AFRICA ALUMNUS BLOGS
Fall 2007 AFRICA Semester
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Bangata Village Tanzania
We spent exactly two weeks in Bangata
Village, and I think we all can agree, that they were some of the most peaceful
and important of our trip. When we arrived we were immediately taken aback by
the quiet of village life. The main drag consist of two shops, actually, an old
cement building half finished, with two barred windows through which you could
get your basics; laundry detergent, gum, and maybe biscuits. The village is
situated dramatically close to Mt. Meru, and in the
early morning, before the clouds disguise it, it feels as if you are exactly at
the foot of the mountain. The village its self was just as beautiful, and it
had a tropical feel, banana trees and bright flowers lined every road, so that
it almost felt coastal. We all lived in separate home
stays, which went incredibly well, all the families were as kind and generous
as those we previously stayed with in Sekei. We
arrived Monday, but didn't start our work at the school until Wednesday. Tommy,
Malcolm and Nici took on Math and Science in Form
three. Teaching kids mostly ages 16-18. And Mike, Ben and Jesse taught Science
and Math in Form one; kids ages 14-17. Overall the experience of teaching a
classroom of about 45-65 kids, in as foreign language (all Secondary Schools
are taught in English whether or not the kids understand), was exhausting, yet
very rewarding. To be able to see how these young adults cram themselves into a
classroom, everyday, to try to learn in a language they were not raised with,
was inspirational. It was truly a gift to see young, intelligent minds working
hard, with all odds against them.
After our last day at school, Friday, we took a small vacation in
the town of Moshi. Moshi is
about an hour away from Arusha, and is slightly
smaller and calmer. We spent most of the time eating good food and emailing
home. We left Sunday morning and once again drove up the bumpy road to Bangata. Monday brought Swahili lessons with our
instructor, Almasi, who had also taught us in Sekei. Classes proceeded through the week and after class
we had free afternoons. Most of us spent the time getting to know our families,
or just hanging out in the village. We found an amazing pine forest just above
the village and many people would spend the afternoons hiking inside it. The
week went by quickly, and Friday Aleta and Adam
planned a going away/ thank you to our families party.
We prepared a speech, Mama Lucy, my home stay Mama in Sekei
made her now famous food, and we gorged, thanked the parents, teachers and
everyone we had met for welcoming us to Bangata. We
ended the day with a performance by a traditional African tribe, which was
absolutely hilarious and definitely memorable. With that our stay in Bangata was over; we thanked our home stays, packed our
bags, and took off Saturday in very good spirits for our journey to Zanzibar.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
2nd week in Jinja, Uganda
Our second week in Jinja was pretty
similar to the first and thus the days had become somewhat routine; we would
wake up in our Sleep Number© by Select Comfort® beds around 7:30 am, hit the
steam shower, enjoy a bountiful continental breakfast, then head off to the
work site at the secondary school.
The work is hard and the sun is hot, but when the bricks start to
get heavier and the mortar gets harder to churn, we just look to Tommy and
Malcolm for support--their incredible strength combined with the work ethic and
will to make a positive impact in Africa is simply inspiring. They, especially
Tommy, have emerged as a beacon of guiding light and motivation that the entire
group can use to find its way in the impenetrable dark that is Africa.
The work on the school is slow and steady, but it is good to see
the fruits of our labour as the building steadily
grows. It is infeasible to forsee how 750 students
can cram into a building no bigger than 1,500 sf for
7 hours a day, but one small school is better than no school at all--or so we
have been told.
Our homestay mother, Eva, has been quite
hospitable welcoming us into her humble abode--notice that if you switch the b
and the d, the word becomes adobe, which has a very different meaning. She
speaks broken English, but fortunately she grew up in Kenya so she is a native
Swahili speaker. Unfortunately, our knowledge of Swahili is very basic; so far
we can greet someone and tell them that we are Canadian--Rome was not built in
a day. Speaking of Rome, Tiberius and Caligula would have an
awfully difficult time enjoying themselves in Uganda, a very conservative
country as far as, well, everything goes.
At the house we are 0 for 2 on houseboys--the first one, Juma, was fired the first week for trying to break into our
rooms, and Robert, the newer one, took off with 1000 shillings (60 cents) that
Evelyn gave him to go buy water. Hopefully he was able to start a new, more
financially stable, life for himself.
As a group we are excited for the next part of our adventure
across Lake Victoria and into Tanzania, where we are sure to find more
excitement and fun.
Jinja week 2 highlights:
-First "little person" (politically correct term??)
spotted. (First time in Africa that we were more excited to see someone than
he/she was to see us.)
