And in the end...

Firstly I'd like to apologize for all the typo's in my last post. I was typing on my little iPod. So this one, since I'm not on a computer, should be much better.

After the G adventures safari, everyone went their own way. We had a group of 3 that were heading to Moshi to start their climb up Kilimanjaro, we had a bunch that were leaving in the afternoon and we had some that were staying a few extra days. With those staying an extra four days, I got to enjoy a little walking safari in Arusha National Park. This was really cool because we got right up close with the animals. We saw this big family of giraffes eating in the bushes, and we got as close as we could with them. This park is also at the bottom of Mount Meru, which is the little sister of Mount Kilimanjaro. So the scenery was to die for! We saw these warthogs, or some like to call them Pumba's. We also saw buffalo's, which are also massive and quite frightening up close. Once we were done, we headed back to the hotel in Arusha, the safari capital of Tanzania, and got a good nights rest. The next day was the day I was leaving for Moshi, the base town of Kilimanjaro. However before setting off, I decided to do a little walking tour of Arusha with a friend I met Francis. He brought me to all the main sights. They have these big markets on Monday's and Thursday's, where everyone sets out their crops and they're clothing items. It stretches along this one street and is just packed with people!

He took me around the little alley ways where there are also people selling things. We walked around a lot more, where Francis brought me to the freedom monument, that comemorates when Tanzania became independent. We then arrived to this really amazing point in the world; the middle of Africa. Literally, the mid-point between Cape Town, South Africa and Cairo, Egypt. Here is a picture of Francis at the midpoint.

He then brought me back to my hotel, where I grabbed my belongings and set off to the bus. Even though the bus was and hour and half late, I was so excited to get started in Moshi. I also met this really nice girl that was going to her home in Moshi for the weekend, and she was going to help me find my hotel when we got there. Honestly these people are so nice! She was hungry for the delay, and she brought back enough food for the both of us while we waited for our departure.

Once in Moshi, I settled into the Kindoroko Hotel, where I ended up finding Sue, one of the CCS volunteers that I worked with in Bagamoyo, we had supper together and I went to bed for an early night. Thank god I did because the next day was definitely in need of a good night sleep. I was picked up my a guy named Brighton. Now he is a Kilimanjaro guide who has climbed the entire thing 24 times! We headed over the Kili and started our hike.

Brighton and I talked the entire 3 hours up to the first campsite on the mountain. He was so interested in what I was learning in school, and I was interested in his life in Tanzania. He both learned a lot from eachother. He also loved to take lots of pictures. So he ended up taking  my camera for the day and snapping pictures of me. Here is Brighton on the climb on mount Kilimanjaro when I finally got my camera back.

We made it to the first campsite on the Marangu route of Kilimanjaro that was called the Mandara huts. It was all set up with little huts with bunk beds. This is where the climbers stay on their first night when climbing all of Kili. However, Brighton and I ended up going a little higher to the Maundi Crater, which used to be a little Volcano that completely erupted, emptying it's lava chamber allowing the volcano to collapse on itself. Now it was this semi-circular depression filled with long grasses. I just had to lay in it looked so comfy.

We walked around the entire crater and then settled in for a little bit of lunch. Unfortunately we had to make our way back down. By then I was so exhausted. So after enjoying another nice supper with Sue and my Kilimanjaro Beer, I cuddled into bed for another early night. Sue was leaving for Washington DC the next morning, so we had some breakfast together the next morning and we said our goodbyes. On that last day of my trip, I was picked up by my friend Abbas. He had organised this fun day for me. We first stopped at Mama Stella's place, who was an amazing women who was going to cook this Authentic, Chagga lunch for us. The Chagga people IN Tanzania are people who live right around Mount Kilimanjaro. They have unlimited amounts of water from the mountain, and therefore have amazing crops. Each family has their own farm and cattle, where they have everything they need for food. They also sell their crops all over Tanzania, which helps them live better life then a lot of the people in Tanzania. Also, men and women are equal in this community. They both work in the farms together and they both work to provide for their families, which is much different then the lifestyle I saw in Bagamoyo. Anyways, she packed us up a few fried banana's and then we set off on our excursion. We were also joined by a friend of Abbas's, who was taking a girl named Annette. So we all started and were brought into the valleys of the Chagga land, where there were these gorgeous waterfalls. I honestly just felt like jumping into the water.

