Back to Table Rock

After a full 24 hours at home, it was time to pack up the car and head to Table Rock. Fortunately there had been good weather the last few days and the lower road was passable, although a bit muddy and rutted in a few spots. Driving in during the winter is so beautiful because you can see everything. I relish the early morning drive to TR with the sun rising. It's truly some uninterrupted quiet time and I really enjoy it.

I checked out the new Philips building and then started settling back into my office. It felt so strange to be back. For a few minutes I just had to stand and let the feeling of this place sink in. To get grounded here. To call it home again.

Remi, Caylin, and I made a plan to start getting things open and we all got to work. The basecamp was in pretty great shape considering the Winter that WNC had this year. A couple of broken pipes, lots of down branches, but otherwise functional and NO rats this year.

Things really get started on Saturday when the OLC instructors show up. Hard to believe there will be students in the field here this time next week. 2010 has officially begun at Table Rock.

Just A Plane Ride Home....Sort Of

What I thought was going to be just a plane ride home and a anticlimactic end to an incredible journey was far from it. The first couple of flights were great, good food, half-full plane, and smooth. When we got to Addis Ababa, we switched planes and I got onto the big old 737 that would take us to Rome and then on to DC. The first few hours of the flight were great. I was really tired so I was actually getting some quality sleep on the plane.

About half way across the mediterranean sea, I was awoken by the ethiopian man quietly praying in the seat next to me. He was sitting with his carry-on on his lap and had already demonstrated some nerves about his flying experience. So far no big deal. Within seconds his praying was much louder, "praise be to Jesus." Then he stood up, with his arms raised above him and was praying at full volume. This got the attention of everyone on the plane and two of the flight attendants came over to get him to sit down. No such luck. He started pumping his fists in the air and screaming, "Jesus is my savior. I am going to be with my MOTHER, and my FATHER, and my BROTHER, and my SISTER, in heaven. Praise be to Jesus......on and on" Now I was fully scared, I looked at his carry-on sitting next to my legs and couldn't help but wonder what was in it. I was surprisingly calm and had pretty much figured I was going to be deep in the Med. Sea, but there was nothing I could do about it.

That's not it. The man then pushes past a flight attendant and sprints to the back of plane. Oh shit. Whats going on? The flight attendants chase after him and tackle him to the floor. They stay with him and sit him down in the galley area. After about 20 minutes, they let him come back to sit with me. I am understandably a bit shaken. The flight attendant just says, "he was praying, he is sorry." The man wraps his head in a blanket hunches over and doesn't move til we get to Rome. We sit in Rome for about an hour and then finally someone comes on and escorts him off the plane just before we took off. My BP went way down, and my eyelids got heavy again. I hope to never experience anything like it on a plane again and will remember the scene vividly forever. It was crazy. Crazy.

I arrived in DC safely, had some breakfast and drove straight back to NC. The adrenaline of being home really kept me going. When I sat down after dinner I passed out in seconds. Glad to be safely home.

Out of Africa

Leaving Zanzibar was bittersweet - the ocean and beach life was certainly easy to get used to, but the heat and desire to be back on familiar territory had us anxious to return to Kigali.

On our way to Stonetown, we decided to stop and take one of the very touristy, but very interesting, spice tours the island is known for. Zanzibar is sort of the heart of your whole spice cabinet and it was fascinating to see each of the spices we use growing. Some of the spices we saw included; cinnamon (it is a tree), black peppercorn (seeds from a tree), cacao (more on this coming), lemongrass, cardamom, ginger root, nutmeg, coffee, turmeric, and many more! The most surprising one for me was cacao. It grows in green mini-football size pods that dangle from huge trees. Inside the pod, there are large seeds covered in a fleshy white coating. We got to eat this coating and it was amazingly delicious. Inside this seed is an inner seed which is the cacao bean. It is very small compared to the pod it comes in. Who knew. Anyway, we got to try all the spices in raw form and then were treated to a feast of different tropical fruits. Most of them we had never even heard of, but they were delicious. Then they brought out the "Dorian." It's a fruit that smells like shit - literally. Supposedly it is very good tasting. Ari tried it, I didn't. It is probably the last Dorian she ever eats if you know what I mean!

We spent a final night in Stonetown showing our friends around and left early the next morning to make our way to the ferry dock. We had heard that the ferry ride was epic (lots of seasickness and vomit bags for everyone as they got on the ferry) so we were prepared for the worst, but it was sunny, smooth, and we both got some sleep along the way. We had a long wait in the Dar es Salaam airport, so we got some lunch at the restaurant. I was so glad to see they had real ketchup. A funny moment was needed, so I decided to shake the Ketchup bottle with the cap only loosely resting on top. It was classic. Ketchup everywhere. On me from head to toe, all over my face, all over the floor and walls, all over our luggage. Half the bottle gone. I smiled. Ari laughed. A picture taken and I had to change out of my only clean clothes!

