What have I been up to? Here you go...

July. The 7^th month out of 12 which means we have passed the halfway mark of 2013! Crazy right?! So far it has been a crazy adventure for me. Today I am celebrating the ‘birthday’ of good old America with some fellow volunteers. We spent the afternoon making onion rings, potato salad, and cheese burgers… not too shabby. No fireworks though but… with the new laws in Michigan I’m sure people are enjoying that. It’s weird for me to say this has been my second 4^th of July celebration in Uganda. Just over a year ago I left my homestay family and finished language training… time flies. Only one more 4^th of July in country to go?! Possible.

I started the year off by watching the sun rise over the Indian Ocean while enjoying the island of Zanzibar with my brother and fellow Peace Corps Volunteers. Not long after arriving back in Uganda I finally had a chance to celebrate my birthday in Africa. Wait. Hold on… a January birthday in Africa?! My thought process goes straight to ‘no snow or freezing temperatures!’ This means I can FINALLY eat outside on my birthday and actually enjoy it! Oh the little things in life. Naturally that’s what I did… for two bites until it started raining at least. But I can check that off my list of things I always wanted to do! That weekend I went to a fellow volunteer’s site near Queen Elizabeth National Park for some great company, scenery, and (of course) an adventure. Check. I arrived at Jim’s site and am warmly greeted by the children from House of Love (orphanage). Jim is a fellow volunteer in my group who also arrived just over a year ago in Uganda. He is an INCREDIBLE photographer and anyone can easily get lost in his ice-blue eyes. He enjoys micro brews, being extremely chill, and as you can tell by what I just said…is a pretty cool dude. Sorry ladies, he’s taken. Let us continue shall we? Jim’s birthday present to me was that I could take two of the girls from House of Love and pick seeds in the forest for crafts. Big trees, uneven terrain, leaping monkeys, strange birdcalls… I was in my element. Thanks Jim! Best birthday present EVER! After a few hours of romping in the forest we collect a few more Peace Corps volunteers and went on a nature hike to explore the elephant problem. Many of the elephants are destroying crops on the edge of the park so there is a group of individuals working on developing new methods to keep the elephants away from the crops. Some of these methods include making loud and obnoxious noises at night, digging a trench, putting thorn bushes along the trench, and bees. By connecting a series of hives together with a ‘trip wire’ when the elephants disturb the bees, the bees get angry and chase the elephants away (we hope). They are still working on this issue but in time they will find a good solution. Later in the evening we headed over to a friend’s for some brick fire pizza and fun times.

 When we got back to Jims we walked around the rim of a crater so that we could watch a fire blazing in Queen Elizabeth National Park. The stars above our heads and glow of the fire were the only sources of light we had to guide us around the crater’s rim. We found a log to sit against and just took it all in. I’m pretty sure it was controlled but you never know. When we finally moseyed back to Jims where I set up camp on the floor. I brought out the tent and doubled it as my mosquito net. Check. I always wanted to go camping on my birthday and eat outside. I think I somehow accomplished both.

Homemade Pizza crust pro. Boom.

Brick pizza oven made with lava rocks!

My epic birthday weekend wasn’t over just yet. The next morning Aaron and I took Jims advice and went to go look at the twin crater lakes. The plan was to find the viewpoint… check it out… and head somewhere for food. Oops… I mean we found the ‘viewpoint’ but as soon as we saw the crater lakes we couldn’t just look at them. We had to explore! Standing at the top of a hill looking down a walking path where you hope just goes around the crater but you will never actually know for sure unless you check it out. Tempting, eh?  With our hydration bottles in hand and cliff bars in our pockets we were pretty unprepared for what was to come. The adventure started off calm with nobody else around but the birds and the bees. We were walking along the ridge between the two crater lakes… eventually we took a split… started going around a second crater lake to get to the top of the first one…. Walk up and down… this way and that… and eventually hit a village on the other side of the crater about 4 miles into our journey. We picked up a little tour guide about 8 years old and all of his little pals on the way. He led us along a cliff that you couldn’t see the edge of because the grass was so tall then down the side of this said cliff. Most of the kids stayed near the top and once we got a certain distance away our little guide went back up. Then the kids started walking along the edge at the top and started pelting rocks at us. Aaron and I booked it and started running along the narrow trail we were on while the kids followed on the cliff above. We escaped with our nearly empty water bottles and still had quite a hike to go. We take a short break and I go to check the time on my phone… ummm… crap. Somewhere in all the madness I managed to lose my phone AND… this loss still hurts me... my Leatherman. Ouch. Good news is I somehow survived 6 months without it. After our what seems like an 8 mile adventure, we head to a resort for some lunch and R&R. My phone was discovered the next day and I had to pay 20,000 shillings to get it back. My Leatherman on the other hand was never recovered and I hope it’s living a useful and respected life.

