Happy leap day everyone! Today in school, my classmates and I were thinking back to where we were on leap day four years ago. I was a junior in high school. I cannot even believe how quickly four years passes. And how many things have changed in such a short period of time. I can guarantee you that during my junior year at Longmeadow High School, I didn’t have any expectations of traveling to Africa to study wildlife conservation and political ecology during college. Well, I once again would like to apologize for the lack of updates you‘ve been given recently. The internet is particularly unreliable in the city, and while in our home stays we only have internet once a week. Last Wednesday, I was looking forward to telling you all about my family, the Eluidi household, but an unpredicted storm knocked most of the internet capabilities out for the day. Thus two weeks will be condensed into this post.
To get you started, my classmates and I arrived in the village of Bangata, Tanzania on Sunday morning, February 19. Here are a few small facts about my new home, Bangata. It is a small community on the outward slopes of one of Tanzania’s famous mountains, Mount Meru. The village is bordered by the Kichakare River in the East, the Songata River in the west (which I cross every day), and in the north by the protected forests of Mount Meru. All roads from Arusha to Bangata are bumpy dirt roads, that take almost as long to drive up as they do to walk. The level of poverty is relatively high, where as many families still live without power, or even easy access to fresh water. Some families have to walk over a mile to reach a water source, fill their buckets, and return to their homes in order to get water. These first couple days have really made me realize how especially lucky I am to have easy access to an important resource such as clean water.
Pulling into the school driveway was nerve wracking. My heart started hammering, seeing all of our new family members sitting outside of the school welcoming us to our new home. Diving into such a diverse culture is unlike anything I had expected. Though my family has been beyond welcoming, I still have to work hard to adjust to the cultural differences I am facing. My family is composed of my mama (mother), Mary, my Baba (father), Godson, my two Kaka (brothers), Godbless and Abraham, and my two Dada (sisters), Rose and Sarah. Godbless is the eldest, eighteen, Abraham following at fifteen, then Rose at ten, and Sarah is the youngest, only three years old.
I immediately fell into the well-oiled routine of my new family. In the morning, we eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for breakfast. There’s chai (tea) and always hot water. I leave the house at 7:15 and say goodbye to Mama who has never failed to be milking the cows as I walk out the door. Rosy, leaves before me for primary school, as does Abraham, for secondary school. Sarah, is usually up and by this time, trying to get me to play with her. As Godbless has completed secondary school, every day he is out searching for college early in the morning. I believe he was accepted yesterday into a college as well! My mother and father were excitedly talking over an official looking document that he had brought to the dinner table.
After our morning chai and bread, I meet a student, Danielle, who lives nearby, and we walk/hike to class together. The walk or I guess you could call it more of a slide, to school is interesting... Especially when it has rained the night before. Our morning walk to school is pretty much a mud pathway down the side of a mountain, jumping from rock to rock through the Songota River, and then hiking back up a steep mud trail on the other side. We’ve gotten lost three times; all of which we took a wrong turn and ended up on a completely different, far more complicated, hike home. One of our “getting lost adventures“ took us across two streams, before George and Lenny (to all you Of Mice and Men fans, I‘m not kidding) , two helpful Tanzanian’s walked us all the way back to our rightful homes. Other than getting lost I’ve slipped a few times on the path, and fell in the river once… Poise has never been my forte.
So back to my family. My Mama works around the house all day, and my father is a guide on Kilimanjaro and Meru hikes. She milks the cows, sweeps the floor, does the laundry, and cooks every day. She is one of the hardest working women I’ve met. My father just got back home from hiking with two Swedish hikers on Kilimanjaro two days ago.
Rosy, my 10 year old sister is the sweetest little girl. She speaks English pretty well for such a young age, and is constantly pointing to things and helping me learn Swahili vocabulary. A couple nights ago she helped me with my Swahili homework, and in return I helped her with her math. She was working on multiplication of double digit numbers and was having trouble with the methodology. Even with the language barrier I was able to communicate the correct way to multiply to her, and she really began to understand how to do the problems better. Ever since she’s been writing down problems, doing them out, and making me check if she has the correct answer or not. This connection I’ve made with her is one of the most rewarding relations that I’ve had on this trip so far.
Sarah on the other hand is a piece of work, always drawing on my homework and knocking on my door when I’m trying to sleep. But she is adorable and when I’m not trying to work, very fun to play and run around with.