We had a layover night, back in Arusha and then made it safely back to Kigali the next morning. At the Kigali airport, we were greeted by a regiment of saluting soldiers and about a hundred women doing a traditional dance. We had become celebrities and didn't even know it. It is also possible that they were practicing for the arrival of French President Sarkozy the next day, but we're pretty sure it was for us.

Glad to be back in Kigali, we quickly got back into our routine and headed to town for some Western food. Salad and burgers. Dreamy. On our last day, we decided to try out a fancy Indian restaurant in downtown Kigali. The atmosphere was quiet and the food was great. A perfect and memorable last meal for Ari and I to share together.

We are sad to be separating for the next couple months when I fly out tomorrow. However, the whole experience has been unforgettable and we feel so lucky to have been able to do it together!

Zanzibar Part 2 - Nungwi

It was going to be hard to top Kendwa because we loved Kendwa - it had the perfect balance of activity and relaxation. But, we had made plans to meet our friends from Kigali in Nungwi, so we packed our things and caught a short cab ride to our next hotel. We met them in the café early that morning and got settled into our new bungalow. It wasn’t quite Kendwa, but it is still paradise!
Our friends had an epic travel day getting from Kigali (planes, boats, busses, taxis, and more), so we were all down for a swim on the beach and lots of doing nothing. Even doing nothing is pretty entertaining here. We watched a group of women ready to offload some fish from a small boat with hundreds of 5 gallon buckets. They were each dressed in colorful African Kangas (cotton wraps) and against the picturesque blue water and wriggling fish, it was a sight to behold. The rest of the afternoon we read and relaxed. That evening, we were able to watch the Olympics on a big screen in our hotel. It was wonderful to watch and feel a little connection to home. The food was great and we were all satisfied with the day.
The next morning we woke up early had some breakfast and headed out for a day of snorkeling. The boat ride out was stunningly beautiful as we circled the northern tip of the island. The blues of the water are hard to describe. We anchored our boat just a little swim away from the reef and got into our flippers, masks, and snorkels. For the next two hours we swam around enjoying all sorts of coral, thousands of fish, and the quiet of being under water. It was magical. After a couple of hours we were all getting sufficiently burned so we swam back to the boat for lunch. The boatmen had peeled tons of fresh fruit, fried up some chapati bread (think thick tortillas), and even managed to grill a huge bonita fish on the deck of the boat. It was a feast! We decided to check out another spot for snorkeling, but the growing surf made it not so good, so we decided to head back. This is where things got a little interesting. The seas had grown to pretty good sized swells and our boat filled with 17 people had us all looking at each other and saying - really? We took on lots of water, were all soaked by the end, had a couple of pukers, one Maltese woman in a bit of a panic, and four guides that had there game faces on (although they were laughing too). For a couple of hours, we all held onto the boat as we swayed and rocked and crashed and splashed through waves that seemed to prevent us from moving at all. Luckily we made slow, but steady progress and once we turned the boat to go with the wind and waves, it was sunny, peaceful and beautiful. A collective sigh of relief and some clapping for our “captain.” We made it home safely.

Now, we have washed off the salt and sand, are nursing some burned bodies. A cold (sort of) beer and relaxing sunset to finish the day.

We know we are blessed. Cheers.

Zanzibar......

So many little things have happened, so I'll try and capture the bits and pieces....

Airport Security
Domestic flights in Africa are a little more relaxed than in the US. :)

Stonetown
I have never been to Venice, but I hear the main area on Zanzibar is very similar. Lots of very narrow alleyways, no street signs, but wander long enough and you can always figure out where you are. Photographically stunning.

Electricity
Either you got it or you don't. And when you don't, you wish you did. And when it's 90+ degrees, you really wish you did. Zanzibar's main power line has been down for 72 days from mainland africa. The whole island is trying to run on small generators. They run them for about 4-5 hours each day. Cold beverages are tough to find.

It's the Heat....and the Humidity
Without power in our hostel room, the fan shut off promptly at 11:00 pm. It was unbearably hot in our room. I asked what time it was. 12:15am. I waited for hours and asked what time it was. 12:45am. I waited for a few days and asked what time it was. 2:10 am. Repeat all night. When we "woke" in the morning, I turned to Ari and said, "I think we are cooked." I can empathize with broccoli that gets steamed now.

Planning
It seems like it's every day. Wait it is. 18 days traveling in Africa feels like much, much longer than 18 days at home. In a good way. We can't believe all we have done as we look back on the first part of our journey.

Forodhani Gardens
After dark, this park lights up with 50-60 street vendors selling all sorts of grilled meat and seafood kebabs. It is gourmet though. Chefs in white hats. Beautifully lit. Grilled to order. Everything comes with some fresh baked bread or more likely a pile of cheeps (fries)!

Re-steamed
Steamed again tonight!

Dolphins
Ari has longed to swim with the Dolphins since she was a child and we had to make her dream come true. We did swim with dolphins in the wild. But it would be more aptly described as Dolphin chasing. It was cool, but ethically we wouldn’t do it again or recommend it. We then snorkeled for a bit at a nearby reef. It was a great morning.

