It's hard to believe that I only have two more nights left in Africa. I've gotten quite used to the way of life here. Eating rice and beans with mchicha, a green vegetable that resembles spinach, every day for lunch (sometimes dinner as well) is no longer repetitive, so much as it is a craving. Dala dala rides have lost their stress, and I have come to view peanutbutter- butter and strawberry jam- cucumber sandwiches as acceptable. Certain phrases in Kiswahili are becoming so ingrained in my mind that they make more sense than their English counterparts. I've found myself slipping in "kwanini?" (why) and "hapana, asante" (no thanks) into conversations with friends from home, much to their confusion. Although I would still not rank Arusha high on my list of favorite foreign cities, it is growing on me a little. I did find myself saying the other day that I couldn't wait to get home, and I wasn't referring to East Brunswick, New Jersey...
The last time I posted, I was less than halfway through my independent study project. As per request of my mother, I will not go into detail about the research part of the experience... I hit some more snags along the way, but I was ultimately able to complete my project on biodiversity in the intertidal zone, and write a 23 page paper on it, so no complaints. With about a week remaining at the beach, Thea, Sarah, and I had two friends come down from the rainforest in the western Usambara Mountains (Mazumbai) to join us in the writing festivities. Well, I suppose it was not our shotty internet connection that drew them coastal, so much as the warm waters of the Indian Ocean, but you get the idea. One of them had managed to make it through 21 years without ever setting foot in an ocean (I found that extremely hard to believe, even for someone from "Colorsota"...), so we were thrilled for her to have the opportunity to meet up. The morning prior to our departure, she and I went to the dive shop that us "dags" had been frequenting for advice throughout our projects, and rented snorkel gear. The tide was extremely low, so we ended up lawn-mowing our way through several seaweed beds before eventually making it out to the reef. (I have discovered that seaweed is apparently a common fear for many people. Personally, I have no issues with it- urchins are what get me). Although the seaweed part was unpleasant, I think she enjoyed the reef. We saw many species of fish, one in particular that struck me was called a juvenile batfish- it was so foreign looking that I didn't even believe it was real. After we returned our gear, she expressed her sympathy for my constant exposure to urchins. It would appear as though I'm not the only one with a new phobia. We departed the coast on April 28th with mixed feelings, sad to leave all of our new friends, but eager to get back to the SIT group, and away from the proprietress of our hotel. It was an unbelievably long commute (as to be expected in this part of Africa), but we arrived at the doorstep of our new house in Arusha (house might be misleading... it's more like a Beverly Hills mansion. We all felt like we were entering "The Real World- Arusha), and were greeted with lots of hugs, a delicious Tex-Mex dinner, and a brand new friend... One of the girls on the program had adopted a kitten while we were away! Missing my own cat a whole lot, the sight of Poa was incredibly exciting. The last week of the program was dominated by writing papers, getting distracted by Harry Potter, creating power-points for our presentations, and procrastinating by any means necessary.
The theme of the program was "wildlife conservation and political ecology", which basically opened the doors to any kind of research, social or natural science, that we wanted to do. Unlike in regular school, the presentations were fascinating- we actually looked forward to listening to what everyone else discovered. Some of the topics included a photographic survey of the life of askaris, traditional African dancing and painting, the tanzanite industry, protein deficiency in village diets, conservation in education, herbivore behavior, Maasai veterinary medicine, and the illegal bush-meat trade, to name a few. Baba Jack is also a big supporter of incorporating humor into presentations, so needless to say it was an entertaining five days.
The conclusion of presentations meant the end of the program. We had to say a heavy-hearted goodbye to a few members of our family, but the majority of us all had after-program plans. Basically, about 10 or 12 headed off to Zanzibar, a few had family members come to share in the safari experience, and 4 of us, myself included, were set on tackling the beast that had been looming in the distance throughout the entire program- Mount Kilimanjaro.
