Maasai Cows & Ostriches

Imagine vast fields of long grass waving in the wind, stretching across an expanse to end in gentle blue mountains at the horizon line. 'This,' my friend David told me, 'is Maasai land.' Before the city of Nairobi existed, the area belonged to the Maasai. The name 'Nairobi' actually comes from a Maasai phrase meaning 'cool waters', because the city's location was once a watering hole for Maasai cattle. Over the years, the Maasai have lost or sold large portions of their land to other ethnic communities in Kenya such as the Kikuyu, and Nairobi has now become the cosmopolitan urban sprawl that it is today. Yet much of the surrounding land still belongs to the Maasai, even though other people have moved in to occupy the area.

David with his son Arvid.

I visited my friend David, a co-worker at OAIC, over the weekend in his home town of Kitangela located about a half-an-hour outside of Nairobi. As we drove out from the town into the beautiful countryside, I realized I haven't been out of the city for at least 2 and a half months! I appreciated the peacefulness of the farms, gentle bird songs, and the fields of long waving grass; peace and quiet is something you don't realize you miss until you experience it again.

After some time, David turned off the main highway onto a dirt road. We bounced a long on top of the potholes for a while, but had to stop suddenly. In front of us stood a large herd of Maasai cattle blocking the road with no herder in sight. It had been drizzling off and on that day, and so to avoid the cold grass, the herd was clinging fervently to the gravel, still warm from the sun. David 'hooted' his horn (as Kenyans would say), and we edged forward at a creeping pace until we were directly in the midst of the brown painted crowd of cows and bulls. They were stubborn and had no desire to leave their comfort zone. It must have taken at least five minutes of honking and creeping, honking and creeping, before we finally cleared the blockade.


Farther down the road, David stopped again and asked me if I wanted to drive. In Kenya people drive on the opposite side of the road, like they do in Britain. I was hesitant, but agreed, and had my first international driving experience on the left-hand-side. It felt really odd at first, like trying to write your name with your non-dominant hand. Yet even though I did mistake the windshield wipers for the signal blinkers, it was a successful endeavor!

We ended up at an ostrich farm/resort for tourists where we fed baby ostriches, and got to see adult ostriches running at top speeds. They are really ugly animals, but I think they're also somewhat charming... probably because I grew up with images of Big Bird in my head. David insisted that I try ostrich meat. I felt guilty at first, having just fed the babies, but the meat turned out to be delicious, like tenderly grilled chicken. It was outrageously expensive, so I only tasted a sample, but would definitely try it again if I have the chance.

Baby ostriches

Apparently 1 ostrich = a dozen chicken eggs

Yes, this is a somewhat cruel juxtaposition, but don't knock ostrich meat till you've tried it!

So I had a great weekend visiting David. It's true that new experiences are waiting just outside your door, or right outside your city's limits. It's only a matter of taking the plunge!