The Warm Heart of Africa steals mine again

 Although I will have only been in Malawi for less than a quarter of my time abroad, I know that the memories I have from this part of my adventure will stand out to me when I look back on my time in Africa. I don't have nearly enough time to share everything now, but here are some highlights from the past five weeks.

– Considering this episode has seemed to influence most of my experiences in the past three weeks or so, I guess I'll begin with The Great Shingles Saga... It all started after I was doing a bit of gardening one day and noticed that my face was pretty itchy. I figured that while digging in the dirt I had managed to uncover some sort of angry bug which managed to make its way onto my face, bite me, end of story. (Unfortunately that wasn't the story at all.) Then the excruciating ear pain set in. This time I figured I was just suffering from a raging ear infection. Wrong again. Now all of this was taking place in Gowa, a rural village with no running water or electricity, about a two hour walk from the nearest pharmacy plus a two hour drive from any fully equipped healthcare center. But, Malawi has been far too good to me, and it was certainly looking out for me this time. On the morning we were scheduled to leave Gowa and head south for a few days in Liwonde National Park, I woke up with a rash that was spreading across my face and under my eye. A few days prior we had happened upon some American missionaries who explained that they were organizing mobile clinics in the area. As my luck would have it, one of these clinics was scheduled for the day we were leaving Gowa, and it happened to be taking place right along our route out of the valley. So, we decided to stop in and after cutting about 200 local Malawians in line (serious guilt...) I sat down with Doc Martin, a retired armed forces doc from Arkansas who now comes to Malawi multiple times per year to hold mobile clinics. He examined my face for all of about ten seconds before sharing the wonderful news that I had shingles. (Now it's possible that the only thing you know about shingles is that you recall your grandmother having it at some point or another. Last time I checked, I was not a grandmother or over the age of 65. I guess shingles doesn't discriminate.) I don't think my story quite impresses the pure wonder in the fact that I happened to run into Doc Martin that day. Of course he and his fellow missionaries told me “it's a God thing”, and whether it was that, fate, pure dumb luck, or something else, I have no doubt that things would have ended differently had I not gotten that original confident diagnosis. Because the next day when I woke up, things had taken a turn for the worse, as my eye was now red, swollen, and disgusting. But, now that we knew what we were dealing with, it was straight to the pharmacy for steroids and anti-virals. Then I was off to Blantyre to see another doc, back to Lilongwe for yet another opinion, and off to the eye clinic to see an ophthalmologist. It was an emotionally draining few days as I had to decide whether or not to head home early to seek better treatment and to prevent myself from losing serious vision in my left eye if it had indeed been damaged. Of course, no one wants to be Fred Hayes from Apollo 13, bumped from the mission because he was at risk of contracting the measles. Fred Hayes never got the measles, and I obviously hoped I wouldn't go blind. But while Hayes saves the day, there was no mission needing rescuing for me. Instead, there was only the Warm Heart of Africa, which I wasn't ready to leave yet. But thankfully, I had some great doctors looking out for me in both Malawi and in the States, while my advisers knew when I was in trouble and made sure I got all the right care. So that's the Great Shingles Saga of 2012. Now for the good stuff.

-- One of my favorite parts of this year's trip to Malawi for me was the gardening. Prior to this, my only gardening experience has involved the occasional weeding for my grandmother in addition to the time I tried to grow carrots in a joint compound bucket when I was twelve. (I got way too eager and harvested them long before they were ready. They were about two inches long and as thick as a pencil.) But I learned from some Malawian pros, and my green thumb is thriving!

In Malawi, the majority of people living in rural areas rely on smallholder farming for food and income. Virtually everyone grows maize, the staple crop, in addition to a combination of ground nuts (peanuts), beans, rape, cabbage, or mustard, tomatoes, among others. Most farming is fertilizer intensive, and with rains lasting only two to three months of the entire year, an annual high stakes game ensues in which families must balance investment and yields while considering the risks of limited rains or pest infestation in hopes that they can harvest enough maize to last the entire year.

