Back in Arusha

            We left Mto wa Mbu on Thursday and it was incredibly sad saying goodbye to all of the amazing friends that I made there.  Wednesday night we had a party with a campfire, beef-kabobs, Safari beer and pilau.  As always, the bus ride back to Arusha was interesting.  In a minivan sized dala-dala we somehow managed to squeeze 28 people, a month's worth of luggage for 7 people, and a screaming baby that peed on my friends’ feet. All for 3 hours. Thanksgiving went well, everyone decided that going to a restaurant would be more fun and productive than trying to cook at home over a fire so we went to a Mediterranean restaurant and ordered tapas and then all left starving.  Writing our ISPs has been painful and boring as long papers always are, but we are all excited to finish early and then have a last week in Arusha to hang out before the program ends. I can’t believe that I only have 10 days left until I come home! It’s definitely bittersweet.  But I still have a little bit of time to put off my emotions of coming home. Next week I am planning on visiting my Bangatan Mama and exploring all of the amazing markets here in Arusha!

Mto wa Mbu

ISP has been a great experience but is definitely a marathon. On the bus ride to Mto wa Mbu, where I am collecting my data, we were squished in to the usual level, with people sitting in your lap, when the bus stopped suddenly. Lots of people got out and were peeing on the side of the road but then just sat down outside.  We were extremely confused about why they weren’t getting back on when half the bus squeezed into a minivan and left. It took us another 20 minutes to realize that the bus had broken down and we were waiting for the next one from Arusha.  After an hour, the next bus showed up, already full.  But there is always room for one more in Tanzanian transportation, and we managed to slam 15 more people onto the already overflowing bus.  Needless to say, it was an interesting hour’s drive.

Mto wa Mbu has given me even more opportunities to battle bugs in Tanzania.  Giant three inch wolf spiders, six inch beetles, and thousands of mosquitos have allowed me to toughen up my anxiety to bugs.  Also living here for a month has its advantages because I can get in with the locals.  My friends and I decided to go into town to watch a big soccer game that all of the locals were talking about. Manchester vs. the Arsenals. Soccer is huge here, and since most people don’t have cable, everyone in Mto wa Mbu was downtown to watch the game.  Two local bars had screens and everyone paid an entrance fee.  It was insane.  I have never been in a more fan crazy environment, and that’s saying a lot since I grew up as a Buckeye fan.  My friends stayed outside and grabbed a couple drinks while I went in to see the game.  The guy next to me kept making fun of me for being white and I was annoyed because the entire town was literally cheering on 2 practically all white soccer teams.  But I looked around and I noticed that I was the only white person in the crowed room of hundreds of people and one of maybe three girls. 

Mto wa Mbu has definitely exposed me to some new things.  My grandparents have a cow farm in Pennsylvania and the candy “cow tails” have always been pretty popular.  But last week I got to try my first real cow tail.  It was definitely tough, thick skin (void of most hair), not much meat and cartilage. I wouldn’t recommend it. And I don’t know if I will ever be eating the candy cow tails again.

My project has actually turned out to be pretty cool. I am studying cultural tourism, which consumes of me spending 5 days with Tanzanian painters, 5 days with the famous Makonde carvers, and going on tours with the tourists and guides.  The cultural tours allow me to “do research” by going on bike rides to lake Manyara to see flamingos and other animals, chat with locals, learn more about tribal cultures, drink local banana beer, and eat Tanzanian food. So I can’t complain too much.  I also got the chance to spend 5 days with the painters who are amazing and taught me how to paint giraffes.  And I just started my research with the Makonde.  But in addition to my studies, I am taking carving lessons from a different group of Makonde in the afternoons and they are incredibly nice. I am learning how to carve my own elephant and they promise me that I will be able to make one completely by myself before I leave. 

I really love Mto wa Mbu, the people here are amazing and the atmosphere is great. My next challenge is going to be making a Thanksgiving dinner without a grocery store, and with only a fire! I know that it will be an interesting experience! Happy Thanksgiving!

