Homestay adventures

Hello! Sorry no pictures this time, and if i miss some punctuation the keyboard is sucking. So, i began my homestay about 5 daya ago a quarter of the way up Mt. Meru, in a peri-urban village called bangata. My mama is a schoolteacher and so i am luckier that some people because she speaks decent english and can teach me kiswahili, rather than talk to me without me understanding. She is 53, and has 5 children who are grown, 2 of which are married and are our neighbors with their children, so lots of little grandkids running around. We own a few farms, one huge one that we live on that grown mango, coffee, bananas, passionfruit, veggies, etc... and another farm or 2 between bangata and arusha, where my father (baba) owns a grocery as well. I haven't met him yet beause he doesn't come home much from the grocery. we also have 3 cows, 3 chickens, and a dog who doesn't really like people. school is a half hour walk, basically uphill, every morning, and then i try to help with chores and study my kiswahili at night. we go to bed early- 9pm is late!!! we eat right before bed too, so i always wake up full still. the food is simple and delicious, a lot of maize and beans because of this tiny outbreak of the rift valley fever in the country, so no meat or milk allowed for now. nothing too bad, don't be worried!
so today is our day in town, and i went to the market which is a HUGE cornacopia of smells and things to buy- veggies, fruit, fish, meat, spices, maasai medicine, baskets, flour, rice, etc... its amazing, i will try to take a picture next time i am there because there is nothing like it! Speaking of the maasai, we visited a small boma (household compund) of a man with his 2 sons and their 7 or 8 wives, and all the cows and goats. the maasai are a proud people, standing tall and resplendant in their colours and traditions, and it is interesting to talk to them, though they speak kimaa and not kiswahili so the little i know doesnt help much. we do a homestay for 4 days with teh maasai in about a month, and i look forward to learning more though the communication will still be an issue. the power balance in the family is different too, with the men drinking beer and eating meat and standing by the cows all day while the women stay inside and cook, clean, care for children, build dung houses, and do everything else. no eye contact with men i think, and bowing heads for a greeting to the elder male. Very interesting, i am excited to be part of this for a bit of time. it is raining every day here, but it is beautiful and i am so excited to continue to learn as much as i can about this wonderful country. Pictures next time, sorry for the rambling! Quick note: try to read some literature on grassroots movements and "globilazation" by a "3rd world" writer- words used like "social majority". "social minority", good clue to look for...