A glimps at the last 2 weeks

The Zebras we almost hit driving through the Serengeti at 80kph

Pumba

Baby Cheetah

Lion that was about 5ft from our jeep where I was sticking my head out the window to take a picture.

Roasting coffee

The stages of making a cup of coffee

View out my hotel window in Moshi (no that's not the ocean, it's just the window folded out)

I found this shirt in the Zurich airport!

Ah Ah Ah Ah Staying Alive, Staying Alive

I made it home alive!  I had a fairly uneventful trip home including 6hrs in the Zurich airport.  They at least let me out of the international terminal and into the main airport so I could go to the shops and get some lunch.  But then I spent more money in that 6 hrs than I did for the past 24hrs in Dar es Salaam.  My lunch at Burger King cost more than my hotel room the night before (lunch = $17, hotel room = $14).  And I bought a magnet for $11, but how could a pass up a magnet that said "Switzerland" and "Heidi and Peter" and had little figures of Heidi, Peter, and the Grandfather.  (If you don't know, those are the characters of the book "Heidi" that I was named after.)

It was interesting traveling back how you relax a little more at each step along the way.  Getting on the plane in Dar es Salaam, arriving in Switzerland and being able to use a credit card, arriving in the US, and then getting back to KC.  I'm really glad I got to go on this trip and I wouldn't change it at all (except for maybe climbing Kilimanjaro), but I'm definitely glad to be home too!

Steaming Cup of Joe

I'm now finishing out my last few days in Tanzania.  Tomorrow I'll start my 3 day journey home with a 10hr bus ride back to Dar es Salaam (then a 24hr break before getting on the plane).  I've been spending my last few days in Moshi.  It sits at the base of Kilimanjaro which you can see the top of quite well around dinner time.  It's a much quieter town than Arusha and Dar (and it feels a lot safer).  I've mostly been bumming around, reading, drinking coke at restaurants with patios, basically enjoying my last few days of vacation before I have to go back to the hectic real world.  (I just made a to do list a mile long for when I get back, and no, taking a shower and eating something with ketchup are not on the list, but they should be.)

Yesterday, I went on a coffee tour at a local coffee farm. I rode the dala dala (hopefully the last time for awhile), with a couple of germans to the last stop up the mountain, then we walked about 20 min more (up the mountain) to find the village.  The people of the village have been growing coffee as their livelyhood for many generations, but it's only been about 10 years since they joined the tourist industry.  They now have a campsite and restaurant for tourists.  On the tour they go through all the steps to make a cup of coffee, all the way from picking the berries, shelling all 3 layers of skin off, roasting, grinding, and brewing.  And in the end you have a Very strong cup of coffee.  The guide told us he drinks about 5 cups of coffee a day (and much stronger than we have in the US).  In these villages, you have to be 18 to drink coffee because they're worried about the heart problems it could cause for kids.  After the tour, they made us a traditional meal that started with the most delicious soup - banana!

Well, there's not a lot more to tell (except maybe that I've read 2.5 books in the last 3 days).  So here's a few Swahili words you might know (if you're interested)

Simba - lion
Pumba - warthog
Rafiki - friend
Asante sana - with many thanks (as in "asante sana squashed banana")

And some to learn
moja - 1
mbili - 2
tatu - 3
nne - 4
tano - 5
sita - 6
saba - 7
nane - 8
tisa - 9
kumi - 10

If it doesn't have a tail it's not a monkey!

Hello!  I am back in Arusha now from my Safari!  It was really great with only a few hick-ups.  I did see a lot of monkey's, but no apes.  So here’s the story:

I rode the bus to Arusha where I was picked up by a company that contracts with the company I signed up with.  They took me to my hotel and to their office to pay for the rest of the safari.

Day 1

            I was picked up at my hotel by a 3^rd company for the actually safari (apparently I got traded a couple times).  I joined 4 Australians for the first day.  2 were backpacking through Africa from South Africa to Ethiopia.  The other 2 were cycling from Cairo to Cape Town and were half way through their 4mo trip. We went to Tarangire National park and saw a ton of elephants, giraffes, zebras, monkeys, and lots more.   The cycling Australians were only there for a day so we dropped them off at the intersection back to Arusha.  They were supposed to have a car pick them up, but the car broke down, so the company said they had to ride the dala dala back.  That night we camped outside of Ngorongoro national park.

