Friday, March 16, 2012

Sun in the Sky

It seems almost impossible that we’re already in the middle of March, halfway through my journey in Tanzania. So much has happened in the past few weeks that I want to fill you in on. Last week I bid farewell to my home-stay family after a long mid-terms week. We spent the week writing papers and taking a Swahili exam. We had to write a paper about one globalization issue in the town of Bangata, and I chose globalization and its influence on children in the town. My paper centered on media influence, influence by American students in the town, parents, and the relatively new education system in Tanzania at the time. I mentioned strongly how my three year old sister Sarah, would run into the room and rap to American music, singing lyrics that even I would have trepidation to sing aloud. Surprisingly I did very well on my Swahili midterm and was able to discuss with my teachers what my plans were for the next week and what I would be studying for my independent study. At the end of the week after our exams and papers had been completed, our teachers and SIT staff threw a small party for us, where we had to perform short Swahili skits for our families entertainment. I really enjoyed the party, and my mom made me a traditional Swahili dress to wear! Ill attach pictures at the end of the post so you can all see my dress!
After our party we returned home to spend our last night with our families. We took photographs, exchanged pictures, and laughed about the little mistakes that I made throughout the course of our three week stay. That night I helped my mom make chipati and lentils for dinner, my absolute favorite Tanzanian dish. Chipati is sort of like a Tanzanian pancake, made of flour, eggs, sugar, and oil. It is particularly impressive to watch Tanzanian women cook because they do not use any type of measuring equipment, and rarely use any utensils or hotplates. It would shock me every time my mama stuck her hand in the pot of boiling water in order to flip the chipati or check if the pasta had finished cooking. But I’ve learned the basics of making a lot of different types of Tanzanian food, and I can’t wait to bring them home and share it with all of you!
Anyway, on Saturday, my father, brothers, and sister all walked me down to the stop where the cars were waiting to drive us back to town. My sister asked if I would return later that evening and my brother wouldn’t say goodbye. He told me that he wanted to see me again before I left Tanzania and I order to be sure of that, he wasn’t going to say goodbye until then. It was hard to say goodbye to my family but we exchanged our information so I know we will be keeping in touch throughout the next couple of years.
That Sunday, myself and eight other students, woke up around five thirty to begin our long expedition to the coast for our independent study research week. The unfortunate eight hour bus ride left us cranky and sore, and the two hour dala-dala ride didn’t offer any relaxation, but it was worth it when we arrived in the little town of Ushongo! We all experienced a sudden surge of energy when we set up our tents on the beach right in front of the bright blue Indian ocean! We stayed at a hotel called Drifters, complete with two guard dogs, crabs that crawl on your tent at night, and an adorable kitten that we took the liberty to name chumvi. (Swahili for salt)
My independent study project focuses on the diversity of coral reef fish in the outer reef system in Ushongo. In April, I will be going out into the ocean with another student every day, and we will be spending around six hours a day collecting transect data on fish and coral health. We have made a deal with one of the town fisherman, who will be bringing us into the ocean each day. This way, we will also be able to buy fresh fish off for dinner straight off the boat!
We returned last night, and we’re off to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater tomorrow for Safari and right after we will begin our second home-stay with a Massai family. Ill be off the internet for about two weeks, so expect another long update then!
Baadaye!
Emma

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