Saturday, May 31, 2008

Final Reflections

Addie:
Reflecting on such an amazing trip in one short paragraph is a difficult task. I have been overwhelmed in the past 3 weeks by our experiences, the people we have met, and the indescribable sights we have seen. Coming back to Springlands and receiving the warm welcome we received reminded me of one of my favorite aspects of this trip and that is the joy of the people here. The hotel staffs, the speakers we heave heard and the politicians we have met have all treated us with such kindness, hospitality and respect. On this trip, I have had the privilege of being immersed in a culture different, but equally as beautiful as my own learning from their leaders, and also learning from each one of the people in our group. I have also been overwhelmed by more beautiful nature that I could hope to see in a lifetime. Between the people I have met, our nature hike, Zanzibar, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and beautiful sunsets in all of these places, I have felt as though day after day I have been drowning in the presence of a God far bigger, more powerful and more loving than I could ever imagine.

Amanda:
There are no words that can accurately describe the emotions and passion I have regarding the incredible journey we experience over the last month. I signed up for this study abroad trip for the chance to travel to Africa for it was a place I never thought I would be able to travel to on my own. In all honestly, I was hoping for a once in a lifetime vacation, an eye-opening experience, and a trip I would remember for the rest of my life. All of my wishes came true, but the profound impact this experience had on my life as well as the people I met along the way was completely unexpected and all of it will have a place in my heart forever.

Before this experience, I only knew my fellow ILA classmates, and as for the rest of the group, I had only heard their names through mutual friends; however, by the time I left Africa, I had established a meaningful friendship with each person in which now I can say they are all a blessing in my life. I am extremely thankful to have met these incredibly talented individuals, but I am also grateful that we were able to experience this amazing journey together. I must admit, I have never grown so close to anyone in such a short period of time than I did with my classmates on our trip. The conversations and discussions we had with one another were out-of-this-world, compassionate, and inspiring. I'm proud to say in three short weeks, I not only developed into a more diverse and driven student/leader but also as a young woman. More importantly, every one of my classmates, possibly even my professors, would say the same thing regarding their own life.

I came to Africa thinking I was going to see pervasive poverty and encounter disease and destruction; I even anticipated anti-American interactions. However, I could not have been more mistaken in my predictions. Tanzania is a country of unity, dedication, and hope. The people are gracious, joyful, and take pride in everything they own despite the fact they have so little from our prospective. The working class far-exceeded my presumptions as they are some of the hardest, most dedicated workers I have ever come in contact with in my lifetime--and to think minimum wage is roughly six dollars a month. I believe they would be top executive multi-millionaires if they were living and working in the United States. Our staff at Springlands Hotel, whom we grew to love, often worked sixteen hour days arriving before sunrise to prepare breakfast and remaining on site until the last guest stumbled from the bar to bed—the same staff, one shift! This would never happen in the U.S.; however, Yasin, Dao, Neema, Gilbert, Basil, and Marianna (our staff) were always there for us and kept a smile on their face as well as our own. From a religious standpoint, the country is divided between Islamic and Christian faiths in addition to native tribal beliefs; yet, unknown to most foreigners, the country resides with peaceful relations for everyone is a Tanzanian before anything else—a characteristic most of the world should intend to emulate. From a business standpoint, I strongly believe Tanzania is standing on the edge about to dive into the global market. Everything they were teaching our group demonstrated their great potential and their ability to become a prosperous country. After all, Tanzania is a very wealthy nation in respect to natural resources, but until the right leadership and production comes along they will remain where they are today.

Upon reading an article assigned for class while in Tanzania, I came across a quote that does a reasonable job in summarizing my reflections towards my experience. The article was titled, "Sharing in Africa" by Mike Tidwell who was serving in the Kinshasa village in The Republic of Congo from 1985 through 1987. The article stated,

"As time passed, it grew easier and easier to let go of what I had. The reason was simple: I had a lot. Like most people who go overseas to do development work, I did so expecting to find out what it's like to be poor. But awakening to my surroundings after a few months, I discovered that that's not what happens. Instead you learn what it's like to be rich, to be fabulously, incomprehensibly, bloated with wealth. Into this jumble of backwater villages, where every man had a mud house, a hoe, and 10 kids, I came stomping and rattling with a motorcycle and cassette tapes and books to read and boots to wear and a bed to sleep on. I had two kerosene lamps and kerosene to put inside them. I had tools to fix my motorcycle and a 200-liter barrel of gasoline to make it run. I had a tin roof over my head. No one in Kalambayi could afford to share more than I."

The author and I shared the same development while we visited parts of Africa as both of our life-changing discoveries were completely unexpected but humbling nonetheless. It taught me that we should not feel sorry for these people or guilty for what we have. We should feel happy for these people and inspired by their genuinely joy and unselfishness; most importantly, we should recognize how blessed we are as Americans for the opportunities we have and for what we have been given.

Towards the end of our journey, my classmates and I all felt the same feelings, shared the same emotions, and recognized the same passion for the country of Tanzania in addition to the continent of Africa. This journey inspired us to continue our relations with the region as some of us even feel called to return to Africa one day for a greater good. Above anything else, we all have challenged one another to share our life-changing experiences with our families and friends and maybe even the rest of the world. I would encourage all of you to travel Tanzania or any other African country, and I hope that you will share the same experiences that I did on our journey. This study aboard was a vacation of a lifetime, an eye-opening experience, and a trip I would remember for the rest of my life, but best of all, it gave me a new prospective on life and made me realize all the blessings in which my country, family, friends, and I should be grateful.

Chad:
These past few weeks have exceeded all my expectations in every way imaginable, and that is what is going to make it so difficult to leave this place. It has been an absolute blast, and I can't think of a time when I had more fun or developed so many deep friendships. At the same time, though, this trip has challenged to me. It has challenged me to step out of my comfort zone and open up to another culture. It has challenged me to learn a new language. It has challenged me to think about practical solutions to stimulate business growth in a developing country. But, most importantly, it has challenged me to change my own perspective and reevaluate the way I see the world. Before the trip, I saw Tanzania as a country just struggling to get by, a place where poverty was omnipresent and commerce was virtually non-existent. Now, I see Tanzania as a country with so much potential and so much life.

Many of the people I met over the course of this trip were not only some of the happiest and most respectful individuals I know, but also some of the hardest workers. And if given the right resources and opportunities, they could be immensely successful. So now I ask myself: what can I do to make a difference? I have decided that the best thing I can do is, ironically, the thing that Africans do best: share. If there is one virtue I have learned from living, eating, sleeping, and breathing in the collectivist culture over here for the last 23 days, it is the importance of giving. In America, I often get so caught up in my daily life that I do not realize how "rich" I truly am. How blessed I am to have a loving family, trustworthy friends, a quality education, and enough food to fill my plate everyday. Now it is my turn to share, and I encourage everyone else to do the same -after all, even a little bit can go a long way.

Connor:
Aside from the greenbeans, carrots, rice, and beef cubes served at every meal, our first memories will certainly be of the people in Tanzania. From the books we've read and the commercials we've seen, the intial expectations were to find emaciated children and ignorant adults lying in the middle of dirt roads; how wrong we were. Poverty exists -- 60% of the population lives on under $1 per day -- but poverty does not define these people. Rather, they are the most joyous and humble friends any of us have found. For this reason, the people are the nation's greatest resources. The greatest need, however, is leadership to guide the natural abilities of the Tanzanians into the global economy. With the emerging markets, the muyltinationsl corporations, and the foreing investment, the Tanzanian economy is ripe, and we will certainly be hearing more from it soon.

