Yikes! It has been such a long time since I last wrote! I’ll do my best to try to catch up! We spent the rest of the week at Mazumbai hiking, doing field studies, and just enjoying the beauty of the forest. One afternoon, I went with a group to visit the local secondary school. The buildings were very open and packed with little wooden desks. Up to 75 students would cram into a single classroom! The blackboards were covered with perfectly printed English copied from a single textbook. When students begin secondary school they have their classes in English, which they may or may not understand. Teachers are in short supply and are often students who did not pass secondary school to move on to higher education.
After leaving Mazumbai, we retuned to Arusha to begin ISP prep days. It was really daunting to just be dropped off for the week with our 140,000 shillings! I spent the first couple of nights at the Meru Inn while I figured out my project. I visited the charcoal dirtribution center in Arusha to try to fid out where it comes from. I decided that Mto wa Mbu would work best, so I hopped on a dala dala to meet the other girls already doing projects there. Mto was Mbu is a really cool town just outside of Lake Manyara National Park. We stayed in a little guest house and explored the town. We made friends with the painters we had visited before and started learning how to tinga tinga paint. They are so generous to share their talent with us and they are a lot of fun! We also visited an orphanage. The kids sang some cute songs for us! I met my guide, Juma, and he led me around looking for charcoal. I learned all about how it is made and where to find it. One day, we walked all the way to Lake Manyara- it was so beautiful! I am excited to spend more time in Mto wa Mbu, and we even found an awesome place to stay.
I returned to Arusha and spent some time writing my ISP proposal and preparing for safari. I felt such a difference by the end of the week. My confidence grew tremendously!
Now, I am on a 15 day safari. First, we went to the Ngorongoro Crater, and I even saw a rhino! There were also lions that walked right in front of the car! The crater has extremely high densities of wildlife, is a world heritage site, and is called the 8th wonder of the natural world. We also visited Oldupai Gorge where many prehistoric fossils have been found. It is called the cradle of mankind. There are preserved Homo footprints from 3.6 million years ago!
Currently, we are in Serengeti National Park. It is just as amazing as it sounds. Yesterday, we watched a crocodile eating a dead zebra! Last night I was sure there were animals among the tents as I was going to bed. It was so scary until I realized it was only Babu Liki snoring!
This afternoon we saw a leopard in a tree with a gazelle it had caught. Later, we saw a group of female lions eating a zebra!
No comments:
Post a Comment