Weekend Adventure!

Today Allison, Linnea, Mat and I took an adventure to a marine reserve on an island on the north of Dar called Mbudya. It was really exciting to set out to find this place armed only with the travel guide. After taking the daladala from Mwenge to Kundiche (against the travel guide’s advice) we rode on a bajaji to the beach. The four of us fit only when we layered up on each other’s laps, and the experience was equivalent to riding a go-kart/lawnmower. We tried to follow signs that advertised boat rides, but the road just sort of ended at this deserted beach with a couple of abandoned fishing boats. So we hopped off and commenced walking down the beach until we found this resort that called a boat over for us. The boat was this ancient speedboat that we had to wade out to, because there was no dock. Little did we know we were in for an exciting ride. Instead of going to the island, we visited fisherman so that the men driving our boat could buy fish. We had no idea why they were buying fish, but it was really cool to watch. The men take the fisherman’s bag and dump all his fish in the bottom of the boat, then sort out which they want to buy and give back the others. The fishermen are in really small boats that look like they could have been hulled out from a tree. After picking up a good haul of fish we finally arrived at the marine reserve. The island is small and there were hardly any people there. It was so quiet too! There were really cool pumice cliffs along the top edge of the beach. Lots of baobob trees as well. When we ate lunch later we found out that the fish we had brought with us that morning were used to be cooked and sold to tourists! I had no idea what kind of fish it was that I ate, but it was the best tasting fish I've ever had - caught offshore not even three hours earlier!

You can rent snorkel gear for really cheap there, so we got a couple pairs of gear. The snorkeling was fantastic! I can’t remember being anywhere with as much biodiversity as the reef here. Mat and I went out first. We saw lionfish, puffer fish and etc., sea cucumbers that were a couple of feet long, giant clams, many kinds of starfish, urchins with glowing spots on them, and Mat saw an octopus. At times the reef was so shallow that I was sucking in my stomach so as not to brush the coral! It amazes me that beneath the water there is this whole new world, so much richer than the sparse sandy islands.

Linnea and Allison went on a hike across the island that they described as “Indiana Jones style” and found tide pools filled with crabs. By late afternoon the tide started to come in, so it was impossible to hike around the lava cliffs via the beach, so we hung out at the main beach. The boat ride back was just as fun, as the driver caught some serious air on the waves. We found out on our return that you can take a daladala straight from Mwenge to Kundiche and skip the bajaji ride. Also, there are lots of boats to choose from for getting rides to the island at Kundiche. It’s a harbor where fishermen bring in their catch in the afternoon, so we saw all sorts of fish. There were even large parrotfish for sale – I didn’t know that you could eat parrotfish. People around here like to eat octopus too.

Best weekend trip yet! The travel went smoothly and the sights were great. The ocean here is incredibly beautiful, not to mention salty as well. I wonder if the Indian Ocean is saltier than other world oceans?

Pugu Hills

Saturday our whole group ventured out to the Pugu Hills Nature Preserve, which took a long time to drive to, including some hairpin turns on steep dirt roads, but was definately worth it. At the top of this ridge there was a resort with a great pool where we swam and hung out. We also took a hike through the bush, and although we didn't see any wildlife the butterflies were abundant and the plants were interesting. We had great vistas of the countryside, and we looped back through the town which was an interesting experience. Many houses were made of mud daubing, I suppose because people were poorer out in the country. There were lots of cassava and pineapple fields. The kids are so adorable and friendly! As are the people. Even though they don't have a lot of material wealth, Tanzanians seem to be very happy people.
I found an amazing spider at the house! It was the size of my hand, with a bright yellow back. I think it is called an orb weaving spider.

Just like camping

We finally go water back after going three days without it. I had to use buckets to haul all the water I needed for showering, washing clothes, and flushing the toilet from these big storage tanks on the ground up four flights of stairs. Flushing toilets is the worst - they take an entire bucket of water, which is sooo much effort to carry up to the 4th floor! Bucket showers actually work quite well for washing up to get clean. It was quite an adventure . . . apparently losing water is a common occurance.
One thing that really gets to me here is the way trash is treated. There is no organized city waste disposal service, no recycling. Trash ends up being thrown in creekbeds or ditches alongside neighborhoods. Even when we visited a nice neighborhood, there was trash all over. It's not like the US where our garbage gets tied up in neat little bags and toted away to a far-away landfill. We are so distanced from the reality of our waste back home. The cleanliness of the environment is not a top priority in the city. Granted I do see university workers cleaning up the litter, but in general it is a big problem. Here I feel acutely aware of the trash I throw away. I see the trash in the ditch and realize that mine probably ends up there eventually. So I try to reuse containers as much as possible.
On the lighter side, I saw a giant land snail that was as big as my hand! I can't believe that snails would ever need to get that large! Also, our group went out clubbing at Mango Garden last weekend, and a picture of us dancing ended up in one of Dar's newspapers! Kiswahili classes are going well, a little overwhelming at times but I feel like I am learning so much every day! We start research methods with Dr. Roberts today.