In four short weeks, we explored the depths of the Indian Ocean, got lost in the alleys of Zanzibar, went on safari in the Serengeti, met the U.S. Ambassado, were guests of Tanzania's Ted Turner (Reginald Mengi), and trekked to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro. this was my first trip to Africa. I cannot imagine what Round 2 has in store for us!

Dave:
Wow! What an amazing experience. It's hard to believe that this trip is practically over. It has honestly been a trip of a lifetime and I am so glad that I was able to have this experience. I think the highlight for me was starring into the face of God as we drove through Ngorongoro Crater last week. It was truly indescribable.
Another thing I can't get over is how incredibly happy the native people are. They have very little material wealth in comparison to what most Americans have and yet I've seen more genuinely happy people here in Africa in the last 3 1/2 weeks than I've seen in the U.S. in the last 3 1/2 years! I think we have a lot to learn from them.

Emily D.
As we come to the end of our journey and I think back over our experiences the last three weeks, I am overwhelmed at everything we have accomplished. We have learned more on this trip about the culture, politics, and businesses of Tanzania than I could have ever imagined. From the small town of Moshi, to urban Dar es Salaam, to the beaches of Zanzibar, and finally our safaris in Serengeti and Ngorogoroo, we have gotten a whirlwind tour of a country we will always hold dear to our hearts. With a new appreciation of the people and their customs, we return full of extraordinary memories and lessons. We have made wonderful friendships and shared many unforgettable moments. I only hope we can capture the wonder and beauty of this country as we reminisce with our family and friends of the amazing experiences that have shaped our lives, our perspectives of ourselves, and our view of the world around us. It is impossible to explain in words the times that I have had here, and the incredible people that I have shared it with. It has been the most incredible adventure of my life.

Emily E.
This trip has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I think I'm probably just echoing what everyone is saying here, but when you come to Africa you really learn a lot about yourself and your values, and you get to reconnect with what's important. When I first got here I was nervous about the challenges I would face and the experiences I would have but instead I was greeted with the most giving and hard-working people I had ever met, a culture that does not exist anywhere else in the world, and the most beautiful and different landscape that literally takes your breath away. I also was lucky enough to make my journey with 14 others that I truly respect and who really challenged me to learn as much as I could. One of our journals for the trip asked us to write the first and last sentence of our travel book about Africa. Disclaimer: I wish I could write those brilliant and profound one-liners, but I can't. So read the next sentence with that in mind! But, the last page of my book would say something like, "the trip is over but my journey and relationship with Africa and the people surrounding me is not." This trip, these people, and this continent provoke passion, reflection, and thought, and I intend to not let this wonderful feeling disappear. I will be back!

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Safari roughing it!

Dave:

Today we had another amazing safari day. I think that the Ngorongoro
Crater has been my favorite experience so far, but the Serengeti is
not far behind. It is overwhelming to be surrounded by God's amazing
creation. I don't think I'm ever going to want to visit a zoo again!
Today we saw a variety of animals--lions, wildebeasts, warthogs,
gazelles, hippos, elephants, baboons---incredible! The highlight of
the day for most of us was riding around in our Land Cruisers spotting
several lions. They were mostly lionesses, but we saw a couple males
and some cubs as well. The cubs wrestling in the grass reminded us of
Simba and Nala wrestling in the Lion King. We also discovered that
zebras are a dime a dozen in the Serengeti. Another highlight of the
day was witnessing a herd of about 15 elephants crossing the road
directly in front of our vehicle. They were no more than 20 feet away
from us! There were a few babies trailing behind their mothers in the
herd.
During our safari we stopped at a welcome center for lunch. At the
welcome center was a trail with several exhibits with information
about the animals and plants seen in the park. It's really incredible
how all the animals and plants work together for the greater good of
the ecosystem--even the dung beetles. This is no accident. Someone
had a pretty magnificent plan.
After a full day of safari-ing, we went back to our 5-star lodge,
watched an amazing sunset, and ate an exquisite four-course meal.
--Talk about "roughing" it in Africa!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Just a day in the Crater!

Chad:

We awoke today to another beautiful scene, our hotel rooms opening up
over a beautiful hillside shrouded by misty fog and covered in dew.
After a quick breakfast, we loaded up our luggage and got in the Land
Cruisers to embark toward Ngorongoro Crater. Our caravan briefly
stopped at the entrance of the national park to register each car, and
then we ventured on. No more than a hundred feet past the entrance,
we got our first view of wild animals - a trio of babboons. At this
point, I realized it would be the first of many animal sightings
today; yet, in typical tourist fashion, everyone stopped for a frantic
photo session before heading on. We then quickly dropped into the
Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge, the five-star hotel where we would "home" tonight.
Nestled just on the inner edge of the crater, the lodge had a
five-star view to match. The crater was absolutely breathtaking, a
sight that I could not possibly do justice with words if I tried. It
was created two million years ago by the eruption and subsequent
collapse of a volcano, and the resulting formation was a massive
grassy flatland tucked in the middle of a circle of majestic
mountains. The low-lying plains in the crater, spanning over 100
square miles, provide an ideal habitat for a wide variety of fauna; in
fact, its rich species diversity has made it the most highly protected
area in the country. As I stared out over the crater, somewhat in
awe, I couldn't help but get anxious imagining all the exotic animals
we would get to see today. And as soon as we had gotten that
breathtaking preview, out bags had been unloaded, and we were ready to
go on our safari!

As expected, the cameras started flashing from the moment we descended
into the heart of the crater as all our friends from The Lion King
began making their guest appearances, one by one. We first spotted
Pumba and his entourage of warthogs. Soon thereafter, we noticed a
small group of zebras. And no more than fifteen minutes into the
drive, our guide pointed out Mufasa himself, the king of the jungle.
Sure enough, there were two male lions resting near a tree off in the
distance. Before we had finished the first leg of our journey, we had
also spotted water buffalo, wildebeests, and ostriches. It was
amazing how close we got to them! At one point, a wildebeest ran
right alongside our car, darting across the road in front of us at the
last second. It felt like we could've been taping a special feature
for the Discovery channel.

We then stopped at a hippo lake to eat our boxed lunches, an
assortment of chicken, bread, fruit, and peanuts, before continuing on
our safari adventure. The afternoon leg showcased more of the same
wildlife... in much larger numbers. Before we knew it, we found
ourselves amidst hundred of water buffalo, zebras, and wildebeests.
Yet, it was not all the same animals. I was especially excited when I
saw an elephant for the first time! Until you are standing ten feet
away, you don't realize just how big they are - in more ways than
one... My favorite part of the day, though, was getting to see a pair
of rhinos. In fact, rhinos are very rare, so I was really glad we got
to see them at all. Near the end of the drive, we pulled up to the
edge of a massive lake and found an incredible sight. Stretching as
far as we could see, thousands of flamingos dotted the water, each
holding their signature one-legged pose; I had never seen so many in
my life! With that, our action-packed safari had pretty much come to
an end, and we returned to the hotel, exhausted yet very satisfied fom
the eight-hour trek. Watching the spectacular sunset provided a great
ending to another great day. The whole day was absolutely surreal,
and I am sure it will not completely sink in for a while. I had
always dreamed of going on an African safari, and it definitely
exceeded all my expectations. It is crazy to think that today was
just the beginning - tomorrow, it is on to Serengeti!

