I want to say thank you to all the people that have been reading my blog over the last few weeks. It's been strange not being able to experience this trip with the people I love the most, but by writing I feel like I'm not alone!
I love this country. The 'hakuna matata', 'poa' attitude are a wonderful change from the fast life of America. I've been trying to think about what I've learned, trying to sum it all up but I can't. I asked my friend Hunter who has been to Africa before what it feels like when you come home, like, does it feel like a dream? or does it feel as real as it does right now? He said it only feels real when you allow it to change your life for the better. So thats my plan. Try to incorporate a bit more 'hakuna matata' into my vocabulary and my heart.
We said goodbye to the6 or 7 people that are climbing Mt. Kili this morning. Big hugs, no tears. I mean.. we all go to the same school. I'll see them in the fall. The remaining 3 of us got dropped off in downtown Moshi, bought some last minute gifts (Let's just say I've contributed nicely to the Tanzanian economy...) then walked 30 minutes from downtown to the hotel. Some kids ran up to us along the way saying 'Mzungu! Give me chocolate! Give me money!' I gave them tic tacs. A few weeks ago I would have been scared to walk on the road without a guide, but we did it, without hassle or (a large amount) of fear. It's progress.
It's 2:30 right now, we're leaving Springlands at 6:30. Then we have a 1 hour stopover in Dar Es Salaam, then to Amsterdam.
I have to write a 6 page reflective paper for my African Studies class and 30-35 pages for my Intro to Anthropology class by mid July. Did you forget that this was a STUDY abroad? I feel like I have a lot to write about, but page 28 will probably kick my butt.
When you see me around, remind me to keep that hakuna matata attitude please. I'll smile and think about the last few weeks and remember it's a reality, not a dream.
Kwaheri rafiki!
31 May 2010
30 May 2010
seeing giraffes 10 feet away never gets old
We left Zanzibar on a little plane with just our 15 or 16 people. The air was harder to breathe than in a big plane. Flight lasted about an hour and a half. When we landed in Arusha, the three girls that had been working in the orphanage for the week were at the airport to meet us. It was like a little reunion. We went to the grocery store--- Shop-Rite, to get food for the safari. I bought some nutella, 3 bottles of water and sour gummy worms. Only the essentials. The Nutella ended up being a hit at breakfast on our pancake/crepes.
In Arusha, we went to a Snake Park and saw all these snakes that have killed people. Literally by swallowing them whole. They protected the snakes, some owls, tortoises and alligators. I got a picture with a harmless snake around my neck. Then we went to a Maasai museum. The Maasai are a group of people that live in Africa. They’re straight up warriors. They only eat goat, sheep and cow’s meat, milk and blood. Oh, and before lions became endangered, men used to kill lions and bring back to head to the family of the woman he wanted to married. They just use spears and knives. The Maasai are polygymous and they don’t understand why a man can’t marry more than one woman in America. Our response was…. “It’s against the law.” Bizarre but over here, polygamy is very common, especially in villages where women can die in childbirth. If you have more than one wife and one dies, there will be others to look after her children. Life’s just different over here. I bought some necklaces from the Maasai women and rode a camel. They’re A LOT taller than a horse.
We had a 2-3 hour drive to the Highview Hotel. We drove on really curvy roads in the dark, but the Hotel was like a beacon of light on the side of the mountain. The hotel is owned by Zara Tours, the same company that owns Springlands Hotel we stayed in Moshi. The company also guided us on safari, set up camp and will some of the group up Mt. Kilimanjaro. Staying at Highview felt familiar because it was so similar to Springlands. There was a group that came and danced after dinner. I only stayed for about half of it because I was TIRED. It had been a long day.
On the 25th, we left the hotel for the Ngorongoro Crater (ON-gore-ON-goro) to start the safari WOOOO HOOOO! I had just finished reading a bunch of articles on baboons for Anthropology, and then we saw about 30 on the drive to the crater. It was awesome to see them behaving just like the readings had described. That’s the thing about study abroad--- you can read about baboon behavior or Muslim/Christian relations in Zanzibar all you want, but seeing it with your own eyes is so much more rewarding.
We stayed at the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge. Oh man, it was like a ski resort with nice fireplaces and big leather couches, just with no snow. The view was breathtaking, overlooking the whole crater. The temperature was in the high 50’s, SOOO NICE compared to the hot and humid coast. The crater is a collapsed volcano so the soil is really fertile and everything is green and beautiful. We saw rhinos, warthogs (Pumba in Swahili!) antelope, cheetah, hippos. I got about 200 pictures within the next few days. We spent the whole day in a land cruiser with a pop up top. I wish I had bought some binoculars because we had to share, but hakuna matata.