Fever
Mark got one. It went up to 102. Ari read about Malaria in the guidebook and convinced me I might be comatose in 24 hours. She took care of me like a dream! We abandoned our plans for the day, hightailed it back to Stonetown to find a doctor. $7 to see the Doctor. Meds for stomach issues. Return at 4 for a Malaria test. Wait. Using a 9th grade biology microscope and in a room with no light (remember no power!), the lab technician proudly signed my diagnosis. Negative.

Pasta
We had the most delicious meal we’ve had since being in Africa. Basically penne and meat sauce. But real parmesan and garlic and olive oil! Amazing!

Luxury
With an epic day under our belts, we felt we had earned an upgrade from our steam room. We spent a little more, but it felt like pure luxury. A room with a sea view. A working, clean bathroom in our room. And best of all, a little A/C unit that felt like heaven.

Forodhani Gardens
Back for more good street food!

Beit el-Ajaib
Spent the morning taking in “The House of Wonders.” A museum with a bit of history about Zanzibar. Great view of the city and ocean from the top.

Kendwa
We set off at noon for Kendwa. Beach paradise. Turqoise blue water. Beautiful boats. Palm thatched roofed bungalows to spend the night. Romantic candlelit dinners. Great music from home. And best of all - Pizza! 2 days in paradise. Paradise. Ari - sunscreen and happy. Mark - “base coat” and burned.

so much has happened, we are not gonna lie:

on monday we witnessed court at the UN Special International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. This rounded out my studies of justice practices for the genocide and let me say how different it was from things in Rwanda. How slow and extravagant the approach the UN has taken. But, the visit was very illuminating

and then, just as we thought we were getting the hang of tourist-central, the town of Arusha, Ari went and got to absorbed in some work on the internet and her poor little bag behind here was snatched up by a bravado character and disappeared without a trace. Bummer! While Ariana had been frustrated that she forgot her passport back at the hostel that morning when she should have had it to visit court, we were both very glad that she actually did not have it that morning and therefore the hassle of the missing bag was much less than it could have been. After a brief tutorial on how to call the US from our new Tanzanian cellphone all missing credit cards were canceled and a sincere hope that the little cash that was lost was going to a worthy cause. As Gandhi says, when someone robs your home, you should open all the doors and windows because the problem is not the robber but they system that has created the discrepancy that one person would need to rob another. I thought of this as I walked down the street to our hotel today. I think Gandhi would criticize me for responding that the world is too complex for that to be the solution in a world of such extreme inequalities, but this is something I am wrestling with too. (Ari)

More to come from Zanzibar as soon as we have a reliable internet connection!

Zanzibar!

Just say it a few times, it feels good! Zanzibar, zanzibar! Ari and I are having a drink at a posh rooftop hotel bar that is overlooking a sunset on the Indian Ocean. And with that said, I think will get back to enjoying paradise!

More Safari Pictures

Here are a handful more safari pictures! Enjoy!

Ng'irse Village

Despite the fact that the Tanzania Tourist Board closed at 1:00pm on Saturday and we did not make it there in time, we were able to arrange a “cultural tourism program.” We didn’t know much about it, except that we would visit a nearby village and have a walk around with a guide.

We were picked up from the hostel promptly at 9:00 am by our guide and drove an incredibly dusty, bumpy, rocky road about 15 minutes up into the mountains. The road was so bad, we had to get out twice because the car bottomed out and wouldn’t move. It is amazing that cars here last more than a few weeks! Our guide told us a bit about each village (about 3000 people) as we passed it before arriving in Ng’irse (Nnn gear say). The gardens as we drove in were incredible with Canna Lilies that were over eight feet tall and came in every color. In the front yard of the house we stopped at, four teenage boys were harvesting corn. They put dried, shucked corn in a giant potato sack and then beat it with a stick to remove the kernels from the cob. They then sorted all the kernels removing any bad ones and rocks and placed the good ones into more potato sacks for storage. It was really fun to watch and I was glad to be observing only as the work was hard.

Next, we had a cup of coffee with the village chairmen who told us about the cultural tourism program in his town. Long story short, they have allowed tourists to pay to visit the village and all the money goes to build a school for the village and four or five that surround it. The chairmen explained that all the accounting books were open for the community to see at any time, so they knew where each dollar was going. He was very proud of his program, his village, and the education the kids were getting from his school.

We left the chairmen’s house with our guide on a walk to see the school and hopefully stop in at a church service. It is predominantly Christian (Lutheran), but there are still a few people who practice traditional local religions. The school was fun to see and we were both surprised by how much it costs to build a VERY simple classroom that will house about 80 students. $15,000. A bag of cement is $15 (compared to a couple bucks in the US) and then the cost to transport to the remote village can be equally as much. One classroom will take years to build. Patience is a requirement, but I couldn’t help but compare to the US where a classroom like this would take less than two days to build and probably could be done for less than $1000. It is differences like these that are hard to account for when we wonder from afar why progress takes so long in third world countries.

