Day 10 (Jasmine Yunus)

JAMBO friends, it’s Jasmine! We had quite a packed day today on the continent of Africa. The day began with a scrumptious breakfast as per usual. It consisted of Spanish omelets, sausage, toast, papaya, and mango with fresh juice. Once our tummies were full we took off to tackle one of the main parts of our purpose here in Tanzania, building the school. As is the African way, things did not always go according to plan. The foreman was a few hours late to show up to the work site but that didn’t stop our group from having a good time. We played team-building games and kept ourselves occupied by taking some great photographs. The foreman finally did arrive and with him brought the tools we needed to get started plastering the walls. We divided the work between sifting the sand, mixing the cement, getting the water, and applying the plaster.  Life at anytime is full of challenges, and life in the Maasai tribe is none the different. We all did struggle at some points to work together and get a long but in the end we pushed through our differences and overcame all our challenges. Later in the afternoon the Maasai men put on a lovely spear-throwing workshop. We each took turns trying our best to thrust the spear across the plain. It was quite humorous to say the least, although we did have some shining starts – Kendall and Dylan. After that it was one to possibly the greatest adventure of all... the homestay. We hopped in the car and and drove the short distance to the boma we were staying. We were greeted kindly and given lovely traditional Maasai robes to wear. We helped herd and separate the cattle, calves, and goats. Then we moved on to our separate bomas to help make tea. After enjoying a nice, albeit different, cup of tea we moved on to dinner. First we chopped and browned some onions and tomatoes on the small fire pit in the hunt. We then mixed in the maize and beans. Dinner was served! And after the time Miller and I had spent helping cook, we sure enjoyed the fruits of our labor. After dinner we played a few games with the children and the men, which was surprisingly easy due to the substantial language barrier. It was an incredible, intense experience. I often found myself pausing and thinking wow, I’m really here…dressed in Maasai robes…. milking a cow (yes mom that’s right I milked a cow!). I learned a lot of things though. Happiness is indeed a choice, no matter what you do or what you have, you have the power to make your life better by making the conscious effort to be happy. That was something the Maasai people embodied both despite and because of their lifestyle.

Jasmine