So here we are... Our time volunteering is over. Bittersweet for sure. Quite the eye opening experience. Glad to have done it. Looking forward to our vacation and then home. Miss family friends pets and American food for sure! Here are some parting words:
Things I won't miss
- smells: occasionally a whiff from a wood burning fire but mostly constant body odor, rotting veggies and general bad smells. There is one pharmacy that always smells so foul. I was wondering what the hospital smelled like and then I realized anatomy lab! They wash the floors w formeldehyde. I'm so sensitive to smells!
- power going out: and water for that matter. The inconvenient times it went out : at the supermarket, during dinner, at work, during a shower, during a movie, during a workout, the list goes on
- no gym: working out is integrated into my life and now Matt's . No gyms here really. I did a few home work outs but mostly a lot of walking. I miss crossfit
- the noise and busy-ness: people here are crowded and always talking, even at home w construction and what not. I like reading and peacefulness there wasn't much here.
- pollution: and dust. Asthma and allergies out of control
- being the center of attention: no blending in here. We were constantly being stared at, talked to, someone trying to get us to buy stuff
- the lack of treatment for animals: I didn't like seeing all the hungry strays
- the sickness : stuff that is preventable in the US
- the traffic: almost died every day! Would it kill someone to put a traffic light up or a stop sign here and there
- hand washing laundry: so much effort and in dirty water then it rains and then the line falls down.. We really have it easy at home
- the risks: between traffic and work risks ( infectious diseases, drawing blood on HIV + people) and random mosquito borne diseases , rabies it made me worry
-poverty: I see a lot in the US but without government aid sometimes it felt hopeless here
The cultural manner differences: from shoving off the daladala to sitting super close to me and not having sense of personal space to treating animals without respect
Things I may or may not miss
-the daladalas: so exciting and convenient but so cramped and broken down
- the food: some was tasty and I liked the fresh tropical fruit, the giant avocados, the fresh cut French fries , the chai tea, the chili sauce ( pili pili ) even the instant coffee was good but a lot was repetitive and bland and not something I will look for in the US .
- the wildlife: I obviously loved all the safari animals, but the bats, snakes, mice, bugs I could live without
The things I will miss
Safety: terrorism and violence is non existent here. No one has guns except military and they are old and rusty. The worst people would do is pick pocket you but no one even tried w me. I felt very safe sleeping at night even tho everyone knew where we lived. People just don't do horrible crimes here. Felt safer than Chicago or Indy
Cheapness: everything was less money here except safaris . Food and drink was cheap. I even got a massage for 25$ . Nails done for less than 2$! I like cheap for sure
The people! : yes there were some annoying ones buy my stuff! But mostly everyone was super friendly , welcoming, and wanted to say hello. They are very proud of their country. They smiled a lot. The staff at the hospital grew on me, the people in our house were great, and I made some foreign friends. The people here are not killing each other they are helping each other.
The sense of community: as I said even in poverty they aren't hurting each other they seem to help in any way. From giving an old lady some money for the bus, to pushing cars out of mud, they were there for each other. They especially helped other's kids. Kids usually take the daladala to school by themselves and people on the bus would sit them on their laps- even the daladala money collector would help them cross the street or carry them off the bus when they got off. I saw a lady hand a random kid a lollipop through the open bus window. Today I saw a man carry a scared kid over a puddle then go about his day. I loved it!
THE KIDS: cutest kids I've ever seen. Either staring w soulful brown eyes or smiling a huge smile they were so adorable. They always said Hi, how are you, and good morning ( even at night haha) and would yell it til they got a response then they were so happy. I loved hearing them belt out songs at the top of their lungs in the morning at school. I loved our neighbor kids who glared longingly at
the pool. I loved Matt's kids I met.
The environment: from the cool animals to the tropical plants to the weather ( when it wasn't raining it was sunny w a cool breeze
The medicine : such a change of pace from the hypertension and COPD that I see everyday back home. Now getting to learn about a lot of tropical diseases and treatments and the way culture figures into the medical treatment here
Helping others; I guess I kind of do this in my job but here I was purely around to do this!
The variety of things to do: restaurants, safaris, hiking , and so much more if we had time
The expat community: even though I wasn't really part of it I enjoyed watching it at the restaurants including some of the same people I saw every day while they were conducting business at restaurants etc
The free time: after work didn't have to worry about doing much- no crossfit no Cooking no chores really. I did a lot of reading since everything else was usually not available
The "newness": so much to explore , so much stimulation of the mind!
Hanging out w the love of my life: we never get to spend every day w each other as Matt travels for work and I sometimes work weekends. Matt put 110% in here and I was very proud of how hard he worked! Not going to lie sometimes this wasn't a walk in the park as we both have tempers, want to be right etc and with our environment here some crabbiness and bickering occurred but overall we bonded sharing this experience of a lifetime and will treasure it forever!
This was life changing and eye opening and Tanzania will have a soft spot in my heart. Til we meet again!
I will try to keep writing about the rest of our travels as i want to start journaling my traveling. Thanks for reading and for all those who donated - I know the kids were appreciative! Xoxo
Friday, February 12, 2016
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Random thoughts
some random thoughts before I write the last day post tomorrow :(
- again today I helped out a lot in the hospital.. Drawing blood, checking blood sugars and blood pressures, writing notes, powwowing w my attending about plans, teaching Med students, doing discharges. If only I had another month and also more grasp of the language
- there was a major storm yesterday night and I worried about the cats. Turns out one of the kittens was hiding behind our tv! It was so little and cute and scared. I'm sure going to worry about them when I leave
- Matt is trying to teach his kids some manners/ good behavior. They get away w it bc everyone is busy trying to make the actual place function. They trash their toys and in general run amok. Matt tried to show one the right way to pick up a cat after a kid picked it up by the ear! One also tried to give Matt their nasty used tissue, one threw a spider on a volunteer after she said she was scared, and Matt won't answer them if they call to him as Mzungu as they know his name.
- saw some kids throwing rocks at a dog . Boo!
- Allen about Americans " they love all the little animals but they hate the bugs!"
- everyone's teeth here are completely brown and destroyed . I looked it up- apparently from too much fluoride in the water. Didn't know this was a thing but sad, they should fix this
- saw a kid late to school- teacher whacked him w a ruler. Didn't know this was still a thing. Sad. Guess it is learned from the German schooling system
- so much construction at our House. Annoying bc they tear down the clothesline . We got home early one day and Matt said one guy was outside naked spraying himself w a hose haha
- I love the daladala names. Wanted to pay someone to decorate one for me. Besides Tony and Disneyland, there is The Sniper, Rick Ross, Crime Scene , Faithbook ( decorated like facebook), work hard pray hard and my favorite Thanks Jesus ( is this for real or to be said in a sarcastic tone?)
- noticed whenever we buy something the person is then blowing the money quickly haha. Bought a tingatinga painting ( special painting w childlike animals) and five minutes later the man was at he next door bar we went to
- also love the shirt sayings, esp when worn by an old woman who doesn't speak English , "this just got real awkward", "hit it pimp it, "Spartan cheerleading, "y'all come back now y'all hear". Have seen Chicago park district shirt, IU, Marquette dentistry, and a ton of different 5k shirts. There is a large market that sells literal tons of used clothes - wondering how US donated clothes end up getting sold
- people buy their "cell plans" by purchasing frequent cards that have a code. I got a one week unlimited but apparently after going to 10 stores they aren't selling them this week.