Safari Adventures

The past two weeks have been indescribable. We traveled to the Ngorongoro crater, Oluvai Gorge, the Serengeti, and into the Rift Valley for Maasai home stay.  In the crater we had the opportunity to see 2 black rhinos, out of only 200 in all of Tanzania. The campsite was also very open to wildlife and zebras and elephants wandered within 25 feet of us. Also, Ngorongoro has the highest predator to prey ratio of anywhere in Tanzania so we enjoyed seeing multiple groups of lions, hyenas, and jackals. In addition to the animals, we got to visit Olduvai Gorge, where many species of humans over the course of evolution have been found.

At the Serengeti we had a chance to study a group of animals and for me that meant that I had three extra mornings to watch 2-3 week old baby elephants fall all over themselves. We also saw well over 20 lions and tons of hyenas.  One night a pack of spotted hyenas came into our camp in search of food.  They found a trashcan but then they started to fight amongst each other for the food. The fighting was loud enough to wake up almost every student and from under the flies of our tents we could see their paws.  There was one within 10 feet of my tent and the laughing that they are so famous for was pretty damn terrifying.

After leaving the Serengeti we spent one night at the local favorite “Peace and Love Bar and Guest House” and had a great time celebrating our last safari. It wasn’t until after we were signed in that we realized that the Peace and Love Bar really was more of a brothel, but it was fun nonetheless! Then we traveled on to Maasai land in Engaresero.  In less than 5 minutes of driving temperatures went from hot to unbearably hot when we hit the rift wall. After arriving at our campsite several of us were lying in the shade when something slithered by me less than a foot away.  I sat up and everyone turned to stare at the snake.  It was red with a black head and roughly 4 feet long. It stopped, raised its head and then proceeded to try to slither up our tents. One of the extremely animal friendly people on our trip tried to pick it up to no avail while we got Baba Jack and asked what kind of snake it was.  The Maasai men at the campsite confirmed that it was a poisonous cobra and they all pulled out their spears and daggers to kill it but it escaped just in time.

The next day Maasai homestay began and I got the chance to live in an incredibly traditional way for four days.  The huts or bomas are made of cow dung and the beds are cowhide.  After arriving my family dressed me in their shukas and jewelry and then sent me to the river with my sister and her friend to bathe. While I bathed my sister washed my underwear and then laid them out to dry while she washed my hair for me. Sadly, my underwear didn’t dry in time for me to put it back on so my sister laid it on her head for better sun exposure and gave my bra to her friend. I also learned how to make Maasai jewelry, milk goats, dance and jump like a Maasai, carry wood, and sleep without any personal space.  Privacy and personal space are foreign to the Maasai and that was by far the hardest thing for me to deal with.  Each night when we went to bed my Mama would pull the cowhide outside and lay it on the ground with a log for us to use as a pillow. Then, as it got cold at night we would pull the cowhide inside and all sleep in the hot boma together. Hygiene was not too important and multiple times I saw my Mama drop peeled and prepared yams into the dirt with cow and goat poop.  She would kind of rub it off and then throw them in with the other food. One of my friends was milking a goat when the goat pooped into the cup that the milk was in. She apologized to which her family replied “hamna shida”, no worries, and proceeded to dump the bad milk into the jar with all of the other milk.  I was able to go to a dance one night when the women were getting ready to sacrifice a goat to the gods for rain.  The women all wore incredible jewelry that jingles when they move and they formed a circle around a goat in the middle of the boma. The women would jump and chant together and although I eventually went to bed, the dancing continued until dawn. Then they took the goat to the base of the Maasai holy mountain and sacrificed it in order to bring about the rainy season.

After the four days all of the students were happy to see each other again and be back at the campsite.  Together we killed a goat and drank its blood, a Maasai tradition.  Then we each had the opportunity to be branded by a Maasai.  In Maasai culture branding is a form of beautification that everyone has all over their bodies. Getting a brand was definitely a great way to end our safari and remind me of the amazing experiences that I have had in the past two weeks and during my entire time here in Tanzania.