-Good Indian restaurant found.
-Ben lost another 34 pounds.
-No one has been stabbed, yet.
-Tommy, to almost no one's astonishment, single handedly saved six
infants using only his left hand.
-Swimming at the Nile River Resort=FUN! LOL! TTYL! OMG!
-First albino (politically correct term??) spotted. (Second time
in Africa that we were more excited to see someone than he/she was to see us.)
-'Mzungu'--means white person in swahili--was heard for the
1,000,000th time. There were no balloons.
-Still no one has been robbed or shaken down by the 5-0 for a
bribe.-Or stabbed.
Tanzania is within reach and we all look forward to seeing a few
more fantastic social blunders.
Quotes of the week:
"Ya Omega, it's not Greek, it's
math." -Malcolm
"I just don't understand how two people could be so chiseled
and still have such great hair."--Nicci
(speaking about Ben and Tommy; not sarcastically)
Hayo!
Arusha via Bel Air
Arusha, the 2nd to last portion of the East Africa trip, started with an
interesting night. After finishing our safari, and driving into town,
we realized that every normal hostel and guesthouse we had planned on staying
at was closed. So, after all of our immediate options had been exhausted, we
started lowering our lodging expectations. This led us to a nice little
guesthouse located on a side street near god knows what. A
good introduction to the environment of Arusha.
The next day, we departed quickly to go meet our homestays. We arrived around lunch, and after everyone introducd themeselves, we, for
the first time sinc ethe
beginning of the trip, said goodbye to eachother, and
hello to our family for the next week. Now from this point on, the week was a
fairly standard morning of swahili
lessons with our teacher, Almasi, a part time UN
instructor. The classes were fairly laid back, but took up a good solid 4
hours. with the afternoons free, most of us either
went home to rest and interact with our family, or into town, to attempt our
first gift bargaining within a swahili speaking
country. The basic technique for talking down a price is as follows:
1) ask them how much
2) take the number you are given, and
either ask for a third or half of the price
3) repeat number until satisfied with the
results
I think I speak for all of the people on the trip when i say that it will be really nice to return to home, where
ALL prices are set.
The week ended with an excursion with our teacher into town, to go
to the Rwanda tribunal court hearings. After a security checkpoint to get into
the court, we were all able to see first hand a witness be cross
examined by the defense. It is a very slow process because of
translations (due to the varying languages used) but nonetheless, I am
extremely happy to have been able to witness it live. Saturday and Sunday were
spent enjoying the last days with our homestay, and
gearing up for a stay in Bengata teaching.
Our Time in The Serengeti
After a fantastic time in Uganda, the group was ready for a change
of scenery. We had a tiresome 14 hour ferry ride but
the anticipation that had built surrounding our exciting time on Safari helped
keep our spirits high. In our first day the two Land Cruisers we had took us
through the beginning stretches of the Serengeti. We were dazed by myriad Zebra
and Wildebeast which by day three were like horses and cows to us. In our
very first afternoon of game drives we had the delight of seeing a Lion
feasting on a Zebra while simultaneously keeping hyenas at bay. As well we were
granted the opportunity to see a Leopard lounging in the indigenous Acacia
tree. Through of 3 days in the Serengeti we got within feet of Elephants,
Lions, Baboons and a vast number of other game.
The drive to the Ngorongoro Crater was a
memorable one, filled with sights of the nomadic Masaai,
miles of desolate mountain ranges in which human existence started, and dust. Alot of dust.
We had never seen boogers the shade of black until our drive to Ngorongoro. Our first night was spent on the crater rim. We
were able to enjoy a clear and for the first time, chilly night, under the
stars. We spent our free nights getting to know our drivers and personal cooks.
Our day of game driving through the crater came to a climax at the very end
when we were able to see one of the rarest animals in
Africa, the Black Rhino. According to our driver Fadhili
there are only 120 left in East Africa, and that number is decreasing annually.
We were amazed at the dwindling number, almost as amazed at how entertaining
our drivers butchering of the word Rhinoceros was (according to him its Rhinosonis). After Ngorongoro we
began our trek by foot to Lake Natron. We camped
twice, once above another crater filled with flamingos, the second in a
national park of Acacia trees which we had become so familiar with. We had a
routine, by 6 in the morning we were eating breakfast, and by 7:30 we were
ready to hike. We left our things behind for our Masaai
tour guides to pack onto donkeys to tote from camp to camp. Our arrival to Lake
Natron was nothing less than well deserved. After
setting up camp in our first furnished campsite in days we all went to a local
hot spring/waterfall and refreshed ourselves after
several days of rigorous, dirty terrain.
