Hello again!
This may be one of the last blogs that I write about
Africa and the amazing trip that I have had here. Things are wrapping up so quickly here and I
feel like our time is being cut shorter that it already is. The day before our big presentations to the
community, we had to meet in the morning and talk about what to expect for the
full day of presentations. We pretty
much worked all day on slideshows that simplified the messages of our results of
research so that the community could understand what we did and what we found
in the process. We had to practice the
speeches in the afternoon, but it was literally a disaster. We practiced with a translator that was not
the best at doing so, so one presentation alone took over an hour. Trying to words things in a way that the
translator understands is harder than it seems, and we had to write down
scripts of how to word things for the next day.
As soon as we got the presentation together, we hit the sack in
preparation for what was sure to be a very full and very long day.
We woke up the next day, ate a quick breakfast, and
started preparing for our guests to arrive.
We had to move tables and chairs all over camp to have enough room for
the people that we invited. We had to
set up a projector in the dining hall, curtains to block out the bright
sunlight and some heat, and food tables since we would be serving our guests
lunch. I also had to meet with the
translator we would be using and go over the PowerPoint with him so that he
would be able to make sense of it when explaining it to the community. It was a very full morning, and by ten when
the guests started arriving, I was so excited to get things moving.
My group was the first group to go and we all gave
our presentation together because each of our studies supported one giant
finding at the end. Our presentation
took a total of 45 minutes and I loved every second of it. The translator we had was fantastic at
understanding what we were trying to say, and I felt like it was so great to be
sharing all this information we collected with the people who it affects the
most! I couldn’t help but be happy to
see over 50 community members looking back at me and wanting to know what we
had been working on for the last several weeks!
Never did I think I would have the chance to present research in a
different country with a translator assisting me, and I was so thankful for the
experience to do so, even though it was more difficult than I thought. The community really seemed to appreciate the
hard work we had done, and they asked great questions that we did a pretty good
job answering overall.
There were 6 other groups besides us, so it was
destined to be a really long day from the start. We started our presentation around 11 and
everything did not wrap up until at least 4:30 pm. It’s really difficult because everyone is so
excited about their study and every little thing that they found, but it was
definitely necessary to summarize main findings to try and keep things concise
and not dragging on forever. As soon as
we were all done, you could feel the sign of relief that fell over the room,
and we were just looking forward to finally having lunch.
Our guests went first, of course, but the kitchen
staff did an amazing job cooking for that many people, and we were so thankful
for everything they made that they knew the community would like and so would
we. I felt like I was at a summer
barbeque and it made me look forward to hamburgers and hotdogs when I get home
in a couple days. It was so great to sit
in the grass with all of the community members that had come to support us.
We finished eating, spent tons of time cleaning up
the mess that was inevitable with so many people coming to our camp, and
started a huge volleyball game. By the
time dinner came around, each team had around 9 people, including lots of the
staff members! It was so fun playing
with so many people and you could just tell the weight that was off everyone’s
shoulders! After all, we were now
officially done with ALL assignments and grades in Africa and now we just had
time to enjoy the little time that we have left here! That night, we had a huge dance party that
every single person came and joined in on!
We danced for about two hours straight to the most ridiculous things
like MC Hammer, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, and Usher. I am still amazed at how long it feels like I
have known this group of people. I don’t
think there is anything I could do that would ever embarrass me in front of
them, so I was dancing like a freak and everyone would just laugh and join in
with me. It was so great and carefree
and a great way to celebrate DR being over and what a great group we really
are. We ended the night on a fitting
Whitney Houston song and called it a night before the early hike we were having
the next morning!
Unfortunately, the hike was cancelled because of the
pouring rain, and I also slept half way through cook crew for the last morning
we had it! Oh welllllll! Wouldn’t be the last cook crew without
keeping up the tradition of one of us sleeping a bit through it (usually me
hahaha). After cooking a crazy breakfast
with the most random concoctions we could think of, we had a few hours to start
packing and getting things ready for us to leave in a few days. Anyone that knows me knows that I hate
packing more than anything, and I was dreading getting started. I made a few strides, like picking out what
to wear on the plane, but other than that, I was happy to just drink some chai
and talk with some friends. When it got
to be lunch time, we had great chapati like always and got ready to once again
leave and head into Karatu!
I was a little worried about all of the mud that
would be in Karatu, but of course, my rain boots don’t fit on my gigantic
feet!!! When I first arrived, I had to
run to the ATM to get a few more shillings out before I could get the last
minute things I wanted in town. My first
task was to get a full shuka to use a beach blanket for the summer, and that
was super successful. I found one I
liked in the first 15 minutes and got it for the price that I wanted! Next, I found a few friends that were looking
for random touristy things like I was, and we found the best cart on the side
street to get a few little wood carvings and things. I traded my shoes for a couple things and was
happy to not spend as much money on them.
Finally, I found these amazing beaded sandals that were the first ones I
have ever seen in my size. My Yeti feet
are even bigger compared to a lot of the local people, so when I found shoes
that fit/would fit in the US when my feet were normal again, I had to get them. I love them so much and even though I didn’t
want to spend any more money, I had to get the one pair that I loved and that
fit me!
