Safari- AMAZING
I have no words to describe what a life-changing experience that safari was. You all will have to be content to wait until I get home to tell you about it.
Suffice to say, I had an amazing time and couldn’t have enjoyed myself more. All that’s left is to pack and fill the days until I leave! It's getting down to it, and I'm starting to be sad about leaving. As excited as I am to come home and see everyone, there are tons of things I'll miss about my time here.
Those are all my sentimental thoughts for now. I love you all, and once again, thank you for sharing this journey with me. It’s been grand.
Colleen
Ngorongoro
Ngorongoro - Zebra
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Winding Down
Hey All,
So I don't have a lot to write, other than that things here are coming to a close. I have my final exam tomorrow and I leave for my safari on Thursday.
I'm enjoying the slow last few days, and am getting excited to be home.
I don't know if I'll post anything substantial, even after the safari. I will try, but if not, keep an eye on my facebook as I'll be more likely to post pictures there.
Hope all is well with everyone. Thank you so much for sharing this journey with me. It's been an amazing ride. I cannot wait to come home and see everyone,
Love and miss you all.
Less than a week,
Colleen
So I don't have a lot to write, other than that things here are coming to a close. I have my final exam tomorrow and I leave for my safari on Thursday.
I'm enjoying the slow last few days, and am getting excited to be home.
I don't know if I'll post anything substantial, even after the safari. I will try, but if not, keep an eye on my facebook as I'll be more likely to post pictures there.
Hope all is well with everyone. Thank you so much for sharing this journey with me. It's been an amazing ride. I cannot wait to come home and see everyone,
Love and miss you all.
Less than a week,
Colleen
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Next Time, We Should Just Bring Our Helicopter
Day 30 (7/17):
Today, I have faced and dealt with two fears:
1) Being in a motor-vehicle that has tipped over
2) Heights
Let me back up. We woke up this morning around 8 because our bus for the planned water-hike was to arrive at 9:15. Breakfast was the same as always, except tourist high season in Africa has recently picked up, so our hotel is much more crowded than usual. We were all pretty excited for the day, despite the cloudy, rainy, chilly weather that we woke up to. We knew/hoped it would clear up as the day went on.
Godfrey (we thought his name was Geoffrey, and had been calling him that for weeks) picked us up in our usual bus at 9:15 on the dot. We headed out of Arusha and drove for 15-20 before turning off the main road onto a small village road. We squeezed through the village and turned yet again off the road onto a much less crowded but steep dirt road. It had rained the night before, but the ground was pretty solid. Our driver got us all the way out to the camel-safaris and back, so I was confident in his ability to get us up the mountain. We were going to hike around waterfalls that were deep in the forest on the slopes of Mt. Meru. On our way up the rural road that would take us to our hiking point, we were bumping along went all of a sudden the bus heaved to the right and tipped mostly over.
Remember those divots I wrote about that made me so anxious on the way to the camel-safari? Yeah, the front wheel of the bus got stuck in one of those divots, in the mud. EXACTLY the way I feared it would. We were lucky that the part of the road we got stuck on had a high piece of land/path next to it, which is what the bus rested on, otherwise it would have been completely on its side. We all got out and surveyed the damage. The impact of the collision with the road wall had mangled the front right corner of the bus a bit, and other than the back-left wheel being in the air and not on the ground at all, the bus was ok and so were we.
With the help of 14 girls, some village members, Godfrey, and our driver, we were able to get it out of the ditch, but we knew if we tried to continue with it, we would only have a similar problem the further up the road we got, and the more into rural villages we traveled, where the road would surely be less kept. First fear: met, dealt with, and conquered. Our guide, who had met us a little bit earlier, directed us to walk to rest of the way to the starting point. It took us about half an hour to get up to the village where we were intended to start. After feeling shaken up and a little lost, we all were in relatively good spirits by the time we got to our destination. We made a pit-stop for the bathroom at the church, before starting our official hike.
It was still pretty foggy when we started and the mist was sitting on the hills and slopes of Meru. Beautiful, but bad for pictures. We hiked down a slope and through a small bean farm, and continued until we were fully in the forest. It was a nice hike and soon we heard the sound of water. The slope started to get steeper and we knew we were close when we saw the top of the waterfall ahead, but what we didn’t realize was that we would be climbing down a very narrow, very steep path that wrapped around the hill. Our guide had several helpers who assisted us in getting down to the falls, but suffice to say there were many times when I was on my butt for fear of standing up and losing my balance. We all got safely down to the bottom of the falls, and let me tell you, it was worth it. It was only a 40-foot waterfall but beautiful all the same. We were able to climb on the rocks that went behind the falls and have our pictures taken of us behind the waterfall. We spent a lot of time there, taking pictures, and playing in the small pool that the waterfall fell into.
When we had had our fill, our guides directed us back up the hill, but while we were entertaining ourselves with pictures and playing in the water, one of the guys had created footholds in the path so that going up would be easier. And it was. We made it up in less than three minutes, whereas coming down had taken a full ten.
We hiked back to the church and continued on through the village to our second destination. I thought I was dealing with my fear of heights by hiking down the steep hill to the first waterfall. That was NOTHING compared our second hike. We walked along the dirt road for a while, at a relatively steep incline, but it was manageable since we were on the road. Once we turned off the road, however, things got interesting.
Going up the road had been steep and we felt like we were cresting a large hill, and we were pretty much correct. We turned off the road, and through what in the rainy season would have been a corn farm, set on the slopes of the mountain. The soil was very soft and made for comfortable downhill travel. After we got downhill a ways, the path flattened out and we continued on. We started to hear the sounds of water and knew we were getting close to our second location. We broke out of the trees and were treated to a beautiful vista. To the right of us, we saw the slope of the mountain drop sharply, and then rise again on the other side of the river. Ahead, there was a break in the hills and we could see beautiful plains and hills, further in the distance. I glanced ahead after taking several pictures to see where our path was going, and realized we were climbing down the mountain.
I will try to describe this hike as best as possible, but there is really no way to do it justice. Try to check my pictures on facebook for additional reference. Ok, so when I saw that we were climbing down and how high up we were, I started to freak out. I have a (small) fear of heights and am usually able to keep it in check. I make myself go on roller-coasters, I hike when I can, so it’s not a big deal. Not so much in the case. Part of the mountain jutted out over the small canyon, and then the path were taking curved sharply left. I can’t describe it as a path, only as natural footholds that existed on the face of the brush covered hill.
I eased my way down slowly, as was the only was my nerves could handle the experience, and eventually made it down to the river. Getting to the river wasn’t the end destination, we then had to walk upriver to get to the falls. Had the current not been so strong and the rocks so slippery, it would have been fun, but it was hard work and stressful. Most of us had already gotten our feet soaked from the first waterfall, climbing to get behind it, and then wading into the small pool to take pictures, so trying to navigate upriver with our feet completely submerged wasn’t an issue. It was a water-hike, after all.
We finally got to the second water-fall, and once again, totally worth the near-death experience I felt I’d been subjected to. Not only was there a beautiful waterfall that fell into a pool that began the river we’d hiked, but just above the water-fall, back farther in the mountain, was a second waterfall that fed the first. It was breathtaking. We spent a good amount of time there, taking pictures and enjoying the beautiful scenery. Please, please look at the pictures I posted. They are amazing.
Once again, when we’d had our fill of pictures and waterfalls, we trekked back downriver. Once we crossed the river, we then had to climb back the almost sheer face of the mountain. Climbing up the mountain wasn’t nearly as bad as climbing down, for the simple fact that my line of focus was on the sheer, plant-covered face in front of me. I did, however, climb the mountain on my hands and knees, pulling myself up, with my body flat against the hill. It was stressful, but not being able to see all the empty space I could possibly fall into, and focusing on getting my body to the top helped. We made it to the top, and with the emotional exhaustion and my physical tiredness, I laid down and waited for the others. I caught my breath, and felt proud of myself for not letting my fear take over and restrict me from having an awesome experience like I’d just had.
We trekked back uphill, through the forest, through the corn-farm, and around the mountain back to a compound we hadn’t been to before. There was sat and had our lunch. They served us rice with some type of delicious meatsauce, ugali (the staple food for the region), carrots and green beans, and cooked plantains. After all the hiking we’d just done, and the calories we’d just burned, we were all glad to have a hot, carb-filled meal in front of us.
After lunch we all rested, since by that time it was almost 2:30pm. We were able to wash-up a little bit, but we knew we would all be taking nice hot showers once we got back.
We paid for our hike and for the guides, and then headed back down the road and through the village to get our bus. Apparently it had tried to meet us closer to the village and got stuck in mud again. When we found it, local village men were trying to maneuver it so it could turn around to go back. They were shoveling dry dirt under the tires as it moved. We eventually met it down the road a ways and were able to board it when it was in a position to go the right direction. The only mishap/stressful part of that was the two logging trucks that were also trying to fit down the road and also were just as unsteady in the mud. After many tense minutes, we finally made it to the highway and headed back to Arusha.
We are all exhausted and very ready for dinner and then bed. We have been laughing about our day since we got back and will probably continue to remember what an adventure we had for a good long time.
