Somewhere but Nowhere: March 2013

First of all I would like to thank my brother Michael for spending the time, money, and energy to come visit me half way around the world. It was great to see family so far from home after 6 months. Plus I think he did a good job at describing his trip in the last post where I had him submit a ‘story’ of his events.

Second… if my cat Elend is reading this… I’m sorry I gave you a flea bath and hope you forgive me if you decide to return. (He has been missing for 24 hours but I won’t consider he’s gone until 72 hours… I think that’s the standard).

The past month has finally been busy with the start of school. I helped implement clubs into the after school curriculum, have organized a free fitness class, am overseeing the construction of our ‘cafeteria/ staff room,’ and am currently working on school sanitation issues. I’m pretty happy right now because I just had my first ‘Science Saturdays’ club! We watched a Planet Earth video and afterwards we talked about environmental issues, definitions, drew diagrams, and finished up with a small experiment involving vinegar and baking soda. After the kids were dismissed a few of them stayed around to ask questions about North America and other places on the globe I had in front of me. (success!) Plus I cut my hair all by myself without looking like an idiot and it rained for the first time in a week!

Now I know my story was never told about Tanzania so here it is. Better late than never!

*Flashback*

December 18^th 2012….

The year is already flying by so fast. It seems like just yesterday I was sitting on the beach in Zanzibar with a coconut in one hand and my Frisbee in the other.

After spending a day in Uganda with my brother, taking him to a craft market, and petting a live rhino at the zoo we were ready to take off.

While on my vacation I brought along a small travel journal and filled quite a few pages before the end of the vacation. This is about my journey… to the Serengeti, Zanzibar, and beyond. My first REAL vacation since the start of my Peace Corps service and I hope to have plenty more. Navigating international airports, cities with names I don’t recognize, and now that I’m used to living in a country where I can’t understand half the things said because I don’t know the language…. I was already used to that aspect of international travel. Step one: Mpora Mpora (slowly slowly). Step Two: Hakuna Matata (Swahili for ‘No Worries’). These two things are essential when traveling in a developing country. I’m going to skip the plane to Dar Es Salaam and talk a little bit about the 11 hour bus ride up to northern Tanzania to a city called Arusha. BORE-ING! Uganda is much more exciting to drive through. Watched the same movie 3 times on the bus and it was called Badass (not a good movie); each time they re-started the movie they turned the volume up a bit more. We get to Arusha at night and took a private taxi to Base Camp hostel owned by a Canadian company and extremely welcoming/ clean! There we met some… Canadians!

The next morning my brother Mike and I were picked up by the tour company to go over a few last minute things then we were off on our great adventure! We were headed towards the Serengeti which was a 5 hour drive away. About an hour after passing the Hilary Clinton Gift Shop we came to a screeching halt. After trying to continue on our way a few times with no success, our driver hops on a motorcycle and brings back some help about 2 hours later. While waiting I taught a few kids how to throw a Frisbee with the help of my brother. When our vehicle finally got fixed I left the Frisbee with the children then hopped back in the vehicle (unfortunately it was the only Frisbee I brought and only the first day). The day was getting short and our vehicle still had some problems so we stayed in a campground outside the park. While setting up our “Glamping” site (glamorous camping complete with 2 chairs, a table, and a nice tent with bedrolls and sheets) our cook, Julius, began preparing our meal while our driver, Willard, took the vehicle for the night to get it repaired. Mike and I enjoyed our meal along with the company of our Switzerland neighbors. The leek soup was SOOOOO delicious that I can’t remember what else we ate!

In the morning we headed through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to the Serengeti. Seeing the Masai people was incredible and seemed so unreal at first. Their villages were small with only a few structures surrounded by a wooden fence. The Masai are a cattle herding tribe and the only humans allowed to live in Ngorongoro because their lifestyles require them to live sustainably with the wild animals. We often saw Masai sitting next to the road with their signature checkered ‘robe’ on and sometimes even young men with their faces painted with white clay. After passing the entrance into the Serengeti the Masai were no more but instead replaced by giant herds of Wildebeest, Zebras, and Buffalo. Luckily it was the season for the Great Migration and it was plain to see by the large number of animals. Our campsite was a few hours into the Serengeti so once we reached we stretched our legs, dropped Julius off to prep for dinner, and went back out into the wild! We stopped by a pond with hippos, saw a huge herd of elephant, watched baboons grazing, spotted a few scattered warthogs, and headed back when it started to rain. When we reached the campsite our Canadian friends from the hostel were set up right next to us. Although we just met them it was nice seeing a familiar face in such a wonderful place. That night even sleeping was exciting when hearing the night come to life with the laughter of a hyena or the grinding of teethe from a water buffalo next to the tent.

