week 2, day 2

I thought today was really great, but I think I’m the only one. First we went to a man’s studio where he makes Batik paintings. He explained his technique and then we shopped for a bit. He took a lot of custom orders for us that he will bring to CCS next week.
After seeing him we went to a traditional Chagga blacksmith, which wasn’t that exciting. It was a lot like something you would see in a living museum in New England. We felt kind of weird because when they saw our car pull up men starting bringing out tons and tons of boxes of carvings and things, but no one was interested in buying. They were also selling Chagga spears. We walked to a Chagga tunnel, where people would live for as many as 10 years for protection during the tribal wars against the Maasai. Next we went to a Chagga market, where we weren’t allowed to take pictures. They were mostly selling produce, and I negotiated for two Katinge. Then we drove to the waterfall and had some nasty boxed lunches. I was really disappointed because I was starving.

After eating we climbed down this REDICULOUS path to the waterfall. It was insanely steep, and the ‘railings’ came out into your hands when you tried to grab them. It was really dangerous and some people got really freaked out. At the bottom we crossed a stream on rocks to the bottom of the falls and took some pictures. I sad on a rock and put my foot in an ant hole, and the cuff of my pants was black from being covered by so many ants. I thought it was a little interesting, but the guide flipped out and ran over and started hitting them off. I thought he was over reacting, until I felt them bit my ankles. And then my thighs. And then my butt. I probably got bit about 30 times, and the bits stung. I was slapping at my pants for hours after. We thought about going swimming but decided against it because we heard stories about some nasty parasites. Then it started pouring, just in time for us to climb back up. There was so much rain it was difficult to see and we were slipping around a lot. The railing slipped right through my fingers a few times. At the top people were pretty upset, but I thought it was really exciting. I’m very surprised no one got hurt.

We went to a Chagga hut for a short lesson, and then through a museum. The hut was very smoky and I couldn’t really breathe or see, but it was interesting. They’re bigger and nicer than Maasai huts, and the cows live inside with the people. Then we went to a hotel next door to order some food, and the sisters and I sat outside in the sun to dry. I ordered a cheese and tomato sandwich which was great because I was able to eat it. I still have diarrhea.

At 8 we went to a nearby volunteer hostel run by a man who used to work for CCS. It’s much more modest and only $15 a night, but it looks to be well run. I am so disappointed I came through CCS. Afterword Mike, Leah and I went to meet Saad at a bar and catch up. At some point today my camera broke. I’m going to have to rely on the others for pictures from now on, and hope that someone in Zanzibar can help me fix it =[

week 2, day 1

Yesterday was really fun. At placement we went on home visits, and visited four different homes. Back at the office I updated client profiles. I couldn’t really eat lunch even though I was starving because looking at and smelling the food made me nauseous. I haven’t had one normal bowl movement since arriving at CCS.
After lunch I had my individual feedback session with Folgence and Mama Teo and I expressed my concerns about the program and especially the allocations of the program fee. In the afternoon we split up into two groups. One group went to a lecture on Women’s Empowerment at WEES and the other went to the Tulanie Orphanage to play with the kids. I went to the orphanage and had a really great time. We got in a circle and sang some children’s songs in both Swahili and English. The kids really loved us and I was happy to finally feel connected to clients and useful. Two girls especially liked me, a 10 year old and a 14 year old, Rose. They both made me cards. Rose’s card said we were sisters and that she loved me and would I please come back before I go home. I hope we can go back to volunteer there another afternoon.
I had trouble eating dinner again, and afterwards Mama Teo talked to us as a group about how CCS spends our money, because I guess it came up a lot in feedback. I’m glad she addressed it, but I’m still not totally satisfied by her answers. At 8 Mike, the sisters, Edward and I went out to Glacier, a garden bar for some beers. We realized Mike’s camera can take like 15 shots in quick secession, so we had fun with that for a while. I tired buying chicken fingers at the bar but I still couldn’t eat. I wouldn’t exactly call what I got chicken fingers, though. After Glacier we went to Kool Bar, and Courtney said it looked like it belongs on the Jersey shore. We danced to some Reagae music and it was a lot of fun.
Now we are driving to our first stop on a day trip to a Chagga village and then a waterfall where we can go swimming. We were told to pack torches and swimming costumes.