Day 2

            We had 2 Dutch girls join us for the rest of the Safari.  We drove through Ngoro park to the Serengeti park where we sat in the parking lot for 4hrs.  Apparently the bank made a mistake and didn’t record the money on the debit card, so there wasn’t enough to pay the entrance fees.  At one point the drive came to ask if one of us would pay the $57 with our credit card and we’d get paid back when we got back.  None of us trusted the guy that we would actually get paid back, so we sat even longer.  Eventually they let us in saying we’d have to pay on our way out, giving the guy in Arusha time to figure things out with the bank.  That night we camped out inside the Serengeti which was amazing, except it rained and our tents leaked.

Day 3

            We got up early for a drive through the Serengetti where we say a Lion take down a zebra.  We also saw a cheetah and a leopard.  And we saw a lion about 6feet away from the car.  It was a great drive!  We did get lost for awhile and our driver had to stop to ask for directions, but we made it out alive.  That afternoon, we drove back to Ngoro to camp out on the crater rim.  On the way were saw a jeep that had flipped, which freaked us out even more about our crazy driver.  We all put on seat belts except me because there wasn’t one for that seat (after that, I chose a different seat.)  They told us everyone was alright, but I think they probably just said that no matter what.  (They had also taken the company name off the side of the truck – bad advertising).  For camping, we were told not to have any food in our tents because hyenas come through the camp site at night.  I didn’t hear any hyenas, but there was some animal sniffing at the corner of my tent right by head.  (No, I did not have any food).  It rained again, and this time, the front of my pack and the clothes right inside got soaked.  (at least the clothes I was going to wear that day were dry).

Day 4

            We got up early for a drive down into the crater.  It was amazing!  There were so many animals everywhere.  We saw several black rhinos (at quite a distance, so they’re tiny specks in my pictures).  And we say a baby cheetah. 

Overall the Safari was a lot of fun.  And we convinced the company to pay for our bus tickets to the Moshi and Dar since we missed the game drives on the 2^nd day.  It was very difficult talking with them because in Tanzania business practices are so different.  In the US, if you pay a business for something, and they don’t come through, then they fix it or give you some money back.  In Tanzania, if it wasn’t the business’s fault, then they don’t have to do anything about it.  There is no liability for the business to cover the banks mistakes.

Well, I will hang around Arusha today, and then take the bus to Moshi tomorrow to see Kilimanjaro (I really wish I could climb it, but I don’t have to time or the equipment, so maybe next time!)  Sorry to not have pictures yet.  I was told it wasn't really safe to carry your camera in Arusha, so I'll try to get some up later, if now, I'll have to show you all when I get home.

Roasted and Salted

Well, I made it to the mainland.  We rode the ferry over on Saturday afternoon in the extreme heat.  After the journey over, we thought we were just going to pay the extra $5 for first class (inside with AC), but we managed to get the residents rate since we've been working at the hospital which is only good for economy class.  The ride wasn't too bad though.  We thought we were getting a nice cool breeze with a little spray from the sea, but soon we realized we were getting covered with salt.  When the water dried there was a fine white powder all over us and our stuff.  Now we realize when we thought we were so sandy at the beach, we were mostly just salty the salt doesn't brush off as well as the sand).  From the dock, we took a taxi to my hotel, and I said good bye to my fellow travellers headed back to the US that day.  I managed to get checked in and find dinner before dark.  I guy from a safari company was at the hotel, and I talked to him about setting up a safari.  It's really had to tell if they are legit companies or not, but he did have several options for me, and the hotel recommended him as an operator (and they have his business card out front).  But I guess I'll find out for sure how good of a deal I got when I start (or don't start) the safari on Tuesday.

