SAFARI

Serengeti Plains/Outer Wall of the Great Rift Valley

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Returned from safari 2 days ago. NO WORDS! Safaris to Serengeti and Great Rift Valley leave out of a northern city called Arusha, which is a 9 hour bus trip north from my town - it's near kenya. passed by Kilimanjaro on the way (I WILL RETURN) and then spent a night in Arusha with 3 volunteer friends. Took this awesome video of a lion stalking the car, one of elephant eating, and one of zebras crossing the road. Only the pictures can do it justice, truly...also saw elephants, zebras, giraffes, lions, baboons...took tons of pictures and videos.

All along the edge of the rift on the valley walls there are tiny villages - these northern tribes are called the Masai. These people are living a four hour drive from the nearest town (and, they don't drive). They're totally cut off. They hunt with spears and sell handmade things to the tourists on safari. Tanzanians speak their native tribe language (about 120 dif tribes), and Kiswahili, and sometimes english. I was able to converse with some Masai in Swahili and they had many questions about DC.

Thatched Masai Hut

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The Masai believe that if you take a picture of a person, a part of the soul is lost. I knew this coming into the situation, and I was taking a picture of something else and a Masai got really mad even though i made sure he wasn't in it. Generally Africans don't like white people taking pictures of them. Babu, the girls I live with, and the people I work with all are fine with it because they know I just like them and am not trying to bring the pictures back and talk down on them or anything. The kids at the orphanage LOVE pictures and always steal my camera to play with. Anyway, I don't have many pictures of people from the villages, which is a shame because the Masai are beautiful.

Also I met a Masai who is running a marathon in the U.S. in order to raise money to get his village clean drinking water. Isn't that amazing?? he's doing it completely in masai clothing (beaded sandals, wraparound sheets, and a walking stick and gigantic earrings) which is all well and good except for the shoes i'm going to find sponsors for sneakers because he'll mess up his knees, cartilidge, and probably his entire alignment unless he trains and runs in proper footwear. No definite news yet but let's just say i'm more than a little interested in both the idea of running a marathon and getting Masai clean water...so we'll see!!!

me and cait in the jeep (actually toyota) in ngorongoro crater

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I headed back from safari a day early to Arusha to see the Rwanda genocide tribunals, which are held in the city. Just when I thought my safari was over, I climbed into the dalla dalla and there were goats. Luckily, during the 3 hour ride there was not very much baa-ing, though some mysterious goat juice got on my bag when i had to put it on the floor to hold a little girl in my lap, because all of a sudden 27 (I counted) people got on.

Genocide trials - sat in all day and it was quite an experience. I saw a prosecutor who was really good and i saw a direct implicating witness against a single accused. The single accused was a catholic priest (Hutu) and the witness was testifying about seeing his stockpile of machetes to kill Tutsi priests...intense. ok well i gtg i love and miss you guys.