Sawa, sawa Same, same

**Revised!!**
I had not planned on being able to write so often, so this is quite nice. But I think this may be my last post for about a week, so Ill try to make it a good one!
Week 1 of the strike is over, and no one knows how long it will last. Its very hard to teach school when the kids dont come. But this has afforded me other opportunities. For instance yesterday, I worked with Maggie in the clinic. Thursday is immunization day and prenatal day. So, I got to mix up vaccines in needles to be administered (no, I have never done anything like this before, but HIPPA laws do not exist here.) I also took pregnant women's BP's and listened to a baby's heartbeat. It was so faint, for 2 reasons: 1, the mother had been very sick, and was under nourished, as well as dehydrated; and 2 we have to listen with this ear tube thing. There is absolutely no electricity here, so everything is done manually. The cooler where the vaccines are kept, is kept cool with freezer bags that the health department brings every week. Its quite primitive, but works. We also handed out more mosquito nets and gave the babies shots. A few days ago a motorbike pulled up to the clinic and a man carried a limp woman in (we always assume its dehydration, as thats most common here). So Maggie treated her, and soon a truck came and took her and 4 other people away. Afterwards I asked her what happened, she said "She has tried to poison herself! She so crazy!" I really never thought about suicide in the area I live! In the states you think about it, but it just never occurred to me here. She is from another tribe and married a Maasai man. In Maasai culture, a man can have many wives, but not where she comes from. So, when her husband took another wife, she is left alone to take care of her 2 kids. She has no income, and has to try to scrape by. She was just done with everything. There wasnt much we could do for her in the clinic, so Maggie tried to neutralize the poison and sent her to the nearest hospital. They got back about 6 hours later, and she was alive! But unfortunately, her life is the same.
Its so interesting how being somewhere like this can really change people. I think before I came I really assumed that everyone who would be here volunteering would be 'just like me.' I mean, if they have the same heart for the same people- they're the same as me, right? Its amazing how different all the volunteers here are! Its also amazing how much these type of trips change the volunteers, as much as the people we're working with. A quote from one the of the girls here:
"All my (atheist) friends at home are going to be so mad at me when I go back! I just cant come across the world and see the difference in climate and people and everything and think that this can all happen by chance. Its hard not to believe."
Water.... oh, water. So, there is a women, Beatrice, who lives alone with her 2 small children near us. A few days ago, I saw her walking with them and carrying a few water buckets. So I asked if I could go help her. She looked at me like I was crazy, but let me come. Its about a 1/2 mile walk to the "machine" (the pump for water), the walk there is easy, all downhill, but the walk back is dreadful! The first time we went down, I took a 3 gallon bucket, and it wasnt so bad. So when we got back to the house, and she started to go again, I just followed. This time, I took a 5 gallon jug though (bad idea). You have to take the jug down, and fill it, then put a strap through the side, and put the strap on your forehead and the jug on your back, and walk. It was so very hard. Its about 40lbs of water on your head. I didnt think I was going to be able to walk back up the hill. And Im not a lazy person! Beatrice was so thankful though, and I told her I would help her again, but probably only 1 trip next time.
(This is when the power went off at the cyber cafe, but the computers were on generators, so it gave us a few extra minutes to save.)
Sometimes I get a bit frustrated when I see certain projects being done around here. One of the headmasters wanted a fence built at his school, but the kids there had no shoes, or pencils or books. Why build a fence!? Or a school wanted glass put in the windows, but the people in that village have absolutely no water! But, what Ive been learning is that everyone's heart is connected to something different. If everyone cared for the people without water in Kenya, there would be a lot of problems that would go unsolved. So, its like a puzzle, where all the pieces fit together. And when everyone works for what their heart is guiding them to, the puzzle can become complete. (And what a nice picture it can be!) And "no work that is ever done for the Lord is ever useless."
Strike is still on, but on monday all of the year 8 kids (thats the highest level of basic education here) are suppose to come to school to be able to work with us. This will be so nice! I cant wait!! We have lots of supplies waiting for them, so that'll be a nice surprise too.
Yesterday Kathy (this wonderful girl who is here from the states also) and I were walking back from a project in a nearby town, and trying to catch a matatu. We figured that it wouldnt take more than an hour, maybe 90 minutes, so we just started walking. We walked 10 miles- all the way home. It took us 3.5 hours, and we are quite sore today. Then, when we got home, we werent there for more than 5 minutes, and I got stung by an african bee. It was on my finger, and its a bit swollen today, but Ill live. haha We're about to go to Nairobi soon, and have decided that we will get milkshakes, and that will make us feel better.
On wednesday one of the girls who is Kenyan, but moved to Belgium is coming back with her mother- and we are slaughtering 2 goats. I really am excited, but really nervous too! There was something said about drinking blood.... I dont know about all that.... But it'll still be a huge celebration!

A few notes about my life here:
I live in a room with another girl, Maria (Massana). Actually, we are bedmates, but we have sleeping bags, and we're not sleeping on cardboard boxes (yes, thats normal), so its quite nice.
We eat 3 times a day. Its really way too much. And the climate is so hot that most of the time you can only have a very small portion because your body is just not hungry. And its ALL starch.
At our compound at nice it sooo safe. No only because we are out in the middle of no where, but there are 2 Maasai men who stay up all night and watch over our manyatta. Its a quite nice feeling.
Mzungu- white person. You can use this to gauge when locals are talking about you in kimaasai or kiswahili. "blah blah blah mzungu blah blah blah", yes that's about you, since we are the ONLY white people here. There are 6 of us in all of Maasailand.
To go to town, we have to catch a matatu at 6am. For those of you who dont know exactly what they are, its a very small truck (think chevy s10) that they pile a TON of people in. We ride for about 90 minutes, and it costs us 80ksh (about $1.10). You have to wrap yourself in a leso (a lightweight cloth that keeps out sun and dirt) or else look like a crazy Mzungu all day, since you will be covered in red dust. This morning we had 30 people (Im not exaggerating at all, counted), and a full grown cow. Its.... interesting.

A final note:
Maggie's brother was attacked 18 months ago by a leopard. We asked her why he got attacked. Here's the story (as told by her):
"A man was tending his cows when a hungry leopard came and tried to eat one. The Maasai man tried to fight the leopard but his hand was bitten right off! But he scared away the cat. Then the village men tried to run after it and kill it, but while the leopard was running and sooo scared, he ran into my brother, and ate his leg and bit his face. I was tending the first man when they brought my brother, and I fainted! We took them to the hospital in Karen (about 1:45 hours away) and they almost died."
We asked her why didnt the man just let the cat alone, he wouldnt have lost his hand. She said:
"Maasai men would rather die than lose a cow. If a cow is lost, he will stay out all night looking for it, even if its a small goat. He would rather die fighting a wild animal than to lose one of his own." (Sounds like someone you know.....?)

If you are interested in sponsoring a secondary school kid (these are the ones who really really want to go to school, and are so smart! They just dont have the funds to go):
Its about $300 a year, and just email me (brit2afc@hotmail.com), and I'll give you all the info. Several kids will write letters and you can pick which one you want. You'll get a picture and the money will either be send straight to the school or to their family, whichever you prefer.

Fav verse right now:
"If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the most high your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your dwelling. For He orders His angels to protect you where ever you go. They will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your foot on a stone.
You will trample down lions and poisonous snakes; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet! The Lord says, 'I WILL rescue those who love me. I WILL protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I WILL answer; I WILL be with them in trouble. I WILL rescue them and honor them, I WILL satisfy them with a long life, and I WILL give them my salvation.' "
Psalm 91:9-16