The next day we headed to the Serengeti. One of our teacher thats been going for 10 years said she had never seen the grass because of rain, which is awesome because the animals stay longer instead of migrating to find water.
Our camp was LEGIT. showers in the tents, glassware at dinner. The tents were like the tents in the 4th Harry Potter movie at the Quiddich Cup. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. We rode around all day-- about 3 or 4 hours at a time. I'd like to know exactly how much time I've spent in a car this month.
I'm back at SPringlands Hotel in Moshi today. My flight to Amsterdam is at 9:30 Monday night. Then I'll meet mom dad & nat there. I'll write more tomorrow. I can't believe this trip is so close to being over. I've loved it so much, but going home will be so great.
In Arusha, we went to a Snake Park and saw all these snakes that have killed people. Literally by swallowing them whole. They protected the snakes, some owls, tortoises and alligators. I got a picture with a harmless snake around my neck. Then we went to a Maasai museum. The Maasai are a group of people that live in Africa. They’re straight up warriors. They only eat goat, sheep and cow’s meat, milk and blood. Oh, and before lions became endangered, men used to kill lions and bring back to head to the family of the woman he wanted to married. They just use spears and knives. The Maasai are polygymous and they don’t understand why a man can’t marry more than one woman in America. Our response was…. “It’s against the law.” Bizarre but over here, polygamy is very common, especially in villages where women can die in childbirth. If you have more than one wife and one dies, there will be others to look after her children. Life’s just different over here. I bought some necklaces from the Maasai women and rode a camel. They’re A LOT taller than a horse.
We had a 2-3 hour drive to the Highview Hotel. We drove on really curvy roads in the dark, but the Hotel was like a beacon of light on the side of the mountain. The hotel is owned by Zara Tours, the same company that owns Springlands Hotel we stayed in Moshi. The company also guided us on safari, set up camp and will some of the group up Mt. Kilimanjaro. Staying at Highview felt familiar because it was so similar to Springlands. There was a group that came and danced after dinner. I only stayed for about half of it because I was TIRED. It had been a long day.
On the 25th, we left the hotel for the Ngorongoro Crater (ON-gore-ON-goro) to start the safari WOOOO HOOOO! I had just finished reading a bunch of articles on baboons for Anthropology, and then we saw about 30 on the drive to the crater. It was awesome to see them behaving just like the readings had described. That’s the thing about study abroad--- you can read about baboon behavior or Muslim/Christian relations in Zanzibar all you want, but seeing it with your own eyes is so much more rewarding.
We stayed at the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge. Oh man, it was like a ski resort with nice fireplaces and big leather couches, just with no snow. The view was breathtaking, overlooking the whole crater. The temperature was in the high 50’s, SOOO NICE compared to the hot and humid coast. The crater is a collapsed volcano so the soil is really fertile and everything is green and beautiful. We saw rhinos, warthogs (Pumba in Swahili!) antelope, cheetah, hippos. I got about 200 pictures within the next few days. We spent the whole day in a land cruiser with a pop up top. I wish I had bought some binoculars because we had to share, but hakuna matata.
The next day we headed to the Serengeti. One of our teacher thats been going for 10 years said she had never seen the grass because of rain, which is awesome because the animals stay longer instead of migrating to find water.
Our camp was LEGIT. showers in the tents, glassware at dinner. The tents were like the tents in the 4th Harry Potter movie at the Quiddich Cup. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. We rode around all day-- about 3 or 4 hours at a time. I'd like to know exactly how much time I've spent in a car this month.
I'm back at SPringlands Hotel in Moshi today. My flight to Amsterdam is at 9:30 Monday night. Then I'll meet mom dad & nat there. I'll write more tomorrow. I can't believe this trip is so close to being over. I've loved it so much, but going home will be so great.
23 May 2010
quiet day
Tomorrow we're flying back to Arusha (i'm trying not to be worried about the flight) to meet up with the students working in the orphanage. From there, we're heading to the parks. Crazy that I'll be leaving in about a week. So I'm not sure how good internet access will be in Arusha, and I doubt it will be available in the tented camps. So, if I don't write, it 99% likely will not be because I got eaten by a lion. Isabella was afraid of that.