Abbas told us about how the Chagga people live and introduced us to people along the road. We went to see another waterfall before heading back to Mama Stella's house for lunch. So ended up making this INCREDIBLE meal, filled with this delicious chicken, with rice, beans and casava leaves, with her hand picked banana's for desert. Since she is also Chagga, everything came from her farm in this meal. She was so nice to invite us into her house and do all this for us.

After we were all full, we set off to a little house in the Chagga land. The whole family of the house came and greeted us, however we weren't staying for long. The father of the house wanted to bring us somewhere. So we walked back into the valley's of Mount Kilimanjaro, where we arrived to another waterfall. When I noticed he had swimming shorts on, I knew we were going swimming. Since I didn't bring a bathing suit, I settled for my underwear and tank top. I just couldn't miss out on this. He ended up bring us to the top of he waterfall, where we would slide on the rocks into the waterfall. It was so cool!!!

Once we did our jump, we dried off and headed back to the little house. The father then brought us to his little farm, where we were going to pick coffee beans off the trees and make our own coffee. We went through the whole process of pealing them, drying them, taking off heir shells, roasting them, crushing them again until we ended up with a beautiful cup of coffee. We sat in the little gondola the father made for himself and the family and enjoyed our warm cup of coffee while admiring the Kilimanjaro land.

Our time was cup short when the sun began to go down, where Abbas drove me back to my hotel. After all the walking, it was nice to lay down on relax a little. The next morning I woke up, packed up my bags and got picked up by my friend Imma, who was bringing me to the Kilimanjaro International Airport, where I would begin my journey back home.

While I waited for my departure, I was able to reflect a little on the month I spent in Tanzania. I got to meet to many amazing people and so many great things, and I am so thankful for that experience. I got to see the hardships of an African Country, and try to make a difference in the community. However I also saw the beauty of the people, who would go out of their way to make me feel comfortable in their home. I am so thankful I met people like Zik, and Mama Lillian, who took amazing care of me at the CCS house. I'm also so happy I met the CCS volunteers. I hope to continue to help UKUN and the Tanga family, so Amina can continue her treatment while looking past the lost she felt from Mwanvita's passing. I also hope to help Captin get to a facility where people will look after him and appreciate him for the man he is. Emmanuel and all the travellers I met on my Safari will forever be missed, and Brighton and Abbas will always have a close place in my heart. I am so grateful I was able to come to this beautiful country and see a different aspect of life. It also taught me that life is pretty short, and even without having money, time, or maybe the life experience to travel on your own, it doesn't mean you shouldn't go somewhere amazing and experience something unforgettable. Like my good friend Brighton told me, "If you can't be the ocean, be a lake. If you cant be the sun, be a star. And if you can't be Mount Kilimanjaro, then be Mount Meru. But whatever you do, be something."

And in the end... there's no doubt in my mind, that with all the great people I met and the things I saw, I feel like Mount Kilimanjaro.

Tutaonana bagamoyo. Hello safari!

With the last few days of my volunteering experience comes to an end. It's given me plenty of time to look back on what I've done and who've i've met over these past 3 weeks. I must say that Africa is truly a beautiful place. For people who have a hard time getting a meal in their bellies, they will go miles to make you feel at home in their community. They don't complain about their poverty or they're hardships. But they work through them because there is no other choice. If they doubt do anything about it, they wouldn't survive. It really makes me think on how we treat eachother back home, and the little things we complain about that really won't change anything in our life. And also, people are always there to support you in this community. Like my friend captin, who has been literally abandoned from his family, has UKUN and these volunteers visiting him everyday. We also have Amina, who is being helped by her wonderful family and neighbors. No matter how bad the help may be, there is always support. I hope to really show the love that these people who I their friend and family to people at home :). Before I continue writing about my adventures, I'd like anyone reading this to take the time to think about a wonderful women, Mwanvita. She was one of my patients, who had HIV/AIDS, ovarian cancer and a large cyst in the abdomen. She had been bed ridden for the past two months, however was staying strong for her family and friends. She would always take my hand and welcome me into her life, and she was just a beautiful women. She past away on June 1st, 2012. She is no longer suffering, which I many of us are extremely happy about. However she will be dearly missed. Please take a minute to think about her family and especially her daughter Amina, who is the woman UKUN and us CCS volunteers have been working with to walk again. Please give her any energy to have the strength to move past this hardship and continue to rehabilitate to walk again. Asante sana :)

