My my my maasai

Good Day People,

I hope you all have been taking care of yourselves. Busy with work and studies, the days have been flying by here. At first they were moving kinda slow and I was missing home a lot, but I am all settled in and living comfortably in my surroundings. One of My Peace Corps goals is to share the culture and experiences of my host country, Tanzania, with Americans. So I will be trying my best to give you a taste of my experiences with the culture here. Yesterday I visited two Maasai villages near the ward of Ubaruku. I honestly cant remember the names of the villages, they were very remote (i couldn't even get a signal on my cell, geesh). Just a little info, the Maasai people are an African ethnic group who live semi-nomadic. They are mostly located in Northern Tanzania and Kenya. There homes are located based on the food found for their cattle and land for farming. I traveled to the Maasai villages with the Nurse Mkuu (head nurse) and Doctor from the hospital that I volunteer at. Once a month they offer a traveling clinic to the Maasai women and children, because their villages are so far from any type of medical facility, most of them do not receive the proper medical attention they need. They were so surprised to meet me, it was hilarious. Just when I think I'm no longer the new kid on the block, I meet someone else who has never seen an African-American and I have to tell the story all over again...."I'm from America, really"..."No, my parents are from America too,really"....."Yes, there are lots more people who look like me in America."...."Well, a loooooong time ago my ancestors lived in Africa and were forced to live in America."...."Nope, I don't know which country." After that they just look at me and want to touch my hair (which i don't like but I'm dealing with) and give me gifts, jewelry that they make and I Love :-) They are very accepting and open, I love their spirit, it's so positive and upbeat. Almost as if they don't have any idea whats going on in the real world. I had a wonderful time with them, they laugh at the way I pronounce some words in Swahili, even though I say it correctly I still have an America accent. Sorta like someone from Down South talking to someone from Up North, you understand what they are saying but it makes you chuckle. Speaking of KiSwahili, let me just give myself a round of applause (patting myself on the back)! I am doing just fine with the language and I am learning more and more everyday. I speak only Swahili when I'm in my village, the only time I really get to speak English is when I visit with another Volunteer or I speak to my friends and family in the US. It's hard to go from English to Swahili so I try to only speak Swahili, even when I text. So don't be surprised if I'm writing you an email and all of a sudden Ninaanza kuandika Swahili. Pole!

Love From Tanzania,

Shani K. Cephas