It is the end of week two. I am terrified, because the end of week two means the beginning of week three and I leave at the end of week three. It is odd how quickly this place felt like home. The routine was easy to fall into and I feel so comfortable here.
Week two was filled to the brim with amusement to say the least. I spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday passed out in bed coming in and out of a 102 degree fever brought on by God knows what. I felt terrible for coming all this way and being sick so I probably made it worse by trying to get out of bed and go play with the kids. Once I gave in to being sick, I was on the mend by Saturday. I just drugged myself with Cipro, hoping the strength of the drug would kill whatever was living inside of me. A doctor was near to out of the question as the closest is at least an hour away and I just didn't like the idea of resources being wasted on me and not the kids. But, all is well now. Plus, I learned having a fever sucks, ALOT. My roommate Coco came in at one point and I had a winter hat, sweat pants, yoga pants, a fleece and a hoodie on. I think she was convinced I was either crazy, going to die or a bit of both.
The other big news of week two was that I got to move into one of the children's houses. Two long term volunteers from Tennessee left on Sunday, and Coco and I with all of our 10 days worth of experience were the next senior people, thus it seemed a good idea to move us in with 11 kids, an 18 month old and two mamas. It is certainly an experience. There are five girls in one room and 6 boys in the other, with baby Vicente living in the mamas room. The kids get up by 6am and aren't in bed and asleep until 8pm. I have never worked an 14 hour day, it is long, not sure if I like it. I even find myself napping at 1pm with the kids in order to make it to dinner time. I really like living with the kids though, I like being the first person they see and the last person to kiss them good night. Only a few hitches, the girls take forever, already, getting dressed and at bath time. I need a cattle prod to get them going sometimes. I could have killed all of them the other night, I was awoken by an odd noise in the night (odd noises are the norm, so normal noises seem odd), I check my watch, it is 2am, there is no reason unless someone is sick, for a child to be out of bed. I get up to investigate and as it turns out, all the girls, at 2am decided that they should get up, brush their teeth, get dressed and sit with their backpacks on. My only thought is that they took my suggestion of being more on time getting ready literally, thus my motivational speech backfired and resulted in them being up at 2am. I was pissed. I came down on them hard, mainly because I know that they did it to the last two girls in the house, then I felt bad. Aside from that hiccup, life in the house is good but loud, why do kids have to yell everything when they have perfectly good inside voices. I have learned how to detect a fever, treat ringworm, see if a boo-boo needs a bandaid and treat the hacking cough that would probably send any American child to the doctor but here it is normal. I have started helping out at kindergarten in the mornings. For kids who come here and have little or no english, they start out at kindergarten as a way of preparing them for school. It is 10 kids, mostly under the age of 5 tearing about, climbing all over me and having a grand old time. It is usually pretty amusing and all the terror is made up for when they curl up in your lap and ask for a story, it makes it all worth it. Today was wonderful, on Wednesdays we eat with the kids, chipati (round flat bread that is kinda sweeter than a pita but the same idea) and beans. Last week, prior to faling deathly ill, the mamas taught me how to make them and this week they insisted that I help. So, to the amusement of all the Tanzanians around, I rolled out several chipati and mama even let me eat the first one, which was easily detectable because it was less than round. Simple pleasures here!
The elephants continue to ravage the village, much of the corn has been totally destroyed. The government has offered a sum of 20,000 per person affect (roughly $18 dollars) to supplement an entire season's worth of corn. I feel really terribly, because on the one hand I have become a member of this village and hate the way the elephants negatively affect their lives. But on the other, after 4 months in Kenya I have grown attached to them and know the positive they can do. I will certainly miss hearing elephants in the night munching on the corn.
So, I fly back to Nairobi next Thursday, head out to Lake Naivasha three hours north of Nairobi for a weekend safari and then classes start June 10th. It is going to be a huge change from here, to the big city of Nairobi. It will be just as loud but not the sound of screaming children, but instead cars and exhaust.
I have no clue how I am going to leave next Wednesday. They have become my kids that I am totally attached to. Regardless of anything negative that has or may happen, the kids make it worth it. When another volunteers gets on my nerves I just have to remind myself that I am not here to make friends, that I am here to give something of myself. I love it here.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Tales from the Bush Part 2
HABARI!
I am here at the Rift Valley Children's Village outside of Karatu, Tanzania. It is amazing. I honestly did not know what to expect, the web site certainly did not do this place justice. The drive from the lodge took about an hour on one of the worst dirt roads I have ever experienced, but in typical African fashion it phased no one but me. The road wove through corn fields, wheat fields and coffee plantations. I arrived during dinner time, so the place was quiet, something I did not expect from an orphanage. "The Site" as the kids refer to it is made up of a volunteer house, where I stay, two children's houses with 12 kids in each, two volunteers and two mamas, staff houses, football pitches and construction for future buildings. The site is located on the side of the Ngorongoro crater, so the view greeting me in the morning is just amazing, million dollar real estate in the third world.