The Twin lakes.

Walking along elephant paths with my bird book

Crater lakes

Quick Birthday safari... okay! Thanks for the present Clair!

why... hello there

Salt plots in the water

February is a blur. I started an after school fitness program for the community and students. This usually involved me blasting music and dancing while all the kids follow what I do. Somedays would be more organized than other with Zumba and Yoga but for the most part I just wanted to keep the kids moving and being physically active for more than 30 minutes. Once in a while I even got an adult from the community to join. I also started showing the students Planet Earth videos and explaining related content (Ex: earths rotation, how mountains form, what some of the key words meant) . Mainly because I wante to watch the films but I also really enjoy teaching the kids how things work with our planet.

Yoga cool down!

Then comes March… where shall I even begin...? Let me think on that one.

Moo.

Happy Birthday America. I will admit I miss you at times… and hopefully will see you someday soon.

365 Days Down!

One year ago today my flight landed in Uganda. It was late and I was exhausted. To be honest it was a bit terrifying and overwhelming but I was also extremely excited that I was finally living such a big adventurous life. This is a short short summary of my Peace Corps life over the past year…

In one year I…

…Moved to a country in Africa (Uganda more specifically)

…Met some A-mazing individuals

…Lived with a host family

…Tried to learn a new language

…Immersed myself into an unfamiliar culture

…Milked a cow

…Got tricked into watching a chicken being murdered (for dinner)

…Swore in as a Peace Corps Volunteer

…Moved into my own ‘house’

…Painted my house whatever color I wanted

…Got a cat

…Got stitches

…Traveled to Tanzania with my brother

…Spent Christmas on a tropical island

…Swam with dolphins

…Snorkeled through a coral reef

…Cooked on charcoal for 3 months

…Heard my voice on the radio (I was interviewed for my school)

…Got my house broken into

…Went on a safari (a few actually)

…Avoided getting a serious illness

…Got my phone stolen

…Caught sight of some incredible birds

…Discovered my like for teaching

...Pet a rhino

…Instructed a fitness class

…Was a camp counselor
...Got jammed in a car with 13 adults

…Became a pro at using a pit latrine

…Rafted on the Nile River

…Ate a grasshopper
...Got lost in a traditional canoe on a lake full of islands

…Started new relationships

…Head-butted a baby goat

…Adapted living without running water or electricity

…Integrated into a community

…Started reading Harry Potter

…Felt like I was making a difference in someone’s life.

The good, the bad, and the in-between. I have had so many experiences in just one year’s time… what experiences will another year hold for me??

Time to find out!

 

S/SW Camp BUILD and GLOW staff

Going for a hike during language training

watching a cow eat a sac of potatoes...

enjojo

I'm such a pro at cooking on coal

How I decorate the back of my house

Homestay family (Tata wange, Gloria, Me, Mama wange, Vicky)

Why yes, That is a rhinoceros.

Nile Rafting. Done.

Back to Zanzibar...

The camps I attended the past two weeks have been incredible… and exhausting. Felt sick for a few days in the North but after a lot of rest and getting my feet back in the Southwest where I belong… I felt better. Recovery time for camp is slow but my energy will return with time. The students are still on break till next Monday so I have some time to relax and enjoy the quiet till then.

One year ago today I left Michigan to attend staging for my Peace Corps service in Philadelphia. I remember loading my luggage into the car that morning, hugging my parents goodbye, and getting on an airplane by myself. When I arrived at the hotel I was already making a great impression by showing up just as things were starting. I had my first Chipotle experience on my last day in the states for the next 27 months, remember my first roommate in my PC experience (Kat), and will never forget how I felt when they ‘couldn’t find’ my passport. Just think about leaping off of a very tall building with a bungee cord attached to you and your eyes are closed. You have no idea what the other end of the cord is anchored to or if there is even a safety net below. Even if you were wearing protective gear it’s doubtful that it would help in the event something happens. This is Peace Corps. You have no idea what you are getting yourself into until you jump and figure it all out through the experience.

(I would have used ‘it’s like jumping out of a plane’ but I think I already exhausted that one)

Now back to Zanzibar….

****December 26th****

After harassing dolphins and getting stung by micro jelly fish, we hired a private vehicle and headed to Paje town. Paje was the ‘spring break’ destination for beach-goers (from my understanding). Although I’ve never gone on a beach spring break trip before in the states this is a bit what I always imagined it would be like except with more people. There were young adults touring from all over the world with a few parents and their children scattered about. Sunburns and booze here and there… with tons of beach in-between! Even with my constant application of sunscreen and living 8 month on the equator I started peeling the second day. Lame. Nice mental photo. 

