Tanzania travels

Oh where to begin…the last 10 days already feel like a dream. But my sore legs remind me that I just had a great adventure. Tuesday November 5 I got on an Ethiopian Airlines plane headed to Tanzania. Right off the bat the trip started well- they served me a delicious lunch on the plane including cheese and apple juice! Walking off the plane I had the biggest grin on my face as I looked around at all the new scenery and the hidden hulk of Mt. Kilimanjaro. I got a taxi to the hotel I had booked and the grin widened when I saw the lovely swimming pool and palm trees. Even just checking in I was served chilled hibiscus juice and the people were so friendly. I immediately put on my suit, wrapped up in the snazzy cotton bath robe and went to lounge and swim in the pool. Heaven!

Later I went for a little walk into the village and froze with dropped jaw when I saw Mt. Kilimanjaro in its full cloudless glory. It was a powerful moment as I realized I had dreamed of seeing the mountain since I was a kid- I even had a poster of it for many years. I think what makes it so stunning is just how massive it is and the beauty of white snow gleaming in the hot African sun. The rest of the walk I giggled to myself as I habitually tried to say hello to the kids by speaking Amharic, leaving them totally confused. My first impression of Tanzania was to notice all the chickens roaming around and how the young trees were not fenced but were actually growing unharmed by grazing animals. This made me realize how poor Ethiopia really is in comparison even as I watched bare foot, pantless kids run around in the dirt streets.

The next day I headed into the town of Moshi with some other travelers I had met at the hotel. They showed me around town and we spent a bit of time hanging out at the fancy “ferengi/muzungu” coffee shop where I drank a fruit milkshake. Later when entered back into the hotel I was thrilled to see my dear friend Cassandra sitting at the bar waiting for me! It was such a joy to see a friend from home and to catch up about our lives from the past year. I was also so inspired and amazed to hear that her run around Kilimanjaro was a success as well as her climb up the mountain! She truly is one of the strongest, kindest people I know. Through contacts from her run she had tentatively made plans for our safari and the next day we hit the road in our classic Land Rover with our driver/guide Tony.

The next four days were spent driving around four different national parks- Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire, and Arusha, all different landscapes with amazing animals. The first day at Lake Manyara the highlight was watching a herd of elephants 30 feet from the road munching on spikey Acacia trees murmering to each other. We had gone with a “budget” safari and were a little concerned when we had to have some guys push start the truck when we had stopped at a little viewing spot. Fortunately that was the only time because only an hour later we were sitting (in the truck) staring at lions lounging in a tree in the afternoon heat. A male lion sat hidden in bushes at the base of the tree and it was only after Cassandra joked about peeing at the base of the tree did we see him. Yikes!

That first night we stayed at a fancy hotel with flowers sprinkled on our beds and warm washcloths presented to us on arrival. Ah luxury! And for breakfast we had a buffet of fruit, omelets and….BACON!  (yes I am a little food obsessed). Oh simple pleasures. That day we went to another place I have dreamed about – Ngorongoro crater- 12 miles wide with fresh water springs popping up to provide water year round to the abundant wildlife. The Masai people graze their cattle on the outer rim of the crater and it was beautiful to see them wearing the traditional deep red and purple cloth against their dark skin. The women had long fancy silver ear pieces and the tall men all carried long spears. Classic! We drove down into the crater (a steep 2,000 ft drop) and were greeted with the classic scene of grazing wildebeest, zebra, impala and gazelles totally unfazed by the vehicle. We also saw a hyena sleeping in a mud puddle in the road, elephants, hippos and ostrich hanging out in a lush green grassy spring and as a grand finale a cheetah! She was feeding on a fresh kill, panting in the heat and alert to other predators. Again this was a potent moment for me as I have always loved cheetahs and felt so thrilled to watch one in the wild.

Tarangire National Park had a lovely river where we saw elephants playing in the water and took lots of photos of the beautiful and huge baobab tree. A precious memorable moment was silently watching a group of female elephants rest under a tree only 20 feet away. In the group was a little baby and we watched in awe as it nursed and waddled about. Leaving the park we stopped to buy some jewelry from a Masai womens group and I got a fun photo of them showing off their work.