Monday, May 26, 2008

It's a bird ... It's a plane ...

Several slaps of the Snooze button later, we awoke to an horizon ablaze. The sunrise again restored life to the island of Zanzibar and brought forth the next leg of our journey. I take deep regret in saying that for our last breakfast at Tembo Hotel, there was no Passion Juice to begin our morning. We did, however, share a breakfast showing off our freshly finished farmer's tans and discussing the latest episode of Larium dreams, which seem to be more exciting than the normal as Larium (our malaria medicine) has listed hallucinations as a side effect.

A short bus ride led us to the Zanzibar airport where we would depart for lunch at Moshi (which most of us have begun calling home) before the five-hour drive leading us to the first pitstop of our Safari. Although half of us did not receive boarding passes, we made it safely onto the planes.

Our plane, slightly larger than a coat closet and less than four feet in cabin height (two of our group and the seven dwarves made it just fine), fit twelve passengers, so our group found itself split in two. Thankfully, most of our group found itself in the more exciting flight of the two. Chris made his father (a fighter pilot) proud by taking the co-pilot seat after our Belgian pilot informed us that he was our only lifeline. Kili, however, was our companion, flying wingside for the duration of the flight and presenting us with a fear- and awe-inspiring sight. Soon, seven of us will begin our trek to the top.

BAM! Uh oh, we hit a bird. In the plane. And, in all-American style, it turned out to be a beautiful eagle. I doubt it's beauty is still a point of pride, though, the poor guy is no longer with us. The pilot, however, gave himself ten points and employed the 'frat snap'--an international gesture of cool and tough excitement--in response to taking out the beautiful bird.

Upon landing, we discovered a massive dent in the wing, compliments of our lost eagle friend. Soon after, however, we were greeted by a twenty-first century Mystery Machine (this is for all you Scooby Doo fans). The van, old as molasses, had a tint of pink in the paint and 1970s plastic seat covers with a subwoofer in the back and a set of tassles hanging from the rearview mirror. It was bound to be a great ride. After several sputters of the engine, though, we worried the van would not start up. Thank goodness, a little bit of elbow grease and a manpower push, gave the van a burst of life. To top off the journey (this is for all you Whose Line fans), we played a little game of Props--swapping out random household objects for something other than what they are--for the hour and a half drive to Moshi.

After the stop for lunch, we had another long journey ahead of us in order to get to Highview Hotel, right outside of Ngorongoro National Park for the first round of our Safari. On the way, we stopped at a Maasai Cultural Park, which also housed a Snake Park and a Camel Ride. Yes, we rode a camel. And it was awkward. Although we missed any camel spit, the camel hump was awkward in its own right, as was the mount/dismount. The Snake Park was home to any deadly slithering beast that comes to mind. Pythons, Mambas, Vipers, and Cobras were not enough. No, the Indian Red Poison Bird--the most vicious of all the beasts--claimed a concrete partition to itself. Disclaimer: this is just a joke, one of our number was able to fool several others that a three-ounce birdie was lethal and dangerous.

As the sun set, we hit up Lion King Nation as we approached Ngorongoro Crater and our home for the night. "This is the Garden of Eden," Mama Moshi tried to convince us as we drove past the open plains, "the Cradle of Life." Rest assured, many songs followed as did Mama Moshi's wails of anguish in response.

Finally, the night ended with another birthday celebration--Happy Birthday Bryan! and thanks for the speech!--as we scarfed down our third birthday cake of the trip (good odds considering there are only thirteen of us on the trip). As a continuation of the celebration and a welcome to the new hotel, we were received by a welcome party of a traditonal cultural dance group. The initial dance, a mating/fertility ritual, pre-occupied our thoughts for the first half of the evening but was soon overshadowed by a Cirque du Soleil-esque dance crew. As if the flips, cartwheels and ariels were not enough, one of the members squeezed his entire body through a ring less than a foot in diameter. The performer soon followed by several other skilled moves, none of which would I do justice if I attempted to describe. After the crew solicited for spare change, they were gracious enough to bring us on the floor. Douglas--shimmying--and Brittany--getting low--both deserve Gold Stars for their skills on the dance floor.

Good day, and good night. Love you Dad, Mom, Cullen, and Mary Win!

Sunday, May 25, 2008

A Day at the Beach . . . aaahhhhh!

Emily D.

We woke up this morning to another gorgeous breakfast overlooking the ocean. After enjoying our second to last ocean side eggs and french toast, we headed to the Jozani Forest, where we saw trees, plants, spiders, and monkies! Without some chacos and zip-off shorts, I felt a little out of uniform, but I somehow managed to escape the wrath of the knettles.
The monkies kept us entertained for quite a while. It was a family with the little baby monkies climbing everywhere. Many of them got a little too close for comfort since they do bite, but luckily one of our group members had experience with the monkey bite so he knew how to handle them. They seemed to enjoy putting on a show for us, while some of us braver ones attempted to feed them. Once we got our monkey fix, we ventured down a wooden bridge parth to view the mangroves. It was a beautiful sight as we learned of their importance in slowing storms and providing nutrients to the soil.
Our tour of the jungle concluded and we headed to the beach, and my favorite: lunch! But first, we waded out into the crystal clear ocean to learn about farming seaweed, those of us without water shoes carefully watching every step.
The rest of the day was ours. The beach was an unbelievable sight. Us girls set up camp in some chairs with our feet hanging in the water of the Indian Ocean. We have anticipated this day for a while, and we were fully enjoying every moment of it.
After a quick game of frisbee, the boys decided to make the journey out to the breakers. They slowly became dots in the distance as we continued to soak up the sun. As the rains headed towards us, we packed up our bags to head to shore. A single vendor on his bike stopped to sell some scarves, which of course were not mzungu prices!! In fact, they were Sunday prices!
Next on our day of paradise was a delicious treat- ice cream! Hershey syrup and all! While we were enjoying our snacks, the boys conned a man in a boat to bring them back to shore. We spent the rest of our afternoon at the beach watching Mandy do tricks, some of us attempting to do the same. Unfortunately some of the boys were unable to escape from the sea urchins and returned home with remnants of the spikes in their feet.
After a smooth ride home, we spent the rest of the evening in Stone Town. We went inside the fort in town to find a hidden market complete with henna tatoos and scarves, while the rest of the crew went to Africa house to join in acrobatics with the locals. Chris successfully completed a backflip off of the stone wall.
With one of the most beautiful sunsets yet, we all went into town for last minute internet and dinner. Cell phones would have been usefull at this moment when dinner plans got mixed up.
We returned from dinner, most of the girls looking snazzy wrapped in their new style of dresses, to convene for our daily journaling party. Sadly, it was our last night in Zanzibar, and we would all be hesitant to leave in the morning. However, our future days of safaris and five star hotels are worth moving forward from our wonderful days at the beach!!

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Like a Cheeseburger in Paradise

Chris:

Greetings again from the amazing paradise that is Zanzibar! We had no idea how amazing this place would be before we arrived. After experiencing a couple days here, I'm glad I didn't waste much time trying to envision Zanzibar before because I could never have imagined a place so incredible. Palm trees litter the countryside like wildflowers while the city of Stone Town teems with African, Arabic, and Indian culture. I could a spend another month here.

