Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Day 38 - Back to Work!
It has not been an easy transition since returning from Zanzibar. We were all aware of the schedule before leaving, but it has been hard to refocus on constant studying after returning from, quite literally, paradise.
Apologies for the lack of updates in the past week and a half, although there hasn't been too much to report. We have returned to living on campus at TCDC during the week but continue to stay with our host families during the weekend. We are also getting ready for next week - reminiscent of Finals Week in college - as we have two papers, two presentations, an oral proficiency examination and a final written examination. Working on those projects has required much of my time but I did manage to have some interesting experiences during the past week and a half.
Last Thursday, we went to Usa Market, which is a smaller non-tourist market by our campus. I wasn't too thrilled about going, since we have had a lot of practice speaking in markets already. I also didn't see many things I wanted to buy - used t-shirts, watches, backpacks, fruits, vegetables, etc. didn't interest me. After an hour a group of us were about to leave when I walked by a particular vendor on the fringe of the market. I noticed he was selling belts with a rectangular buckle of the American flag. As I came closer to the buckle, the picture changed to President Obama. It was most definitely a hologram of the flag and Obama. Naturally, I bought it. Tomorrow we are going to go to the ICTR - International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which should be extremely interesting. We are encouraged to wear formal clothes - I will be wearing brown shoes, khaki pants, blue shirt and tie, and the Obama belt.
This past weekend with our host family was also enjoyable. Saturday, Hugh and I went into Arusha to run some errands and visit the Maasai Market. We successfully made it to the market (which is geared for tourists) and went around shopping. It was very reminiscent of Zanzibar - constantly getting hounded for business. After we returned we went for a short hike with Beda, our 14 year old host brother, down to the nearby river. It was evident that it was the hang-out for the village kids, as about 10 kids were by the river swimming and playing on the rocks. We ran with the kids for a bit, which entailed them laughing as Hugh and I struggled to keep up. Either way, it was a lot of fun. We returned in the evening and spent the evening at home.
On Sunday Hugh and I explored more of Moivaro (the village where our host family lives). We walked about 15 minutes down the road to find "Moivaro Lodge and Coffee Plantation." We had heard many stories about this place, mostly pertaining to its cost ("A beer is five U.S. dollars!!") so we decided to check it out. We walked through the gate and came to find it encompassed a large area of land. We then walked back into the 'plantation' and found the central building and restaurant. Needless to say, it was wazungu central, but it was indeed nice. We stopped into the gift shop (it's always nice to speak in Swahili with Tanzanians in overtly tourist locations, since they are so used to speaking English only) to find that the prices were in U.S. dollars (always a bad sign for overpriced goods) and they were at least 5 times the amount a tourist can get away with at a local market. We left after a short conversation.
After we returned home, I helped Beda with some of his math homework. It was a fairly basic lesson but it had been too long since my last math class! I think I helped a small degree, but it was a little frustrating. We then learned the process of coffee production. Eastern Africa (northern Tanzania in particular) is famous for its coffee, so this was a treat. Our host dad has a coffee business in addition to his regular job at TCDC, so he owns several areas of land in the area for coffee production, but he also has some coffee plants by the house. We didn't experience the process of picking the seeds, peeling them and drying the beans, but we did basically everything else. It was a process of crushing the seeds to find the beans (the picture below is from this step), separating the seeds 'husks' from the beans, cleaning the beans to ensure no husk is remaining, and then roasting! It was a lot of fun - not to mention the treat of having the coffee for breakfast the next day!
After coffee, our host parents took us to Lake Duluti, which is another conservation area near Arusha. It was a beautiful lake and reminded me of some of the lakes in Montana (minus the Rocky Mountains in the background). We spent several hours there, watching the sunset and having dinner. After we returned, we spoke with our host dad about a possible gift to the family. Hugh previously knew that slaughtering a goat was a celebratory event for the Chagga (the ethnic group my host family is apart of) so we offered to pay for the process as a gift when we leave. Little did we know that, since it is still fairly soon after the funeral for our host dad's brother, the slaughtering of a goat would culturally also be included with the funeral celebration (after so many days, usually a goat is slaughtered to celebrate the end of the mourning period). In other words, what was initially a small gesture of appreciation, to be experienced by our immediate host family, myself, and Hugh, has now become an extended family (and perhaps friends, village, etc.) affair. Our host dad made sure we understood that "this would not be a small gathering." In my mind, that makes it much more enjoyable and worthwhile. He was saying how much his family would appreciate us doing this and how it much it would mean to them. It is being planned for Saturday afternoon - I will be sure to let you know how it goes!
Apologies for the lack of updates in the past week and a half, although there hasn't been too much to report. We have returned to living on campus at TCDC during the week but continue to stay with our host families during the weekend. We are also getting ready for next week - reminiscent of Finals Week in college - as we have two papers, two presentations, an oral proficiency examination and a final written examination. Working on those projects has required much of my time but I did manage to have some interesting experiences during the past week and a half.