- since some people live without power, there is a big kiosk at the market with like a thousand outlets where u can pay to charge your phone for the day...Matt says this must be very slow. I find it fascinating that in these countries everyone seems to have a phone or most, two, including a smart phone ( apparently one company better for Internet one better for SMS). I have two phones one I bought here and my iPhone.
- there are little tables on the sidewalk w "tech people " with screwdrivers and such that can apparently fix your phone
- you can get your nails done on the street for 2$ including designs!
- a 16 oz bottle of Coke here costs like 35 cents!
- diet things are hard to find ( Diet Coke like 20 cents more) I guess bc most people need the calories!
- I have seen more people w albinism than I have noticed before in the US ( maybe just bias?) Allen said they used to disappear and everyone wondered why. Well as I have read, they are killed or limbs chopped off and used as a remedy by witch doctors. Allen says this no longer happens but I just read an article where it is still bad here ( Despite outlawing witch doctors last year) and a lot were just
moved over to Kenya.
- no one has even tried to pick pocket my stuff. That being said I'm still careful But going about every day life I can't be ubermilitant
- Allen says when you are invited to a wedding here you first get an invite asking you to pay a fee ( 25$ per couple going rate) then you pay and get an invite and are still expected to bring a gift. And you basically have to go as it is part of the culture
- marina went to a Muslim wedding here and after the short ceremony that she Wasn't allowed to attend the girls were all separated from the guys. Everyone ate then the bride came out and everyone Carried gifts to her- I'm talking about a fridge, bed, washer etc! Then it was over!
- again today I helped out a lot in the hospital.. Drawing blood, checking blood sugars and blood pressures, writing notes, powwowing w my attending about plans, teaching Med students, doing discharges. If only I had another month and also more grasp of the language
- there was a major storm yesterday night and I worried about the cats. Turns out one of the kittens was hiding behind our tv! It was so little and cute and scared. I'm sure going to worry about them when I leave
- Matt is trying to teach his kids some manners/ good behavior. They get away w it bc everyone is busy trying to make the actual place function. They trash their toys and in general run amok. Matt tried to show one the right way to pick up a cat after a kid picked it up by the ear! One also tried to give Matt their nasty used tissue, one threw a spider on a volunteer after she said she was scared, and Matt won't answer them if they call to him as Mzungu as they know his name.
- saw some kids throwing rocks at a dog . Boo!
- Allen about Americans " they love all the little animals but they hate the bugs!"
- everyone's teeth here are completely brown and destroyed . I looked it up- apparently from too much fluoride in the water. Didn't know this was a thing but sad, they should fix this
- saw a kid late to school- teacher whacked him w a ruler. Didn't know this was still a thing. Sad. Guess it is learned from the German schooling system
- so much construction at our House. Annoying bc they tear down the clothesline . We got home early one day and Matt said one guy was outside naked spraying himself w a hose haha
- I love the daladala names. Wanted to pay someone to decorate one for me. Besides Tony and Disneyland, there is The Sniper, Rick Ross, Crime Scene , Faithbook ( decorated like facebook), work hard pray hard and my favorite Thanks Jesus ( is this for real or to be said in a sarcastic tone?)
- noticed whenever we buy something the person is then blowing the money quickly haha. Bought a tingatinga painting ( special painting w childlike animals) and five minutes later the man was at he next door bar we went to
- also love the shirt sayings, esp when worn by an old woman who doesn't speak English , "this just got real awkward", "hit it pimp it, "Spartan cheerleading, "y'all come back now y'all hear". Have seen Chicago park district shirt, IU, Marquette dentistry, and a ton of different 5k shirts. There is a large market that sells literal tons of used clothes - wondering how US donated clothes end up getting sold
- people buy their "cell plans" by purchasing frequent cards that have a code. I got a one week unlimited but apparently after going to 10 stores they aren't selling them this week.
- since some people live without power, there is a big kiosk at the market with like a thousand outlets where u can pay to charge your phone for the day...Matt says this must be very slow. I find it fascinating that in these countries everyone seems to have a phone or most, two, including a smart phone ( apparently one company better for Internet one better for SMS). I have two phones one I bought here and my iPhone.
- there are little tables on the sidewalk w "tech people " with screwdrivers and such that can apparently fix your phone
- you can get your nails done on the street for 2$ including designs!
- a 16 oz bottle of Coke here costs like 35 cents!
- diet things are hard to find ( Diet Coke like 20 cents more) I guess bc most people need the calories!
- I have seen more people w albinism than I have noticed before in the US ( maybe just bias?) Allen said they used to disappear and everyone wondered why. Well as I have read, they are killed or limbs chopped off and used as a remedy by witch doctors. Allen says this no longer happens but I just read an article where it is still bad here ( Despite outlawing witch doctors last year) and a lot were just
moved over to Kenya.
- no one has even tried to pick pocket my stuff. That being said I'm still careful But going about every day life I can't be ubermilitant
- Allen says when you are invited to a wedding here you first get an invite asking you to pay a fee ( 25$ per couple going rate) then you pay and get an invite and are still expected to bring a gift. And you basically have to go as it is part of the culture
- marina went to a Muslim wedding here and after the short ceremony that she Wasn't allowed to attend the girls were all separated from the guys. Everyone ate then the bride came out and everyone Carried gifts to her- I'm talking about a fridge, bed, washer etc! Then it was over!
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Last week
sadly, the last week here. Which I guess is bittersweet. Had a great experience but definitely were out of our comfort zone and got comfortable with being uncomfortable.
A lot of the same this week, saw Matt and his kid again at St Elizabeth's. He is doing great with the kids considering he has never really taken care of kids before. He bought her a snack on the way home. He told me a funny story of how they left him in a room with the naked twin babies in a tub and they both immediately started wailing but he figured out what to do to bathe them and calm them down.
Actually today, I had much more responsibility at the hospital. My attending was not feeling well and basically shoved the charts at me and said "here you do it". At first I thought she was kidding but when she didn't go into the wards with me I realized I was in charge. Thankfully the first patient's son spoke English, as did the nurse, but not enough for me to explain different things like why the kidney function was off. As I suspected, I was much better prepared to do this a few weeks in when I learned their shorthand, systems, what meds they used, saw more of the endemic diseases etc. so I bumbled through with the help of some Med students ( all people at that level are fairly fluent in English and it seems like English is the medical language here - charts written in it etc, so good for me). The attending eventually came but basically was like my translator. I even did two discharges myself. Great with two more days left haha I wish I had more time. I drew a little boys blood and he screamed and I got some on the sheets ( that they have to wash by hand has anyone seen American horror story hotel? That laundry lady? Haha). We were perplexed by his abdominal pain etc the last few days and his mom today was like oh by the way he has sickle cell disease. Well that's the culprit! It's interesting how these things come up. I'd say the unique things about the patients here is everyone is grateful, no ones whining, no one is even carrying on about pain - which in the US is sometimes legit sometimes not ( and all they get is ibuprofen. Funny story Matt's coworker Allen was complaining about a headache and Matt gave him some ibuprofen and he thought it was a miracle drug...if only this was the case in the US), everyone is respectful to doctors and don't refer to the female ones as "nurse" , and family is ALWAYS present ( nothing worse in the US when you have a confused patient and no one answers the phone). Obesity is rare-ish so it is easy to get a good physical exam and draw blood. It's crazy how different the diseases are here- Africans are succumbing to these infections that with better sanitation,water, education would not happen while in the US they are succumbing to ones of excess and vices- food, drugs, alcohol. Drug use besides marijuana is unheard of here and alcoholism is fairly rare. So both counties have some work to do.