Through a vote the group decided to move on from Natron to Lake Manyara National
Park for our next day. After an enjoyable but somewhat forgettable game drive
through Manyara we made the drive to Arusha town where we are now for the next 3 weeks.
Bukoba To Mwanza along the
endless ripples of Lake Victoria
I am completely unsure of the date but I do know that I have been
on a bus for the last 3 hours. The seat is a little uncomfortable due to my
pack being on my lap and the 87 degree weather. In
fact the only thing that feels good and free is the miles of road sprawling out
ahead of the bus and the wind in my face. I stay awake for the last hour of the
bus ride because the border crossing will be coming up soon, then with a few
pounds of a renewable ink stamp on our passports and some unreadable signatures
we have all made it into Tanzania! Another thirty minutes on the bus and we
have arrived in Bukoba, just glancing at what I guess
could be called town center I know Tanzania is far more developed than anywhere
in Uganda. We arrive at our hotel that we will be staying at for the next two
nights and it is like walking into a five star resort. It has heated water, carpet, and even TVs in the rooms. A tasty dinner of fried
chicken and a few heart/ body healthy vegetables goes down easy. Before I know
it I am fast asleep.
I awake bright and early for our ferry departure to Mwanza although for the tickets we had to haggle a little
bit. it is nothing compared to the line for the ferry
seats. It is almost comparable to the beginning to a horse race before the
gates open, except there are 3 horses per gate. After a little hustle and some
quick seating arrangements we are all seated comfortably are bags all in a pile
and thinking about the next day. After a few long hours it is almost dawn on
the lake and I step out from the inner 2ND class seating out on to the aft deck
for some stretching and a little fresh air. I look back across Lake Victoria to
see the last glimpse of the sun before all light is gone. I proceed to go back
inside the boat where there arises a silly symphony from the passengers
consisting of different pitches of snoring and wheezing. I find a table next to
the second story galley that looks empty, so after stepping over a couple shut eye locals I am on the table, with my bag under my head
for a pillow asleep again.
I am awakened by the sound of the foghorn as we reach the port in Mwanza. After hopping off of the boat and walking a couple
hundred feet towards our dormitory the first scary part of the trip comes
around when a couple of locals start trying to pick pocket Malcolm's Backpack,
but all was well because Adam our leader was watching out for us. It just goes
to show us all that we need to be aware always and be watching out for each others good interests. Mwanza has a good climate happy locals and almost no where to eat other
than the pizza parlor. On our second day in Mwanza we
met a very courteous man named Nadir who took us out to dinner and paid for
four of us to eat until we could no longer swallow. Later on that same night
Tommy, Malcolm and I had the nerve to defy Adams request of being back to the
dorm by 11 and snuck out breaking curfew to go gamble until 1 am. We were
caught violating this and were promptly brought home. After a sleepless night
we are met by our Safari company but their is a
problem one of the vehicles got into a crash....
To find out what happened next tune into the next blog until then this is team Africa saying in Swahili Kwa heri (goodbye)
Labels: Ferry Ride
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Jinja homestay
After our amazing day rafting, we were picked up
by Shazz and Dirk, two volunteers for an NGO called
Soft Power. Soft Power is an organization that builds and maintains
schools in and around Jinja. Dirk drove us to the
village we would be staying in, Naminya, and after
getting his truck stuck in mud, we proceeded to walk to the home we would be
staying in for the next two weeks. We met Evelyn, our homestay
mom, a very nice woman who we all have come to like very much, and got settled
in. Our house has no electricity or running water, but the family would be
considered fairly well-off by Ugandan standards.
During the week, our mornings are spent working for Soft Power on the
construction of a primary school about 10 minutes walk away from our house. The
work consists mostly of cementing and bricklaying. Our afternoons we spend with
getting Swahili lessons from our teacher Roy. Last night (Friday) we all went
to a Reggae concert which was supposed to be a half
our drive away, which turned out to be an hour and a half drive! We got there
about nine and told the driver we wanted to leave at 11:30. As we have learned,
Ugandans run on a different schedule than us mzungu.
The driver showed up at 1:00 finally and we all had to get out and push our boda boda (minibus-taxi) to jump start it. I think I can say that this was a truly
African experience! Tomorrow we are all planning on going mountain biking
around Jinja and possibly around Lake Victoria.
