A Visit with Maruge and Friends: Day Two

Excitement. The minutes go by slower than the sun setting on the African planes. The ride to Maruge's village seems to take forever as I anticipate meeting him. I wonder how the village people will react to me and if they'll accept me into their culture. Maruge and I have a whole weeks plan of activities to do and I can't wait to get to know someone with such a significant past. The thick dirt road slowly transformed into a street filled with colorful people of all ages. Children ran after the van as I arrived in the village of Eldoret. The villagers made way for an old scrawny man who trudged up to the car. I got out and greeted Maruge with a friendly hug. He was silent at first but soon after our hug said his first word, "Karibu." I recognized that the meaning of this word was, welcome, after scanning through a translation book on the way here. Maruge took me to a shaded area under an acacia tree and watched five women dressed in colorful garments preform a tribal dance. I loved observing an unfamiliar kind of dance and getting to experience a new culture. I was overjoyed when Maruge pulled me up from my seat and taught me the choreographed dance. The rest of the day I visited with the village people and danced with the young children. I thought they might be interested in the style of dance I do at home so I showed them one of my ballet pieces from the Nutcracker. Luckily, I brought my pointe shoes, so I taught the kids the basics of being en pointe. It was getting late so Maruge took me to his house, a small shelter , and we quickly fell asleep after a long day.