Made It!

Hi, everyone!

I'm back in the States, after the Malawi jaunt, a day and a half in Dar es Salaam, and way too many hours of traveling (including a great three-hour excursion into Amsterdam in between flights).

In the taxi yesterday, I kept being startled by traffic coming at us from the left side. However, a cab painted with the words, "Don't worry about it," (hakuna matata) made me feel more comfortable. Being out in today's below freezing weather wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, although it was still a far cry from the 100-ish degrees we had in Dar before we left.

My plan is to continue to post as I go through re-entry (as it's apparently called in some circles), reflect more on my trip, and attempt to create a career that addresses some of the issues and problems I've been exposed to over the last two months. I'll make my photos available within the next week or two. (Yes, I'm still on Africa time!)

On a completely unrelated note, if anyone has good ideas about how to go about choosing a new computer, please let me know.

It's about 8 PM, and I'm completely exhausted (it's 4 AM in Tanzania), so I'm going to sign off now.

I look forward to seeing and speaking with many of you soon!
-Jenna

Headscarves and Henna

At first blush, Zanzibar (at least what we saw of it) is similar to the Arusha area in the following ways: they speak Swahili, most look Tanzanian, they serve chips (fries) with most meals, they use the same currency, they sell the same knickknacks, there are a few Maasai wandering around.

And that's about it.

Zanzibar has a rich history (in the last 300 years or so) and has been astoundingly influential for its size. Stone Town struck as a combination of Cape Cod, India, and a stereotypical Arab country. The narrow cobbled streets and crumbling, multi-storied stone buildings reminded each of us of the other old towns we had seen (Jerusalem, Varanasi, etc.), although the Stone Town is not actually that old. The weather was muggy and in the 90s or low 100s. The town has a much larger concentration of tourists than I'd seen elsewhere in my trip, mostly Europeans. The alleys are lined with tourist shops, restaurants, and hotels, contrasting with the dilapidated state of the buildings and the Muslim dress of most women and some men.

The air smells like the ocean and is regularly filled with the sound of one or more muezzins. The market sells only hallal meat. One evening we were almost run over by a crowd of about 25 boys, identically dressed in white robes and white head coverings, racing around the corner.

Our first response to the black-clad women was that they must be terribly hot, especially once we saw that they had clothes on under the robes. Then I realized that the women in Arusha also have a full set of clothing on under their kangas, so maybe it wasn't so different. We asked a woman a couple of days later, and she said that she did not find the robe hot at all. She seemed very cheerful about it. A small minority of women also covered their faces. I was happy to see that women were driving, running errands, managing shops, socializing (including with men). Many chose robes that only buttoned on top, revealing the outfit underneath. One of these outfits was jeans and a t-shirt! Some women wore nice shoes and/or painted their toenails. Some robes had elaborate lace, sequined, or embroidered designs.

There has also been a strong Indian influence on the island, not least the introduction of Zanzibar's famous spices. We went on a "spice tour" and saw how many common spices grow - I think not one grew the way I would have expected, though, really, I'd never given it much thought. Stone Town's old buildings have beautifully carved doors, some in the Arabic style, and some in the Indian style, representing the former inhabitants. We ate some astoundinly delicious Indian food, and I currently have henna (or, as they say, heena) designs all over my hands and wrists. The mix of Arabs, Indians, and Africans seems to have given rise to a tolerant and cosmopolitan outlook. As a small gauge, not a single person called us "mzungu" while we were there; everyone just said, "'Jambo."

The Arabic doors sported symbols of the major businesses the Arabs ran on Zanzibar. As such, a detailed carved chain ran around each door, symbolizing the slave trade. We heard how the slaves were brought to Zanzibar from all over East Africa and saw the horrible underground chambers where they waited at least three days, chained, in overcrowded, hot, and dark conditions. We also saw the church that was built, with the sultan's help, on the land that had held the slave auction, with the altar directly over where the whipping post had been. It was actually quite moving.

Zanzibar is also about water, beaches, and relaxation. We didn't have the time or inclination to take advantage of the snorkeling, diving, swimming with dolphins, etc., but I had one of the best dinners of my life at a perfectly-set table on the beach. Delicious food by candle-light, warm breezes from the Indian Ocean, sand between my toes, stars above, and traditional African/Arabic music in the background. The "real world" felt very far away.

