Wow

Before I recount my incredible safari experience, I just want to thank everyone who's been commenting on my blog - it really makes my day to hear from people back home... and I'm always curious to see who actually reads this!

My safari was incredible. On Friday afternoon, our guide, Gasper, met us at CCS and we (myself, Katie, and five other CCS volunteers) drove for about four hours to our lodge, situated on the edge of the Ngorongoro crater. After a fairly action packed drive, during which we saw giraffes, stopped to buy incredibly over-priced western junk food, and got stuck in the mud, we finally arrived around 8 pm. After a four-course dinner at the lodge, we had a fairly quiet evening. African hotels don't seem to have TV, so we just played cards - I am becoming an avid euchre player.

On Saturday morning, we set off bright and early for the crater. The Ngorongoro crater, which is the world's largest crater, was apparently formed when a volcano collapsed. It is now an immense, flat area of land, surrounded by mountains, and inhabited by elephants, lions, rhinos, zebras, hippos, flamingos, and countless other African animals. The first sighting of the day was a herd of zebras, followed by some wildebeasts, gazelles, and buffalo. Later on, we saw hippos and elephants. We were incredibly lucky in that we saw an entire pride of lions, and an elusive black rhino. In the late afternoon, we returned to the lodge, and I was able to watch the sun set over the crater, which was beautiful and very peaceful.

The next morning, we left in a dense fog to head to Lake Manyara. The one disappointment of Ngorongoro was that we didn't see any giraffes, so Gasper promised us that he'd find us some giraffes at Manyara. He didn't let us down. Around Lake Manyara, the trees are very dense, and while driving through, I got the sense that I was driving through a jungle. Almost immediately, we were able to see a family of elephants less than 20 feet from our car. We also saw many different varieties of monkeys, and closer to the lake, we saw the promised giraffes.

Over the course of the weekend, I took nearly 200 pictures - hopefully they'll turn out when I upload them onto my computer back home. Now that I'm back in Tengaru, I'm reminded of the absolute contrasts that exist in Africa - its incredible natural beauty compared to the ugliness of the abject poverty that the majority of its people live in.

With the end of my safari, I feel like my trip is almost complete. Tomorrow, I'm hoping to go to the Rwanda genocide tribunal, which is the main thing that I promised myself that I'd do while in Arusha. After that, I'll definitely be ready to head home. We got a whole bunch of new volunteers in last night, so those of us who arrived two weeks ago are the old timers here. I have a new roommate, who is a concert pianist from Hong Kong - very interesting lady! It feels funny when they come to ask me for advice about being in Africa, but at the same time, I guess I've learned a lot in the last two weeks.

Five more sleeps until I head home! I can almost taste the timbits already... (Mom and Dad, we can stop at Tim's on the way back from the airport, right? lol.)

Moshi

Yesterday, we got a day off of our usual routine of volunteer placements and Swahili lessons for a group trip organized by CCS to Moshi, a city about an hour away, at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro (which will henceforth be known as "Kili" - that's what the locals call it). We left Tengaru at about 7 am (everything here is "about" when I'm talking about time - I don't think that the word "punctual" exists in the Swahili language), and after enduring an hour on what just might have been the world's creakiest bus, over Tanzania's incredibly rough roads, we made it to Moshi. Never again will I complain about driving on a dirt road in Canada - you haven't seen bad roads until you've driven in Africa. I think I'm still shaken up. Moshi has the reputation of being one of Tanzania's wealthier and cleaner places, owing to the many tourist dollars that come through it on account of its convenient location as a starting point for those looking to climb Kili. It really is a very nice city, and I'd guess it's fairly safe - heavily armed police officers patrol from the centre of every roundabout.