Our last day was in Arusha National park where the highlight was giraffes, lots of them roaming the thick brush and flamingos, wading in alkaline lakes. Flamingos are hilarious in the way they groom and bathe themselves murmering and chattering the whole time. It was magical to watch them fly in and out against the backdrop of the looming Mt. Meru. This mountain is the 5^th highest in Africa and has a stunning gnarled knife edge summit.

The only reason I know it is the 5^th highest is because we decided to climb it and it had a sign at the top. Long story short (we only knew 30 minutes in advance that we were able to pull this adventure off) at 10 am we got picked up and driven back to Arusha park to start a 3 day climb. Our starting elevation was 1500m (4,920ft) and the summit was at 4,566m (14,980ft), in other words lots and lots of going up. The first day we hiked through the lush jungle passing a huge arched Ficus tree that we could walk through, and pausing to ogle at the teensiest little chameleon I had ever seen (less that 2” big). We got to our “camp” and were delighted to see it was newer building with clean bunk beds and flush toilets! On guy on our support team even brought warm water so we could wash. Pretty snazzy!

The second day we walked past the huge ash cone (a perfect conical slope) and spotted some giraffes lurking in the bushes. We then hiked up a long series of switchbacks climbing up a huge cliff. I had fun recognizing the same type of vegetation I am familiar with in Ethiopia thinking how similar it looked. We got to our 2^nd “camp” early and had time to relax a bit before climbing Little Meru to acclimatize. Little Meru was a fun hike and I was happy that I was feeling great. (Remember that Cassandra had just run over 250 km, AND climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, so she is in fantastic shape, where I have just started running 20 minutes, 2 times a week.) At the top we got a little concerned because it started raining and wondered if we would face rain the next day.

Midnight we got up after a few hours sleep and got ready for our big day. In my fog coming back from the bathroom I walked into the wrong bedroom, stood confused for a minute then realized what I had done. Funny oops. We drank some coffee, munched popcorn and headed out into the cold darkness. I had never done an “alpine start” and thinking of hiking up a steep slope for 6 hours in the dark sounded quite daunting. But I trudged along, thankful for my meditation practice that allowed me to simply peacefully focus on my breath and steps. I was also very thankful to have some extra warm clothes from Cassandra – gloves and a jacket made all the difference. After passing some sketchy steep patches and seeing the beautiful glitter of ice crystals on the rocks we saw the first hints of sunrise. From there on out I was beaming knowing we would make it and immersed in the beauty of the dawning day. Mt. Kilimanjaro stood in its glory in the distance and we could see forever- even into Kenya.

The summit was spectacular and I felt so happy to be on top seeing such pristine beauty. We took many celebratory photos with our little posse of an Austrian, a Brit, and our two guides. Coming down I felt great and continued to take in all the stunning scenery. We got back to our 3^rd camp, ate a big meal, packed our bags, then continued down for our very very long descent all 10,000 ft in about 15 miles. I was whipped by the time we got down but still felt so jazzed at what we had just done. For dinner that night we splurged at a fancy restaurant where I had a steak with Blue Cheese (moaning in delight with every bite), and two glasses of wine.

My last day I chuckled as I hobbled down some stairs feeling like an old lady. We did some shopping in town and indulged in an iced coffee with chocolate ice cream! Oh little pleasures! I said a quick heartfelt goodbye to Cassandra then headed to the airport for my short 2 hour plane ride, and long 9 hour bus ride back to good ol Goba. The plane passed directly in front of Mt. Meru and I said a contented goodbye to Tanzania. Now back in Goba it almost feels like a dream, but a very good dream that I will never forget. 

Tanzania Photos!

Here are some of the best photos I took during my 10 day whirlwind vacation in Tanzania. A few more will be posted on Facebook (sorry Mom).

First glimpse of Mt. Kilimanjaro

Safari Girls- Cassandra and I in our pop top Land Rover

Ah classic many animal scene

BABY!!! So cute!

Not just a pretty tree- can you see the lions? There are two in the tree and one at the base on the right. 

Stoked to see Ngorongoro Crater- a classic African wildlife spot

Masai kid tending his cattle

Zebra's, gazelle, wildebeast..oh my!

So happy!

Hyena's sure are ugly! This guy was not happy at being woken from his nap. 

A mini version of the great migration

Not in a zoo! Lush grass with animals galore!

Perspective. Do you see the giraffe in the shadow of the Baobab?