Our next stop was at the local church where we joined about thirty very nicely dressed Tanzanians for singing, dancing, and praising. Our guide wrote the words to a couple of songs and we sang and danced along with them. It was something I will never forget. The faith that filled the room was palpable and everyone donated at the end despite the fact that most of them survive on less than $250 a year. It was moving to listen to the service in Swahili and see the passion with which the people worshipped. It was unlike any service I have ever seen in the US. I have video to share when I am home!

Our tour continued with a walk to a beautiful local waterfall, along the way every child wanted to come say hello and give us a flower. Ari had quite the bouquet by the end of our walk. The kids especially wanted to have their picture taken and then get to look at it on the camera. They looked at the camera with wonder- most of them will not use a computer in their lifetime! The landscape was lush and green with crops growing everywhere - bananas, coffee, corn, mangoes, avacados, beans, cabbage, and many more! The waterfall was an idyllic scene and reminded us of the rainforest we were in!

We headed back to the chairmen’s house for lunch and it was delicious! On our final walk, we visited a traditional round house where cattle and people lived together. That is how important cattle are! The women was widowed and relied on the tourism program dollars to help send her kids to school. We visited the local spring where people collect their water each day and walk it back to their home in 5 gallon buckets on their head! Finally we visited a local (very local) bar to have a banana beer which is what the locals drink because it is strong and cheap!

That’s it. It was an incredible day and we were thankful for this look at the local culture outside the tourist areas.

Twiga and Punda Milia (the Giraffe and Zebra)

the Twiga (swahili for giraffe) say Jambo (hello). They were amazing to see, towering gracefuly over the trees, when they run their lanking body becomes a graceful moving mass, silently gliding quickly across the landscape although because of their size they look like they are moving in slow motion. to see many of them in a herd moving with this grace was very moving, tettering on the holy.

the safari as you can imagine was incredible. so many animals. a wildbeest giving birth. a huge volcanic crater in which we explored a lush green landscape filled with zebra and wildbeest in the thousands, hand fulls of lions in various lazy positions (probably more like your own fiesty cats than you imagine). there were flamingos galore and a lepord and cub in a tree all day long, there were herds of elephant with their wrinkly bottoms and funny elbows and huge padded feet and wabbly trunk they use like a fork to twirl the long grass like spagetti and stuff it in their mouths-sometimes 18 hours a day they eat, and walk slowly and eat some more.

wow, an incredible experience.

now, we are back in town. it is hectic here and mark and i are thinking of going straight to the beach on zanzibar. on one hand it seems a shame to miss the mountains here but hiking is not mark's thing at the moment since his knee is still recovering from knee surgery and, everything we tried to do here requires loads of walking anyway, that perhaps we won't be redundant with a tour of the mountainside. so, we are working on travel plans. we shall see how it goes. I will keep you informed. more pictures are on the way once we sort out the 1300 we took in the last four days of safariing.

Lions, Giraffes, and Zebras…Oh My

I’m not sure where to begin to describe what our safari was like, but in a word - SPECTACULAR! Start by thinking of every African animal you know, multiply those by thousands or tens of thousands, put yourself in the middle of a field with all of them, add some dusty roads and a beat-up Landcruiser, and you can be on a safari in your head. We visited three national parks, so I will try and capture a little bit of each of them; Lake Manyara, Serengeti, and Ngorogoro Crater. In much the same way that it is difficult to describe the enormity of the Grand Canyon to someone, the Tanzanian national parks are so immense they are often beyond description.

Lake Manyara

At 10:30 am our Landcruiser, guide (Ema), and cook (Aidano) arrived at our hostel to pick up Ariana, myself, and SallyAnn (a wonderful Australian woman who came with us). We made a couple of quick stops in town before heading to “Mosquito Town” which sits just outside Lake Manyara to drop off some of our camping supplies. It was quite strange to be in the position of not having to set up the tents or make sure the lunch was ready or do anything else that might be considered work. We strolled about town for a bit getting to know all the locals who work very hard to make sure you visit their shop (more about this later).

With the roof on the Landcruiser off, so we could stand up when we saw something, we headed towards Lake Manyara. On the way we saw our first wild animal, a few giraffe (or in Swahili “twiga“) browsing on the acacia trees outside the park. Needless to say we were amazed to see this creature in the wild and spent about 20 minutes taking pictures. At the park entrance we saw a handful of small blue monkeys (not actually blue) and marveled at their cuteness. As we drove down the road in Lake Manyara, we soaked of the sights and sounds of a tropical rainforest - massive trees, lots of birds and monkeys, etc. After driving through the rainforest for a while, the trees open up to a massive grassland that surrounds the lake. We saw some Zebras, warthogs(Poomba!), and Cape Buffalo on our way to the Hippo pond. We watched the Hippos splash around for a bit and just sat quietly to take in all the scenery. We slowly made our way back to the main gate, enjoying watching the playful baboons along the way.

Back at camp, we found our dinner table set with hot water for tea and coffee ready. We had a quick cold shower to rinse off the dust and enjoyed some terrific food from our cook. Fried fish and chips, vegetables, avocado salad, and a banana fritter for dessert. We spent a couple of hours talking to Ema about the current political situation in Tanzania and then got to bed early.

