Mambo! Poa!

(Hey, friend! Cool!)

My General Impressions of Tanzania So Far:
In an uneducated village, the denizens will ask for money if you take their pictures.
Tanzanians love Obama. You can get kangas with a picture of Africa and Obama’s face. I even found a bracelet at the Masai market that said “Obam” on it.
Driving is really intense in Africa. There are pretty much three lanes: right, left, and the passing lane. If you drive too slow, you will be passed. There are way too many near-accidents.
The white people (mzungus) are pretty much celebrities. Some will be afraid to come near us, some like to run up really close to us. Everyone stares.
Also, the people here think mzungus just carry a million dollars in their back pockets on a regular day basis.
Peter and Erin are awesome leaders. Erin is so nice and helpful, and Peter is brave and always has amazing stories. I love the one where he has to run from Africans in a van trying to make him pay money, and when his long hair blows in the wind as he’s crossing the border illegally into the US. He speaks Swahili, handles everything, and pretty much saves our lives everyday.
Babu, Munissi, and Dominic--our guards--are fantastic.
All Tanzanian kids are adorable.

Swahili Learned So Far:
jambo--hello
mambo--hello, friend
poa--cool
asante--thank you
sana--very
shikamoo--I respect you
karibu--welcome
kesho--tomorrow
kwa heri--goodbye
happana--no
indiyo--yes
aya--okay
panga--machete
punda--donkey
habari--how are you
twiga--giraffe
mtoto--child
wetoto--children
checka--laugh
tabasamu--smile
pendeza--beaitful
wazuri--beatiful/handsome
mama--mom
baba--dad
kaka--brother
dada--sister
bibi--grandmother
babu--grandfather
simama--stand up
kaa--sit down
rooka--jump
magi--water

June 16
I finally slept through the whole night! I had to wake up at 6 again today to finish my blog, because we were going to the internet cafe today to update our blogs, possibly for the only time during the trip.

The A and B groups went with Erin, so my group for going to the blogs was Cade, Betty, Camryn, Kevin, and Kylee. Trying to leave in our Jeep was interesting. At first, the car wouldn’t start, so we had to get Dominic to work on the engine a little. But it wasn’t until the car started that it got real fun.

Although she argued differently, Erin cannot really drive a stick shift. She would drive, then it would stall. Drive then stall. Drive. Stalled. Drive. Stalled. At one point Cade commented, “We’re lettin’ the cows pass” in his heavy southern accent. Hilarious.

Well, with a little coaching from Ms Bottoms, Erin finally made it out onto our little dirt road! Yay! The ride went smoothly until we got onto the main road, when Erin tryied to alert a little boy on his bicycle that we were coming up behind him. That little honk of the horn turned into a full out blast when the horn got stuck! She couldn’t turn it off! That little boy must’ve been blasted with sound for a full 30 seconds. What a way to alert everyone that the mzungus are coming!

The blog posting and money gathering were uneventful, but when we got back to the house Peter’s group had been back from the leprosy center for at least 30 minutes. It was only 10:30, but I was starving. Alas, lunch time wasn’t until we all got back from our second trip, and it was our groups turn to go to the leprosy center!

Peter, luckily, is a lot better driver of the stick shift than Erin, so his group was off in a flash. My group had to wait for Mcalla to come get us. So we waited. And waited. About forty-five minutes passed when Erin realized that Mcalla was actually waiting for us back by the soccer field! We rushed over and we walked us over to the leprosy center. No, not walked, that old man was haulin’! We all had to run to keep up with how fast this man could power walk!

We were all out of breath by the time we got to the leprosy center. I made a new friend, Michael. He was sitting in his wheelchair making beads. He had some aviators on his lap, and I pointed to him, saying “Poa, poa!” and he put them on for me! I got some great pictures of Michael with his aviators!

After a quick stop into the gift shop, we hauled with Mkalla, who showed us his house, back to our compound for lunch! Avocados and cheese again!

It was then time for a photo lesson. We all went around in a circle and introduced our cameras as if they were our significant other. My Canon is named Aidan, and we were introduced by my grandmother. :)

Travis’s speech was hilarious. I’m so glad Sarah got it on video! You guys will just have to wait and watch it on facebook.

The UAACC kids came to take pictures with us before dinner. I was in a group with Betty and Babu (not our guard, but a kid). Betty taught me panning and I got some great shots.

