Its been a busy week! I spent the entire day today in the OR. We also have had two patients that possibly have TB, and a patient with Malaria. Malaria is normally pretty rare in Limuru because of the altitude and location. However, if patients have traveled to a Malaria zone, we have to be on the look out for the disease, especially as it can look like several other diseases.
Speaking of Malaria, this weekend I traveled to Maasai Mara, which is a Malaria zone. We learned of the leaves they use to prevent malaria by boiling it in water and drinking it. Also, they have a different leaf that is used as an insect repellant. To use it, you crumple the leaf and then rub it on you.
We went on a the “must do” safari and later visited the Maasai village, which was good to see, as I have met several people from these villages. These people hold very closely to their traditions, including their dances and clothing. They did a welcome dance for us:
Apparently, the jumping is a competition (which I did not know at that time). If I were to have jumped well, I wouldn’t have to pay as much for my dowry…but, I think I would have to pay the full price of 10 cows…
One part of the culture they hold to is the way the view women–they are viewed more as an object. Girls there do not get educated, and many men will have multiple wives. They build a different home right next to each for each of their wives.
Each house takes about 3 months to build and are made out of the clay and cow dung. They usually last about 9 years before being contaminated with termites. They are very solid!
They are very resourceful. In addition to the insect repellant and malaria prevention, they have leaves that are used for toilet paper, sandpaper, and painting the face. Also, they use two types of wood to make a fire–a soft wood that is found locally, and a harder wood that is found on the mountains.
Anyways… it was very interesting to learn about.
Also, the safari was amazing:
More Stories later!
Happy Adventuring,
Gabrianne
My Adventures in Limuru, Kenya 
You’d better learn to jump, but not too good so you don’t get married and live in a hut. What language do the people speak? Are you learning it! How long will you be there!
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Hi Sandra!
Haha…okay… I’ll strive to be an “average jumper.”
At that village, the local language I believe, is Maasai or the Maa language. However, Swahili is also frequently known. Also, many of the men knew how to speak English, but not the women.
In the area where I work, most people use swahili, and a lot of people know English (although they usually do not use it amongst each other). However, some people don’t know either Swahili or English; in these cases, they typically only speak the local language of Kikuyu. Normally, when the locals talk, they usually combine Swahili with Kikuyu and a little English…making it a little difficult to learn.
I’m trying to learn Swahili, and I’ve learned some Kikuyu, though it’s a little harder to find resources to learn it.
But, Swahili has really cool grammar and verb conjugations:) For conjugations, they add the tense/pronoun to the front of the verb, instead of at the end!
I’m here for 7 weeks total, but it’s already been 3.5 weeks!
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Sounds like a fascinating opportunity for you. I’ve heard Swahili is a cool language. I’ll have to look up a few words.. take care and enjoy your time there.
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