Speaking of medicine, Nelsons girlfriend from Rwanda cornered me as she found out I'm a doctor. As English is her 4th language it was hard to get all of it out leading to her showing me prescriptions written in French from the hospital. The whole issue ended up being she is scared she'll never have a baby. the rest of the story was interesting from a cultural perspective about marriage and the importance of babies as opposed to career. I think I explained some helpful things to her in the end. Matt was outside as the guys had barbecued meat to eat by a bonfire which "goes good with konyagi (gin) " according to Nelson. Needless to say the boy convo outside got spicy and I don't think Nelson is really thinking about creating babies haha. That brings me to the relationship dynamic here - even though she came to visit he does his own thing and she is mostly left to the couch ( listening to the same song over and over and taking selfies). The guys tend to socialize and go out with the guys and the women are left behind. One time she was on the couch and he was outside on a chair texting and playing on his phone for hours. Apparently it is common to have "little houses" or other side relationships which I think is the case as he is always out when she is back home.
Another roach in our bedroom. I got it quickly w a shoe. Maybe came through the window? Tanzanians, interestingly enough, don't really believe in screens as the dust collected is harmful. I wish this wasn't the logic. Now we need to close the window and it is so stuffy! Ugh all night I wake up thinking of bugs crawling on me. At least we found a hedgehog meandering in the backyard - I can't get enough of those!
Starting to pack up.. We overestimated some things like too much sunscreen etc so worried about making the low weight limit for the flight to Dar. Matt is putting the kibosh on more souvenirs so barely bought anything! Maybe in South Africa. I know I'll be wearing like 3 sweatshirts and loading my pockets with heavy things for this flight...sigh!
A lot of the same this week, saw Matt and his kid again at St Elizabeth's. He is doing great with the kids considering he has never really taken care of kids before. He bought her a snack on the way home. He told me a funny story of how they left him in a room with the naked twin babies in a tub and they both immediately started wailing but he figured out what to do to bathe them and calm them down.
Actually today, I had much more responsibility at the hospital. My attending was not feeling well and basically shoved the charts at me and said "here you do it". At first I thought she was kidding but when she didn't go into the wards with me I realized I was in charge. Thankfully the first patient's son spoke English, as did the nurse, but not enough for me to explain different things like why the kidney function was off. As I suspected, I was much better prepared to do this a few weeks in when I learned their shorthand, systems, what meds they used, saw more of the endemic diseases etc. so I bumbled through with the help of some Med students ( all people at that level are fairly fluent in English and it seems like English is the medical language here - charts written in it etc, so good for me). The attending eventually came but basically was like my translator. I even did two discharges myself. Great with two more days left haha I wish I had more time. I drew a little boys blood and he screamed and I got some on the sheets ( that they have to wash by hand has anyone seen American horror story hotel? That laundry lady? Haha). We were perplexed by his abdominal pain etc the last few days and his mom today was like oh by the way he has sickle cell disease. Well that's the culprit! It's interesting how these things come up. I'd say the unique things about the patients here is everyone is grateful, no ones whining, no one is even carrying on about pain - which in the US is sometimes legit sometimes not ( and all they get is ibuprofen. Funny story Matt's coworker Allen was complaining about a headache and Matt gave him some ibuprofen and he thought it was a miracle drug...if only this was the case in the US), everyone is respectful to doctors and don't refer to the female ones as "nurse" , and family is ALWAYS present ( nothing worse in the US when you have a confused patient and no one answers the phone). Obesity is rare-ish so it is easy to get a good physical exam and draw blood. It's crazy how different the diseases are here- Africans are succumbing to these infections that with better sanitation,water, education would not happen while in the US they are succumbing to ones of excess and vices- food, drugs, alcohol. Drug use besides marijuana is unheard of here and alcoholism is fairly rare. So both counties have some work to do.
Speaking of medicine, Nelsons girlfriend from Rwanda cornered me as she found out I'm a doctor. As English is her 4th language it was hard to get all of it out leading to her showing me prescriptions written in French from the hospital. The whole issue ended up being she is scared she'll never have a baby. the rest of the story was interesting from a cultural perspective about marriage and the importance of babies as opposed to career. I think I explained some helpful things to her in the end. Matt was outside as the guys had barbecued meat to eat by a bonfire which "goes good with konyagi (gin) " according to Nelson. Needless to say the boy convo outside got spicy and I don't think Nelson is really thinking about creating babies haha. That brings me to the relationship dynamic here - even though she came to visit he does his own thing and she is mostly left to the couch ( listening to the same song over and over and taking selfies). The guys tend to socialize and go out with the guys and the women are left behind. One time she was on the couch and he was outside on a chair texting and playing on his phone for hours. Apparently it is common to have "little houses" or other side relationships which I think is the case as he is always out when she is back home.
Another roach in our bedroom. I got it quickly w a shoe. Maybe came through the window? Tanzanians, interestingly enough, don't really believe in screens as the dust collected is harmful. I wish this wasn't the logic. Now we need to close the window and it is so stuffy! Ugh all night I wake up thinking of bugs crawling on me. At least we found a hedgehog meandering in the backyard - I can't get enough of those!
Starting to pack up.. We overestimated some things like too much sunscreen etc so worried about making the low weight limit for the flight to Dar. Matt is putting the kibosh on more souvenirs so barely bought anything! Maybe in South Africa. I know I'll be wearing like 3 sweatshirts and loading my pockets with heavy things for this flight...sigh!
Monday, February 8, 2016
Last weekend here
sad to see our last weekend come and go. Saturday we drove to Mount Kilimanjaro. Very beautiful over there but farther than I thought (like 2.5 hours). We could see the mountain from the distance but later it disappeared into the clouds. We first toured a cave- very cool history. In the 1700s the chagga ( mountain people) and Maasai were constantly battling over land bc of a drought. So there was a lot of war and killing. The Chagga built elaborate cave systems to hide... With interesting methods to trick the Maasai . They also would hide and use a long stick "skull crusher" to kill them when they came in ( side note I saw this European girl carrying one as she walked in the street the other day...guess no one will mug her). The Maasai would try to smoke them out w chili oil but the chagga would block it w cow hides. The Maasai would drop rocks in their vent holes to locate the caves; the Chaggas would hold water buckets under so they falsely thought it was just a well.
