Arusha, Tanzania, Tanzania
Friday, June 15, 2012
Today was our first day of venturing into the wild! The weather in Tanzania is a tiny bit chilly but it feels very tropical. It is their winter now, but I guess it's about 65 degrees fareinheight. There is a crown-crested crane that hangs around the hotel. His name is Henry, and we learned that he lost his one and only mate, so he sometimes stares at his reflection in the window. So sad..Today we went to Arusha national park in Tanzania, where we saw tons of cool animals. The things we saw were giraffes, baboons, black-and-white colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, buffalo, zebras, warthogs, waterbuck, bushbuck, flamingos, other birds and more, and all completely wild and not fenced in. We took a hike in the park and learned about all of the different animals and what you can use some of the plants for. It was surprising how close we could get to the animals, especially the giraffes! Our tour guide (Fitiael) taught us some new words in Swahili (that is the language most speak in Tanzania). Some he taught us were Jambo-Hi, Mambo-How are you (or hi), Poa-Cool, Nzuri-Fine, Asanti-Thank you, Asantisana-Thank you very much, and Carabu-you're welcome
. Tanzania really is beatiful. It is green and seems full of life. They have fields of sunflowers (to harvest the oil), corn and coffee plants. Most roads are dirt roads, but hardly anyone owns car. I did notice it was common for motorcycles though, and a lot of people had bikes. But almost everyone walks from place to place. Tons of people are always walking alongside the road. A lot of people carry big loads of stuff in their arms, or usually, on their head. I dont know how they balance it, but a lot of girls carry buckets on their head, probably filled with water. I saw someone with a big bunch of bananas on their head, and most carry big bags. Almost every girl wears colorful skirts that go down to their feet. No women here shows their knees, as it is considered disrespectful. (Same with showing shoulders) Everyone acts really warm and friendly. They will all smile, wave and say jambo when you pass by. They all seem to laugh about everything, especially awkward situations. Tomorrow, and the rest of the days, we will have a new tour guide because Fitiael is going to a funeral. He was really nice and I'll miss him. Today was really fun and tomorrow we get to go to Tarangire national park, which is famous for elephants! I also fell in love with Stoney ginger ale, after Achmid recommended them to us. It's super strong and makes me cough sometimes, but really good. It's a coca-cola product, so why don't they have it in America??
Comments
Haha im totally gonna photoshop!! LOL:)))