The Serengeti

The morning began with a wonderful breakfast with lots of fresh fruit (the pineapple is so good it actually tastes like a different food) and slowly packing camp to leave by 10:30 am. We drove past Lake Manyara to the entrance gate for Ngorogoro and Serengeti. The roads are all very bumpy and dusty, but the scenery was stunning. In Ngorogoro, the Masaai people are allowed to live, graze their cattle, and build temporary communities. Traditionally the Masaai would be purely nomadic, but as in the influx of tourists increases, the number of Masaai standing on the side of the road hoping tourists will stop and pay to have their picture taken has greatly increased. They have set up “villages” that are pure tourist stops and the safari vehicles pay $50 to stop and visit. This money is helping to educate some of the children, so it’s not all bad, but our guide guessed the Masaai would be gone in 10 years.

We drove out of the mountain and got our first view of the Serengeti, which means “endless open space” in the Masaai language. It is similar to looking out over the ocean in its size. We stopped for lunch at the visitors center with 40-50 other safari vehicles on basically the same journey before our afternoon game drive on the Plains. We took off in search of a leopard we heard talk of, but after stopping near a rocky outcropping our engine only revved as we tried to leave. We took a look around the vehicle and noticed that what appeared to be the axle was sticking 12 inches out of the back tire. Our guide said “oh shit”, we said “oh shit.” He pulled out a three foot part from the vehicle, put it in the car, informed us that it was only the part that controls four-wheel drive, switched it to two-wheel drive and headed off successfully. We all breathed a sigh of relief. Breakdowns like this are not uncommon at all, but our Safari vehicle, while sufficient was a piece of junk. Later that day the driver closed his door and the window shattered. Depsite all this, the vehicle served us well the whole time and we were proud of it by trips end!

The animals we saw were amazing - lions, leopards, elephants, ostriches, zebras, giraffes, wildebeest, hippos, lots of birds, and lots that I am forgetting. I will let the pictures speak for themselves, but pictures fail to capture what it feels like for a male lion to walk inches from your vehicle and then slowly wander past. We had to keep reminding ourselves that this was not a zoo, but a very wild place.

We enjoyed our evening camping in the Serengeti and enjoyed the stars in this remote location. I have never seen the Milky Way so bright. We sipped a glass of wine with SallyAnn and hit the sack in preparation for our 5:00 am wakeup.

We woke early, had a cup of coffee and hopped in the safari vehicle to get out on the plain for sunrise. The pictures will show it was incredible. An umbrella acacia tree makes the perfect foreground for a brightly colored sunrise. Our morning game drive allowed us to see a baby leopard climbing around on a tree, as well as a large herd of elephants. Our guide knew everything about every animal, so it was as educational as it was beautiful.

Ngorogoro

Off to Ngorogoro. Ngorogoro is a crater formed by an extinct volcano that has collapsed and left a crater about 20 km. wide. It is basically its own ecosystem as the animals that live here rarely leave the crater. The walls are steep and everything that is necessary to support life is in the crater. Again, the view is difficult to describe so check out the photos. Again, the wildlife was captivating (I am running out of adjectives!) and we were fortunate to witness a wildebeest giving birth. I have the video to prove it and we couldn’t believe what we were watching as the baby was born and then walking within five minutes. You think your baby is gifted? Don’t compare it to a wildebeest! There is much more to talk about, but it will have to wait til I see in person as I am getting tired of writing and my time on the internet is coming to an end.

We made it back to Arusha last night and are spending today planning the next leg of our journey. We are a bit weary of being such an obvious outsider in the city and are hoping to escape and have a bit of time not dealing with the day to day stress of being two of only a handful of Muzungus! We are having an incredible experience each day and are thankful for every opportunity. My journey is nearly half-way over and I can say it continues to transform me.

An Epic Day in Tanzania

We have arrived safely in Tanzania and were quickly very aware that we would have to adjust to a new culture, new transportation, new lanuguage, and new poeple. It is always a bit daunting, but today tested both Ari's and my patience (is this correct grammar, any english majors are free to edit that sentence!).

Have you ever been to an ATM that was temporarily down or out of money? So frustrating right? Have you ever been to 11 in a row? Ari and I felt like we were on The Amazing Race today and our objective was to visit every ATM in Arusha. The reward would be that when we got to the last ATM it would actually work! With a Mastercard though....try again. The race continued for about four hours! Needing to withdraw a hefty chunk of change to pay for our room and all of our safari, we had to utilize multiple ATM's, some working with Visa, some Mastercard, some with a limit of $100, some with a limit of $200. The ATM's have a camera and I think someone is watching so that if you are not crying - no money. Once the tears are running down your cheeks, you have clumps of hair in your hands, and you are saying a Hail Mary while you type in your PIN - ahhhhhh, sweet success!