After that we walked down lots of stairs to a beautiful waterfall. Matt and Bryson crossed the river and were gone a long time. Turns out Matt was like bouldering up to get near the waterfall. He said it was really hard and slippery. I tried but didn't get far. It was pretty strenuous and dangerous. I fell and Almost broke something haha. The climb back up the the stairs was brutal. After that we went to Kilimanjaro and saw people coming back from climbs and saw the start point etc. I had total FOMO ( fear of missing out). Climbing mount kili has always been on my bucket list. Soon I hope! Some old man lead us through a field telling us we'd have a good view of the mountain. Turns out he was wrong. We did see a liver in a glass box outside a house (??). When people say " this is Africa " I now know they mean you'll never know what you'll see. Like a lady wrapping a live chicken in a shawl and carrying it in her purse, the goat emerging from a car trunk, or the flamingo just chilling waiting for the bus w the locals.
Yesterday was probably the only free lazy day we will have on this journey. We left for town around 1030 am then walked for lunch at Fifis. I had couscous salad and some beet juice it felt so good. Over here you can pay a pool fee at fancy hotels so we walked to mount meru hotel I heard they had a good pool. Which they did although some big Dutch group was taking all the chairs. So we laid on towels in the grass, had a cocktail and as soon as they left I grabbed the chairs ( so competitive). At one point I felt like the " pool bouncer " let a ton of locals in probably for a kickback which was annoying as they were very rowdy haha. I like my pools to be tranquil ( this seems to never happen between kids and drunks) . Of course then it looked like rain so we taxied back to the main restaurant area and had some chips and dip while we waited to get the dala home. Then later Matt watched the Chelsea game ( big fans thank gosh in our house including the "mama"/cook)
Later that night we had some excitement. Part of the fun of this trip is experiencing new things w my partner aka Matt and this trip I learned his insane fear/disgust of cockroaches or as we call them, "papa roaches". There is a nasty bathroom in the room where we keep our clothes and Matt is fixated on it because he saw some there. He literally checks on them every day with his flashlight and tries to block the door so they can't come in. I personally would rather not think about it. But he loves talking about what they are doing. Sometimes I tell him fake facts like if you step on them their eggs will pop out and make tons of babies. His eyes get real wide haha. He even used my suitcase to try to barricade our bedroom! Well last night as we were getting ready for bed he started screaming " there's one on the wall"!! Sure enough there was and it flew towards his bed ("they can fly?!" he screamed.). I don't think I've ever seen him this unraveled. So I guess
I was then in charge of killing it ( I felt bad but not bad enough) even though they give me the heebies too. Amid Matt's pleas of he'll give me anything I want if I kill it haha ( should have taken time to think about what to ask for I really think he would have given me anything at this point- free pass on clothes shopping?) I kept trying to get it but it was hiding and flying and I was screaming and almost fell off the bunk bed ... But it finally sucombed. And we still didn't sleep well. I keep hearing noises like little scurrying ( not to mention all the weird noises outside of animals I can't place). And the other night as I sat outside feeding the cat bats were like dive bombing my head so I had to go in. This AM I brought my plate to the kitchen and a black mouse rat popped his head over from behind the counter ( I have to admit he was cute). And on our walk a dead hedgehog roadkill. I think I might have had enough of nature at this point and am ready for a hotel!
After that we walked down lots of stairs to a beautiful waterfall. Matt and Bryson crossed the river and were gone a long time. Turns out Matt was like bouldering up to get near the waterfall. He said it was really hard and slippery. I tried but didn't get far. It was pretty strenuous and dangerous. I fell and Almost broke something haha. The climb back up the the stairs was brutal. After that we went to Kilimanjaro and saw people coming back from climbs and saw the start point etc. I had total FOMO ( fear of missing out). Climbing mount kili has always been on my bucket list. Soon I hope! Some old man lead us through a field telling us we'd have a good view of the mountain. Turns out he was wrong. We did see a liver in a glass box outside a house (??). When people say " this is Africa " I now know they mean you'll never know what you'll see. Like a lady wrapping a live chicken in a shawl and carrying it in her purse, the goat emerging from a car trunk, or the flamingo just chilling waiting for the bus w the locals.
Yesterday was probably the only free lazy day we will have on this journey. We left for town around 1030 am then walked for lunch at Fifis. I had couscous salad and some beet juice it felt so good. Over here you can pay a pool fee at fancy hotels so we walked to mount meru hotel I heard they had a good pool. Which they did although some big Dutch group was taking all the chairs. So we laid on towels in the grass, had a cocktail and as soon as they left I grabbed the chairs ( so competitive). At one point I felt like the " pool bouncer " let a ton of locals in probably for a kickback which was annoying as they were very rowdy haha. I like my pools to be tranquil ( this seems to never happen between kids and drunks) . Of course then it looked like rain so we taxied back to the main restaurant area and had some chips and dip while we waited to get the dala home. Then later Matt watched the Chelsea game ( big fans thank gosh in our house including the "mama"/cook)
Later that night we had some excitement. Part of the fun of this trip is experiencing new things w my partner aka Matt and this trip I learned his insane fear/disgust of cockroaches or as we call them, "papa roaches". There is a nasty bathroom in the room where we keep our clothes and Matt is fixated on it because he saw some there. He literally checks on them every day with his flashlight and tries to block the door so they can't come in. I personally would rather not think about it. But he loves talking about what they are doing. Sometimes I tell him fake facts like if you step on them their eggs will pop out and make tons of babies. His eyes get real wide haha. He even used my suitcase to try to barricade our bedroom! Well last night as we were getting ready for bed he started screaming " there's one on the wall"!! Sure enough there was and it flew towards his bed ("they can fly?!" he screamed.). I don't think I've ever seen him this unraveled. So I guess
I was then in charge of killing it ( I felt bad but not bad enough) even though they give me the heebies too. Amid Matt's pleas of he'll give me anything I want if I kill it haha ( should have taken time to think about what to ask for I really think he would have given me anything at this point- free pass on clothes shopping?) I kept trying to get it but it was hiding and flying and I was screaming and almost fell off the bunk bed ... But it finally sucombed. And we still didn't sleep well. I keep hearing noises like little scurrying ( not to mention all the weird noises outside of animals I can't place). And the other night as I sat outside feeding the cat bats were like dive bombing my head so I had to go in. This AM I brought my plate to the kitchen and a black mouse rat popped his head over from behind the counter ( I have to admit he was cute). And on our walk a dead hedgehog roadkill. I think I might have had enough of nature at this point and am ready for a hotel!
Friday, February 5, 2016
Happenings this week
there always seems like a decent amount of things to blog about, considering this country is totally different for us. Everything is going fairly well, hope it stays that way. In my spare time besides exploring and eating or doing laundry haha I have been planning our South Africa trip- such a popular time and thus a lot of things have to be booked far in advance leading to a few disappointments. There is so much to see and drink and eat there. It is going to be a totally different experience than this one starting with a big bed ( I've noticed mattresses here are just pieces of foam) and a stand up shower. Oh and wine. Obviously one wants to be more comfortable but I am glad to experience "real living" here and actually somewhat jive into the community. That is always the best way to experience a country. These people flying in for the pre planned safari circuit are having a totally different time than us. Which is fine as we are here for a reason and their money helps this country ( an all inclusive night in the ngorongoro lodge is like 1500$!) . We do hope to come back as more of tourists and already have an itinery set ( climb mt kili as that is on my bucket list, Serengeti safari, then Zanzibar island) and would love our families to experience this amazing country.