We left Fort Portal promptly at eight am to begin our bus back to
Kampala. Because of the fragile state of some of our stomachs, we tried to make
the trip as painless as possible, and we are happy to report everyone made it
back to Kampala without losing breakfast. When we arrived at the bus station in
Kampala, it seemed that everyone in the city was out and it took us a couple
chaotic minutes to find a taxi. Once the entire group was in two taxis, we
drove New York taxi driver style to the hostel, Red Chili, located on the
outskirts of the city. Red Chili was a nice, relaxing and more American style
hostel. Here we stayed for two nights, and we're lucky enough to get free
Internet and the latest sports scores. The next day people ventured into the
city of Kampala, which can best be described as a hot, cramped third world
city, with lots to offer. Some people chose to go to the local market and
bargain for presents, while another group went to a mall targeted at tourist;
and we're shocked to even get a real hamburger! (with
real catchup, which is a delicacy here!)
The next day we left Red Chili, with the rafting company Adrift,
and about 15 other people. We then drove about an hour to the small, but
incredibly serene town, of Jinja, where Adrift does
rafting trips down the Nile river. We got our gear,
were told safety precautions, and within thirty minutes of our arrival we were
headed towards our first rapid. The Nile river is a
very green and prosperous looking river. The steep hills lining the sides are
devoted to farms, and along the shore locals were doing laundry by vigorously
hitting the rocks with the fabric. The first few rapids were as easy as pie,
and we began to think that we would make the entire stretch dry and inside the
boat. Our next biggest rapid was called Big Brother,
we were warned that the raft might flip, but not to worry. Together as a group
we charged the beginning of the rapid, and as we came over the top and began to
fall into the depths, it was clear we would not make it. After a few
disorienting seconds under the water, I came up for air, only to see another
huge wave crashing towards me. Down again and up until I was swiftly grabbed by
a safety kayak-er (there are three or four kayaks
that go down the river with the rafts, waiting for just this kind of thing to
happen.) The experience shocked us all, not a single person stayed in the boat,
but not enough to scare us from the bigger waves ahead. After a delicious
catered lunch, we continued down the river, and successfully, except for a few
group members overboard, made it through the last, biggest rapid, without
flipping the boat. Even the worst sun burn could not
make the day the most invigorating and awing experience. If we had time and
money to do it again, we would most definitely, maybe twice.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Our 2nd Week in Africa (Fort Portal)
Our journey to Fort Portal began at 5 am, when the group awoke to
catch the 6 am bus. It is truly thrilling to be woken up by the prayers from
multiple mosques, and it really gives one the sense of being in a whole new
world. The bus ride was uneventful, and we arrived at Fort Portal before lunch.
We are staying at the Y.E.S. Hostel run by a woman named Carol Adams, whose has
been offering her services to the people of Uganda for quite some time. The
hostel is very comfortable, and a nice retreat from the hustle and bustle of
the town.
Originally our plan while in Fort Portal was to build a playground
at Aids/HIV orphanage that was being constructed, but instead, we helped finish
construction of the site itself. It was quite a lot of intense physical labor, which
made it even more rewarding to see it finished. After the 4 days of
construction and the opening ceremony, we were given another task. there is a village about 15 minutes from the orphanage, and
in the village, there is a family of eight children, the oldest being 18, who
have been without parents for more than 4 years. The family lives in a single
bedroom, and so we ere charged with extending there
household. We built two new rooms, a bedroom for the girls, and a bedroom for
the boys. The home is a traditional mud hut, made from places logs in a
foundation, creating a sort of bamboo lattice, and then packing mud in between.
The construction took 4 days, and so now we as a group are relaxing a little
until we venture back to Kampala, and from there, our first homestay
in Jinja!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
1st Week in Africa
Hello All, Greetings from Africa,
We arrived into Entebbe 3 days ago after 3 previous days of
rigorous travel. We all could be perfectly content if we never had to travel 14
hours by plane in a day for the rest of our lives.
We arrived to our the Backpackers Hostel
right outside the capital city of Kampala on Sunday. Since then we have had alot of down time to get to know one another and discuss
the culture, various aspects of being safe, and the best ways to keep our
health in top form. Today our group got our first real world African experience, in pairs we went into downtown Kampala on a
scavenger hunt. We all had to accomplish a plethora of realistic tasks ranging
from getting the best exchange rates from the various banks to finding a taxi
and finding our way back to the hostel. When we reconveined
at the end of the day everyone had a positive experience and found the biggest
city in Uganda (Kampala) to be quite overwhelming but not to trying. It was
unanimous that if you could live in Kampala, you could live in any city in the
world.
Tomorrow the group leaves for Fort Portal to stay in another
hostel while also constructing a playground for a local orphanage for children
who have AIDS and also have parents who have died from AIDS.
From Uganda, this is Team Africa signing off until
next week!