Last Thursday, we went to Usa Market, which is a smaller non-tourist market by our campus. I wasn't too thrilled about going, since we have had a lot of practice speaking in markets already. I also didn't see many things I wanted to buy - used t-shirts, watches, backpacks, fruits, vegetables, etc. didn't interest me. After an hour a group of us were about to leave when I walked by a particular vendor on the fringe of the market. I noticed he was selling belts with a rectangular buckle of the American flag. As I came closer to the buckle, the picture changed to President Obama. It was most definitely a hologram of the flag and Obama. Naturally, I bought it. Tomorrow we are going to go to the ICTR - International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which should be extremely interesting. We are encouraged to wear formal clothes - I will be wearing brown shoes, khaki pants, blue shirt and tie, and the Obama belt.
This past weekend with our host family was also enjoyable. Saturday, Hugh and I went into Arusha to run some errands and visit the Maasai Market. We successfully made it to the market (which is geared for tourists) and went around shopping. It was very reminiscent of Zanzibar - constantly getting hounded for business. After we returned we went for a short hike with Beda, our 14 year old host brother, down to the nearby river. It was evident that it was the hang-out for the village kids, as about 10 kids were by the river swimming and playing on the rocks. We ran with the kids for a bit, which entailed them laughing as Hugh and I struggled to keep up. Either way, it was a lot of fun. We returned in the evening and spent the evening at home.
On Sunday Hugh and I explored more of Moivaro (the village where our host family lives). We walked about 15 minutes down the road to find "Moivaro Lodge and Coffee Plantation." We had heard many stories about this place, mostly pertaining to its cost ("A beer is five U.S. dollars!!") so we decided to check it out. We walked through the gate and came to find it encompassed a large area of land. We then walked back into the 'plantation' and found the central building and restaurant. Needless to say, it was wazungu central, but it was indeed nice. We stopped into the gift shop (it's always nice to speak in Swahili with Tanzanians in overtly tourist locations, since they are so used to speaking English only) to find that the prices were in U.S. dollars (always a bad sign for overpriced goods) and they were at least 5 times the amount a tourist can get away with at a local market. We left after a short conversation.
After we returned home, I helped Beda with some of his math homework. It was a fairly basic lesson but it had been too long since my last math class! I think I helped a small degree, but it was a little frustrating. We then learned the process of coffee production. Eastern Africa (northern Tanzania in particular) is famous for its coffee, so this was a treat. Our host dad has a coffee business in addition to his regular job at TCDC, so he owns several areas of land in the area for coffee production, but he also has some coffee plants by the house. We didn't experience the process of picking the seeds, peeling them and drying the beans, but we did basically everything else. It was a process of crushing the seeds to find the beans (the picture below is from this step), separating the seeds 'husks' from the beans, cleaning the beans to ensure no husk is remaining, and then roasting! It was a lot of fun - not to mention the treat of having the coffee for breakfast the next day!
After coffee, our host parents took us to Lake Duluti, which is another conservation area near Arusha. It was a beautiful lake and reminded me of some of the lakes in Montana (minus the Rocky Mountains in the background). We spent several hours there, watching the sunset and having dinner. After we returned, we spoke with our host dad about a possible gift to the family. Hugh previously knew that slaughtering a goat was a celebratory event for the Chagga (the ethnic group my host family is apart of) so we offered to pay for the process as a gift when we leave. Little did we know that, since it is still fairly soon after the funeral for our host dad's brother, the slaughtering of a goat would culturally also be included with the funeral celebration (after so many days, usually a goat is slaughtered to celebrate the end of the mourning period). In other words, what was initially a small gesture of appreciation, to be experienced by our immediate host family, myself, and Hugh, has now become an extended family (and perhaps friends, village, etc.) affair. Our host dad made sure we understood that "this would not be a small gathering." In my mind, that makes it much more enjoyable and worthwhile. He was saying how much his family would appreciate us doing this and how it much it would mean to them. It is being planned for Saturday afternoon - I will be sure to let you know how it goes!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Day 27 - Zanzibar
It has certainly been an eventful past few days! I apologize in advance for the length of the post, but I haven't had a chance to update my blog. I'll try to list the highlights of each day, beginning with the day we arrived in Zanzibar.
On Tuesday, we took a 2.5 hour boat ride to the island from Dar. The ride wasn't too eventful until we came closer to the island. I was standing outside when there were two huge whales fairly close to our ship! It was an amazing sight. Several times they jumped completely out of the water and created a huge splash. Then as we passed them they repeatedly flapped their fins and tails against the water. Definitely a great welcome to the island. It was also an amazing sight seeing the dhows in the port as we were approaching the island. After we arrived on the island, we checked into our hotel in Stone Town, which is the largest historic city on the island. The city (as well as the island) has been occupied for over 300 years. The architecture is absolutely stunning. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures on my phone (so I can't upload them to the blog), but I was sure to take a lot of pictures on my camera. We had a tour of Stone Town later in the afternoon, which featured palaces and other buildings constructed by the Omanis when they ruled Zanzibar. After the tour we were all exhausted, but for dinner we found a great seaside street market with a lot of vendors selling different types of food. It was a tourist mecca, but once the vendors knew you spoke Swahili, they enjoyed talking with you. The first night I had Zanzibar pizza - a famous meal on the island (pizza is a misnomer - it's completely unlike the American variety). After dinner a few friends and I walked around Stone Town some more - and with its narrow, winding streets, that can sometimes be an adventure in itself!