We only had until dark to get back, so when the sun started setting, the kids offered to take us on a shortcut back to our compound. We started on the path they put us on, and all of us Americans thought we had gotten lost! Some shortcut.

Just as we thought we were lost for sure, we stumbled out onto the main path...right in front of our house! We made it! And what better way to reward ourselves than with some warm dinner made by the mommas! And it was delicious! We had cheesy pasta and mashed potatoes.

We all even had a bit of after dinner entertainment. Another one of the kids, Champs, told us he would sing for us, and it ended up being rapping again! And if that wasn’t exciting enough, he and Ernest got into a rap off! It was awesome even though I couldn’t understand the Swahili.


June 17
Laundry day! Tracy and I got up early this morning to wash our clothes. We filled up three buckets (which we also use for flushing poop down the toilet, mind you) and got to work with both of our detergents in the bucket--mine in the water, and hers to scrub. When we were finished, we had to hang them outside on lines and then head to breakfast!

Breakfast was quite delicious. We had french toast and cheese eggs. Thank you, cooking crew!

On our walk in the village today I met a donkey named Pablo the Punda, and touched him.

Today was the day for shopping! I had to put my sidebag under my sweatshirt so it wouldn’t get stolen. The markets were kind of scary because we mzungus just got mobbed by people who wanted to sell us random things. One man tailed us, asking if we wanted to buy his necklaces, and eventually Ms. Bottoms bought all the necklaces to give to everyone!!

The Mesai market was the best. Everyone has a tiny shop that had almost the same stuff as the others, and they would do anything to get you to buy something. Sister! Sister! Looking is free!

Bartering and haggling were really fun. I talked down a lion and giraffe from 15,000 shillings each to 20,000 for both of them. I also bought a whole bunch of bracelets and two African spears. Not to mention the real panga I got for 2,500 shillings.


We all went to a Greek Restaurant next, where we ordered pizza. Betty and I were in the bathroom when the power went out (because it ran on a generator) and we just flipped out, trying to get back to our table in the dark.

Not only did it take three hours for everyone to get their food, but they ran out of dough so some people got a beef dish instead of their pizza! Not to mention the power went out about every thirty minutes.

June 18
Finally, we got to go to the orphanage! All the children were adorable; I wanted to take them all home with me! There was this little girl named Lucky who was not only so cute, but also a complete diva. She refused to be held by any of us, and just liked to throw her soccer ball around. If I took the ball from her, she just stared at me, like “I know you’re giving that back!” She was so cute.

Right before we left, we sang a song Jacob taught us, the llama song. Afterwards, the kids showed us songs they knew. One of them was about how an animal was too big, and the but they hands on their face and shook their hips. Man, could these kids dance! One boy could move his hips like a pro.

We had to say goodbye to the kids, which was really difficult. Leaving them almost broke my heart. I wanted to hide some on the bus with me. But we eventually got back on the bus to go to the food market to buy two goats for a party we’ll be hosting tomorrow.

The market was scary! We had to put our backpacks in the front to keep them from getting stolen. We divided up into different groups. Munissi took me, Ms. Bottoms, Betty, and Cade. The people there didn’t want us to take pictures of them, so we had to practice stealing shots. At one point, a man tried to wrestle his bull into our group of people, so we had to jump out of the way! It was chaotic.

Also, a man tried to buy Erin for a cow and Tanzanite.

We stopped at a little area to eat lunch. All of us were seated at one table, and bowls of food were brought out for us to share. We couldn’t really wash our hands. There was only a a container of water and a bar of soap for everyone who wanted to eat there. I only rinsed my hands. I was not using that bar of soap! The food included rice, beans, beef stew, banana stew, and fruit. I only ate the beans and rice because the beef had bones in it and everything else looked sketchy.

All that was left for us to do was wait for Erin and Peter to return with our goats! We all chilled around are bus, and slowly people began to crowd around us. Soon a giant crowd formed of those watching the mzungus. In this crowd was a rapper named Barrack who Rachel, of course, befriended. At one point, Rachel had to get a pencil and a piece of paper out of her backpack, and everyone around us took two steps in to see what she was doing. They thought she was pulling out money to give to them! While this was happening, other people were eying our bags. A few of us got very close to having our stuff stolen. Not all of us would still have our cameras if it weren’t for us guarding each other’s backs.

Finally, Peter and Erin returned with our two goats! They cost 50,000 Tanzanian shillings each, so, together, they cost less than 100 American dollars. Not a bad deal!

