Hujambo Afrika!: Kila Wakati Ni Wakati Wa Chai!

Meeting up with my SIT group upon arrival at JRO airport was a breeze. It’s not too difficult to recognize a group of 20 girls (and a boy), standing around with backpacks and dazed expressions that clearly told the world that it had been 32 hours since their last night of sleep. We expressed our expectations and confusion over what the program would entail as we were fingerprinted and cleared for entry into the country by immigration representatives, who looked less than thrilled to be there. We collected our luggage and were introduced to program director Baba Jack and his assistant, Oscar. They piled us into a bus, threw our luggage in the back of a land rover, and we hit the dusty trail- literally. The pavement lasted for about 1/3 of the drive, and then we turned onto a bumpy dirt road that bisected a sunflower field. The drive alone assured us all that we were in for quite the adventure. The first couple days at Ndarakwai Ranch did not disappoint! The ranch was situated in a valley between Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru. The views (especially at sunset) were breathtaking. We received our first gifts of khangas (traditional attire of Tanzanian women), went on a night safari drive (I saw my giraffes!), embarked on countless nature walks, visited a Maasai village, and learned, already, more than I think I would in an entire semester of normal schooling. The staff is great, as are the other kids on the program. Tanzanian life is (obviously) very different from life in the US. There are so many things to get used to- bucket showers, removing sunglasses in the presence of elders, sitting on the left hand so as not to use it at meals, and drinking boiled water that tastes faintly smoky. Another thing to get used to is the idea that, kila wakati ni wakati wa chai; every time is tea time! Baba Jack informed us the first day that the best things that the British did for Tanzania were introducing land rovers and daily tea time twice a day. I guess I’ll be developing a taste for Kilimanjaro black tea before leaving!