Today started with a trip out to sea. We had the opportunity to spend the morning snorkling or scuba diving in some of the most picturesque enviornments imaginable. Most people who know me and my passion for the beach and everything Jimmy Buffet would be surprised to find out that I am not actually scuba certified, so I ended up with the snorkling group. I was not disappointed. We traveled by johnboat about 2 miles to Prison Island, a little speck of paradise off the mainland. Before even setting foot in the water, we visited a tortoise sanctuary where we fed 400 pound tortoises spinach while posing for some hilarious pictures. Afterwards, we headed out to snorkel around a beautiful reef, teeming with colorful fish, coral, and other creatures that only the biology professors could name. Connor and I made a game of who could find more colorful starfish to bring to the surface and place on unsuspecting swimmers. After an hour or so in the water, we headed back to Stone Town for lunch. The scuba divers went on two dives in which they came face to face with a Lionfish and exploring a shipwreck dating back to 1904. I need to get certified.

Our afternoon consisted of free time which we spent lounging on the beach or exploring the inner reaches of Stone Town. Some of the girls (I won't tell any names) went to get henna tattoos (a non-permanent style of tattoo) drawn disceretely on their feet so as to avoid the wrath of internship employers. I joined a few others for a sunset walk on the beach, only to stumble upon the local Zanzibar Brothers Acrobatics group practicing their flips and Brazilian dance fighting moves on the beach. One of the boys named Abu (who carried a monkey named Cobra on his shoulder) offered us the chance to join the practice session. Chad and I stepped forward and spent the next 30 minutes learning Jenga moves and doing cartwheels, kicks, and handstands. I stayed a little longer and learned how to do a flip off of a tire they used like a trampoline. It was awesome. We are going back tomorrow to learn more. After a refreshing shower (since I was covered in sand from the failed flip attempts in between the successful landings), we headed to Mtoni Marine restaurant where we enoyed a candle lit dinner on the beach to the tune of waves of the Indian Ocean crashing gently on the beach. Life cannot get much better.

[Editor's Note: There should be no concerns about Chris' health. He is back to full speed, as you can read here.]

Friday, May 23, 2008

Next, me!

Doug:

Today was one of my favorite days of the entire trip. We woke up early and checked out of our first hotel and rechecked in at the Tembo House Hotel down the street. Originally, the THH didn't have enough free rooms for us to stay the first night. We had to wait a day while more opened up; it was no big deal at all!

After checking in, students loaded in our routine fashion onto the buses. These buses would carry the students to a spice farm for a quick tour. Another smaller van at the hotel was packed with three student volunteers accompanied by Dr. Gauthreaux and Dr. Moshi. This van traveled to the local police station to pay a courtesy call to show our appreciation for keeping us safe while in Zanzibar. The police chief accepted our thanks and comforted us saying, "Zanzibar. Very safe. No problems here... But always stay in groups. Always." Very reassuring? Upon leaving the police station, our van left to meet the rest of the group at the spice tour. Here, common spices such as lemon grass, cinnamon, and black pepper are grown. One highlight of our tour was watching a local man climb a 30 foot palm tree to cut down coconuts. He paused mid climb to sing and dance and put on a show. "Say 'Hello Mzungus'", he would shout. "Hello!" We would reply. He cut down coconuts for us all and we drank the milk from them. He then told us that coconut milk worked similar to Viagra.
The spice tour was the only official business of the day. After lunch, students enjoyed their free time on the island. The beautiful waters served as a great background for some reading catch up work. Around 5, I was sitting on the beach with 5 other students, Connor and I watched as local children took turns burying each other in the sand. It wasn't long before he and I were kneeling down on the ground helping bury the next boy. Eventually we were all in the ocean throwing the children like cannonballs. Word quickly spread, and there was a line of children all claiming "next, me. Next, me." It was one of the greatest moments of the trip. For 15 minutes race, culture, nationality, and language all fell away. The only thing that mattered was how high you could go. The only thing that mattered was fun. It was a good day.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Beach Sighting!!

Emily E.

Well it was another bright and early day in Dar! After a scalding hot and then freezing cold shower, we were off to breakfast. We were all dressed quite smartly as we were meeting with important people again. Little did we know that our own lives were about to change and we were about to also become important people. That's right. We opened the paper this morning, and there were our smiling faces on the third page! And thank goodness the article was in English because on the news last night we had trouble deciphering what they were saying about us! Granted, we did see a lot of Douglas' and Connor's smiling faces, so it couldn't have been too bad! After leaving the hotel we saw that we were also in a second paper, much to our own surprise, and the newspaper buying frenzy started again! So parents, when we grace you with our presence again, we will be Tanzanian celebrities! (I think the article will be online, the name of the paper is The Guardian. Try and look it up!)

Our first stop was the Tanzanian Investment Corp (TIC). However, Chris L. got to go back to the doctor. The TIC visit, it was quite interesting. We learned what all Tanzania has to offer to both international and domestic investors. From the briefing, it appears that Tanzania is on the verge of breaking into broader economic markets which is very exciting for them. But, the most exciting part of this briefing was when one of our very intelligent students asked our lecturer about a piece of legislation we had learned about at the US Embassy yesterday. Our lecturer had never heard of it and it greatly impacted his business. Quoting Mr. Mengi yesterday, this is what he would call a "communication failure." TIA people, TIA.

We then embarked on our journey on the bus where a fierce game of Battle of the Sexes Trivial Pursuit ensued. I would say that the boys were much more into it than the girls but of course the girls dominated. Never a doubt.

We arrived at our destination, the Paradise Hotel, in Bagamoyo, which was on the beach! We had a delicious lunch with a Mexican theme provided by our host, Mr. Mahad Nur. After lunch we all ran out to the beach and I think we each dipped at least one toe into the Indian Ocean, and it of course felt different than any other ocean we had ever touched. But after our frolic along the beach we returned to the Paradise Hotel Conference Room where our host gave a wonderful talk about his road to success and his current ventures. I was immediately struck by his story because he has overcome so much. At one point in his professional career he owned two very prosperous factories, that both accidentally burned down within a span of five weeks, and this occurred at a time when there was no insurance. He no longer had any assets. Now, he is a very prosperous hotel manager with hotels and other investments all around the country. The fact that he was able to overcome so much adversity was truly inspiring and I can only hope that all of us will have the courage to persevere when we encounter such hurdles.

The hurdle we encountered on the way home was surviving a bus ride that included a broken air conditioner and 13 of us singing at the top of our lungs in about 80 degree heat. We persevered, nobody passed out, and Dr. G did not jump out the window in an effort to save himself.

Sadly, it was the last day of business meetings and dressing up in the heat. However, through some strange logic the homework continues! Bummer. Oh well, all in all, it was a great day and tomorrow we head to the beach! Get excited!

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Back on U.S. Soil

Eric:

We started off like any other morning: omelettes, pastries, coffee, baked beans, ox tongue. Wait, your mornings don't start like that in the States? No ox tongue? Hmm...TIA, this is Africa. Chris LeCraw Sickness Update (CLCSU): Took medicine last night. Looks to be receding. Shirt collars still hurt. Anyway, we all piled in the bus and headed to the US Embassy. When we arrived, we stepped outside and smiled. Yes, that was American air we were breathing. Close-cropped American grass on which we were treading. American cement under our feet now. And American people greeting us. Okay, maybe none of that stuff is actually American. And we were actually greeted by Tanzanian doormen/guards. Details, details. We were semi-home again!