On the second day, we toured the Jozani Forest, which is on the southern end of the island. Zanzibar is actually much bigger than I had initially assumed. It took roughly 30-45 minutes to drive to the forest (granted the speeds were a little slower). It was very interesting to tour this section of the island. Once you leave Stone Town, you leave nearly all tourists and get to experience the "real" part of the island. The forest is known for its population of collubus monkies - and did we see them! We were walking along the path, when suddenly there were proabably about 10 monkies in the trees surrounding us. They were quite the sight. I have a few pictures and videos of them jumping from tree to tree (about 5 feet above my head). They were very active when we were around. We then left the forest and went to the nearby beach - which was stunning. There were ngalawa (massive canoes carved completely from a tree trunk) in the water (which was bright blue) and coconut trees lining the beach. We didn't go swimming there, since we left the beach and went to speak with a woman who owns a seaweed farm on the island. It was fairly awkward, since 15 American students piled into her modest home to stand in her living room. We then talked about seaweed farming and the demands of the job. It is incredibly hard work and incredibly low paying. She was telling us that since the work is so hard, and since seaweed doesn't sell for that much in the markets, men don't partake in its collection or sale. I definitely felt uneasy standing in her house while we were talking about her poor work conditions. After about 30 minutes we left, and went to lunch at a hotel on the beach. The water was incredibly warm and very shallow. I ran out into the Indian Ocean with a group of friends for probably 15 minutes, and the deepest part was probably up to our waist. Even then, it didn't show any sign of getting deeper. We returned to Stone Town in the evening and returned to the market for dinner. This time I had shark for the first time and lobster. The lobster was okay (I'm sticking to the northeast's variety) but the shark was really good.
The third - and final - day on the island was also long. In the morning, we went to a government-owned spice farm on the island. Zanzibar is known for its abundant spices so it was great to get a tour. Little did we know what was waiting for us! When we started walking around the farm (more like a forest at some parts), roughly ten workers all joined our group and made random objects for us. Everyone got a cup made out of leaves to keep our spices, and most of the girls received rings, frog necklaces, bracelets, etc. - all made on the spot out of tree leaves! I was given a crown and tie (perhaps to be worn at the next Board meeting?) which were pretty funny. After the tour - complete with sampling the original varieities of vanilla, tumeric, ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon, just to name a few - we sat around and tasted an amazing array of different fruits also native to the island. They were amazing! Finally, we walked some more through the farm and a man working climbed a massive coconut tree (with only a piece of rope tied to his ankles for leverage) and knocked several down. We then tried coconut milk (after they sliced the tops open) as well as the fruit(?) liner inside the coconut.
Once we left the farm, we had the remaining afternoon and evening to ourselves - which was much needed. I decided to walk around Stone Town alone at first and try to buy some things to take back home. It was probably the best and worst decision I made on the trip. After 5 minutes of leaving the hotel (located in the tourist-dominated section of Stone Town), a random person came up to me and started speaking in English (this is not out of the ordinary). I responded back in Swahili, and he asked where I had learned Swahili. I mentioned I'm studying in Arusha, and he said he knew the program coordinator, Deo, who teaches at Michigan State. He said they were good friends and he was asking me about how he was doing. I was fairly skeptical, but he was harmless. Then he asked me why I was shopping in the tourist part of town, and took me to some of the cheaper (ie, non-tourist) sections of Stone Town. We ended up in the local spice and fish market, where he had a shop. I purchased a few spices from him and left. He offered to show me the way to the other stores I had seen (which I really wanted to return to), but I declined. Big mistake! Navigating the streets of Stone Town - without a map - is impossible. I walked around the non-tourist section of town for a couple hours trying to find some good stores. It became a little tiring, but this was probably my most favorite part of the trip. I asked so many people for directions (the responses consisted of - "Go straight, then right, then left, then right at the roundabout, etc etc), but never really found any sense of direction. My favorite phrase became "Samahani, maduka ya kawaida, si maduka ya wazungu, yako wapi?" Or, "Excuse me, where are the stores of the locals, not the stores of the white people?" Needless to say, people started laughing hysterically every time I asked the question. I bought a few things at a greatly discounted price, but didn't find too much otherwise. I finally had enough of walking around and returned to the more tourist-dominated section of town. Zanzibar has a much greater Arabian and Muslim presence than the rest of Tanzania. It was incredible to walk around the island and see the cultural diversity - from the young, adventrouous American tourist to the older woman in a full-length burqa.
One of the favorite things to experience while going into shops was seeing people's reaction when they realized you spoke Swahili. Without a doubt, tourists get ripped off while shopping. And since I was a white, young, male, the odds were stacked against me. Nearly everyone in Zanzibar (unlike everywhere else I've been in Tanzania) greeted you with "Jambo!" Technically this is a greeting in Swahili, but not very many native speakers use it. So whenever someone said "Jambo," it was clear they were assuming you were a non-Swahili speaker. So it was fun seeing reactions when people realized you spoke the language (to some degree, that is). I had some great conversations with people. One vendor said that they normally tell tourists something is ebony (when it's not). I also kept accusing people of giving me the "white person" price, which they promptly denied. When I was walking back to the hotel in the evening, I was stopped by yet another person wanting to sell me a CD or a t-shirt. By this point, they were pretty annoying, since they say the same lines time after time. Even when I would respond to his english questions in swahili, he would still speak to me in english. I kept walking, and when he was calling after me, I said "Pole, sijui kiingereza, ninasema kiswahili tu!" (I'm sorry, I don't know English. I only speak Swahili!). He stopped in his tracks, responded in Swahili with "Really? You don't know English?" and I said, "Yes, I'm sorry, I didn't understand you." He subsequently gave up. It was a lot of fun, and all in all, I was glad to have gotten lost. In the evening, we went to dinner at an Indian Restaurant for our last night in Zanzibar.
