Coreyography

Safari Sally, Zanzibar Zelda & Beyond

I'M IN: Dar es Salaam (largest city in Tanzania), having visited Lake Manyara, Serengeti NP, Lake Victoria, Ngorongoro Crater and Zanzibar: Kizimkasi, Stone Town, Nungwi & Kendwa
NEXT UP: Zambia

WOW - it's been forhayver since I've updated this thang.  I could blame the shabbiness of almost everything computer-related here (slow as molasses connections, keyboards with letters missing, Windows '95!) but there are also beaches involved, so yeah.

Let's start with the safari, which was incredible.  Dad and Natalie and I saw many, many animals with the help of our driver and guide Isador.  We all took to Isador immediately as he was v. good at his job and also had the irresistible combo of a low tickle point and a great high-pitched giggle.  Many animal tidbits would begin, "Warthogs," or whatever animal we were looking at, "they're SO FUNNY!"  Warthogs are thus because they have to kneel on their front knees to eat and because when they run their stub-tail points straight up like an antenna.  The animal tidbit would end with Isador laughing his head off, followed by us, too.  Every day on safari was a real treat - we'd see tons of animals one day, then see BABY animals of the same kind and be delighted afresh.  My favorite animals were the giraffes, elephants and of course the lions!  One afternoon we came across a solo female lion who looked rather hungry.  She was right next to our Land Cruiser and Dad and I were jostling around trying to get a good picture and all of the sudden she just took off, going within inches of the truck.  Natalie and I immediately scrambled around and shut our windows while Dad continued to get great pictures of her.  So that was pretty interesting! 

There were some animals that I did not take a shine to, and at the top of this list is definitely hyenas.  I know, I've seen the same nature programs saying that hyenas are just misunderstood and have been the victims of unfair/bad PR, but my opinion after seeing them in the flesh is that their rep is well deserved.  First of all, there is a lot of flesh to see - many hyenas are just plain obese.  Waddling across the plain engorged to four times their normal size with god knows what - it's enough to turn your stomach if you think about it too much.  We also encountered many lazy hyenas, just sitting in the mud or a dust pile.  This was most annoying when there were lions right around the corner with a fresh kill.  Isador said it best, "I want to see some action here!  Where are the hyenas?  Lazy hyenas!"  But the hyenas would not oblige.  And we know they could: one day we came upon a very fresh kill - the vultures had just chased off the predator and we sat and watched for thirty minutes while hyenas came running from as far as the eye could see.  Twelve or fifteen showed up in all and it really was an amazing sight to see them first as a blip on the horizon, then five minutes later right there.  But could the four or five hyenas sitting in the mud one hundred feet away from the lions be bothered to give Isador some action?  No, they could not.  And they were easily the skinniest hyenas we'd seen!  Just trifling.

The safari also included two days on the shores of Lake Victoria, during which we were somewhat lazy.  Riding around in a Land Cruiser with your eyes peeled all day is surprisingly tiring!  My time with Dad and Natalie ended on Zanzibar, and I was sad to see them go although I'm not sure I could have kept up the pace we were going for very much longer.  It's not many parents that can tire out their children, but that is certainly the case here.  I spent another week on Zanzibar, mostly sleeping and reading.  It seems likely that there is a parallel universe where Land Cruisers full of hyenas are aghast at the lazy humans such as myself who sometimes choose to just wallow in the sand, even when there is good hippo meat right next door.

My future plans have been extremely up in the air (more so than usual) with me trying to factor in weather concerns, visas, money issues and other logistics.  After much back-and-forthedness, I've decided to take the 2-day train to Zambia tomorrow to hopefully get a peek at Victoria Falls before the rainy season obscures this natural wonder for the next few months.  I'm excited about a 40-hour train ride - the route goes through several of the game parks on the Southern Circuit and supposedly you can see animals right from the train, like a mini-Safari!  Reports from Zambia to come!

Volunteering at Nkoaranga Orphanage

I'M IN: Arusha, Tanzania having visited the village of Tengeru
NEXT UP: Safari!

Well, I did indeed find a place to volunteer this week and it was a really interesting and fantastic experience.  The Nkoaranga Orphanage is about 20 kilometers outside of Arusha, up the slopes of Mt. Meru next door to a Lutheran hospital.  They care for about 30 children, infants through four-years old, and these kids are really something.  So are the "mamas" that look after them - volunteer women from the surrounding villages who work several 12-hour shifts each week: cooking, doing mountains of laundry as well as providing every facet of childcare.  I don't have a ton of experience with children, and no experience at all with large groups of them.  As a result I found the work there v. challenging but ever so rewarding.  I now know how to change a nappie, well kind of - the day I left I noticed that little Erik, who had the misfortune to get me instead of one of the mamas for changing duties after naptime, had half a nappie sticking out of the back of his shorts.  Those cloth diapers are quite a bit harder to manage than disposables, especially with no diaper pins.  And I definitely have had my share of up-close-and-personal human interaction in the last four days.  The kids are well acquainted with visitor volunteers and most often want to be in your lap, on your shoulders, clutching your hand, or all of the above.  My record was jostling six kids at the same time while sitting on the floor - two on each leg, one in my lap and one on my back.  I think I will need a massage soon. 

Unfortunately the orphanage has had some bad experiences with volunteers recently, particularly with Americans.  A few folks have come over and criticized the mamas' methods and practices.  They are instituting a new policy in the coming weeks that will effectively ban Americans from volunteering there.  I can understand this.  One fellow volunteer there (an American) was very loud and effusive about her thoughts on how things SHOULD be done there.  I myself am no expert on anything child-related and was just thrilled to have the opportunity to be with the kids, even if it was for such a short time.  Not sure if my body could have taken much more time - pails of wet nappies are heavy!  And so are four-year olds.

Another great part of this was the meeting and working with the other volunteers that were part of my group - we all stayed in a very nice house up the road from the orphanage in Tengeru.  There were four of us in all - Rohun, a NYU (holla!) student; Jo, a British nursing student; Rahul, a recent Michigan grad and myself.  I enjoyed being part of the group dynamic again, especially having Jo to girl-talk with.  It was wonderful to have company when using the public transport as well.  The dula dulas (minivans packed beyond capacity that go short distances) are difficult to get in and out of, and the car that would take us up the hill to the orphanage was like the dustiest roller coaster on earth.  Neither vehicle would travel without at least 12 folks aboard, sometimes this meant a wait of up to half an hour.

And I'm thrilled to report that my Dad and Stepmom Natalie have arrived safe and sound after a grueling 30-hour flight from California!  We had a nice day visiting and will set off on safari tomorrow morning.  Lions, wildebeests (or "wildebeasties" as our very kind safari coordinator calls them), flamingos and cheetahs are on the menu (hopefully!).  I could not be more excited.

I hope to be able to update my pictures and make some phone calls soon - internet access here is not what it is in Southeast Asia, that's for sure.  You can look forward to pictures of some really cute kids.  Or not - it's up to you.