After the obligatory awkward moment when I set off the alarm -- Even plastic sunglasses have little metal pieces. At least it wasn't an improvised explosive device, which is expressly prohibited. -- we all grabbed our American badges and headed inside. The first man to show us around just so happened to be a friend of the Ambassador from way back in Green Bay. Yes, that's right. Home of the Cheeseheads, Brett Favre (not really anymore I guess), frozen grass and dairy products. That Green Bay. He said he came over here with Ambassador Green (more on him right...down...there) for a trial year and might end up staying longer. Douglas had a minor scare when he drank the fountain water, assuming it would be clean, safe American water, only to realize that, once again, TIA. No worries, it was safe.

The Embassy got right down to business, and Ambassador Mark Green strolled in, blue suit/green tie (with elephants I think) and all. He even had a coffee mug that was a gift from a local university. And his mannerisms were impeccable. A staunch Republican and defender of Dubya, he executed the thumb point perfectly, but he followed it with a very Obama-esque thumb-to-forefinger-to-form-an-O move. Pandering to both sides, eh?

I could bore you with details of the talk -- which, from my third-row in the conference room of an American oasis/embassy weren't actually boring -- but I'll just give you some highlights. He said Tanzania is already one of the leaders on the continent, but we need to "lock in leadership" at the highest levels. In other words TZ must take the initiative both ideologically and politically in this part of the world. A few facts to take into account that will be a hindrance to such thrusts are the 100,000 Tanzanian malaria deaths per year and the 400 HIV/AIDS deaths per day. GWB and the TZ government, President Kikwete mostly, have already done a decent job addressing these issues through policy initiatives, but the problem (not problem, challenge, but we'll get to that a little later) is the Tanzanian people don't realize it. When Green first came on board, his sponsored events had banners from the CDC, USAID and others. But Tanzanians have no idea what these signify, so Green has now replaced those with a dozen banners that say simply, "From the American People" in both English and Swahili. Funny how Americans can seem so united from the other side of the world.

After outlining a few initiatives and goals, Green took questions. My question -- the only one I'm mentioning because it's my blog, sorry guys -- illuminated a point that has been present in several meetings this trip. Competitiveness. Tanzanians just aren't. When Kenya's Mombassa port closed due to the warring factions in the country, the ships housed there headed for Dar Es Salaam port in Tanzania. At this point the American embassy has this to say: "Hooray! Let's treat these ships better than Kenya ever did and earn their business permanently!" The Tanzanians responded in kind: "But we wouldn't want to hurt the Kenyans' feelings. Let's all be friends." There are certainly advantages and disadvantages to both responses, but the easiest way to expand the national economy is to gain more business. And they missed the opportunity. Just an example. The final point that Green made related directly -- maybe too directly...he might have plagiarized -- to my personal journal from last night. What Africa needs is not charisma. She doesn't need words. She needs actions. And not only actions, but results. I called it the "fierce immediacy of now" in my journal, but I'm pretty sure I heard that somewhere. Here's what I wrote in my journal:

"It's the idea that everything becomes magnified if it must be immediate. If it's on a time crunch. If it's crucial. If it can't be done at any other time. The people of Africa deserve results. They flat-out need them. And the effective leaders realize this. And they realize that their time horizon is very much abbreviated."


After a speaker about the politics and economics of the country -- not much we hadn't already heard -- we toured the whole facility. Even the warehouse, where "they store all the stuff." A fairly direct quote from our guide. Did you know that if you work for the embassy in TZ you can shop at the embassy warehouse and get all-American furniture and electronics? Even tires? Wow. CLCSU: The second speaker has a medical degree. Thinks it might be shingles. "Couldn't help" because Chris isn't an embassy employee. I guess Chris must have stolen that cream discreetly.

Then came lunch. At one of the nicest hotels in all of TZ. Where Dubya and his posse stayed on their visit. Where suites are actually only $200 per night (hat tip to Bryan Pruiett for in-depth research). It was a six-course meal hosted by Mr. Reginald Mengi. Think Ted Turner of TZ. Or the physical embodiment of General Electric. The man has his hands in Tanzanite prospecting, Coca-Cola bottling, broadcast news, print media and many other things. Incredible guy who came from nothing up in Moshi. Dirt-poor at birth, through childhood, and through teenagedom (made up the word in order to not sound repetitive). Here's a laundry list of quotes and observations from the lunch:

"Business is just organized friendship." Tanzanians are very generous...with hospitality, with wine and with thank-yous. "You must tell yourself 'I can, I must, I will.'" R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly" comes on as a sort of theme song. The same R. Kelly that had the legal troubles, but I still think of Space Jam every time I hear the song. "And if you fail, turn on Destiny's Child 'Survivor' and just survive." I love that song. Karaoke 101. "Your world must be your honor." Tanzanians don't rely on contracts like we do. So their word carries a lot more weight. Hence: "I can forgive you if you break a contract. But I won't forgive you if you break a promise." Wow, how non-American! But refreshing to say the least. "You must give back." Spider-Man knew that with great power comes great responsibility. The same goes for money in a developing country. Mengi's responsibility is to the whole country, and his philanthropic reach covers most of the land. "Put God first." Now, I've heard this before, but from Chick-fil-A mostly. It was interesting to hear it so matter-of-factly halfway around the world. He made constant references to his Christianity, and it definitely gives an example of faith interacting positively with business. Serious business. Moneymaking business.

Then off to the hotel again, where we were informed that Hon. Gertrude Mongella would not be joining us for dinner. If you want info on her, go to Google. She's pretty incredible. So we hung out at the pool. Douglas and Addie climbed on the roof. I bathed in bug spray. CLCSU: Remember when Luke was recovering from injuries in The Empire Strikes Back? Or when Keanu Reeves was injured in "real life" in The Matrix? That's Chris LeCraw. He even cut the collar of a t-shirt to make it more open. I think he should make up some stories to go along with it.

Now off to watch the finals of the UEFA Champions League! Pretty chill night in TZ. I love you Mom, Dad and Kevin! And give yourself a hearty pat on the back if you read all the way to here.

[Editor's Note: Unfortunately, Ambassador Mongella was called to a meeting in Mwanza and had to cancel. Plus, the UEFA Championship is tomorrow night, but the meeting with Mr. Mengi was featured on the national news and the newspaper. check it out at http://www.ippmedia.com/ipp/guardian/2008/05/21/114830.html]

Monday, May 19, 2008

Official visits and ... Pizza!!

Chad:

I woke up this morning, knowing it was going to be an especially exciting day. Yes, it was the day we had all been eagerly awaiting: our first day in business attire. After all, we knew we would have to be looking sharp if we were going to be meeting with the National Inspector General and the Mayor of Dar es Salaam. After everyone convened in the lobby, we hopped on the bus and headed to the police headquarters.

We were immediately welcomed by Police Chief Chico, who led us up to the conference room and encouraged us to make ourselves some "breakfast," a reference to the tea that had been prepared for us. I initially refrained from pouring myself a cup - after all, I had already enjoyed a hearty meal. Yet, Mr. Chico had different plans, repeatedly insisting that we drink some lest we offend the Inspector General! Luckily, I managed to pour a glass just as he arrived, avoiding a potential crisis, and our meeting began. Mr. Mwena, the Inspector General, serves as the highest ranking official in national security, so it really was quite an honor for us to get the chance to speak with him. He began by describing his position and the role of the national security system as a whole. As he explained, the purpose of the the police force is to ensure security, promote economic development, and encourage social development. He also went on to elaborate on several of the main challenges currently facing their division, such as budget constraints, technological barriers, and globalization. All in all, I was impressed with his courtesy, as he seemed very appreciative to be able to spend time with us.

