Everything else about our trip...
Jambo!!!
We flew into Nairobi and stayed there our first night. Not too much culture shock (I guess
that's what happens when you're staying at the Intercontinental). But our driver's name was
'Chris'. His boss was 'David'. A girl at the hotel's name was 'Christine'. Our driver on our last
day was 'Alex'. It was just funny because you would obviously expect more African names.
But I digress...
The next day we flew into Kilimanjaro. We saw the top of it from the plane above all of the
clouds. Massive. We went to our hotel just outside Arusha which was beautiful and
overlooked a lake. We went canoeing and had a great view of Kili (what the locals call it). We
also took a trip to the local outdoor market with our guide. Okay. Culture shock 101. Talk
about walking into a place and having EVERY eye looking at you. And I'll have to admit, not
every look we got (read: most of the looks) was warm and welcoming. One of the first things
you notice is that all of the women carry things on their head. Huge bunches of bananas.
Buckets. Shopping purchases. We even saw one lady carrying a suitcase on her head. I guess
they start doing this from when they're really young so it's just natural for them by the time
they're older.
We did a nature walk (read: hike) around the lake the next day. Once again, I'm trying to
figure out the fascination with walking through dirt and having to look down the entire time
to make sure you don't step onto rocks, etc. so that you don't sprain an ankle. Some things are
still a mystery to me. At the end of this walk, I saw some kiddies that lived nearby. I fell in love
with them. I was snapping their pictures and they were loving it. They kept running back up to
me smiling and waving. These kids were just the best.
The next day we went off onto our safari. All along the roads you see scattered little huts
and/or villages. You also see boys of all ages leading lots of cattle (probably about 20-30
cows). From the time the boys can walk, they are put to work with the cows. We saw little 3
year olds doing this. Later that week we learned about the Maasai tribe. We actually took a
trip to one of their villages. Now this, my friends, is true culture shock. All of their houses are
made of dung, cardboard and branches. We were in this one little house and were told that it
was the home to 15 children. They drink cow blood. They mix cow's blood and milk to feed the
babies so that they can get an acquired taste for the blood. They walk around with spears.
Most of the people walking with the big loads of cattle are actually Maasais. You can tell by the
blue and red that they wear (though a lot of people dress like them--apparently they're that
well respected over there). We met one man with 15 wives. The more wealth you have, the
more wives you can have. The more cows you have, the more wealth. Therefore, cows =
wealth = more wives. They also have schools on the premises for children under 5. After that,
they are sent off into town to boarding school and then come back to the village when they are
done. We visited the school and they counted up to 20 for us and did the ABC's. I was
melting. These little kiddies were just too cute.
On another note, can I tell you how excited I was the first time someone said 'Hakuna Matata'
to me!?!?
Other random things...
Well, that's it for now on the fun facts of what I learned in Africa.
We flew into Nairobi and stayed there our first night. Not too much culture shock (I guess
that's what happens when you're staying at the Intercontinental). But our driver's name was
'Chris'. His boss was 'David'. A girl at the hotel's name was 'Christine'. Our driver on our last
day was 'Alex'. It was just funny because you would obviously expect more African names.
But I digress...
The next day we flew into Kilimanjaro. We saw the top of it from the plane above all of the
clouds. Massive. We went to our hotel just outside Arusha which was beautiful and
overlooked a lake. We went canoeing and had a great view of Kili (what the locals call it). We
also took a trip to the local outdoor market with our guide. Okay. Culture shock 101. Talk
about walking into a place and having EVERY eye looking at you. And I'll have to admit, not
every look we got (read: most of the looks) was warm and welcoming. One of the first things
you notice is that all of the women carry things on their head. Huge bunches of bananas.
Buckets. Shopping purchases. We even saw one lady carrying a suitcase on her head. I guess
they start doing this from when they're really young so it's just natural for them by the time
they're older.
We did a nature walk (read: hike) around the lake the next day. Once again, I'm trying to
figure out the fascination with walking through dirt and having to look down the entire time
to make sure you don't step onto rocks, etc. so that you don't sprain an ankle. Some things are
still a mystery to me. At the end of this walk, I saw some kiddies that lived nearby. I fell in love
with them. I was snapping their pictures and they were loving it. They kept running back up to
me smiling and waving. These kids were just the best.
The next day we went off onto our safari. All along the roads you see scattered little huts
and/or villages. You also see boys of all ages leading lots of cattle (probably about 20-30
cows). From the time the boys can walk, they are put to work with the cows. We saw little 3
year olds doing this. Later that week we learned about the Maasai tribe. We actually took a
trip to one of their villages. Now this, my friends, is true culture shock. All of their houses are
made of dung, cardboard and branches. We were in this one little house and were told that it
was the home to 15 children. They drink cow blood. They mix cow's blood and milk to feed the
babies so that they can get an acquired taste for the blood. They walk around with spears.
Most of the people walking with the big loads of cattle are actually Maasais. You can tell by the
blue and red that they wear (though a lot of people dress like them--apparently they're that
well respected over there). We met one man with 15 wives. The more wealth you have, the
more wives you can have. The more cows you have, the more wealth. Therefore, cows =
wealth = more wives. They also have schools on the premises for children under 5. After that,
they are sent off into town to boarding school and then come back to the village when they are
done. We visited the school and they counted up to 20 for us and did the ABC's. I was
melting. These little kiddies were just too cute.
On another note, can I tell you how excited I was the first time someone said 'Hakuna Matata'
to me!?!?
Other random things...
- They have some of the best tropical fruit I've ever tasted.
- The climate can change from dry to tropical and lush in a matter of seconds. (It literally
feels like you're in a rainforest.) - Kenya and Tanzania are in two different leagues when it comes to development. Kenya
is, for the most part, pretty modernized/developed whereas we didn't see anything in
Tanzania that seemed developed. - One might ask "Is it ever possible to get used to b.o.?" The answer is yes. While you still
notice it, it's shocking that after a while it doesn't produce the same wretched look on
your face. - We went to the Carnivore restaurant in Nairobi and I ate crocodile and camel (I know, I
know. I still feel a little bit bad about this one. It's a sick person that will eat one of their
favorite animals...). - We went to the Giraffe Center yesterday in Nairobi. Betty the Giraffe (they all had
names) planted one on me. I have photo documentation of this one. ;) - We went to Karen Blixen's house outside of Nairobi. She is the woman that 'Out of
Africa' is based upon. - We went to the Olduvai Gorge in between the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. This is
where homo erectus was first discovered. This gorge has been in existence for about 2
million years. - While at the Giraffe Center, Alicia and I, within minutes, both started feeling sick. I had
chills that were making me freezing yet I was really hot. We slept for 2 hours in Alex's
van. Let's just say the first 2 flights were not the most enjoyable. The second Alicia sat
down in her seat on the first flight, she put her barf bag to good use. After that, the two of
us just kept going back and forth to the bathroom for the entire 8 hours. The flight
attendants were so sweet, though. On the second flight, Alicia was a bit better and my
fever came back. Along with the chills. Once again, had a great flight attendant who gave
me a cold washrag, Aleve and some antacid. By the flight from Minneapolis to SFO, I was
feeling like myself again!! - Africa does get cold, as we learned at the rim of Ngorongoro Crater.
Well, that's it for now on the fun facts of what I learned in Africa.