The next morning we had breakfast at 5:45am, left for Dar es Salaam by 6:45am, and drove back to Arusha. The trip took much longer than I was hoping. We returned last night around 8:30pm.
That concludes the trip to the coast! Thanks for reading.
On Tuesday, we took a 2.5 hour boat ride to the island from Dar. The ride wasn't too eventful until we came closer to the island. I was standing outside when there were two huge whales fairly close to our ship! It was an amazing sight. Several times they jumped completely out of the water and created a huge splash. Then as we passed them they repeatedly flapped their fins and tails against the water. Definitely a great welcome to the island. It was also an amazing sight seeing the dhows in the port as we were approaching the island. After we arrived on the island, we checked into our hotel in Stone Town, which is the largest historic city on the island. The city (as well as the island) has been occupied for over 300 years. The architecture is absolutely stunning. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures on my phone (so I can't upload them to the blog), but I was sure to take a lot of pictures on my camera. We had a tour of Stone Town later in the afternoon, which featured palaces and other buildings constructed by the Omanis when they ruled Zanzibar. After the tour we were all exhausted, but for dinner we found a great seaside street market with a lot of vendors selling different types of food. It was a tourist mecca, but once the vendors knew you spoke Swahili, they enjoyed talking with you. The first night I had Zanzibar pizza - a famous meal on the island (pizza is a misnomer - it's completely unlike the American variety). After dinner a few friends and I walked around Stone Town some more - and with its narrow, winding streets, that can sometimes be an adventure in itself!
On the second day, we toured the Jozani Forest, which is on the southern end of the island. Zanzibar is actually much bigger than I had initially assumed. It took roughly 30-45 minutes to drive to the forest (granted the speeds were a little slower). It was very interesting to tour this section of the island. Once you leave Stone Town, you leave nearly all tourists and get to experience the "real" part of the island. The forest is known for its population of collubus monkies - and did we see them! We were walking along the path, when suddenly there were proabably about 10 monkies in the trees surrounding us. They were quite the sight. I have a few pictures and videos of them jumping from tree to tree (about 5 feet above my head). They were very active when we were around. We then left the forest and went to the nearby beach - which was stunning. There were ngalawa (massive canoes carved completely from a tree trunk) in the water (which was bright blue) and coconut trees lining the beach. We didn't go swimming there, since we left the beach and went to speak with a woman who owns a seaweed farm on the island. It was fairly awkward, since 15 American students piled into her modest home to stand in her living room. We then talked about seaweed farming and the demands of the job. It is incredibly hard work and incredibly low paying. She was telling us that since the work is so hard, and since seaweed doesn't sell for that much in the markets, men don't partake in its collection or sale. I definitely felt uneasy standing in her house while we were talking about her poor work conditions. After about 30 minutes we left, and went to lunch at a hotel on the beach. The water was incredibly warm and very shallow. I ran out into the Indian Ocean with a group of friends for probably 15 minutes, and the deepest part was probably up to our waist. Even then, it didn't show any sign of getting deeper. We returned to Stone Town in the evening and returned to the market for dinner. This time I had shark for the first time and lobster. The lobster was okay (I'm sticking to the northeast's variety) but the shark was really good.
The third - and final - day on the island was also long. In the morning, we went to a government-owned spice farm on the island. Zanzibar is known for its abundant spices so it was great to get a tour. Little did we know what was waiting for us! When we started walking around the farm (more like a forest at some parts), roughly ten workers all joined our group and made random objects for us. Everyone got a cup made out of leaves to keep our spices, and most of the girls received rings, frog necklaces, bracelets, etc. - all made on the spot out of tree leaves! I was given a crown and tie (perhaps to be worn at the next Board meeting?) which were pretty funny. After the tour - complete with sampling the original varieities of vanilla, tumeric, ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon, just to name a few - we sat around and tasted an amazing array of different fruits also native to the island. They were amazing! Finally, we walked some more through the farm and a man working climbed a massive coconut tree (with only a piece of rope tied to his ankles for leverage) and knocked several down. We then tried coconut milk (after they sliced the tops open) as well as the fruit(?) liner inside the coconut.