I know I talked a lot in this post about my stress and dealing with fear, and while I dealt with a lot of internal struggles today, I still had fun. The times I was not fearing for my life climbing down the side of a mountain, I was laughing, and making the best of it. I hope no one who reads this sees the analysis of what goes through my head as me not enjoying what’s happening. Part of enjoying myself and having an adventure is admitting when I’m scared and working through those fears and conquering them. I feel like that has been as very major part of this trip for me…is facing my fears and conquering them.
Shikamo – Maharaba
Love and miss you all,
Colleen
Today, I have faced and dealt with two fears:
1) Being in a motor-vehicle that has tipped over
2) Heights
Let me back up. We woke up this morning around 8 because our bus for the planned water-hike was to arrive at 9:15. Breakfast was the same as always, except tourist high season in Africa has recently picked up, so our hotel is much more crowded than usual. We were all pretty excited for the day, despite the cloudy, rainy, chilly weather that we woke up to. We knew/hoped it would clear up as the day went on.
Godfrey (we thought his name was Geoffrey, and had been calling him that for weeks) picked us up in our usual bus at 9:15 on the dot. We headed out of Arusha and drove for 15-20 before turning off the main road onto a small village road. We squeezed through the village and turned yet again off the road onto a much less crowded but steep dirt road. It had rained the night before, but the ground was pretty solid. Our driver got us all the way out to the camel-safaris and back, so I was confident in his ability to get us up the mountain. We were going to hike around waterfalls that were deep in the forest on the slopes of Mt. Meru. On our way up the rural road that would take us to our hiking point, we were bumping along went all of a sudden the bus heaved to the right and tipped mostly over.
Remember those divots I wrote about that made me so anxious on the way to the camel-safari? Yeah, the front wheel of the bus got stuck in one of those divots, in the mud. EXACTLY the way I feared it would. We were lucky that the part of the road we got stuck on had a high piece of land/path next to it, which is what the bus rested on, otherwise it would have been completely on its side. We all got out and surveyed the damage. The impact of the collision with the road wall had mangled the front right corner of the bus a bit, and other than the back-left wheel being in the air and not on the ground at all, the bus was ok and so were we.
With the help of 14 girls, some village members, Godfrey, and our driver, we were able to get it out of the ditch, but we knew if we tried to continue with it, we would only have a similar problem the further up the road we got, and the more into rural villages we traveled, where the road would surely be less kept. First fear: met, dealt with, and conquered. Our guide, who had met us a little bit earlier, directed us to walk to rest of the way to the starting point. It took us about half an hour to get up to the village where we were intended to start. After feeling shaken up and a little lost, we all were in relatively good spirits by the time we got to our destination. We made a pit-stop for the bathroom at the church, before starting our official hike.
It was still pretty foggy when we started and the mist was sitting on the hills and slopes of Meru. Beautiful, but bad for pictures. We hiked down a slope and through a small bean farm, and continued until we were fully in the forest. It was a nice hike and soon we heard the sound of water. The slope started to get steeper and we knew we were close when we saw the top of the waterfall ahead, but what we didn’t realize was that we would be climbing down a very narrow, very steep path that wrapped around the hill. Our guide had several helpers who assisted us in getting down to the falls, but suffice to say there were many times when I was on my butt for fear of standing up and losing my balance. We all got safely down to the bottom of the falls, and let me tell you, it was worth it. It was only a 40-foot waterfall but beautiful all the same. We were able to climb on the rocks that went behind the falls and have our pictures taken of us behind the waterfall. We spent a lot of time there, taking pictures, and playing in the small pool that the waterfall fell into.
When we had had our fill, our guides directed us back up the hill, but while we were entertaining ourselves with pictures and playing in the water, one of the guys had created footholds in the path so that going up would be easier. And it was. We made it up in less than three minutes, whereas coming down had taken a full ten.
We hiked back to the church and continued on through the village to our second destination. I thought I was dealing with my fear of heights by hiking down the steep hill to the first waterfall. That was NOTHING compared our second hike. We walked along the dirt road for a while, at a relatively steep incline, but it was manageable since we were on the road. Once we turned off the road, however, things got interesting.
Going up the road had been steep and we felt like we were cresting a large hill, and we were pretty much correct. We turned off the road, and through what in the rainy season would have been a corn farm, set on the slopes of the mountain. The soil was very soft and made for comfortable downhill travel. After we got downhill a ways, the path flattened out and we continued on. We started to hear the sounds of water and knew we were getting close to our second location. We broke out of the trees and were treated to a beautiful vista. To the right of us, we saw the slope of the mountain drop sharply, and then rise again on the other side of the river. Ahead, there was a break in the hills and we could see beautiful plains and hills, further in the distance. I glanced ahead after taking several pictures to see where our path was going, and realized we were climbing down the mountain.
I will try to describe this hike as best as possible, but there is really no way to do it justice. Try to check my pictures on facebook for additional reference. Ok, so when I saw that we were climbing down and how high up we were, I started to freak out. I have a (small) fear of heights and am usually able to keep it in check. I make myself go on roller-coasters, I hike when I can, so it’s not a big deal. Not so much in the case. Part of the mountain jutted out over the small canyon, and then the path were taking curved sharply left. I can’t describe it as a path, only as natural footholds that existed on the face of the brush covered hill.
I eased my way down slowly, as was the only was my nerves could handle the experience, and eventually made it down to the river. Getting to the river wasn’t the end destination, we then had to walk upriver to get to the falls. Had the current not been so strong and the rocks so slippery, it would have been fun, but it was hard work and stressful. Most of us had already gotten our feet soaked from the first waterfall, climbing to get behind it, and then wading into the small pool to take pictures, so trying to navigate upriver with our feet completely submerged wasn’t an issue. It was a water-hike, after all.
We finally got to the second water-fall, and once again, totally worth the near-death experience I felt I’d been subjected to. Not only was there a beautiful waterfall that fell into a pool that began the river we’d hiked, but just above the water-fall, back farther in the mountain, was a second waterfall that fed the first. It was breathtaking. We spent a good amount of time there, taking pictures and enjoying the beautiful scenery. Please, please look at the pictures I posted. They are amazing.
Once again, when we’d had our fill of pictures and waterfalls, we trekked back downriver. Once we crossed the river, we then had to climb back the almost sheer face of the mountain. Climbing up the mountain wasn’t nearly as bad as climbing down, for the simple fact that my line of focus was on the sheer, plant-covered face in front of me. I did, however, climb the mountain on my hands and knees, pulling myself up, with my body flat against the hill. It was stressful, but not being able to see all the empty space I could possibly fall into, and focusing on getting my body to the top helped. We made it to the top, and with the emotional exhaustion and my physical tiredness, I laid down and waited for the others. I caught my breath, and felt proud of myself for not letting my fear take over and restrict me from having an awesome experience like I’d just had.
We trekked back uphill, through the forest, through the corn-farm, and around the mountain back to a compound we hadn’t been to before. There was sat and had our lunch. They served us rice with some type of delicious meatsauce, ugali (the staple food for the region), carrots and green beans, and cooked plantains. After all the hiking we’d just done, and the calories we’d just burned, we were all glad to have a hot, carb-filled meal in front of us.
After lunch we all rested, since by that time it was almost 2:30pm. We were able to wash-up a little bit, but we knew we would all be taking nice hot showers once we got back.
We paid for our hike and for the guides, and then headed back down the road and through the village to get our bus. Apparently it had tried to meet us closer to the village and got stuck in mud again. When we found it, local village men were trying to maneuver it so it could turn around to go back. They were shoveling dry dirt under the tires as it moved. We eventually met it down the road a ways and were able to board it when it was in a position to go the right direction. The only mishap/stressful part of that was the two logging trucks that were also trying to fit down the road and also were just as unsteady in the mud. After many tense minutes, we finally made it to the highway and headed back to Arusha.
We are all exhausted and very ready for dinner and then bed. We have been laughing about our day since we got back and will probably continue to remember what an adventure we had for a good long time.
I know I talked a lot in this post about my stress and dealing with fear, and while I dealt with a lot of internal struggles today, I still had fun. The times I was not fearing for my life climbing down the side of a mountain, I was laughing, and making the best of it. I hope no one who reads this sees the analysis of what goes through my head as me not enjoying what’s happening. Part of enjoying myself and having an adventure is admitting when I’m scared and working through those fears and conquering them. I feel like that has been as very major part of this trip for me…is facing my fears and conquering them.
Shikamo – Maharaba
Love and miss you all,
Colleen
Friday, July 16, 2010
Leap and the Net Will Appear
Days 27-29 (7/14-16):
Hello all,
Sorry for the grouped post this time. I don’t have a whole lot to update on since this week has really just been the winding down of my program. I turned in my paper on Thursday night (by email) and I had my last day of class today.
I’ll just give you a run-down of what the rest of my trip looks like, since it will begin to pick up pace again starting tomorrow:
Sat 7/17: Hiking the waterfalls around Mt. Meru
Sun 7/18: Skyping with my family for my brother Patrick and his wife Katie’s birthday!!!!!
Mon 7/19: Visiting the Africa Court of Human and People’s Rights, touring and meeting with officials
Wed 7/21: Final Exam!
Thurs & Fri 7/22 & 23: SAFARI at Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara
Sat 7/24: Hike around the bottom of Mt. Kilimanjaro
Sun 7/25: Final dinner with the girls
Mon 7/26: Flight from Kilimanjaro Int’l to Amsterdam @ 8:30 p.m.
