I have survived a week in Tanzania. It really is a crazy place. There is no order to anything here. But I like it. I couldn't do it forever, but it's good for now. The people are hilarious, and the children are adorable. And the tribes are fascinating. The Maasai wear a lot of red and black, particularly in buffalo plaid. But some of them wear other bright colors. Yesterday we saw three boys walking down the road who were possibly the coolest thing I've ever seen. They were definitely the blackest thing I've ever seen. I have never seen darker skin, and they wore all black tribal clothing. They had big sticks in their hands and beaded rings on their fingers. My heavens. I wanted to take a picture so bad, but just looking at them was so intimidating that I was afraid to try. I have to be careful what I take pictures of and where I am. In some areas it's totally fine, and I hardly have to worry about my camera, but in some areas they yell at you if you pull a camera out.
This week we spent two days destroying a Maasai mud hut at Your Sisters Orphanage. These mud huts are quite impressive. They have a wooden frame all nailed together and then a mixture of mud and cow dung padded around it and hardened like clay. They are very stable, and the mud on the inside of the building where it hadn't been weathered down was difficult to rip apart. We mostly used only our hands, but we had a couple hammers and things. My hands are still sore. We are going to build a new, smaller one in a different location on the property.
The little girls at this orphanage are miracles. We particularly like this orphanage because it's not just a shelter for the girls, it's a home. The girls are all so happy and active. They absolutely love to play and laugh. And the people there treat us like family, too. They never let us leave without eating first, and it's not like they have extra money and food to spare.
The food, which I was most worried about, is good for the most part. There is a lot of rice but usually has a vegetable curry to go along with it, and I do love curry. Everyone in our house loves chipati. It's like a fried tortilla, kind of a mix between a tortilla and pita bread. We also had noodles cooked in sunflower oil the other night, which was tasty. The meals are good but not super filling because we don't have the opportunity to eat meat very often. And we did manage to find a restaurant with amazingly delicious chocolate shakes where we will celebrate our week countdowns. The shake is amazing! They have good fries, bread, fruit and vegetables. If you order fries, they bring you five different sauces to dip your fries in, including ketchup and mayonnaise so I can make fry sauce. :) I snack on a lot of raisins and peanut butter sandwiches. And I'm glad I brought granola bars and fruit snacks for every day. Their corn here is more like popcorn. It has almost as much flavor as ours, but is not juicy like ours at all. They sell it covered in chili powder and lime on the streets. It's delicious, but so spicy that my mouth can only handle a couple bites.
We found some good markets to buy a lot of great souvenirs. Everything is cheap here...$1=1,585 Tanzanian shillings. The vegetable curry I usually get when I go out costs 4,000, so about $2.40ish. I feel like I'm spending a lot of money because everything is in hundreds and thousands, but the first day I got here I pulled out the equivalent of about $70, and it will last me about two weeks, including a few souvenirs but no extra activities.
I'm going to hold a snake, see some alligators and something I've always wanted to do... ride a camel tomorrow! And next weekend we are going on our safari to Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti.
We went to church on Sunday. You essentially get harassed on your way there. Not because you're going to church but because you have to walk through some kind of slummy areas. The key to not getting bothered while you walk down the street is to walk like you're on a mission and have a very serious face. Anyway, church in a foreign land always feels like another home. We sang the hymns in Swahili but sang with the Primary in English. Relief Society and Primary are both in English, but Priesthood, Sunday School and Sacrament are in Swahili. Everyone in our group except one is LDS. One of the girls got her mission call this week, too! Her parents scanned it and e-mailed it to her. She is going to Fresno, California and is pretty excited. Mom, her sister actually married Mr. Schwimmer. Small world, huh? Apparently he has a two-year-old little boy now.
My malaria pill is no longer making me feel sick, which is a relief. I just have to down about half my water bottle with it.
Today we played soccer with some street kids, and it was a blast! Some of them were pretty young and hadn't played a lot, but the teenage boys were really good. We're hoping to play with them again. It really was a lot of fun!
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Going Out With A Bang
So Saturday we went to Cambridge with cousins. It was so good to see my cousin Chris who is my age, but I haven't seen since we were about 8. We had so much fun together! And he gave me one of his old football team sweatshirts, so I get to proudly wear Coleby on my back. I love it. I also loved Cambridge! It was a very fun town with lots of shopping and lots to do. I could go to school there.
On Sunday, Mom and I arrived in Brussels, which is a very old and dirty city. But oh my heavens, the food is AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS! We had moules et frites (mussels and fries), waffles and chocolate. I would go back just for the food, it was that good. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.
Yesterday and today we wandered through Paris. Mom has made me do all the talking, and though its not perfect, I have communicated adequately with the taxi drivers, metro ticket sellers, waiters and some others. We saw the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Versailles, Le Champs d'Elysées, Le
Tour d'Eiffel, etc. we will see Notre Dame in the morning before I head off to the airport to go to Tanzania.