Once we left the farm, we had the remaining afternoon and evening to ourselves - which was much needed. I decided to walk around Stone Town alone at first and try to buy some things to take back home. It was probably the best and worst decision I made on the trip. After 5 minutes of leaving the hotel (located in the tourist-dominated section of Stone Town), a random person came up to me and started speaking in English (this is not out of the ordinary). I responded back in Swahili, and he asked where I had learned Swahili. I mentioned I'm studying in Arusha, and he said he knew the program coordinator, Deo, who teaches at Michigan State. He said they were good friends and he was asking me about how he was doing. I was fairly skeptical, but he was harmless. Then he asked me why I was shopping in the tourist part of town, and took me to some of the cheaper (ie, non-tourist) sections of Stone Town. We ended up in the local spice and fish market, where he had a shop. I purchased a few spices from him and left. He offered to show me the way to the other stores I had seen (which I really wanted to return to), but I declined. Big mistake! Navigating the streets of Stone Town - without a map - is impossible. I walked around the non-tourist section of town for a couple hours trying to find some good stores. It became a little tiring, but this was probably my most favorite part of the trip. I asked so many people for directions (the responses consisted of - "Go straight, then right, then left, then right at the roundabout, etc etc), but never really found any sense of direction. My favorite phrase became "Samahani, maduka ya kawaida, si maduka ya wazungu, yako wapi?" Or, "Excuse me, where are the stores of the locals, not the stores of the white people?" Needless to say, people started laughing hysterically every time I asked the question. I bought a few things at a greatly discounted price, but didn't find too much otherwise. I finally had enough of walking around and returned to the more tourist-dominated section of town. Zanzibar has a much greater Arabian and Muslim presence than the rest of Tanzania. It was incredible to walk around the island and see the cultural diversity - from the young, adventrouous American tourist to the older woman in a full-length burqa.
One of the favorite things to experience while going into shops was seeing people's reaction when they realized you spoke Swahili. Without a doubt, tourists get ripped off while shopping. And since I was a white, young, male, the odds were stacked against me. Nearly everyone in Zanzibar (unlike everywhere else I've been in Tanzania) greeted you with "Jambo!" Technically this is a greeting in Swahili, but not very many native speakers use it. So whenever someone said "Jambo," it was clear they were assuming you were a non-Swahili speaker. So it was fun seeing reactions when people realized you spoke the language (to some degree, that is). I had some great conversations with people. One vendor said that they normally tell tourists something is ebony (when it's not). I also kept accusing people of giving me the "white person" price, which they promptly denied. When I was walking back to the hotel in the evening, I was stopped by yet another person wanting to sell me a CD or a t-shirt. By this point, they were pretty annoying, since they say the same lines time after time. Even when I would respond to his english questions in swahili, he would still speak to me in english. I kept walking, and when he was calling after me, I said "Pole, sijui kiingereza, ninasema kiswahili tu!" (I'm sorry, I don't know English. I only speak Swahili!). He stopped in his tracks, responded in Swahili with "Really? You don't know English?" and I said, "Yes, I'm sorry, I didn't understand you." He subsequently gave up. It was a lot of fun, and all in all, I was glad to have gotten lost. In the evening, we went to dinner at an Indian Restaurant for our last night in Zanzibar.
The next morning we had breakfast at 5:45am, left for Dar es Salaam by 6:45am, and drove back to Arusha. The trip took much longer than I was hoping. We returned last night around 8:30pm.
That concludes the trip to the coast! Thanks for reading.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Day 22 - Dar es Salaam
As I suspected, my internet access while in Dar es Salaam (the largest city in Tanzania, but not its capital) is limited. I'll have to keep my posts short!
On Saturday, we had a fairly long drive from Arusha (in northern TZ) to Dar (in southeast TZ). It was about 8 or 9 hours. The scenery was spectacular, though. We drove through the mountains of the Rift Valley and then open plains. The other significant highlight of the trip was being stopped since Tanzania's President Kikwete's motorcade was pulling into his private estate. Once we were able to turn around to see it in the distance, it was enormous. Otherwise, it was great to drive through towns along the way and see more of the beautiful Tanzanian countryside. At night we went to a very nice Lebanese restaurant near our hotel.
Sunday, we toured Bagamoyo, which is one of the oldest towns in Africa. It has an incredible amount of history - almost too much to describe in one post. It was the central port (and later slave trading hub) of eastern Africa until Dar grew in size and surpassed it. Evidence shows humans occupying the area for the past 2000 years! After we returned, we took a teksi (taxi) to an Italian restaurant near the American Embassy.
Today we first went to the Museum of Villages (roughly translated). It was fairly interesting - they had numerous houses built which are typical of many of Tanzania's 200 ethnic groups. Following the museum we went to the Carvers Market, where there were an incredible array of small stores with hand-carved items and jewelry. We then went to the National Museum. It was informative, but it was also interesting to note that the Smithsonian Museum in D.C. has more African-related artifacts than the entire museum. Then tonight for dinner, we went to "Addis in Dar," an Ethiopian restaurant. It was my first Ethiopian restaurant and was incredible. Needless to say I ate to much, but it was definitely worth it.
Tomorrow (in a matter of hours), we are boarding a boat for the famous island of Zanzibar! We will spend about four days on the island. I will be sure to post updates when I can!
On Saturday, we had a fairly long drive from Arusha (in northern TZ) to Dar (in southeast TZ). It was about 8 or 9 hours. The scenery was spectacular, though. We drove through the mountains of the Rift Valley and then open plains. The other significant highlight of the trip was being stopped since Tanzania's President Kikwete's motorcade was pulling into his private estate. Once we were able to turn around to see it in the distance, it was enormous. Otherwise, it was great to drive through towns along the way and see more of the beautiful Tanzanian countryside. At night we went to a very nice Lebanese restaurant near our hotel.
Sunday, we toured Bagamoyo, which is one of the oldest towns in Africa. It has an incredible amount of history - almost too much to describe in one post. It was the central port (and later slave trading hub) of eastern Africa until Dar grew in size and surpassed it. Evidence shows humans occupying the area for the past 2000 years! After we returned, we took a teksi (taxi) to an Italian restaurant near the American Embassy.
