Punda milia

On Wednesday I spent some time at the waterhole with a large number of zebras. The landscape was spotted with clusters of stripes and throughout the afternoon I was accompanied with zebra barking. With the absence of elephants, the zebra presence became much more exciting and I was able to truly appreciate their unique beauty.

I found myself wondering if zebras were as beautiful up close as they were from a slight distance. Their stripes look so perfect and defined with no hairs straggling out of place… all within the lines. I have heard that zebra researchers use the stripe patterns to recognize individuals and began to notice the subtle differences in designs.

On my way home, I heard water splashing and looked to my right to find a young zebra struggling in the furrow that fills the waterhole. I called for help and we pulled the zebra out of the water. It looked like it had been there for awhile and was quite cold. It was struggling to get up, but wouldn’t. Its belly looked awfully distended even though its hip bones were sticking out and had an overall frail appearance. I was feeling so bad for it but at the same time, it was really exciting to see one up close. We brought the zebra to the stables on the property where a member of the staff stayed with it throughout the night, but it didn’t survive.

Maneno mpya: jipu

Just so you don't think my life is all rainbows... Ticks are still an issue here. The other day I was talking to someone and they said, "the ticks seem to have all but disappeared," to which I replied by pulling one off my pantleg. I don't know if they just love me or I just constantly put myself in their path, but they are ALWAYS around. If I go outside to call someone on the radio- just in the backyard, I can come inside two minutes later and start pulling them off me. It no longer phases me when I feel something crawling on my leg after I get into bed at night. I don't even need to turn on my headlamp to reach down, pull it off, and crush it on the floor with my fingernail. Yes, I am talented. However, as much as I like to tell myself I will win the war, the ticks have definitely left a battles scene on my legs (can you tell I just finished reading "Gods and Generals"?) Recently, I have been plagued with these massive festering sores on my legs. I showed them to Rose and she said she didn't know the word in English, but in Swahili they are called "jipu." I looked it up in my dictionary and learned that I have been plagued with boils. What a disgusting word. But, the sores are rather disgusting. The area surrounding the worst is swollen and red and there is a constant throbbing. I am such a baby. Trust me I know that if this is the worst affliction I have in Africa, I am being looked after, but still. It HURTS! It may turn your stomachs, but I had to take a picture.

Upinde ya mvua

The rain has been teasing us. It seems to like the slopes of Kilimanjaro and everyday it seems to get a bit closer to the ranch. Last night I was able to see localized lightning in the distance and the birds and frogs are telling us it will hit anyday. Yesterday on my way home from the treehouse, there was a huge rainbow. I love African rainbows... and trees... and the scent of rain on a breeze. Too bad I can't take a picture of that.

Mkazi-mwenzangu

I have a new roommate. I mentioned in a previous post that Nyama the cat is gone and therefore the house is being overridden with frogs, rats, insects, and my favorite, the resident gecko that lives on my bedroom wall. We have gotten quite comfortable with each other and the other day I found him lying on my bed. I finally got a picture of him so that you too can enjoy his gecko-ness. Nyama will be coming home soon with two kittens. I don't think she will be as thrilled with my new friend as I am.

MOTO!

There was a fire on the property over the weekend. My askari noticed it Saturday night and had to basically sound an alarm to all the workers on the ranch to help fight it. By daybreak on Sunday, everyone thought the threat was over and returned home for some much needed rest. However, in the early afternoon it had started back up again. I took this picture on my way to the treehouse. Throughout the afternoon I listened to the drama on the radio, the entire time sympathizing with everyone who had to deal with it. It also happened to be about 40 C on Sunday. Just walking to the treehouse, I felt that I too might spontaneously combust. I decided to take the long way home at the end of the day to get a good look at the damage from the fire. It actually left a pattern that, dare I say it, is quite pretty. On my walk, I felt a few raindrops and was hoping that the rain would settle the problem, but alas, the rain stayed away for the most part. Askaris have been keeping an eye on the sight, and now it is pretty safe to say that the threat is gone. Everything is so dry now and we are definitely in need of rain. Just about every afternoon, I can smell rain in the distance and sometimes and accompanied by rolls of marvelous thunder, but still we wait.

Siku ya TEMBO!