We began the day by visiting some of the local markets - I managed to get all my souvenier shopping done... yay! Now I have to make sure that I can keep myself from buying anything else over the next week. We stopped for lunch at a local restaurant, where I had an exciting lunch of beans and rice (my dietary staple here... I miss tofu!), and saw first-hand my first Tanzanian toilet... read: a hole in the ground, with a stall around it. I took pictures, which I would post if I could find a 'net cafe that would let me. I may just have to put them online once I get home. Anyway, I digress. After lunch, we hiked (and I do mean hiked - my poor, unathletic self is really hurting today) down to this incredible waterfall. Some people from our group went in, but owing to the fact that I didn't bother packing a swimsuit, I stayed ashore. It was cold, so I didn't mind. We later visited a traditional Chagga home (the Chaggas are a tribe that lives on the base of Kili), and crawled through an expanse of tunnels that the Chagga had previously used to hide out from the Maasai when they came to pillage for cattle. On the way back, the clouds that had been masking the summit of Kili finally parted, and we were treated to a view of the mountain. It's stunning. Maybe next time I'm here, I'll climb it. (Stop laughing, I could do it!!)

Tomorrow, I leave for safari, so I doubt I'll have internet again 'til Monday. When it comes to the safari, I think I'm looking forward to the nice lodge with hot showers just as much as I look forward to seeing African animals. I'm sure elephants and giraffes will be amazing... but at this point, my disgusting self would be content with hot water and no bugs in my bed!

Argh.

As much as I like it here, there are certain things about Tanzania that drive me absolutely nuts. I think I've already described how everything here moves a lot slower than at home. Although that does have its benefits - apparently the word "stress" only began to appear in the Swahili language in very recent times, it can be very annoying when one actually wants to help out and get work done. At my placement this morning, I taught English until 9, then helped one of the staff members with his computer skills... and that's all. Now it's 10:40, and although I'm supposed to stay at my placement until 12:30, I have absolutely nothing to do. The staff there are all sitting around drinking tea. Tea time is sacred here, I swear that the entire country stops when it's time for tea. One of the other volunteers with CCS works at the hospital, and she said that they've even delayed surgeries because the doctors weren't done their tea. As wonderful as the culture of "hakuna matata" can be, I can definitely see why Asia is developing so much more rapidly than Africa - people here spend way too much time just sitting around doing nothing. Things here are inefficient to the point of being ridiculous... being on time to Tanzanians means showing up only half an hour late for something.

One of the other volunteers on the trip got malaria yesterday, which is a little scary because she's on the anti-malaria drugs that the majority of us are taking... apparently, they're not as potent as the doctors back home said they were. I really hope I don't get sick while I'm here. Knock on wood, aside from my lost voice (which I've finally found again) and some minor stomach issues (beer and fries really don't make for the best dinners - even back home!), I've been good so far. I think I'm starting to take after my mom - I've gone through half a bottle of Purell already!! (And, as much as I hate it, I am wearing bug spray... eau de deet has become my new fragrance of choice.)

Yesterday, I went to church with Mama Simba, the CCS Director. That was interesting. At first it was fun - there was a lot of music and dancing, and everyone was so passionate about it that I got swept up in the atmosphere. Then it just turned into something that resembled one of those tele-evangelical services - people started collapsing on the floor in tears, sobbing towards the heavens, and the pastor later called up all the sick people in the church for healing prayers. Katie and I half expected someone to come in in a wheelchair and miraculously start walking. I'm glad I went, it was a very interesting cultural experience; but seeing as the mass took almost four hours to complete, I think I've done my time in African church for at least a year!

One last thing, for the record - for those of you who I have given the CCS Home Base number to, don't try to call me. Phone service here is ridiculously unreliable; it cuts off randomly during calls, and half the time, calls don't go through at all. Oh, the joys of the third world!

A night at the Ritz.

Well, the African version of the Ritz, anyway. Last night, a group of us from CCS decided that we'd had enough of Tanzanian food and cold showers, and decided to spend a night at a "luxury" lodge nearby; the type of place where rich white people go to in order to say they've been to Africa without ever having to deal with its realities. Aside from the profusion of bugs in my room, it was quite nice - and very reasonable... $40/per person. It was almost surreal there, though - visiting there made me realize the difference between "going to Africa" and actually "experiencing Africa". Yesterday morning, I was doing home visits to poor widows dying of AIDS (more about that in a moment), and then in the afternoon, I was sipping beer (Tanzanian beer is very good btw, and it's really the only thing other than bottled water and Coke that's safe to drink. I miss fruit punch!) beside a pool, watching the sun set over Mt. Meru. I felt so far removed from the actual reality of being in Africa that I almost felt guilty for being there. If there's one thing that I've learned in the past week, it's that I really am incredibly lucky - I hope that I don't forget that fact after being back in Canada for a couple weeks.