More elephants! And babies!

Elephant car wash! 

Nap time in the heat of the day

Masai women selling their jewelry

Flamingos with Mt. Meru in the distance

Flamingos coming in for the landing!

Giraffes play fighting or mating...not sure...but doing some sort of dance.

End of the safari and our private ride

The mystical shadow of Mt. Meru

Hoorah! We made it!

The climb back down. Super steep on both sides.

A glimpse of the past month...

Gate to a compound inside the Tekeleymot monestary, part Orthodox Christian Church. It felt like being in hobbit land, lots of little pathways in the shade of giant trees. Lovely quiet and peaceful too!

I need a hair cut and might go to this place for one...Maybe I should get my hair done like hers? 

Hard to tell in the photo but this is what I call "Ethiopian 2nd rinse cycle". It is pouring rain as I try to dry my hand washed clothes. 

Contrast of classic mud home without electricity and power line. 

Last week I was in Butajira for a training on gardening. The last day my PC friends and I went out to a lake and had some little friends escort us along. (Note the little boy without pants- this is very common and adorable!)

My favorite view from Goba, looking the other direction I stare at the looming Bale Mountains. 

Walking and running

Thrusday October 31, 2013 (oh yeah Happy Halloween)

This morning I woke up early, just as it was getting light right at 6:00. Knowing how good I feel after running, but hating to get out of bed I told myself “don’t think just move”. I unbolted the tin gate to my compound and started running down the slightly muddy people less road. I like to run east into the rising sun and this morning with the clouds was a gorgeous sun rise. I turned back a little early to avoid a big pack of dogs, and thus avoiding a potential 3 day trip to Addis for a rabbis shot. Sadly my relationship with dogs here has turned into one of fear and avoidance, I have learned not to even look at them to avoid any kind of aggression. Dogs here are for guarding purposes only and are never touched unless they are getting hit. But that doesn't stop me from getting out occasionally and enjoying the joy of running into the rural fields.

Anyway I am thinking about running more these days because as I write this my good friend Cassandra is running around Mt. Kilimanjaro, essentially running a marathon of 30-40 km each day! She is doing this amazing feat as a fundraiser for the disease Lupis, which both she and her sister have. If you can, please go to her website and donate to support her and all the other people who suffer from this disease. (http://www.justgiving.com/Cassandra-Ankney/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=fundraisingpage&utm_content=Cassandra-Ankney&utm_campaign=pfp-share) I am also thinking about her because next week I will be flying to Tanzania to meet Cassandra and to do a safari together! I will be her “after the fact” cheerleader.

On the slower end of running I have been thinking about what it is like to live in a community where everyone walks. It is rare for someone to own a car. One of the great benefits of walking is that it brings a greater sense of community because you always see your neighbors as everyone walks to work in the morning, and again in the afternoon after lunch. I now leave my house ten minutes early to make time for all the greetings I do, which I really love. It truly is the little interactions that make me love being here.

Tonight in celebration of Halloween my site mate and I are going to carve pumpkins and make chili! Costumes in Ethiopia are unheard of so it will be a low key fun evening. Chao!

Cultural Moments

September 30, 2013

In continuing to embrace adapting to this culture I figured I would report some of the highlights. Last Thursday was the Orthodox Christian holiday Meskal “The Finding of the True Cross”, which like all holidays here involves eating doro wat, drinking buna, eating kolo and socializing. In addition a giant cross is burned. Yay! I had the fun of inviting myself to go with my compound “sister” visiting from Addis, to the celebration. We ended up meeting her brother Johannes (and my neighbor), one of the nicest people I have ever known, and going out for tibs (roasted meat) and beer first. I had a lot of fun with them talking with them in my broken Amharic and their broken English. I listened as they talked about family issues, which answered some questions that had been building about my “compound family”. Anyway we left and headed up the hill to where a huge crowd of people stood in their lovely nutella’s (not the chocolate but the traditional white scarf). As it started to get dark a huge cross made of Eucalyptus branches was lit on fire. I enjoyed playing with the kids, taking photos and surprising people that I could speak tinish Amharic. A lovely cultural ceremony.

Me in my "Habasha" libs (Ethiopian clothes)

Lovely ladies

The burning of the cross

Cutie!!!

