Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Serengeti Skies, Sweat, and Slaughtering

          When we left Arusha two weeks ago, I knew we would soon be seeing Serengeti National Park, one of Africa's most renowned landmarks. Yet I was unaware of the subsequent, life-changing adventures that Maasailand had in store. I am once again at a loss of words for the people, places, and ideas that made the last two weeks extraordinarily rewarding and challenging— unlike anything I have experienced before. I hesitantly leave it to a select few of my hundreds of photos to paint a picture of our two-week journey across Northern Tanzania.


Tara, Addie, and I above Ngorongoro Crater, the 'eighth wonder of the world'. 
Sunrise at our campsite overlooking the Crater. The only time when it was chilly enough for me to suffer the consequences of forgetting my sleeping bag in Arusha.
Heading into the crater for the day. (I can't say I remember the sky being that color but the picture was not edited...)

Zebras hanging out on the crater floor.
Wildebeest. 
Jesse and I at the entrance to Serengeti National Park. As you can see, the savannah behind us is endless.
One of the lizards that joined our picnic lunch.
During our four days in the Serengeti, we woke before sunrise to collect data from 6:30 until 10AM. Our ruminants study group chose to observe variations in behaviors between male, female, and sub-adult giraffes.
Zoe with our driver, Olias, who deserves a medal for putting up with four, crazy girls.
A dead hippo at sunrise... sorry to put it bluntly.
Twiga (Kiswahili for 'giraffes') browsing during an afternoon game drive.           
Giraffe lovin'. Photo dedicated to Afred, my 4-foot stuffed giraffe stuck in storage for the semester :/
An adult male eating an Acacia tree, huge thorns and all. Giraffes have horny papille on their lips and tongue that allow them to do so.

Giraffe crossing.


Distracted by lions.
Simba (Kiswahili for 'lion'. Makes sense right?) and cubs everywhere!
Apparently humans aren't the only ones that feel bloated after big meals.
Sweet Serengeti sky.


Hippo pool. Fun fact: Hippos sleep underwater and come up for air without waking up.


Sparkling clean after a week on the road. This picture was taken at the Peace and Love Guest House in a small village called Wasso in the center of Massailand. Although we were only there for a night, I've decided to return there to do my 3-week Independent Study Project that begins this Friday.

Baba Jack at last!
Our crazy, cool program director.

Pit stop on the way to our Maasai homestay in the Lake Natron region.


View from our campsite in Engare Sero village. Without a doubt one of, if not THE, most breathtaking place I have ever been. Unfortunately, my blog does not like the panoramic version at the moment.
Before I proceed to talk about our 3-day Maasai homestay in Engare Sero village, I must set the scene... 
          Imagine yourself doing Bikram yoga— the kind of yoga that takes place in a boiling room to make you sweat out all the toxins in your body— for three days straight. Now replace the steaming room with an equally hot Maasai boma (home) and instead of doing Downward Dog, just drink warm tea.

This is our homestay Mama outside of our boma. The Maasai are polygamists. although my Mama was my Baba's only wife. Each wife builds their own home out of cow poop and sticks.
Nalepo, my homestay Mama. Although Kiswahili is both of our second languages, I could tell she has quite the sense of humor. She could not have been more accommodating.

Mama and dada (sister) Mery. Mery is 14 years old and was my escort and best friend for three days. She graduated from primary school earlier this year and we were able to communicate in Kiswahili.

From left to right: Random kid that came over for the photo, my brother Moshi (10), Mama, me, and my older sister Nadupoi (15). They insisted that I hold the kid's radio.

Daily face washing.

Mery cutting firewood. Notice the cows in the background. Maasai are pastoralists that rely on cows for food, milk, mattresses, and clothing. The more cows a man has, the richer he is. A cow is worth 8 goats or 600,000 Tanzanian shillings. When asking a father for his daughter's hand in marriage, I man must give the women's family at least four cows, typically seven or eight.

My turn.

Headed back to the boma.

Aside from cows, goats are very valuable in Maasai society for their milk and meat.  Around ages 10 to 15, Maasai boys are circumcised and trained to be "Warriors" whos role is to protect the community. This is me with a Maasai warrior and his goats.

Milking the goat.
Madeline and our siblings.
Oldonyo Lengai, the "Mountain of God". A volcano which several of my classmates climbed the day after homstay. The rest of us hiked to the source of the Engare River, the lifeline of Engare Sero village. The river winds around steep cliffs lined with waterfalls and palm trees. At the source, water appears to magically pour out of a huge rock wall (the Rift Valley Wall). Unfortunately, my camera was dead.

There is no limit to what Tanzanians can balance on their heads.


Baboons in the river where we went to bathe. There's no shame in Engare Sero.

Hiking to Lake Natron.

Eliza's homestay Mama. Strikingly beautiful.

Tess in the flood plains.
Me in my Maasai wardrobe.
Kasey's homestay brother teaching us to use a bow and arrow.

Lake Natron, the only remaining breeding ground for flamingos.

Zoe at Lake Natron.
Mery and I. I will never forget her laugh and kindness.

Madeline.

Kacey and her Mama on the scorching hot walk home. Notice that the ground is covered in salt.


'Making' ugali for lunch, although besides for a few seconds of stirring (just enough to take the picture),  I can't say I really contributed.

Before a boy is circumcised there is a big party at his house.  People from across the village come to sing,  dance, and eat.




Drew joining in with the warriors like a champ.

During the heat of the day most women sit under trees and bead jewelry to wear and sell. Beautiful to wear but not fun to sleep in!
Every evening Maasai warriors gather from 7 until 10:30 PM to dance and show off their jumping abilities to young girls.

Baba, Mama, and I.

My Maasai family and I.

Family photo outside the boma.

Slaughtering a goat.