I'm currently in Malawi, and very much in the "real world." I'll write about it next time.

-Jenna

Home from the Range

There is something about vast landscapes that has a profound impact on the mind and on the soul. The endless plains, forests, and mountains of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro became as much the focus of our safari as the many animals we saw. It was wonderful and fascinating to see the wildlife (and even more so to see the system in which they exist), but it's the land that was hard to leave rather than the animals. I have re-affirmed the committment I made to myself on Kilimanjaro to spend more time in natural settings from now on.

That said, the animals were great! We saw the "big five" and a lot more, some of them right next to the car and in one case (baboons) on the car. I fell in love with dikdiks (smallest antelope) and baby warthogs, and I have a newfound fondness for wildebeests (gnus). But really I could have spent hours watching any of the animals we saw. I'm not sure I ever got over the sense that we might be in Africaland, where they stock exotic creatures for tourists to take pictures of. We saw giraffes grazing near flocks of goats and wildebeests resting near herds of cattle. Passing wildebeests, buffalo, zebras, and gazelles that stretched as far as the eye could see gave me a new appreciation for what the States may have looked like before the Europeans arrived. I made a promise,related to the one above, to see more of the U.S. in the future.

We stayed in a wide variety of lodges, but at almost all of them we woke up to the sounds of birds. At one camp, I peeked outside in the morning and saw a pair of jackals. At a couple, they offered armed guards (bow and arrow) to accompany us back to our rooms. At all of them, we ate looking out at the parks. It's going to be a hard adjustment over the next couple of days, but I am looking forward to the completely different atmosphere of Zanzibar.

Speaking of adjustments, I have been surprised to find that leaving CCS has been a bit difficult. I miss being out in the community, using Swahili, hanging out with the group. Some of the differences are just part of travel - being with tourists instead of locals, living out of a suitcase and sleeping in a different bed every night, not being able to predict what will be served at the next meal. And some of the differences are great: my first real shower in over six weeks, some delicious food in some very nice settings, and being with people with whom I have a history. I think that going back to the States (in a new city) may be even more of an adjustment than I had thought.

In our next episode: the exciting island of Zanzibar!
-Jenna

Phase Two

Hi, everyone!

I think it’s been two weeks since I’ve written. I’ve spent that time volunteering, making many arrangements for the next three weeks, trying to send a package (very time-consuming), visiting Arusha National Park (where I got a preview of many of the animals we will see on safari), and celebrating New Year’s Eve.

Amazingly, my six weeks of volunteering are over. On Wednesday morning I woke up and realized that I was sick of every item of clothing that I had brought with me. On Thursday morning I lost the last bit of investment I had in my new volunteer placement, and Thursday night I had a dream in which I was under house arrest at the CCS home base. Needless to say, I was ready to leave, although I really enjoyed hanging out with my fellow volunteers and the staff.

My mom and my friend have both arrived safely, and I’ve taken them to a few of the highlights of my first six weeks as well as to a good-bye party my women’s group threw for me. Tomorrow we leave for safari, so I won’t have email access for about a week.

I’ve been thinking a lot about volunteering and communal living and hope to have a chance to write about both of those in the next few weeks. I’ve also been thinking about the lifestyle here vs. the lifestyle back at home and how one might try to take the best of each.

As time goes by, I miss everyone at home more and more. I've also started to make the list of things I want to do when I get back. This includes eating meat, ice cream, and fresh fruits and vegetables; seeing a movie; going to synagogue; using a telephone... Not particularly looking forward to the weather!

The other day I saw a bunch of people loading a live goat into the back of a van. A woman and I both said "shikamoo" (greeting to someone older than you) to each other at the same time. I went to a huge market and saw rows and rows of shoes, clothing, cookware, every kind of produce.

I'm so excited for my safari, and the rest of my three tourist weeks! I'll try to get back on a more regular posting schedule once I'm back from the wild.

I hope everyone is staying warm.
Kwaheri!
-Jenna