This post features student writing.

Jambo everybody!

Today marks the halfway point of our time in Maji Moto, and to say the least, we are all having an amazing time! After a fun weekend exploring Arusha, hiking, and learning more about the Maasai culture — like how in order to become a man, it is necessary to build a house, completely by oneself — we jumped right back into our work at the school. Along with the help of the fundis, Richard, Peter, and Gasper, the group was able to work together efficiently, but of course with soda breaks and time to hang out with the kids at the school.

Later that day we were lucky enough to attend a welcome ceremony, hosted at the school, and perform a group song and dance. After our experience of singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” and “Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star” during church on Sunday morning [see our previous post], you could say we had a little bit of experience under our belt. We prepared our song and dance routine to a mashup of three of our favorites, “Don’t Stop Believing,” “Country Roads,” and “Sweet Caroline.” Feeling prepared, we arrived at the school and were welcomed by the children with a few songs of their own, leaving us all impressed and feeling extremely welcomed in the community.

Following the children’s performance we were surprised with another performance from the Maasai warriors! Easy to say, it was something we have never seen before. The Maasai warriors challenged us to jump as high as we could in order to show strength. In Maasai culture, the higher you jump the stronger you are. Although we were hesitant at first, we joined and even challenged some of the Maasai warriors. We ended the ceremony with snacks and sodas and also played soccer with the school kids. Back at the compound, we played a game of Fishbowl and went to bed, tired and ready for the next day, looking forward to continuing work and our upcoming weekend excursions!

Lots of love from the compound (a.k.a. the Boma),
Izzy K.