After traveling to Tanzania by bus we made our base camp in Arusha at the United African Alliance Community Center (UAACC), which was no ordinary hostel. The organization is run by Black Panthers Pete and Charlotte O'Neal. Pete is infamously known for starting the Kansas City chapter of the Black Panthers during the civil rights movement and threatening to gun down the House of Representatives. At age 30 he was accused of carrying a gun over state lines. To avoid what would likely be an imminent death in jail, he escaped to Algeria with his 19 year old wife before they settled permanently in Arusha. While most only hear about violence associated with the Black Panthers they had a strong commitment to community service which Pete and Charlotte have kept with them. On their compound shaded by banana trees and brightened by painted murals they teach English and computer classes to adults in the community while caring for over 20 local orphans and also hosting students like us. Having self-exiled from the states and without Tanzanian citizenship, Pete calls himself a citizen of the world. Having learned from his experiences which none of us could ever imagine, he gave us some good life advice and laso cooked us some really great food!
After a day in Arusha, we left the UAACC to spend a few days with a Maasai community about an hour north of town. From the road we drove a few miles into the bush under the backdrop of Mt. Meru. There seemed to be no signs of human life until we found ourselves right up in front of one of the community's bomas. If you are a long time fan of Survivor you will recall that in Survivor Africa the camp was surrounded by a wall of tree branches and pricker bushes to protect the contestants from lions and other intruders. This is all I could think of when we first arrived and I saw the same type of structure around the homes. but don't worry, there were no lions. Our stay with the Maasai was incredible. Let's be honest, when you celebrate an occasion with a goat sacrifice how could it be disappointing? We were welcomed to take part in as much of the process as we wanted, and as one in the “vegetables are what food eats” camp, I felt it was important to participate as much as I could. This meant restraining a flailing leg while one of the local Maasai warriors knelt on its neck with a hand around its mouth. The Maasai kill their animals by suffocation because it's cleaner and preserves more of the animal's blood. In that regard it seems like a good strategy, but after holding on to that goat's leg for what seemed like an eternity, I can tell you that's sure not the way I'd want to go. But I will say that goat pancreas is mighty tasty and liver isn't so bad either. I can't tell you about raw kidney because I just couldn't say yes to the elder who shoved it directly in my face after cutting it out of the body. The goat definitely didn't enjoy the experience, but I certainly did.
Another highlight of the stay was taking part in a traditional Maasai dance. I still remember the time in first grade when we had a Maasai jumping contest as part of our Africa unit. (Mt. Kilimanjaro was also one of our spelling words – thank you Ms. Willig). Morgan Nadai won the contest with the highest jump as I recall. Looking aback on this activity now I can only think that it was fairly culturally insensitive, but it was a good time in first grade. Well, this week I came full circle. I found myself under the stars in the middle of nowhere, singing and dancing while watching about ten Maasai warriors show off their traditional dance moves. I don't think Ms. Willig knew that the jumping is all about showing your strength and bringing home a pretty lady (or maybe she just didn't tell us). Sorry to disappoint, but I did not come back to Nairobi with a Maasai warrior boyfriend.
We then said goodbye to the Maasai and headed off in our Land Cruisers in search of one of the last few hunter-gatherer communities in East Africa. We picked up our guide who makes a living bringing tourists to visit them, and he was able to show us the way. Sitting in this tank of a vehicle, I soon realized that we were on a human safari, and I didn't know how I felt about that. I justified it by considering that the people we were visiting were also compensated, allowing them to purchase new arrow tips, beads, and the occasional sack of maize flour when food is scarce. Although the hour visit was somewhat awkward and uncomfortable, it was still very much enjoyed. This community lives so far from the modern world, that I thought I could only be in a movie or National Geographic documentary for that matter. The men wore baboon pelts on their backs, making them look like serious badasses. I tried my hand at making fire and shooting arrows and was almost successful at starting a fire with sticks, but I didn't quite move fast enough and the men really wanted to smoke their weed. But, with the right materials, I think I might be able to, but don't hold me to it. After an opportunity to purchase jewelry and such we hopped back in the Landies to travel to the next day's location for the slightly more comfortable animal safari.
For our game drive, we visited Ngorongoro Crater, which was formed after a volcano erupted and collapsed about 2 million years ago. The crater is 2000 ft deep and 100 square miles (thank you Wikipedia) and inhabited by a huge selection of animals. After driving up the side of the mountain, we dropped into the crater. The road was extremely treacherous and one wrong move and you're off the edge. The was slightly unnerving, so I tried to distract myself by looking out the roof of the vehicle at the gorgeous scenery. This wasn't too difficult as this place is one of the most beautiful places I've been, which is saying something because I like to think I've seen a fair share of beautiful places. I'll post a picture and it won't do it justice, but when you find yourself in this enormous hole surrounded by green grass (don't get a lot of that in Nairobi), zebra, and bright sunlight, you can't ask for much more. The highlight of the day came with the interactive animal experience when a lurking eagle swooped down and snatched up my chicken leg right off my lunch plate as I tried to seek shelter back in the car. The look on my face was apparently priceless, and I seriously hope that bird enjoyed its lunch.
In case goat sacrifices and safaris weren't enough, we celebrated our last day in Tanzania with a hike up Mt. Kilimanjaro. I could end here and you'd probably be way impressed picturing the 15 of us at the summit, but I'll be honest, we didn't make it to the top. 2700 meters doesn't seem too shabby. but in actuality, we didn't really even make it on the mountain... We hiked to the first camp of what is known as the Coca Cola trail, for being the easiest route up the mountain. (The most difficult is known as the Whisky trail...) However, this is all relative, as the Coca Cola route to us seemed more like maybe the Tequila route. We had a great time, but we definitely paid for it the next day. Unfortunately it was cloudy at the summit so we couldn't really see the mountain from our highest point, but we did get some excellent views of scenic Tanzania.
We were all sad to leave the country and head back to the bustling metropolis of Nairobi to looming papers and ISPs, but all good vacations have to come to an end, just like this endless post, so I'll talk to you later!
Ali
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