After that, we went to go on a whirlwind tour of the police headquarters. We first visited the IT department, where they managed human resources, crime, traffic, and property on a computer database. In a country still somewhat struggling to make the transition to computerized technology, it is encouraging to see signs of such progress being made. Then it was on to Ballistics Inspection, where we got to look through a microscope at a side-by-side view of a test bullet and a bullet from a crime scene. Now, I will be honest, I couldn't tell distinguish anything between the two samples, but I guess that is why I don't work there! The next stop was the Documents Examination room, where the officials analyze counterfeit currency to find minor differences that would indicate forgery. Their technology was impressive, as they magnified a counterfeit bank note on a large computer screen to show us how blurred the images and writing became when viewed on the microscopic level. Unfortunately, we began to run out of time and had to rush through several other units, including Criminal Record Maintenance and Crime Scene Investigation, before heading off to our next destination.

We then travelled over to Karimjee Hall to meet with the mayor of Dar es Salaam. It had been a fairly hot day, and I could see the looks of relief on everyone's faces when we stepped into the air-conditioned room full of cold refreshments. Shortly after, the mayor arrived and got right down to some very important issues. He explained how the recent surges of migration into the city have created an unsustainable situation in which the population growth rate is now exceeding the city infrastructure capacity, creating immensely high poverty levels. His personal solution is a program that he calls BBT, or the "Big Bang Triangle." In his plan, he focuses on three (hence, "triangle") sectors as key components to alleviating the poverty: Business Parks, Industrial Parks, and Financial Parks. His vision centers around providing housing for citizen workers in each sector, while empowering the impoverished through micro-financing. I truly thought he was one of our most impressive speakers, and I was very impressed by his originality and ingenuity.

While I enjoyed our time with the mayor, I could not wait to get to lunch since we had already been informed that we would be treated to something every college student loves... pizza! We ended up dining outside a restaurant just on the edge of the Indian Ocean, with a view so spectacular that I could not do it justice with words even if I tried. Anyways, we were quickly served an absolute feast of pizzas, with another one coming out as soon as the last one had been finished. As I enjoyed my meal, though, I couldn't help but notice Douglas next to me, rapidly devouring every piece in sight. Apparently, he has already begun his training to prepare himself for his upcoming Waffle House eating showdown against Addie. No offense, Douglas, but my money's on Addie!

After lunch, we spent a few minutes looking through the local shops before returning home to our hotel, Protea Courtyard, to enjoy some much-needed free time to relax, do some reading, or catch up on some much-needed sleep!

Oh and one more thing - I couldn't finish my blog without a tribute to Addie, who is fortunate enough to be celebrating her wonderful 20th birthday with us today. Happy birthday, Addie!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Gone fishing

Doug:

We left our hotel early Sunday morning and travelled to Traditional Textiles. Mama Moshi told us that on any other day the trip would have taken over an hour, but because it was Sunday there was lighter traffic. Traditional Textiles manufactures clothing and housing items such as dresses, purses, table cloths, and curtains. They weave their own fabric using traditional looms and spinning wheels. The process is very tedious and very methodical. The company is located in a village in Dar Es Salaam. The classification of village is synonymous to a neighborhood in the United States. When villagers come to the city to live, they adapt their village, community oriented customs to city life. Stray chickens, roosters, and goats could be found roaming the sand streets of the village. As we were leaving Traditional Textiles, we got to play with children who had gathered in the street to investigate as to what a large group of Mzungos (White Tourists) were doing in their neighborhood. We were able to teach the children internationally renowned gestures such as the high-five and the low-five. A large bag of skittles was distributed and drained in seconds.

When loaded into the cars after saying our goodbyes, the bus carrying half our group got stuck in the sand road. The local villagers helped us dig the tires out and push the bus free. The phrase "TIA" has become common among our group members, for truly "This Is Africa".

After Traditional Textiles we travelled to the carver's market. Here we found shops filled with hand carved objects. We got to use our bargaining skills which we had mastered in Moshi. Students purchased a wide variety of objects ranging from wooden elephants to salad tongs. After the carver's market, we ate lunch. This was one of the most fillings meals that we have had all week. Don't get me wrong. The rice, carrots, and curried chicken have been good but our American stomachs crave some junk food after a while. My American appetite was quenched only after downing an entire cheese pizza and a cheeseburger with french fries, all washed down with an ice cold Coca-Cola Classic. My fellow travelers all enjoyed similar euphoric experiences. Some students were able to fight off sleep and travel to the Museum of Tanzania, while others returned to the hotel to rest. One interesting highlight of the museum was a sixty-five million year old fish that was once thought extinct. Upon finding this ancient relic of an animal, the Tanzanian government thought it would be a good idea to capture it, kill it, and preserve it in a jar in Dar Es Salaam, where it could be kept safe from future extinction. Wait...too late.

All in all these events made for another great day. TIA! I love you, Mom!

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Not much today . . .?

Mandy:

We were on the move today from Moshi town to Dar Es Salaam, a much larger city on the beautiful Tanzanian coast. We were all excited to venture to a new location but after becoming close friends with our staff at Springlands Hotel it was sad to leave them behind. In order for our group to show our appreciation and thank the staff for all their generosity, we took them all to Club La Liga last night for what you would call a Bon Voyage celebration- now if only we knew how to say that in Swahili! After a 15 minute bus ride through maiz fields and villages we followed the spotlights to what seemed to be an oasis in the middle of nowhere. The glow from the neon lights could be seen from outerspace. We were the only ones in the club for a couple hours so we pretty much owned the dance floor all night. La Liga staff quickly became aware of our American dancing in their Indian club in the middle of Africa-see friends, this is truly an intercultural experience.

When we woke up this morning we said our kwaheris and asante sanas (goodbyes and thank yous) and left for what seemed to be an easy 8 hour drive to Dar... However, TIA (this is Africa) and we've learned that nothing goes as planned here. About 2 hours of ipod listening and napping later we stopped for lunch and got news that the other bus had broken down somewhere unknown.

So there we sat for 3 hours with 39 people and their luggage and only 3 large Land Cruiser vehicles. At this point every "leader" (i.e. "Cook in the kitchen") had come up with an escape plan. Meanwhile, Mama Moshi had already arranged for 2 rental vans to come retrieve the Maymester group. When the vans arrived, fully equipped with crushed velvet seats, plastic headrest covers, and not to mention the sketchy "Jeepers Creepers" written on the side. We all piled in and were finally on the way to Dar. In these situations you can only laugh but pray that it never happens again.

Our trip was fairly productive though, we did come up with a new marketing strategy called "Kamikaze Marketing" - send the kids into the street with corn husks and oranges in hopes that a random vehicle will stop alongside a major highway to buy dinner. We also learned there are clearly no driving laws as public transportation buses passed our caravan several times at outrageous speeds.

When we arrived in Dar, a delicious meal had been prepared for us including: mac and cheese, french fries, and yummy desserts, all classic American cuisine. The good food and especially the AC put smiles on all of our faces.

For what was going to be a rather long and boring ride to Dar turned into another improvised yet comical adventure in Africa. And I thought I would have nothing to blog about today...

Friday, May 16, 2008

Doing Good at Kili Center

Dave:

Another Full Day....