Once I say all my goodbye's to everyone at the CCS headquarters, I set off for my journey to a busy city called Arusha. Now Arusha is the safari capital of Tanzania, and where I started my safari with G Adventures. I just it back yesterday and I must say not only are the people amazing in Tanzania, but the country itself is stunning!!! We met with our guides and drivers, Emmanuel and amdan, who welcomed us immediately with open arms. We hoped in put four by four, pop up roof safari jeeps and headed to our first stop, the Serengeti. The serengeti received it's name from the meaning in Swahili, endless plains. And they were definitely right about that. All it is is flat fields with hardly any trees and tall grass. I didn't think much of it at first, until the animals started coming from everywhere! I was stuck once in the middle of a zebra migration! There were thousands of zebra's running in a pack to get to their next destination. We saw the beautifully majestic giraffe, and the fast little gazelle. However the highlight for me was the king and queen, the lions. Now at first we didn't see many males (the ones with a lot of fur around their necks). Emmanuel actually told us that a subtle male will mate with 38 times in one day, and then take a few days off. So in a single pride, there is one male, and approximately 38 women. However, we did end up seeing the mufasa, and thy are truly amazing. Mostly because their lives consist of sitting on rocks and waiting for prey to come at them. But their still awesome. We camped out in the middle of the Serengeti, where I would fall asleep to the sounds of the wildebeest and the hyenas barking. We then moved on to a place called olduvai gorge. Now this is cool. This is where geologist and archeologist found the first fossils of upright human foot steps. These are the oldest footsteps found in the planet, meaning researchers believe that the human species began here in Tanzania. We had an awesome visit there and moved on to by far my favorite place, the ngorogoro crater. Now a few details. This crater used to be a volcano until it erupted, completely emptying the magma basin inside the volcano. With the empty space, the volcano collapsed on itself, causing what geologist call a caldera. It's just advertised as a crater because people know what that is and it looks like a crater. Anyways, it's one of the 8 unbroken, unflooded caldera's in the world. Inside the crater, it's perfect living conditions for any animal (except giraffe, because apparently their long necks prevents them from getting over the crater run). We drove into the crater and saw more amazing animals everywhere. We also finally saw a cheetah and a black rhino, which are nearly extinct. We stayed on the craters's rim and watch the sun set over the beautiful circular caldera. I promise I have pictures to share!bone last thing we did on our safari was visit a massai village. These people are the aboriginal Tanzanian people. They live in little villages, and wear only Red and blue. They mainly raise their cattle and trade at the markets. However they also make beautiful jewellery and other crafts. They mainly live off of their cattle's milk, meat, and blood, and make their homes out of clay and the dung of their cattle. Even if we are soooooo different from them, they of course welcomed us into their homes and showed their way of life. After our incredible exclusion. We arrives back in Arusha for an authentic African meal and a fun last night with everyone from G Adventures.

So what's next? I'm heading to a quieter town called moshi, which is where most of the trek's up Kilimanjaro begin. I will be spending a few days there, enjoying my last days in africa. I hope to post one last blog for the end of my trip so stay tuned :).

