Sarah's blog, contd.

Sarah's blog, contd.

July 22, 2009- Work Day 4

Hello again from relaxing Losijo Lodge. Picking up where I left off, our lunch at the school today had a surprise gift: three goats were roasted and some delicious African flat bread (Chipate) was fried - it was very similar to the Indian bread, Naan (not sure of that spelling). The teachers, education committee, and head of school, Rebecca, served all of us with huge smiles on their faces. Everyone had numerous servings and spent some good Masai "chillaxin" time in the dorm before heading back to the rock pile (be sure to ask Michelle about cranking up the truck with the right-sided stick on the column.
Boy can she rip through the sand in Oloika!). Our day continued with activities similar to those I described in Part I of my blog. However, a couple of things worth mentioning stand out: Chris Champion teaching a big group of kids to dance the Chicken Dance (Manooka Maryn in Masaai); don't worry, we have it on video! Also of note is Regina's ability to chuck rocks into and out of a truck - she is clearly the strongest, hardest-working person I have ever met. Another is Michelle Chang's sharing of tons of sports equipment with the students (thank you Grace, Rachel, and Julia Chang as well as the PE Dept. at Ensworth). Soccer, badminton, and volleyball on the Oloika fields with the kids was a great way to end our day.

As we headed to our van we bid farewell to John Faulkner, Paul, and Chris Lindstrom from WLS who were heading off to do a homestay tonight and will surely share their experiences on a later blog.

Sade,
Sarah

Chris's blog

July 23, 2009- Work Day 5
We all enjoyed a nice breakfast at the lodge before heading to the work site at Oloika school. By the many great conversations that have been had, the stories that have been shared, and the jokes that have been told, it is clear that this group is unbelievably comfortable and
close to one another. Our workday included more of the same and we
all worked with the enthusiasm and vigor as if it was our first day.
We were rejoined at the school by Paul and John F. after their exciting night at the boma home stay. Bricks were made (I actually became an official member of the "brick crew"), rocks were moved, trenches were dug, and other project items were worked on. Towards the end of the day, several of us had the chance to play some volleyball and football (soccer for you westerners) with the students.
I had a great time playing with a group of about 20 boys. One of them, Stephen, enjoyed quizzing me about some of the vocabulary he had recently learned in his English class. It was great, but the most touching part was when he approached Regina and asked her if she could take a picture of he and his friend. Regina assumed that it was another little school boy, but as they walked back to the group of football players, Stephen tapped me on the soldier and asked to take a picture with me. What a cool moment! Then he wanted to write his name down to show me how well he could write. I ended up with about 10 boys writing their names in my notebook. Funny thing was, their handwriting was better than some of my students. Once we returned to Losijo, we were excited to hear that a goat was going to be roasted in our honor and that we would be joined by one of the Shompole chiefs.
Good times were had by all.


John Picklesimer's blog

July 24, 2009- Last day at Oloika

We headed out of Losijo Lodge this morning - heading back to Oloika School for our last work day. On the way back we ran into some men traveling with four camels across the Masai land. Stopped and talked with them and they gave camel rides to those of us that were willing to get on. You are really a long way up in the air when these animals stand up. A very unexpected addition to our journey. At the school we spent about two hours working - helping them move sand, gravel, and concrete for the footings for the dining hall. We then said our good-byes to all our new friends at the school and exchanged addresses with each other so we can keep in touch. The crew that made bricks were particular favorites of John F., Paul, Chris, Rebecca, Dina, and myself. We spent a large part of our work time with them making bricks. We had a group photo taken with them. The most touching part of our departure was a song by some of the older boys and girls at the school. It was all in Masai, but the warmth and feeling was very evident. On our drive back we stopped at a hot spring to wash our face and hands - and some brave souls their feet! The water felt wonderful! The rest of the ride back was fairly uneventful - though I will never again complain about Nashville streets! The pot holes and dust here are truly amazing. One of the vans did overheat and part of our group was a little late in arriving, but we are all here at Masai Lodge awaiting our departure tomorrow morning for our safari experience.