*Side note: The last place my brother and I stayed was nice… but the beach was non-existent and replaced with sharp rocks and a 10 foot drop. If I mentioned sand in my last post at the lodge I hope I didn’t make it sound like a beach because that would be an overstatement. It was always either under water or hanging over the water due to a small cliff. Pictures I promised from last post:

The view from the room

the 'beach'

WARNING: This is not my plate... I would not waste my precious stomach space on a samosa or banana.

The staircase I would always attempt not to fall down

Full of crabs under the cliff!

no words could describe the beauty. 

My brother and I arrived at Demani lodge around noon when everyone else was already on the beach. We changed into our suits and headed down the beach to find a familiar face…. in the wrong direction.  We started walking one way where the ‘nicer’ more excluded resorts were then headed in the opposite direction for a few more miles. On the way we saw kite boarders, local sailboats, and even a few guys throwing a Frisbee which I happily joined in on for a few minutes. I was a bit bummed because I gave the only Frisbee I brought on the trip to a few kids on the main land of Tanzania but… I found one temporarily at least! We continued walking for a good 2 hours and after being extremely burnt and feeling like I should be in an episode of ‘Survivor.’ We stopped at a beach resort for a Pina Coladas and a plate full of flavorful food (which I was not used to). With our bellies full we headed back to Demani lodge to find the PCVs we were looking for the past few hours. Go figure.

That night we ended up taking it easy and stayed at Demani lodge (or should I say most of us). We took over the music and stayed up for a few hours catching up with one another. After one drink and a few good conversations I headed to my dorm style room that I was sharing with 2 other PCVs and my brother. I could tell I was on a tropical island because no my floor was  a giant sandpit and I thought I’d wake up with gritty particles of sand everywhere in my bed but to my surprise it was relatively clean. In the morning the housekeeping staff came in and dressed our beds so they would continue to remain sand free!  Each morning we got a ‘free’ breakfast consisting of an egg done in whatever style, fresh juice, and fruit. Yum.  

December 27^th through the 2^nd of January all blurs together. Most days were spent on the beach relaxing in the sun, eating great food, and enjoying the company of other PCVs. Most nights were filled with casual conversations, good drinks, and (of course) the beach.  We attended a Full Moon party on the beach consisting of expensive drinks and loud music that nobody was feeling… especially after a few of the Uganda PCVs got robbed at machete point (quite scary but theft is very common in Zanzibar so if you ever plan on going be smart, be careful, and stay in a group.) The next day 6 of us boarded a taxi and head over to Stone Town on the Western side of the island. We found an awesome local tour guide and walked through the fish market, everything market, explored an old bath house, discovered a delicious homemade yogurt shop, visited the old island fort, wondered around the back alleys of town like a pro, and lastly ended up at the seafood street food market (that’s a mouthful). You could find any seafood available from the local area skewered on a stick and ready to be grilled. I’d explain in better detail but I have a confession to make… I don’t like seafood. I tried some but I don’t really like it so I couldn’t even begin to tell you what they had. Although seafood is not my ‘thing’ I did taste a few of the items and heavily enjoy eating dafu, fresh coconut split open and ready to drink, and wish I could have just been a squirrel to store some for a rainy day in Uganda. The texture of the coconut meat was almost like a jello and strange at first but fantastic!

The next day (I believe) a large group of us planned an all-day snorkeling trip consisting of a stop to 3 different reef areas and a seafood lunch (octopus, squid, shrimp, lobster, and fries). I remember the first stop we landed on a small island and the crew pitched a tent for shade and started splitting fruit. Most people didn’t venture far from shore but I wanted to find the ‘good spot’ so I swam to the other side of the island with Aaron. After about 15 minutes of swimming Aaron wanted to head back to the group because we weren’t having any ‘luck’ finding the reef. He takes off and I keep on coasting along… by myself… in an ocean full of strange creatures I will never understand. Not even 2 minutes later… JACKPOT! I find a big reef filled with plenty of cool and bright colored looking coral and fish. The best part? I had it all to myself! Don’t get me wrong… I love to share but this?! Incredible! The water was so blue it looked like someone put food coloring in it. For those of you who need more of a visual the color reminded me of a blue raspberry kool-aid jammer. Remember those? And Dunkaroos? Oh such precious childhood taste bud memories. Sometimes I feel my taste buds weep when I think of Dunkaroos…. but I guess that’s normal because I find my taste buds do that about a lot of things now a days while I’m living in Uganda…

Back to reality now….

