Kwa Heri Tanzania.

Farewell to Africa. I leave tomorrow afternoon, and thought it would be nice to reflect on my visit. There are many things I will miss about this place, and some that I will not. Here are my thoughts.

Things I will NOT miss:

Carbohydrates.
Even though I walk upwards of 3 miles a day around here, I would bet money that I have gained weight. A typical day consists of toast for breakfast, being starving by midday, eating loads of carbs for lunch because you’re so hungry, being starving by dinner, and eating another carb meal then. I would pay millions for a salad or even something cold. Gazpacho anyone?

Attention.
I miss being invisible. It is impossible to walk down the street here without everyone saying something, whether it’s a simple greeting, some inappropriate comment, or a marriage proposal (of which we’ve all had too many to count). Even little kids run up to us to practice their English, and then we have to engage in small talk with them. I’m sorry cute children, but it’s been a long day and I just want to get home!
On the same note: I will not miss the word "mzungu". It means white person, and while it's not derogatory in the least, it's a little tiring hearing it every time you walk past someone. Basically, now I know they're talking about me, but I still don't know what they're saying.

Bartering.
While its fun in a sense, and you can get things for really cheap – it’s exhausting! Sometimes I overpay just to get it over with. Please, just tell me what your lowest price is an let’s call it a day. This is how a typical bartering conversation goes:

First I walk through the market and each person tries to get me in their stall:

Them: Mambo, Karibu (How are you, Welcome) – as they try to pull me into their store.
Me: Hapana, asante (No, thank you) – as I run away.

This happens at every stall I pass (upwards of twenty before I find something that may have what I want.

Finally, I find a stall that looks like it may have the mask I want.

Me: Bei gani? (How much?) – holding up a mask
Them: Arobaini (forty)
Me: Hapana, kumi na tano (no, fifteen)
Them: No, rafiki (friend) this is too low, just give me a better price.

Meanwhile, I’m pissed that they switch in an out of Swahili.

Me: No, rafiki, you give me a lower price.
Them: Thelathini na tisa.
Me: You just dropped it by one thousand. I will give you twenty and that’s it.
Them: Ishirini?! (Twenty?!) That price is too low, rafiki, I no make money. You kill me.
Me: Yes you will, you buy these things very cheap.
Them: How about you give me forty thousand for that mask and also these bracelets?
Me: I don’t want those bracelets.
Them: I give you very good price. Very low. Here look at them.
Me: I don’t want these bracelets.
Them: Keep looking, find something else you want.
Me: Hmm, this necklace is very pretty, I will give you twenty five for the mask and two necklaces.
Them: No, your price is too low.
Me: Sorry, that’s my final offer.
Them: Just give me thirty five, this is a very good price.
Me: No thanks, I’ll look somewhere else.

This is when I proceed to walk out the door.

Them: Wait, rafiki, I give you a very good price. Thirty-three.
Me: No thank you. Have a good day.
Them: Okay, you have have your price, thirty thousand.
Me: That isn’t my price. I said twenty five.
Them: Twenty five?! That’s a very low price. Just come up a little bit. Give me a fair price.
Me: No thank you. Have a good day.

Then at the next stand I walk in and start all over. Except, this lady starts the mask at twenty thousand only, and I end up getting it for thirteen. This whole process has taken me over an hour.

Bottled water.
Having to buy water each day is a pain in the ass. My entire day revolves around when I will pick up water and how heavy it will be to carry home.

5am prayer call.
I can't describe the sound or the content, but suffice it to say that it starts at 5am, lasts 45 minutes and is broadcast over a loudspeaker.

Things I WILL miss.

Mama Mary and Ana.
They're what makes my home here seem like home.

Avocado.
At home, avocado is 2 for $5.00. Here, 4 avocados are 1500 Tsh, the equivalent of a dollar. Also, it's the only cold, raw thing to eat here.

Quiet time.
At Mama Mary’s we have no TV and we have to be home by 6:45 when it gets dark. So basically, we have an entire evening of quiet time to read and relax. I will miss this.

Walking.
I know I can do this at home, but here it’s just the way you get everywhere. I walk at least three miles a day on a normal day, others much more. It’s nice to know that something is counteracting the carbs.

New people.
Not saying that I don't like my old people, but it’s really fun to be meeting so many new people each day. Every time we go out to do something or meet for lunch, there are new volunteers there. They're from all over the world and it's just a good experience.

