A Peaceful Beginning

Hujambo! (Nope, not 'jambo'. Mean Girls got it wrong) I am writing from my tent in the northern Tanzanian bush as zebras cackle outside. But first, let me rewind about a week...


Despite a 12-hour underestimation of travel time (For some reason I was under the impression I arrived at 8AM not 8PM) the flights went smoothly and I was kept entertained by the NOW 77 CD complete with Firework, Club Can't Handle Me, and Forget You. After going through customs, we were greeted outside the airport by Baby Jack, our program director, and Doreen, his assistant (or the "social director" as she likes to call herself) and boarded a bus for a two hour ride in the pitch dark to Nderokowoi Ranch. Although we were all exhausted, we were kept wide awake by the roller coaster of a ride down dirt roads, quickly making friends as we bumped shoulders with one another and crossed our fingers that the bus wouldn't break down. One girl verbalized what we were all undoubtedly thinking, "What the hell are we doing here?!" Halfway there we stopped for a bathroom break and stood dumbfounded by the night ski, exponentially larger than any I've seen before. We made it to camp well after midnight, immediately set up our tents, and ate a fresh-cooked meal before crashing around 3AM. As we fell asleep to hyena and zebra sounds in the dark distance, the surroundings remained a mystery until morning. We awoke to a vast savannah covered in brown grass and scattered with Acacia trees.


Our days at Nderokowoi begin at sunrise over Mt. Kilimanjaro and end with a beautiful, yellow sunset over Mt. Meru. Although I'm not used to the 6AM to 9PM schedule, I've quickly grown to love it. No matter what the activities of the day consist of, there's always time set out for tea to unwind, socialize, and refill our bodies with caffeine. We have morning teatime before breakfast, mid-morning teatime before lunch, and afternoon teatime around four o'clock. In fact, I should probably change the name of this blog to "Tea Time". Although it may seem excessive, it's really nice to have the day built around this relaxation and conversation time instead of trying to squeeze it in to an impossibly busy schedule as I tend to do.


"Class" takes place in a circle and is regularly interrupted as people spot animals grazing in the distance and baboons swinging in the trees. It is also never linear- we will be learning basic Swahili one moment, discussing the best clubs in Arusha the next, and distinguishing between national parks and wildlife reserves a minute later. The last couple days, we've divided into groups led by Tanzanians to bird and wildlife life, study ecology, and visit a Masai boma. In the evenings, we take turns going on night safaris where we've seen impala, zebra, wildabeast, dik-dik, owls, and feral cats, among other animals native to the area.


On Sunday, after a few days of getting to know each other and the program, we put on our Kangas- long, patterned skirts given to us as a gift from the SIT staff- to go to church, for our first real cultural experience. I sat back and took in the beautiful singing, simple danging, and passionate chanting, as birds flew in and out of the open, stained-glass windows. Although we did not understand a word of what was being said, I couldn't help but smile along with everyone else in the church as the spirited preacher gave his sermon by heart. The service was followed by 'Thanksgiving', a food auction to raise money for the church. After singing Lion King sounds, Head, Shoulder, Knees and Toes, and Waka Waka with some children who made fun of my attempt to introduce myself in Swahili, we drove to a nearby village for our first taste of Tanzanian beer. Beer bottles here are twice the size, have twice the alcohol content, and cost about $1, so needless to say it was a fun afternoon.


For a quick history of Tanzania... According to Baba Jack, Tanzania is the only Sub-Saharan African country that has "No blood in the ground." While many of the countries surrounding Tanzania (Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa) are very politicized and the populations are divided by ethnic and religious groups, Tanzania is different. The peaceful transition from British control to independence left Tanzania void of such strife. While Kenyans identify themselves by 'tribe', Tanzanians identify as 'Tanzanian'. Although there are 120 different ethnic groups and languages spoken, Tanzanians are extremely tolerant. Dar es Salaam, the biggest city in Tanzania, translates to 'Haven of Peace' and from what I've experience so far, the name is quite fitting.


Yesterday we drove three hours back to Arusha to stay until Saturday morning when we depart for two weeks of safari. Although the bush is astounding, I was itching to get a taste of city life. In the mornings we have Swahili lessons at Klub Afriko, the touristy hotel that we are staying at, and then we're free at 12:30 to explore!


In Swahili, the greeting is the most important part of a conversation. It typically includes several questions- "How are you? How is your family? How is school?" What makes it easy is that the answer is always "Nzuri"- good. Even if you've been puking all night, the answer is "Nzuri kidogo"- a little good. There are no bad days in Tanzania.