On Which We Buy a Goat

NOTE--We have not had internet for two days so are posting 2 blogs at once--check out the one after this one.

"As we traveled up the mountain we were waiting to see the tropical destination above the sea."

Our first off day arrived and we are all so happy to play tourist for a day.  Our younger crew, Cecily, Courtney, River, Bailee, Catherine and one of our translators, Sara, decided to climb 

Mt. Uluguru, a grueling hike to the top of the mountain that overlooks Morogoro.  Tisho, a Maasai man we have known for several years, guided them to the top.  The trail winds through farmland and small households up to a vista that is breathtaking.  It is really interesting to see how the resourceful Tanzanians use every available spot of ground, no matter how steep, to grow crops or to tether goats for grazing.  Free range chickens roam about and a small creek crisscrosses the path several times.  The creek is the source of irrigation for the crops and again we see Tanzanian ingenuity.  A hose is laid uphill in the creek and run down a steep slope to a pulsating sprinkler that sprays water over the crops, all powered by gravity. 

After 3 ½ hours they reached Morningside, the top of the trail.  Cecily and Sara were exhausted by the trek and stretched out on the grassy slope for a nap.  A few of the others climbed a short way further up to the top of the mountain.  They all joined together again and shared in the various snacks packed along, resting and enjoying the view.  After a while Cecily and Sara were well recovered and the hike down was done in just under an hour.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team went to the weekly Maasai cattle market.  Maasai drive the cows they want to sell to this market coming from as far as 100 kilometers away.  Buyers come from as far as Dar es Salaam.   To our eyes it looked like many thousands of cows in small groups being kept together by 3 or 4 young Maasai men.  Gamma, one of our translators, found two young Maasai men to explain to us what we were watching and answer our questions.  Maasai speak their own language and only a few of them also speak Swahili, usually the younger ones.  They explained that the buyers wandered among the bands of cows and selected the ones they wanted to buy and then the bargaining begins.  As we talked with the two young men, Maasai men in twos and threes drifted to our group and we were soon surrounded by about 40 men, all very curious. 

It is worth noting that Tanzania does not have the personal boundaries that we Americans instinctively feel.  As we were talking to the Maasai, many of them were only 3 or 4 inches from our face. 

After we asked our questions, we invited them to ask us any questions they might have. Where were we from?   Did we have cows in the US?  How old were we (they admitted they could not tell.)  We answered by pointing out our Bibi (grandmother,) Anne, and then giving the ages of many of us.  As we were about to turn to Emily and give her age, she shook her head and disappeared in the back of the group.  We later realized that the reason for asking our age was to learn who was still of childbearing age and the only young one in our group was Emily.  Well, sure enough, Gamma told us on the way back to town that he had had several offers of marriage for Emily!

Our next task was to buy a nanny goat.  Yes, you heard me right!  Tomorrow we are worshipping at a Maasaii village and hospitality demands that we be given lunch.  So we wanted to bring a gift to whoever is hosting our group.  Gamma negotiated and came back with a fine looking black and fawn goat that loudly protested her fate.  She stayed with us the rest of the day.

We browsed the stalls where many handmade Maasai goods were available for sale.  Gamma bargained for us whenever one of us wanted to buy.  At the end of our time there we sat under the shade of a Neem tree and enjoyed sodas, chipsimii (like a French fry omelette,) and fresh roasted goat.  Finally ready to leave, we put our goat in the back of the dalla dalla and she was quiet for the first time in hours!  We dropped her off at the church where we will be worshipping tomorrow and they agreed to tend her until we arrive tomorrow and make a formal presentation to our hosts.

The team reunited at supper at LJS to share stories about the day.  We thank God for the chance to be here in this wonderful country and to make new relationships that we will remember forever.