The start of Kiswahili classes

The past weekend was absolutely fantastic; on Saturday our group visited Paulina's (the assistant dean) house and had a huge Tanzanian feast. We cooked up an entire goat, and that means everything - there was a stew that included the heart, liver, intestines, stomach, and lungs. Heart meat was actually quite good, although I will not soon forget the texture of the stomach. It was great getting to meet her family and especially to play with her children. We learned a lot about Tanzanian family life and customs, like when the children turn 17 they can no longer sleep in the main house but must sleep outside until they get a place of their own.
On Sunday we went to the beach with two Tanzanian students, Hamida and Emanuel. It was quite the adventure getting there, involving a ferry ride and then a very packed daladala ride across the island (this one was memorable because it played music and had a powerful bass). The beaches here are incredibly beautiful: white sand as far as you can see, and the ocean is so clean and blue. I found so many shells and so much coral that I was saturated with beach treasures by the end of the day.
Kiswahili class is very intense. We spend two hours in a large group and then break into small groups for another two hours. By the end I feel like I have hit a metaphorical brick wall. The learning will come faster as the class progresses, but it is hard not to feel a little overwhelmed to start. Apparently you need to be very careful when pronouncing swahili words because a lot of common words, mispronounced, turn into bad words. What a cruel trick of whoever thought up this language. I love learning new words because they are fun to say - some of my favorites are tikitimaji (watermelon), mwanamazingira (environmentalist), and kicheche (mongoose). In fact, I am contemplating choosing kicheche as my swahili name, because I am a huge fan of the mongooses (mongeese?) here.

More about the first few days in Dar, as promised

The first day was stressful, because of all the new people I met, the unfamiliar campus, and strange language. It reminded me a lot of the beginning of freshman year, especially the feeling of being clueless about customs and the urge to move as a "herd". Twenty-one wazungu wandering lost around campus. Today I feel much more confident about finding my way around, as does everyone else, but the first day was difficult. The campus here is also much larger than St. Olaf's campus.
The dorms are very basic. One shower, and there is only cold water. We cannot drink the water from the sinks so we buy our own water at the store, and we need to hand wash our clothes. Also, there is no toilet paper or soap, so we provide that as well. None of the bathrooms around campus have toilet paper, and most are just holes in the ground, no toilet. Everything is open-air, but our rooms have good screens to keep out mosquitos. I never thought about the luxury of American dorms before coming here, but even the least desirable campus dorm is like the Hilton compared to here. Don't get me wrong though, I am just fine with everything. I don't mind living simply, the only thing that bothers me is that I can't recycle all the plastic bottles we go through.
The wildlife here is so great! All the flora and fauna is different from those in the U.S. I can only describe it as like being a young kid again, where everything you see is new and fascinating. My favorites are the monkeys on campus. There are several troops, must be at least a hundred monkeys total. I have been warned that they are mischevious, but so far they haven't bothered us. This morning we walked through the middle of a monkey war - pretty interesting, and I want to spend more time observing them later. I also saw a nile monitor, which is a very large lizard, while walking to Mlimani City. And the bats here are huge too. Everything is bigger in Africa!!
The radio stations like to play American music. They even played Lady GaGa the other morning (Maren, you would have been so happy)
The food is good, probably because most of it is fried, but as long as you like simple food you would like African food. Jon would be happy here.
Public transport is very exciting here. They use dalladallas, which are these small buses that are packed unbelievably efficiently with people. We fit our group of 20 plus two Dar students who were helping us and a couple other riders into one dalladalla. It doesn't feel as claustrophobic if you stick your upper body out of the window.
We have a week of orientation before we start kiswahili next monday. So right now we have most of the day free, so we explore campus - there are ficus trees all over that have large vines that you can use to climb or swing on. Just like Tarzan.
Pictures coming soon!

TANZANIA!!!

I made it here last Monday, but I haven't been able to access the internet until now (we had to get student IDs to use the library). It feels good to actually be here, after months of saying "when I get to Tanzania", now I actually AM in Tanzania! It was an epic journey just to travel here.
The last night in Spain I got to watch a flamenco concert and dance in a garden beside the palace. How cool is that! But Africa awaits . . .
A word about Doha: it is the most humid place I have been in my life. I expected that the desert would be hot, but dry, but when I stepped off the plane in Qatar it was like walking into a sauna. All my plans to explore were shot when I discovered that my luggage had been sent on to Dar es Salaam, so I only had with me what I was wearing! It was just so hot there. And a bit chaotic. The taxi driver actually got lost trying to find the hotel. It was neat to see a new place, but I was very glad the next morning when we met up with the four other ACM students on my flight in the airport.
More about the first few days in Tanzania later, I have an orientation class now. After that we are free for the day. Lots of time to go exploring!