Tues 7/27: Arrive in JFK @ 7:40 pm – I’M HOME!
It’s going to be a fun next ten days, so I’m pretty excited.
I promise to post something more substantial after the water hike and maybe on Sunday.
Love and miss you all!
Colleen
Hello all,
Sorry for the grouped post this time. I don’t have a whole lot to update on since this week has really just been the winding down of my program. I turned in my paper on Thursday night (by email) and I had my last day of class today.
I’ll just give you a run-down of what the rest of my trip looks like, since it will begin to pick up pace again starting tomorrow:
Sat 7/17: Hiking the waterfalls around Mt. Meru
Sun 7/18: Skyping with my family for my brother Patrick and his wife Katie’s birthday!!!!!
Mon 7/19: Visiting the Africa Court of Human and People’s Rights, touring and meeting with officials
Wed 7/21: Final Exam!
Thurs & Fri 7/22 & 23: SAFARI at Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara
Sat 7/24: Hike around the bottom of Mt. Kilimanjaro
Sun 7/25: Final dinner with the girls
Mon 7/26: Flight from Kilimanjaro Int’l to Amsterdam @ 8:30 p.m.
Tues 7/27: Arrive in JFK @ 7:40 pm – I’M HOME!
It’s going to be a fun next ten days, so I’m pretty excited.
I promise to post something more substantial after the water hike and maybe on Sunday.
Love and miss you all!
Colleen
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Sunshine and Research Papers
Day 25 (7/12):
Today starts our fourth week here, and our last week of classes. Isn’t that crazy? It’s still mind-blowing to me that I’ve been here for three full weeks. Wow.
After such a fun-filled and exciting weekend, getting back to class was kind of a let down. We’re winding down our discussions and starting to think about our final exam. The term paper is due on Friday, and everyone is starting to feel the crunch of editing, revising, and getting that done.
I, like the committed and wonderful student I am, hadn’t really started working on the paper. It’s interesting that with how little there is to do here, I seem to find myself with a million little tasks that prevent me from buckling down and banging it out. All joking aside, I started working on it, reading the research I’d collected and forming a structure for my paper.
My thesis statement reads: “This paper aims to explore the idea that patriarchal cultural norms and values take precedence in East Africa and Tanzania and supersede, undermine, and restrict the basic human rights afforded to women by the abovementioned international, continental, and national charters. We also seek to use the United Republic of Tanzania’s Constitution and Law of Marriage Act of 1971 as an example of what rights are and are not protected for women within an East African country.” I think it’s a solid thesis statement.
I’m proud of it and excited for my professor to read it and grade it. Other than spending the afternoon avoiding and then working on my paper, I didn’t do a whole lot. Emily and I had a really good, deep discussion at one point. I really like talking to her, and Libby. A lot of the way we think is really similar, and at the same time I feel like there are enough differences that I’m always learning from them.
After dinner, I went over to Alex and Katy and Katie’s apartment. Rachel, Jenny, Amran, Katie, Alex and I watched the first half of Freedom Writer’s. Rachel and I were pretty tired and ready for bed so we agreed we’d finish it the next night.
I got back to the apartment and just hung out with Libby until bed. We talked and laughed a lot about silly little things. It’s a fun atmosphere in E4.
Day 26 (7/13):
I figured that without the internet, I might be able to focus a little better on my paper in class. Obviously I still paid attention, but I was able to get a large portion of my first draft written and I feel good about it.
After class I went to lunch with Katy and we talked about boys and the trip and just life in general. She’s another person I’m really glad I met while here. I feel like a large part of what makes this trip so worthwhile are the people I’ve met and the friendships I’ve made.
We got back and decided to work on our paper’s together in the computer lab in the lobby building, but that didn’t work out because the internet was unbearably slow. Katy got frustrated and just decided to make use of the fast, shady, internet that she gets in her apartment. After struggling with the internet in the lab, I followed and spent the afternoon working on my paper with Katy and Katie. It is insane how spoiled I am with lightning fast internet at home. I don’t think I’ll ever complain again about how slow I might think it is!
After getting 95% of my draft done, I couldn’t write any more and went back to my room. I tried to read some more Chronicles of Narnia, but fell asleep. I’ve never napped while here because it wasn’t worth compromising possibly an entire night of sleep just for a little while during the day, but the nap I took was awesome. It was soooooo restful. I got up around 6:15 and had a glass of wine with Emily. We chatted until dinner and then headed down together.
Libby had been at the Center all day working on her paper and didn’t get back until right before dinner. Afterwards, all three of us went back to the apartment, and while Libby worked out, Emily and I switched off reading chapters of Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe out loud to each other.
After doing that for a little while, I decided to go finish Freedom Writer’s with Rachel and Jenny. Such a good movie. We finished the movie and headed back to our respective apartments.
I was a little nervous about not being able to fall asleep, but with a little help from my handy “sleep” playlist on my iPod, I was fine.
Love and Miss you all!
Colleen
Today starts our fourth week here, and our last week of classes. Isn’t that crazy? It’s still mind-blowing to me that I’ve been here for three full weeks. Wow.
After such a fun-filled and exciting weekend, getting back to class was kind of a let down. We’re winding down our discussions and starting to think about our final exam. The term paper is due on Friday, and everyone is starting to feel the crunch of editing, revising, and getting that done.
I, like the committed and wonderful student I am, hadn’t really started working on the paper. It’s interesting that with how little there is to do here, I seem to find myself with a million little tasks that prevent me from buckling down and banging it out. All joking aside, I started working on it, reading the research I’d collected and forming a structure for my paper.
My thesis statement reads: “This paper aims to explore the idea that patriarchal cultural norms and values take precedence in East Africa and Tanzania and supersede, undermine, and restrict the basic human rights afforded to women by the abovementioned international, continental, and national charters. We also seek to use the United Republic of Tanzania’s Constitution and Law of Marriage Act of 1971 as an example of what rights are and are not protected for women within an East African country.” I think it’s a solid thesis statement.
I’m proud of it and excited for my professor to read it and grade it. Other than spending the afternoon avoiding and then working on my paper, I didn’t do a whole lot. Emily and I had a really good, deep discussion at one point. I really like talking to her, and Libby. A lot of the way we think is really similar, and at the same time I feel like there are enough differences that I’m always learning from them.
After dinner, I went over to Alex and Katy and Katie’s apartment. Rachel, Jenny, Amran, Katie, Alex and I watched the first half of Freedom Writer’s. Rachel and I were pretty tired and ready for bed so we agreed we’d finish it the next night.
I got back to the apartment and just hung out with Libby until bed. We talked and laughed a lot about silly little things. It’s a fun atmosphere in E4.
Day 26 (7/13):
I figured that without the internet, I might be able to focus a little better on my paper in class. Obviously I still paid attention, but I was able to get a large portion of my first draft written and I feel good about it.
After class I went to lunch with Katy and we talked about boys and the trip and just life in general. She’s another person I’m really glad I met while here. I feel like a large part of what makes this trip so worthwhile are the people I’ve met and the friendships I’ve made.
We got back and decided to work on our paper’s together in the computer lab in the lobby building, but that didn’t work out because the internet was unbearably slow. Katy got frustrated and just decided to make use of the fast, shady, internet that she gets in her apartment. After struggling with the internet in the lab, I followed and spent the afternoon working on my paper with Katy and Katie. It is insane how spoiled I am with lightning fast internet at home. I don’t think I’ll ever complain again about how slow I might think it is!
After getting 95% of my draft done, I couldn’t write any more and went back to my room. I tried to read some more Chronicles of Narnia, but fell asleep. I’ve never napped while here because it wasn’t worth compromising possibly an entire night of sleep just for a little while during the day, but the nap I took was awesome. It was soooooo restful. I got up around 6:15 and had a glass of wine with Emily. We chatted until dinner and then headed down together.
Libby had been at the Center all day working on her paper and didn’t get back until right before dinner. Afterwards, all three of us went back to the apartment, and while Libby worked out, Emily and I switched off reading chapters of Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe out loud to each other.
After doing that for a little while, I decided to go finish Freedom Writer’s with Rachel and Jenny. Such a good movie. We finished the movie and headed back to our respective apartments.
I was a little nervous about not being able to fall asleep, but with a little help from my handy “sleep” playlist on my iPod, I was fine.
Love and Miss you all!
Colleen
Monday, July 12, 2010
Tengeru & Lake Duluti
Day 23 (7/10):
It’s pretty hard to sleep in here on the weekends, no matter how much we may want to. Libby and I got up around 9:30 and had breakfast. Libby and Emily had plans to go over the “bad bridge” to find a Barclay’s Bank, which was rumored to have an ATM that had American money. The bad bridge is one bridge in town that we are told to stay away from. The embankments on either side are steep and a lot of robberies happen there. There are regular police patrols on the bridge to keep people safe, but it’s still not so great. It was a Sunday, however, and Arusha is much quieter on the weekends, so they decided to brave it. I was being a worry-wart, and told them to call me when they were safely back across the bridge so that I knew they were ok.