This morning, a few students went to the Catholic Church to try and compare it to the Friday prayer service. It was Pentecost Sunday, so the service lasted 2 hours, all in Swahili, or Latin. Probably both. Later, we went to the far eastern side of the island to see seaweed farms. Beach was beautiful. The finest sand I've ever seen so I brought a bottle back with me. Tonight will be our last dinner in Zanzibar, and I'm a little sad. I really like the atmosphere here, but I'm ready to see the lions and tigers and giraffes in the Serengeti.
Congratulations to everyone who graduated!! It's very incredible to think I was in that place last year. It's been a tough year, but here I am--- 100000000 zillion miles away from home. I don't think I could be here if I hadn't already been pushed to the absolute limit this year. Anyway, I'm gonna go get ready for dinner. Hakuna Matata
This morning, a few students went to the Catholic Church to try and compare it to the Friday prayer service. It was Pentecost Sunday, so the service lasted 2 hours, all in Swahili, or Latin. Probably both. Later, we went to the far eastern side of the island to see seaweed farms. Beach was beautiful. The finest sand I've ever seen so I brought a bottle back with me. Tonight will be our last dinner in Zanzibar, and I'm a little sad. I really like the atmosphere here, but I'm ready to see the lions and tigers and giraffes in the Serengeti.
Congratulations to everyone who graduated!! It's very incredible to think I was in that place last year. It's been a tough year, but here I am--- 100000000 zillion miles away from home. I don't think I could be here if I hadn't already been pushed to the absolute limit this year. Anyway, I'm gonna go get ready for dinner. Hakuna Matata
22 May 2010
zanzibar
Zanzibar used to be an independent country, but became a part of Tanzania after a revolution in the 60's. We're staying at a hotel called the Tembo Hotel. It's awesome. You could look it up online, I wish there was a way for me to upload pictures, but I don't have a way to put them on a computer. Hotel's right on the beach, crystal clear water with our balcony overlooking the pool. There are a lot of tourists here, so everything is more expensive, relatively speaking of course. For example, there was this beautiful nativity set that I saw in Arusha and got quoted 50,000 Tanzanian shillings for it. In Zanzibar, the guy told me 170,000 shillings. I can't believe I look so stupid. I rolled my eyes, laughed and walked away. You can't be a sucker in this world.
We went to the food market in Zanzibar on our first day here. It was gross. Meat was hanging from hooks in the ceiling and there was a little room in the back where chickens would go to get their heads cut off. I walked by this one door and saw a cow head, eyes open, just laying on the table. FREAKED ME OUT. I had curry vegetables for lunch that day. I guess its better knowing where your meat comes from, than having cows that see nothing but the inside of a factory their whole lives.
The Sultan of Oman ruled Zanzibar for a while, and his palace is still in the middle of town, along with another large exhibition building called the House of Wonders. These building have the potential to be incredible works of architecture, but there's hardly any money to fix them to mint condition. They can't just call up a company or trust fund to sponsor a renovation, so that was a little disheartening too. I tried to just look past the leaking ceilings and imagine what the palace would have looked like in its glory days.
Freddy Mercury was born in Zanzibar. Yes, THAT Freddy Mercury from Queen. He has a restaurant in town so 5 of us went the other night for dinner. They only played Queen. It was awesome.
We went to a forest on the west side of the island that had red colobus monkeys. They were very cute, and very unafraid of people. The little monkeys wrestled around on the ground while most of the grownups watched in the tree tops. I could have stayed and watched them all day, but no such luck. Later that afternoon we went to the leading NGO for women development in Zanzibar. We met with the Chairwoman of the National Progress for Women. She looked like she was about 40 but was 55. Incredible lady. She talked to us about the problems faced by women in Zanzibar, it was a very interesting lecture. My roommate might even come back next summer and intern with her.
There's an associate dean from UGA visiting and reporting on the Study Abroad program. Pretty sweet deal, he's spending the summer traveling around the world staying in the nicest hotels in the cities. I'd loathe him if he wasn't so nice. Plus, he invited us to his swanky hotel for drinks a few night ago. Did I mention the legal drinking age is 18 here? But few people drink because it's against Islamic law. Jersey Shore was on TV later that night.
Yesterday, we went on a tour through spice farms in the country. I got to see cinnamon, lemongrass, ginger, cloves, vanilla, ylang ylang, saffron, jasmine and a few others growing. It was really neat seeing how it looks before the spices get in the grocery store. Cinnamon, for example, comes from the bark of a tree. Once you dry it, it rolls up into sticks. Cool right?