If that were it, no big deal, just another day in Africa! Alas, the next challenge was to make a call with our cell phone. Ari bought a cheap SIM-capable phone in Rwanda, so that as we traveled we could buy a local SIM card and voila - phone acess. Hahahaha. The idea is sound, the network is only slightly better than AT&T in the US. Useless. Her phone, although the company works in Tanzania, her phone is locked to Tanzania SIM cards. No worries, we will just use the Rwanda SIM card at slightly higher rates. Hahahaha. We bought some minutes for her phone and saw what had become a mantra for the day. "Network failure" After about ten trips back and forth, in and out of cell phone offices, we eventually agreed that Ari's phone was cursed and would never work here. So, we decided to buy the cheapest ($16) cell that would work in Tanzania. After purchasing the phone, we were ready to make a call. Except we just needed to wait 5 hours for the phone to charge - ahhhhhh, sweet success!

If that were it, no big deal, just another day in Africa! Alas, the next challenge was to make sure that our safari price was not a ripoff. I had been working with an Austrailian woman to make the plans for our safari via email and she has been great! However, the number of people and price of our safari kept jumping around. Long story short.... we were on the phone with her about 10 times to finally settle on a price that will leave us paying a bit more than we would have liked and her company making no profit on this trip. She has been super apologetic and I have learned to get a set price or find someone else. We are excited about our trip, with this behind us and are hopeful that as soon as we set out for the Serengeti all our Arusha troubles will melt away!

Well, my computer says I am out of time and we need to walk back to the hostel where we will be picked up in about 45 mins! We are having a great time and know that these little setbacks are a mere inconvenience. Most of the people living here would be incredibly thankful to have any such opportunities that we do!!

Tanzania Bound

Ari and I have been battling some overactive sinuses and made the wise decision to not go out to the club last night. Neither of us is sick (at least it's not affecting us), but Ari has had a persistent (read.... annoying! :) ) cough.

Today we hung around the house knowing that the next couple of weeks we will not have the luxury of a home base! We (Ari) did some laundry by hand behind the house. This evening we Moto'ed up the road to the Space Joint for some goat brochette (goat kabobs) and chips (real french fries!). It was delicious and met our need for some protein after lots of vegetarian meals in a row. There is a great little group of expat's at this house and just around the corner and it is fun to hear everyones adventures each day. Tonight we have been busy packing, charging (ourselves and our cameras), cleaning up, and planning the next leg of our journey.

We fly to the Kiliminjaro Airport at 7:00 am tomorrow and our 4 day safari will start the next day. We are excited to be headed into the unknown and get a stamp on our passport that says Tanzania!

Kibuye....sweet, sweet Kibuye

Needing a break from the diesel fumes and chaos of city life, Ariana, Jamie, and I decided to head to western Rwanda to a small lake town called Kibuye. Kibuye is situated alongside Lake Kivu, a massive lake that provides much of the border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

We packed our things early to catch a bus downtown and then quickly go to another bus station to buy our tickets west. The busses are reasonably nice and everyone does get there own seat, which was contrary to the stories I had heard about people being packed in like sardines. We enjoyed an amazing three hour journey along curvy mountain roads that allowed us to really see the Rwandan countryside. It was beautiful. In a very small country with 8 million people almost every bit of land is being used in one way or another. Looking out over the mountains and valleys as we drove the land appeared as a bright green patchwork quilt. Despite incredibly steep hillsides, we saw farmers out in the fields everywhere. What struck me most was the variety of things being grown. In the US, I am so used to seeing cornfields that stretch for miles. Here the farming plots are generally not bigger than a few hundred yards and there are banana trees next to coffee plants next to corn next to vegetables. It is hard to describe how fertile and lush it appears.

Arriving in Kibuye, we quickly grabbed some Moto's and got a quick ride up to Centre Bethanie, our hotel for the night. It was like entering a tropical resort paradise. It sits perched high on a mountain peninsula with incredible views of Lake Kivu. We soaked it in for a few minutes and then headed to our hotel rooms to watch some TV. We watched several reruns of "The Bachelor" and then a couple of old B-rate movies. Just kidding. We headed into town to check out the big friday market. It was a nice long walk to town and we were excited to see the market. All I wanted to do was take pictures (it was a photographers dream), but this was the last thing that felt comfortable. After a few minutes it was quite obvious we were not interested in buying anything and we could barely move in the crowded market. Add the open air fish smell (lots of drying sardines) and the fact that the word Mizungu seemed to be coming from all directions and we decided to head back to the relaxing paradise at our hotel.

Back at the hotel, we enjoyed a leisurely swim in the lake before we met up with a guy we had met on the bus to go on a boat ride. The slow ride weaved us in and out of many islands before we stopped for a little break at "napoleons hat" island. Our guide had told us there were many birds here. Big deal right. What he didn't tell us was that we were about to be treated to a show of fruit bats like we could never imagine. We waited below while he flushed them out... thousands upon thousands of fruit bats flew above us and it was a magnificent spectacle. We stood in awe. I had to remind myself that I was on a small island in the middle of a lake in Africa watching a fruit bat colony take flight. Surreal.