Enter permaculture. In short, permaculture means think like a forest. In nature, you don't ever find large plots of monocultured land which relies on fertilizer, so why is so much of our environment now monocultured land which relies on fertilizer? I'll leave that answer up to you, but you get the idea. You're probably already familiar with one of the main principles of permaculture. Grow in guilds – maize, beans, pumpkin. You're ready to start gardening!

So, the reason I'm boring you with all this farming theory is because my host family has started their own permaculture garden at their home. It's incredibly exciting because they're the first in their area to do such a thing, and with all of their new bed space, they have the potential to grow a lot more food, for themselves and for sale, and by gardening right at the home, they can reuse all of their waste water, allowing them to grow throughout the year. This was also very exciting because it meant I got to take part! We built compost piles, transplanted young fruit trees, made bird baths, built new brick lined beds, planted, mulched, watered, harvested, and ate. My brothers even let me design and plant my own bed. It has a small papaya tree in the middle, which I transplanted, in addition to maize, beans, sunflowers, mustard, pumpkin, and lemongrass. On my last day in Gowa you may have thought it was Christmas after I spotted a few bean sprouts in the bed. I can't wait to receive picture updates from the garden, and I know my Malawian family is already excited to eat my vegetables!

-- Ostensibly, my main purpose of returning to Malawi was for research (or so the University of Rochester thinks, because they'll be fronting the bill) so I guess I should share a little bit about that. Along with two other friends and my host brother as translator, we carried out a survey on the use of car batteries and solar panels as a means of charging electronic devices in order to gauge the potential interest in a local battery charging station which would be located at the new community center set to be built in Gowa. There are many people using car batteries in the area to operate cell phones, radios, and TVs, and those without a solar panel are forced to hike about an hour and a half out of the valley to a charging station, which takes both time and money. While our time was cut short by almost a week while I was recovering from shingles, we were still able to interview over thirty people on their current electricity usage and demands. One of my favorite interviews was with a teacher from the Gowa secondary school. He has a degree in theology, but we found him at his home on Saturday studying chemistry because there is currently no physical science teacher at the school. I told him I would have been thrilled to tutor him had I not been leaving in a few days. We talked about his energy use and he explained that he had a small solar panel and a car battery, but the panel didn't work yet because he had yet to purchase an inverter. I asked why and he said it was due to cost, but he then said that he learned how you can replace the part with a resistor from a TV, bought at a fraction of the cost, which was his plan. I asked where he learned that, and he told me in a book from the school library. The boy who harvests the wind isn't the only Malawian genius...

So there are a few highlights for you. You're probably thinking that gardening, surveying, and shingles really doesn't sound especially thrilling, which is true. I think the real enjoyment for me was in cooking every day with my brothers and sister, hiking, popcorn and movie nights, and poop jokes, among other things. (The chichewa word for hyena is fece, and the word for danger is poopsya, so I'm sure you can imagine the fun we had with that one.) When I left Gowa for the first time two years ago, I looked back down the road and knew I'd come back. So when I decided to return, I thought this would end the Malawi chapter of my travels. But I was wrong...walking out of the village I had the same feeling of knowing I'll be back, and I think it's only a matter of time...

But until then, it's on to South Africa and then back to the States. I'm already experiencing reverse culture shock here in Jo'burg. Our hotel complex has a Hooters. Need I say more? The Hamlin parentals are set to arrive this evening, so I'd say the fun's over, or maybe just beginning...

From Sea to Summit

 I was scheduled to leave Kenya this morning for Malawi, but the airline industry being what it is didn't have the same plans for me. Although my reservation was for today, apparently my flight isn't until tomorrow. Of course this is a bummer, but when Kenya Airways puts you up in about the best hotel in Nairobi with free unlimited buffets for every meal, things could obviously be a lot worse. And lucky for you, I've decided to swap my three minute phone call to anywhere in the world for two hours of internet access, so I now have the chance to share a little bit about my last few weeks.