Tutaonana, E

I've seen the sun rise and the sun set

Heyo from Tanzania! So this is my last week with CCS. It has really been amazing time with them and it's so incredible how welcoming they are. Last week was really intense but I feel like the group working at UKUN did a lot. Amina, our big success story, is starting to walk on her own now! It is so amazing how far she has come. She is so strong and never gives up on herself. Unfortunately her mother isn't doing so well. We've been trying to keep her as comfortable as possible by treating her bed sores. But she is just too far along to be treated. They don't have doctors who come to their house or ambulances to help her see a doctor. So the most medical attention she gets is from us. There is also an immense lack of material that makes it even harder to keep her comfortable. We still go see her every single day. Finally there's captin. He always has a big smile on his face and always tries hard during his physical training. He's a tropper that's for sure. Even if his family has given up on him due to the stigma on HIV and AIDS, that's not stopping him. We've gotten some new calls from new patients this week. So we will start visiting them this week and see what we can do with them while we're here :). After our morning placement this week, we had some time to wander around the city and do some things. I visited an old art market in town (I so wish I could post pictures!). We've been spending some time on the Indian ocean too. The girls that are living in the main house with me are so great also. Meredith, Lauren, Rebecca, and I once woke up at 4:30 in the morning to catch the sunrise. Now we were a little too eager, since it didn't actually rise until 6. But it was definitely a perfect view. Also, one afternoon we helped one of the local schools build two extra classrooms! Now that was a job and a half. There are no trucks or long arms to dump the concrete where you want it. There's a pile of sand, a pile of rocks, massive bucket of water, a little concrete mixer and about 30 smaller buckets. Let's just say I better get some serious muscle action going on, because lugging those bucket of concrete around was an intense workout! Honestly these people work their butts off! Over the weekend, the ROTC army group and Rebecca went on a safari. Meredith, Lauren and I decided to stay back and visit the capital of this beautiful country. We hit up the grocery store and got some things to make guacamole... And some sugary munchies for the week. We went to go see the avengers in 3D (who would of thought) and had a real cup of coffee. The instant coffee at the home-base isn't horrible, but a real cup of coffee really hits the spot. On Sunday we relaxed on the beach and just soaked up the sun. Not a bad life at all. Saturday I will be heading up to Kilimanjaro for my next excursions. Stay tuned for more updates!! Love you and miss you all. E.

Zanzibar!

Wow what a week! We all have just completed our first week of volunteering. With the organization I am working wit called UKUN, we do home visits to people affected by HIV/AIDS. This week we followed the home-visit coordinator who introduced us too all the clients and showed us what we do with each and everyone one. It was really great because we started building a relationship with these people, even with the little Swahili I know. This week, the coordinator was expecting us to split us up into little groups and work with the families directly. Now that I know the families and their personality, I really feel like I can do something with them and help them with any care. So today on our first day of the the second week, we were on a mission. I was given the responsibility of visiting the visited the first family who has 3 people in the family who are affected. The first is the mother, who was unable to walk due to the complications of AIDS. For the past week, the coordinator and us have been doing exercises with her to regain her strength. And today, she walked while only lightly holding on to one of us! Our goal for her is to be able to take a few steps on her own by the end of my time here, and she's coming along super well. The second member of that family is the grandmother, who unfortunately is suffering from Ovarian cancer on top of HIV and AIDS. She has been bedridden for some time now and had developed some bed sores. However we were able to find some material to patch her up so they hurt less. I also hope to do some exercises with her in bed, so we can get her outside in the sun. The last member who is affected is the brother, who is doing great. He is walking around and doing his thing. On to the next client, we visited a past Tanzanian Solder, Kaptin. Now this guy is amazing. Unfortunately with the stigma against HIV and AIDS in his family, he is no longer being supported by them. Therefore, we come everyday to give him some attention and get him outside in the sun. He also can't walk due to complications of HIV and AIDS, however we are working towards rebuilding the strength in his legs. All in all, it was a successful first day of the second day.

The whole group made our way to Zanzibar over the weekend! Zanzibar is an Island about 2 hours (on a ferry) away from the capital, Dar Es Salaam. It's surrounded by gorgeous white sandy beaches and some of the coolest fish. We went snorkeling in the Indian Ocean, and saw everything from Zebra fish, to Nemo and Dore! The next day we visited a Spice Farm, which is a popular product in Zanzibar. They showed where all the spices come from, such as cinnamon (comes from tree bark!), pepper corns, lemon grass and nutmeg. We also visited the narrow streets of Stone Town, which was very busy but very cool. With the beautiful and warm weather, it turned out to be one hell of a weekend.

I have so much more to say but I'm running out of time in the internet cafe! I will try and update you all soon. :)

Nakupenda,
E.

A whole new world.

Mambo!

Oh my goodness what an amazing few first days here in Bagamoyo Tanzania. It all started with a 32 hour travel from door to door. When we finally got to Dar Es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania, I was extremely excited to get to the Cross-Cultural Solution House to finally sleep. It's only about 80km away from the airport, and I was told that it would be about an hour drive. WRONG. We ended up in bumper to bumper traffic with no movement. And it's not like Canada where there are multiple lanes and nice roads. These are dirt roads with crazy drivers in one lane. So after the 4 hour ride. We finally arrived. The house is gorgeous and surrounded by palm trees. It's kind of an optical illusion because right outside the gate is more dirt road with clay made huts and palm tree roofs.

