Independent Study Project/ A quick update

Hello internet world! Nice to have you back. Just got back from a 2 week stay in Bangata Village near Mt. Meru doing my independent study project.  I was interviewing 30 different families on how much meat protein they eat, the livestock they raise, and livelihood decisions regarding meat protein consumption.  Answers for meat consumption ranged from less than once a month up to 12 times a month, with most families averaging about 4 times a month aka once a week.  I was surprised to find how many families viewed livestock as strict business rather than food.  Very few slaughtered animals for household consumption.  In fact, chicken was the only animal that was sometimes slaughtered.  Most participated in the milk business or poultry business and used the money for school fees, house construction, food, and restocking the livestock.  The milk business was extremely common and involved selling milk to pikipiki guys (motorcycle guys) who came to your door, bought your milk, and sold it in town.  Families usually only sell animals (often dairy cows and bulls) when they need fast cash for expenses such as school fees.

Overall I surprisingly found my study really interesting, which is good because I was staying in Bangata alone and didn’t really have anything to do.  My homestay brother Gifti went with me on my interviews and translated and I couldn’t ask for a better translator and entertainer.  It’s definitely rainy season and I slipped about 20 times a day walking from household to household because I swear the mud is made of oil.  And it killed me that no one else in Bangata would slip.  Mamas would carry nearly 30 pounds of firewood on their heads and never once slip. I don’t understand.  I loved Bangata even more this time around.  I think it’s because I was alone so maybe I connected with the people more, but I really enjoyed this stay.  There were a few struggles however: 1) cooking (I so failed at making beans so resorted to eating boiled eggs, peanut butter, and rice) and 2) my swollen arm.

Two of bug bites got infected making my arm swell like a balloon so I made the trek to Arusha and learned I had a bacterial infection and an arm full of puss, so gross. I had to make several trips back to the doctor to have my arm drained and re-drained and then dressed and redressed.  Good news is right now it is no longer swollen and barely hurts anymore.  I looked at it for the first time recently and was surprised to find a hole in my arm so I’m going to the doc regularly to have them clean and bandage it.  Nasty, but I guess it could always be worse.  Plus going to the doc gave me an excuse to stop at my favorite chai maziwa/ maandazi bench (two ladies that sell hot milk tea and donuts on a bench) and to see the girls staying in Arusha…which brings me to the Arusha Malibu Mansion.

It’s beautiful. It’s huge. It’s so clean. There’s a fridge. There’s two balconies. There’s hot water. There’s internet. There’s friends.  The beds are huge. I think I almost passed out the first time seeing it.

Right now I’m moved into the mansion, typing up my study project, and couldn’t be happier.  So happy to be back with rafikis, and the rest of the students start coming back today! 

I honestly still feel likes it January and can’t fathom that this trip is nearing the end.  But I’m so ready to see friends and fam again. Miss you guys! 

swollen arm! woohoo!

home sweet home in Bangata

a local butcher

my stove where the cooking magic did not happen

Malibu mansion. just 1 of the many rooms

our baby

more Malibu Mansion

Maasai homestay, Ngorogoro Crater, and Serengeti

Maasai homestay= asdfkj*!@sdajkfh*%$!. Literally no words to describe it. This experience has had the biggest impact on me so far, so I’ll try my best to describe the highlights here but if you see me in person ask me about it and the pictures…there’s so much to say. 

There are over a million Maasai people in Tanzania, and it’s incredible how true they have stayed to their traditional lifestyle.  They lead a polygamist lifestyle that is represented fairly clear by their boma circle. Each wife builds her own bomba that usually form a circle formation around the cow/ goat pasture.  We learned about how a father picks his daughter’s husband, the variation in the number of wives, the grazing patterns, the circumcision ceremonies (for boys and girls), the warrior dances…so many traditions and ceremonies and dances…but I’d rather just jump straight to my experience and the people I lived with.  We showed up the first morning with just a Ziploc bag of the basic essentials, ready to go.

The people who had the biggest impact on me were my two sisters (probably around 10 years old): Neesi and Mitooyni, my mama: Mama Elizabette, and Solomon (a young boy probably around 3).  My sister Neesi literally held my hand the entire homestay…but she actually did (the whole stay I was never alone)… we would even pee outside together, she would show me the right way to bath either in the river or with a cup of water, how to collect firewood and carry it (which was killer), dress me the right way in my Maasai robes, carry my water for me, and everywhere we walked she would lead me by holding my hand. Most people only spoke Maa, such as my mama, but Neesi and I could communicate somewhat with Kiswahili.  It was certainly odd at first having a tiny 10 year old child take care of me like I’m a fragile baby, but she was so incredibly loving and caring it made me feel so at home and cared for.  Neesi and Mitooyni would always brush my hair out of my face, wipe the dirt off my legs and feet, readjust my crooked robes, and straighten my jewelry.  It was these odd things that were mind-blowing for me…these girls could run households and raise children with no problem. 