I last updated from Dar es Salaam, prior to heading off to Zanzibar. I will report that Zanzibar does indeed have cars and paved roads and whatever else the song said it didn't. It also has gorgeous beaches and delicious banana and nutella crepes. But don't look for a plastic grocery bag on the island as they've been made illegal as of last year. Regardless of the haves and have nots of Zanzibar, we had an excellent few week. A few days in town offered the chance to get lost a few too many times within the narrow alleyways of Stone Town, the opportunity to learn a little bit more about the island's history, and of course to do some shopping. The second half of our trip took us to the opposite side of the island to the middle of nowhere to be beach bums for a bit. The internet is certainly an amazing thing, as it seemed pretty incredible that we were able to find such a great little place to stay in the absolute middle of nowhere. Our little beach bungalows were a bit like the luxury version of our homes back in Shirazi, complete with electricity, fans, and outdoor bathroom. It was great to go to the bathroom under the stars, but not so much in the rain... There's not so much to say about our time at the beach. There was lots of relaxing, staring at the ocean, and attempting to dodge beach boys. But things did get exciting when we decided to plan a snorkeling adventure at the reef a ways off the beach. We decided to listen to one of the men constantly soliciting us along the water. He gave us the cheapest offer for a snorkeling trip we had heard all week, and being the college students that we are, we decided to jump on it. He told us we'd take a sailboat, and although we were somewhat sketched out by this, we figured it'd be an adventure. And boy it was... The next morning, he and his buddies showed up with an outrigger which had certainly had its fair share of fishing voyages. Although a trimaran, the boat itself was only about two feet wide, and we all stood on the beach thinking how on earth were six of us going to fit in this boat? We also strongly questioned the seaworthiness of skiff, but decided to go for it anyways. Of course it was somewhat disconcerting to watch a large spray of water seep in through a leak between two of the boat's wooden planks as we hit every wave, but it was nothing a little bailing couldn't fix. Despite our worries, the boat managed to stay afloat, plus we enjoyed some good snorkeling.

We were all sad to leave the beach, knowing we were heading back to Nairobi, but we could feel a bit better knowing that this time we would be traveling for less than two hours by air, as opposed to the day long epic journey we endured before. Of the six of us who traveled to Zanzibar, four were soon saying goodbye to Kenya, while my friend Anna and I were preparing for our grand finale adventure to Mt. Kenya.

Prior to this semester, my mountain climbing experience really only consisted of hiking Mt. Monadnock on a sixth grade field trip. So why not start off strong with the second highest mountain in Africa?! I had planned to really start getting back in shape during ISP in preparation for the trip, but neither Anna nor myself really committed much time to our fitness level. This led us simply to laugh at ourselves when discussing our trip. Fortunately, our guide set us a great “pole pole” (slowly slowly) pace so we never really had to worry about keeping up. As it turns out, we had way more important things to worry about during our four days on the mountain.

At times I felt I was becoming borderline hypothermic and at others I felt frostbitten toes were inevitable. I had what I can confidently call the worst headache of my life due to altitude sickness and I can also add a tally to my sparse vomiting history, also as a result of the altitude. And waking up at two in the morning in attempts to reach the summit in time for sunrise really didn't help my cause. (I know this sounds pretty bad, and a few times I did think what on earth am I doing and why did I freely choose to do this to myself?) But finally peaking my head out from the back side of the mountain to see the sun do the same over the horizon made everything worth it. Even though it can't possibly do the moment justice, I'll let the photo speak for itself.

In total we walked about 60 km, peed about six times along the trail everyday do to our diligent increased water intake, and for me, wore seven layers to bed each night, including a soft shell and a winter jacket all inside my sleeping bag. But neither Anna nor myself could have imagined a better way to end our Kenyan experience. And although at times I was sick and cold, having the opportunity to say goodbye to Kenya from its roof is something I won't forget.

