Pre-departure

So this Orange County, admittedly somewhat- spoiled girl is leaving for Tanzania, Africa tomorrow.  I’ve honestly never been this excited in my life. The only things I am nervous about are a) getting something stolen and b) getting malaria…not sure which one is worse.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

I don’t want to bore you with details so here’s a quick synopsis of the program I’m doing.

I’m studying abroad with SIT (School for International Training) because the UC EAP program quite frankly appeared too boring (it involved studying at the university in the not-so-kind-to-tourists capital Dar Es Salaam).  SIT’s program is quite the opposite. It’s called Tanzania Wildlife Conservation and Political Ecology and includes 4 classes: language study, wildlife conservation and political ecology seminar, environmental field study seminar, and independent study project, in that order. The semester will include 5 weeks of tent camping, a 13 day safari, a 3 week homestay in Bangata, a 1 week homestay in Maasai, and hopefully a climb up Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain on the African continent, with an elevation of 19,341 feet. 

So why study abroad and live in a tent when I could live in Paris for a semester for the same price? I don’t really know. I guess I like adventure? But even that sounds cliché.

I’ve always been in love with the outdoors and am a believer in nature as a healer. Hence, why one of my majors is Conservation and Resources Studies. I also love learning about different cultures; the more different the better. Hence, the anthropology major. I want to explore a completely different culture and am dying to see Tanzanian National Park wildlife.

Almost as big as my passion for the outdoors and camping is my passion to travel. Unfortunately, this involves money, which shockingly as a college student I don’t have much of.  So I owe the world to my parents and grandma for making this trip financially possible.

When I ask friends about their trips to Africa they all say the same thing: “The people are just so damn happy.”  Well that doesn’t make sense since Africa’s problems are immense. So there’s definitely something to be said about “it’s the simple things in life.” We could get all philosophical and depressing here and talk about the negativities of Western materialism, but let’s not go there…not yet.

In preparing for this semester my biggest challenge by far is coming to terms with the fact that I won’t be able to watch The Bachelor every Monday night. Just kidding…kind of.  Packing for 5 months and keeping it under 50 pounds and on my back will be my biggest preparatory challenge. And this 50 pounds must include a tent, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad.  Really!? It’s safe to say my mom won’t be helping me pack since she tends to pack the whole house.  The little clothing that I do pack has to be modest clothing, since the women in Tanzania dress conservatively, so there goes my whole closet of SoCal tank tops and shorts.  I do plan on packing a razor for those of you that are concerned.

We will spend our first week at Ndarakwai Ranch on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro.  There is no internet there and no phone service (not that I’ll even have my cellphone), so no news is good news mom! From there we begin our 3-week homestay in Bangata on the slopes of Mt. Meru (homes vary from homes with electricity to “mud and stick” homes), and we will participate in a language study class 4 hours everyday. I took one year of Swahili so we’ll see if any of it comes back to me.

Next time I update will likely be during my homestay. Let’s hope I get a mud-stick home with a fun family! Until then, kwa heri!

Interesting little Tanzanian facts:

The average life expectancy is 52 years.

Homosexuality is illegal.

One dollar= 1,592 Tanzanian shillings.

62% of Tanzania is Christian; 35% is Muslim, and 3% is other religious groups.

Hakuna matata is Swahili and means…you guessed it..no worries.