first day in samburu

we awoke at 530 for our 6 am game drive. we enjoyed hot chocolate and tea before departing. on this drive, we saw many types of birds, vultures, eagles, guinea fowl, ostrich, dik diks, giraffes, water buffalo. it was fun riding atop the jeep once again. back to the lodge for a full buffet breakfast. we passed on the stewed ox. then, about 10 am, we headed out to visit the local samburu tribe. our guide, magic, has a special relationship with the samburu. about 7 yrs. ago, a very pregnant woman in the tribe asked magic to get her to the nearest hospital, some 50 miles away over dirt roads. after piling literally dozens of tribesmen and women in his jeep, on his jeep, over his jeep, he headed out to the hospital. an hour later, she delivered a baby boy in his front seat, many miles before they reached the hospital. in magic's honor, the mom named the baby magic. on magic's next visit to the tribe, they presented him with a goat to thank him for his service. so, when we arrived in the village, we were treated like royalty. we were greeted by a samburu warrior named simon who walked us around the village, showing us various plants and the various medicinal uses for them. we were reminded of shayná's school play song called 'the forest is a pharmacy' we went to the river and saw a samburu woman getting clean water for the tribe. we made a toothbrush out of a tree branch. we saw kids playing in the river, catching fish, and avoiding a crocodile that they found. from the river, we walked into the main camp where we were greeted by a group of women, dressed in their traditional clothing, who each presented each of the girls and women in our group with hand-made beaded necklaces. they held their hands as they danced over to a group of samburu warrior men, complete with spears, who were chanting, and jumping up and down, and dancing,and gesticulating in front of the women. marc captured it on video and thought that, perhaps, he and zvi and noah would be invited to join the warrior men in the welcome ritual. alas, we were not. the warrior men and all the women danced together in circles, tapping spears and moving their heads back and forth in their neck sockets.
after the ritual dance, we were escorted by the tribal chief to the primary school, where the teacher had assembled the class inside their classroom. the students recited their daily lessons, including the english alphabet, counting from 1 to 20 in english, and greeting poems. their classroom was a single room, sparsely decorated, accommodating children, some clothed, some not, from ages 4-10. we took photos, video, and gave lollipops to each of the kids. from simon, we learned about samburu marriage patterns. men act as warriors from about age 15 to 30. then, in their early 30s, they marry their arranged partners. young women are of marriage age in their mid-teens and therefore marry men who are in their 30s. they also have multiple wives.
they set up a marketplace, with many villagers lining up side by side with their handicrafts. they lined up on both sides and we all walked through the center, hearing their appeals to buy their goods. the girls purchased their beaded welcome necklaces and we bought a few other gifts.
in true african tradition, we returned to the lodge quickly so marc and marci could get their lunch in time for their one hour massages. at 30 dollars, it was the best. the kids swam in the lodge pool before our 430 afternoon safari.
we saw more elephants, antelopes, and this time, a crocodile. the big event was at the very end, when we spotted a cheetah which had just killed a gazelle. after lots of jockeying for position with other safari jeeps, we got ourselves within about 15 feet of the cheetah (and its victim). many photos and video later, we headed back to the lodge for dinner, showers, and packing for tomorrow...