And so it is so long to Kenya. It's been a sad few days as I've come to call my neighborhood in Nairobi home, and the relationships I've made are just as strong as those of friends and family. Relationships are highly valued in Kenyan culture, making every farewell a struggle, even to the woman at the cyber cafe or man who fixed my glasses. Maybe one day I'll return, but for now, the south is waiting. Hopefully I'll be off to Malawi in the morning, but then again, another day in this hotel wouldn't be so bad! I'll try my best to post a few updates while I'm there, but I make no promises on my internet connection. So for now, kwaheri (goodbye)!

Ali

Our sketchy sailboat rows away

The bungalow

Freezing cold, but at the summit!

This one speaks for itself...

Trekkin'! (Our porters are enthusiastic...)

We made it back!  Our entire team, including porter, guide, and cook.

The end of one adventure and the start of the next

Technology hasn't really been on my side recently. This is mainly due to the fact that my little toy of a computer (thank you Lauren Pengrin) decided to die on me less than 24 hours before my final 40 page ISP report was due.  That certainly made for a fun evening... Not only that, but it chose to start working again right after I finally finished my paper on a friend's computer.  I was not pleased... Regardless, I'd say I'm having fairly good luck on the technology front today because amazingly I am able to post this out of any wifi range from my Kindle. To be honest, it really sucks to type on it (my thumbs are already sore) but I figure it's worth the update.

My last week in Nairobi was spent frantically trying to finish up my ISP paper. We worked down to the wire, even having to run from place to place to try to find somewhere in Nairobi with power to print our papers. Of course it happens that the time we really need elecricity to write and eventually print is the rainy season when power outages are almost a daily occurance. In addition to the computer issue the utilities really didn't want to cooperate because we also had no water for our last three days in Nairobi...that got real bad real fast after my pre Mt. Kenya stair workout...let's just say no one was sitting too close to me for the next few days...

But luckily, all the stress of ISPs and power failures and all of Nairobi's other surprises is long! The coast just has a way of fixing everything (except some continued intestinal distress...I'm leaving that one to the cipro...)

I don't want to make you all too jealous (sorry for those of you who are currently taking exams as I write) but I've literally spent the past four days in paradise. A paradise complete with palm trees, ocean, four pools, all you can eat buffets,and actual day beds for sleeping in during outside during the daytime. And yes...I'll be getting credit for that...  But it wasn't all fun and games because we had to listen to everyone present their ISPs, however this for the most part pretty exciting as we got to hear all about what our friends had been up to for the past month. This was the culmination of our semester and everythimg we've learned. I'm still struggling to understand that the semester is really over but this just means the start of a new set of adventures!

Our epic voyage to Zanzibar began yesterday after lunch and farewells to all. We hopped a mattu from Malindi down to Mombasa, about a two hour drive. There we spent thenight before an early morning departure to Dar es Salaam by bus. This however ws not without a new technoloical malfunction when the ATm decided to eat my friend's debit card. And obviously the security guard was atotal jurk, the manager of the bank had already gone home, so it's fairly certain she'll never see the card again... :( But we persevered and made it on the bus this morning for our ten hour trek to TZ. I almost got left behind in a bathroom at one stop,but besides that the ride was fairly uneventful. Just your normal rollercoaster ride through the country side in a seat with too little leg room even for me. After our arrival we all decided we were certainly pleased to be flying back to Nairobi on the return trip...

Tomorrow it's off to Zanzibar by ferry! Zanzibar has always just been this mysterious place in my head. The only thing I've ever known about it was from this silly song my dad and I heard on NPR probably when I was six. All I remember was the part that said, "you can't get there in a car! Zanzibar oh Zanzibar!" It also talked about there not being any tar in Zanzibar and just about anything else that ends in ar. (I know this sounds like an incredibly stupid song, and it is.) But thank you NPR for playing it way back when so that my Dad and I could then chuckle about the place any time we ever heard the name from that point on. So not only did I come full circle with the Maasai jumping contest, but also with Zanzibar. I can' wait to find out how much of the song is accurate...I'll let you know...

