Sawa sawa?

Mercy! What a tiring day! Today was a community service day. We went to work on the Kimana Water Project, which is a project funded by the European Union dedicated to using natural springs in Kimana in a sustainable way and to keep the water clean. In order to do this, many troughs and many fences must be built to keep out animals. We built a section of fence out of large rocks and cement, so I can now add masonry to my resume.
No one can say that we haven’t learned anything here. We were offered tea but we all heard our professors screaming “no!” inside our heads. We politely refused but the workers kept telling us that the water was clean, which is perfect evidence for the level of understanding the water quality.
Today was really hard but also rewarding work. The “general contractor” asked who was paying us. When we replied that we were not being paid by anyone, he corrected us and said the God will be paying us for our hard work. He gave a Maasai prayer and asked for blessings for all of us. Our work was very much appreciated.
At one point a woman walked by with her 20 liter water jug to collect from the river. She said something to one of the workers which he translated for us as “I didn’t know you people did hard work like this, I only see you in the markets.” It’s amazing that those workers do this every day. The only equipment we had were wheelbarrows for the cement, and shovels… no gloves, no construction hats, and most of the workers were wearing sandals.
I’m going to go rest my bones. Lala salama (goodnight!) Here’s a little ditty by Little Feat that Dad was playing before I left.

Oh, I am just a vagabond
A drifter on the run
Eloquent profanity, it rolls right off my tongue
And I have dined in palaces
Drunk wine with kings and queens
But darling, oh darling,
You’re the best thing I have ever seen
Won’t you roll me easy
Oh, slow and easy
Take my independence
With no apprehension
No tension
You’re walking, talking
Mmm paradise, sweet paradise