The goats couldn’t fit in the bus with us, so Munissi had to put them in the trunk for us. When we got inside, Jacob swore he could here them whining under our seats!

We dropped off Munissi with our goats to take home, then we headed off to see a waterfall! It was about a 20 minute drive on the main road, but significantly longer once we got on the village path.

It was a big drive uphill, so every once in awhile our bus would get stuck. We all had to get out and push! The first time I just stood behind and took pictures until we got the bus going again. I was excited until the bus just wouldn’t stop! Peter told the boys to run and not let the bus get out of their sight. We were honestly scared that the bus driver was just going to leave! Luckily, the boys caught up, and us in the caboose arrived a few minutes later, happy to sit down.

Our happiness didn’t last long. The bus stopped again. And again. And again. The bus got stuck at least seven times. Each time the bus started going, a boy jumped on the back ladder and hitched a ride. It eventually got to the point where just five people got out of the bus at a time to push. Sometimes they had to run alongside the bus and jump in, Little Miss Sunshine style!

Sooner or later our system had to fail. And it did. The bus got stuck in the mud and could only back up. That was our cue to walk! The children following us weren’t used to mzungus like the children in Magi ya Chai, so it was a game to run up to us. Remember in Finding Nemo how the little fish were afraid to touch the boat? That’s exactly what it was like!

It was tough hiking uphill, especially as the oxygen in the air decreased. I also didn’t had tennis shoes on--only my teva sandals. Dominic walked with Tracy and me. In Africa, holding hands is a sign of friendship, so Dominic and I held hands for a part of the way, until I had to stop and wait for Tracy.

Once the trees opened up and we could see all around us, it was breathtaking. We were so high up, we could see hills all around us. There was farming on the sides of the surrounding hills, something I’ve only heard of in World Geography and never seen in person.

But with the open space came a new danger. The kids, who were once to afraid of us, came behind us with poisonous leaves tied to sticks and tried to poke us with them, demanding money.

Once we overcame that obstacle, it was only a few minutes walk to the waterfall. And once we got there, it was definitely worth the trek up there. It was the biggest waterfall I’ve seen in person. Better than the one I saw in Australia.

The walk back to the bus was definitely easier than the walk back up, especially since Peter found a shortcut! The only bad thing was that I kept pounding my feet on the ground, which was uncomfortable in my sandals. But at last! We made it to the bus!

On the bus drive, we were relaxing, drinking our water and eating our snacks. I, personally, ate some on Tracy’s animal crackers, which were so delicious then. As I was eating my animal crackers, the bus tipped over. Although Tracy screamed as she flew into Cade’s lap, I was completely unfazed. One second I was upright, and the next I was sideways! Good news for us: there were trees on our left side, so our fall was cushioned and the bus only tipped over. It didn’t turn completely horizontal.

Well, we waited awhile and a bunch of village men helped Mcalla get the truck upright. What a perfect end to such an eventful day.

June 19
Originally, a hike was scheduled for today, but because we kind of already did one yesterday, we got free time instead!

But at the end of free time, we killed our goats. We named them Appetizer and Entree (Appy and Trey). Mcalla killed Appy first by slitting its throat. Then he killed Trey. There was so much blood, just pouring out of these goats. It was so red; it just looked like paint.

Babu strung Trey up to skin him, with Peter holding up Trey’s front legs to keep him still. Peter had to go check on something though, so I volunteered to hold the goat’s legs in his place. I gripped the legs so hard it felt like my hands were going to fall off. There was also a little stream of blood dripping down the goats skin that got really close to my hands.

However, even though it was pretty gross, I loved it. It’s not everyday that one gets to hold a goat while Babu skins it. I also got to overhear some of Babu and Peter’s conversation about goat anatomy.

Later that day, it was party time! Apparently the guests were told four o’clock instead of six, so there weren’t too many people. Some of our guests were acrobats, so they performed for us, which was cool. But the party was mostly awkward. We didn’t really know Swahili, so we didn’t know how to talk to our guests, so they probably thought we were rude.

Also, the goat was disgusting. One dish had goat organs and bananas, which smelt really funky, like dung.

The actual goat meat was so chewy that I couldn’t even swallow the bite I got. I had to spit it out. I did drink a lot of the coke we got for our special occasion, though!

June 20-24
We travel in our “man truck” through safari, which is like an old Nazi war vehicle. It’s humungous and kind of scary. It makes me feel safe around the animals, though.