The clothes.
The women here wear the most amazing outfits. They buy material of African patterns from the market and then take it to a tailor to have them make custom outfits that usually consist of at least 4 to 5 pieces. When I’m riding the dala, I just look out the window at all the beautiful skirts, dresses and headpieces. Would I personally wear all of it at home? No. Although, I have had two skirts, two pairs of pants, and a purse made (for under $30 total).

My orphanage.

What can I even say? The kids are adorable, I get to learn more Swahili and I am doing something good. Also, did I say the kids are cute?

The weather.
Cool at night and in the morning - hot and sunny during the day. What more could you want? Well, except for some personal hygiene to counteract the hot days...


And a few things I hate some days and love on others...

Arusha.
Like any town/city, the energy is contagious. I can walk everywhere and the markets are exciting and fun. People are everywhere selling everything you could think of. Popular items include used socks and shoes (usually left by safari-goers), peeled oranges, shelled peanuts, dusty lollipops, corn (already cooked and on a stick like a corn dog), and pants (also used). However, I'm a little tired of being hit by cars and also having to check for my wallet each time I get stuck in a crowd and bump into someone. It's exciting, but tiring having to be so alert at all times. I miss the days where I can amble down an actual sidewalk daydreaming.

Daladalas.
I have always loved public transportation. It's the one time in a day where you can just sit and relax and nothing is expected of you. I have a 45 minute ride each way to work, and part of me loves it. However, I am not a fan of packing 20+ people into a small van, or the fact that drivers get in physical fights with each other to get you on their ride. One volunteer sat next to a woman who proceeded to open up a big tub, and in it was a dead cow, chopped up to fit in the tub. Yes, this type of thing is normal here. Dead animals on public transportation. But, riding it makes me feel like I belong here. It's an achievement (and maybe a miracle) each day when I get on the right one, make it to work, and arrive home in the afternoon. The first day I rode the dala to work and back alone was the first day I knew for sure I could do this whole thing. The dala holds a special place in my heart.

Swahili.
I love learning a new language, and Swahili itself is relatively easy (at least at the level I need it) and a beautiful language to listen to. Unlike English, each letter always sounds the same. So, as long as someone can spell a new Swahili word for me, I can say it. I know enough Swahili in a classroom setting to get by, but outside the orphanage I'm hopeless.

So far, the single most frustrating moment of this whole trip has been trying to get a poster tube from UPS so I could send paintings home. It consisted of drawing and pantomime, and involved 4 different Swahili-speaking UPS people. In the end, one guy got this enlightened look on his face, rattled of something in Swahili, asked me for 5000 Tsh ($3.50) (in Swahili) and disappeared. After 45 minutes I went to leave (without my money), and the other three people pantomimed me to sit down. Then, the guy returned with exactly what I wanted (?!). I have no clue what the final straw of success was, but it was the hour of frustration preceding that which I can't forget.

And today, I went to pick up two purses I had made (Kim, pay attention - this affects you). Let's just say that the two meters I gave her for two purses turned into one purse. One big purse. So when I meant mbili (two) purses, she understood mbili-meter purse. Oh well. At least I have an extra piece of luggage.

In answer to your questions...

Carly –I am hardly drinking anything (other than gallons of water, that is) – as surprising as it may seem. They do have pretty good beer (bia) here, namely Kilimanjaro and Serengeti. But, somehow it just doesn’t seem appealing to be hungover in a place where the toilets are holes in the ground…However, on the safari we were so cold one night that we were drinking shots of Konyagi – which tastes like a mix between cheap gin and cheap vodka. A bottle of it costs 3500 Tsh which is less than three dollars – no I’m not joking. It doesn’t taste good but it sure warms you up!

Mom – Yes there are a few older people here. There is one woman here with her daughter, and she is working in the maternity ward of a hospital. There are also two older guys (50s?), both of whom work in a placement where the kids actually live at the orphanage. It’s about an hour and a half out of town, and it’s very remote. But, if I were to come back here – it is definitely the placement I would request. It’s more like a campus where the volunteers live at the orphanage and help the kids out all day long. Most of the kids are between the ages of 9 and 19 and they are mostly street kids that have been rehabilitated from glue sniffing and other crazy things and taken to this orphanage where they are put back in school and attend extra classes in the evenings (taught by volunteers) to get them caught up.

Dad – A while ago you asked about people staying here for extended periods of time. I just met someone here who has been traveling, primarily volunteering, through IVHQ since March. She has been to India, Thailand, Kashmir, Tanzania, Greece, and a whole collection of other places, spending at least a month in each place and combining volunteering with land tours. She’s twenty. I’m jealous.