The next few days we were introduced to all the staff and the other people who are living in a different CCS house just five minutes away. They are in the US Army doing a cultural experience to improve their ranking and their knowledge for when they get deployed. They are all so nice and the entire group is really getting involved. We were sent on a few scavenger hunts, where I actually went to the local market and bought Coconuts! The staff is also teaching us how to bargain, since the people in this town like to charge us over price because they know we have money.

We also made out way to the Monday Market. Now this is one hell of an experience. It occurs every Monday, and people garther in a dirt area where they sell things like clothing, radios and Kenga's, which is the traditional African Clothing that Women wrap around their bodies and even use them to carry their babies. It's an experience all right.

Today we actually started our volunteer experience. My job here is to help an organization called UKUN, which provides support to those affected by HIV and AIDS by going to their houses and attending to their needs. Now today we visited 5 clients and introduced ourselves, since we will be working with them for the next 3 weeks. All I can say is, what an eye opener. These people have so little and are suffering from such a horrible disease, but still go about their day as best as they can. Some families support the friend or family member affected by it, or completely abandon them. Some of them get complications from the disease such as blindness and numbness, and some of them pass it on to their children. However, beside all these horrible events, they never loose hope. We would speak to one lady and she'd be giggling the entire time. We'd go see one lady and would participate to the fullest with the physical exercises. We would see one lady affected by AIDS, where she owns her own little hotel in the city. I see all this and think how uncomplicated our lives are, and how much we complain about certain things for nothing. I hope to experience this again and again over my next 3 weeks.

Other then all these amazing things I have experienced already, I've been learning Swahili, the language they speak here in Tanzania, and eating some of the food they serve here. I hope to learn how they make certain things so I can come home and make to. Honestly, they made stew out of banana's and make passion fruit and avocado juice. Who would of thought!

I hope you are all doing well at home! Sit tight for the next time I get get on these computers!

Asante Sana (thank you so much)!

Penda (love),
Erica

The countdown to an adventure

The time has finally come! After a long year at school, fun times with friends in Ottawa, some very successful fundraisers and moving into a new apartment, I am back in Guelph with my passport in hand. I leave for Tanzania in 3 days! My room is covered with things that need to be packed, and my desk has been bombarded with books on Tanzania, Swahili and the list of medications I'll have to take. So exciting! I have met everyone I will be living with in the home and they all seem so great. The majority (about 95%) of them are in the US Army, and then there is one girl from Australia and me, the lone Canadian. Maybe they'll be able to get me out of bed in the morning and workout. Now that would be a new experience!

Now many of my preparation hours have been at my computer learning Swahili on Rosetta Stone. Now THAT is a complicated language. And I thought french was bad enough. To make objects plural, they add a "w" at the beginning of the word! It's a tongue twister and a half. However I've managed to remember a few words that should get me through my day.

Back to packing for me.
Hakuna matata (that's Swahili!)
Erica

Tanzania 2012

Hey Everyone!

This is my official blog for my trip to Tanzania. I should be posting little updates about what I'm doing and I hope to share some pictures with you on the way. I'm not sure how much access I will have to a computer but I will definitely try my best.

Firstly I would like to thank everyone who supported me for this trip and who donated during my multiple fundraisers. It means so much to me and I really hope to make a difference in Africa.

Now for what I'm doing, I just received my volunteer assignment about a week ago. I will be working with a Non-Governmental Organisation called UKUN, that supports people with HIV and AIDS. My job will be to help the organization with home visits to people affected by HIV and AIDS and assist with testing. I will also help with education and awareness around the community. They've even told me that I could build them a facebook page! This is a job I never thought I would encounter but I am so excited for the opportunity.

The home base where I will be living is a small rural city on the Coast of Tanzania called Bagamoyo. It is about a 6 hour drive south of Mount Kilimanjaro, which is the tallest mountain in Africa. It used to be the capital of Tanzania until it got moved to Dar Es Salaam. The population is around 30 000, which is much smaller then what I'm used. The main language is Swahili, however the children learn English starting in Middle School.

I've got my ticket booked, my VISA in my passport, my big backpack ready to be filled (or my sister Alex's backpack) and I leave on May 11th!

Till next time, Erica