Goings-On in Korr

I've been in Korr only since last Tuesday, and so much has already happened! I guess as it's Christmas time, there's bound to be lots of activity.

Alicia and I have more or less fully moved into our new house (pictured above.) We've un-packed most of our things, have been tidying up, and bug spraying everything. And in an attempt to be really domestic, we disastrously tried our hand at baking bread. The stupid recipe told us to boil all our liquids (butter, milk, etc), but pouring that into the dry mix killed our yeast! Being a self sufficient grown up is hard work... However, Alicia redeemed us yesterday by making several wonderful loafs of white bread. To be fair, though, it's quite an art - getting the hang of cooking in a secluded desert. We have to make sure to either freeze or eat all of our fresh produce right away as it goes bad within the first week of being here. We also have to be very careful to conserve our gas and solar power (for the freezer.) All the House-boating crew (John and Anita especially) would appreciate the delicate dish-washing methods. And a clean floor? Not an option. There's sand and dirt everywhere.

I have also received my Rendille name and have been adopted into a clan. The prominent tribe here in Korr, the Rendille, have trouble saying my English name, and even more than this, a Rendille name relates my existence to their world. It puts me in a context we both can understand. I'm still Claire the American, still a Wazungu outsider, but now we have a more intimate way of connecting with each other. My name is "Waakhene" (Waa-ken-ey) which means "God has sent you/ A blessing." This makes perfect sense to me, because I really do feel like I was sent here, but that the Rendille believe that too is the amazing thing. And am I really a blessing? We'll ask the Rendille after a year. My naming came after three days of being in town and after a couple times of meeting Mamma Naryo. She's a precious woman; so stunningly beautiful, happy, caring, and although she doesn't speak any English, you know you're loved. She adopted Alicia a few months ago, and I think since I've been tagging along with Alicia, she's keeping it all in the family! So now I too am Waakhene of the Dubsahai clan and the Chawle family. Alicia and I are sisters with Mamma Naryo as our adoptive mother and a whole host of extended family running around Korr and the outlying "gobs" (villages.) It's really quite an exhilarating thing knowing that now you mean something, not only in what you do but also in who you are, to the people of a new home.

(Conversely, the name of our guard is "Bogajo." Since Alicia and I had both been blessed with Rendille names, we decided to give Bogajo a Wazungu name. So now we call him Bruce. We figured if he's going to be the one protecting us from rabid hyenas and burglars, he'll do a better job with a name like Bruce.)

The Rendille are herders. They always have been I believe, and so, for centuries, they have kept goats and camels across the northern deserts. It's the warriors who herd the camels, as they're supposedly the only guys tough enough to travel hundreds of kilometers out into the bush to find water and foraging for the animals. (Interesting fact: You're not allowed to take pictures of the camels as the warriors believe it takes away their ability to reproduce. This will become important in a minute.) This area of Kenya has been experiencing a very serious drought in recent years, and as a result, camel herds are dwindling and many people have lost their goats. So it's a big deal when the camels come back into town from pasture, not to mention with their new calves...
I literally could smell the camels coming before I could see them. It's not an absolutely revolting smell, but for you Californians, it's almost like driving past Harris Ranch on I-5. You're thought is "Oh, that's... natural." Anyways, so this small herd of camels, maybe 50 of the total thousands, went meandering past our gate yesterday! I got super excited because it was my first sighting, but knowing the rules of photos, had to find a way to go covert. First I tried to get some pictures from our windows, but the chicken wire was making it fuzzy (see above.) Then Alicia and I snuck out into the backyard to see what the view was like through the fence. It was pretty good, but then one of the young children helping herd saw us suspiciously hanging out. He yelled up ahead to one of the warriors, who had his foot long dagger tied to his waist, and for a moment I really thought we were in big trouble. These warriors have spears too... They kept walking, though, and all was fine, including the photos I snapped of the camels.