Kaitie, Corey, Mary, and I were picked up at our Beverly Hills mansion by our mountain guide Obadia, in our personal dala dala (named Fort Jesus). We embarked on our journey to the Marangu route (the only trail most tour operators are willing to deal with in the rainy season, due to the fact that you stay in huts rather than tents), stopping at random places to pick up porters, food, warm clothing, and various other members of the crew. Our level of excitement was every increasing as the distance from the mountain decreased, and we were all stoked when a local passed a stick with a chameleon into the car. We took turns holding it, hoping it would change color (it didn't), and were naturally informed after the fact that we had to pay for the experience (not that we weren't expecting that). After paying our park fees and eating a boxed lunch, prepared for us by our Kili company, we finally set off. The hike to the first hut was through the rainforest. It was hot and muggy, but we didn't care. We arrived at the Mandara huts four hours later to hot tea and dinner, and went to bed. Ok, so maybe it didn't happen that smoothly. I started to feel sick about halfway through the hike, and arrival at Mandara was made quite unpleasant due to nausea- I feeling that would (unfortunately) stay with me throughout the entire climb. According to my climbing mates, that makes summitting even more impressive, but it certainly made the experience less enjoyable. The next two days were filled with hours of hiking, followed by dinner (although I couldn't stomach much more than bread), and then sleep. We began our ascent to the summit at 11:30 pm on the night of the 12th. Equipped with headlamps, we made our way up the steep sides of the mountain, stopping about once an hour to catch our breath and watch our guides sing and dance to Bob Marley songs. Us students were not the only first time hopeful- summitters. the cook that came with us had actually accompanied us on all of our safaris, and was Kaitie's homestay father. He had climbed the bulk of the mountain before, but had never reached the top. We were all thrilled that he decided to climb with us. There are 3 different notable locations of the top of Kili. The first one you come across is Gillman's point, followed by Stella point, and finally (the true summit) Uhuru peak. We arrived at Gillman's around 4:30 am, and kept climbing. Despite wearing about 5 layers, I could still feel the bone chilling wind. At one point, I started falling asleep while walking, and Corey and I were both starting to become concerned about the effect of the cold on our fingers. We kept trudging through the packed snow, and became aware of a soft orange glow, beginning to appear over the glaciers and the sea of clouds, hanging below us. We passed Stella point, and after a while, a few travelers began to approach us, congratulating us on a job well done. A little farther, and finally, there it was- the sight we had all been dreaming of for the past few days- Uhuru peak. The sense of accomplishment was amazing... We were on top of the tallest freestanding mountain in the world, one of the 7 summits, the rooftop of Africa. Sadly, we only had the chance to spend about 15 minutes on the summit, due to the frigid air and the long descent we still had ahead of us, but we took our photographs, admired the breathtaking view, and basked in the glory of a job well done. The descent, for lack of a better term, sucked. It was steep, covered in sand that was displaced with every step we made, cold, and we were completely exhausted. We entered the icebox of a hut at Kibo, and refused to continue to our destination at Horombo hut until we had at least two hours of sleep. Our crew obliged, and we set off in much better spirits. It was about a four hour hike to Horombo, so we had a total of about 15 hours of hiking in one day. We passed right out, and woke up quite sore, and quite eager to get off the mountain. When we finally made it back to the Marangu gate, around 1 pm on the 14th, our guides took us to a restaurant for an incredible lunch (rice, beans, mchicha!), and we piled into Fort Jesus (I've never been so happy to see a dala dala in my life). The way back to Arusha was interesting, as I was congratulated by one of our assistant guides for being well versed in the Harry Potter section of the Bible (he was obviously really confused... we all thought it was hilarious), and we watched our other assistant guide and our head guide signaling to each other about the confused guide. We thanked the wonderful crew for all they did to help us accomplish our goal, and parted ways at the house. (I have to say, the porters of Kilimanjaro are some of the most incredible human beings I have ever met. Somehow, they are able to walk all the way up to Kibo Hut (at an altitude of about 15,000 + ft), carrying sometimes 2 large hiking backpacks and kitchen supplies, balanced on their heads, necks, and backs. I can't even imagine such a lifestyle. I have SO much respect for them- they certainly made our job look like a breeze). We fell asleep, probably around 8:30, and didn't want to get out of bed the next morning, due to sore muscles and no motivation to do anything. Since then, the battle scars have started to disappear, and our fight with Kilimanjaro is starting to become a pleasant memory of a past accomplishment to all those who ask. Sometimes it doesn't even seem like it happened at all. Yesterday, Mary and I were ready to hike again, and we, along with our friend Sophia, discovered a path that leads up to some beautiful vistas of Arusha and the surrounding villages.
Each day we have to say goodbye to more and more friends. I've woken up the last few mornings with strange butterflies in my stomach, having to do with the idea of leaving my Tanzanian home and family. I'm not really sure how things are going to be back in the States. We're all pretty worried about re-entry. Culture shock is one thing, but reverse culture shock is something entirely different. One of my friends told me that her friend who had been abroad in Patagonia described his experience with coming home as being like a puzzle piece, that doesn't quite fit anymore. I can't seem to shake the idea that that is going to be my story as well...
I fly to Amsterdam on Monday with Sophia, where we plan on meeting up with one of my friends who is currently abroad in England, and Thea, who will be joining us on the 24th. Sophia and I will both be celebrating our birthdays there, which we're excited about, and then I return to the states on Friday. How quickly 4 months have passed. It feels like just yesterday I was driving past fields of sunflowers on my way to Ndarakwai, wondering what adventures Africa had in store for me, who on the trip I would become friends with, and how I would change through the experience...
I guess it is only right to end this post as we ended each safari- with thanks. Thank you to Baba Jack, Baba Jerry, and all the staff at SIT for everything you have done to make this program possible. Thank you for your knowledge, patience, encouragement, and friendship. Thank you to my SIT family- you are honestly some of the best friends I could ever imagine having. Thank you for being there to share in the ups, and sympathize with the downs. A huge thank you to my parents, who allowed me to follow my dream, even though they might not have understood its appeal, and supported me throughout the program. Thanks to my homestay families, Kili crew, and all those in Ushongo who helped me to maintain my sanity when my ISP was falling apart. But mostly, I would like to thank Tanzania, and Africa in general for its natural beauty, animals, triumphs, and challenges. Unfortunately, to many, this continent is marked by its problems. Poverty, disease, corruption, dependence on foreign aid- yes, these are all hardships that are present, but that is not all that there is. Every place has it's own problems. Africa will test you, and those that are willing to accept the challenge will be changed forever from their experiences. I could not be more thankful for the change, and as my friends and I have said many times in the past week, although our departure is imminent, it is not "kwaheri" (good bye), it's "baadaye" (see you later).
