Another elephant video:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=VmLEg4c6ses

Red-necked flangolene, impalas, a gash on the back of a giraffe from a lion attack, gibbons, giraffe, elephants by the park headquarters, elephant and a neat tree (one of my favorite pictures of the trip), termites nest, giraffe (they stare a lot), baby elephants, and a video of an elephant (click to play).

3 Mar: SAFARI!!!

I really need to finish this before I take off for school...Hopefully that means more frequent posts in the near future.

We started the day by hopping on the daladala (48 this time, recall it uncomfortably seats 23). We rode into Iringatown and had breakfast, and we were soon on our way. It was a three hour drive to Ruaha National Park. The drive was amazing. When you see things you never thought that you would see over the course of your entire life, and then somehow find yourself in the middle of those things, its difficult to know how to react. A couple weeks before the trip I watched Blood Diamond, and though I knew I was coming on this trip, I was convinced I would never see scenery like that in the movie. When we came over the top of the mountain and saw Ruaha covering the ground like a green shag carpet stretching its way to end of the earth, I almost panicked. We had the driver stop the car so we could snap a couple of pictures, which you can see above. We paused for a couple minutes to catch our breath and soak in the view, standing on top of a land rover, with granite boulders on both sides. In Africa.

We arrived at the resort where we were staying, which was actually inside the park, and were blown away by the quality of our accommodations. The others staying in the park were fun to have around. There was a honeymooning couple from Britain, and a family of three from Germany (doctor, doctor, med student daughter). The place has running water, solar power, four-course meals, drinks, desserts, bottled water...all a bit of a change for us.

As far as the actual safari-ing, Ill let the pictures talk, and put them in a separate post above. The one thing you will not see, is the first time we saw lions. Since it is the wet season, the bush is thick, and people have been basically preparing us for disappointment as far as whether or not we'll see a cat (lion, leopard, or cheetah). We were actually heading back at the end of our first drive, when Brayn saw something lurking through the bush about ten feet to the side of our car. He tried to say something, but just made a few noises and hit me on the shoulder and made full-body gestures in its direction. I was finally able to get out a "Hey...HEY...HEY!!! LION!!!!" to get the driver and spotter to stop the car. It strolled along for awhile, then crossed the road. One of its buddies came walking along but stayed in the bush. We drove around the corner for a better look as they had both settled down for a nap and were tough to see. They decided to drive into the tall grass (which they asked us not to tell anybody they were doing, but I am now posting on the internet) and almost right on top of one of the lions. With my stupid camera battery dead and Brayn unable to prep his for a shot, we did not get a record of us probably being able to reach out and touch this thing, and then having it take a look at us, scream, and dart a few yards away. An amazing rush. This is an absolute dream come true for a science nerd like myself.

Insets: The "Neverending Road," the view from the top of the mountain over Ruaha, crossing the Ruaha River into the park, and everyone at the safari.

If this is your first time here, please be sure to read the first entry on this site. Thank you.

2 Mar: So Close...

Been awhile since Ive written. Oops. Anyway, this day was pretty much defined by Brayn's runny nose and the fact that we are now one day away from our safari. Brayn was going to go to the Lutheran mass since hes kind of a spiritual mutt, and since I had told Sebastian the day before that Id see him today, I went to the Catholic mass with Simon and Godfried. The sermon ran on a bit for personal taste, probably large in part because I cant understand it. However, one word kept coming up that really sounded like "Nintendo" and that would alwas perk my ears. After mass, I inquired as to the word, and was disappointed to discover that the word is "matendo" which means "act."

