June 13, 2009
(10:22 AM)
Words can't describe how I feel right now. I am getting ready to go out of the country for the first time and I'm excited and nervous all at the same time. I'm excited because it's and experience of a life time. Nervous, well because it's my first time to go on a plane ride longer than six hours. Also, I am leaving the country without my family or my closest friends by my side. I am traveling to Tanzania with a group of students from the university. After, I am going to stay a couple of days in the Netherlands. This is going to be amazing.
(5:04 PM)
The first flight wasn't so bad. The usual really, a couple of hours in a small plane with very little turbulance and a snack for the ride. To make it a little better, I ordered a Mimosa. My friend, Mi'chel and I, are waiting patiently for our next flight. This is the one that I am nervous about. It is flying over the Atlantic for the first time in my life. Recently the news has reported missing planes and such, I just hope that mine make it.
The first flight wasn't so bad. The usual really, a couple of hours in a small plane with very little turbulance and a snack for the ride. To make it a little better, I ordered a Mimosa. My friend, Mi'chel and I, are waiting patiently for our next flight. This is the one that I am nervous about. It is flying over the Atlantic for the first time in my life. Recently the news has reported missing planes and such, I just hope that mine make it.
June 14, 2009
(6:04 PM)
The time difference is making my day a little off. The time here is just after six, but the time at home is a little after ten in the morning. I am sitting on the plane to tanzania. This has been, by far, the longest trip of my life. It is so difficult to get comfortable long enough to get a couple hours of sleep. We have about 2 hours before landing and then we have to get our Visa and luggage before headed to our first lodge. I hope it doesn't take too long because I am tired.
(11:33 PM)
I am getting ready for my first night stay in Arusha. We are staying at River Trees in a cute lodge. Upon arrival at the Kilamanjaro airport, Brooke, Ben, Elissa, and Jackson were waiting for us with our Land Cruisers for the upcoming week. It was about a 45 minute ride to the lodge. When we arrived we had a light dinner that included an amazing soup and nachos,of all things. It was all very delicious. With that, I decided to have a Tusker. I am trying all of the beers that are in Tanzania. It was light and very delicious. I am tired and looking forward to my first day on safari tomorrow. Brooke said we would be canoeing with Hippos. HIPPOS?! Now that's going to be amazing.
I am getting ready for my first night stay in Arusha. We are staying at River Trees in a cute lodge. Upon arrival at the Kilamanjaro airport, Brooke, Ben, Elissa, and Jackson were waiting for us with our Land Cruisers for the upcoming week. It was about a 45 minute ride to the lodge. When we arrived we had a light dinner that included an amazing soup and nachos,of all things. It was all very delicious. With that, I decided to have a Tusker. I am trying all of the beers that are in Tanzania. It was light and very delicious. I am tired and looking forward to my first day on safari tomorrow. Brooke said we would be canoeing with Hippos. HIPPOS?! Now that's going to be amazing.
So Mi'chel and I saw our first animal, a geeko, in our bathroom. I really hope he doesn't find his way under the net that hangs over our bed. Our room is wonderful! We are leaving the windows open so we can hear the crickets outside. I wonder what other things I will hear throughough the night. OH! I almost forgot, the water in the toilet bowl goes in the opposite direction. Silly how much I enjoy the small things.
June 15, 2009
June 15, 2009
(5:25 Am)
I didn't sleep very much last night. A little more than three hours. For the last couple of hours, I have been lying in bed, listening to the nature that surrounds me and about thirty minutes ago, I could hear the natives during their morning religious rituals. I hope today goes well even though I am still very tired. Breakfast is in a couple of hours, followed by orientation and then the adventure begins.
(9:35 AM)
I am sitting in the Land Cruiser waiting to go on our first safari. OKay...so Brooke just got out of the vehicle and is staying at the lodge with Meryl because she is feeling ill. That sucks, they are both going to miss the first day on safari, but it is best if Meryl gets better. I will look at this as another adventure, teacherless. This morning while sitting at breakfast a water buffalo surprised us all and bolted through the lodge. I couldn't capture the moment on camera, but will never forget the sight of teh animal or the reaction of the staff.
