This week we went on a field expedition to a local village to take surveys of farmers about their interactions/conflicts with wildlife, and their overall opinion on what should be done about these issues. It was very interesting and all very professional until we passed one boma, and met a little old Maasai grandmother next to her home. We greeted her and shook hands, but when I went to shake her hand she took it and wouldn’t let go, continuing to shake it and beam at the four of us who had been conducting the interviews. She just kept smiling and shaking my hand and speaking to us, and we (not comprehending a word) kept nodding and smiling, until she finally let go of my hand and without hesitation pulled down her shirt and flapped one bare breast at me, smiling and repeating “Mtoto!”
Needless to say, I was a little taken aback by the sudden exposure, and blinked and smiled politely back at her in confusion. Our guide laughed and beckoned to us and we all followed him out to the next interview location, at which point I proceeded to ask him what might have been the reason for little old Maasai grandmother’s breast-flapping. He told me that she had been saying mtoto (“child”) because the other girl and I looked so young, and that she felt old in comparison, and naturally felt the need to demonstrate just how she was comparing us. I think our guide’s detailed and thorough explanation was probably quite a bit more uncomfortable than the actual situation that had just taken place.
I think I will be immune to awkward or embarrassing situations after this trip. That said, knowing me, they will keep on happening.
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