Ali

Maisha (life)

I know it's been too long and I have no excuses except that I'm now writing up a storm (ie 40 pages) about my treasure hunt through Kenya to find biogas digesters. Yes it's been an adventure! I've mastered many matatu routes out of Nairobi, eaten goat twice in one day with some new biogas friends, walked miles, been picked up on the side of the road, etc, etc. I'm sure you're probably wondering about all of what I just mentioned, especially the part about being picked up on the side of the road (don't worry though, it's not nearly as sketchy as it sounds). I know I probably could have expounded on any of these events and turned it into a nice blog post, but despite the excitement, I've been hesitant to write. Here's the thing – I've reached a point in my time here that I've really begun to feel like I'm living in Nairobi. I've never spent such an extended period of time somewhere besides Ipswich, MA or Rochester, NY until my time in Kenya. A crazy matatu trip has become the everyday, not just some absurd amusement ride like it was three months ago. Marriage proposals from strangers seem normal. And three weeks of diarrhea just seems to have become a part of life. I no longer feel like I'm traveling, just living. But unfortunately (or fortunately...) for you, I sort of feel like it's a little boring to read a blog about everyday life. Thus my lack of motivation to keep you updated. (I apologize if this seems like a cop out.) And now that we're all just hunkering down to write, write, write, I don't think I'll really have anything to share, that is unless me or one of my friends gets swept away by the rainy season flooding. We'll be heading back to the coast in a week for our final presentations which I'm obviously excited for, and then it's off to Zanzibar!

In a digester

Biogas and Elephants

I said I'd share a little bit more about my ISP, and I figured now would be a good time since I actually have some things to share! I think I may have mentioned that things have been moving pretty slowly in terms of my research. (Africa time gets you every time...) I've been busy venturing out into the field but I've had trouble accomplishing what I've actually set out to do, and only had my first formal interview with a biogas plant owner on Friday. My original goal was to visit 20 homes with biogas over the course of the month, so at this rate you might imagine my ensuing anxiety. However, yesterday was a game changer, as one of the biogas contractors I've been in touch with over the past few weeks was able to take me to three sites! And not only that, but because I was going to an area on my side of the city, I didn't have to go into city center to catch a second matatu to my destination. Having walked through city center every other day this week from the bus station to the matatu sector (from here you can pretty much get anywhere in Kenya...) I have experienced far too much sensory overload. If the masses of people don't get you, the massive clouds of bus exhaust will. (And these are the reasons I don't like cities.) I've found this to be the most exhausting part of my ISP period thus far, so I was all over yesterday's simple outbound commute.

As I mentioned, I visited three sites in the Ngong area, and although that's not many, I'm starting to see some trends. Although biogas was introduced to Kenya over 50 years ago, it has only started to gain popularity in the past five or ten, while plant production has grown drastically in the past one or two years due to a new subsidy program which makes the technology more affordable. Even so, most are still uneducated in regards to the technology and its potential, and many who are still find the cost to be prohibitive. As a result, it seems that biogas hasn't reached the people who can benefit most from it, however I'm sure that this will come with time.

The first home I visited was of a middle aged woman named Ester and her family. We started in the kitchen where they had a nice six burner stove (up to this point, I had only seen four) in addition to a microwave. But on the opposite side of the room was the two burner biogas stove. Ester's daughter demonstrated that it did indeed work, lighting the stove and allowing me to see the strong blue flame that erupted from the burner. We went and had a seat in the living room where the boys were playing FIFA soccer on the family's PlayStation. (Haven't seen one of those in Kenya!) Ester grabbed a few eggs from the stockpile in the corner went to whip me up an omelet. Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea may not tell the true story, but he at least got it right about the tea. In many parts of the world it is common courtesy to insist on a cup of chai (or meal) to any visitor. Kenya is no exception, and I enjoyed a delicious omelet at Mama Ester's and an excellent glass of milk tea at my second visit. This surely beat the glass of fermented milk known as maziwa lala I was offered on the previous day's visit... After enjoying my second breakfast, Ester and I talked all about biogas. She has four cows which provide her with two valuable commodities – milk, and now poop. Someone in the family feeds the digester every day, which produces enough gas to cook breakfast, lunch, and part of dinner. When the gas runs out they transfer to the other stove to cook the remainder of the meal. In this way, they've been able to reduce their use of conventional LPG fuel by more than half, which is about a fifty dollar monthly savings. Ester says that she hopes to reinvest this savings into another cow or a milking machine to further her business. In addition, she has realized that the plants in her garden sprout up faster than her neighbors' since she started using the bioslurry byproduct as fertilizer.