I leave here Friday, making tomorrow my last day at the orphanage. I finally know enough Swahili to almost keep control of the class, and now I am leaving. Excellent. I have been compiling a list of things I will miss (the kids) and things I most definitely will not (carbohydrates). More to come/ It’s amazing how short two weeks seems now.

Safari Days 3 and 4

Elephant, check.
Buffalo, check.
Lion, check.
Leopard, check (we actually saw two, but my camera was dead).
Mission: rhino.

On Sunday morning we set out into the Ngorongoro Crater, which is the one place to see a rhino. In East Africa, the only place to see black rhinos is in the crater, and at last count, there were only 21 of them left.

We were on safari right in the middle of the annual widlebeest migration, which basically meant they were everywhere, including on the road in front of the jeep.

We saw ostrich, warthogs, hippos, and a whole lot of other things.

The highlight of the day: a hyena carrying a baby wildebeest across the road.

Sadly, no rhino. And as we left the crater, we knew our hunt for the big five would fall short.

We returned to camp on the rim, where the 3-day safari goers left us for home and we continued toward Lake Manyara to Mbu Mto (Mosquito River) to camp for the night. Curiously enough, it was the pelicans more than the mosquitos that were an annoyance (well, for me anyhow).

Another great dinner followed by card games and drinking, then a good night's sleep.

The next morning we headed into Lake Manyara, where the theme of the day was baboons. We saw them playing, fighting, climbing trees, climbing our jeep, grooming, and yes, mating. I have tons of video, but can't upload it here - so look forward to it.

We also saw more of the same, including giraffes, hippos, warthogs, zebra, wildebeest, elephants, and monkeys.

Then, we headed home to Arusha. It was the first time I realized how much I have settled in here - Arusha seemed like home. Also, a much needed shower was heaven, even in the cold water.

Still taking ages to upload photos - so I only posted the minimum. Pole! Sorry!

Safari Days 1 and 2

Sorry if this post is a little picture heavy, there was just so many things to see! You'll have to click on the pictures of animals to see them bigger.

So Friday morning we set out in two safari jeeps (half of us were going for four days and another half for three days).

We drove out of Arusha, past Lake Manyara, into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We stopped to take a look out over the Ngorongoro Crater, which we weren't visiting until later in the safari.

We passed zebras and flamingos, along with antelope, gazelles, ostrich and a whole lot of other "common" animals ...

...before we entered the Serengeti (means "endless plain") and saw our first cool animal sitting in the grass - a cheetah.

So we sat and watched the cheetah for a while, willing it to come closer. It did, then laid back down in the grass where we couldn't see it. So, the excitement was over, we shouted, "Twende!" (Let's go), we started the jeep, and ... we had a flat tire. And yes, the cheetah was still there. I'm just glad I wasn't the one changing the tire.

On a safari, the mission is to see the "Big Five," - lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard, and rhino. So, we had seen over 15 animals so far, but none of the big five. Just as we had noticed this, we saw a pack of elephants up ahead.

We stopped the car and were all watching them walk by when someone realized that behind us was an elephant (really close) and a buffalo right next to it.

Two of the big five in one picture - quite an acheivement. After that, elephants were old news. We proceeded on toward the sunset to our campsite in the middle of the Serengeti, where we pitched tents and had a gourmet meal (no kidding - a great meal by any standards), while being wary of the gleaming hyena eyes moving around our campsite.

Then, we went to bed, packed like sardines.

Surprisingly, we all slept well, despite the hyenas. We woke up to a quick breakfast and set back out across the Serengeti to continue our hunt for the big five.

We passed multitudes of buffalo (now a very boring sight), vervet monkeys, giraffes, and some more of the same animals we had already seen, before coming across our third of the big five.










Our third of the big five were lions. Now, we would have been happy seeing a single lion just sitting in the grass, but we got to see a whole pack of lions (two males, three females, and a ton of cubs) destroying a buffalo. You could even hear them tearing the meat off the bones.

Of course, this made us hungry, so we returned to camp for another amazing meal.

Then we set back out across the Serengeti toward the Ngorongoro crater rim, where we would camp for the night.

The Ngorongoro Crater is basically the top of a volcano. You drive up into the mountains and at the top there is a big crater formed from an old volcanic eruption. We camped at Simba (lion) Campsite on the rim of the crater. I never knew I could be so damn cold on a safari in Africa. I was just heading back to the jeep to get another sweatshirt, when our guide, Chui (leopard), told me to be very very still. An elephant had walked right into the campsite. So, he told me not to move, but took a picture anyway.