Daily tasks such as collecting firewood or water were killer for me but these kids (some as young as 4) laughed and carried on with no complaints.  Collecting firewood I literally had to wait for Neesi to collect a pile for me because I was so unclear as to which pieces to grab and which parts to machete off.  After she formed my pile, she then tied it all together and helped me place it on my back with the strap going over my head.  I thought the walk back was damn hard…it was super hot and I bruised my spine but all the children could basically skip and carry the heavy loads. They never complain. Ever. I don’t understand. It’s incredible and so so humbling. I use to complain about unloading the dishwasher. Wow.

Neesi also showed me how to help build the house. After the cows returned from grazing, there was obviously some fresh poop in the pasture. We collected this yummy poop with our hands, poured water over it, and mushed it together.  At first I tried to grab the dry poops but Neesi said O no…Got to grab the fresh ones.  We then mushed the poop on the sticks that structured the house.  A smelly job but not as bad as I thought it would be. After, we washed our hands with water, no soap :( , and went to eat dinner. Woo.

Completed bombas are circular small huts. You have to bend down to enter through the door and once inside you can’t see a thing so you have to use a flashlight at all hours of the day.  In the center is a fire and usually one or two beds made of sticks and cow skins. We slept outside most nights because of the heat, and this was my favorite part of the trip.  It was actually my favorite moment of the trip…

My two sisters, mama, and I shared a cow skin outside with a mosquito net over us, no pillows or blankets but you don’t really need it.  The moonlight was insane. Before falling asleep we lay there all staring at the ridiculously bright moon.  My sisters were petting my hair, singing some song in Maa about eyes, ears, and nose, and my mama and I were staring up at the moon. I’m not sure why this was my favorite moment but the feeling was surreal. I felt so close to my sisters and mama even though the language barrier was huge. I think it was the combination of the beautiful night sky, the fact that I was tired, and the feeling we were sharing, that created this weird moment.

A young boy named Solomon also stuck with me. He was about 3 years old never wore pants and always had the same sweater on.  Seeing him made your heart sink a bit, his legs were toothpicks, his belly engorged, and his face always covered in snot, but man he loved a game of peek-a-boo.  At first he was super shy with me but then couldn’t get enough of playing peek-a-boo. When he would come over to our bomba he would always climb me like a mountain and bury his face, thinking he was somehow hiding.  We went to church every night to sing and one night I got to hold him while he was sleeping…magic. When I asked my sister why he was sick (in broken Kiswahili), she pointed to his hips, tummy, throat, chest, and mouth.  Despite being sick (and it seems he has been sick for a long time), he rarely cried.  Overall, the children I met during my stay were simply incredible. They never complained and were doing daily tasks that I could barely perform. They are kind of my heroes.

The warrior traditions and Le Shomos (dances) were also amazing.  The rhythm and noises created by the warriors and girls jumping and chanting was magical.  These dances also created mix feelings since some of the girls are extremely young and the purpose of the dance is for warriors to “meet” girls.  Still the colors, movements, and music are beautiful.

Now, before Maasai homestay, we camped in Ngorogoro Crater and Serengeti, and by no means do I mean to downplay these experiences.

I especially loved the crater. Some of us tried to put together words to describe the feeling you get from being in the crater and the best we could come up with was a sort of inner peace. There’s something about being in a completely enclosed circle, surrounded by towering hillsides….so much life in one “little” circle. Zebra, wildebeest, baboons, elephants, a few rhinos, lions, buffalo, everywhere. The best part was when a pride of lions decided to chill by all the safari cars.  I have a pic below of the male peeing on one of the cars. So bizarre yet thrilling.

Although Serengeti had so many animals as expected (especially loved the lions, cheetahs, topi, and leopard), my favorite part was the landscape and sunsets. So much vast land. Just the sky was cry worthy. Clouds on more clouds.

I think Ngorogoro and Serengeti are better described with pics so just scroll below.

Still learning. Becoming more grateful everyday. And can’t believe there’s only one part left to this journey. We’re off to do our independent study projects, so limited internet. L Love you all.  

 Baba with 2 of his wives. Mama Elizabette on the left.

 Neesi, Solomon, and me.

 2 of my brothers and baba.

simba peeing

 serengeti sunset