Tanzania!

So a couple of months ago Tiffany proposed a perhaps outrageous idea, since she was going to be in Ethiopia why don’t we meet up in Tanzania to visit Anna?! Soon enough Amy was on board too and before I knew it I was leaving village to begin the adventure. It was a bit weird to be on a plane with elite Camerounians although I ended up meeting a man who is originally from Bandrefam and he thought that it was hilarious that I know a bit of the patois and that I actually enjoy living in a village. Anyway, I made it to Addis where I had a layover and then joined Tiffany for our flight to Dar es Salaam. I think I made a bit of a scene with my waterworks when seeing Tiff (and again later with Anna and with Amy). Finally all four of us were reunited and we made our way to a restaurant for yummy Indian food (I ended up going there three times, I recommend the kaddai paneer) and later back to the hotel, all the while catching up. That evening Tiffany and Anna gave me a much needed hair cut then we rested up before the next mornings ferry ride to Zanzibar.

Zanzibar was really beautiful and I loved the Islamic influence in everything from clothing to architecture. The first day Anna wasn’t feeling well so Amy, Tiffany and I braved the crooked streets on our own armed with the couple of Swahili words we knew. (Luckily this area was pretty touristy so getting by wasn’t a problem). The next morning we went off on a spice tour, which was a really fun time! We went for a walk to see how the spices (cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, tumeric, lemongrass, ginger and more…even a natural lipstick) are grown. Afterwards we were served a delicious curry then headed off to the beach. The Indian Ocean was beautiful and it felt really good to be in the water (while I love living in the mountains I definetly miss being by water). After the tour we continued beings tourists by spending the late afternoon at a beach bar drinking delicious mojitos and margaritas then a seafood dinner at a market by the water. The next morning we did a bit more souvenir shopping then jumped on the worst ferry boat ever! Two minutes after opening my book I decided it was absolutely necessary to get some fresh air out on the deck. Soon enough I’m grabbing for plastic bags and am sick off the back railing; no need to feel embarrassed though because everyone was sick and stumbling around and generally struggling. Finally the ferry docked and I made my way to dry land and where we spent the rest of the afternoon recovering…then out for more Indian food! The next morning we hopped on a bus to Mikumi National Park for a safari. Once we got to our lodge we grabbed some rice and beans (which were simple compared to Cameroonian rice and beans which is generally laced with msg and doused in palm oil, mmm!) then hit the trail! Immediately we saw animals: giraffes, elephants (including babies!), zebra, wildebeest, impalas, a warthog, crocodiles, hippo heads popping out of the water and many birds. In the middle of our chatting about how rare it is to see lions, especially during the day, our driver makes a turn and there are two lionesses just hanging out next to a zebra they’d killed the previous day! It was so great! The whole afternoon was fun and it was especially nice to be there around sunset.

The next day (after a fabulous English breakfast including coffee) we got on another bus to Mbeya, Annas banking town. Spent the day there buying food for village, eating pizza (!) then hanging out with some of Annas volunteer friends. The following morning we took a lorry up to Annas village, Ilembo, which is in the mountains. That afternoon we went to visit her counterparts, Nahasibu, village for his grandfathers funeral. Well he was already buried but we greeted all of the family that was there and then prayed with them at the grave. We greeted everyone in a mix of Kimalila (her tribal language) and Swahili…not sure how successful I was but greeting people is a really big part of the culture there. Even when Anna and I ran out to buy milk that turned into an hour long adventure as we had to great everyone. We then spent that evening eating yummy food at Annas house, really we spent much of our time in village cooking, baking and just hanging out- which was perfect! The next morning we went to help out with baby weighing. Now in Bandrefam this consists of maybe seven mamas who come to the health center for vaccines and to weigh their babies (to ensure that they are not malnourished). So I was not quite prepared for the hundreds (I really don’t think this is an exaggeration) of mamas and babies who were there. It started with Anna giving an animation about diarrhea where we all sang a song together (in Swahili) about diarrhea and the importance of clean water- the women loved it and I think the lesson was well received. We then spent the next few hours helping to get babies and kids into a harness to be weighed; some enjoyed it others really did not (me, I had fun!). While in village we also ate several traditional meals (ugali, which is basically cous cous) with Annas friends. The first was a party with her orphans group where they even killed a chiken and we got to watch the whole process; it was more fun than it maybe sounds! The following day we made ugali and beans with her friends which was a great experience and finally we ate…you guessed it Ugali!...with her widows group. All in all I think the time in village was a perfect balance of new cultural experiences and straight chilling with friends! When it was time to leave Ilembo we had to haul ourselves onto a 3.30 am bus…which wasn’t so bad especially because then we headed off to Utengule, a coffee plantation. We spent a nice morning drinking coffee and enjoying the scenery, although we may have had too much coffee as we were all feeling jittery or even slightly ill afterwards. Ah well, we finally wrapped up our last evening all together eating Indian food. Tiffany and I had a twelve hour bus ride the next day back to Dar, which surprisingly wasn’t too bad. Then we had more Indian food, obviously. Like coming over, all of my travels home went really well and I made it safely back home. I had such an amazing two weeks, it was so so great to see friends from home!