We made our way back to the hotel as the locals returned by canoe from a long day at the market. Some amazing African dinner and we were in bed by 8:30 - exhausted.

Holding Hands

You may have heard a news story recently about a change in Ugandan law that now allows courts to punish homosexuals with life prison sentences or the death penalty. Eastern Africa in general is extremely intolerant of homosexuality. Coming from the place and culture I do, it is very difficult to accept this reality in this culture.

However, another interesting observation may seem in complete contrast to this when viewed from my own cultural context. It is very common for friends to walk down the street holding hands. Women with women. Men with men. There is such a strong anti-homosexual culture that is assumed that there is no romantic relationship. The two people holding hands seem to be expressing deep friendship.

To me, it is such a powerful display of friendship and in some ways I wish it was a part of my own culture.

The Genocide Memorial

The world stood by in complicit silence while 1,000,000 Rwandans were slaughtered. It would have taken less then 5,000 UN peacekeeping troops to stop the violence at any time. The UN troops numbering more than 5,000 had been recently removed for political reasons.

The tragedy that occurred here in 1994 in the span of a couple of months is difficult to comprehend. When I was in the States, I was horrified to hear about the genocide, but I was still removed enough to not fully understand the reality. After visiting the memorial today, I had to fight back tears as I looked at the pictures, read the stories, and stood near some mass graves that hold thousands of bodies. There was a tortuous feeling in my stomach as I realized there was no way to go back and prevent this.

As we left the memorial and eased back into the crowd bustling past I couldn't help but look around in amazement that life was normal again. Kids were running up to say, Bonjour, with a giant smile. I wondered what my life would have been if I had been born into different circumstances. Would I have the capacity and determination to continue?

I am inspired by Rwandans ceaseless hope.

Real World Rwanda

When I say Real World Rwanda, I am not talking about getting to see life like the locals, I have done lots of that already. I am talking about "when people stop being polite, and start getting real." Things got real in our house last night. I only wish there were camera crews to capture it all! Let me tell the story.

First the characters... Me. Ari. Jamie. Monique. Kelly. Antwon. And a Rwandan family of three. The first six live in the house, the Rwandan family is living behind the house in what used to be servant housing, a 10x10 brick room. The landlords of our house offered this space after the family was evicted, sick, and desperate. They cried with happiness for the safety it would afford them.

The scene...Antwon was home alone while the rest of us were at a friends house boozing it up. After a night of Gin & Fanta's, we headed home.

The situation.... When we walked in Antwon alerted us that his bag had been stolen from just inside the front door while he was there - he had only left the room to use the bathroom. The bag had his passport, credit cards, money, etc. All the important stuff. Last week Kelly's Ipod had been stolen from the same location. Mind you the house is behind a brick wall and locked gate, so the obvious suspects were the family that is living behind us. Lots of speculation and guessing, hemming and hawing, before a local friend put Antwon in touch with the neighborhood security team. They arrived did all the usual questioning, grilled the family who is here (they would not allow there room to be searched), brought in the milkman from down the street to question him, searched the yard. Meanwhile the rest of the cast was inside creating all the scenarios, discussing safety, why we dont have a guard (most houses do), and generally being tired and slightly tipsy investigators. Hours later the mystery had not been solved, and the family in back was very upset. They may lose their ability to stay safely here and be put back out onto the street. Eventually everyone went to bed, feeling a little uneasy about the safety of our stuff, and ready for the family to leave.

The next morning... Kelly woke up and was going about her routine when she noticed the missing bag just inside the door to her room. She had inadvertently picked it up and put it there the previous evening. Mystery solved.

Needless to say, some apologies were issued. The very nice Rwandan family is still here. People are not being real anymore and I am happy we are all back to being polite.

Kelly's Ipod was stolen and some legitimate concerns over the security of our stuff will still have to figured out, but all in all it was a interesting lesson in what our minds will do with a bunch of clues, but no real evidence.

Moto's

Since I have been in Kigali I have done lots of walking. By the time we have been done each day, my knee that I just had surgery on has been exhausted. So, more and more throughout the day we have been taking insanely cheap Moto rides. They are indeed cheap, but I would put much more emphasis on insane. Just about anyone who has a dirtbike is a Moto driver and there are thousands of them throughout the city. If you stop walking for more than a few seconds, a few Motos will drive up and park inches away indicating there desire to help you get from point A to point B. They want money. I have yet to be on a Moto whos gas tank hasn't been running below the Empty line on the gas gauge. You agree on a fare before leaving and then hop on carefully to avoid the scalding hot exhaust pipe on the right side. The next steps you should always do....Slide on a helmet, grap the little bar behind your butt, and start praying. They drive fast and the other cars, people, and obstacles on the road are merely cones for them to drive around. Moto's don't stop, they drive in the middle, they drive on the outside, they drive wherever they want. It is truly a great way to go if you need to get there fast. The locals ride without holding on whatsoever. When I ride, the driver has to help me unwrap my bloodless fingers from the bar I have been hanging on to.