Toledo

Took the bullet train to Toledo, which is about 30 minutes away from Madrid. The Spanish countryside is very dry, a lot like New Mexico or Colorado, but they are green with seemingly endless olive orchards. The city of Toledo was so different from anything I have seen before! It is atop a large hill, so you have to climb many stairs to get to the city. Good walking shoes are necessary. Breakfast was churros with hot chocolate so thick it was like a sauce, but it was by far the best hot chocolate I have ever had.

The city streets of Toledo are a complete tangle with a network of twisting alleyways that at times are so narrow only one person at a time can navigate through them. All the doors are elaborate, old, and unique, which delighted me. As did the excitement of discovery in the mysterious alleyways. I visited my first cathedral, and the high arched ceilings and stained glass were so beautiful they left me breathless. I had paella, the national dish of Spain, for lunch. After thoroughly exploring the city we went down to some ruins by the river and did some exploring closer to caving. It was creepy and pigeon infested.

Back in Madrid, we visited the Sorolla museum, a Spanish artist famous for his beautiful beach paintings. The museum was actually in his house, which was cool because you could see how he lived, his actual brushes and palette, and his garden. Finally found a really good (and inexpensive) tapas restaurant near Sol, and wandered over to the palace afterwards. It is appropriately elaborate, complete with giant fountain. I love the colors and architecture of Spain, each building is its own work of art!

First day in Madrid!

After traveling through time and space, I landed in Madrid this morning! It's the first time I have been across the Atlantic, but I have yet to feel any negative effects of jet-lag. And I have not even been drinking coffee. It's so exciting to be immersed in a culture where the language and food are completely new! People in Madrid speak Spanish to you first, and only reluctantly use English. I am lucky that Mat can speak fluent Spanish. I have been trying to learn and use expressions to ask for things in Spanish, which has met some success.

The hotel I am staying at has a great location. It is right across the street from the big park as well as the train station. It is right in downtown so you can walk out the front door and be in the middle of Madrid.

This city is unimaginably beautiful in architecture and layout. The streets are an insane tangle, with enormous fountains at the center of every roundabout intersection. It becomes hard to navigate because of the numerous fountains. The parks are beautiful - one building that can only be described as a glass palace, a coliseum crowning a pond, etc. One important cultural thing I learned about Spain: not much is open before 11. So that was one reason why we spent so much time exploring the park. There is also lots of art and culture in this city which I look forward to exploring more. I am planning on visiting some of the big art museums like the Renia Sophia and the Prado later, perhaps tomorrow or Saturday.

In the evening we went to the Real Jardin Botanico, which had really beautiful formal gardens and some enormous garden vegetables that I was envious of. No para comer, unfortunately. Later when we went to a tapas restaurant, I accidentally tried tripe, which tasted pretty awful! I felt very adventurous afterwards though. Another thing: it is impossible to find a place to eat before 9 pm, at least if you don't want to eat at a tourist hot spot.

one week before departure!

13 days before I arrive in Tanzania, but I'm leaving in a week for Madrid! It takes two days to fly to Dar es Salaam, so I thought I might as well stop along the way to see the sights of Spain. I'm planning on spending three days touring the city, along with my friend Mat. I hope to see beautiful buildings, art, and experience Spanish culture - salsa club, maybe?

I just got home from working as a counselor and lifeguard at Skogfjorden Norwegian language village in Bemidji, MN. The transition back to "reality" was actually a little difficult - I kept having trouble using English in conversation. I'm better now, though I still cringe when I use slang like "totally" and "awesome", being made more self-conscious of my word choice after trying to speak grammatically correct Norsk at camp all summer. I'm spending my few days at home making sure I have everything I need for the next four months. That means that the first part of the week I was ferrying from one doctor's visit to the next. I expected that my life wouldn't be like this for at least another 50 years.

I was so overconfident when getting my shots, because I couldn't even feel the needle in my arm . . . but the truth is I was in much, much pain about an hour later. The plus side is that now I am armed with defense against nature stronger than bug spray or soap! It is a little hectic trying to order books, organize everything I need to bring with me, and work on research proposals in just a couple weeks, but I feel like now I'm finally reaching a point where I am ready to depart and now am just waiting in anticipation.

Now that I'm not as busy I have time to worry - I hope there is plenty of water in Tanzania, because I drink LOTS of water. Like a horse. And I hope that it is feasible to go running in Dar, at least if I could find a group that I could run with.