I did the email thing and then went to the market with two girls in my group Amanda and Jenny. We all wanted to take the fabric (congas) we’d bought and have them made into wrap skirts, and we knew there was a tailor somewhere in the craft market. We found her and haggled her price down to 5,000 shilling each for the skirts (we’d already bought the fabric so it was just a matter of hemming and shaping it into a skirt). After we dropped off our fabric, we did some more shopping. We made friends with some of the shop owners, in particular, one man named Jacob and his compatriots nearby. It was fun talking to them and learning Swahili while they polished a chess set that Amanda had bought. People here are so friendly and hospitable. It’s really nice. They even asked us what our favorite music was, and then when we reciprocated the question, they told us they liked R&B musicians, such as Celine Dion. It was funny, to say the least.
We had lunch at the hotel today, instead of dinner, because our program director, Roland, was taking us out to dinner later that evening. Lunch was good, and afterwards, my two roommates, Jenny, Amanda, and myself all piled into a taxi with Geoffrey to go back to Shanga for shopping. Geoffrey is so awesome; he and Albert both are trustworthy and great. Albert is closer to middle age, and Geoffrey is much younger, like mid-twenty's. He owns the taxi company that we use, and he and Albert are our main drivers. We love them.
Shanga was beautiful as always, and while I forgot my Visa card (they take American money and cards) I was able to pick up a few things that had been on my list for people with the little bit of cash I still had. I plan on going back with my card and really splurging.
When we got back to the hotel, we only had about an hour and a half before we were supposed to leave for dinner. I finished up the emails that I’d started before going to the market, and Libby worked out. When I went to go get dressed and ready, she did the email thing.
Since we were going out to a place called Maasai Camp, which we were forbidden to go to unless we had Roland with us (which we did last night), we all wanted to dress up. None of us were really trying to impress anyone; I think we just wanted an excuse to look and feel pretty after wearing only semi-clean clothes for the past few weeks. Suffice to say, I looked good! Lol
I wore a black scoop-neck t-shirt with the blue and green floral wrap skirt I bought at WEECE the day before, high-waisted, over black leggings, and had on the new sandals I’d bought at the market. We all looked really nice.
We piled into the bus and on the way picked up the graduate students who’d just arrived the night before. Roland was taking us to dinner because the graduate students had just arrived and he wanted to take all of us out so we could eat and mingle with them.
We were all blown away when we got to Maasai Camp. It was a really cool place, it was a wide open restaurant with a dance floor, two bars, a pool table, a mounted TV with the World Cup on, of course, and the rest of it was just tables. There were so many of us that we had to sit at two tables, so most of the girls in my group sat at one table, and Amanda and I decided to be social and sit with the grad students and Roland, Geoffrey, and Albert. There were 5 grad students from Arcadia with us. Three of them grew up in the Philly area, and two were from other states. They all went to a variety of undergrad schools. It was really nice to hang out and talk to people who knew my area. It was also kind of cool to be the “experienced” one who told them all the tips and stuff. After three weeks of feeling like I was floundering, I’d finally met people who, having only been there less than 24 hours, had no idea what was going on. It definitely helped my ego a bit, I have to say.
It was a really fun night. We drank, and ate, and danced. I can absolutely see why they would ask us not to hang out there often or without supervision, because while it was quiet and tame while we were there (7-10:30), we could only imagine the craziness that must ensue later in the evening. A lot of the tension that had been in the group was diffused after the night was over also. Once everyone got a chance to just dance and be silly, I think it definitely mended some bridges that had been smoldering.
Once we got back to the hotel, safe and sound, we hung out watching the end of the 3rd place World Cup game, and then went to bed.
Day 24 (7/11):
We woke up for an early breakfast today, around nine. Geoffrey was scheduled to pick us up around ten for a day trip to Tengeru for cultural tourism. We piled into the bus and drove less than twenty minutes outside of Arusha when we got to the sign marking the place.
We waited at the main road for our guides to come and show us how to get to the actual compound since it was back a ways from the road. The only downfall of driving off the main road is that many to all of the other roads are dirt, pitted, and rocky. That means that our bus is in constant motion and what I perceive to be in danger of tipping over. I doubt the validity of that fear, but a lot of times it’s an anxious experience, driving down dirt roads. Nothing has ever been as bad as the roads to the camel-safari and my blood pressure has been pretty reasonable on any trips since, but it’s still a little nerve-wracking.
We arrive at Tengeru and pull into a small grassy driveway with a gate that leads onto a pretty lawn. We unload from the bus and are greeted by three women, singing a traditional welcome song in the dialect of the Meru people (the people who reside on the slopes of Mt. Meru). The song was beautiful and rhythmic. After they greeted us, we were welcomed into the compound and sat in a loose circle on various carved chairs and stools. We were served lemongrass and ginger tea as we were debriefed on what our day would look like.
They planned on giving us a tour of the compound initially, and then we were to hike 2 miles through the forest to the coffee farm they owned, learn about the harvesting of the coffee, come back and see how it is processed into the drink, have lunch, and then go hiking by Lake Duluti.
Within the compound is a small open-air lounge with chairs and couches and small tables for eating. We would eat lunch there later. As we toured, they showed us the small stalls that held two adult cows and a baby cow that they owned. The cows were smelly, but they explained that the reason the cows and enclosure might be smellier than normal is because they harvest the manure. In many cases, cow dung has high levels of methane gas. Instead of spending lots of money on industrial fertilizer, they harvest the dung, and process it for use. The methane gas goes to light the burners they use to cook food and to make light and the filtered feces is made into natural fertilizer that is better for the soil than industrial fertilizer. With the natural stuff, it enriches the soil and ensures that they are able to farm on that piece of land longer. Industrial product strips the soil of its nutrients and makes it arid in a short period. They also said that the biogas (methane) that they harvest from both of the adult cows provides enough fuel for use from morning to night. It was amazing.
Throughout the tour of the compound, our guides Noel (male) and Joshua explained that the cultural tourism company they run (that we were then receiving a tour through) goes to benefit the community. All proceeds go towards farm equipment, or various projects within the community to empower the people. They also sell handicrafts to the tourists that pass through, which generates good income.
After we toured the compound, we were led into the forest and hiked for two miles until we got to the coffee farm. Two children from the compound accompanied us, and because they were there, we picked up other village children as well. One in particular, Carol, took a liking to me and my roommate Emily. She had a beautiful face and a wonderful spirit. She picked up some English words quickly and then taught us Swahili words in return. I won’t talk about her as if we were the first tourists she’d met, or that she liked us in particular, but just being in contact with a child who was so open and willing to accept us was really nice. After a while she stopped giving attention to Emily and focused a lot more on me. I know that’s a silly thing to feel good about, but there are some people who children gravitate towards, and I’ve never really been one of those people. I’m good with kids, to be sure, but they never just come to me like to do to others, so the fact that she put her little hand trustingly in mine and stayed with me for most of the day made me feel so special. All the other girls were saying how she’s claimed me as her property and other funny little jokes, but it was just nice to interact with children again. It’s a need that you don’t really recognize as being deficient in until it’s fulfilled.
After visiting the coffee farm and learning about the way the plants grow, we hiked back to the compound, a different way. It was nice to see the scenery and to just experience hiking on the slopes of Mt. Meru in general. We got back and rested for a few minutes, and then they brought out a woven tray full of coffee beans. Our guides explained that after the beans are removed from the berries, they must then be husked of their outer shell. To do this, they have what looks like a carved wooden stool, but with a big divot in the middle of it. They poured the beans into the hole and then used an almost four-foot wooden stake (not pointed, but rounded at the bottom) to crush the husks off the bean. Before roasted, coffee beans are sturdy beans, so pounding them repeatedly with this several-pound stave didn’t crush them, only created enough movement and friction to loosen and remove the husks.
After sifting the husks off the beans, we then put them into a clay pot that was heating over a small fire and stirred the beans while they roasted. If they are not stirred constantly, they will burn, as we soon found out. All of us wanted a go at stirring the roasting coffee beans, and we quickly learned that the exchange between each girl needed to be quick in order for the beans to be constantly moving.
After roasting them to sufficient darkness, we moved the beans back into the wooden stool turned mortar/pestle and were then able to crush them using the wooden stave until the were ground the way we wanted them. The ladies who greeted us when we first got there took a break from making lunch and sang a traditional rhythmic working song as Joshua and Noel pounded the roasted beans into powder. We sifted the powder through a sieve just to make sure it was fine enough, and once it was, we scooped the powder into a large pot of boiling water and made coffee. Let me tell you, I do not drink straight black coffee, and the black coffee I’ve had here in Africa has made me think I could possibly drink it when I get back home. It’s THAT good.
When we finished enjoying our freshly made coffee, Mama Gladness (I promise you, that’s her name) came out with hot water, lemon soap, and warm towels for us to wash up with before lunch. Our meal consisted of rice (as always), chapatti (a flat bread that’s cooked and kind of looks like a tortilla), and three-four different dishes/sauces. One was a beef sauce, another was a creamy corn sauce, a third had plantains in it, and the fourth had chickpeas as the main ingredient. We had water to drink, and bananas for a little sweet. For dessert, they brought out an avocado, orange, and passion-fruit smoothie for us all to try. Delicious.
Throughout lunch, we’d heard these small mewing noises, and we figured it was some farm animal on the compound (the cows and roosters had been going all morning) but what one of the other girls found out when she went to the bathroom was, there were week-old puppies hidden in the bushes near the water-closet. They were all piled on top of one another and sleeping and making small puppy noises. I have to say, I seriously weighed the pros and cons of trying to get an unvaccinated animal past customs. I let go of the idea, but it was considered. They were beyond cute.
