Valentine’s Day isn’t a huge holiday in Africa, as you might expect. But since we live on Moyo Hill, “moyo” being the Swahili word for heart, we have to celebrate. We kicked it off last night with M & M cookies, which already taste like little pieces of heaven after being here for almost two weeks. The group tried to watch The Notebook, a chick flick with Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling, on someone’s laptop but our speakers weren’t loud enough…
We had a non-scheduled program day today in honor of the holiday (meaning no academic related stuff), so the group chose to go hiking at Elephant Cave Waterfall, visit a traditional Iraqw boma and spend the afternoon in Karatu, the local town. Driving to the hike was crazy because the roads are dirt and there was just a major thunderstorm the night before. We almost got stuck in the mud several times and it felt a lot like a Disney World ride between the way the jeep was sliding all over the road and the fact that we were in an African forest.
The waterfall hike was incredible- it was very uphill but we finally reached several caves dug out by elephants. We jumped across a small river to see the caves, inside of which we could see scratches from the elephants digging them out. The reason they make these caves is because the soil in this area is very rich in nutrients, so they lick at the dirt to supplement their diet.
At this point, we’re about ready to leave when we realize that we’re missing someone. Yes, someone literally wandered off by themselves in the middle of an African jungle. We were waiting for her to return for over an hour and getting pretty nervous. Every ranger in the park was looking for her. Eventually we got word that she was back at the Land Cruisers in the parking lot as there was (amazingly) cell phone service in the area. It was too bad she took off because it cut into our time at the boma and in Karatu.
At the end of our hike we stopped at the waterfall. We could stand right at the edge, not like in the United States where there’s a barrier and a million warning signs before you can even see the attraction. The views were beautiful.
From the hike we went straight to the Iraqw boma, another traditional African village. The most interesting part of the visit was drinking local brew, which tasted like really sour yeast and had little chunks in it. “When in Africa…”
So after we headed into town and as soon as we got out of the cars, we were bombarded once again by vendors. When we try to bargain with them (which is very typical of an African market), they laugh at us because they know we have no idea what we’re doing and that we can afford everything they sell. My roommate, Jess, and I bought some fabric to get dresses and other stuff made since there is a tailor right down the street. We got 8 meters for 45,000 Tanzanian shillings ($35) and it seems to be really good quality.
Still in Karatu, we went to the bar that the group literally keeps in business, called Happy Days. It was amazing to be able to eat a cheeseburger and fries! I had a drink called Amarula which is a South African liquor…it’s essentially melted chocolate ice cream.
When we got back to camp we were required to bring a date to dinner, due to Valentine’s Day. Since there are only a few guys in the group a lot of the girls went with their friends, so I went with Kim. She picked me up at my banda and we wore dresses and muddy hiking boots, with some bug spray as perfume. In the chumba (dining hall), they set up candles and tablecloths and one of the girls brought lollipops and valentines. It was pretty different from Valentine’s Day at home, but it was still fun.
Tomorrow we’re vegetation sampling. A.k.a. counting different kinds of grass. Thankfully it’s only for two hours. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Swahili phrase of the day: mnyama mkali (dangerous animal)
Love your Blogs, Grand daughter mine.
ReplyDeleteStay safe ! My valentine ! Gmpy