Morning arrived and I was roaming around the campsite checking birds off my list (lovebirds, hornbills, and buffalo weavers with the most beautiful call). By 9am we were back in our truck for a full day of driving! Whenever we saw an animal close enough we would stop and take a few pictures. Sometimes the other tourists would even take a picture of Mike and I in our Santa hats (it was 4 days before Christmas and our last name, Claus, deserves attention around the holidays). You know you’re famous (or feel like you should be) when… people take pictures of you when they are less than 10 feet from a lion and you’re not in a zoo! Lions, Leopards, and Elephants… Oh My! Not long after watching a leopard sitting in a tree, we get ourselves stuck in the mud and have to wait to get pulled out by another vehicle. The rain from the previous night made for some pretty big mud holes to drive through and throughout the day we noticed we were not the only ones getting stuck. Once we reached the exit and visitor center to the Serengeti we ate our packed lunch while being surrounded by Superb Starlings (blue and orange bird) waiting for a scrap handout. Although it was tempting and I wanted to be surrounded by more birds, I did not feed them. After our lunch break we got back in the truck and headed back towards the Ngorongoro crater. A few miles down the road and in the middle of nowhere exciting the vehicle decides it really hates us. This time it’s bad news bears and our axel is bent. There is a reason they call it an ‘African Massage’ while driving on these roads… they are rough! Sometimes the vehicles just have enough of it and can’t handle the abuse. After realizing we were going nowhere, finishing a book on my kindle, and cursing all of the animals for not coming closer… we waited. What we were waiting for I was not quite sure, but after 3 hours we were transferring all of our belongings and equipment to another vehicle with some Swiss tourists who were kind enough to save our safari. When we reached the campsite I ventured to use the latrine when all of a sudden… I find myself standing 10 yards away from an ELEPHANT! Turns out he was enjoying a snack out of the compost pit and the sign said stay back but how could I? I didn’t get much closer but was in awe of how close I was to an elephant of that size. Before dinner was served, many of the other tourists were waiting in the cafeteria area so I started a conversation with a few of them and even chatted with our Canadian friends again. Most of them asked about the Peace Corps when they saw my shirt and were curious about what I was doing. 3 times during my trip I met other PCVs or family members or Returned PCVs. Once dinner was finished I stayed up chatting till the sun went down and my teeth started chattering. I never thought it would be so cold in the Serengeti and was ill prepared for the cold weather. I nestled down into my sheets and not long after the buffalo came roaming into our campsite and I spent the next 30 minutes standing on my tip-toes trying to spot something through the mesh screen at the top of our tent. After being unsuccessful and snuggling back into my sheets, Mike wakes me because he hears munching right outside our tent! We crawled near the door and unzipped the flap slowly then poked our heads out to see a GIANT water buffalo right in front of our faces! Munch, Munch, Munch. I was so happy I felt like a little kid waking up on Christmas morning!

The next morning I woke with a huge smile on my face because I was still thinking about the buffalo. Breakfast came and our vehicle was still missing so the Swiss tourists we got a ride from the day before offered us to join them. Martin and Phil made the trip even better! We made our way down into the crater which was something straight out of a movie! All of the animals grazing together with a big lake full of flamingos in the center. What a picture! We even glimpsed a few rhinos in the crater! We ate lunch near a beautiful lake filled with hippos while trying not to get eaten by the crazy birds. (Random fact: In Ngorongoro crater a sick/ dying elephants will walk to a swamp to die)The crater ride was breathtaking and by the end of the afternoon our own vehicle was fixed. The rest of the day we drove back to the hostel, said goodbye to Willard and Julius, and who was waiting for us at the hostel? Our Canadian friends! (They will be officially introduced later) That night we all celebrated the end of our safari trip with a good meal at a restaurant where you can choose from almost any ethnicity of food. Of course I picked a fajita! While waiting for our food the Canadians must have thought I was insane because I ran into the grocery store right next door and almost cried when I was holding cashews, fresh raspberries, and a bag of… wait for it… PRETZELS!!! (Tanzania is located next to Uganda… why doesn’t Uganda have pretzels??) The meal was great, my raspberries were delicious, and I had a good time. Once back at the hostel it was nice to take a hot shower complimented with a cup of tea and sleep in a real bed surrounded by solid walls. It was important to get a good night’s rest for our trip to ZANZIBAR in the morning!

To Be Continued!

Swahili 101:

Gambo (Ja-M-bo) = Hello

Caribu = Welcome (Caribu Sana = you’re very welcome)

Apana = No

Sawa = Yes

Rafiki = Friend

Simba = Lion

Asante (Sana) = Thank you (very much)

List of animals I’ve seen:

Antelope, Baboon, Cheetah, Crocodile, Eland, Elephant, Giraffe, Heart Beast, Hippopotamus, Hyena, Impala, Jackal (golden and black backed), Kudu, Leopard, Ostrich, Rhino, Warthog, Water Buffalo, Wildebeest, Zebra, Flamingos and MANY other colorful birds.

(some of these animals you would never see in a zoo and they are much more beautiful in their natural habitats)

Packing musts for the Serengeti:

A warm fleece jacket

A camera

Binoculars

Matching khaki shirt/ pants

Bird book (if you’re a nerd like me)

Headlamp

Book (for if/ when you break down)