So, Today I’m in Arusha buying some gifts to give my family when I leave in 10 days. I’ve gotten my mom candle sticks, oven mitts, and soap, for my father a wallet and a hat, my brothers hats, playing cards, and a soccer ball, for my sisters play-doh, colored pencils, crayons, a necklace for rosy, and a stuffed animal for Sarah. I’m also making them an American meal tonight: Mac and Cheese, hot dogs, and cucumber salad. It should be interesting, I also have mangoes and cookies for desert. Later we stopped at the market place with our Swahili teachers, in order to practice our marketplace vocabulary. I am in one of the groups making fruit salad for tomorrow, and I had to barter for these little bananas the locals call “ndizi sukari” or sugar bananas. I got the price down from 2000 Tanzanian shillings to 1000 Tanzanian shillings which is less than a dollar for about 14 bananas.
School has been going well, we have class every morning from eight to around one, with a short break in between for tea. Yes, “tea time” is very big in Tanzania. Then in the afternoons we either have our political ecology lectures or a discussion with a focal group made up of citizens living around Bangata. Last Thursday we talked about how they believed development was effecting their community and the way they lived. We talked about corruption, education, and lack of infrastructure with increasing aid. Many of the mothers and fathers in my focal group focused on the fact that though many more young Tanzanians are going to school, less money is being given to help build bathrooms, or bring running water to the school. They complain that the government promises better roads, but they never see the money, or the labor necessary to accomplish this goal. In this respect I have found it very interesting to think about global aid through the eyes of the Tanzanians.
Well I better run, hopefully, I’ll be able to tell you more soon
-Emma
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
Its A New Day
Mambo Everyone! My fourth week in Africa is well underway, and I’m finally starting to get used to washing my laundry by hand. We spent our third week in Tanzania basking in the 80 degree heat at Mazumbai Tropical Forest. After an eight hour drive, the last two hours of which seeming to last terrifying longer than that, we finally made it to the forest. We drove straight up the mountain on dirt roads, veering past cars and flying around corners. A little vertigo later, we arrived at the most beautiful campsite I have ever seen. We spent the week camping on the lawn of a Swiss Chalet, equipped with a moat, fireplace, and one of the most beautiful views of the mountains that I’ve ever seen.
Our first day there, we hiked for six hours and then proceeded to go off on our own and “greet the forest”, our only rule: Be back by nightfall. I spent those next four hours in one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Following a small stream, I made my way through the bush and brambles (luckily avoiding the nettles completely), hopped from stone to stone across a precariously dirty stream, and found my way to a large stone platform. I can only describe it as a flat rock, overlooking a 50 yard open area complete with a waterfall, encircled by banana trees and taller brush. It was absolutely stunning and the acoustics we‘re unlike anything I had ever heard. I spent about 3 hours of my time there singing Bon Iver and Barcelona songs.
Anyway, for the next couple days, we researched horizontal and vertical stratification strategies in the forest, I won't bore you with the details, but basically we were tromping through the forest measuring DBH (diameter at breast height), height, and crown cover, of trees in our transects. We also spent a good portion of our time doing Baba Jack boot camp. Our AD led a workout every day so we could try and stay in shape with all the chipati we’ve been eating. (hopefully I’ll be able to make it for all of you when I come home!)
Baba Jack boot camp was strikingly similar to cross fit, the work out program we use on swim team… for all my swimmers, you should know Angie made an appearance on Monday. I also finished reading The Book Thief on my kindle, and if you haven’t read it yet, when you get some spare time, you really should. I was immediately drawn into the story and finished reading it in three days.
We left Mazumbai yesterday, and spent last night at a karaoke bar in Arusha. Because we have a free day today, we were able to stay out late, and enjoy ourselves in the city. I did wake up at 7 this morning and do my laundry though… lame. But tomorrow we head to our home stays, so I would prefer to have clean laundry for when I meet my new "familiy". I'm anxious to meet my new mom, dad, sisters, and brothers. I’m really nervous but I’m also excited. This is such a new experience and amazing opportunity!
Well,
I'm off. Hopefully you'll hear from me around Wednesday, and I'll be able to tell you all about my sisters and brothers.
Until next time,
Emma
Our first day there, we hiked for six hours and then proceeded to go off on our own and “greet the forest”, our only rule: Be back by nightfall. I spent those next four hours in one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Following a small stream, I made my way through the bush and brambles (luckily avoiding the nettles completely), hopped from stone to stone across a precariously dirty stream, and found my way to a large stone platform. I can only describe it as a flat rock, overlooking a 50 yard open area complete with a waterfall, encircled by banana trees and taller brush. It was absolutely stunning and the acoustics we‘re unlike anything I had ever heard. I spent about 3 hours of my time there singing Bon Iver and Barcelona songs.
Anyway, for the next couple days, we researched horizontal and vertical stratification strategies in the forest, I won't bore you with the details, but basically we were tromping through the forest measuring DBH (diameter at breast height), height, and crown cover, of trees in our transects. We also spent a good portion of our time doing Baba Jack boot camp. Our AD led a workout every day so we could try and stay in shape with all the chipati we’ve been eating. (hopefully I’ll be able to make it for all of you when I come home!)