Meanwhile in the hospital: I've gotten into my groove of working w two other physicians. The way of medicine here is just different ( like learning Italian after already speaking French) but I'm picking up on it. They use so many different antibiotics that we "retired" in the US. Some of the things I don't agree with ( using an old antipsychotic that requires close blood monitoring but then not doing the blood monitoring) so it is hard sometimes but overall they work w what they have (still marveling on how limited it is) and for the most part the patients get better at least from what I can see so something is working. It would be interesting to see the bigger university hospital as we have to refer some complicated patients there ( I'm used to being the best hospital as IU is the last stop for people from around a decent chunk of the Midwest). I've seen some more "cool" cases such as toxoplasmosis of the brain , "tropical spleen", Brucella (had to look this one up as I haven't heard of it since Med school basically bacteria found in raw beef and unpasteurized milk and only found in US in certain areas in the NW), typhoid,and a lot more malaria. Tb, and HIV. Sad case of a 29 yr old who came in short of breath , whole left lung whited out w fluid, tried to tap but grossly bloody. Has ascites (belly fluid) tapped some off bloody too. This suggests malignancy - lung? Pt so young! But family is wanting her discharged bc they need to find money for a CT scan (150$ here which is a lot even for Americans). I don't know how they would afford treatment even though my gut tells me it is pointless, but I hope they are able to at least take her to the big hospital to evaluate further. Another pt died, it seems to happen so suddenly here and I never see it coming. Another sad case of a 13 yr old boy w HIV ( I guess they consider anyone at that age "adult") who came in basically unresponsive - diagnosis cryptococcal meningitis and malaria. I thought he was done for. He was so underweight and just looked so angelic. I brushed the flies off his face bc he couldn't and I wanted him to at least die w some dignity as it was unsettling. Mom ( well aunt as his parents died of the disease) was trying to find money to pay for the Iv meds ( I was thinking of some way to slip her money if she couldn't bc it was just all so sad but she got some from relatives). Anyways, the meds took hold and worked! Kids are fighters. Every day he looked better and better ( even went nuts when we had to draw his blood) and was discharged! Happy ending for at least now ( the sad reality is he probably won't live long w HIV and apparently not really taking his meds- in the US the adult would be reported and taken to court I'm sure). Another pt today keeps spitting out her meds and is not getting much better ( we suspect she has some mental illness as she keeps mumbling to herself but for me I would want to investigate further to make sure that is not just an effect of the bacterial infection but docs just give her meds to be quiet ) and now her family wants to take her home so she can get prayed over. In the US we would then question the sanity of the relative but here this is definitely cultural. Witch doctors are also common here and definitely for the Maasai most have seen the witch doctor before coming to the hospital ( some of the remedies make sense like how they found the quinine tree which can cure malaria but most is not going to cure these illnesses)
I told Matt he should blog at least once a week haha so he can tell you more but basically still dividing his time between the orphanage and the villages. They acted quickly w some of the money our family donated and bought all that food and meds and delivered them to the village. A village elder made a speech about how grateful they were and 30 families ( a family is a pretty large unit here bc it doesn't just mean immediate relation) that had kids deemed to be high risk for starvation were given the food ( if they don't have food they not only starve but don't take their HIV meds). And the antibiotics were given to 100 kids as well. Each family rep thanked Matt individually. I bet that meant a lot. The goal is to one day be Able to give families means to be more independent like a chicken coop so they can sell eggs ( tried giving each a rooster and chicken before but some families just ate them right away!) but this planning takes time and hopefully something we can help w in the future.
Kind of like intertwining reality shows, Matt and a little girl showed up at my hospital yesterday! He takes the kids for their HIV check ups. They said she would know what to do but she didn't really and I couldn't help too much bc I'm not working in that clinic. But luckily a "mama" saw our situation and pointed her the right way. It was a lot of waiting and of course our machine was broken so she will have to come back and get her counts checked. A lot of inefficiency for sure . Matt had come at one time before and the doctor was "busy" . He also took a little girl to the dentist to consult for pulling her teeth, so then she had to come back, but had a fever so they couldn't pull it. She missed two days of school and so much time due to this. Such is life here I guess.
In other experiences this week I went to the Tamzanite museum. Tamzanite is only found here by Kilimanjaro so it is 1000x more rare than diamonds. And apparently limited supply so it will disappear soon. I heard about the mining process and they say it's ethical but would have to look into it more if ever bought one. They are beautiful blue, violet, and burgundy stones but obviously $$. Maybe one day.
And the other cool thing: I had a dress made for me. ( to matts chagrin- " why do you need to buy more clothes??" Maybe after another few years of marriage he will stop asking this haha) I partly wanted the dress and partly wanted the experience. It was definitely that. I went into a section of town w fabrics near the central market. Of course they were on me likes sharks to chum in two seconds. I was a bit nervous the whole time, w my bag and being taken around in a crowded place. But went to a shop and spent time picking out the perfect fabric and bargaining a lot. Then talking to the seamstress and picking out a dress from a catalogue ( hard to tell as all the ladies in it were definitely not models nor were the photos taken professionally) and picked one for her to make w a matching bag. And I have enough material left over for a headscarf if I wanted. The dress is beautiful but a little hard to get in and out of as it has a side zipper. The whole process was fun but somewhat tarnished as everyone wanted a piece of the pie- as soon as I showed up back to the shop instantly the 3 men that had been leading me around showed up out of the woodwork ( one who brought me to the shop, one who brought me to the fabric store and tried to get me to another market one that showed me his souvenir shop- shoddy goods he was trying to sell for an insane amount of money) . I firmly told the one I didn't want to go back to his shop and pay 20$ for a smal wood giraffe, I told the other I didn't want to go to the market (he's like well give me a tip like you promised. I did? And for what?) and the other wanted a tip too and was like demanding it ( I was like I just gave your shop business! And they probably charged me more ). So I basically brushed them off and the other randoms in the street. Seriously the hustling is the most annoying part. I get it, they see a Mzungu and think they are an atm but it gets tiring as someone who likes to walk and not be bothered . My first day wandering one guy followed me into the museum and literally would not leave for an hour. Blech. So now I'm kind of rude ( I'm sure some people say hi and ask how I am to be nice and it is sad I have to ignore them ) but it cuts down on the following and hustling.