My other lovely cultural moment was today when I went to the home of my counterpart Gobezie and his wife Tigist, who are quickly becoming my second adopted family. Her 35 year old sister suddenly died last week of a heart attack and they were in mourning. Ethiopians address death by erecting a large tent in their yard and sit in it mourning for days. Friends and neighbors drift by and sit to pay their respects, talk and console each other. I found it to be very touching and powerful as we sat watching the emotions of sadness, reflection, memory, connection and joy pass over us. One elderly man came and started wailing and crying deeply which of course led me to cry a bit reflecting on all those who have mourned under the tent, the sadness of a young life cut short, and the pain of loss that everyone faces. A precious moment.

Walking back home I gave a banana to two of my favorite little girls and enjoyed talking with some high school girls. Now that school is back in session the kids are everywhere and I am learning the joy in talking with them pushing both of our language skills. This afternoon I snuk out before a looming rain storm and collected some old manure in preparation for making a garden with Mogus the guard tomorrow. Some young boys even helped me even though they thought I was crazy collecting poo! Ah the joy in embracing being different!

PS- As of tomorrow I have been in Ethiopia for 1 year!!! Crazy!!!

And so the wheel turns...

September 22, 2013

I’m not usually one to complain but I feel like writing about some of the challenges I face working as a Peace Corps Volunteer. But first it is important to remember that one of the goals of Peace Corps is basic cultural exchange (I had to refrain from using the word “simple” because cultural exchange is not simple). Partially by default I am spending more of my time in this area. Yesterday is a nice example. In the morning I went with fellow PCV Devin and a well-known local man who he is working with to a woman’s home here in Goba that had a bee colony located in the gap between the window and shutter of her home. It was perfect to view an active hive through the window without disturbing the bees at all. The woman was very nice and insisted that we stay for buna, which turned into eating a meal of injera and ciga wat (spicy meat in a red sauce). A common, classic example of the kindness Ethiopians show to strangers here. As we were leaving the told me to come back at any time, which I think I will, partially just to see the progress of the bees.

The afternoon was also filled cultural integration meaning drinking buna, eating kolo (roasted barley), and baso (a barley powder). My friend Tigist took me over to her sister’s house, and then later to her neighbors house where there was a gathering of 10 women socializing. I enjoyed mostly listening and watching. I was able to understand that a young female teacher had just died and they all donated some money to help the family. At end of the gathering the hostess brought out a tray of huge slices of bread and everyone took one to bring home. I did too and made a delicious grilled cheese sandwich for dinner, and lunch today. (Again thank you Erik for your package of cheese!!!)

So on the social exchange part I feel like I’m doing a good job, and truly enjoying it, especially as my language skills get a little better. On the “work” level things continue to be an up- hill climb. I really am seeing how crucial it is to find and work with another motivated person, like Devin has done in finding a guy to work with bees. Ato Gossa has several bee hives living inside his house and has become the “Bee King” of Robe. Devin is now helping him to purchase some transitional bee hives and start a training center for teaching people how to raise bees with a transitional hive. The transitional hive is a simpler version of the “modern” hive that most people use.

On the other side of the spectrum last week I went out into field 10km with some guys from the Agricultural Office to “help” them give training on using modern hives. It was a beautiful area, full of native trees and flowers and a small cluster of Gojo bet homes, classic mud and thatch roof. The sad part was how these very rural, very poor, people invested a lot of money for this fancy new hive, brought it in by horse back, and won’t be able to use it to its full potential due to additional expensive equipment and technical expertise that is required. The Ag office gave a 2 hour training talking about the hives but did not address the topic of how to get bees to use the hive, and how to process the honey at the end. Now the hives are sitting waiting for an expensive wax mold and sheets to be made so that the hive is functional. I am tempted to play the rich ferengi role and just purchase the wax to see if I can help save this project…

Sigh. I will keep following the process and see how it turns out but sadly I am highly skeptical…