(9:45 PM)
I just finished taking a shower and am getting ready for bed. Today has been a long day and I am exhausted. we left the lodge around 9:40 AM and stayed on the safari until 5:00 PM. We saw so many animals while out there. The first animal we came across was a giraffe. After being awed by the giraffes, we moved along coming across buffalos, baboons, zebras and various birds. Fun fact, I didn't realize that baboons bark like dogs. It was a bit comical because while we were driving down the dirt road looking for our next picture we came across, what seemed to be a thousand, baboons. Elissa called it baboon road.
I began to feel nausious while on safari today because of all the bumps in the roads. I sat in the very back of the vehicle and will not do that again. Once we ate lunch I felt a little better. Good thing because I didn't want to miss out on the canoe trip. I ended riding with a guide because I didn't want to take the chance of falling out of the canoe and a hippo eating me. My family would not be happy about that. To my surprise though, the canoe trip was not that terrible and a little disappointing because I didn't get to see any dang hippos. All that excitement for nothing. At least the scenery was beautiful. My guides name was Nelson. He told me that he speakes three languages. English, Swahili and his native tounge. After the canoe trip I was exhausted and ended up sleeping in the car on the way back to the lodge. I don't know how because the roads were horrible.
June 16, 2009
(10:40 PM)
Today we saw a lot more animals on the safari at the Tarangire National Park. I also fel t a lot more comfortable with my camera because I knew how to use it. Well...more so than yesterday. I feel that my picture quality is a lot better than yesterday. My favorite animal that I saw today was the ostrich. if only I could hop on his back and ride him. I saw it happen on the Travel channel the night before I left and it looks like it would be a lot of fun.
While eating lunch today we saw the funniest looking monkey, a blue balled monkey. There were also a lot of crazy baboons that kept trying to steal peoples possessions. I can now say that I do not care for baboons as much as I thought I did yesterday when I was fascinated by all of them on Baboon Rd. They can be vicious animals and I do not want to come in contact with them like that again. Before we left we saw one cling to the side of a car looking through the window for whatever he could steal.
OMG! The lights just went out and we are in a large tent, in the middle of nowhere. I guess it's time to go to sleep. I'll remember that lights go out a little after ten tomorrow night so I can get my shower taken and my thoughts written down beforehand. I hope tomorrow we will see lions and cheetas.
OMG! The lights just went out and we are in a large tent, in the middle of nowhere. I guess it's time to go to sleep. I'll remember that lights go out a little after ten tomorrow night so I can get my shower taken and my thoughts written down beforehand. I hope tomorrow we will see lions and cheetas.
June 17, 2009
Today was the best day ofm y life. We started the day early with a nice breakfast. Our game drive was our mission to find lions, cheetahs, and leopards. We found two of the three. Not too bad. We first came across the lions. A half a dozen lions were lying under a tree enjoying a nap in the shade. They were so cute, from a distance, it looked like you could lay with them. We saw a young male and lots of females. In the distance, hiding behind a bush, was a large male lion with a nice bushy mane. He didn't venture too close to the vehicles. I believe I took a 100 picutres of just the lions.
The next animal to spot was the leopard. it was amazing. we talked Elissa in driving directly under the tree that he was in. "Careful what you wish for," Nicole said. We got stuck in the river and Elissa had to get out of the car and mess iwht the tires. The leopard was scared the second he got out of the vehicle and left immediately. I am just happy he wasn't hungry because there were a couple of us and he could have had a feast. We returned once more to the site of the leopard and was able to capture a couple more images.
After the safri drive, we stopped at a coupld of shops on the way to the lodge. I purchased a couple of head dresses for family and friends and of course, me. the women that were selling teh beaded jewlery and head dresses sang us a song while we were leaving.
The next stop was a memory to cherish. I bought hand woven baskets and a Christmas ornament for our tree. I ended up gettin ga really good deal on everything thats to Jackson, baboo. After everyone was finished purchasing our goods teh women wrapped me in clots and but a head dress on and I joined them in a ritual dance. Everyone joined them in the dance. We were jumping around and laughing. I have never been invited to join something like that and I loved that they wanted me to join. Like I said, it was the best day of my life. I can't wait to share the pictures and video with my family.