Tonight we are getting dinner, tomorrow Kilimanjaro I think just to go to the park, and Sunday our first day of "nothing". Change wait
Meanwhile in the hospital: I've gotten into my groove of working w two other physicians. The way of medicine here is just different ( like learning Italian after already speaking French) but I'm picking up on it. They use so many different antibiotics that we "retired" in the US. Some of the things I don't agree with ( using an old antipsychotic that requires close blood monitoring but then not doing the blood monitoring) so it is hard sometimes but overall they work w what they have (still marveling on how limited it is) and for the most part the patients get better at least from what I can see so something is working. It would be interesting to see the bigger university hospital as we have to refer some complicated patients there ( I'm used to being the best hospital as IU is the last stop for people from around a decent chunk of the Midwest). I've seen some more "cool" cases such as toxoplasmosis of the brain , "tropical spleen", Brucella (had to look this one up as I haven't heard of it since Med school basically bacteria found in raw beef and unpasteurized milk and only found in US in certain areas in the NW), typhoid,and a lot more malaria. Tb, and HIV. Sad case of a 29 yr old who came in short of breath , whole left lung whited out w fluid, tried to tap but grossly bloody. Has ascites (belly fluid) tapped some off bloody too. This suggests malignancy - lung? Pt so young! But family is wanting her discharged bc they need to find money for a CT scan (150$ here which is a lot even for Americans). I don't know how they would afford treatment even though my gut tells me it is pointless, but I hope they are able to at least take her to the big hospital to evaluate further. Another pt died, it seems to happen so suddenly here and I never see it coming. Another sad case of a 13 yr old boy w HIV ( I guess they consider anyone at that age "adult") who came in basically unresponsive - diagnosis cryptococcal meningitis and malaria. I thought he was done for. He was so underweight and just looked so angelic. I brushed the flies off his face bc he couldn't and I wanted him to at least die w some dignity as it was unsettling. Mom ( well aunt as his parents died of the disease) was trying to find money to pay for the Iv meds ( I was thinking of some way to slip her money if she couldn't bc it was just all so sad but she got some from relatives). Anyways, the meds took hold and worked! Kids are fighters. Every day he looked better and better ( even went nuts when we had to draw his blood) and was discharged! Happy ending for at least now ( the sad reality is he probably won't live long w HIV and apparently not really taking his meds- in the US the adult would be reported and taken to court I'm sure). Another pt today keeps spitting out her meds and is not getting much better ( we suspect she has some mental illness as she keeps mumbling to herself but for me I would want to investigate further to make sure that is not just an effect of the bacterial infection but docs just give her meds to be quiet ) and now her family wants to take her home so she can get prayed over. In the US we would then question the sanity of the relative but here this is definitely cultural. Witch doctors are also common here and definitely for the Maasai most have seen the witch doctor before coming to the hospital ( some of the remedies make sense like how they found the quinine tree which can cure malaria but most is not going to cure these illnesses)
I told Matt he should blog at least once a week haha so he can tell you more but basically still dividing his time between the orphanage and the villages. They acted quickly w some of the money our family donated and bought all that food and meds and delivered them to the village. A village elder made a speech about how grateful they were and 30 families ( a family is a pretty large unit here bc it doesn't just mean immediate relation) that had kids deemed to be high risk for starvation were given the food ( if they don't have food they not only starve but don't take their HIV meds). And the antibiotics were given to 100 kids as well. Each family rep thanked Matt individually. I bet that meant a lot. The goal is to one day be Able to give families means to be more independent like a chicken coop so they can sell eggs ( tried giving each a rooster and chicken before but some families just ate them right away!) but this planning takes time and hopefully something we can help w in the future.
Kind of like intertwining reality shows, Matt and a little girl showed up at my hospital yesterday! He takes the kids for their HIV check ups. They said she would know what to do but she didn't really and I couldn't help too much bc I'm not working in that clinic. But luckily a "mama" saw our situation and pointed her the right way. It was a lot of waiting and of course our machine was broken so she will have to come back and get her counts checked. A lot of inefficiency for sure . Matt had come at one time before and the doctor was "busy" . He also took a little girl to the dentist to consult for pulling her teeth, so then she had to come back, but had a fever so they couldn't pull it. She missed two days of school and so much time due to this. Such is life here I guess.
In other experiences this week I went to the Tamzanite museum. Tamzanite is only found here by Kilimanjaro so it is 1000x more rare than diamonds. And apparently limited supply so it will disappear soon. I heard about the mining process and they say it's ethical but would have to look into it more if ever bought one. They are beautiful blue, violet, and burgundy stones but obviously $$. Maybe one day.
And the other cool thing: I had a dress made for me. ( to matts chagrin- " why do you need to buy more clothes??" Maybe after another few years of marriage he will stop asking this haha) I partly wanted the dress and partly wanted the experience. It was definitely that. I went into a section of town w fabrics near the central market. Of course they were on me likes sharks to chum in two seconds. I was a bit nervous the whole time, w my bag and being taken around in a crowded place. But went to a shop and spent time picking out the perfect fabric and bargaining a lot. Then talking to the seamstress and picking out a dress from a catalogue ( hard to tell as all the ladies in it were definitely not models nor were the photos taken professionally) and picked one for her to make w a matching bag. And I have enough material left over for a headscarf if I wanted. The dress is beautiful but a little hard to get in and out of as it has a side zipper. The whole process was fun but somewhat tarnished as everyone wanted a piece of the pie- as soon as I showed up back to the shop instantly the 3 men that had been leading me around showed up out of the woodwork ( one who brought me to the shop, one who brought me to the fabric store and tried to get me to another market one that showed me his souvenir shop- shoddy goods he was trying to sell for an insane amount of money) . I firmly told the one I didn't want to go back to his shop and pay 20$ for a smal wood giraffe, I told the other I didn't want to go to the market (he's like well give me a tip like you promised. I did? And for what?) and the other wanted a tip too and was like demanding it ( I was like I just gave your shop business! And they probably charged me more ). So I basically brushed them off and the other randoms in the street. Seriously the hustling is the most annoying part. I get it, they see a Mzungu and think they are an atm but it gets tiring as someone who likes to walk and not be bothered . My first day wandering one guy followed me into the museum and literally would not leave for an hour. Blech. So now I'm kind of rude ( I'm sure some people say hi and ask how I am to be nice and it is sad I have to ignore them ) but it cuts down on the following and hustling.
Tonight we are getting dinner, tomorrow Kilimanjaro I think just to go to the park, and Sunday our first day of "nothing". Change wait
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Third week
It's our third week here and I feel like we are really settling in. Like culture shock is gone and things seem fairly normal. I see a lot of ex pats here and feel like one of them, though I know our time is coming to an end quite soon. I've also learned a good handful of Kiswahili words and could see myself getting conversational if I was here about a year. There are some things I am going to really miss and others I will not for sure haha. Like washing laundry by hand- so much work to get water, scrub, change water, ring out, hang then some dirt still isn't out. And then sometimes it rains. I'm going to look at the washer and dryer differently when I get home ( and I already felt shafted as we don't have an in unit set haha).
The traffic here is just nuts. I've seen one traffic light my whole time here and not even sure it works. Every day is survival of the traffic. I'm really not joking. No place is safe. I feel like frogger every day. People drive wherever they want ... Especially the motorcycles who make their own lanes and weave in and out. No one yields to pedestrians. Which would be fine if like in England there was crosswalks. But no everyone walks everywhere. People drive on sidewalks. If you think it's safe to cross it's like the eye of the tornado..: all of a sudden a daladala will come out of nowhere and barrel towards you ( true story). Cars whip around corners without looking so it's literally never safe to cross. Look as much as you can and pray. Already had lots of close calls. I worry about Matt when he's gone at work. We've already technically gotten into a car accident here lol ( don't worry it was so minor at least for us a daladala whipped into the front side of our jeep bc no one looks and our fender metal protector thing crushed their headlight area lol no damage for us...and no one did anything bc no one has insurance or wants to pay out of pocket)
The weather here has been hit or miss. Sometimes a decent amount of rain ( always a downpour while driving on the highway back from safari once w a broken wiper and no defrost :() but other days like today are sunny and nice. In the sun it is fairly hot but shade is pretty cool as we are at a higher altitude and we also usually have a frequent cool breeze . So a lot of times it feels like San Diego weather! ( although Matt in a different part of town doing backbreaking labor in the sun might beg to differ). All I'll say is, glad I'm missing out on winter!