Today we first went to the Museum of Villages (roughly translated). It was fairly interesting - they had numerous houses built which are typical of many of Tanzania's 200 ethnic groups. Following the museum we went to the Carvers Market, where there were an incredible array of small stores with hand-carved items and jewelry. We then went to the National Museum. It was informative, but it was also interesting to note that the Smithsonian Museum in D.C. has more African-related artifacts than the entire museum. Then tonight for dinner, we went to "Addis in Dar," an Ethiopian restaurant. It was my first Ethiopian restaurant and was incredible. Needless to say I ate to much, but it was definitely worth it.
Tomorrow (in a matter of hours), we are boarding a boat for the famous island of Zanzibar! We will spend about four days on the island. I will be sure to post updates when I can!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Day 19
Unfortunately I have not had time to update my blog this week (the Arusha National Park picture notwithstanding), so I'll try to recount the week:
This was the last full week we spent with our host family. After class on Monday, we went to a great nyama choma (barbeque) place near our house. Unfortunately it took quite some time to order our food, so we returned to the house fairly late in the evening. I needed to get a little bit of studying done since that day we also learned that we had a midterm on Thursday (yesterday).
On Tuesday, our host dad took Hugh, myself and my two host brothers to Arusha National Park. It is actually very close to Arusha and TCDC but loses some name recognition with Ngorongoro, Oldupai and the Serengeti also close. I actually enjoyed the park quite a bit - perhaps not as much as Ngorongoro, but it was still great to visit. He picked us up right after lunch (we were allowed to leave early from TCDC) and we traveled about 20 minutes to the park. Luckily there weren't that many people visiting. We managed to see a LOT of giraffes (probably 8-10), including several that were extremely close to our car. We drove for a while, saw some more zebras, wildebeest, etc. and then parked next to a small lake to have lunch. We sat there for quite some time, which was very enjoyable. Mt. Kilimanjaro suddenly appeared in the distance above the lake (see the picture), which was an incredible sight! Of course the pictures don't do it justice. When we left the lake we saw a hippo get out of the water, which was a great sight since we didn't have a good hippo sighting while in Ngorongoro. We returned around dusk.
Wednesday's class sessions were interesting (as they always are). During the afternoon session - which is about 2 hours long - our instructors informed us we were going to have a 1-on-1 conversation with a TCDC employee about the conservation policies in Tanzanian. It was extremely daunting, especially since we weren't given any guiding questions and we were entirely alone with native speakers, but I actually managed to fill the 2 hours with fairly substantive conversation. Wednesday night was spent studying for another (ridiculously impossible) test.
Thursday was a little rough, as it was test day. Naturally everyone left the test feeling dejected. I went straight into Arusha with Hugh after lunch and spent a lot of time trying to exchange my travellers cheques. I managed to exchange my money and we returned for our last evening (at least for a while) with our host family.
I went into Arusha again today. It's nice being able to know my way (more or less) around the city now. A small group of us had to run some errands before leaving tomorrow morning for Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar. I am very excited about the trip. We will be gone for one week, spending about 3 days in Dar es Salaam and 3 days in Zanzibar. One day will be spent in Bagamoyo, which is north of Dar, but is rich in history. It's most widely known for its importance as a slave trading port (Arabian slave trade, not American) and also where the first European settlers in the region became established. We're visiting several museums in Dar (population 2.5 million) and touring the island of Zanzibar (Stone Town and other regions). I'm unsure of how much computer access I will have during the trip. Our hotel in Dar is extremely nice so hopefully I can find something.
If not, until next week!
This was the last full week we spent with our host family. After class on Monday, we went to a great nyama choma (barbeque) place near our house. Unfortunately it took quite some time to order our food, so we returned to the house fairly late in the evening. I needed to get a little bit of studying done since that day we also learned that we had a midterm on Thursday (yesterday).
On Tuesday, our host dad took Hugh, myself and my two host brothers to Arusha National Park. It is actually very close to Arusha and TCDC but loses some name recognition with Ngorongoro, Oldupai and the Serengeti also close. I actually enjoyed the park quite a bit - perhaps not as much as Ngorongoro, but it was still great to visit. He picked us up right after lunch (we were allowed to leave early from TCDC) and we traveled about 20 minutes to the park. Luckily there weren't that many people visiting. We managed to see a LOT of giraffes (probably 8-10), including several that were extremely close to our car. We drove for a while, saw some more zebras, wildebeest, etc. and then parked next to a small lake to have lunch. We sat there for quite some time, which was very enjoyable. Mt. Kilimanjaro suddenly appeared in the distance above the lake (see the picture), which was an incredible sight! Of course the pictures don't do it justice. When we left the lake we saw a hippo get out of the water, which was a great sight since we didn't have a good hippo sighting while in Ngorongoro. We returned around dusk.
Wednesday's class sessions were interesting (as they always are). During the afternoon session - which is about 2 hours long - our instructors informed us we were going to have a 1-on-1 conversation with a TCDC employee about the conservation policies in Tanzanian. It was extremely daunting, especially since we weren't given any guiding questions and we were entirely alone with native speakers, but I actually managed to fill the 2 hours with fairly substantive conversation. Wednesday night was spent studying for another (ridiculously impossible) test.
