Dec 4 – Day 2 Cultural Immersion: Fun with the Samburu
This was one long, hot day.
It began with an airplane landing and many of the locals showing up for the affair. Sensing an opportunity for fun, we hustled up an impromptu game of Kijabe Kan Kan with the Samburu. We couldn’t talk the warriors into playing so we started with the younger boys. Soon the older men came to see what all the fuss was about and they joined in as well. We learned the warrior class wouldn’t participate because to lose could foster uncertainty about the individual’s ability to protect the village. Next year we might have to travel out of the public eye in order to engage them.
Kijabe was followed by an afternoon of baseball instruction. You don’t realize how many rules there are in baseball until you teach it to people who have absolutely no clue! The children and women played Tee Ball while the men learned the basics. PK took a baseball to the nose from ten feet away. It definately made him a little loopy. The Samburu have a high pain tolerance and almost never cry out in pain. The only option was to laugh if PK was going to save face (what was left of it, anyway!).