On New Years eve I went all out on my last meal of 2012 and got… drumroll…. street food with Aaron! Haha. I need to laugh at myself for that one. I’m cheap and I may as well act like a local and be cool to finish off the year. I also found it… symbolic somehow (wrong word? Oh well). By the time we finished our ‘meal’ we were ready to head to the New Years beach party! Unfortunately it was dark and with the previous night’s theft we felt a tad uneasy. Luckily we found some Masaai warriors and paid them to escort us to the beach party. Yea… we really did that and it was AWESOME! I felt pretty important for those next 20 minutes. Once again it was full of loud music and expensive drinks… good thing I am a cheap PCV and bought my drinks before attending the party for ¼ of the price. At midnight, which I’m pretty sure we had more than one countdown, they lit the beach on fire and it spelled out ‘WELCOME 2013.’ I’m pretty sure Mike loved that because he has an obsession with fire. At around 3ish the tide starts creeping in and everyone is dispersing. A few of us stay around so we can travel back together. While we were waiting on the beach I start walking towards a small group of PCVs near the water and all of a sudden one of the takes off onto shore and starts yelling about her wallet. I notice nobody else is following here so I run after her down a dark alley next to the lodge… I remember her yelling oh so politely ‘Excuse me sir but I believe you have my wallet’… ‘Excuse me sir….’ Over and over and over and over again as we run after this guy. Finally we reach an opening and we stop at the edge. I try telling her it’s unsafe to continue and I’m sorry that her wallet was stolen. So we start walking back and she trips on something. She bends down to pick something up and it’s her wallet! Surprisingly nothing was missing! We figured the thief either felt really sorry that he stole from such a polite person or he saw the Ugandan shillings and realized it wasn’t worth anything. After we get back none of the other PCVs really noticed us missing so we tell the story and head back to the lodge. Most of the other PCVs head to bed but I stay up with Kristina, Aaron, and other people from our lodge.

By 6am we are all exhausted but figured we would stay up and watch the first sunrise of the new year rise over the ocean so we headed down to the beach and waited. In those moments when the sun of the new year was rising up over the horizon I felt… at peace. We sat in silence and just drank in the beauty of the moment until the temptation became too great and people started swimming. I was too exhausted and ill prepared for swimming/ proper footwear and what what and am so glad I did not get in because one guy ended up cutting his hand and left to get stitches because of a sharp rock. I’m glad I thought things through and decided to go to bed before all of that even happened. By the time I went to bed, breakfast was moments away from being served but I decided to eat in my dreams instead. That day was reserved for lounging and enjoying the last full day of sunshine and white sandy beaches. I was going to take it all in. After 3 hours of sleep I was up and moving again with a slow but steady pace. I wanted the last day to just keep going on and on and on…. I felt like I would just wake up and be right back in Uganda. Well after a rocky Faerie ride, Subway sandwich in Dar Es Salaam, and two plane rides later… I was back.

Once we reached Uganda after 2 delayed flights we spent the night in a hostel and the next morning boarded a 9 hour bus to my home district of Rukungiri. For my brothers last few days in Uganda I got to show him my house! He was my first real visitor and I was so excited to share my house with someone from my family. I taught him how to hand-wash laundry, let him experience bucket bathing, and showed him how I generally live on a day to day basis. I will never forget when he told me I was doing ‘very well for myself’ and that he was impressed and proud of me. This was all coming from my oldest brother who I have always look up to and want to out-compete (at nobody knows what) and impress. I think I have finally succeeded. J

The whole trip was incredible! It felt good to take a break from Uganda and add another visa to my passport since I have never had many opportunities to travel outside of my home country before joining the Peace Corps. Tanzania was a BLAST and most of the reasoning behind that was the great company that I had the pleasure to be around throughout my trip. I’m so glad I got to share my brother’s first experience of African and hope he has many more because it has so much to offer.

Although I was glad to get out of Uganda for a week or two… I was also very relieved to come back to the familiarity of Uganda. Around this point it started feeling more like a home to me and I was very comfortable with my lifestyle and living situation.

Sometimes I may complain or point out things I dislike… but I could do the same thing about America and probably will when I return next year.

Now that I FINALLY was able to sit down and finish my post about something that happened over 5 months ago… I have a huge task ahead of me to update you on my life in Uganda since then. I would kick myself in the butt if I could but I already know I can’t do it successfully so I won’t even try.  I won’t lie… time has flown by and at times I can close my eyes and still picture the vivid memories of Tanzania and Zanzibar that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. It is a great feeling… the first country I needed a visa for to travel in and not work or live in. I may be a newborn when it comes to traveling still but… look out world! This chick has some big dreams and distant destination to explore! Bring. It. On.

Dafu!

I think my brother beat me every time... but I had dafu!

beach bums

On the stage... somewhere in Stone Town

seafood

fish/ meat market

**celebrating my one year mark in country this weekend!!**

Camp GLOW! Camp BUILD!

WARNING: This will be super short but awesome as always...

I have a pretty good excuse for not posting since I attended the Northern camps in Gulu last week (where I got sick) and now I am in the Southwest (Bushenyi) this week for the camps. More on that in another post…

 

Camp BUILD (Boys of Uganda In Leadership and Development)

Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World)

Both camps are packed with break dancing campers/ counselors and is completely awesome and inspiring. Yay gender equality!!!!