1st Days in Rwanda

Well, Matt has inspired me to write down some of my memories so I can share them with my.... self someday. Being here and seeing life through such a novel lens has also turned my brain on in new ways. It is incredible to be surrounded by all new people, places, and products (except for Coke, which is everywhere).

I left Washington DC yesterday (or the day before...or three days ago, im not sure) on Ethiopian Air very aware that last week this airline had a major crash over the mediterranean. I watched closely from the airport as the plane was "inspected" - someone glances at the engines, kicks the tires a few times and walks slowly around the plane. This thorough inspection left me with the utmost confidence that we would fly safely to Africa. I was right. The trip to Rome was smooth and I got to watch Michael Jackson's "This is It" which was pretty entertaining. We refueled and headed to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where we changed planes. At the "security checkpoint" the metal detector and baggage scanner lost power and we had to wait while practically every airport employee came to confirm that sure enough the power was out. Eventually, someone in a white labcoat came to fix the thing and we were on our way to Entebbe, Uganda. Almost everyone, 200 out of 210, got off the plane in Uganda and I seriously wondered if maybe I shouldn't be getting off in this popular place. I didn't, and I met a nice man from Rwanda who had just gotten his PhD in the States. I asked him everything I could think of about Rwanda. I was at ease. Although that could have been the wine.

I arrived in Kigali, Rwanda and was so happy to be greeted by a smiling Ariana. Fortunately, a Rwandan friend of hers happened to be dropping someone off at the airport that day and was able to wait and give us a ride home. It was extremely hot and I still had my sweater on from the cold of Washington DC. We had a ten minute ride to the house and I quickly realized that I never want to drive in Rwanda. It is fast and there are no rules. Well, maybe their are rules but with thousands of motorcycles weaving in and out of traffic it was chaotic to say the least. We arrived home and I met Jamie who is from the States and on a similar internship journey to Ariana.

Shortly after arriving home, we walked about a mile up to the closest market. It was primarily a fruit and vegetable market, but also had every other thing you can imagine. I got my first dose of what it is to be a white person or "Mizungu" in Rwanda, as the kids come up shouting "Mizungu" followed usually very quickly followed by... Cash?. It is mostly playful and you just have to say No, but we are definitely seen as priveleged and rich. We are. The market is all about bargaining and everyone has special Mizungu prices. Jamie is a pro and she was able to get us a giant bag of locally grown fruits and vegetables for about $15 (7500 Rw. Francs.) We came home and had dinner and half a beer and I was curled up under our mosquito net by 7:45.

Day 2 - We woke up about 8:00 and had some breakfast (fresh pineapple & scrambled eggs). We made a plan to head to downtown Kigali for the day. With Jamie, we walked back to the bus stop, a huge empty dirt lot next to the market that has tons of 15 passenger vans waiting to depart to all areas of the city. We found one for downtown and once it was full, we had about a 20 minute ride to the downtown "bus station." (on a side note, I feel like I could put everything in quotes because the developing world is such a far cry from a modern nation. It does not feel destitute or desperate, but life seems more based around survival than work or "progress.") After arriving downtown, we walked around some busy commercial streets. The interaction of motorized traffic and pedestrian traffic is an ongoing dance and I am amazed that more people are not run over. There are people everywhere. Everywhere. The business scene is full of small (10x10) nooks that sell any crap that the Chinese can manufacture. We eventually made our way to a market that sold African arts & crafts and I was pleasantly surprised by what we found. While most of it is made in massive quantities, it is not plastic and it is not from China. We perused for a while, bought a few things and headed to the bank. We tried a couple banks and were unsuccesful in finding anyone who would cash a travelers check. These seem to be reserved for the western world. Eventually I changed some cash to local currency and we were on our way. Ari and I walked for a bit discovering lots of little shops and then ventured to the school where Ari had her classes and had a nice picnic lunch (fresh bagels... made by an organization that is teaching kids marketable skills like cooking bagels... tomatoes, and avocado). We stopped by the Cafe Bourbon for a very Western fruit smoothie and it was like stepping out of Rwanda and into your local coffee shop. Such a strange juxtaposition of wealth and poverty here. We met back up with Jamie and visited a few more shops, checked out the bus station that Ari and I will use for our excursion to Western Rwanda later this week, and then went to a local artists collective to check out some amazing paintings. It was in the middle of a residential neighborhood and nearly everyone had a glance at us, said Mizungu, hello, or bonjour. Ari and Jamie are both beautiful and make quite an impression walking down the street, I am not sure if anyone even saw me! Ari bought an amazing painting and I will be back later to buy another! This was the truly local art where we could be sure the money was helping the artists. We walked a bit more, had a Fanta, and headed home.... it was a hot and dirty day and we all needed a "shower" (rinse under a waist high cold water faucet.) I have just finished a couple of local beers and we are headed to a friends house for some more cocktails!

On the whole, Rwanda is a fascinating place with lots of friendly people going about their business. I feel incredibly fortunate for the life I have already and have lots of difficult contrasts of culture and class to work out in my head. I am so glad to with Ariana and a house full of other Mizungus with to share stories with at the end of each day!