Once we’d finished lunch and digested a little bit, played with Carol and her friend Norie, we were told that the last part of our day was about to take place. We all had to pile into the bus and we were going to hike up to sacred caves on the rim of Lake Duluti.
I was sadder than I expected when I had to leave Carol with her Grandma Gladness at the compound. Seriously, only Carol had attached herself to me, and Norie had attached herself to my friend Katy. We were the only two girls in the group to really make a connection with the children and I was sad to leave her behind. Clearly, the girl was not suffering in any way with the life she lived. She got to meet tourists a lot who gave her water from their water bottles and let them play with their cameras, and when there weren’t tourists, there was Mama Gladness and Joshua and Noel. This girl did not seem to be wanting for anything, but it was sad to say goodbye nonetheless. I do feel blessed (and I don’t use that word lightly) that I made a connection like that on this trip. It was very healing for me.
We drive once again on the bumpy, rocky, pitted road, crossed the main road (paved) and turned again onto another bumpy, rocky, and pitted road. We ended up at Lake Duluti which means The Lake That Swallows. Apparently, there is volcanic activity in the middle of the lake, which goes as deep as 600-700 meters. Whatever pressure the bottom of the lake exudes, creates a small whirlpool affect, whereas if someone were to fall in, they would be sucked down to the bottom of the lake. Suffice to say, canoeing was out of the question once we heard that. Our guides tried to reassure us that we could just canoe around the rim of the lake, but none of us were having it. We were ok with hiking.
The hike was fun and steep and only slightly challenging. It made me excited to get home and start hiking more regularly. Our destination was sacred caves that the local religious and tribal people utilized as a prayer spot. They weren’t very deep, more like small outcroppings in the cliff-face, with only a small space of path between the edge of the hill and the cave, but it was moving nonetheless. People wrote letters on paper and stuffed them into the crags of the cave, and there were tarps and old blankets for those that wanted to use to space to meditate overnight and to go somewhere quiet to pray. We were all pretty dirty and gross, so I’m not sure I felt the full affect of the holiness of the place, but there was absolutely something peaceful and soothing.
We hiked back to our bus and made it back to the hotel with time to spare before dinner. After dinner I skyped with my mom and Brian, and then a little bit afterwards with Rich. I miss everyone so much. Skype makes life away infinitely more bearable. I swear.
When I got off the computer, I joined my roommates to watch the epic final match of the World Cup game between Netherlands and Spain. I was rooting for Holland, but Spain won after 120 minutes of hard-fought and evenly matched play. There were even a small amount of fireworks outside when the game was over which was nice.
I just showered and finished this blog post. I am EXHAUSTED. We did a lot this weekend, and I have to be up for class tomorrow. I probably won’t be able to post this until after class, but that’s just as well.
I love and miss you all!
Thanks for reading, and what do you think of the new layout?
Colleen
It’s pretty hard to sleep in here on the weekends, no matter how much we may want to. Libby and I got up around 9:30 and had breakfast. Libby and Emily had plans to go over the “bad bridge” to find a Barclay’s Bank, which was rumored to have an ATM that had American money. The bad bridge is one bridge in town that we are told to stay away from. The embankments on either side are steep and a lot of robberies happen there. There are regular police patrols on the bridge to keep people safe, but it’s still not so great. It was a Sunday, however, and Arusha is much quieter on the weekends, so they decided to brave it. I was being a worry-wart, and told them to call me when they were safely back across the bridge so that I knew they were ok.
I did the email thing and then went to the market with two girls in my group Amanda and Jenny. We all wanted to take the fabric (congas) we’d bought and have them made into wrap skirts, and we knew there was a tailor somewhere in the craft market. We found her and haggled her price down to 5,000 shilling each for the skirts (we’d already bought the fabric so it was just a matter of hemming and shaping it into a skirt). After we dropped off our fabric, we did some more shopping. We made friends with some of the shop owners, in particular, one man named Jacob and his compatriots nearby. It was fun talking to them and learning Swahili while they polished a chess set that Amanda had bought. People here are so friendly and hospitable. It’s really nice. They even asked us what our favorite music was, and then when we reciprocated the question, they told us they liked R&B musicians, such as Celine Dion. It was funny, to say the least.
We had lunch at the hotel today, instead of dinner, because our program director, Roland, was taking us out to dinner later that evening. Lunch was good, and afterwards, my two roommates, Jenny, Amanda, and myself all piled into a taxi with Geoffrey to go back to Shanga for shopping. Geoffrey is so awesome; he and Albert both are trustworthy and great. Albert is closer to middle age, and Geoffrey is much younger, like mid-twenty's. He owns the taxi company that we use, and he and Albert are our main drivers. We love them.
Shanga was beautiful as always, and while I forgot my Visa card (they take American money and cards) I was able to pick up a few things that had been on my list for people with the little bit of cash I still had. I plan on going back with my card and really splurging.
When we got back to the hotel, we only had about an hour and a half before we were supposed to leave for dinner. I finished up the emails that I’d started before going to the market, and Libby worked out. When I went to go get dressed and ready, she did the email thing.
Since we were going out to a place called Maasai Camp, which we were forbidden to go to unless we had Roland with us (which we did last night), we all wanted to dress up. None of us were really trying to impress anyone; I think we just wanted an excuse to look and feel pretty after wearing only semi-clean clothes for the past few weeks. Suffice to say, I looked good! Lol
I wore a black scoop-neck t-shirt with the blue and green floral wrap skirt I bought at WEECE the day before, high-waisted, over black leggings, and had on the new sandals I’d bought at the market. We all looked really nice.
We piled into the bus and on the way picked up the graduate students who’d just arrived the night before. Roland was taking us to dinner because the graduate students had just arrived and he wanted to take all of us out so we could eat and mingle with them.
We were all blown away when we got to Maasai Camp. It was a really cool place, it was a wide open restaurant with a dance floor, two bars, a pool table, a mounted TV with the World Cup on, of course, and the rest of it was just tables. There were so many of us that we had to sit at two tables, so most of the girls in my group sat at one table, and Amanda and I decided to be social and sit with the grad students and Roland, Geoffrey, and Albert. There were 5 grad students from Arcadia with us. Three of them grew up in the Philly area, and two were from other states. They all went to a variety of undergrad schools. It was really nice to hang out and talk to people who knew my area. It was also kind of cool to be the “experienced” one who told them all the tips and stuff. After three weeks of feeling like I was floundering, I’d finally met people who, having only been there less than 24 hours, had no idea what was going on. It definitely helped my ego a bit, I have to say.
It was a really fun night. We drank, and ate, and danced. I can absolutely see why they would ask us not to hang out there often or without supervision, because while it was quiet and tame while we were there (7-10:30), we could only imagine the craziness that must ensue later in the evening. A lot of the tension that had been in the group was diffused after the night was over also. Once everyone got a chance to just dance and be silly, I think it definitely mended some bridges that had been smoldering.
Once we got back to the hotel, safe and sound, we hung out watching the end of the 3rd place World Cup game, and then went to bed.
Day 24 (7/11):
We woke up for an early breakfast today, around nine. Geoffrey was scheduled to pick us up around ten for a day trip to Tengeru for cultural tourism. We piled into the bus and drove less than twenty minutes outside of Arusha when we got to the sign marking the place.
We waited at the main road for our guides to come and show us how to get to the actual compound since it was back a ways from the road. The only downfall of driving off the main road is that many to all of the other roads are dirt, pitted, and rocky. That means that our bus is in constant motion and what I perceive to be in danger of tipping over. I doubt the validity of that fear, but a lot of times it’s an anxious experience, driving down dirt roads. Nothing has ever been as bad as the roads to the camel-safari and my blood pressure has been pretty reasonable on any trips since, but it’s still a little nerve-wracking.
We arrive at Tengeru and pull into a small grassy driveway with a gate that leads onto a pretty lawn. We unload from the bus and are greeted by three women, singing a traditional welcome song in the dialect of the Meru people (the people who reside on the slopes of Mt. Meru). The song was beautiful and rhythmic. After they greeted us, we were welcomed into the compound and sat in a loose circle on various carved chairs and stools. We were served lemongrass and ginger tea as we were debriefed on what our day would look like.
They planned on giving us a tour of the compound initially, and then we were to hike 2 miles through the forest to the coffee farm they owned, learn about the harvesting of the coffee, come back and see how it is processed into the drink, have lunch, and then go hiking by Lake Duluti.
Within the compound is a small open-air lounge with chairs and couches and small tables for eating. We would eat lunch there later. As we toured, they showed us the small stalls that held two adult cows and a baby cow that they owned. The cows were smelly, but they explained that the reason the cows and enclosure might be smellier than normal is because they harvest the manure. In many cases, cow dung has high levels of methane gas. Instead of spending lots of money on industrial fertilizer, they harvest the dung, and process it for use. The methane gas goes to light the burners they use to cook food and to make light and the filtered feces is made into natural fertilizer that is better for the soil than industrial fertilizer. With the natural stuff, it enriches the soil and ensures that they are able to farm on that piece of land longer. Industrial product strips the soil of its nutrients and makes it arid in a short period. They also said that the biogas (methane) that they harvest from both of the adult cows provides enough fuel for use from morning to night. It was amazing.