Today we sat in the front of the daladala for the second time. It's always the best spot bc no one can squeeze into you or crawl over you as there are exactly two spots next to the driver. But then there is the fear factor, as you gaze out of the giant cracked ( yes always cracked) windshield. You see all the ditches and dips in the dirt road that we try to avoid and the bouncing ( Matt says that means suspension is shot) is so intense. Also you see all the near misses( literally driving 2 inches from side of a sewer pit, slamming on the breaks near a car or person that I would have bet money we hit). The daladalas still fascinate me. From the guy in the back ( always skinny w a tattered blue uniform) who simultaneously holds coins in one hand dollars in the next while opening the side van door and collecting money from people, half the time running after the thing as it takes off and hanging off the open side door if it is too crowded ( I'm waiting for one to hit something in the street or fall off) . I found out from Iddi ( one of the guys in our house) that the reason they are so aggressive to get everyone on and squeeze in is that they only account for seats and they pocket all the cash for the people that stand and lean into other people ( no wonder they are annoyed when we wait for seats lol) . Yesterday I swear our blue uniform guy was drunk he was acting weird and then at one point jumped off and left. A girl I just met here told me that her driver was drunk ( reeked of it) and everyone was scared as he swerved and at one point he pulled over and let someone else drive. This was at noon. Yikes. They will stop at random times like my driver got off to go to the pharmacy and Matt says his stopped to deliver veggies to the market ( police pulled them over as this is illegal and pulled Matt off to question why he is on there bc he stuck out as a mzungu)
Anyways I once saw a hedgehog roadkill here and after feeling sad was excited they live here. Iddi says we have some in our yard but haven't seen them yet. So today saw one wander into a sewer.. I wanted to grab a pic but he disappeared. People on street probably wondering why I was so fascinated. That guy sells for like 250$ in the US glad there isn't a black market here that I know about!
Still feeding "our cat" i named Rafiki ( friend). She's so tiny and Iddi says lives on our roof w her kittens. She sometimes wanders into our house and has a loud cry. Don't worry I'm refraining from petting. I hear them, but haven't seen the babies so I wandered around and saw her, then a tiny black and white kitten poked it's head off the roof and I was in love. Will keep looking for glimpses. Funny as I was buying the food the cashier asked if i had cats and i felt silly telling her i was feeding the stray cats :)
The stray dogs are a different story. I think it would be harder to feed them as they might get aggressive. Most in our neighborhood seem to get enough to eat ( Matt says not true for the village dogs so sad). I try not to think about it or think about them as the dogs we know and love bc I'll get too sad. One was covered in mud and lying in a ditch and looked sick. I don't think he made it. Also heard another get killed by other dogs as I slept. One of the American girls that lives here and rescued a bunch ( from the street as there are not really shelters here) says the police control the population by picking a day and shooting all they see ( not caring if they are pets but Iddi says pet dogs are rare here) whoops now I got into a sad spot.
Ok that's it for today! Until next time.
The traffic here is just nuts. I've seen one traffic light my whole time here and not even sure it works. Every day is survival of the traffic. I'm really not joking. No place is safe. I feel like frogger every day. People drive wherever they want ... Especially the motorcycles who make their own lanes and weave in and out. No one yields to pedestrians. Which would be fine if like in England there was crosswalks. But no everyone walks everywhere. People drive on sidewalks. If you think it's safe to cross it's like the eye of the tornado..: all of a sudden a daladala will come out of nowhere and barrel towards you ( true story). Cars whip around corners without looking so it's literally never safe to cross. Look as much as you can and pray. Already had lots of close calls. I worry about Matt when he's gone at work. We've already technically gotten into a car accident here lol ( don't worry it was so minor at least for us a daladala whipped into the front side of our jeep bc no one looks and our fender metal protector thing crushed their headlight area lol no damage for us...and no one did anything bc no one has insurance or wants to pay out of pocket)
The weather here has been hit or miss. Sometimes a decent amount of rain ( always a downpour while driving on the highway back from safari once w a broken wiper and no defrost :() but other days like today are sunny and nice. In the sun it is fairly hot but shade is pretty cool as we are at a higher altitude and we also usually have a frequent cool breeze . So a lot of times it feels like San Diego weather! ( although Matt in a different part of town doing backbreaking labor in the sun might beg to differ). All I'll say is, glad I'm missing out on winter!
Today we sat in the front of the daladala for the second time. It's always the best spot bc no one can squeeze into you or crawl over you as there are exactly two spots next to the driver. But then there is the fear factor, as you gaze out of the giant cracked ( yes always cracked) windshield. You see all the ditches and dips in the dirt road that we try to avoid and the bouncing ( Matt says that means suspension is shot) is so intense. Also you see all the near misses( literally driving 2 inches from side of a sewer pit, slamming on the breaks near a car or person that I would have bet money we hit). The daladalas still fascinate me. From the guy in the back ( always skinny w a tattered blue uniform) who simultaneously holds coins in one hand dollars in the next while opening the side van door and collecting money from people, half the time running after the thing as it takes off and hanging off the open side door if it is too crowded ( I'm waiting for one to hit something in the street or fall off) . I found out from Iddi ( one of the guys in our house) that the reason they are so aggressive to get everyone on and squeeze in is that they only account for seats and they pocket all the cash for the people that stand and lean into other people ( no wonder they are annoyed when we wait for seats lol) . Yesterday I swear our blue uniform guy was drunk he was acting weird and then at one point jumped off and left. A girl I just met here told me that her driver was drunk ( reeked of it) and everyone was scared as he swerved and at one point he pulled over and let someone else drive. This was at noon. Yikes. They will stop at random times like my driver got off to go to the pharmacy and Matt says his stopped to deliver veggies to the market ( police pulled them over as this is illegal and pulled Matt off to question why he is on there bc he stuck out as a mzungu)
Anyways I once saw a hedgehog roadkill here and after feeling sad was excited they live here. Iddi says we have some in our yard but haven't seen them yet. So today saw one wander into a sewer.. I wanted to grab a pic but he disappeared. People on street probably wondering why I was so fascinated. That guy sells for like 250$ in the US glad there isn't a black market here that I know about!
Still feeding "our cat" i named Rafiki ( friend). She's so tiny and Iddi says lives on our roof w her kittens. She sometimes wanders into our house and has a loud cry. Don't worry I'm refraining from petting. I hear them, but haven't seen the babies so I wandered around and saw her, then a tiny black and white kitten poked it's head off the roof and I was in love. Will keep looking for glimpses. Funny as I was buying the food the cashier asked if i had cats and i felt silly telling her i was feeding the stray cats :)
The stray dogs are a different story. I think it would be harder to feed them as they might get aggressive. Most in our neighborhood seem to get enough to eat ( Matt says not true for the village dogs so sad). I try not to think about it or think about them as the dogs we know and love bc I'll get too sad. One was covered in mud and lying in a ditch and looked sick. I don't think he made it. Also heard another get killed by other dogs as I slept. One of the American girls that lives here and rescued a bunch ( from the street as there are not really shelters here) says the police control the population by picking a day and shooting all they see ( not caring if they are pets but Iddi says pet dogs are rare here) whoops now I got into a sad spot.