safari weekend part 2

The third day we got an early start and came back for an early lunch. We just missed a kill, but saw a male lion feeding from far away. When we went back to camp there were baboons coming in looking for food! They got pretty close to us, and Adam said they aren’t afraid of white people because we just take pictures and leave them alone, but they are afraid of black people because they will scare them away. I didn’t realize a baboon could tell races. After lunch we saw a herd of elephants, and two of the elephants were doing a pre-mating ritual that looks like fighting. Afterwords an elephant stumbled on a leopard (which are really rare to see on their own) and was so startled he trumpeted. It was really awesome. When we tried to leave the elephant site our truck got stuck in the mud and we had to rock back and forth until we could get off the road to be able to drive away. It was pretty fun. Later in the day we saw a lion in a tree, and as we were ready to pull away the other group’s tuck got a puncture in the tire! The whole car (6 people) had to come pile into our car while the cook stood on our roof with some binoculars looking for the lion. The lion of course decided that was a good time to jump out of the tree and disappear into the tall grass, but everyone made it out in one piece. In the afternoon it started raining again and we drove back to the crater where we slept.


We wanted to get a really early start on our last day (and only day in the Crater) so my truck left a bit before the other group, but they were late opening the park gate so it didn’t really matter anyway. To be honest I was a bit disappointed by the crater, probably because we had had such fantastic luck in the Serengeti. We saw lots of the same animals (zebra, wildebeest, etc.), and were unable to get to areas for better game (like lions) because the roads were too muddy to pass. We slid around in the mud a lot, and once our driver Edwardo Ricardo backed up into a ditch and our car was part way tipped over. That was pretty fun. We stopped for some group shots at an awesome tree near a hippo pond (complete with mating hippos), and on our way out saw 9 of the 20 black rhino in the park! We were all really excited about that, because we were on our way out and were afraid we’d leave without seeing any. My pictures aren’t great because they’re so far away, but it was really awesome to see them.

Safari was an amazing, once in a lifetime exerience, but I can’t say I was sad to retun to the luxuries of showers,  toilets, and dry beds at CCS.

safari weekend

This one’s long and picture-heavy:
Thursday afternoon we left placement a little early to get a good start on safari. We split into two cars and drove for maybe 3-4 hours toward the Ngorongoro Crater to set up camp for the night. I didn’t know it then, but that was a really nice camp site. There were actual beds and toilets that worked. I was told the showers didn’t work, but I didn’t try. We ate dinner pretty late on Thursday and went to bed early. On Friday morning we woke up to find some people watching Christmas carols in Swahili on TV. We had some breakfast and set out for our first day.

Check out how clean and happy we all are!

the Mzungu Maasai truck

Look-out Point

Best safari tent EVER

Our First Campground

Christmas Eve Dinner

Our Dinner Chandelier... luckily you can't see all the bugs it brought

Friday morning was rainy and freezing.. not what you’d expect on safari in Africa. I was wearing my sweats and winter coat and was still cold! At the gate to the Ngorongoro we were greeted by a group of baboons on the road. We stopped at the edge of the crater to take pictures, but they didn’t come out well thanks to the weather/altitude.

Baboons

Gate to the Crater

At the Gate

Freezing at the Crater

Group Shot

We drove down into the Serengeti and it was amazing. We saw 100′s of zebra and wildebeest, 6 adult elephants and 2 babies, 6 giraffe, and 10 female lions with two cubs. We visited a Maasai village and got a tour of their huts and schools, and bought some of their crafts. We were welcomed with a song and dancing, which is mostly jumping. It started pouring near sunset, and we had difficulty driving to camp. The menfolk set up our tents in the rain, which was so heavy it caused flooding that covered our ankles. Sleeping wasn’t as horrible as I thought it would be, but it was definitely wet and cold.