Last night's rain must have agitated the roosters, because they were crowing nonstop this morning. I have to say though, that I would much rather wake up to the crow of a rooster in Africa, than the alarm clock I have back home. After another great breakfast (of fresh mango, pineapple, banana, eggs, etc), we traveled to the Tanzania Coffee Research Institute. The bus rides to and from our destinations each day end up being some of the most memorable experiences of the day. The warm greetings (smiles, waves, and "jambo"s) given to us by children on the street always make us melt. The coffee farm was an interesting experience. It was raining, so we did much of the tour by our bus. The guide we had was very jolly. After leaving the farm, we went to the TCB (Tanzanian Coffee Board---not the Terry College of Business) and learned about the way the coffee industry works in Tanzania. We also taste-tested several different brews.

The highlight of our day was our trip to the Kilimanjaro Center for Orphans and Street Children. It was an amazing experience. They currently are housing 38 children. We were able to interact with them--jump-roping, blowing bubbles, throwing a ball....doing all the things that children everywhere love to do. Several of us brought candy, chocolate, stickers, and UGA pens, pencils, band aids, etc to give them. I'm sure you can imagine how big of a hit that was. The children performed dances, acrobatics, and skits that metaphorically demonstrated the severity of AIDS in Africa. None of us wanted to leave. Just before leaving, two of the orphans came up to me, gave me a hug, a pinky shake, and said "Rafiki pamoja," meaning "friend, together." It was heartbreaking to leave. One of my new "rafiki"s held my hand all the way to the bus. It's amazing to think about what the Center does for this area of Tanzania.

After leaving the Kili Center, some of us had a consulting meeting with Mama Zara (owner of the hotel in which we are staying) to discuss possible ways we can help her with a business plan. Mama Zara is providing all of us complimentary massages/pedicures/manicures since we are leaving tomorrow to go to Dar es Salaam. Tonight, after dinner and packing, we are going to a local club with some of the hotel staff--should make for a very interesting experience!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Maasai Wife

Brittany:

Disclaimer: we woke up early this morning and had a full day so its a long blog.

Earl Leonard, the namesake of the scholars program in ILA would have been very proud today. Earl was a senior VP of Coke during the 80s and 90s. Our trip to the Bonite Bottlers (local bottle of Coca-Cola) was an amazing display of an assembly line efficiency. Emily said Henry Ford would have been proud. Five senior managers in the company met with us to talk about their financials and their projected goals until 2010. Pepsi is just now coming on strong as a competitor, but Coke still holds 80 percent market share. So it's kinda like Atlanta. The most astonishing transition for us as students is to see the use of glass bottles. It seems archaeic but it is actually the most cost effective method. After seeing all the numbers, we headed to the fun stuff... the plant itself.

Bonite uses spring water and purifies it themselves before mixing in sugars and flavors. The first line we saw produced Fanta orange. They would load a recycled bottle into the cleaner, check the quality of the glass, fill, cap, and pack it for shipping all in about 15 minutes... Amazing. There is also a permament Coke only line that is all automated but does the same stuff. Our group gawked over the lever that kicked underfilled or messed up bottles out of line and into the reject pile. They produce about 300,000 bottles of Coke in 8 hours and only have about 250 rejects. The broadcast news major in me doesn't know the real percentage on that one! The final and most exciting assembly line was the one producing bottled water. The plastic starts looking like a test tube but it is heated and blown into shape in about 30 seconds... So cool.

After a quick lunch with the maymester students we met with the Coke distributor. He's the local expert and personally calls on all the accounts daily. They have a VIP program that provides businesses coke tables and chairs, a fridge, and a tv. The catch is that they can't sell any Pepsi products and the distributor is the enforcer.

Our next stop was Shah Industries, a leather work and carpentry shop. It is run by an Indian family that has been in business for over 50 years. The owner employees handicapped people that can't find work elsewhere. They make beautiful leather creations as well as cultural carvings. This is the place we decided to spend our money! They don't mark up their prices too bad and we are supporting a very philanthropic business. I would tell you what we bought but we would be spoiling some people's gifts!

Our final adventure of the day was the most "African" experience we have had all trip. Our Maasai guides led us into the rice paddies and on into the jungle... It was amazing to see Kili out from underneath the cover of clouds. In the jungle we saw tons of monkeys in the Acacia trees. One of the Masaai boys had an affinity for blondes and dressed me in their traditional clothing. He declared me a Maasai wife...nice...I get to milk cows for the rest of my days. Anyways, it was beautiful and we loved getting to spend some time out in nature. Our day ended with a pool game of Mombo Poa, a Swahili version of Marco Polo.

Now a shameless plug, I'm also keeping a daily personal blog at www.tanzania-brittany.blogspot.com I uploaded a lot of pictures and you can check it out for a different perspective on the trip! Miss y'all!

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

TANAPA, AtoZ & Pres. Adams!


Addie:

Especially after dinner tonight, I can confidently say that this was my favorite day in Africa thus far. We started the day with a two hour drive to the Tanzania National Park Center. Though long, the ride was beautiful, and we all enjoyed getting to know each other better. At the park center, a lady talked to us about the details and conflicts that arise when running the Tanzania National Parks. She gave us pamphlets with amazing pictures of Serengeti and the other national parks, and it furthered our excitement about our future trip there. Afterwards, we met the other UGA students for our first meal not provided by our hotel. We had a quick picnic at a beautiful lake outside of Arusha before we rushed to our next destination-the A to Z Mosquito Net Company. This company has a monopoly on all mosquito net manufacturing in Africa. It is a very philanthropic organization as it provides around 1200 jobs to the people in Arusha as well as partnering with governments to subsidize gifts of these malaria preventors to the people of Africa. It was also interesting to see the pocess of manufacturing these nets that we get tangled in every night.

Dinner was wonderful and such a festive event. We drove to the lodge where the other UGA students are staying and ate a delicious candlelit meal under a tent on white tablecloths. I had the pleasure, along with all the girls and Dave, of sitting at a table with UGA President Adams. You could tell everyone else was jealous. We enjoyed exchanging stories about our adventures in Tanzania thus far. During the meal we were entertained by African drummers, singers, and dancers that were inredible! The dancers would leave after every song and return in different costumes. We must have seen them in at least five different outfits! Then after dinner the dancers invited us to join them for their last dance. All of us, including President Adams and the Provost, circled up for a traditional African dance that kind of remembled a Congo line! This was a wonderful end to a great day!

As President Adams put it, sometimes you just have to pinch yourself to remind yourself that you are dancing with native Tanzanians in the continent of Africa! Amazing!

Also, check out another BLee's blog at www.tanzania-brittany.blogspot.com

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Swahili, Microfinance & Roses


Chris:

Hamjambo! How are y'all? We began the day with a lesson in Swahili with Mama Moshi, our incredible UGA professor who is native to Tanzania. We learned many different greetings, pronouns, and other vocabulary. The hotel staff were having a great time listening to us struggle as we kept repeating the Swahili forms of hello, I, you, he/she/it, etc. After awhile, Mama Moshi was content with our progress and we took a break to swim and practice our Swahili.

After our attempts to learn another language we then attempted to understand microfinance in Africa. Our program has done a great job of providing us with speakers that really explain about leadership and business perspectives in Africa. Our speaker today from the co-operative bank of Kilimanjaro took on the daunting task of speaking with us on their microfinance strategy. I won't bore y'all with all the details but I really did think it was quite interesting how they were paying out 3 percent, less than the inflation rate, but expecting up to 23 percent on loans. I of course appreciate interest rates as an accounting major, so I wanted to inform the rest of you!