Today, I mostly wandered around Dar es Salaam.  I went to the Botanical gardens (pretty garden, but mostly just a park), and then I went to the National Museum (also interesting, but glad I only paid the student price.)  I also wandered by a huge cathedral, but I didn't go in since their services were just ending though.  Most places were closed today since it's Sunday, so there wasn't a lot else to do.  I'm figuring out that Dar us Salaam is a lot less Muslim than Zanzibar is. 

Sorry this is a pretty unexciting post, but I probably won't have internet for the next week since I'll be on safari and staying at camp sites (yes, I'll be camping in Africa!)  Hope all is well at home!

Voted off the Island

Well, we are leaving the island tomorrow. I am a little sad to leave, but excited for the next part of my trip.  We bought our ferry tickets today and managed to get the resident rate (1/3 of the international rate), and we'll leave tomorrow afternoon. 

There's not really much to tell about this week because we were taking it easy for the most part.  We did a lot of shopping and laying around on the beach. It was a pretty good week in the hospital though.  I was a little worried at first because more medical students showed up (so there were 7 students on pediatrics).  But I figured out that if I followed the interns instead of the foreign attending, I got to to do a lot more (and I avoided frustration with the very slow attending).  With the interns, they would have me examine the patient and tell them what was wrong and what to do about it. If they didn't know what to do, they would ask me instead of looking for the attending.  It made me a little nervous at first (especially since any history had to be translated), but then it was a lot of fun.  (It was like I was really practicing medicine!)

Well, I hope everything is going well at home, and I'll let you all know how the ferry and the bus go in Dar es Salaam.

To Paradise with a Chicken

We had an amazing time this weekend!  On Friday we drove to see the cottage hospital in Makunduchi.  It's a really nice little hospital in a little town in the southern part of the island.  After our tour, we drove down to the beach there.  It was by far the best beach we'd seen so far.  Then on the way back we got pulled over because we were riding with Zenyie's driver who doesn't have a permit to carry tourists.  After some explaining that we worked at Mnazi Mmoja, they let us go.  But they didn't say anything about us having 4 people in the back seat and 1 in the hatch back.

Then on Saturday we got up early to take the Dala dala to Kendwa which is supposed to be one of the nicest beaches, and it was definitely the best.  It felt like paradise!  And on the dala dala, the lady sitting next me had a live chicken in a cloth bag on the floor in front of her.  At one point I thought it died because it looked like someone sat on it, and it squawked, but when she got off the bus it squawked a bit more.  We spent the entire weekend sitting on the beach and swimming in turquoise clear water.  We stayed in a dorm room with 10 beds that only cost $15 dollars a person which included breakfast the next morning and evening entertainment.  It was a lot of fun!  We rode up with one of the German students, and we met 5 British students up there that had rented a car to drive up (driving on the Left side of the rode comes naturally to them I guess), so it was nice to have a big group to help watch our stuff.  The 2 British guys did get their wallets stolen, but they did leave them sitting on the beach alone when they went swimming at night.

We also had an eventful ride home on the dala dala with our first car accident.  Our bus was going fast and there was a really slow dala dala in front of us, so we tried to pass the other bus, but we clipped the back corner of it and broke off our side mirror.  Everyone was yelling about how it was the other buses fault for driving so slow.  Then about 30 min later, a women collapsed in the front of the bus.  Since Travis was the closest, he headed up to see what was going on.  We think she was having a seizure, and he was checking her pulse and breathing when she came to and started to attack him.  Another man grabbed her until she calmed down, but Travis got pretty scratched up and lost his sunglasses.  This whole time the bus is still flying down the rode and making stops for people to get on and off.  Right after the lady woke up, she tried to jump off the bus at a stop, so they had to hold her back to keep her on.  They finally got her calmed down and sat in a seat, and then 30 min later, when we got to her stop, she got off the bus and went on her way alone.  That made us all a little nervous, but she seemed ok as she walked away, and there really wasn't much else we could do.

Well, I have to go back to the peds floor to round now, so I hope everyone is still doing ok at home.  I hope to be able to keep you updated after I head to the mainland this weekend, but I'm not sure how the internet access will be, so I'll try my best.