Click the link to follow how the week is going: http://www.facebook.com/CampGlowBuildUganda?fref=ts

If I find a link for the northern camps I will also post that.

That is all for now! 

Peace. 

Don't Worry... I'm Still HERE!!!

I apologize for being lazy about my blog … sometimes I just can’t sit still long enough to write a good post or I'm just not in to mood.  Especially when my battery doesn't last long on my computer and I have other more ‘official’ things to do like design T-shirts or watch Glee. Now that I have my office at school (heck yes) I should be more motivated to write posts more frequently. Why? Because I will be in my office with my big desk and all!  I’ve been promised this office since the first time I visited my site during training…. 8 months later and it’s finally MINE! I’m just picturing myself in a nice swivel office chair with my cat folded in my arms and laughing about a random thought in my head that wouldn't be funny to anyone else… just giving you an image of how I will be rocking my office.

Back to the story I probably promised a few months ago. Woops…

Zanzibar (December 24^th – January 2^nd)

Where the heck is all the snow?! It’s Christmas eve and I can’t see anything white, wet, and cold sticking to the ground. The breath coming out of my mouth is undetectable and I’m wearing what? Shorts! Where the heck am I?! Oh wait… the equator. Right… about that. Recently I have been getting ghost chills knowing all my life that this time of year I should be cold. The obnoxious Christmas music (call me Grinch if you want) was not filling my spirit with joy... but the weather in Tanzania sure was!

After an epic safari with my brother on the plains of the Serengeti, we were getting ready to leave for the airport to catch a flight to Zanzibar. When we reach the tiny Arusha airport there was a dark storm rolling in and all of the planes were no bigger than an American school bus. At this point I am a tad nervous because I've never been on such a small plane before. As we have security check our bags the officer suspiciously pulls out a tampon and starts asking me what the heck it is…. imagine explaining that one to a male Tanzanian. "Women go through this thing.... its for something you will never experience as a male... don't worry about it."  Once we made it through security we only had to wait a few minutes before being escorted to our plane. At this point it was pouring so they brought us an umbrella to make me feel like a millionaire being taken to my private jet. We reach our plane and they open the cockpit door and ask one of us to get in. Mike is awesome,  paying for most of the trip, and loves planes… so of course I let my big brother have to front seat! (I make it sound like a car but don’t get the wrong impression.) I get to sit right behind the pilot close enough to cause mass chaos in the 18 passenger plane. But why would I want to do that?  The thought only crossed my mind that I could have punched the pilot in the back of the head once… good thing I’m not crazy! 5 minutes of waiting in the plane and everyone is on board so we are clear to take off. It’s still pouring out and all I can think about is when the small plane in any movie crashes…. and we weren’t even off the ground yet… but  I was too busy distracting myself by watching the pools of water collect on the runway as we literally flew past them. I’m not afraid of flying and have jumped out of a plane before but when I went skydiving the one thing that made me most nervous was the small size of the plane. At least I was connected to a parachute last time… this time I only had my ipod and I doubt that would help me glide safely back down to the ground if the plane exploded in midair, so I turned on some jams and zombied out (the verb I use while on long transport rides around Uganda meaning: I’m not paying attention to ANYTHING).

As soon as we were up in the air, the storm clouds disappeared and we were soaring over the brightest rainbow I have ever seen! It was magical to say the least… if only the clouds weren’t covering Mt. Kilimanjaro it would have been even more spectacular. The next hour and a half I tried not to bounce out of my seat with excitement and chose to watch Tanzania pass by far below. The landscape seemed so dead, dry, and boring compared to Uganda until we reached to coast.  Now I’ve never been anywhere tropical but my bedroom back home in the states is filled will palm trees, collections from beaches, and bright colors. By heading to Zanzibar I was living one of my dreams! It felt A-mazing especially after briefly glimpsing the island from above. I was nervous though… I built this idea up in my head and had no idea what it would actually be like until we landed.