Went to a Chinese restaurant for lunch yesterday, then watched the 2nd game of the Celtics/Magic series. Never would have guessed I could do that in Africa. Last night at the old fort with dancers. Had a good time.
We just got back about an hour ago from snorkeling off one of the small islands around Zanzibar town. I get overwhelmed in water, as some of you know :/ so snorkeling has never really been my thing. Remember SB 06 Nat? haha But I gave it another shot, with life jacket on, of course, and I got to see some really cool coral in the reefs. Coolest part, I got some pictures underwater. (THANKS FOR THAT BAG, DAD! IT WORKED!) The camera in general is just awesome. I've gotten some of the best pictures but the underwater ones are really nice. We got to the island in this 10 passenger wooden boat with a small motor. Waves were a little intense on the way there but it was fine. A storm started coming in while we were out, so we started heading back to town, but got stuck in this HORRIBLE downpour. For about 15 minutes, we couldn't see any land around us. I was starting to feel very anxious but then we saw another boat, and reached shore soon after. It's still raining, but my computer times up.
We went to the food market in Zanzibar on our first day here. It was gross. Meat was hanging from hooks in the ceiling and there was a little room in the back where chickens would go to get their heads cut off. I walked by this one door and saw a cow head, eyes open, just laying on the table. FREAKED ME OUT. I had curry vegetables for lunch that day. I guess its better knowing where your meat comes from, than having cows that see nothing but the inside of a factory their whole lives.
The Sultan of Oman ruled Zanzibar for a while, and his palace is still in the middle of town, along with another large exhibition building called the House of Wonders. These building have the potential to be incredible works of architecture, but there's hardly any money to fix them to mint condition. They can't just call up a company or trust fund to sponsor a renovation, so that was a little disheartening too. I tried to just look past the leaking ceilings and imagine what the palace would have looked like in its glory days.
Freddy Mercury was born in Zanzibar. Yes, THAT Freddy Mercury from Queen. He has a restaurant in town so 5 of us went the other night for dinner. They only played Queen. It was awesome.
We went to a forest on the west side of the island that had red colobus monkeys. They were very cute, and very unafraid of people. The little monkeys wrestled around on the ground while most of the grownups watched in the tree tops. I could have stayed and watched them all day, but no such luck. Later that afternoon we went to the leading NGO for women development in Zanzibar. We met with the Chairwoman of the National Progress for Women. She looked like she was about 40 but was 55. Incredible lady. She talked to us about the problems faced by women in Zanzibar, it was a very interesting lecture. My roommate might even come back next summer and intern with her.
There's an associate dean from UGA visiting and reporting on the Study Abroad program. Pretty sweet deal, he's spending the summer traveling around the world staying in the nicest hotels in the cities. I'd loathe him if he wasn't so nice. Plus, he invited us to his swanky hotel for drinks a few night ago. Did I mention the legal drinking age is 18 here? But few people drink because it's against Islamic law. Jersey Shore was on TV later that night.
Yesterday, we went on a tour through spice farms in the country. I got to see cinnamon, lemongrass, ginger, cloves, vanilla, ylang ylang, saffron, jasmine and a few others growing. It was really neat seeing how it looks before the spices get in the grocery store. Cinnamon, for example, comes from the bark of a tree. Once you dry it, it rolls up into sticks. Cool right?
Went to a Chinese restaurant for lunch yesterday, then watched the 2nd game of the Celtics/Magic series. Never would have guessed I could do that in Africa. Last night at the old fort with dancers. Had a good time.
We just got back about an hour ago from snorkeling off one of the small islands around Zanzibar town. I get overwhelmed in water, as some of you know :/ so snorkeling has never really been my thing. Remember SB 06 Nat? haha But I gave it another shot, with life jacket on, of course, and I got to see some really cool coral in the reefs. Coolest part, I got some pictures underwater. (THANKS FOR THAT BAG, DAD! IT WORKED!) The camera in general is just awesome. I've gotten some of the best pictures but the underwater ones are really nice. We got to the island in this 10 passenger wooden boat with a small motor. Waves were a little intense on the way there but it was fine. A storm started coming in while we were out, so we started heading back to town, but got stuck in this HORRIBLE downpour. For about 15 minutes, we couldn't see any land around us. I was starting to feel very anxious but then we saw another boat, and reached shore soon after. It's still raining, but my computer times up.
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