Of the families I've spoken with, many aspects of Ester's story are shared by others. Because her home is connected to the grid and she was unable to afford a larger digester which would have produced more gas with enough input, Ester isn't using biogas lighting. Moreover, because her family was using LPG before biogas, they were already benefiting from health impacts associated with indoor air pollution that comes with cooking with wood and charcoal. This means that the impacts for her family of using biogas are mainly financial. I'm excited to see if this trend continues as I hear from others using biogas!

In other news, we decided to play tourist yesterday and visit the elephant orphanage in Nairobi National Park. Every day from 11-12 you can come and see the babies during feeding time, and your toes may even be lucky enough to get a trunk kiss like mine were! The elephants range in age from only a few weeks to three years during which time they're completely milk dependent. They're fed every three hours and have to be watched at all times which means that a worker must sleep with them in their individual enclosures every night. But because elephants are known for strong familial instincts, they sleep with a different worker every night to prevent imprinting. It's an incredible program and boy are the babies cute! And I'm thinking that with the poop of about twenty elephants they could make some serious biogas...possibly a follow-up case study to my ISP??? But for now, just enjoy some cute elephant baby pics.

Feeding time.

Does this make my butt look big?

Love.

No News is Good News

I had planned to give you an update a few days ago, but I'll be completely honest. The primary purpose of this blog is to let my grandmother know I'm safe, having fun, and still alive. But thanks to the wonderful world of technology, she was actually able to see my face the other day on Skype when she was in Ipswich for the weekend. So, sorry for the rest of you, the post wasn't really necessary when I could tell her all about my latest adventures “in person”. But I guess I should still share with the rest of you.

I've eased back into city life after enjoying a relaxing time in Tanzania. Our ISP period is in full swing and the clock is ticking! (I won't go into detail about how crazy it seems I only have a month left in the program because then I'll just get stressed out about all the ISP work that I need to get done...) And because we're in Kenya which runs on Africa time, it usually takes a whole lot longer to get anything done, but I'm trying my best and hoping that things will start to come together.

Because the goal of ISP is to let us loose and see what we can come back with, they really let us make all our own decisions, one of which is housing arrangements. Last week, five of my friends and I moved into an apartment fairly close to our school where we'll be living for the month. It's been weird to be living out of my homestay and I've been missing my family and my mama's incredible chai, but it's been nice having a little bit more independence. Our apartment is also really nice, complete with wood floors, a TV and DVD player, excellent internet, and really comfy couches. So on the few days that I was busy at home writing my final paper, I had to force myself to get out of the house just so I could remember that I was still living in Kenya... I'm not particularly proud of this, but it makes me all the more excited to get out in the field for my ISP.

I have nothing else especially exciting to share. My friends and I went on an upcountry adventure this weekend to hike Mt. Longonot, which was once a volcano (like Ngorongoro Crater) but on a much smaller scale. But, it was still a great climb. I'm really not motivated to write any more (sorry), so I'll just post some pictures instead. Enjoy!

Stopping for a good view and a rest before exploring the crater rim.

Trash at the top...

Me at the top...

And we just missed the rain!

I just got back from our “educational” excursion to Tanzania and have returned with one pressing question. Who needs Jamaica when your spring break involves sacrificing a goat, having a rager Maasai style, going on safari, and hiking on Mt. Kilimanjaro among other awesome things? We all decided that this was indeed the best spring break we've ever had. Just about every experience was a highlight, so my usual highlight list isn't going to work so well, so you'll have to bear with me...

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

Sometimes you just have to be a tourist...

Attempting to start a fire.

Not quite sure what part of the goat this was...

Sunrise over Kilimanjaro.