When we arrived my cell phone battery was too tired to turn on… wouldn’t matter because my SIM card was no longer working… woops… haven’t even thought of that one. We have NO clue where we are going just the name of the lodge. It also doesn’t help that Mike had his better phone stolen out of his bag on the way to Tanzania. So we start asking around and nobody knows where this ‘Paradise’ lodge place is. Finally we find a private vehicle to take us. Not sure what the price was but thanks Mike! On our way I remember seeing a sign advertising for ‘Half Zoo’… now why would they name it that?! Half price? Half the animals? Half the cages are built? I suppose I will never know. When we reach the lodge in the back of my mind I’m wondering… ‘what the hell kind of place is this?’ First of all there is NOTHING around… second of all the driveway started at someone’s house and I don’t even know if this place is legit yet. The car takes us another 200 ft and BAM! White sand, hammocks,  beach bar, volleyball net, and palm trees everywhere! We get out of the car and are led through all these fun beach bum obstacles, past a flight of wooden stairs heading down to the water, and end up on a gorgeous balcony in front of our room on the second story. I get to wake up to THIS every morning for the next 3 days? I’ll take it! We probably had the nicest room… not even going to lie. Honeymoon suit? Awkward. Once we put our things down the first thing I did was climb down the stairs to touch the Indian Ocean.  Knowing that I was not going to get Shisto (parasites) from the water made it even more magnificent after being cooped up in Uganda for 6 months… not to mention touching the INDIAN OCEAN! I just wanted to splash around all afternoon and have some fun in the sun poking sea cucumbers, holding hermit crabs, and playing with spiky sea urchins. As long as I avoid stepping on a sea urchin I should be good to go. 

Do you remember the Canadians from the safari I talked about? Welp… they were there too!

At first it was awkward explaining Mike is my brother because it seemed like everyone else was a couple but after the first 10 minutes it was fine. Since we arrived on the 24^th that night they had a Christmas eve buffet … candle light dinner on the beach… super romantic. Yuck. Mike and I ended up eating dinner with Katie and Nick (the Canadians). Squid, octopus, grilled tuna, Irish potatoes, rice, beef, goat, vegetable samosas, some sauce, and of course… steamed banana! I tried even the food I didn’t know I would like and avoided the banana… like always. High tide and low tide confused the heck out of me. One minute the water would be crashing against the walls and the next hour it would be a mile out. I’ve lived by lakes all my life and the water level hardly changes.

Christmas day we all ended up swimming, playing beach volleyball, reading, lounging around, sipping fruity drinks, and petting the dogs. Such a lovely and relaxing Christmas but unfortunately it was too hot and sunny to wear my Santa hat.

The next day following Christmas we booked an early morning dolphin swim combined with a snorkeling trip for 15 bucks! The dolphin swim was not what I expected… we got on our boat… suited up in our flippers, snorkel, and mask…. Then headed off the coast for about a mile where a few other boats were waiting. As soon as the dolphins emerged it was like a race… we sped up in front of the dolphins then were told to ‘JUMP!’ At first I was a bit scared and confused. I didn’t mind the depth of the water and am a pretty good swimmer but they just want me to jump off this boat when all these other boats are racing towards us. I did it anyways. You just jump and swim as fast as you can while looking for the dolphins below. If you don’t think about the dolphin harassment aspect of the whole things it is mesmerizing watching the dolphins. You can even hear them if you listen hard enough over the sound of all the motor boats. I almost got jumped on by a crazy tourist but what else would you expect from a boat full or excited tourists who can't swim very well? Next we headed to a reef where my brother got some incredible underwater photos. When we first got in the water I noticed slight static popping noises (similar if you were pouring milk over a bowl of Rice Crispies) and I would occasionally feel a slightly uncomfortable sensation on my legs, arms, or even lip. Weird. Last time I swam in an ocean was when I was a tiny little peanut so I figured this is how it always feels while swimming in salt water. I just ignored it an enjoyed the underwater scenery. Some areas on my body I would feel a prick more than others and in different locations on the reef I would stop hearing the popping when I was underwater. So here is an experiment for you:  pour milk over a bowl full of Rice Crispies, close your eyes, pretend you are under water, and pinch yourself lightly on the arm. Done. That’s how it felt to a lesser degree.  After a while I began to realize that this shouldn’t be the norm because if it was… why would so many people enjoyed swimming in the ocean? Crazies. I went back underwater and tried looking really close in front of me so I probably looked like a fool and may have had to cross my eyes to look that close. Sure enough there were mini jellyfish scattered in the ocean around me. I tried telling everyone else but they thought I was crazy… until 10 minutes later someone else points out the tiny buggers. Honestly I didn’t care… if these zap-a-zaps (just got done reading A Clockwork Orange) were going to kill me I was already in heaven looking at a REAL coral reef instead of pictures. I would have died happy as a clam. After being micro-electrocuted a couple hundred times we got out of the ocean and headed for Crab Island which is not much bigger than a basketball court (probably the worst island to be stranded on since it shrunk to the size of a couch once the tide came in). We ate brunch on the island then journeyed back to shore where we all got extremely burnt during the ride due to the lack of shade on the small boat. Once back from the boat ride my brother and I said our goodbyes to Paradise and headed to the East part of the island to meet up with some Peace Corps volunteers from Uganda for a week….

Our picnic destination

Why yes! I am floating above a coral reef. Thanks for noticing!

This is real life. 

The deeper you dive, the bigger they get!