The kids are amazing. Given what they have each gone through (from beatings, to AIDS, to near death from hunger), they are all so fabulous. It is shocking to me that in under a week I have fallen in love with each of them and honestly fear leaving because I am so attached. I have never been hugged more in my life. I help with everything from 6am getting out of bed, 7am to school, 9am walk, lunch time, nap time, play time, snack time, bath time and bed time. They are so full of energy, easily draining mine! Despite the long hours, it is all worth it when someone comes running up to hug you or kiss you or show you something they have done. It is hard to write it all down, the pictures will help once I get them onto my computer.
There is never want for excitement here, as the elephants have recently discovered the surrounding corn. Every evening all the volunteers and the local towns people go bounding through the corn in search of elephants. Most days we find them. They are a huge problem, easily leveling an entire season of corn in a night. But it is hilarious most of the time. Everyone laughing and screaming, but I try to remember this is also insanely dangerous! Everything is an adventure here!!
I am here at the Rift Valley Children's Village outside of Karatu, Tanzania. It is amazing. I honestly did not know what to expect, the web site certainly did not do this place justice. The drive from the lodge took about an hour on one of the worst dirt roads I have ever experienced, but in typical African fashion it phased no one but me. The road wove through corn fields, wheat fields and coffee plantations. I arrived during dinner time, so the place was quiet, something I did not expect from an orphanage. "The Site" as the kids refer to it is made up of a volunteer house, where I stay, two children's houses with 12 kids in each, two volunteers and two mamas, staff houses, football pitches and construction for future buildings. The site is located on the side of the Ngorongoro crater, so the view greeting me in the morning is just amazing, million dollar real estate in the third world.
The kids are amazing. Given what they have each gone through (from beatings, to AIDS, to near death from hunger), they are all so fabulous. It is shocking to me that in under a week I have fallen in love with each of them and honestly fear leaving because I am so attached. I have never been hugged more in my life. I help with everything from 6am getting out of bed, 7am to school, 9am walk, lunch time, nap time, play time, snack time, bath time and bed time. They are so full of energy, easily draining mine! Despite the long hours, it is all worth it when someone comes running up to hug you or kiss you or show you something they have done. It is hard to write it all down, the pictures will help once I get them onto my computer.
There is never want for excitement here, as the elephants have recently discovered the surrounding corn. Every evening all the volunteers and the local towns people go bounding through the corn in search of elephants. Most days we find them. They are a huge problem, easily leveling an entire season of corn in a night. But it is hilarious most of the time. Everyone laughing and screaming, but I try to remember this is also insanely dangerous! Everything is an adventure here!!
Friday, May 18, 2007
Tales from the Bush
After 17 hours in planes, 6 hours in air ports and 4 hours in various vehicles, I have arrived safely in Tanzania!! It is great to be back, it is almost even better to discover several internet cafes in town at 1000 Tsh/minute ($1/minute) to be online.
My first night was spent in Nairobi at a friend's parent's house. They were so kind and welcoming, but let's be honest, I probably could have slept anywhere at that point, I was exhausted. Tuesday morning I headed back to the airport (that I left 12 hours before) to fly to northern Tanzania.My tour guide was late, but given the existence of "African Time" (absolutely nothing happens on a western schedule, it is totally acceptable and normal to be hours late), I was unphased. I was eventually met by the tour operator who planned my safari, she is wonderful. She in English and crazy and just so very hippy. Her and I drove to Arusha (one of the capitals) where I was met by another driver who took my an hour west where I was met by another driver. Luckily, the government has paved the road, so it was tarmac the entire way (the same cannot be said to where I was in Kenya 2 years ago). My third driver was also my tour guide for my two day safari.
Aladiin, my guide, took my first to Lake Manyara, a giant alkaline lake that abuts the wall of the Rift Valley, which is surprisingly a vertical wall arising from nowhere. The lake is home to hundreds of species of birds, and if you know of my dislike for birds, was a bit hard, especially the GIANT human sized pelicans, ok, maybe not human size but close, it could have eaten me! After our game drive in the park, he took me to the lodge where I was staying. It is beautiful. The staff are all amazing, a top notch place given the location. Further, the food is world class, really great. I was well fed and sent to bed because Aladiin set a 6am wake up call for me so that the second day could begin at 7am. Dear lord, so the math, that is 10pm est (maybe not, I have yet to figure out the time zones and still mess it up when talking to friends in Europe). After being woken up at 6am and suffering through extreme confusion (where am I, what time is it, why are my lights being flashed), I headed out on day 2 to Ngorongoro Crater, which may be my favorite park in East Africa thus far. It is a dormant volcano that collapsed in onto itself creating a perfect crater (think craters on the moon!). The environment in this area is very very lush and green, home to some of the best coffee in the world, so the drive up the wall of the crater was green, jungle-esque and it took an hour. Then once you hit the top, the expanse of the crater is seen, it is exactly like what you picture of Africa (or at least what I pictured), plains with a few trees dotting the landscape. It was such a change from the drive up the crater wall. Then we dropped 600 meters in the crater. I was lucky enough to see the entire big five (cape buffalo, elephant, leopard, rhino and lion). It was a fantastic, but very long day.