Yesterday was Elephant Day. Most of you are probably quite surprised to hear that such a thing exists. I was asked to look up information online about it and found out that it is basically a holiday created in 1994 by a guy in Florida that collected elephants and owned a printing company... so yet another 'Hallmark holiday.' Nonetheless, here I am am researching elephants so it should be acknowledged. The ranch was honored with a visit from some esteemed VIP guests in honor of Elephant day, but I guess the guests of honor (elephants) were attending an invitation only elephant day party somewhere... because they were not on the ranch.

Vijiji mpya.

I went to Moshi this past weekend to escape the computer work I have been subjecting myself to. It was nice to go to a new town. I have been there three times before, but once was by accident when Nabil and I missed our stop, once was when I was in a rush to make photocopies and return before dark, and once was in 2004 when Dad and I climbed Kilimanjaro. However, I quickly learned on this trip that what people say is true. Moshi is cleaner, prettier, and doesn’t have the hawker problem that Arusha does. I still saw plenty of wazungu but was only bothered twice by people trying to sell me things. When I told them I didn’t want anything and politely asked them to leave me alone, they did! I was dumbstruck. In Arusha, I really had to be mean for the people to stop bothering me. The problem in Arusha is that as soon as one person comes up to sell something, the rest see and rush over to increase the annoyance of the situation. I always leave Arusha feeling like I was a poor ambassador of America because I had to be so rude so that people would let me do what I had to do. But, Moshi was different and I definitely will return. I stayed in a hotel and drank Stoney’s and watched TV and went to bed early. The next morning I went to the salon and got my hair braided. It is fun to do something different and I was really getting sick of hair blowing in my eyes. Problem solved. Please note my “I’m Bringing Sexy Back” t-shirt. I will have to get Rose to take a picture of my all-out Tanzanian mama look, complete with inappropriate saying on t-shirt. In Moshi, I saw one lady about my age wearing a t-shirt that said “I heart hot moms.” There was another girl about 10 years old wearing a shirt that said “F.B.I.: Female Body Inspector.” I never know if I should explain to these people what their t-shirts mean, do I laugh, do I sigh, or should I just be glad that they don’t really understand how perverted western society is?

watoto ya Rose

Rose’s three kids had to return to school at the beginning of the month. Before they left, I came to say goodbye and had a photo shoot. The kids thought this was a hoot. By the way, all these kids aren’t Rose’s. Actually, 2 are hers, and 2 are friends of those, and one of hers is missing. I know Stacie or Nabil can tell me who is who, but I actually only met all the kids once and was embarrassed that I didn’t remember who was who!

Jirani yangu...

The students who visit here have said, “You must be so lonely.” But I repeatedly have to explain that the workers on the ranch live in their houses about 50 meters from my door. It also helps that the furrow that supplies water for them and me is right outside my door. This results in many visitors everyday. Of course, when I didn’t know Swahili, it really didn’t matter if they greeted me or not, but now that I am catching on, I really enjoy the multiple “salimia’s” (greetings) everyday and no longer mind stopping what I am doing to ask them about their day, their work, their family… etc. etc. I guess I am adapting. This is a picture I took one night last week when Rose was cooking in the kitchen and we had some visitors who had matching Old Navy sweatshirts. This is Max and “rafiki ya Max” (only because I can never remember his name!).

They are from the same place near the Kenyan border. One night, Max was showing me where they were from on a map posted on my wall and when I asked how long it took to get there, he said 2 days. I was really confused because it looked to be just a little farther than Arusha… but with the roads here you never know. Then I pointed to Dar es Salaam and some other city farther south and asked how long it took to get there. He said 3 months. At this point I realized he was telling me how long it took to walk! Oh the life we are accustomed to in America.

Mtoto mpya.

Last week was rather slow, elephant wise. I decided to be more productive by analyzing data, resulting in quite a few days inside. To minimize the monotony, which often is accompanied by unproductiveness on my part, I tried opening the window, and then putting a table on the verandah and working outside, and then going for a run. The run finally did the trick. I got an endorphin high and came back a refreshed person ready for tons of computer work, and therefore repeated the program the following 3 days. However, one day I had the pleasure of returning to the village to greet people who were convinced I was “ulipotea” or, “lost,” since it has been about a month and a half since the crops were finished. I was able to visit Baba Thomas and the new addition to their family, baby Ben. He was one month old when I visited, and yes, I admit, I wanted to take him home with me. They joked about it but the maternal clock must be ticking because really, I want one. If only I didn’t have to be so responsible and wait until we had actual income to afford one.

