Month: November 2018

Karibu tena everyone!

It’s going to be a busy month, we just came back from Serengeti, finished finals in four days, and now we are heading to the city, Arusha, for our fall break! Arusha was so much fun, we got to explore the city and visit the main attractions, experiencing it all with friends! It was a 3 day trip full of activities!

Day 1: snake park, camel ride, and waterfall hike

we got to see some of the deadliest snakes in the world

After 2 hours of driving, we arrived at Meserani Snake Park where we saw over 50 of some of the world’s deadliest snakes! This snake park is used as a tourism attraction, in addition, it has used their money and resources to open a free medical clinic for the local people. It was absolutely amazing getting to see these venomous snakes, crocodiles, birds, and turtles (we also got to hold some!) After spending some time enjoying these animals, we were able to visit the Maasai Cultural Museum to see the  amazing artifacts and stories the guide told us about. Then, we saw CAMELS! They were offering camel rides, where we got to ride a camel for a quick ride then we got to feed and pet its friends for longer! The camels were definitely a highlight!

After a busy morning interacting with animals, we had an optional activity to go to Mount Meru Waterfall Hike! This was one of the most beautiful hike I have ever been on. When we first arrived to the location, we were shook with the amount of green around us, admiring that scenery and laying out on the grass was definitely a moment when we realized that we took grass and the greenness of nature for granted in America. As we were hiking, we found raspberry all throughout our path. So, we had to grab some to eat as we continued our hike. An hour in, we found the big waterfall! When we saw that waterfall, all we can think about is going under it and enjoying nature… even though that might have not been the safest thing to do, we did it and NO REGRETS, it was absolutely beautiful! and SO WORTH IT!

After we dried up, we enjoyed Tanzania’s night life by going to get Mexican food that we’ve dearly missed then went to Karaoke night.

First time getting to hold a snake (don’t worry it was a nonvenomous snake)My friend Abby was holding this snake peacefully until it got stuck in her hair good thing friends are always around to help out and document the moment 🙂Some snakes were cute and super cool up close Little baby turtles are the cutest! So beautiful each one of them has such unique shell pattern but they were all equally attacking those veggies Breath taking moment to see this powerful creature in real life!This one looks so wide because it has probably just ate its meal and the Nile crocodile can survive several months on one big meal!Just hanging out with my buddy!It was so much fun hanging out with this camel! On top of the world for 2 mins!Felt like a queenMaking our way through the woods to get to the waterfalls!Enjoying nature throughout the way Still happy after walking into a waterfall and getting fully soaked Lucy being so one with natureAfter a long day, Karaoke night with friends

Day 2: cultural heritage center and shopping

We spent our second day in Arusha at the Cultural Heritage Center. It was basically a beautiful art museum with unique art. There was a number of paintings and wood carvings that were one of a kind. That art was breathe taking, as in some of the paintings, traditional fabric and beads were used to illustrate a certain image. We were also able to learn more about tanzanite and the process of making them into jewelry. Later that day we went shopping in the Maasai market, where we made lots of friends, bought souvenirs and beautiful fabric. Then, at night, we went to a beautiful outdoor restaurant at the Njiro complex, where we had so many options of types of food, a dream come true for people that have not eaten out for 2 months.

This place was huge and each floor was so different from the other!Some of my favorite painting at the exhibitSuch unique techniques to creating these beautiful piecesMy absolute favorite in the building, the artist incorporated tradition kitenge fabric in their artwork to illustrate the nature and traditions of this country

-fun fact: my friend recognized the two birds on the left because he owned that fabric!Again, combining fabric and painting so much creativity!Not only did I walk through 5 stories of beautiful artwork, I come it to this!Doesn’t this look so real! It’s all carved out from wood, so much detail!!!Again the diversity of artwork in one space was mind blowing for me and my friends… would definitely recommend visiting if you ever have the chance!

Day 3: Shanga Workshop

On our last day, we went to the Shanga Workshop which is a glass and craft workshop that employed Tanzanian with disabilities. We had the opportunity to see their glass artwork and hand weaving processes. After visiting and buying goods from this place we made our way to a grocery store for some American snacks and candy then it was time to go back home and get ready to start our research projects!

The beginning of the process to make a vase Melting glass and shaping it was so cool to see!Look! it’s morphing into a vase ready to be in a home!

Well this trip was definitely AMAZING to say the least! It was so fun to shop, enjoy nature, and experience creative art forms over these couple of days!

Until next time,

Baadaye

Before I start this exciting journey, I would like to apologize for my delayed posts. Internet access in Tanzania is very slow so it is difficult to upload posts and pictures in some cases, but I am always trying my best to share my experiences!

So, with that said, let’s start one of my favorite trip so far this semester! 