June 19, 2009
(2:20 PM)
I am lyin in the sun beside the pool at our new lodge. It is amazing. I was so exhausted last night that I didn't feel like writing in my journal. Yesterday, we went to visit a village where we walked through a hospital, house and tons of banana trees. Walking through the hospital made me a little upset because I saw patients with malaria and heard children crying in the distance. The house that we visited had two small rooms, the size of my bathroom at home. In each of the rooms was a bed, smaller than a twin and clothes hanging for clothes lines. Walking into the house we had to duck our heads and while in there only four of us could fit comfortably. The kitchen was located outside and their "stove" was made from rocks and a hot plate. After we saw the hospital and the house, I felt like I am so ungrateful for the things that I have in the states. I have almost 60 pairs of shoues and to see that the families wear the same shoes on a daily basis, if they even have a piar, made me realize that I have way too much. When I get home I am going to go through my closet and donate everything I do not need, because I want it all.
Our guide, Danford, explained the use of the banana trees. They use the tree once and make use of all the parts. The trunk of the banana tree is used for art and roofs because it is waterproof. They make banana beer and of course use the bananas to make various foods. At the end of teh banana trees we stopped at a place where the local men would sit and carve wood. I bough some beautiful pieces and made out like a bandit. After I purchased everything, there was just one more thing that caught my eye. It was a giraffe made from the banana trees, it was the cutest thing I have ever seen. I bought one and placed it on my fanny pack and before I left, the guy that was collecting the money placed another one on the opposite side. This was very generous of him and put a large smile on my face. I could only imagine how often they just give things away.
The market was also amazing. There were vibrant colors surrounding us. Each of the booths had fruit, veggies, and sarines. EW! They smelled disgusting. They funniest thing that happened was when we left the market. Mi'chel bought a couple of necklaces from a young boy as we were driving off. The way that she handled it still makes me chuckle inside.
A couple hours later, after dinner, we went out on a night game drive. We saw hippos. Finally! the pictures we took of the animals didn't turn out amazing, but the abstract pictures that we tood of the lights from the car turned out awesome. The car ride back to the lodge was hilarious. The tree of us, Andrew, Mi'chel and I were cracking up constantly. Something we have been doing all week.
(9:00 PM)
We just got finished with dinner and came back to the room to get a good nights rest. Tomorrow is going to be an early day. We are going to visit a tribe and go on a hunt with them. The guide explained to us that a hunt can take anywhere between 3 and 4 hours. I hope that I am able to kill something.
Before dinner the group went to the top of the rock to watch the sunset. It was beautiful and relaxing. We all had a wonderful conversation and it seemed that everyone was beginning to open up a little more.
June 20, 2009
(11:30 AM)
We just returned from visiting the Hadzabe tribe. we joined them on their morning hunt. The idea of being able to see them catch their food was something I looked forward to, but when I actually witnessed them doing it, I was sick to my stomach and upset. Yes, I cried when I saw them kill their first bushbaby. The animal was still alive after they climbed up the tree to get it and while they were in front of my and I was taking pictures they broke his neck and legs. The sound of the bones breaking was horrific, it caught me off guard and is stuck in my head. I don't like seeing animals die. This trip may turn me intor a vegitarian. Continuing on our hunt, the bushmen came across another bushbaby and then a black-faced monkey. I didn't watch the bushbaby this time because I didn't want to go through that again. It's a little embarrassing acting like a baby and crying in front of everyone, but I couldn't help myself. The monkey was also alive when they started a fire and cooked him in front of us. It was amazing to experience the way that they live. All of us tried monkey, fresh monkey. Wasn't my favorite and the thought of it still has my stomach hurting. I am headed to the pool to catch some rays and after lunch we are going to a local balcksmith, I need to not spend any money, but we all know how I love to shop.
(8:36 PM)
The experience at the blacksmith was awesome too. We sat there and watched them created things and with such precision. Meryl asked them if they could make her a spoon and they said yes. I said that I didn't need to shop, but I couldn't help myself. They had these amazing bracelets made out of bullet shells and knifes that were so cool for gifts. I hope that I can get all my gifts back to the states. On our way back to the lodge we stopped by a couple more villages. They guy had four wives and offered my group 20 cows for my hand in marriage. 20 COWS?! That's a lot of dang cows. I am going to go back and tell everyone that I am a "20 cow girl." Ha. While in the hut of the family I helped them with their cornmeal and took several pictures of the most beautiful woman that I have seen in Tanzania. It was like she posed for me.