Baba Jack boot camp was strikingly similar to cross fit, the work out program we use on swim team… for all my swimmers, you should know Angie made an appearance on Monday. I also finished reading The Book Thief on my kindle, and if you haven’t read it yet, when you get some spare time, you really should. I was immediately drawn into the story and finished reading it in three days.
We left Mazumbai yesterday, and spent last night at a karaoke bar in Arusha. Because we have a free day today, we were able to stay out late, and enjoy ourselves in the city. I did wake up at 7 this morning and do my laundry though… lame. But tomorrow we head to our home stays, so I would prefer to have clean laundry for when I meet my new "familiy". I'm anxious to meet my new mom, dad, sisters, and brothers. I’m really nervous but I’m also excited. This is such a new experience and amazing opportunity!
Well,
I'm off. Hopefully you'll hear from me around Wednesday, and I'll be able to tell you all about my sisters and brothers.
Until next time,
Emma
Friday, February 10, 2012
Its All Unchartered
So, I’ve been in Africa for two weeks now. I’ve seen lions, cheetah, zebras, elephants, impala, giraffe, tortoise, and monkeys galore. We spent a couple days in the city, Arusha, and I learned the art of bartering for a price for everything you buy. I met a man who has 25 wives and 120 children. I’ve learned to identify over 60 species of birds, and I can say my favorite bird is the von der deeken Hornbill. I’ve learned the cultures of the Massai Tribes, and attended a very “interesting” Lutheran church ceremony. In only two weeks, I’ve begin to understand what it means to truly be a Tanzanian, and I’m starting to grasp what values they live by.
So last week, we attended a Lutheran church meeting in a Massai community. We were welcomed with open arms into their little church, complete with a tin roof and 14 rows of benches. The music in the church was particularly interesting. Unfortunately, most of the music was played on a small plastic keyboard, and all the singing involved pre-recorded keyboard tunes. But overall the music was so entirely unique. There was one part of the service where three women were chanting, two women were doing traditional Massai singing, which the children would repeat. The music was what I would call beautiful chaos. The speeches though I couldn’t understand them, were passionately expressed and once translated, I understood that each speech was about how you should always do good in your life no matter the hardships you go through. I sincerely enjoyed the respectful and open environment this church showed us. Afterwards we went to a bar and I tried some of the local brews, such as Tusker (which coincidently you can get in the united States), Kilimanjaro, and Safari.
This week, we spent at Tarangire National Park. We split up into three groups and left early in the morning to collect data on either ruminates, non-ruminates, and birds. I was in the group that researched the various species of birds in the grasslands and the riverhine. Once we compiled our data, we were able to run our calculations and report our conclusions to the rest of the group. This was excellent practice for our independent study projects that we will begin at the end of the semester. As well as collecting data, we were able to act as tourists for the afternoon. We saw wild dogs (which apparently our AD, Baba Jack, hasn’t seen in 5 years! So this was a rare occasion!) cheetahs, and lions on just the second day in Tarangire!
I’m off to Mozumbai, a tropical forest, tomorrow (an eight hour drive…) to do more research and then my homestay begins a week after that!! My homestay family has two sons, two daughters, and four cows! I can’t wait!
Hope all is well in America!
P.S. here are some pictures!!
So last week, we attended a Lutheran church meeting in a Massai community. We were welcomed with open arms into their little church, complete with a tin roof and 14 rows of benches. The music in the church was particularly interesting. Unfortunately, most of the music was played on a small plastic keyboard, and all the singing involved pre-recorded keyboard tunes. But overall the music was so entirely unique. There was one part of the service where three women were chanting, two women were doing traditional Massai singing, which the children would repeat. The music was what I would call beautiful chaos. The speeches though I couldn’t understand them, were passionately expressed and once translated, I understood that each speech was about how you should always do good in your life no matter the hardships you go through. I sincerely enjoyed the respectful and open environment this church showed us. Afterwards we went to a bar and I tried some of the local brews, such as Tusker (which coincidently you can get in the united States), Kilimanjaro, and Safari.
This week, we spent at Tarangire National Park. We split up into three groups and left early in the morning to collect data on either ruminates, non-ruminates, and birds. I was in the group that researched the various species of birds in the grasslands and the riverhine. Once we compiled our data, we were able to run our calculations and report our conclusions to the rest of the group. This was excellent practice for our independent study projects that we will begin at the end of the semester. As well as collecting data, we were able to act as tourists for the afternoon. We saw wild dogs (which apparently our AD, Baba Jack, hasn’t seen in 5 years! So this was a rare occasion!) cheetahs, and lions on just the second day in Tarangire!
