When this year began, commentator Marika Partridge resolved she would try to do less and enjoy life more. Her calendar was cluttered with commitments and she couldn't see a way out. Then she got an unexpected e-mail asking her to play host to nine Kenyan performers who were members of the Maasai tribe.

Partridge had encountered the Maasai before. In 1968, she and her family camped in Maasai country in southern Kenya. Partridge says the Maasai's stay with her in her suburban Maryland home may have cluttered her calendar, but it also taught her a few key lessons about living simply and with joy.

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