Another example of disappointment and frustration in potential good projects is the tree planting along the main road in Goba. I had actually attended a training on “Project Design Management” and worked with Gobezie to strategize how to do this project. Once we got back to Goba we talked to the city municipality to present the idea and they essentially said that since I did not have any money to provide that they did not need my help. The university in Robe had plans to do a community development project and ended up providing lots of trees. It is interesting to simply observe how this project evolves, with fences of every shape and form being erected before the trees are planted… In a way it is humorous to see what happens (a funny example is the toilet seat cover being painted to advertise a hotel- this is especially funny because it is rare to find toilet seats on actual toilets but I guess they work better as decoration…). On the other hand it is sad to see a project that I feel like I could have helped with, teaching how to plan and carry out a project, unfold so haphazardly. Certainly it is a lesson for me in the value of recognizing when to be assertive, forceful and maybe obnoxious in promoting myself vs. sitting back and letting things be done the Ethiopian way. (And a personal lesson in confidence and arrogance. Judgment of a culture that is so different from what I am used to.) At least in Goba the trees will survive, in Robe they planted a ton of trees, without fences and within a few days all the trees had been eaten by the ever abundant roaming goats, sheep and cows.

One more disappointment to report: I met with the default leader of the Bale Beauty Nature Club today to discuss its fate only to hear him say that the club members don’t care anymore, as shown by the fact that he was partially high and spacy from chewing a local drug Khat. Last week I went up the property of the club and talked with the guard, a very nice, hard- working guy, a retired soldier (with nasty battle scars to prove it). He was discouraged because he had not been paid for the past month and therefore had no money to buy food for his family to celebrate the New Year holiday. So sad. 

So these are a few of my frustrations. Luckily today I got a package from my Dad that had a “Life is Good” t-shirt that said “Powered by Optimism”. Hopefully when I wear it I can walk the talk. On a positive note walking through town today I met a student who invited me to come back to the Youth Environment Club and help lead a discussion on environment. Perfect lesson in following the energy and going with the flow. And so the wheel turns in the life of a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia. 

Bee Training in rural village

Gojo Bet, traditional home

Bee habitat in the Bale Mountains

Happy New Year's!!! It's now 2006!

Happy New Year! For those of you who didn't know it is now 2006 and New Years eve is really on September 10, my birthday. That is according to the Ethiopian calendar, yet another thing to get confused about. But it makes for a good celebration and since it fell on a Wednesday that means no work for the whole week. For my birthday I had a fun day of exploring the woods and finally finding an elusive waterfall I had been searching for. It was so refreshing to be out in the woods, with two fellow PCV’s, exploring new gorgeous terrain, undisturbed. The waterfall was about 100 feet high tucked in a narrow canyon. As we traveled farther upstream the walls got tighter showing beautiful unique columnar rock formations. Even the plants were stunning and exotic looking and I was in nature geek heaven! The grand finale was founding a patch of wild bamboo that I had been hoping to see as well.

For dinner my other Peace Corps friends came over and they cooked me a delicious Mexican burrito meal- beans, veggie taco mix, and cheese! (Thank you Erik!) In celebration for the New Year we burned the traditional “chuba”, three bundles of Eucalyptus branches and my compound family joined the fun. What a lovely day.

The next day, New Year’s Day, we were making breakfast when a swarm of girls showed up at my door singing and dancing. As the tradition goes kids go door to door singing and giving flowers (or more commonly hand drawings of flowers), in exchange for a little money. I opened my door and they flooded into my little home singing, dancing and drumming away! Then the celebration continued for the next few days eating the celebratory doro wat (a delicious spicy chicken sauce) and drinking copious amounts of buna (coffee). The custom is that guests get the most food so I have eaten enormous amounts of injera and other foods. Today I even ate, and mostly enjoyed gunfo the traditional barley paste. A true sign that I am adapting. This afternoon I spent at my counterpart Gobezie’s home chatting and listening to a group of women all in Amharic. Small joyful steps. A refreshing affirmation of the kindness and generosity of the people here.

Another fun tidbit was yesterday afternoon I was having buna with my compound family when big hail storm hit. We sat cozily around the charcoal stove drinking coffee listening to the torrent outside. When I left all the gutter drain pipes had piles of hail that looked just like snow. My 8 year old neighbor Emabet and I had fun throwing snow balls and freezing our hands! Next time I will try to make a snowman here in Ethiopia! Imagine that!

Good thing for lovely personal interactions, the true meaning of being a Peace Corps Volunteer. Tomorrow I continue the uphill climb of trying to do something work like and productive….

Waterfall fun!

Canyon adventuring

Secret canyon

Birthday celebrations at my home

The dancing girls, also in my home

Snow? Holy hail balls!