Off on Safari Friday -

          Hi again! It’s Liz. Our days here are progressing beautifully. The boys have been on homestay for the last few days, so we girls have had some new experiences in their stead.

          Yesterday, Nya, Carolina, Laurie and I went to observe an 8^th grade class. The subject was CRE, or Christian Religious Education. The questions were crazy specific about the bible, and the kids did pretty well answering them. They have to know the first two chapters of Genesis to pass their primary school exit exams. It was really nice to see a class at work – it’s so different from home.

Yesterday after the work day ended at 4:30, kids from the school came to the dining hall to play with us. We all spent time reading books, playing hand games (like Miss Mary Mack – only “Bah,” or “Spee,” or “Mah”), learning vocabulary in Ki-Maasai, taking pictures, just generally enjoying time with the kids. These times have quickly become our favorite part of the day – pure fun without the burden of necessarily talking. Kids are kids.

When we got back to the camp site after walking hand in hand with a gaggle of kids of all ages, we got ready for our dinner. This dinner was special – we invited a bunch of older girls from the school and some elder women leaders from the community to have dinner with us. All girls. We learned each other’s names and then sat down for dinner. We talked to the girls in English, but we had to translate to communicate with the women. We asked about their ambitions, their hopes, their loves, their lives. Abigail wants to be a nurse. Rose wants to be a doctor. They all want to go to the all-girls high school in Nairobi. The elders want them to go to university and then come back.

The girls opened up after a bit of awkward yes-or-no answering, and they loved being at our camp site. They wanted to stay – this place is an incredible luxury for them. They had never heard of carrots, squash, cauliflower, or watermelons – how do you begin to explain those? Nervous energy turned to playful energy throughout the night, and we left each other as friends. We’ve heard so much about the hardships of girls here – it’s saddening, but the heart of the girls we’ve met is so incredible. 

After dinner, we circled up and they sang to us – singing, of course, is accompanied by dancing. The songs were loud and proud and jubilant, and when they asked us to sing afterwards, we pulled off an impromptu rendition of “This Little Light of Mine.” Different, but they danced to it like it was their own. We danced and sang for a long time, said our last goodbyes, and then went to bed. It was weird to think of any other activity following that.

The boys come back today. Today is our last day of work for the week – we get the weekend off for some game drives.

More later – Momie and Daddy, Happy 20^th Anniversary yesterday. I love you guys! All is well, see you soon…

                   Elizabeth