One bad thing about our man truck is that the sides are open. That means that when we’re driving through a heavily vegetated area on a trail (not a road), branches hit us. The kids in window seats have to duck to avoid the thorns of the acacia trees.

Safari can’t really be described in words. Just through the pictures I took. Killerai, our guide, is so amazing. I love him. He’s very helpful, knows his stuff, and is fun to joke around with.

The sleeping arrangements are okay. It’s two to three people per little tent, so it can get cramped. Also, it’s hard to do basic things like check the tires (go to the bathroom), brush my teeth, wash my clothes, and take showers. I don’t even know how many animals I’ve mooned crouching behind a bush out in the middle of nowhere.

On the first day of safari, we found some vultures around a wildebeest carcass. It had been killed by cheetahs. It was fresh (killed that morning) and there was still some meat around the legs, so Killerai took it to cook for dinner! I didn’t want to eat it at first, but I bit the bullet and tried it. Who knew wildebeest tasted so good?

We climbed a mountain on the 21st, which was one of the hardest things of my life. Hiking up was so exhausting. The best part was when we had to spider-man walk through a cave. One foot on one wall, one foot on the other, pushing each foot and hand, changing pressure on each side to climb over a hole. Very intense. One wrong step, and down Lindsey goes. Getting to the top was so worth it though,

So far, we’ve seen gazelles, impala, zebras, wildebeests, buffalo, elephants, giraffes, lots of birds, hippos, baboons, other monkeys, warthogs, waterbucks, and a leopard. But alas, no lions.

I’m a little bit afraid to see a lion. Not because I’m afraid it’s going to eat me or anything, but I don’t want to kill the dream. Lions are my favorite animal. I have always wanted to see one, but I’m afraid the reality won’t live up to the dream. For instance, what if I see one, but it’s far away, half hidden by the grass? Is that worth all the hype I’ve built? I don’t know. I just feel like it needs to be special.

Our National Geograhic photographer, Massimo, is really cool. He knows so much, and can speak almost all the Romance languages!

We’re staying at a very nice campsite tonight. It’s in a town called Karatu, which is just gorgeous. It’s probably the most beautiful place I’ve been to, except Australia. Everything is green and lively, but not tropical. It reminds me of what Ireland should look like (I’ve never been to Ireland before, though). Or maybe it looks like Colorado without all the snow.

The bathrooms are not so great. They’re holes in the ground. Literally. Like a ceramic latrine. You have to squat to do your business!


June 25
To go to the caldera, we had to split up into three land rovers. I was assigned to a truck with Kevin (a driver), Ms. Bottoms, Peter, Jacob, Kylee, and Claire. They were a really fun group! Peter gave us a lecture on our way there about metering and white balance, and I feel like I learned a lot.

In the caldera, Kevin was such a great driver. We saw a whole bunch of zebras, a cheetah, wildebeests, buffalo, and guess what? LIONS!

The first two we saw stalking a herd of zebras, the third we saw eating a zebra, and the last few we saw napping by a lake! All of the things I said before about being afraid, I take them back! It was amazing.

Later that night, we all gathered our top five pictures of the day to show Massimo. He called two of mine “strange” (which can be good or bad), one of mine okay, and he really liked my other two!! It was so exciting.

June 26
Today was the day we went back to Magi ya Chai (which I found out means “Water of Tea.” Who knew?). We shopped on the road a bit, and I got a Masai name. I’m Nanyokie, which means “the white one.” I couldn’t stop laughing when Simon (the man truck driver) gave it to me. What name could be more fitting?

A few hours later, we got to Pete and Charlotte O’neal’s house. Pete is sooo funny. And he used to be a black panther! His house is also a school for kids (UAACC), so there are a lot of beds.

I made a new friend! Her name is Hagape. She is so cute. She doesn’t know very much English, though, so communication is a but rough. But we still have fun together!

The O’neal house is beautiful. All the buildings have paintings the children have drawn on them. And guess what? Our beds are actually comfortable! It’s such a big change from our sleeping pads. I’m in a room with just me and Tracy, but we share a bathroom with Camryn, Kylee, and Rachel.

I already started to miss Killerai when he left, taking Simon and his man truck with him. He said that he would be our facebook friends, though, which is exciting! I’m just not sure how much he can check it if he’s giving tours through Tanzania all the time. I know that if I ever come back to Tanzania, I’m calling up Dorobo and getting Killerai again!