Yay for another day of class!! Actually it wasn't bad, we had Swahili after not having it for 10 days! Today we learned conjunctions, and then some, but I haven't had time to practice, so sorry you'll have to wait for me to impress you with my amazing skills later.

Anyway, yesterday we went to a Maasai traditional Cultural Manyata located outside of Amboseli National Park. It was an interesting experience to say the least. Just to jog your memory, during our first week here we visited a Maasai boma (village) which we were invited to. At that Boma we were sang to by the Mamas, we sang to the mamas, and then they showed us around their homes and showed us some of the handmade utensils they still use. They also showed us the modern things they use like metal pots and pans, plastic jugs to carry water and many of their children were wearing clothes that kids anywhere in the States would wear. In contrast the Manyata we went to yesterday was a tourist oriented look at traditional Maasai life. Manyata is the Maasai word for a village and boma is a Kiswahili word for homestead. Basically they are the same thing, except the Manyata we visited was much larger than the boma, although both had many homes inside their perimeter.

When we first arrived at the Manyata a group of Maasai men greeted us and sang a song and danced for us. Before I go any further, let me tell you that when we visited the boma the only men around were our staff members who drove us there. Traditionally speaking Maasai men tend to cattle or shoats during the day while the women stay around the homes and do their tasks. Anyway, the dance was still fun to watch and it was followed up with a jumping contest between the men. Traditionally the song and dance would have been done for special ceremonies and is not something that occurs on a regular basis, but for the sake of tourism we were able to see it.

After the song and dance one of the men showed us sticks from different species that are used for making teas and medicines to treat ailments from malaria to back pains. Sadly our host didn't go into much detail so I couldn't tell you the name of any of the species he showed us. Next he showed us how Maasai start a fire with elephant dung and two different woods. However he failed to mention that the demonstration was stuck in a traditional vacuum and matches are easily available in Kenya. Nevertheless fire out of elephant dung was impressive.

Following the fire demonstration we got to see inside of the homes. They were very similar to the ones we saw at the boma but were stripped of anything slightly modern like a plastic jug. The accuracy of that is debatable, but I'd be willing to bet that they too use plastic jugs and an occasional match, but again for tourism's sake, that's the way it was showed.

Right before we left the men and women again danced and sang for us. It was again entertaining, but I couldn't help but be skeptical because after all of our lectures I know that we know more than the average tourist and their show was rather transparent for us. So all in all there were some enjoyable parts, but all some unsettling ones. I'm just glad we had the opportunity to compare and contrast.

Before we split for lunch we drove to accurately named, Observation Hill. It was the first place in Amboseli where we were able to get out of the cars and look at wildlife (from the safety of the top of a decently high hill). At the top there was a shelter where Seno, the camp director led us in a discussion about culture and what we saw at the Manyata. There were some interesting points raised. I concluded that the greatest downfall of the Manyata was that it neglected to clarify whether it was depicting modern Maasai life or traditional Maasai life because when I walked away I felt as though the Maasai culture had been depicted as stuck in time without influence, and that is ridiculous. If you want to say one thing about any culture in general, it is that culture is dynamic and changing, and not all change is bad. Cultures can remain traditional while still embracing new things.

Yesterday afternoon we went to a lodge in Amboseli where some students took part in the large buffet. I opted out because I'm cheap and instead I fought off monkeys in the parking lot as I choked down my PB&J. We then spent a couple of hours hanging out at the lodge which was very fancy and very expensive. (Nights run for about $400/night, after you've spent thousands getting to Africa and more getting to Amboseli and finally even more to get into the park.) So needless to say it wasn't a place where I would ever feel especially comfortable, but I did find a really sweet shirt in their gift shop which I reluctantly bought but now thoroughly enjoy.

After everyone digested and some went for a swim in the lodge pool we hopped back in the Land Cruisers and went for a short game drive through the park before heading home to camp. We saw many of the large mammals we'd seen in our other game drives and had another lion spotting! It was fun, but I have been so exhausted all day from it. Luckily tomorrow is another non-program day! I'm going into Kimana for market day. It's our last non-program day for a couple of weeks, so I'll have to live it up!