Jambo!!! Haha. Sorry I haven't posted until now, we haven't had internet and I had to borrow a converter from my neighbor). I'm probably gonna do a small post right now because I have to wake up for cook crew at 6:30 and it's about 9:13 at night. Just as an overview, we flew from LAX to Newark, Newark to Heathrow (London), Heathrow to Nairobi (Kenya), and then Nairobi to Tanzania. During our 12 hour layover in London, about 17 of us took the Tube to the main part of London (at a stop I forget the name of) and saw Big Ben, the Eye, Buckingham Palace, and some other big touristy places. Then we took the flight from London to Nairobi and had a 10 hour layover there, which wasn't nearly as exciting since the airport is super small. We were all wiped out though so a few of us, including myself, ended up sleeping on the floor of the airport. After the 20 minute flight from Nairobi to Tanzania, we landed at around 8, then got our visas at the airport. From there, around 6 of these huge trucks picked us up, then took us to our hotel in Arusha (about an hour away). We weren't in the best area of Arusha, thought the hotel was really nice in comparison to everything else. I had a fun time with the showers, there being no hot water... though I survived after practically hand washing each limb with a towel and soap haha. We were all extremely happy to be at the hotel though, since we'd slept on planes the past two nights. We had a really great breakfast the next morning, though it was odd to see sausage without coloring. After breakfast we took a 2 hour drive in the trucks to Rhotia, where our Moro Hill compound/ living site is. During the drive, we crossed through a lot of towns, and received a lot of mixed reactions from the villagers. Most people just stared, or rushed to to the car to sell their things, while others motioned angrily at us. Almost all the townspeople are extremely poor though (except for this one man with 40 wives and a whole village comprised of his family) and many just want money from us, which is why we got pulled over by the police for a "random police check." While searching the trucks, they look for anything to accuse us for, so we'll make a bribe with them. While our drivers refused to make bribes with them, they accused us of faults such as as having a white license plate, while everyone else had yellow ones. Since we were in Tanzania, they were also angry at our drivers (who were from Kenya) for taking away jobs from Tanzanians. While one police officer checked our car, I made the mistake of taking a picture of him, so he came over to my window and started yelling at me. I was pretty scared though our driver (Daniel) assured me that he was reacting that way so I would bribe him and give him money. Along the way, we stopped at this cliff, looking over Lake Manyara National Park (which we'll be going to on Friday and Saturday). Finally reaching Rhotia, we settled into our bandas, toured the site, and met our teachers/ the staff. Later that day, we got in our long dresses/ pants, and drove to the Karatu Market, which happens on the 7th of every month. Although we were only there for an hour, we were constantly surrounded by vendors, trying to convince us to buy everything from tire shoes to buffalo meat. We were only allowed to bring about 20,000 shillings (about 20 US dollars), because the purpose was to immerse ourselves in the culture, though a lot of us ended up buying products from them. Entering the market was pretty overwhelming for me, as there were literally thousands of Tanzanians who brought their goods from all over (sort of like a flea market, but less organized). Although, once we entered the market, I met a 20 year old guy named Jack who helped me navigate the market and showed me around. We also helped each other with our languages, speaking half Kiswalhili and half English, though we understood each other for the most part and were talking the entire time. He was from Mosquito Creek and was also a vendor, though he had a different approach (as he explained to me) to selling, as he assured the tourists relaxed and felt at home before he showed them his products. Although he tried to sell me stuff at the end, I willingly bought a few items since he was extremely sincere and practically saved my life in the market. He also showed me the Banana Bya drink (basically bananas, alcohol, and latrine water- a traditional brew), made sure other vendors didn't bother me, and helped me run away from a vendor demanding me to buy a cloth after I accidentally stepped on it. I ended up buying a bracelet from him, though he charged a bit more than usual, so he ended up giving me three other bracelets as gifts and one other necklace from one of his friends as a gift as well. Before I met Jack though, it was really hard to say no to the vendors, as a lot of them tend to be small children. Our leaders told us that we had to constantly deny them, and that it's not disrespectful but rather disappointing as they want money and tourists usually buy everything. On the ride over to the market, our driver told us to say phrases such as "Mimi angolia tu" (I'm just looking), "pesa singambi" (I have no money), "mimi ci mtali" (I am not a tourist), and especially, "hapana, asante" (no, thank you). We were told to say that we weren't tourists because the vendors charge tourists a lot more, and we're technically not tourists, but rather considered as students. After driving back to camp, we had dinner, played with local kids in Rhotia, and practiced some Kiswalhili. We also played with the kids earlier this afternoon (before a few classes) and practiced speaking to them as well. Our conversations usually comprise of:
me: Mambo!.... Whats up!
child: Poa!.... Nothing/ it's all good.
me: Geena la ku nani?.... What's your name?
child: Geena langu ni _____.... My name is ____.
me: Geena langu ni KK! Habari gani?.... My name is KK! How are you?
child: Nzuri.... Good.
me: Quahiri.... Goodbye!
The kids are absolutely adorable I literally want to take one home with me. After going into town, we had a class and a lecture, then had lunch. After lunch I was reaallly tired, so I chose to take a nap while everyone else ate/ looked at the goat we were gonna slaughter tomorrow for the goat roast. I really couldn't look at the goat tied to the tree, or hear it's little noises, so I played music and went to sleep. If the goat was gonna be killed in a Masaai ceremony, as we're gonna watch in the next few weeks, I'm sure I'll be able to stand that (as I want to be respectful of their traditions). Although, we're just having the goat roast tomorrow in our site, to eat it and have a good time. After sleeping for about an hour, we had dinner and the "Masaai" group (which I'm in) helped with the dishes. Some things I missed: seen a few large bugs so far, such as a very large slug and a huge beetle). A few people saw a puff adder, which I was very jealous of. We also became aware of Jiggers, these small bugs which burrow into your feet and lay eggs. Also, we learned of the titi flies, which we would "almost certainly" get bit by. They only cause big welts and a hurtful sting though, not poisonous. Oh and also, at the market, there were about 3 different tribes present, out of around 122 in Tanzania. The tribes present were the Masaai (who buy the cows, as they're pastoralists), the Iraqw, and another one which I forget the name of. That's all for now, I have to take a shower. Quahiri :D
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