Today, I'm just hanging out in Arusha... our weekend plans have changed. For next weekend, I've decided to go on a two night safari to the Ngorongo Crater and Lake Manyara - after all, how many other times will I have the chance to see lions, elephants, and giraffes in their natural habitat? This weekend, I'm just relaxing, trying to avoid spending money so that I can actually afford my safari next weekend. Katie's getting her hair braided right now, and then we're going to go souvenier shopping (yes, I just might bring back some stuff for all you lovely people back home!).

The aforementioned WAMATA home visits have been by far the most sobering and eye-opening part of my trip. The point of the visits is for WAMATA staff to check in on the HIV/AIDS victims that they support, to bring them some food, and to pay a brief social call. The people that they support are mainly widows or grandmothers raising their orphaned grandchildren, who really are the poorest of the poor. For the most part, they live in mud huts through which their few chickens run freely. The average home is the size of my bedroom in my apartment in Ottawa. Food is scarce, and some of them cannot even afford to send their children to school because they can't afford the uniforms and supplies. In spite of that, everyone I have met has been so friendly and welcoming - they have no problem with a foreigner who doesn't even speak their language coming to sit in their living room (if you can call it that) and asking what I'm sure are completely inappropriate questions through an interpreter. I think that the people at WAMATA want the international volunteers to see the realities of people living with AIDS in Africa, but it can't possibly be easy for these women to talk to complete strangers about their lives. Nonetheless, they are friendly, warm, and welcoming. Instead of being skeptical, they shake my hand and say "karibuni" (Swahili for welcome). I can't wait to continue with the visits next week.

Hakuna Matata!

Interesting Tanzania fact - people here actually say "hakuna matata", and it actually means "no worries." Surprisingly, a lot of the phrases from "The Lion King" are actually useful Swahili words - Simba is lion, Pumbaa means fat, and asante sana (from Rafiki's song) means thank you very much. See, my Swahili is improving already! I'd say that the phrase "hakuna matata" exemplifies the attitude of most of the Tanzanian people that I've met so far. Despite living in circumstances that would make many westerners cringe, the vast majority of people that I've met have proven to be very mellow. I'm hoping to learn some of that attitude - especially since I'm ready to pull my hair out right now on account of the fact that the power has cut out twice while I've been writing this. Power shortages (and water shortages) are a way of life here, and they definitely take some getting used to.

Last night, I went to an African music and dance show. It was absolutely incredible... it was drums, a xylophone, and dancers. I think all of the CCS volunteers realized exactly how uncoordinated white people really are when they invited us up to dance with them. It's very true to say that white people cannot dance.

Yesterday, I also experienced my first African market. Wednesdays are market days in the Tengaru market, and the usually quiet village comes alive with people selling everything from fruit to machetes. I was slightly unnerved to see 12" knives just laying out in the sun, ready to be bought - but it seems that most people were there to buy food and cloth. It's quite common to see men here walking around carrying machetes; there is a great deal of farming in this area. I know that it's a useful farming implement, but seeing a guy walking down the street with a large knife in his belt serves are a very good reminder that I'm definitely not in North America anymore.

In about 10 minutes, I'm off to go participate in some home visits to AIDS patients with the WAMATA staff, so I must end this now. I apologize for the lack of pictures on the blog - the internet cafe here doesn't have the capacity for me to upload pictures, apparently.

a little culture-shocked

Africa, day 2. I started my placement today, it seems interesting - while here, I'll be working at a place called WAMATA,which is an NGO that works to prevent HIV/AIDS through education, and also provides support to those with AIDS, and to AIDS orphans. Despite appearing terribly inefficient, the people seem really positive, and they do a lot of amazing work in the villages.