Thursday was a little rough, as it was test day. Naturally everyone left the test feeling dejected. I went straight into Arusha with Hugh after lunch and spent a lot of time trying to exchange my travellers cheques. I managed to exchange my money and we returned for our last evening (at least for a while) with our host family.
I went into Arusha again today. It's nice being able to know my way (more or less) around the city now. A small group of us had to run some errands before leaving tomorrow morning for Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar. I am very excited about the trip. We will be gone for one week, spending about 3 days in Dar es Salaam and 3 days in Zanzibar. One day will be spent in Bagamoyo, which is north of Dar, but is rich in history. It's most widely known for its importance as a slave trading port (Arabian slave trade, not American) and also where the first European settlers in the region became established. We're visiting several museums in Dar (population 2.5 million) and touring the island of Zanzibar (Stone Town and other regions). I'm unsure of how much computer access I will have during the trip. Our hotel in Dar is extremely nice so hopefully I can find something.
If not, until next week!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Momella Lake in Arusha National Park
Monday, July 6, 2009
Day 15
We had a very busy weekend with the funeral and church service. Before I discuss that, I realized I forgot to write about my trip to the main market close to TCDC, called Tengeru.
We learned about types of food and bargaining methods in the morning last Wednesday. Then, they gave us each TSH (Tanzanian Shillings) 1,000 to spend at the market. This is only about 80 cents, but it seemed like a lot of money. Our job was to buy vegetables and fruit for the kitchen. I ended up buying 4 tomatoes (TSH 200), three bell peppers (TSH 100), two groups of string beans (TSH 100), three lemons (TSH 200), four limes (TSH 100), and two avocados (TSH 200). Kids running around the market also sell bags for TSH 100, so I spent all of my allotment. It was really fun bargaining for the items. They would always start with about double the actual price, but they would definitely inform you if your suggestion was too low. It became somewhat competitive, even though we were literally bargaining over 10 cents or less. Still, it was amazing all the items I could buy for less than 1 U.S. dollar.
On Saturday, we had the funeral. Before the funeral, Hugh and I went into Arusha on our own. It was nice being in town alone for the first time. We met up with friends at a restaurant, and then ran errands around town. We also stopped by a coffee shop, where we had REAL African coffee for the first time. Eastern Africa is famous for its coffee beans, but since it's all shipped abroad, you only find instant coffee. Luckily (for a fee) we were able to find real coffee. After we returned home, our host brother took us to the funeral. The funeral (and subsequent burial) were held at the house where the family lived, which is typical. When we arrived there were at least 200 people sitting waiting for the ceremony to start. The family is Roman Catholic, so there was white and purple everywhere and a priest. Hugh and I decided to stay close to the back, but our host brother took us to the very front of the seating area where we had reserved seats. The 200-300 attendees were seated facing the priest, the altar, and a much smaller section of chairs. This smaller section of chairs was where the immediate family (brothers, sisters, mom, etc.) of the deceased sat. Our reserved seats were also in this area. So, not only were we sitting with the most immediate family members, but everyone in the crowd stared at the wazungu for the entire funeral. Since we couldn't understand what was happening, we managed to pray when everyone seemed to pray, stand when everyone stand, and be silent when people sang in Swahili. It was fairly typical of most funerals.
After about an hour and a half, the priest said something in Swahili, and several men picked up the casket and took it away. This was probably the most uncomfortable part - because instantly all the women sitting around us started screaming and shrieking. Then all the men in the crowd followed the casket out, and the women followed. We walked to the back part of the property, where there were a lot of banana trees. We stood there for quite some time while they dug a grave and buried the casket. After the casket was buried, all the different family members (there were a lot) were called to plant roses in the dirt. After that, we left the area and had lunch at the house.
On Sunday, we attended the church service with our host brother. The rest of the family didn't attend since they were still in the mourning period. The church was really nice, but there were so many people sitting inside, the church also had outdoor seating with TVs set-up to view the proceedings. I would guess there were between 2,000-3,000 people there. The proceeding (also completely in Swahili) was interesting, but it took about 4 hours! It was an ordination celebration, so there were a lot of priests in attendance. They also had a small band which performed at the beginning and end of the service. It definitely helped the celebratory atmosphere. After mass we returned to the family's house (where the funeral/burial were held) and ate lunch. We had some free time so Hugh and I explored the village. It was very interesting walking around - we came across some unbelievably large houses (even large by American standards). We asked some locals who lived there, but they didn't really know. That was about the extent of our time in Kwa Mrefu (the village name). We returned to the house and talked with our host siblings.
We learned about types of food and bargaining methods in the morning last Wednesday. Then, they gave us each TSH (Tanzanian Shillings) 1,000 to spend at the market. This is only about 80 cents, but it seemed like a lot of money. Our job was to buy vegetables and fruit for the kitchen. I ended up buying 4 tomatoes (TSH 200), three bell peppers (TSH 100), two groups of string beans (TSH 100), three lemons (TSH 200), four limes (TSH 100), and two avocados (TSH 200). Kids running around the market also sell bags for TSH 100, so I spent all of my allotment. It was really fun bargaining for the items. They would always start with about double the actual price, but they would definitely inform you if your suggestion was too low. It became somewhat competitive, even though we were literally bargaining over 10 cents or less. Still, it was amazing all the items I could buy for less than 1 U.S. dollar.