So, it was the end of a long day in the sun, and I hadn't showered since we'd left Arusha. Tired as we were, cameras were our number one priority so we stayed up late waiting to charge them in one of the 5 outlets servicing the whole campground. Then, we fell asleep praying we wouldn't get stampeded by elephants.

Oh and here's a picture of my dirty feet.

THANK YOU!

Thank you all for the comments on the blog. Considering it took over two hours and a power outage to complete the last posts it's great to know you enjoy them!

Not a lot to update from the past few days. Just been spending my days at the orphanage. Yesterday I went to a big market and bought so many awesome things - an african mask and a whole lot of canvas paintings which I had them remove from the wooden frames so I could roll them up to send home.

I leave tomorrow morning bright and early for my safari and get back Monday night, so no updates from the Serengeti. Look forward to lots of pictures next week!

Thanks again!

A day in the life...

This is the second time I have tried to post this blog - the power went out the first time, as it does every day at random times.

Sorry about all the consecutive blogs...I want to get these pictures posted while I can.

No commentary for this one, just some photos of the things that have become part of the daily routine around here.

Maasai Village (Sunday 18th)

On Sunday a group of 15 of us drove 4 hours on a dirt road to a Maasai village out near Mt. Kilimanjaro. The Maasai live mostly in Kenya, but there are some villages here in Tanzania. They live hours (by car) from everything. The village we went to was sort of in the plains area and it gets extremely windy. So basically dirt just blows all over the place and I have never seen dirtier children in my life. Lets just say I withstood the cold shower water for a lot longer than usual that night. I can't really begin to describe how these people live, so hopefully these pictures will do the trick.




Did I mention that we passed giraffes on the way?! Yes, they were far away (you have to look closely), and I was kicking myself for not having our good camera, but they were giraffes all the same. Hopefully I'll get some closer pictures on my safari this weekend.



When we arrived, they greeted us with singing and dancing. I have awesome videos, but they take too long to post here because of the slow connection.



Then, we spent time meeting everyone and playing with the children.



Then, we did the next logical thing and bought a goat from the village, which they proceeded to slaughter...and offered a cup full of blood straight from the neck which we could drink (I passed). I have pictures and videos, but for those of you who weren't forced to see it first hand, I'll let you off the hook...for now.



One of the security guards for one of the volunteer dorms here is from this particular Maasai village, which is how we were able to visit. He showed us the house he lives in with his wife and new baby. There are over 40 people in the village who live in 9 mud huts (one of which is for the cattle - mainly goats - although there is one less now). You'll also notice that there are no windows in the huts - because it is much cooler than letting in the desert sun.





Remember that poor little goat? We ate it. By "ate" I really mean that they cut off pieces of fat and the liver (I think it was the liver - we asked, but never quite got an answer), which they handed to us and stared at us while we chewed (it is rude to refuse). Those who know me know I'm a pretty good eater...but a huge chunk of a mystery organ, 5 chunks of fat, and a piece of actual meat that was so rare my dirty hands were now dripping blood down my wrists, was about all the goat I think I ever want.





Then, we were branded with a hot metal circle. Yes, you can see my scars when I get home.


A quick note: I think you can click on all the photos to see them bigger - I have been uploading them small since the connection is so slow. I'll keep working on the videos...

Kilimanjaro National Park (Saturday 17th)

On Saturday another volunteer, our driver, Bruno and myself went to the Marungu (?) waterfalls in Kilimanjaro National Park. We hiked through the hills, passing all these remote houses on the way. If there is one word I would use to describe this whole place it would be "juxtaposition." Everywhere you go, it's the most bizarre contrast. On our way to the waterfall we walked past these houses perched in the hill, miles away from anything. Then you would see this tiny little stand that advertised they sold beer. Each day we see these kids who have the worst lives, but they are the happiest kids I have ever seen. The whole place is full of these huge contradictions I just can't wrap my head around sometimes. Each night I am exhausted, but I think it is more from the mental strain than the fact I hiked hours through the hills.





Anyway... we hiked for a few hours through the hills to two different waterfalls. I wanted to stand in the water, but was a little afraid because a lot of the water here is filled with parasites, so I stayed on the rocks. Bruno (a Tanzanian) drank it though....




Then we continued on to these underground caves where people used to take cover during tribal wars. They looked like grass huts built into the ground instead of on top, and then there were tunnels connecting 4 different huts. The tunnels included little areas where they would keep the animals as well. I tried to ask how they got the cows down there, but something got lost in translation...