I went into Arusha again yesterday afternoon. That was an adventure. We went as a big group and took a "dala-dala", which is a very sketchy form of public transport - basically, they're large vans driven by people who make Quebec drivers look good, packed way past a safe capacity with people. They only cost 300 shillings per person, though... which is about 30 cents - so I guess you get what you pay for. Once we made it into Arusha, we had fun, though I breathed in so much smog from the profusion of old, diesel-powered vehicles during rush hour that I've since completely lost my voice. Hoping it'll be back tomorrow!

I have plenty of political and developmentalist observations about Tanzania, but I'll save those for a time when my net time isn't running out, and I'm using a keyboard that works propery (this one sticks like crazy - it's taken me a full 10 minutes to type this little entry.) I'll just end by saying that although I am quite culture-shocked, and a part of me wants to catch the next flight back to Europe (or North America, or Australia), all is well, and I'm optimistic about the rest of this trip. Though it is shocking to see the developing world first-hand, I'm glad I'm doing this... and when I've arrved home, I'm going to appreciate my hot shower and safe drinking water a lot more!

In Africa...

... but not much to report, save for the fact that I arrived safely. We got in late last night and it was too dark to see much. The "compound" that I'm staying at is much nicer than I expected, and I survived my first "bucket shower" this morning. It's about 9 am here; I was woken up at 6-ish by a rooster (there's a new experience!) crowing outside my window, and decided to join some keeners who wanted to head into Arusha. Officially, we start at 10 am.

I miss everyone back home, and I especially miss my nice, warm shower and safe drinking water - but I'm looking forward to the next couple weeks. If only it would stop raining. That's what I get for going to Tanzania during the rainy season.

Amsterdam, part II - I love KLM!!!

Just got my bags back. Woohoo! I must say, KLM has to be the single most customer-service oriented, friendly, efficient, comfortable airline that I have ever travelled. I'm actually looking forward to my flight tomorrow, simply because I'm excited to fly with them again - and that's coming from someone who usually equates flying with such less than pleasurable experiences as having a root canal, or sitting through one of Professor Barbie's statistics lectures.

Amsterdam has definitely grown on me since my last visit... I think that I was way too conservative at age 14 to properly appreciate it. Today, we visited the Anne Frank house, and wandered the city for a while. I can honestly say that I don't have any "interesting" stories; I'm too jet-lagged to be much fun right now. My biggest success of the day is that it's 5:30 pm, I'm going on 35 hours without sleep, and I'm still lucid.

Next update (hopefully - if I have internet access) from Tanzania.

Amsterdam

Well, I made it to Amsterdam. Barely. Our flight out of Toronto was 40 minutes late, which led to Katie and I having to do an "Amazing Race"-esque sprint through JFK in order to get ourselves checked in on time; running up escalators, and knocking over couples and Japanese tourists as we barrelled through the airport. It wasn't pretty. When I get home, I vow to take up running - I realized today (well, I guess, yesterday... I'm too jet-lagged to really know what day it is) exactly how poor of shape I am in. Definitely got my exercise for the week, though ;)

Sadly, although I made my flight, my bags didn't. I've got my fingers crossed that I will be reunited with them soon... otherwise the couple outfits that I threw in my carry-on will become quite smelly.

Now, to go get cleaned up, find a Starbucks (I see a McDonalds from my window here, so I'm hoping that American corporate imperialism has extended far enough to ensure that Starbucks has also crossed the Atlantic), and go do a little sightseeing before I drop.

Tanzania tomorrow night!

(And, thusfar, I've gotten through 25 pages of "War and Peace")

Leaving on Friday...

Well, I've had so many people ask me to keep them updated about my trip that I've decided to start a blog especially for it. I can't promise that I'll update regularly as I'm not sure how often I will have internet access, but ideally, I'll try to get online a couple times a week to post pictures and countless amusing anecdotes. All in all, I'm not quite sure what to expect from this trip - it'll be an adventure, I'm sure, though what kind of adventure it will present itself as still remains to be seen.

My next post will hopefully be from Amsterdam, where I have a 20-something hour layover. Lots of time to get into trouble in one of Europe's more notorious cities ;)