again. I even did a happy dance when I walked into the bathroom and there was a seat, not a hole in the ground, and TOILET PAPER. Amazing. We stayed in tents with beds and wood floors and the first real shower I have taken in weeks. We went on a game drive later that afternoon with Jon our guide who loved to sing Hakuna Matata from the lion king. We litterally drove off the lodge property and saw heards of elephants! We also saw girrafes, hippos, rhinos, cheetas hunting, gizzele, wort hogs, and sooo many lions. I couldn't even breathe when we drove up to a lion barely 10 feet away. We saw an entire pride of lions with 10 cubs all playing with one another and pissing their parents off. Sound familiar? The next day after another 6 am game drive with Jon we had the whole day to relax by the pool until our evening game drive. There were many Masei men that worked at the place we stayed and I challenged one to a game of ping pong just because I thought it would be a funny image (a westerner and a tribal man in a red dress playing ping pong). Sadly I got beat every time so I decided to get the group and teach him frisbee. It was also a very funny image. However, when I came back from the evening safari the Masei appeared out of the bushes to inform me that he had to speak with me after the Masei put on their tribal dance. I had no clue what to expect or what he wanted. What came to follow was an epic story I will never forget.

The Masei dance began and the Masei I had played ping pong with showed up in a HUGE headress. Apparently, his father lived to be 120 and became a king to the Masei since he was the oldest person from his generation. When his father died, his oldest son Kayoni became the next king. I had been playing ping pong with a Masei king. The headdress was the mark of the king. They did an interesting dance and chant which was unknown to me a marriage dance. After the dance I was pulled aside by the Masei king and was proposed to! I was asked to stay in Kenya and be his Queen forever. He even said that he would give my parents 100 cows as a dowery!p.s. A normal Masei woman is worth 8 cows. I tried not to laugh picturing what you would do with a hundred cows, Dad. Of course, I declined. So don't worry I am not an African queen and I am coming home. However, it would have been an interesting life. The group now calls me Masei queen as a joke. Haha. Next time I guess I won't play ping pong and frisbee with a Masei in large groups because it gives the impression you want to marry that person. I cant wait to show you all the pictures so you will know how funny the situation was.

We returned from safari last night and we realized that this is the last week here for the group. I will be climbing Kilimanjaro next week!!! My flight leaves Kenya on the 10th and I will be back in LA on the 11th. I will try and email a few more times before I leave. I miss hearing all of your voices! Did you ever tell my mom that I am safe? Oh, I wanted to tell you how big of a deal Obama is in Kenya. Since Obama is Kenyan he is a heroic figure here. I see newspaper clippings of him on walls of restaurants and even amongst the slum. I told someone here that I voted for Obama and they asked to shake my hand as they thanked me. How inspiring is it that we have a leader who is uniting cultures as opposed to destroying them? I thought you would like that, Dad. Please give me an update on life back home.

I will be teaching cooking all week since the three ovens we built are done! I am also teaching public speaking tomorrow and conducting one more organizational workshop before I leave. Even though I am leaving Africa soon, I think a part of me will always be here. I hope one day you all will travel here with me to see how inspiring and uplifting this place is even under the deepest struggle and poverty. Plus, everyone needs to go on one safari in their life! I love you all very very much.

Your Masei queen,

Jessica