<><>My camera broke but my brother just sent me a flash drive with ALL of the pictures from the trip so I will get more posted on here once I receive that. Now I'll leave you to catch up on this and post another one soon soon.<><>

I also just wanted to let you know how clean my blue jeans are because I had the opportunity to wash them in a wish-wash machine! Life for me is about to get busy working at 2 camps back to back for the next two weeks but I will have time to post so no worries! 

*Flashback*

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)

               

Glamping!

Does this need a caption?

Waiting to go somewhere...

This elephant needs a snack

Wildebeest (the thing that killed Mufasa)

A Hyena wallowing in the road (it is not dead)

ZEBRAS! (Ngorongoro Crater)

Mike and I :D

Our not so badass truck.

Making the best out of life in the middle of... Nowhere...

A Letter From Home

 I asked my brother to be a guest blogger and write about his time in Uganda:

For Michelle, and all the things she does.

Dearest sister,

Written below are the accounts of the adventure I shall here after refer to as “The Epic Awesomeness that was the African Adventure of An Era.”

To begin, it was a long flight.  Spent the night in Toronto, but hung out with a small group of amazing people, and stayed awake talking into the wee hours of the morning…. Only to be greeted by the longest leg of my journey the next morning.  I took Ethiopian Airlines, which was actually really nice, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I met an interesting Canadian on the plane who was flying down to meet his Ethiopian wife… now that’s a long distance relationship.

When I finally got to Africa, it was much cooler than I expected, it was night, but only in the mid-60’s.  I still had to catch another flight to actually get to Uganda.  Of course, I was very jet-lagged when I got there, but it was a very small airport, and my sister found me without any issues.  We went to a stone-fire pizza place, which I wouldn’t expect such delicious food in a Continent we think of as so poor and ‘3rd world’.  Anyways, we walked around for a bit, and went to a craft market, where I traded a pad lock for a wooden giraffe and learned that I can’t bargain worth garbage, but I got much better later ;)  We had a day before our flight to Tanzania so we went over to Jinja to hang out at the Nile River, and poke the source of it.  The towns and villages were exciting to finally drive through.  I read a few papers on some of the water management issues they’ve been having, so it was nice to see what you’re actually reading about.  The villages there grow without any civil planning, and you can see how they get out of control.  This place was packed – people, cars, bikes, boda bodas everywhere.  Luckily my sister knew her way around.  We walked through a good portion of Jinja, made friends with a local dog, and bought some amazing crafts.  Took a boat to the source of the Nile, stayed in a hostel with one of the worst thunderstorms I’ve ever been through, and ate delicious rolexes (a fried egg wrapped in chapati bread).  The storm was so bad my sister and I moved the bottom bunks of the room we were staying in because we thought a tree could come crashing through.  Turns out it was just Jack Fruit hitting our roof…(They’re big, and delicious.)

I lost my phone because I kept it in checked in luggage like an idiot, I blame it on jet lag.  Well, we went to Tanzania, Dar Es Salaam, and took an 11 hour bus to Arusha.  They played A Danny Trejo movie 3 times.  I wasn’t surprised by the television on the bus as much as I was surprised that they liked Danny Trejo.

Arusha is fun.  So are Safaris through the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater.  I saw lions.  And elephants.  And Rhinos.  (we also touched a rhino in the zoo, and saw monkeys in Uganda).  And Pride Rock – with lions on top.  Broke down for 5 hours, played Frisbee with some children.  Broke down for 3 hours, got picked up by some fun Swedes and a Tanzanian who might have some info for a Mt. Kilimanjaro climb for me when I come back in October.  We met people from all over, it was an unbelievable experience.  Ask me for pictures, I’ll convince you to visit Africa. 

My sis and I wore our Santa hat’s when we weren’t sweating our faces off, which the other tourists got a kick out of.  It definitely made for a memorable Christmas.  Oh, it was also migration time, so we saw more Wildebeests, Zebras, Gazelle, and other migrating things than I knew existed.  It made me happy and gave me a bit of hope for the world.  These areas seemed very well protected and it seemed the right steps are being taken to keep these areas pristine for many years to come.

We met some Canadians just before the Safari that we ended up hanging out with for about a week and a half or so, both through the Safari and on Zanzibar (turned out we booked the same hotel for Christmas Eve and Christmas, which is strange because there are a lot of selections on the island).  They’re also from Toronto, so I hope to see them in the not-too-distant future again.  Plus they could play Euchre.

We went from Arusha to Zanzibar, where I flew co-pilot because they didn’t have room for me to sit in the passenger area.  A bit less strict than the states.  Our Christmas was spent on the beach, with a sea food buffet, a small, secluded private beach, awesome dogs that we re-named, an amazing staff that joined us in volleyball, soccer and cards, a dolphin swim, followed by a reef snorkeling adventure, and a trip to Crab Island.  When I think of Paradise (besides Whitefish Point), this was the place I think of.  It reminded me of a mix between ‘The Beach’ and the Boy Meets World honeymoon episodes.