After church, I said goodbye to Victor, Sebastian, and Johannes (sp?) (you may remember these three from our meeting about the kindergarten) and encouraged Sebastian to come visit us again before we left. As it turned out, he was planning to visit us that afternoon, which he did. We had lunch with him, and he left after he ate, wishing us well. Good guy, that one. By our surprise, Victor and Johanes (sp?) stopped by an hour or two later. Through a student translator, they asked for scholarships, and requested that we write down their names so we dont forget. I cant blame them for asking. They are passionate about education, and it seems they want this more than anything. I dont doubt that they would work very hard as students. They might have caught me at a bad time, because right now Im feeling a bit like a lottery ticket being scratched by an entire nation. I find myself wondering who should get priority for scholarships. There are many people wanting to sponsor students, and certainly it is up to them whom they wish to sponsor. I think for me, priority should go to students who have started school and dont have the means to continue, followed by students who have just finished primary school and cannot go on without assistance. This is not to say that adults wanting to return to school should be ignored. I just think that Tanzania needs to put all of their resources into raising a generation of educated citizens if they are to become self-sustaining. Adults should be given the option of community education, but maybe Im getting ahead of myself. Maybe not. I may be an idealist, but I dont think that Im unrealistic. Brayn and I are working on a proposal which Ill write more about to put this kind of plan into action, if not to at least put the idea into some heads.

Up next: SAFARI!

If this is your first time here, please be sure to read the first entry on this site. Thank you.

1 Mar: Surprise!

We woke up at 5am because the daladala has been showing up at 530 lately. Of course today, it didnt show up until 615. There is no way to accurately describe riding on this thing. At any moment, every piece of this vehicle will come apart, akin to the Bluesmobile at the end of The Blues Brothers.

We arrivedat our destination and walked the remaining seven kilometers to Nyabula parish. We sat and waited for the bishop while Brian fell asleep in a chair, and I applied my Ultrathon. I admit, we were both afraid this would be a wasted Saturday consisting of awkward silences filled with random nicities (an actual word, or no?) until the daladala came back through at 4pm. On the contrary. We met briefly with the bishop to help edit his letter to whom it may concern regarding the kindergarten project. We then took a brief tour of the parish, which was incredible. It consists of a church, trade school, dispensary, primary school, solar power, and more. We were then treated to a breakfast of tea, milk (first dairy of the trip!) Coke, buns, and fruit.

When we finished we took a ride in the Bishops tinted 4x4 which by standards around here was like riding in limo into Iringatown. The plan was for us to sit in and just listen to a meeting about education at Ruaha University. The university was very nice, and we were surprised when at the opening of the meeting the director of the committee (Organization for the Social Development of Orphans, or OSDO) began the meeting by greeting the guests from America, who are here to listen and suggest ideas for building a school for orphans. This would have been a lovely impromptu introduction, but much to our surprise, we realized it had been scripted. They knew we were coming.

Our input was to be "greatly valued and appreciated." We had no problem with offering suggestions, but felt a little awkward sitting there in our t-shirts with what was clearly high society in the area. The organization consisted of a medical doctor, a lawyer, two PhDs, the university president and secretary, and others. The problem at hand was that construction had been halted due to lack of funding (seems to be a common problem around here). Brayn, having had experience with this at St. Johns University, proposed the idea of trying to find a sister college or high school in Minnesota, which seemed a good idea since Ruaha University is in fact a Catholic school. The warmed up to the idea and were suddenly referring to us as their "American ambassadors." I leaned over and asked Brayn:

"How did we get here?"
"The Bishop from Nyabula took us."
"The who from what?"

Oh by the way, the bishop bailed in the middle of the meeting. Had another meeting I guess. At the end of the meeting, we had a meal, and we got a little tour of the school. On the way out, I felt like maybe I should remind them that in fact we are just two dudes who just happened to be born somewhere else, but we just said thank you and went on our way. We first stopped at a place to set up our safari. The prices have significantly risen over the past year unfortunately, but this was definitely one of those "dont worry about money" moments and we decided to spring for two nights and stay inside the park itself, despite the penny-pinching voices inside my head.

On the way back, our cab driver started in with the usual buttering up that we have come to recognize before people ask us for money. This guy was bold enough to ask for $400 to buy himself a new license to get a better job. Sorry guy, "our commitment here is to education."

After a couple Konyagi-Fantas, we crashed hard. Long day.

Insets: The church at Nyabula, the entrance to Nyabula, the grotto at Nyabula, and two downtrodden wazungus with OSDO

If this is your first time here, please be sure to read the first entry on this site. Thank you.