I am heading to the orphanage in a few hours. I am terribly excited but rumor has it (yup, even small towns in Africa suffer from sharp tongues and rumors) that one of the volunteers is just vile. She is apparently very rich or has good connections, so is bringing in money, thus she has been allowed to stay, but she is apparently awful to local staff and volunteers alike. But the other two volunteers are supposed to be lovely, so I plan on not letting her under my skin too much.
Alright, I must gather my things and prepare to became a "mama" (because I am white, thus I look like the other volunteers and because they can't remember names) to 41 kids! Dear lord, if this isn't the perfect birth control, I don't know what is!!
My first night was spent in Nairobi at a friend's parent's house. They were so kind and welcoming, but let's be honest, I probably could have slept anywhere at that point, I was exhausted. Tuesday morning I headed back to the airport (that I left 12 hours before) to fly to northern Tanzania.My tour guide was late, but given the existence of "African Time" (absolutely nothing happens on a western schedule, it is totally acceptable and normal to be hours late), I was unphased. I was eventually met by the tour operator who planned my safari, she is wonderful. She in English and crazy and just so very hippy. Her and I drove to Arusha (one of the capitals) where I was met by another driver who took my an hour west where I was met by another driver. Luckily, the government has paved the road, so it was tarmac the entire way (the same cannot be said to where I was in Kenya 2 years ago). My third driver was also my tour guide for my two day safari.
Aladiin, my guide, took my first to Lake Manyara, a giant alkaline lake that abuts the wall of the Rift Valley, which is surprisingly a vertical wall arising from nowhere. The lake is home to hundreds of species of birds, and if you know of my dislike for birds, was a bit hard, especially the GIANT human sized pelicans, ok, maybe not human size but close, it could have eaten me! After our game drive in the park, he took me to the lodge where I was staying. It is beautiful. The staff are all amazing, a top notch place given the location. Further, the food is world class, really great. I was well fed and sent to bed because Aladiin set a 6am wake up call for me so that the second day could begin at 7am. Dear lord, so the math, that is 10pm est (maybe not, I have yet to figure out the time zones and still mess it up when talking to friends in Europe). After being woken up at 6am and suffering through extreme confusion (where am I, what time is it, why are my lights being flashed), I headed out on day 2 to Ngorongoro Crater, which may be my favorite park in East Africa thus far. It is a dormant volcano that collapsed in onto itself creating a perfect crater (think craters on the moon!). The environment in this area is very very lush and green, home to some of the best coffee in the world, so the drive up the wall of the crater was green, jungle-esque and it took an hour. Then once you hit the top, the expanse of the crater is seen, it is exactly like what you picture of Africa (or at least what I pictured), plains with a few trees dotting the landscape. It was such a change from the drive up the crater wall. Then we dropped 600 meters in the crater. I was lucky enough to see the entire big five (cape buffalo, elephant, leopard, rhino and lion). It was a fantastic, but very long day.
I am heading to the orphanage in a few hours. I am terribly excited but rumor has it (yup, even small towns in Africa suffer from sharp tongues and rumors) that one of the volunteers is just vile. She is apparently very rich or has good connections, so is bringing in money, thus she has been allowed to stay, but she is apparently awful to local staff and volunteers alike. But the other two volunteers are supposed to be lovely, so I plan on not letting her under my skin too much.
Alright, I must gather my things and prepare to became a "mama" (because I am white, thus I look like the other volunteers and because they can't remember names) to 41 kids! Dear lord, if this isn't the perfect birth control, I don't know what is!!
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Butterflies in my Tummy!
So, I leave in 8 hours. It is suddenly here and I am not sure what to think. The only thing I know for sure is that I am nervous. Beyond that, I sure hope I haven't forgotten anything. I am doing the continuous mental check list and am not finding any holes, but of course I wont notice that I am missing something until I need it and I am in north western Tanzania and can't get it at the store.
Apparently, I quasi-lied to people. I had coffee with the Director of the Board of Trustees of the orphanage and she said within the past month the Children's Village has gotten satellite internet because it was just too inconvenient to have people gone for a whole day just to check email. So, there is internet access, I just don't know how much time I will have to take advantage of it. So, please fell free to email, but who knows when I will get back to you!!
Alright, I am off!!!! Have a great summer state side, I am off to experience an African winter!
xoxo j
Apparently, I quasi-lied to people. I had coffee with the Director of the Board of Trustees of the orphanage and she said within the past month the Children's Village has gotten satellite internet because it was just too inconvenient to have people gone for a whole day just to check email. So, there is internet access, I just don't know how much time I will have to take advantage of it. So, please fell free to email, but who knows when I will get back to you!!
Alright, I am off!!!! Have a great summer state side, I am off to experience an African winter!
xoxo j
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Time Out from Packing!!
I am pausing from the hecticness of packing to report that we have raised $3000. I made the donation yesterday to their office in Portland and it totaled $3000!!!! They were so excited and proud and blown away with my success. Back to packing!!
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