After this amazing experience, we went to a hostel on the East Side.  I was wrong to think that this trip couldn’t get any better.  The Peace Corps Volunteers are all amazing.  I met so many amazing, friendly people that I only occasionally felt that I was ‘the outsider.’ We made many trecks around the very touristy beach, and attended a full moon party and New Year’s right on the beach – complete with a bon fire, decent music, a bar, and a random cluster of people from all over the planet, with one very, important thing in common:  We were on Zanzibar, for every reason you could be.

I had some amazing experiences that would be very difficult to understand without actually being there.  Michelle and I split up for a bit due to varying interests.  I got up as early as possible to join a small group of PCV in Stone Town, while she stayed behind to hang with her closer friends in the area.  This worked out great for both of us, the PCV I hung with turned out to have a lot of the same interests as I, so it was easy to agree what we wanted to do.  We hired a guide, who I believe is the ‘Sultan of Stone Town’ and knew all the local connections and set the next couple of days up for us…. For cheap.  We went on a spice tour, and visited an old Slave cave, that we bribed our guide to let us crawl through, visited Prison Island and the Giant Tortoises, and did some snorkeling.  We also ate some delicious street seafood – Seafood will never taste the same again.

At one point I bought a chess board to be beaten by one of Michelle’s friends every game.  Well worth the 50,000 TZS.  I listened to amazing music, including Gangnum Style while driving down the road between stone town and Paje.  The ONLY part I didn’t like about the island (which was a very minor inconvenience) is that the showers are salty.  Not as bad as the ocean, but I never really felt clean.  Something that would go away after a few weeks, but I couldn’t get used to it during our way-too-short duration on the Island.  On the plus side, if I ever lose my job, I did get an invitation to work at the hostel I stayed in, which I must say is pretty tempting.

Well, after our lovely week or so on the island, we went back to Uganda, and eventually went back to Michelle’s village.  She’ll complain about the lack of variety of food all day (as will every other PCV), but I didn’t stay long enough for this to affect me (and they reminded me every chance they got!).  Everything was new to me, and I don’t think I tried anything I didn’t like.  From my perspective, everything was also dirt cheap, and very plentiful.  Instead of lack of food and resources, the large issue seems to be a lack of understanding.  From what I’ve been told, the education system is poor (I even talked with a Ugandan college equivalent Professor for a bit, who confirmed this), teachers are paid garbage, school is a second thought to other things.  It’s a shame, the very limited travel time I had there I saw a lot of resources that could be exploited for the good of the Countries.  There is a very deep mindset of ‘This is how we do things because this is how it’s always been done.’ 

Michelle’s house is small, without grid power or running water, but manageable.  It’s OK for 1 person, but was cramped with me there.  Her cat, Elend Venture-Cat, is a cat that gives its species some credibility.  It loves me.  My favorite cat in the world, but I can only think of 3 other cats that I didn’t despise.  But this was by far my favorite.  I hand washed my clothes by hand for the first time ever, which was awesome to do, and I didn’t die from the soap.  She cooked for me, which my sister is a hell of a cook, and it was awesome.  I watched Game of Thrones, in a house without electricity.  My life is amazing.

AfterthatIwentbackhome.

So, I could elaborate on everything above, but you get the gist.  People like to ask what my favorite country or trip has been, but I can’t give a good answer to that.  Every country I’ve been to has an argument to be my favorite, and it’s unfair to the rest.  If I had a chance to change something on this trip, I wouldn’t, it went perfect (yes, even my phone getting stolen will help me in the future, and it could’ve been a lot worse.  OK, maybe I would change Michelle’s friends not getting robbed, but not anything that happened to me).  My sister seems to be having an amazing time, and she’s smart, she knows how to handle herself.  She’s also a great travel partner, and we tend to have a lot of the same style.  I know in the future I can travel with her anywhere I go, although she needs to learn to trust me a bit more sometimes ;)

In conclusion, I Love my sister, I’m glad I got this amazing opportunity to visit her, thanks for letting me invite myself.  I had a blast, I hope you did too, and I’ll probably be back in Arusha come October, and visit my sister in Uganda if it’s in the stars.

Love, Mike


He must have been getting used to tasteless Uganda food because he went a little overboard with the 'hell of a cook' tidbit since it was only tacos with homemade tortillas and fresh lettuce from my garden, but I appreciate the smart comment and how I can handle myself. This coming from my big brother means a lot to me. And I will always remember him saying 'I am proud of you' when he saw how I was living.

I will be posting pictures on the Blog once they are sent to me from my brother along with chopsticks hopefully! (But the chopsticks are only for me)

I had a great time with my brother and hope to spend more time showing him Uganda on his next possible visit :)