On Saturday, we had the funeral. Before the funeral, Hugh and I went into Arusha on our own. It was nice being in town alone for the first time. We met up with friends at a restaurant, and then ran errands around town. We also stopped by a coffee shop, where we had REAL African coffee for the first time. Eastern Africa is famous for its coffee beans, but since it's all shipped abroad, you only find instant coffee. Luckily (for a fee) we were able to find real coffee. After we returned home, our host brother took us to the funeral. The funeral (and subsequent burial) were held at the house where the family lived, which is typical. When we arrived there were at least 200 people sitting waiting for the ceremony to start. The family is Roman Catholic, so there was white and purple everywhere and a priest. Hugh and I decided to stay close to the back, but our host brother took us to the very front of the seating area where we had reserved seats. The 200-300 attendees were seated facing the priest, the altar, and a much smaller section of chairs. This smaller section of chairs was where the immediate family (brothers, sisters, mom, etc.) of the deceased sat. Our reserved seats were also in this area. So, not only were we sitting with the most immediate family members, but everyone in the crowd stared at the wazungu for the entire funeral. Since we couldn't understand what was happening, we managed to pray when everyone seemed to pray, stand when everyone stand, and be silent when people sang in Swahili. It was fairly typical of most funerals.
After about an hour and a half, the priest said something in Swahili, and several men picked up the casket and took it away. This was probably the most uncomfortable part - because instantly all the women sitting around us started screaming and shrieking. Then all the men in the crowd followed the casket out, and the women followed. We walked to the back part of the property, where there were a lot of banana trees. We stood there for quite some time while they dug a grave and buried the casket. After the casket was buried, all the different family members (there were a lot) were called to plant roses in the dirt. After that, we left the area and had lunch at the house.
On Sunday, we attended the church service with our host brother. The rest of the family didn't attend since they were still in the mourning period. The church was really nice, but there were so many people sitting inside, the church also had outdoor seating with TVs set-up to view the proceedings. I would guess there were between 2,000-3,000 people there. The proceeding (also completely in Swahili) was interesting, but it took about 4 hours! It was an ordination celebration, so there were a lot of priests in attendance. They also had a small band which performed at the beginning and end of the service. It definitely helped the celebratory atmosphere. After mass we returned to the family's house (where the funeral/burial were held) and ate lunch. We had some free time so Hugh and I explored the village. It was very interesting walking around - we came across some unbelievably large houses (even large by American standards). We asked some locals who lived there, but they didn't really know. That was about the extent of our time in Kwa Mrefu (the village name). We returned to the house and talked with our host siblings.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Day 12
It has certainly been a busy week! The class assignments have definitely increased during this past week. On Monday or Tuesday, we learned that we have a project, book to read, book report, coastal report, and various tests due during the next 5 weeks. The project is an oral presentation and 5-7 page paper, the book has to be at least 40 pages, and the book report and coastal report need to be 3-4 pages each. All in Swahili, of course.
The homestay is going very well. Luckily the kids (particularly the 6 year old) are starting to be more comfortable talking to us, so that has made things more fun. We chased Ulrick around the house yesterday when the parents were gone. I think he enjoys us being around. Although I will never miss taking a bucket shower. Luckily the water is piping hot (the outside "helper" brings it in directly from the open fire), but learning to use buckets has been an experience.
Sadly, yesterday our host dad's youngest brother passed away. I think the family knew the brother was having health problems, so I don't think they were completely surprised. Our host dad has 8 other brothers and 1 sister, and he is the oldest child. He talked to myself and Hugh last night about it. Obviously they have a lot of things to do now, but I think they appreciate us being there. We have been staying home with the kids when the parents are gone. Tomorrow we are going to the funeral and Sunday we will go to church with Beda, the 14 year old son. Apparently if there is a death in the family, the family will not attend church for a while during the grieving period. It will definitely be interesting seeing both the funeral and church ceremonies - all in one weekend! Tanzanian families are extremely large, so I'm anticipating getting introduced to a lot of people.
All for now. Only one week until we go to Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar!
The homestay is going very well. Luckily the kids (particularly the 6 year old) are starting to be more comfortable talking to us, so that has made things more fun. We chased Ulrick around the house yesterday when the parents were gone. I think he enjoys us being around. Although I will never miss taking a bucket shower. Luckily the water is piping hot (the outside "helper" brings it in directly from the open fire), but learning to use buckets has been an experience.
Sadly, yesterday our host dad's youngest brother passed away. I think the family knew the brother was having health problems, so I don't think they were completely surprised. Our host dad has 8 other brothers and 1 sister, and he is the oldest child. He talked to myself and Hugh last night about it. Obviously they have a lot of things to do now, but I think they appreciate us being there. We have been staying home with the kids when the parents are gone. Tomorrow we are going to the funeral and Sunday we will go to church with Beda, the 14 year old son. Apparently if there is a death in the family, the family will not attend church for a while during the grieving period. It will definitely be interesting seeing both the funeral and church ceremonies - all in one weekend! Tanzanian families are extremely large, so I'm anticipating getting introduced to a lot of people.
All for now. Only one week until we go to Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar!
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