Following a scrumptious lunch we went to a flower farm. This was so neat, we really got to see how flowers were cultivated. I know that as a boy I shouldn't have been as impressed with the roses, but they were pretty cool! Granted, the best part of this tour was standing in the cooling room since we have not even seen an AC unit since being here. I'm pretty sure I did not want to leave the room. I kept urging people to ask more questions while we were in there! However, without the bias towards the cold room, it was really neat to see such a prosperous business in Africa that exports its products all over Europe. Also, the morale of employees and the business structure they have built around them is truly something to be emulated.

All in all, it was a great day! We got to end it sitting by the pool relaxing, listening to Jimmy Buffett on our iPod speakers, and just talking with this great group of 13 people. Just another day in paradise!

Monday, May 12, 2008

Nzuri = All is well!

Emily E.
Today started off quite early because there is a mosque near the hotel, and the first call to prayer commences at 5 am. Thank goodness I was able to go back to sleep until the rooster woke us up at 7. Granted, it is so neat to say that I was awoken by a rooster. I also will say that it was very nice to have a bit of hot water for a shower this morning. Dr. Dale regretted to inform us that we needed to turn on the hot water heater the first night! Thanks for that!

Our first stop of the day today was the University in Moshi. It is a business university that offers several different dimploma and certificate programs. It was so interesting to hear about the University and how it operates. For example, it is a school of 1500 students, of which only 25 percent are women. This new statistic just makes me further count my blessings to be a woman in the U.S. where I am able to start a business without immense trouble, as well as attend a school that has more of my gender than the other. Overall, the University was quite an experience. For an institution of higher learning that only began in 2004, they seem very advanced, and are quite excited to be teaching business to their fellow country men [and women].

Following our visit to the university, we stopped at the police headquarters in Moshi. I think this was the first time I really realized that our fearless leader Mama Moshi (the head of the Tanzania study abroad) has friends in very high places. Of course, my first clue should have been that we were escorted through customs as well as to our hotel that evening. I must admit, I kind of felt like a celebrity! In addition, when visiting with the police chief today, he made it quite clear that our safety is at the top of their priority list. This should make our parents at home quite happy!

After our active morning we proceeded to free time, i.e. the pool, and then to lunch. The food here is actually pretty good! My hopes of losing spring semester weight have been dashed! However, they did plan some exercise into our schedule for today. We hiked into the kili foothills to a beautiful waterfall. Everyone went camera crazy, and of course we even had a few students fall into the water. Definitely a great time! Oh, and I had a true African experience as I had to go to the bathroom during the hike, and there was just a hole in the ground in my stall. That was one of the few times in my life that I wished I had been a boy!

Today we also had our first official Swahili lessons. The language is complicated but it is so fun! We also learned that you never say anything bad is going on in your life. Everything is fine and perfect all the time. Must be nice!

Anyways, today was a great day and a lot of interesting stuff has happened! I'm certainly getting a great first taste of Africa. I hope everything back home is going well!

Added later:
I sent in my blog entry in before dinner so I did not get to include one of the best things of this trip. It was my 21st birthday Saturday and I spent the whole day on the plane. My friends were so sweet and actually made it feel like my birthday by getting the KLM flight attendants to sing as well as give me really neat gifts. Then, today, my Tanzanian family helped me to celebrate my birthday AGAIN and surprised me with a cake and ice cream! I cannot help but to count my blessings, as I'm obviously so blessed to have friends like this. I could not have pictured a better way to bring in my 21st year of being alive than in Africa with new and old friends that are so dear to my heart. I just thought all the parents and friends of people on this trip that are reading this blog should know that this is a wonderful group of people and we are all so blessed to know every one of them.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

All in a day's learning!

Emily D.
After a hot night under mosquito nets, we woke to face freezing showers, a delicious breakfast at our headquarters, and our first glimpse of Africa. We soon found out that all we had to do was turn on the water heater and the problem was instantly fixed. We convened for a short meeting with Dr. Moshi where we learned some helpful phrases in Swahili such as hello (Hujambo), how are you (habari gani) and, most importantly, no thank you (hapana asante). This would be very helpful throughout the day.

With out guide, Yasin, we set off to explore the nearby town of Moshi. On the way there, we were able to witness everything we missed on the ride in the night before: the lush landscape, the people walking everywhere with colorful clothing, and the women carrying everything on their heads!

When we got to Moshi, immediately there were people everywhere who wanted to sell us stuff. And, of course, everything was painted or made themselves!! The people were very friendly and always willing to help us with our struggling Swahili.

Yasin showed us their first hospital, explaining that a private hospital visit costs about $4, which most cannot afford. This was a reality check to us American students where $4 can seem like nothing. We also saw their court system, which to compare to our American buildings would be impossible. The pride they seem to have for their judicial system is refreshing, but once again a reality check to us American students whose courthouses tower over the towns.

In the towns and on the bus ride home, children came from everywhere if you pulled out candy. I am sure everyone wishes they had brought a suitcase full after seeing some of their excited faces.

We experienced our first African lunch, which to our delight included -- pizza! Afterwards, Mama Zara, the owner of Zara Tours (www.zaratours.com), shared her story with us. The unique thing about Mama Zara is that she is not only successful in business, but she is a successful woman. The challenges she had to overcome seem ridiculous to the few of us American women. It definitely made us appreciate the opportunities that are always available to us. We discussed the potential of her business, while also analyzing the challenges.

Mama Zara also shared with us the Tanzanian concept of being firstly a Tanzanian. This is why everyone seems to bond together. Her idea of working, which probably adds to her success, is working hands-on with all of her staff. We also learned how much she gives back to the community.

Our last lecture of the day, at er tea time, included a political science professor from the local college. We were fortunate enough to receive a new perspective on how Africa's past, especially the exploitation of colonization, has affected the current economic and political problems facing Tanzania.

All together, today, we have received a preview of the culture, business, political beginning and daily life of those in Tanzania. All this, and it's only the first day!!

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Arrival in TZ

Sarah
Parents, rest easy. We made it to our headquarters in Tanzania after over 24 hours of traveling, through which most of us slept the majority of the time. Luckily, we were able to wait in the line for Tanzanians and East African residents only at the Kilimanjaro International Airport, thanks to Dr. Moshi. I don't think we were fooling anyone, though.

We started out our adventure with a celebration. It was Emily E.'s 21st birthday. We were able to tell one of the flight attendants, who brought Emily a glass of champagne as the group sang "Happy Birthday."

We arrived at our hotel through a beautiful courtyard with a pool and outdoor dining area. The staff had dinner waiting and we all enjoyed our first taste of African cuisine. The people here are some of the most welcoming we have ever encountered, cheerfully greeting us as we arrived and insisting on carrying every piece of luggage that we brought -- they probably think we are staying for 6 months rather than one. They even gave us the opportunity to learn and practice our Swahili, which needs a little work to say the least.

We were all anxious to get on the Internet, but the Internet room at the hotel was closed for the night. We were therefore able to spend time completely taking in our first night in Africa.

As we spread out and explored the courtyard of the hotel, we journaled and reflected on what we left "unfinished" leaving for this trip and what we expect to take away from it. We will see. . .

Oh, and in case we get tired, the hotel offers massages, as well as manicures and pedicures -- not exactly what we expected when we thought about a trip to Africa. This, most likely, will be the first of many surprises throughout this trip.

Friday, May 9, 2008

All packed and ready to go

Editor - Here we are on the eve of the second Institute for Leadership Advancement Study Abroad in Tanzania. It promises to be as exciting a trip as last year. Check back often to read about our experiences. Asante Sana.