A Place More Mountainous than Illinois

It has been awhile since I have blogged because there hasn’t been that much time to do it. I said that I would be reporting on Arusha, but only having had four full days in Arusha up until this point and I would like to have more information to share.

Briefly, I will say that of I thought I had trouble getting around at school or in Chicago, then I was mistaken. Arusha is more difficult because you are operating through a language barrier, keep an eye out for pick-pocketing, tell hagglers you don’t want to buy your things at the same time you are trying to figure out how to get to where you want to go. Then there are dala dalas, an assortment of taxis that are safe and not safe and bargaining which I still haven’t mastered.

We spent the second week of our time in Mazumbai Forest Reserve in the Usambara Mountains. It was beautiful up there, we camped out on the lawn of a Swiss Chalet, got to shower often, and we got to hike up the mountain and study trees for a few days which was unlike anything I’ve experienced before. Illinois does not have mountains like them, I was surprised by the incline, mildly taken over by the elevation but loved every minute of it.

Examples of assignments of Masumbai:

-greet the forest separately and be back when the sun is above your head (and the last day, say goodbye to the forest)
- study the forest stratification horizontally and vertically by measuring DBH, canopy cover, identifying tree types
-going into the villages to ask the locals about ethnobotany, agroeconomy, firewood, and gender relations
-read readings
-optional: Baba Jack boot camp

Other activities:

-Showering
-eating mangoes
-playing cards, mafia, and soccer
-playing celebrity and chatting
-studying Swahili and solving riddles
-going on walks
If I’m making it sound less exciting than it was, the area in incredible and so was the week. Furthermore, the area is being conserved very well with only a few people, regardless of the pressure from local villages. It was a great place to spend a week and I am even considering returning there for my independent study project.

1.5 Degrees South of the Equator

Hello! Mambo! This is my first access to electricity and internet since I left for my trip. We just spent the last week camping in Ndarakwai, Tanzania, it is beautiful. I am currently in Arusha, which is the fourth largest city in the country, although it doesn't look anything like Chicago.

Shortly after arriving, our directors gave all of the girls kangas, they are a traditional Tanzanian piece of cloth that women use to cover up they are in town, we use them when we are around Tanzanians and it is also handy as a towel which never fit in my luggage. The boys got something different. The passage on mine says, "Jipe Moyo Utashinda" or "Take heart and you will succeed" which I hope comes true throughout my trip.

I would like to introduce two of our teachers:
Baba Jack: program director, retired dead head and very philosophical
Babu Liki: just like rafiki from the lion king, sounds like him and is equally as wise
And there are more I plan on introducing to you later

This past week as been:
-One week camping and very comfortable sleep
-3 meals a day and 3 tea times a day
-bird watching, hiking, looking at plants and tracking animals
- watching the sunset come up over Mt. Kilimanjaro and watching it set behind Mt. Meru.. it is incredible and I wish my camera did a better job capturing it
- meeting new people- all 27 I have found to be very friendly and I think we bring our own dynamic to the program
-trying to learn swahili and the culture

Some of the animals I've seen:
-giraffes
-elephants
-anteaters
-hyenas
-many birds
-spring hares
- wildebeest
-impalas
-water buffalo
-SO many zebras
- three types of monkeys
-and more that I must be forgetting and others I can't identify

Interesting Africa/Tanzania Facts:
-Tanzania has the highest and lowest points in all of Africa (highest: Mt Kili and lowest: the bottom of Lake Victoria)
-There are only two paved roads in Tanzania (and we haven't been driving on them)
-Africa has 8 out of the 10 most poisonous snakes (so be careful)
-zip your tent up at the top so that the scorpions and snakes and lizards don't get in (I've seen all of the above but I've kept them out of my tent)
- don't leave your shoes outside of your tent because monkeys will probably take them.. but they are also handy with zipper so it may not matter
-kilawakatiniwakatiwachai (everytime is tea time)
-There are only two things that the British Colonists got right 1. tea time and 2. land rovers (vehicles that won't tip over at 45 degree angles that we are usually standing in)
-you will always be dusty
- watch out for some of the trees because they have developed defense mechanisms that come in the form of giant thorns that will create festering wounds if you get them and try and pull them out

Anyway, it is obvious that I have already learned some things, some are facts and other things are harder to explain. Its hard to decide what to put in and what to leave out. Tanzania is beautiful, there is nothing like it... one week here is an eternity and I miss everyone but I know that I need to be here. I will keep you updated on Arusha.. which involves getting ripped off, driving in dala dalas (there is always room for one more) and trying to communicate with the locals.

Just know that I am happy and things are going well and I have a lot to tell you about! Talk to you soon!

I'll Keep In Touch

It is hours before I leave for my trip. Because of the plane ride, I will not technically arrive in Tanzania for about a day (give or take hours for layovers and confusing time-zone conversions). My concerns include:

- writing this blog
- getting an egg mcmuffin and hash brown for my last breakfast...check!
- hoping that my tent is waterproof and trying to find out if there is room in my bag for a towel
- charging any electronics
- wondering if I've said goodbye to the right people, and the cat

Although there are a few other things on that list, I think you've gotten the idea.

People have been asking, but I've had trouble describing exactly how I feel. I'm not sure if there is one word for it. I will say that I'm nervous because I don't know everything I will experience these next few months. Also, I'm afraid my luggage may exceed the suggested maximum weight limit. Whoops! I'm excited; I'm sure that I am ready for the challenges ahead of me and I'm glad that I'm almost on my way. In fact, I believe I've spent enough time gathering the items I need for the trip that at some point I may have also became mentally prepared.

Anyway, I thought I'd post my first blog before I got there so that I was truly documenting the whole journey. The next blog post should be about my first impressions of Africa and some of the people I've met. If you are reading this, I hope you enjoy some of things that I will share and the pictures I will take. Well, I'm off to check a few more things off my list! Tutaonana (or goodbye in Swahili).

Jenny