Throughout the tour of the compound, our guides Noel (male) and Joshua explained that the cultural tourism company they run (that we were then receiving a tour through) goes to benefit the community. All proceeds go towards farm equipment, or various projects within the community to empower the people. They also sell handicrafts to the tourists that pass through, which generates good income.
After we toured the compound, we were led into the forest and hiked for two miles until we got to the coffee farm. Two children from the compound accompanied us, and because they were there, we picked up other village children as well. One in particular, Carol, took a liking to me and my roommate Emily. She had a beautiful face and a wonderful spirit. She picked up some English words quickly and then taught us Swahili words in return. I won’t talk about her as if we were the first tourists she’d met, or that she liked us in particular, but just being in contact with a child who was so open and willing to accept us was really nice. After a while she stopped giving attention to Emily and focused a lot more on me. I know that’s a silly thing to feel good about, but there are some people who children gravitate towards, and I’ve never really been one of those people. I’m good with kids, to be sure, but they never just come to me like to do to others, so the fact that she put her little hand trustingly in mine and stayed with me for most of the day made me feel so special. All the other girls were saying how she’s claimed me as her property and other funny little jokes, but it was just nice to interact with children again. It’s a need that you don’t really recognize as being deficient in until it’s fulfilled.
After visiting the coffee farm and learning about the way the plants grow, we hiked back to the compound, a different way. It was nice to see the scenery and to just experience hiking on the slopes of Mt. Meru in general. We got back and rested for a few minutes, and then they brought out a woven tray full of coffee beans. Our guides explained that after the beans are removed from the berries, they must then be husked of their outer shell. To do this, they have what looks like a carved wooden stool, but with a big divot in the middle of it. They poured the beans into the hole and then used an almost four-foot wooden stake (not pointed, but rounded at the bottom) to crush the husks off the bean. Before roasted, coffee beans are sturdy beans, so pounding them repeatedly with this several-pound stave didn’t crush them, only created enough movement and friction to loosen and remove the husks.
After sifting the husks off the beans, we then put them into a clay pot that was heating over a small fire and stirred the beans while they roasted. If they are not stirred constantly, they will burn, as we soon found out. All of us wanted a go at stirring the roasting coffee beans, and we quickly learned that the exchange between each girl needed to be quick in order for the beans to be constantly moving.
After roasting them to sufficient darkness, we moved the beans back into the wooden stool turned mortar/pestle and were then able to crush them using the wooden stave until the were ground the way we wanted them. The ladies who greeted us when we first got there took a break from making lunch and sang a traditional rhythmic working song as Joshua and Noel pounded the roasted beans into powder. We sifted the powder through a sieve just to make sure it was fine enough, and once it was, we scooped the powder into a large pot of boiling water and made coffee. Let me tell you, I do not drink straight black coffee, and the black coffee I’ve had here in Africa has made me think I could possibly drink it when I get back home. It’s THAT good.
When we finished enjoying our freshly made coffee, Mama Gladness (I promise you, that’s her name) came out with hot water, lemon soap, and warm towels for us to wash up with before lunch. Our meal consisted of rice (as always), chapatti (a flat bread that’s cooked and kind of looks like a tortilla), and three-four different dishes/sauces. One was a beef sauce, another was a creamy corn sauce, a third had plantains in it, and the fourth had chickpeas as the main ingredient. We had water to drink, and bananas for a little sweet. For dessert, they brought out an avocado, orange, and passion-fruit smoothie for us all to try. Delicious.
Throughout lunch, we’d heard these small mewing noises, and we figured it was some farm animal on the compound (the cows and roosters had been going all morning) but what one of the other girls found out when she went to the bathroom was, there were week-old puppies hidden in the bushes near the water-closet. They were all piled on top of one another and sleeping and making small puppy noises. I have to say, I seriously weighed the pros and cons of trying to get an unvaccinated animal past customs. I let go of the idea, but it was considered. They were beyond cute.
Once we’d finished lunch and digested a little bit, played with Carol and her friend Norie, we were told that the last part of our day was about to take place. We all had to pile into the bus and we were going to hike up to sacred caves on the rim of Lake Duluti.
I was sadder than I expected when I had to leave Carol with her Grandma Gladness at the compound. Seriously, only Carol had attached herself to me, and Norie had attached herself to my friend Katy. We were the only two girls in the group to really make a connection with the children and I was sad to leave her behind. Clearly, the girl was not suffering in any way with the life she lived. She got to meet tourists a lot who gave her water from their water bottles and let them play with their cameras, and when there weren’t tourists, there was Mama Gladness and Joshua and Noel. This girl did not seem to be wanting for anything, but it was sad to say goodbye nonetheless. I do feel blessed (and I don’t use that word lightly) that I made a connection like that on this trip. It was very healing for me.
We drive once again on the bumpy, rocky, pitted road, crossed the main road (paved) and turned again onto another bumpy, rocky, and pitted road. We ended up at Lake Duluti which means The Lake That Swallows. Apparently, there is volcanic activity in the middle of the lake, which goes as deep as 600-700 meters. Whatever pressure the bottom of the lake exudes, creates a small whirlpool affect, whereas if someone were to fall in, they would be sucked down to the bottom of the lake. Suffice to say, canoeing was out of the question once we heard that. Our guides tried to reassure us that we could just canoe around the rim of the lake, but none of us were having it. We were ok with hiking.
The hike was fun and steep and only slightly challenging. It made me excited to get home and start hiking more regularly. Our destination was sacred caves that the local religious and tribal people utilized as a prayer spot. They weren’t very deep, more like small outcroppings in the cliff-face, with only a small space of path between the edge of the hill and the cave, but it was moving nonetheless. People wrote letters on paper and stuffed them into the crags of the cave, and there were tarps and old blankets for those that wanted to use to space to meditate overnight and to go somewhere quiet to pray. We were all pretty dirty and gross, so I’m not sure I felt the full affect of the holiness of the place, but there was absolutely something peaceful and soothing.
We hiked back to our bus and made it back to the hotel with time to spare before dinner. After dinner I skyped with my mom and Brian, and then a little bit afterwards with Rich. I miss everyone so much. Skype makes life away infinitely more bearable. I swear.
When I got off the computer, I joined my roommates to watch the epic final match of the World Cup game between Netherlands and Spain. I was rooting for Holland, but Spain won after 120 minutes of hard-fought and evenly matched play. There were even a small amount of fireworks outside when the game was over which was nice.
I just showered and finished this blog post. I am EXHAUSTED. We did a lot this weekend, and I have to be up for class tomorrow. I probably won’t be able to post this until after class, but that’s just as well.
I love and miss you all!
Thanks for reading, and what do you think of the new layout?
Colleen
Friday, July 9, 2010
My Hovercraft Is Full Of Eels
Day 20 (7/7):
So a lot of us have been trading books within the group, and I was able to get my hands on a copy of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo which I had planned on picking up at the airport on my way here, but was only able to find the second two books. In any case, I have been reading it voraciously.
After class today a bunch of us headed to the Peace Center to do research and to meet with our volunteer coordinators. We did that and discussed small arms proliferation with out guy. It was a pretty interesting conversation, considering the differences in gun laws between the United States and Tanzania and the amount of illegal small arms and light weapons that are trafficked into and through the country.
By the time Libby and I left the Center, we were starving. We hit up Bamboo for some samosas and went back to the hotel. Emily and Libby took a walk to find a pharmacy, since the high content of tomatos and other fruits in our diet had given her canker sores, but the town was closed since it was a national holiday.
I read a lot while they were gone, and I got pretty sucked into the book. When they got back, Libby and I hung out and talked in my room. After a little bit, Emily started cracking up and called us into her room. She had been researching basic Swahili phrases to try to improve her speaking skills, and the website, duly named Useful Swahili Phrases, was what she was looking at. She asked us to look at the list of phrases and see if there was anything strange. We scanned the list and saw things like No, Thank You, and Police! and other normal useful phrases. Second from the bottom, however, we found the discrepancy. Right below, Happy Birthday! was the phrase : My hovercraft is full of eels, with the Swahili listed as: Gari Langu linaloangama lemejaa na mikunga. We cracked up about that for a good little while, and then decided to cross check it with GoogleTranslate, we stuck the Swahili translation into GoogleTranslate and this is what it produced: My car is dominated by midwife linaloangama. Priceless. We had fun with that for a good long time.
At around 6, Libby and I met up with our two group members, Amanda and Maureen about a group discussion we had to outline for the following day. Instead of having regular lecture, Charles assigned everyone into groups of four or five and then gave each group a question to explore and bring ready to discuss the following day. Our question was, “How does the diversity of beliefs and values affect the universality of human rights.” We liked the question a lot. It didn’t take us long to jot down some talking points, and then some possible discussion questions if we need to get things going with the class. All-in-all, successful meeting.
After dinner, our friend Alex came over to our apartment to watch the Spain v. Germany world cup game with us. We all hung out on Emily’s huge bed and just sat around, listened to music, and talked about life. It was nice.