I’m off to Mozumbai, a tropical forest, tomorrow (an eight hour drive…) to do more research and then my homestay begins a week after that!! My homestay family has two sons, two daughters, and four cows! I can’t wait!
Hope all is well in America!
P.S. here are some pictures!!
Thursday, February 2, 2012
I Can See For Miles Miles Miles
Speechless.
Truthfully. When we had to set up our tent around midnight, before dinner, on our first night, I was speechless.
As well as when I woke up to the sunrise over Mt. Kilimanjaro and ate dinner to the sunset over Mt. Meru. My experience in Africa so far has been more than I had ever expected. I've seen zebra, elephants, impala, been less than ten feet away from giraffes, and watched a baby wildebeest find its way back to its mother. I've watched the sunset from a tree house, hiked a mountain to learn about the Savannah, and purchased jewelery from Massai tribe women.
The campsite we stayed at during orientation week, Ndarakwai Ranch, is just beautiful, and as you can assume from the title, from my tent, in the middle of the field, I could see all the way to Kenya. seriously. The black hills of Kenya were just off to the distance in between Kili and Meru.
But we came back to Arusha after our week in the bush, and other than being a little overwhelmed I'm adjusting to the city well. At first I was concerned about food, theft, getting lost. But I'm happy to report that my second day in the city is going much smoother. I've acquired a cell phone (yay) and gotten somewhat used to the harassment from the Tanzanians who would like you to buy their products. Its very similar to cities in America in that respect.
This morning we had our first Swahili lesson. The language isn't too difficult, but when you are trying to talk to the locals, and you screw up, I've found they just laugh and walk away. I guess right now, to you I would say Habari za mwema, because most of you are sleeping. (pretty sure its about 6:00 AM - which is the time we wake up every morning here...) Anyway, this means -- how is your night? Tanzanians don't usually use this phrase because you would only ask someone who is in the middle of the evening this question, and they would most likely be asleep...
Anyway, I've already made some really great friends on this trip. I'm sitting next to my friend Jenny in an Internet cafe right now. She is a singer too and she hails from Chicago. We're going to a karaoke bar tonight! So, there are twenty-eight students on our trip, and I've pretty much gotten to know each of them. We had some free time during orientation, and we would play games, cards, or just sit around and chat, which I think was a very effective way to get to know my new classmates.
Okay well, Ill be on safari in either the Serengeti or Norongoro crater next week, so It'll be about a week until my next post. Hopefully Ill be able to do that on my own computer so I can post some photographs!!
I hope everything is going well wherever you are,
I miss you all!!
kwa heri!
Emma
Truthfully. When we had to set up our tent around midnight, before dinner, on our first night, I was speechless.
As well as when I woke up to the sunrise over Mt. Kilimanjaro and ate dinner to the sunset over Mt. Meru. My experience in Africa so far has been more than I had ever expected. I've seen zebra, elephants, impala, been less than ten feet away from giraffes, and watched a baby wildebeest find its way back to its mother. I've watched the sunset from a tree house, hiked a mountain to learn about the Savannah, and purchased jewelery from Massai tribe women.
The campsite we stayed at during orientation week, Ndarakwai Ranch, is just beautiful, and as you can assume from the title, from my tent, in the middle of the field, I could see all the way to Kenya. seriously. The black hills of Kenya were just off to the distance in between Kili and Meru.
But we came back to Arusha after our week in the bush, and other than being a little overwhelmed I'm adjusting to the city well. At first I was concerned about food, theft, getting lost. But I'm happy to report that my second day in the city is going much smoother. I've acquired a cell phone (yay) and gotten somewhat used to the harassment from the Tanzanians who would like you to buy their products. Its very similar to cities in America in that respect.
This morning we had our first Swahili lesson. The language isn't too difficult, but when you are trying to talk to the locals, and you screw up, I've found they just laugh and walk away. I guess right now, to you I would say Habari za mwema, because most of you are sleeping. (pretty sure its about 6:00 AM - which is the time we wake up every morning here...) Anyway, this means -- how is your night? Tanzanians don't usually use this phrase because you would only ask someone who is in the middle of the evening this question, and they would most likely be asleep...
Anyway, I've already made some really great friends on this trip. I'm sitting next to my friend Jenny in an Internet cafe right now. She is a singer too and she hails from Chicago. We're going to a karaoke bar tonight! So, there are twenty-eight students on our trip, and I've pretty much gotten to know each of them. We had some free time during orientation, and we would play games, cards, or just sit around and chat, which I think was a very effective way to get to know my new classmates.
Okay well, Ill be on safari in either the Serengeti or Norongoro crater next week, so It'll be about a week until my next post. Hopefully Ill be able to do that on my own computer so I can post some photographs!!
I hope everything is going well wherever you are,
I miss you all!!
kwa heri!
Emma
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