For my last night I requested a delicious American meal, so we un-Paris-ed ourselves for a couple hours and went to Hard Rock Cafe where I thoroughly enjoyed a 100% beef cheeseburger, fries with fry sauce and a chocolate shake. My plate was spotless when I finished. Now I'm ready to have a shower with hot water and good water pressure and a good night's sleep on a comfortable bed. :)
On Sunday, Mom and I arrived in Brussels, which is a very old and dirty city. But oh my heavens, the food is AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS! We had moules et frites (mussels and fries), waffles and chocolate. I would go back just for the food, it was that good. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. 
Yesterday and today we wandered through Paris. Mom has made me do all the talking, and though its not perfect, I have communicated adequately with the taxi drivers, metro ticket sellers, waiters and some others. We saw the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Versailles, Le Champs d'Elysées, LeTour d'Eiffel, etc. we will see Notre Dame in the morning before I head off to the airport to go to Tanzania.
For my last night I requested a delicious American meal, so we un-Paris-ed ourselves for a couple hours and went to Hard Rock Cafe where I thoroughly enjoyed a 100% beef cheeseburger, fries with fry sauce and a chocolate shake. My plate was spotless when I finished. Now I'm ready to have a shower with hot water and good water pressure and a good night's sleep on a comfortable bed. :)
Friday, June 8, 2012
Here's a boring old travel log...
On Monday my Aunt Sally took us shopping because there was a really cute store my mom and I had been wanting to go to. The mall we went to is a mall my uncle designed, so the was interesting. Then we went to a small village to see the lighting of the beacon in honor of the Jubilee. 4,000 beacons were lit all around the Commonwealth. Then we went back to Sally's to watch the Jubilee concert, which was amazing. I sure do love Paul McCartney.
We went to a street party at Simon and Cordelia's (cousins) on Tuesday. It was pretty fun, and we got to see a lot of cousins, but after a couple of hours it got rained out, so we hung out inside Simon and Cord's house. They're little boy, George, is two and is absolutely adorable with big, bright blue eyes!
Wednesday was a day I have been waiting for for a long, long time.
Sally and her sister Mary drove us all the way from the east side of the country to the west side of the country to see Stonehenge and Bath. Oh. My. Heavens. I don't even know how to describe this day. Stonehenge is just so much more amazing than I ever thought it would be. You know the stones are huge, but you can't really comprehend the total size of them until you see them. And then you realize that 1/3 of the stones are actually placed below ground to hold them up. The size is absolutely insane. And it still boggles my mind to think about it. I think the people who created it are probably up in heaven laughing at us that so many people go everyday to look at this "thing," and we can't even figure out what it was actually used for. It's totally incredible. And Bath is an absolutely stunning city. If I could pick anywhere in England to live, it would be Bath. All the buildings are made out of limestone and have such a surreal look to them. There is a good university in Bath, so it has respectable students and a good atmosphere and life there. The Roman Baths are immensely beautiful. And I didn't know this before going there, but adjacent to the baths was a Temple of Minerva, so that was quite entertaining and interesting for me and my sorority-ish-ness. The water at the baths is still warm and reminds me of a hot spring at home. You could see the steam coming off the water, which has an incredible structure around it with lots of gorgeous architecture. If the Romans hadn't been conquered in war, we'd be hundreds of years ahead of where we are now.
Yesterday, Thursday, Alison and Jessica met us and took us to the Suffolk Show, a much more sophisticated version of the State Fair. People were dressed up, and there are a lot of horse competitions at the show. We have a rodeo at our state fair; they have equestrian competitions and hound dog demonstrations, which reminded me of going to watch the sheepdog trials each September. Unfortunately, my mom and I have discovered that when we are outside it rains and pours, but while we are inside the sun comes out. So, of course, it rained and poured at the Suffolk Show. It was still enjoyable, nonetheless. Afterward, Aunt Alison had planned a family dinner for us at her home, so more cousins came to visit. It's funny how you can have cousins on the opposite side of the world that you don't see very often, but when you do see them, you realize how much you have in common with them. The cousins here have a lot of the same genetic traits as my brothers and I, particularly Cousin Rob. And that whole side of the family, again including my brothers and I, and my sister, have a very artistic sense to us. Everyone enjoys doing design or photography or some sort of art. Funny how much a family can be connected even when you see some of them once every ten years.
We are now staying at Aunt Alison and Uncle Steve's with their kids, Jessica and Jonathan. Alison and Jess took us to see my mom's aunts on her mom's side today, which meant going back to my momma's hometown. Those aunts are so similar to my grandma back home that again it struck me how strong genetics can be. They look and act exactly the same. As we walked in Auntie Janet's house today she asked if she could make us a sandwich or get us a drink or anything. That's exactly what Grandma does back home. "Can I make you a sandwich? Do you want a cookie? Ice cream? A drink? Are you sure you don't want a brownie?" It's hilarious. Anyway, then we drove around the tiny fishing town of Lowestoft to see Mom's house she grew up in. Then we drove to Southwold and walked up and down High Street. We walked past a brewery for one of the biggest beer companies in England. Boy, I sure don't miss the smell of the fraternity houses! It smelled AWFUL! But it was all better after we had some real beer-battered fish and chips on the seafront followed by a 99 (vanilla soft-serve cone with a chocolate bar stuck in it)--some real seaside village England traditions.