Day 21 (7/8):
So class today: as previously mentioned, instead of class we had group discussion projects. Our group went first and we rocked that joint. It was awesome. We definitely set the standard high for the rest of the groups, and we hadn’t even bothered with a PowerPoint like some of the other groups did. All we needed were some talking points, and that got us going with our conversation, which in turn spurred the class to jump in. It felt really good. We talked a lot about how corruption within African governments need to be seriously stifled and that bringing in leaders that know the sustainability of investing in their people would be a huge turning point. I mean, we obviously discussed our question too, that’s just a point I specifically remembered from later in the discussion. We were all pretty pleased with the outcome.
During the break, I tried to get money out of an ATM near our class and failed. I was able to pull money out after class though, at a different machine. Right after class we had lunch at the hotel (we usually have dinner) since we were going to Via-Via later that night for dinner and music. Lunch was good.
At around 2 o’clock, Albert (the trustworthy taxi driver) came and picked me and Libby and Emily up to go to a place outside of town called Peace House. Emily was here for two weeks before she came to Arusha in a town called Iringa, in southern Tanzania. She worked with a Christian youth group and volunteered at a similar place to Shanga (read earlier blog posts), called Neema. They also employ physically handicapped people and empower them through work and respect. From there Emily came to the Arcadia program here in Arusha, and for two weeks after the program ended she would be staying at Peace House, which was only 20 minutes outside of the city. Peace House is run by the Lutherans and is basically a scholarship-based boarding school for high school students in Tanzania whose family has been affected by AIDs. The application process is long and difficult (I don’t even feel like explaining) but believe you me, the people they accept to live there are completely deserving. The school year goes from January to May and then from middle of July to December.
Peace House is located on 100 acres of land owned by the Lutheran Church. All the buildings are open and airy and beautifully spread out across the grounds. They are able to house 250 students, all the teachers, all the staff, and they still have room to spare. That’s unusual with volunteer work in Africa since most places don’t have enough space for what they want to do. Let me tell you guys, if I said before that I didn’t think I could ever fall in love with Tanzania, I was wrong. I could do it here. Just walking around the grounds was amazing. It made me realize that it’s not the people I dislike or the landscape, it’s really just being in the city and the restrictive feeling I have of not being free and independent to move about as I please. Being out in the country a littler further, away from the city, made me understand that there is totally a chance I could fall in love with the country. They say on a clear day you can see Mt. Longido, Mt. Meru, AND Mt. Kilimanjaro. Amazing.
I’m not going to lie, I was super jealous that Emily got to stay and volunteer with them. It was just so quiet and…peaceful, lol. I’m sure it’s more noisy and full of life when the students aren’t on their break, but still. I can just imagine living there and volunteering and being happy. I don’t know. Definitely something to look into for after college or maybe for part of grad school.
We got back from Peace House and did our own thing until dinner. We got ready to head out around 7:30 and then we all trooped up to Via-Via for dinner. That’s the restaurant set in the gardens behind our classroom. It was really nice and all the trees had lights in them. The food took forever, but that’s Africa for you. In the meantime they had a band who just played instrumental music while we were there. It was pretty cool.
Day 22 (7/9):
Today we had a field trip into Moshi, a city about 90 km away from Arusha. We were going to visit the Women’s Education and Economic Center (WEECE) location, since we had representatives come visit our class and talk to us about the organization last week.
We had to wake up earlier than normal (6:30 am) to get breakfast and catch the bus by 7:30. It only takes about an hour to drive to Moshi, and the views on the way are splendid. You get closer to Kilimanjaro as you drive, and on a clear day I’m sure it’s really beautiful. Our morning, however, was cloudy and cold, so we didn’t get to see the mountain.
We arrived at WEECE around 9 am and spent the morning meeting with the head coordinator, a funny, brash, large woman named Mama Valeria. She was amazing. She showed us around the facility and then had us gather in the tiny classroom to hear her story. She grew up playing with her brothers, and whenever her mother would call her away from play to do “woman’s work,” Valeria would question it. She would always ask why the boys got to ride the bicycle and why she had to work. She told us that either her mother would beat her for asking questions like that, or give her a vague answer that didn’t really satisfy her. By the time she reached 7th grade, her parents only had money to send her brothers on to secondary school and not her. She would go to the convent nearby a lot to pray, and became close with the nuns there. They asked her why she wasn’t in school, and she told them it was because her parents couldn’t afford the school fees for her. They asked her if they paid the fees, would she like to go to school? She replied yes, of course.
What followed were chance encounters mixed in with Valeria’s own drive to change social norms and break everyone’s expectations of her as a female. She got amazing grades in high school and was awarded a scholarship to study Women and Development in Nova Scotia, Canada.
She came back to Tanzania and worked for a while, raising her son as a single mother, and though she had fulfilled many of her goals and fulfilled expectations that she had set for herself, she laid her future plans aside to raise her son. Unfortunately, when he was a teenager, her son died in an accident on the way to school. The strength of this woman is incredible. Instead of lying down and giving up, she thought to herself “God must have loved him more than I did” and accepted whatever plan God had laid out for her. She realized that her life path was directing her back to working with women and development. It was after the accident that she founded WEECE. For a refresher on what it is (or if you just haven’t read that far back in my blog) WEECE is an organization that educates women on problem-solving, self-esteem, decision-making, basic economic principles, how to run a small business, computers, and various other skills that they are not able to learn anywhere else. The small compound where WEECE is located has two offices, a classroom, and a very small hostel where the students live. A lot of the women that come are divorced and struggle to make a living since the law in Tanzania says that women can’t own anything.
WEECE provides the women with a small amount of capital to start up the business, and then sees that the business succeeds. WEECE has 100% loan repayment. Not only do they empower women, but they give them the tools to succeed in a society that doesn’t see the value in them.
(www.weece.org)
The organization doesn’t always work with divorced women, some of the women are married and have supportive husbands who help them through the process. It was a funny discussion, towards the end, since Mama Valeria went off on a tangent about Tanzanian/African men. She is by far the most God-fearing woman I’ve met so far, but she candidly spoke about why female genital mutilation is wrong (it allows the men to have a subservient wife back in the village, while they go to the city and pay for prostitutes, marry other women, and squander the money on alcohol and billiards), how men don’t understand that they don’t show women love, but they need them all the same, and how the education of women is the key to empowerment.
It’s funny that education is a recurring theme as to what will turn African countries around. It was also interesting because this woman was not the picturesque feminist that we think of in the United States. She was a home-grown Tanzanian woman who saw inequality, called it out, and worked with women in the community to turn things around.
If you remember a few blog posts ago, from the camel-safari, how I was talking about that I didn’t feel like it was my place to judge the Maasai people for circumcising their females since it was part of their culture and they considered it a celebration, and a right of passage into woman-hood. It kind of blew my mind to meet a strong woman in Tanzania who saw the flaws in such a tradition and condemned it as an act of oppression.
After she had talked to us for a while, she had us walk around the neighborhood with her and meet a bunch of the local women who had started small businesses with WEECE. These women had shops selling anything from a groceries, to a hair salon, to selling hot food. Most of them were married and the breadwinner of the family, and the money they made with their business was sending their children to school. One of Mama Valerie’s good friends and the secretary at WEECE, Mama Tedi, runs her own pig business and makes enough money to send all three of her children to university, AND she’s married.
We visited Mama Tedi’s pig farm last of all, which was really fun, even if it was smelly. The pigs were adorable and the pictures we took were awesome.
After seeing the pigs, we stopped and had packed lunches on the bus, before hitting our final stop of the day in Moshi. Our last stop was a small shop called Kwera. Kwera is the Swahili word for weaver bird, and the shop sold beautiful hand-woven products as well as jewelry and wax candles and other things. After we shopped (endorsing the business was a must) we were able to see their workshop. They have three different looms, one of which was in use (I’d never seen someone literally weaving something before) and then several different sewing machines and craft tables. It was pretty cool, and the women working were all really welcoming and friendly.
We left Moshi around 2pm and got back to Arusha around 3. We were all pretty tired from a full morning and early afternoon, so a lot of people just went to take naps. I wrote this blog post and I think I’m going to work on my paper before dinner.
Tomorrow: back to Shanga for shopping.
Sunday: Tengeru, cultural tourism hiking and visiting a coffee plantation.
Love you, Miss you,
Colleen
So a lot of us have been trading books within the group, and I was able to get my hands on a copy of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo which I had planned on picking up at the airport on my way here, but was only able to find the second two books. In any case, I have been reading it voraciously.
After class today a bunch of us headed to the Peace Center to do research and to meet with our volunteer coordinators. We did that and discussed small arms proliferation with out guy. It was a pretty interesting conversation, considering the differences in gun laws between the United States and Tanzania and the amount of illegal small arms and light weapons that are trafficked into and through the country.
By the time Libby and I left the Center, we were starving. We hit up Bamboo for some samosas and went back to the hotel. Emily and Libby took a walk to find a pharmacy, since the high content of tomatos and other fruits in our diet had given her canker sores, but the town was closed since it was a national holiday.
I read a lot while they were gone, and I got pretty sucked into the book. When they got back, Libby and I hung out and talked in my room. After a little bit, Emily started cracking up and called us into her room. She had been researching basic Swahili phrases to try to improve her speaking skills, and the website, duly named Useful Swahili Phrases, was what she was looking at. She asked us to look at the list of phrases and see if there was anything strange. We scanned the list and saw things like No, Thank You, and Police! and other normal useful phrases. Second from the bottom, however, we found the discrepancy. Right below, Happy Birthday! was the phrase : My hovercraft is full of eels, with the Swahili listed as: Gari Langu linaloangama lemejaa na mikunga. We cracked up about that for a good little while, and then decided to cross check it with GoogleTranslate, we stuck the Swahili translation into GoogleTranslate and this is what it produced: My car is dominated by midwife linaloangama. Priceless. We had fun with that for a good long time.
