jumping high, singing loudly

I want to start this blog off on a positive note.... and I think that I haven't yet mentioned that when we were at the Masai village on our safari the men danced for us and the dancing included A LOT of jumping vertically. It was explained to us then that although in general you had to pay 10 cows to get a wife, if you jumped the REALLY HIGH you got one for free! Many of the tribes and clans have particular rituals for dowries which are still in practice (although in the cities, the cash value of a set number of cows is sometimes acceptable).
As for singing loudly, it seems to be a factor in singing "well" here... my host family sometimes wants to sing after dinner (usual hymns) but it can be a bit overwhelming- the sheer volume and disinterest in melody.... but I say that a bit in jest because I've heard several people singing to themselves and it can be beautiful (although it's often still loud- even at 6am).
The less positive part is of course the continuing violence. I'm sure the killing of one of the members of parliament this morning is not going to help. Yesterday afternoon I went with some family members to the land where they grew up and where many of their relatives still reside- Nyeri. It is in the Central District and pretty overwhelmingly Kikuyu and therefore considered safe. One of the reasons we went there though was to see how Mary's brother is doing. He was attacked and expelled from his land in the Rift Valley (he has a large cut on his head and was shot by an arrow in the arm, beaten and left for dead but his friends found him). To hear him tell the story was absolutely heart-wrenching and as soon as you hear it you KNOW that the people who did that to him (they went to steal his cows after they left him but were unsuccessful) are using the clashes as an excuse to steal and just... be awful. It's hard to know what to say. The family wanted me to counsel him - they're worried about him. I spoke to him for some time and I had him go over the story and we talked about normal phases a bit. I can't imagine I did much for him - but I'm sure his sister bringing him food and people just BEING there for him was helpful. May your thoughts be with Kenya- a beautiful country but one with many needy people even without the threat of violence.

I will be in Egypt from tomorrow until Feb 9th and am not sure if I'll have access to blog so please don't worry if you don't here from me until the 11th or so.