Mazoezi kwanza

Today is a very good day. I just returned from my first run in Tanzania. I have been here over 4 months now and just last week really got an itch, feeling like I needed to run. I have been rather faithful in Yoga and Pilates in the mornings, but with my bum ankle was worried about running here because there are so many rocks and holes. Also, I have been at kind of a low point the fast few days (partly attributed to 4 days in a row of waiting for elephants without seeing them) and really felt like I needed an endorphin fix. So, I set out. The plan was to run 15 minutes out and 15 back for a 30 minute total run. Well, the first 15 minutes I felt like I was flying even though the majority was uphill, so I thought, why not 20 out? I am sure glad I decided to go farther because at 19:37 on my watch, I saw elephants! So, I stopped running, watched them (from down-wind, of course) and stretched a bit before going back. As soon as I turned around I realized why it seemed like I was flying before. The wind hit me like a wall. On the way back, I must have stopped to walk 3 or 4 times to walk a bit and catch my breath. So, total running time=37:19. Not bad for the first time in 4.25 months. And now, I am going to rush to the waterhole in hopes that the group of elephants I saw were heading in that direction. There will definitely be a repeat of today's activities. The endorphins are hitting me just now :).

mvua, lakini sikweli.

Tanzania is entering the "short rains" now that it is September. So far, it has "rained" twice, but actually just little showers. Yesterday when I was at the waterhole, I felt some drops and even heard thunder in the distance. There is nothing like rain in Africa after a dry season. It smells so fresh- no wonder the fragrance industry tries to replicate it for body mists. I admit, part of me was dreading dealing with rain, but this I can deal with. The temperature is such that I am comfortable is shorts and no sleeves, there is still enough wind to keep the bugs away, and the showers don't last very long... of course now that I have said that we are sure to get a downpour this afternoon!

Brownies... yes, BROWNIES!

Because the students just had arrived in Tanzania from America, some had all sorts of goodies. One gave me not only 3 pieces of home-made fudge, but a whole container of brownies. The brownies are gluten-free, but I am quite sure I crave the chocolate aspect and not the gluten in brownies. They have Andes mints melted on top too. Are you drooling? I am.

So now I have a couple things to figure out. 1) Will I be able to stick to a ration schedule to spread the brownie joy throughout many weeks? 2) Should I just down them all at once and bask in ecstasy? 3) If I have the willpower to ration brownies, what should the schedule be? Perhaps my friend didn't realize how my mind would be afflicted by such a gift.

I should probably mention, I was just as ecstatic to receive the Gladware container the brownies came in... a longer-lasting treat indeed.

Ingine game drive!

I was able to weasel my way into a night game drive with the students last night. We saw greater bushbabies, springhare, bushbuck, dikdik, a white mongoose (which I didn't see very well and therefore don't know the correct name), and bats. However, the most exciting encounter was with a wild cat who was hunting a puff adder in the road. Of course, the headlights scared off the wild cat, but it was still exciting to watch the puff adder slither off into the grass... very slowly!

Bwana Ndege

So the students visit was also an educational experience for me. There was an ornithologist who really knew his birds and was happy to teach even me. I have always been afflicted with a subtle indifference to bird life. At the waterhole when I am picking birds out of my book I often contemplate what it would be like to know all of the birds around without consulting a book. Ornithologists must be constantly entertained because there are almost always birds around. If not visible, their songs are audible and I can imagine it would be interesting to keep a daily list of birds encountered. However, birding is just not really for me. I thought if I could follow the ornithologist on his walk I might learn a thing or two. And I did and I am sure my research will benefit from it. If you are a birder, unlike me, take a look at Bwana Ndege's webpage: www.tanzaniabirding.com.

Where to begin...

I have had an action packed week! Last Thursday some students from America arrived and camped in my backyard. They will be in Tanzania for a semester and were very interested in everything around them. The staff and teachers were so welcoming and friendly that I was able to mooch 5 meals off of them, including FISH! Napenda samaki. Stephen anajua. I kind of had a reality check, as I have been getting more and more confident in my Swahili, but I realized that my Swahili conversations are really limited by the words I know. It was so nice to have intelligent conversations about conservation and sustainability without having to divert my focus to translating.

So the company was absolutely fabulous and I enjoyed every minute. They left this morning and the camp staff just finished packing and are loading into their car as well. I am left with only the whistle of the wind. However, I have decided to divert all my lonely energy into work. I have a to-do list that would make me cringe at home, but it is worse here because I would much rather go to the waterhole and enjoy my surroundings.