Tomorrow we're off to Cambridge!
We went to a street party at Simon and Cordelia's (cousins) on Tuesday. It was pretty fun, and we got to see a lot of cousins, but after a couple of hours it got rained out, so we hung out inside Simon and Cord's house. They're little boy, George, is two and is absolutely adorable with big, bright blue eyes!
Wednesday was a day I have been waiting for for a long, long time.
Sally and her sister Mary drove us all the way from the east side of the country to the west side of the country to see Stonehenge and Bath. Oh. My. Heavens. I don't even know how to describe this day. Stonehenge is just so much more amazing than I ever thought it would be. You know the stones are huge, but you can't really comprehend the total size of them until you see them. And then you realize that 1/3 of the stones are actually placed below ground to hold them up. The size is absolutely insane. And it still boggles my mind to think about it. I think the people who created it are probably up in heaven laughing at us that so many people go everyday to look at this "thing," and we can't even figure out what it was actually used for. It's totally incredible. And Bath is an absolutely stunning city. If I could pick anywhere in England to live, it would be Bath. All the buildings are made out of limestone and have such a surreal look to them. There is a good university in Bath, so it has respectable students and a good atmosphere and life there. The Roman Baths are immensely beautiful. And I didn't know this before going there, but adjacent to the baths was a Temple of Minerva, so that was quite entertaining and interesting for me and my sorority-ish-ness. The water at the baths is still warm and reminds me of a hot spring at home. You could see the steam coming off the water, which has an incredible structure around it with lots of gorgeous architecture. If the Romans hadn't been conquered in war, we'd be hundreds of years ahead of where we are now.
Yesterday, Thursday, Alison and Jessica met us and took us to the Suffolk Show, a much more sophisticated version of the State Fair. People were dressed up, and there are a lot of horse competitions at the show. We have a rodeo at our state fair; they have equestrian competitions and hound dog demonstrations, which reminded me of going to watch the sheepdog trials each September. Unfortunately, my mom and I have discovered that when we are outside it rains and pours, but while we are inside the sun comes out. So, of course, it rained and poured at the Suffolk Show. It was still enjoyable, nonetheless. Afterward, Aunt Alison had planned a family dinner for us at her home, so more cousins came to visit. It's funny how you can have cousins on the opposite side of the world that you don't see very often, but when you do see them, you realize how much you have in common with them. The cousins here have a lot of the same genetic traits as my brothers and I, particularly Cousin Rob. And that whole side of the family, again including my brothers and I, and my sister, have a very artistic sense to us. Everyone enjoys doing design or photography or some sort of art. Funny how much a family can be connected even when you see some of them once every ten years.
We are now staying at Aunt Alison and Uncle Steve's with their kids, Jessica and Jonathan. Alison and Jess took us to see my mom's aunts on her mom's side today, which meant going back to my momma's hometown. Those aunts are so similar to my grandma back home that again it struck me how strong genetics can be. They look and act exactly the same. As we walked in Auntie Janet's house today she asked if she could make us a sandwich or get us a drink or anything. That's exactly what Grandma does back home. "Can I make you a sandwich? Do you want a cookie? Ice cream? A drink? Are you sure you don't want a brownie?" It's hilarious. Anyway, then we drove around the tiny fishing town of Lowestoft to see Mom's house she grew up in. Then we drove to Southwold and walked up and down High Street. We walked past a brewery for one of the biggest beer companies in England. Boy, I sure don't miss the smell of the fraternity houses! It smelled AWFUL! But it was all better after we had some real beer-battered fish and chips on the seafront followed by a 99 (vanilla soft-serve cone with a chocolate bar stuck in it)--some real seaside village England traditions. Tomorrow we're off to Cambridge!
Saturday, June 2, 2012
London Calling
It's the first time ever that I haven't been home for my birthday, so it didn't totally feel like my birthday, but it was a great day! We went to Epsom Downs for the Epsom Derby. The horses were really cool and highly entertaining. We were fairly close to the finishing line, so as they run past you, everyone starts yelling and cheering for the horse they want to win. The top hats and coat tails all the men had on and the hats and fascinators the women had on were fun to look at, and I took lots of pictures. Then Mom and I went to dinner with Malcolm and Leslie (some family friends) at this really good Italian restaurant before we went to Wicked. We've gotten really used to the "tube." Anyway, Wicked was AMAZING. If you have a few minutes, Google Rachel Tucker Defying Gravity. You can skip to the last couple minutes cuz that part is the best. She has an absolutely incredible voice and was found on one of those British talent reality TV shows in 2008. Crazy. We have to wake up early to meet Aunt Sally for the Flotilla. There are Union Jacks EVERYWHERE! Hundreds of them on each street! Especially at Covent Garden. We had dinner there with Aunt Alison and Uncle Steve yesterday. Alison came to meet us in London earlier in the day, and Steve met us for dinner. There's also a sorority sister doing an internship this summer in London, so she met up with us yesterday, too, and it was fun to hang out with her. We are absolutely worn out and have sore feet from all the walking, so it will be nice to have a quiet day at Sally's on Monday.
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