At around 6, Libby and I met up with our two group members, Amanda and Maureen about a group discussion we had to outline for the following day. Instead of having regular lecture, Charles assigned everyone into groups of four or five and then gave each group a question to explore and bring ready to discuss the following day. Our question was, “How does the diversity of beliefs and values affect the universality of human rights.” We liked the question a lot. It didn’t take us long to jot down some talking points, and then some possible discussion questions if we need to get things going with the class. All-in-all, successful meeting.
After dinner, our friend Alex came over to our apartment to watch the Spain v. Germany world cup game with us. We all hung out on Emily’s huge bed and just sat around, listened to music, and talked about life. It was nice.
Day 21 (7/8):
So class today: as previously mentioned, instead of class we had group discussion projects. Our group went first and we rocked that joint. It was awesome. We definitely set the standard high for the rest of the groups, and we hadn’t even bothered with a PowerPoint like some of the other groups did. All we needed were some talking points, and that got us going with our conversation, which in turn spurred the class to jump in. It felt really good. We talked a lot about how corruption within African governments need to be seriously stifled and that bringing in leaders that know the sustainability of investing in their people would be a huge turning point. I mean, we obviously discussed our question too, that’s just a point I specifically remembered from later in the discussion. We were all pretty pleased with the outcome.
During the break, I tried to get money out of an ATM near our class and failed. I was able to pull money out after class though, at a different machine. Right after class we had lunch at the hotel (we usually have dinner) since we were going to Via-Via later that night for dinner and music. Lunch was good.
At around 2 o’clock, Albert (the trustworthy taxi driver) came and picked me and Libby and Emily up to go to a place outside of town called Peace House. Emily was here for two weeks before she came to Arusha in a town called Iringa, in southern Tanzania. She worked with a Christian youth group and volunteered at a similar place to Shanga (read earlier blog posts), called Neema. They also employ physically handicapped people and empower them through work and respect. From there Emily came to the Arcadia program here in Arusha, and for two weeks after the program ended she would be staying at Peace House, which was only 20 minutes outside of the city. Peace House is run by the Lutherans and is basically a scholarship-based boarding school for high school students in Tanzania whose family has been affected by AIDs. The application process is long and difficult (I don’t even feel like explaining) but believe you me, the people they accept to live there are completely deserving. The school year goes from January to May and then from middle of July to December.
Peace House is located on 100 acres of land owned by the Lutheran Church. All the buildings are open and airy and beautifully spread out across the grounds. They are able to house 250 students, all the teachers, all the staff, and they still have room to spare. That’s unusual with volunteer work in Africa since most places don’t have enough space for what they want to do. Let me tell you guys, if I said before that I didn’t think I could ever fall in love with Tanzania, I was wrong. I could do it here. Just walking around the grounds was amazing. It made me realize that it’s not the people I dislike or the landscape, it’s really just being in the city and the restrictive feeling I have of not being free and independent to move about as I please. Being out in the country a littler further, away from the city, made me understand that there is totally a chance I could fall in love with the country. They say on a clear day you can see Mt. Longido, Mt. Meru, AND Mt. Kilimanjaro. Amazing.
I’m not going to lie, I was super jealous that Emily got to stay and volunteer with them. It was just so quiet and…peaceful, lol. I’m sure it’s more noisy and full of life when the students aren’t on their break, but still. I can just imagine living there and volunteering and being happy. I don’t know. Definitely something to look into for after college or maybe for part of grad school.
We got back from Peace House and did our own thing until dinner. We got ready to head out around 7:30 and then we all trooped up to Via-Via for dinner. That’s the restaurant set in the gardens behind our classroom. It was really nice and all the trees had lights in them. The food took forever, but that’s Africa for you. In the meantime they had a band who just played instrumental music while we were there. It was pretty cool.
Day 22 (7/9):
Today we had a field trip into Moshi, a city about 90 km away from Arusha. We were going to visit the Women’s Education and Economic Center (WEECE) location, since we had representatives come visit our class and talk to us about the organization last week.
We had to wake up earlier than normal (6:30 am) to get breakfast and catch the bus by 7:30. It only takes about an hour to drive to Moshi, and the views on the way are splendid. You get closer to Kilimanjaro as you drive, and on a clear day I’m sure it’s really beautiful. Our morning, however, was cloudy and cold, so we didn’t get to see the mountain.
We arrived at WEECE around 9 am and spent the morning meeting with the head coordinator, a funny, brash, large woman named Mama Valeria. She was amazing. She showed us around the facility and then had us gather in the tiny classroom to hear her story. She grew up playing with her brothers, and whenever her mother would call her away from play to do “woman’s work,” Valeria would question it. She would always ask why the boys got to ride the bicycle and why she had to work. She told us that either her mother would beat her for asking questions like that, or give her a vague answer that didn’t really satisfy her. By the time she reached 7th grade, her parents only had money to send her brothers on to secondary school and not her. She would go to the convent nearby a lot to pray, and became close with the nuns there. They asked her why she wasn’t in school, and she told them it was because her parents couldn’t afford the school fees for her. They asked her if they paid the fees, would she like to go to school? She replied yes, of course.
What followed were chance encounters mixed in with Valeria’s own drive to change social norms and break everyone’s expectations of her as a female. She got amazing grades in high school and was awarded a scholarship to study Women and Development in Nova Scotia, Canada.
She came back to Tanzania and worked for a while, raising her son as a single mother, and though she had fulfilled many of her goals and fulfilled expectations that she had set for herself, she laid her future plans aside to raise her son. Unfortunately, when he was a teenager, her son died in an accident on the way to school. The strength of this woman is incredible. Instead of lying down and giving up, she thought to herself “God must have loved him more than I did” and accepted whatever plan God had laid out for her. She realized that her life path was directing her back to working with women and development. It was after the accident that she founded WEECE. For a refresher on what it is (or if you just haven’t read that far back in my blog) WEECE is an organization that educates women on problem-solving, self-esteem, decision-making, basic economic principles, how to run a small business, computers, and various other skills that they are not able to learn anywhere else. The small compound where WEECE is located has two offices, a classroom, and a very small hostel where the students live. A lot of the women that come are divorced and struggle to make a living since the law in Tanzania says that women can’t own anything.
WEECE provides the women with a small amount of capital to start up the business, and then sees that the business succeeds. WEECE has 100% loan repayment. Not only do they empower women, but they give them the tools to succeed in a society that doesn’t see the value in them.
(www.weece.org)
The organization doesn’t always work with divorced women, some of the women are married and have supportive husbands who help them through the process. It was a funny discussion, towards the end, since Mama Valeria went off on a tangent about Tanzanian/African men. She is by far the most God-fearing woman I’ve met so far, but she candidly spoke about why female genital mutilation is wrong (it allows the men to have a subservient wife back in the village, while they go to the city and pay for prostitutes, marry other women, and squander the money on alcohol and billiards), how men don’t understand that they don’t show women love, but they need them all the same, and how the education of women is the key to empowerment.
It’s funny that education is a recurring theme as to what will turn African countries around. It was also interesting because this woman was not the picturesque feminist that we think of in the United States. She was a home-grown Tanzanian woman who saw inequality, called it out, and worked with women in the community to turn things around.
If you remember a few blog posts ago, from the camel-safari, how I was talking about that I didn’t feel like it was my place to judge the Maasai people for circumcising their females since it was part of their culture and they considered it a celebration, and a right of passage into woman-hood. It kind of blew my mind to meet a strong woman in Tanzania who saw the flaws in such a tradition and condemned it as an act of oppression.
After she had talked to us for a while, she had us walk around the neighborhood with her and meet a bunch of the local women who had started small businesses with WEECE. These women had shops selling anything from a groceries, to a hair salon, to selling hot food. Most of them were married and the breadwinner of the family, and the money they made with their business was sending their children to school. One of Mama Valerie’s good friends and the secretary at WEECE, Mama Tedi, runs her own pig business and makes enough money to send all three of her children to university, AND she’s married.
We visited Mama Tedi’s pig farm last of all, which was really fun, even if it was smelly. The pigs were adorable and the pictures we took were awesome.
After seeing the pigs, we stopped and had packed lunches on the bus, before hitting our final stop of the day in Moshi. Our last stop was a small shop called Kwera. Kwera is the Swahili word for weaver bird, and the shop sold beautiful hand-woven products as well as jewelry and wax candles and other things. After we shopped (endorsing the business was a must) we were able to see their workshop. They have three different looms, one of which was in use (I’d never seen someone literally weaving something before) and then several different sewing machines and craft tables. It was pretty cool, and the women working were all really welcoming and friendly.
We left Moshi around 2pm and got back to Arusha around 3. We were all pretty tired from a full morning and early afternoon, so a lot of people just went to take naps. I wrote this blog post and I think I’m going to work on my paper before dinner.
Tomorrow: back to Shanga for shopping.
Sunday: Tengeru, cultural tourism hiking and visiting a coffee plantation.
Love you, Miss you,
Colleen
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