Ok that's it for today! Until next time.
Monday, February 1, 2016
Second safari
this weekend we went to Arusha national park on Saturday. It is only about a 30 min drive from our house. The landscape was gorgeous, esp w mount meru in the background. We were spoiled by all the Animals last weekend and this park is not as diverse, at least w large mammals. However we still were able to appreciate it for its immense beauty. There were a lot of baboons and zebra. And the long white tail colobus monkeys. We saw hippo which our guide has said he's never seen before there. The real star were the giraffes- they were everywhere and close. They are so graceful to watch and when you really think about them they are such a strange creature. We had a nice lunch spot with a lookout of the lake. Had the same strange box lunch again. Wish we had time for the walking tour but we had to drive to ngorongoro.
We stayed at the same campsite as before. Since we were repeat customers, they offered us an upgrade to a little igloo. Was better since it was more protected but had almost no ventilation so became hotter than hell at night. It poured or more accurately monsooned at night ...even some hail. Of course the power was out. We made our run from dinner to the igloo at a break in the rain but still was drenched. When we had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night...well that was fun. There was a spider in my clothes and one hanging above our bed I thought it was going to fall on us while we slept. I woke up terrified at some point bc it was like 2 in the morning and right outside our igloo I heard people yelling in Kiswahili and slamming car doors over and over. It was an angry yelling and I thought it was some kind of attack but Matt was completely unconcerned and said they probably drunk. But their tone, duration, and some screaming I heard really made me doubtful. We would have had no way out. But luckily Matt was at least somewhat right bc we woke up safe
Yesterday was ngorongoro crater... Most popular of these parks and yes there were more people than I was used to. Our guide said only like an hour drive but all said and done ( bc you actually have to drive down to the floor) it took us about 3 hours. It was worth it though. Lush greenery like a tropical rainforest with even some cacti and winding mountain roads w fog and clouds. It is cool bc the Maasai were not kicked out and are able to live in the park. We saw them herding cows alongside zebra. The sight of the crater was spectacular. The guidebook said you could pick any superlative to describe it and you'd be right. The floor was even better. Apparently has the most animals per square foot in Africa and that's apparent. Short green grass and just tons of animals. It's like it was a snow globe and someone just liberally sprinkled glitter in there ( the animals). Mostly gazelle, water buffalo, wildebeest, zebra ( so so many ) living together in harmony. We saw random clumps of elephants as we drove. And we saw 2 black rhino! One was closer than the guide said they usually are ( and sightings are rare). Almost extinct due to poaching and only like 6-7 left in there sadly. One was eating grass and I could see his mouthful he was so adorable. The other neat thing was a pride of lions ( like 6-8) were wandering the road and went to sleep under the tree there. They looked tired , hot, and scraggly and there were flies all over them. I know they can get plenty to eat here so maybe that's what they look like up close? Was females and young males. I shut my window bc they were so dang close. We stopped at a beautiful lake to eat our lunch ( again nothing to write home about except the shredded carrot sand which how random ) and hippos were playing in the middle of the lake. We couldn't eat outside the jeep bc eagles swarm down to get the food. We saw so many baby animals on this trip- glad we went right after birthing season. The ride home was long w lots of flooding and rocks in the road from that rainstorm. Almost couldn't cross glad we had a Jeep w a snorkel. We even saw zebra randomly far from the park trying to cross the road
The weekend was great, although combined the power has essentially been out since sat AM. Which meant no charging the fans and very hot sleep, reading no movies ( which is fine but after 3 books I was ready for something else) and no showers. Sponge bath central. It sucks trying to pack and unpack in the dark. Last night since I didn't have the roar of the fan I heard everything outside- something jumping from the roof, cat fights, some animal incessantly making noise , people talking, man singing at the top of his lungs for an hour, those damn rooster (why you start crowing at 4 am??) we are here for a reason but I'd be lying if I said we never get frustrated or annoyed. hope the power awaits me at home!
We stayed at the same campsite as before. Since we were repeat customers, they offered us an upgrade to a little igloo. Was better since it was more protected but had almost no ventilation so became hotter than hell at night. It poured or more accurately monsooned at night ...even some hail. Of course the power was out. We made our run from dinner to the igloo at a break in the rain but still was drenched. When we had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night...well that was fun. There was a spider in my clothes and one hanging above our bed I thought it was going to fall on us while we slept. I woke up terrified at some point bc it was like 2 in the morning and right outside our igloo I heard people yelling in Kiswahili and slamming car doors over and over. It was an angry yelling and I thought it was some kind of attack but Matt was completely unconcerned and said they probably drunk. But their tone, duration, and some screaming I heard really made me doubtful. We would have had no way out. But luckily Matt was at least somewhat right bc we woke up safe
Yesterday was ngorongoro crater... Most popular of these parks and yes there were more people than I was used to. Our guide said only like an hour drive but all said and done ( bc you actually have to drive down to the floor) it took us about 3 hours. It was worth it though. Lush greenery like a tropical rainforest with even some cacti and winding mountain roads w fog and clouds. It is cool bc the Maasai were not kicked out and are able to live in the park. We saw them herding cows alongside zebra. The sight of the crater was spectacular. The guidebook said you could pick any superlative to describe it and you'd be right. The floor was even better. Apparently has the most animals per square foot in Africa and that's apparent. Short green grass and just tons of animals. It's like it was a snow globe and someone just liberally sprinkled glitter in there ( the animals). Mostly gazelle, water buffalo, wildebeest, zebra ( so so many ) living together in harmony. We saw random clumps of elephants as we drove. And we saw 2 black rhino! One was closer than the guide said they usually are ( and sightings are rare). Almost extinct due to poaching and only like 6-7 left in there sadly. One was eating grass and I could see his mouthful he was so adorable. The other neat thing was a pride of lions ( like 6-8) were wandering the road and went to sleep under the tree there. They looked tired , hot, and scraggly and there were flies all over them. I know they can get plenty to eat here so maybe that's what they look like up close? Was females and young males. I shut my window bc they were so dang close. We stopped at a beautiful lake to eat our lunch ( again nothing to write home about except the shredded carrot sand which how random ) and hippos were playing in the middle of the lake. We couldn't eat outside the jeep bc eagles swarm down to get the food. We saw so many baby animals on this trip- glad we went right after birthing season. The ride home was long w lots of flooding and rocks in the road from that rainstorm. Almost couldn't cross glad we had a Jeep w a snorkel. We even saw zebra randomly far from the park trying to cross the road
The weekend was great, although combined the power has essentially been out since sat AM. Which meant no charging the fans and very hot sleep, reading no movies ( which is fine but after 3 books I was ready for something else) and no showers. Sponge bath central. It sucks trying to pack and unpack in the dark. Last night since I didn't have the roar of the fan I heard everything outside- something jumping from the roof, cat fights, some animal incessantly making noise , people talking, man singing at the top of his lungs for an hour, those damn rooster (why you start crowing at 4 am??) we are here for a reason but I'd be lying if I said we never get frustrated or annoyed. hope the power awaits me at home!
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