Day 1: Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park

We got up very early that morning to get the most out of our day at the protected areas! As we made our way through the Ngorongoro Crater, it was very misty because we were DRIVING THROUGH CLOUDS! It was an amazing time for us but it might have been less exciting for the drivers that could hardly see the road. The crater was a different ecosystem and had a forestry scenery as we drove through the Ngorongoro conservation area. But, it was very difficult to see any wildlife due to the intense cloudiness. Nevertheless, it was a nice time to get to know everyone in our safari car during those long hours of driving. We had to drive through the crater to get to Serengeti National Park, which was the fastest way possible!

After finally arriving to Serengeti, we were able to see wildlife VERY up-close to our safari cars which was AMAZING! We were also able to enjoy the bright sun and beautiful sunsets every day of this expedition with great friends! Driving through while the sunsets was a highlight as the drivers were racing time to get to the camp site before dark since wildlife can be dangerous at night.

Hannah and I enjoying theses sights of the Ngorongoro Crater

Using the cars as shade from the sun, as the car moved, the lions followed it!

Found some simbas chilling on the road

Hippo pool! 

A cute shot of a Hyena taking a break from its nap to look at us

Day 2: Serengeti National Park and Tourism Visitor Center: Bird and Carnivore Viewing 

Our first night at camp was amazing. It might have been hard to sleep at our camp site since we were living among wildlife! We had the opportunity to hear lions and hyenas outside our tents, see some cape’s buffalo, and wake up to beautifully colored birds every morning. This might be scary but we all felt very safe around these wildlife as there were a couple of trained askaris  (guards) escorting us to and from the bathroom and guarding the campsite throughout the entire night, assuring our safety.

That exciting night was followed by another great morning in Serengeti. After breakfast, we were given a lecture by our wildlife management professor, educating us about the protected areas and their histories, considering the borders of the park, the wildebeest migration, and various diseases and issues within the park that have affected the people and wildlife over time. After finishing that lecture, we were able to stop by a tourism cite at the park that focused on the wildebeest migration in east Africa. We then had the rest of that day to explore the park and look for wildlife. While we were excited to see the big carnivores in Serengeti, we had an assignment to keep track of the number of tourist/safari cars surrounding the animal during viewing, and sometimes it reached up to 20 cars around one animal, CRAZY! We were also able to practice identifying birds in the park before our bird count began the next day.

Day 3: Serengeti National Park: Bird Point Count, Hippo Pools, and Serena Lodge

This day was a highlight for sure! We started the day off with identifying and counting birds in the park. It was exciting to learn about birds in general, let alone have the opportunity to identify them. This was definitely a challenging task since a lot of the birds here are not familiar to us, thus, we would have to use our bird book and work as a team to identify these birds to the species level. After counting birds for an entire morning, we got to drive to the Hippo pools! We were able to get out of our safari cars and see them up close (from a safe distance). We had the opportunity to observe and hear multiple behaviors, some were resting, other fighting and being territorial in their confined space.  We even got to see BABY HIPPOS, cuter than it sounds!

Some fun facts about hippos is that they have glands that basically secrete sunscreen since their skin is super thin and delicate. They also maintain mud throughout the day that acts as sunscreen!

After visiting the hippo pools, we took a break from all the excitement and went to Serena Lodge for a couple of hours. It was a fancy place for tourists but we had permission to visit, relax, enjoy the view, and the infinity pool! After enjoying those views, we got to go on a game drive around the park, see some more AMAZING animals, and drive in the park as the sun was setting in the back. It was definitely a dream come true, compressed into one expedition!

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Day 4: Serengeti National Park and Oldupai Gorge Museum 

Today, we left camp for our last game drive to see some animals, then we made our way to the Oldupai Gorge Museum. We had a lecture on the history of this place and the theories of human evolution since Lucy, the oldest evidence of mankind evolution was found in this place! It was amazing to read about and look at all the fossils in this museum.

With that museum, came the end of an amazing trip and journey to where I had real life Lion King moments every time I saw a lion closeup!

After this trip, we have finals, then our semester break in Arusha, I’ll keep you posted!

Baadaye!

 

 

This Sunday was very fun! We had the option to go painting in town! We had the option to paint whatever we wanted with artists assisting us through the process if we needed it. They taught how to draw very detailed African art. It might look easy since it is cartoon, it was actually a very long process as it was very detailed brush work!

After going to this art class were able to go shopping around the area where there is a lot of opportunities to buy paintings, other forms of artwork, clothes, jewelry, and most importantly lots of FABRIC . Many of the paintings here, like everything else, are very colorful and unique. There is a few wood carving places that incorporate lots of color in their art work. Most of these are of the Maasai people or Africa’s wildlife animals. Also, there is a lot of areas that sell clothes (mostly elephant pants!) and unique jewelry. Everyone’s favorite part here is buying beautiful colorful fabric. Many of the fabric being sold here has a variety of patterns and styles that can be tailored into pretty pants and other clothing of our choice! Going to the tailor in our town is also a highlight as we are all getting a new wardrobe.

Emma, me, and Hannah with our paintings outside of the art workshop!

Baadaye!