After trekking through the mud for an hour or two in
town, we were headed to Happy Days again.
It was my friend Jen’s birthday, so we were all excited to celebrate
with her as well as celebrate being done with all classes and DR!!! It was so fun to hang out with all 26 of us
and drink our new favorite thing, Amarula!
I had a blast, but started getting so sad realizing that I wouldn’t get
to spend every day with this group of people much more… I had to stop thinking about it and enjoy
every second that I did have with them in Africa!!!!
After leaving Happy Days, we got back and enjoyed
the amazing popcorn the staff made for us, complete with random cookies on top!
Hahaha Then we had a giant volleyball
tournament that was staff versus students.
Usually the staff is not the best at volleyball here, but surprisingly
they brought their game today. We went
all the way to three games to determine the winner, but after all of that, the
students came out on top! It was so fun
because we had music blasting, the sun was out, and everyone was having a great
time. Our WE professor had it out for me
though, and would switch places with the other staff to get right in front of
me so we could have spiking battles. It
was so fun and I think we all loved a little friendly competition! We played until we couldn’t see the ball
anymore, and went straight in for dinner and birthday cake! We even had some closing activities to help
us get ready to go home, and it was a great feeling to know that we are all in
the same boat with one another in the ways we are feeling about going back to
the US.
After that, we had our last cook crew clean-up of
the entire trip and we were all excited to get it done and over with. But when I walked outside to see the load of
dishes that we had waiting for us, I was completely shocked!!!! It was by far the most dishes I have ever
seen that needed cleaned. They had let
some of the dishes sit from the day before when they cooked for all of the
people we presented to and we were somehow supposed to get burned rice off that
had been stuck there for two days. We
ended up asking if anyone would help us because it would have easily taken 3 hours
if only the five of us were out there.
Luckily, a bunch of people jumped up and helped us, and I have no idea
what we would have done without them.
Thank goodness for all of the amazing people that I have in this group
as my best friends here with me!!!
The rest of the night, I turned up my ipod as loud
as it could go and got all of my packing done!!! I was so proud of myself
because I really didn’t think it all would fit.
As I finished up all of the last little things, I knew I could sleep
soundly and was happy that my last full day in Africa could be enjoyed as
opposed to dreaded because of the packing!
The next morning, I woke up with excitement of
everything that the day would hold, but also with dread of it being our last
full day in Africa. I woke up at 5:50 am
to do a sunrise hike with one of our camp assistants and the few other students
that woke up in time! It was still super
muddy out from the rain the few days before, so throughout the hike, my shoes
gained about 10 pounds in weight in the stickiest mud ever from here. The hike was to the top of Moyo Hill, which
is the hill that our camp is named after, and it is about a 40 minute hike at a
normal pace. But because we knew the sun
was rising, we pretty much ran up the entire hill! I think we made it in less than 25 minutes
and when I made it to the top, I had to catch my breath before I could really
admire the view. The view was incredible
though! You could see all the way down
to Lake Manyara and Mto wa Mbu, and across the rolling hills to the left and
right of town. It was so beautiful, but
kind of cloudy so we couldn’t see the sunrise to its fullest. The sky was still glowing this amazing peach
color and was so beautiful. But my
favorite part of the morning was the amazing fog. It would come out of nowhere and one second
we could see for miles and miles, and the next time I looked up, I couldn’t see
three feet in front of me! It was
incredible and I loved the amazing weather that we could see from the top of
the hill.
We climbed back down, taking our time a little bit,
and then I took an hour nap before it was time for breakfast! We had one of our last two breakfasts, and
then we had the rest of the morning to get our things together and make sure we
were all packed. Since I was all packed,
I spent the morning making preparations for later that day! The biggest task I was in charge of again was
making cards for all of the staff to let them know how much we appreciate
them. I decided to make coloring sheets
for all of the staff and then use my huge supply of crayons to color them. Luckily, because it was such a fun activity
and took people’s minds off of packing, I had a lot of help! We colored all 13 sheets and then started
passing them around the bandas for everyone to sign! We also got to plant trees in the
morning! It was our way of giving back
to camp and making it more beautiful for the future students that come
here. We planted a lot of little acacia
trees to help plant indigenous plants in the community as opposed to exotics!
The rest of the morning I spent checking my flight
reservations to make sure everything was good for the next day and hanging out
with the other people that were done packing.
Finally it was time for lunch, and I was happy to get my regular seat in
the dining hall surrounded by all of my friends. We had lunch, talked about cards, traded
pictures, and kept packing until it was time for the part of the day that I was
looking forward to the most: The staff versus student soccer game that we had
planned. Our camp director rented us one
of the big fields down in Rhotia with real goals and nice grass! AND they got us these amazing jerseys to play
in. If I told you that the name of our
team was the Pepto Bismols, I am sure you can guess the color of the jerseys.
Our jerseys were hot pink, with lovely black
stripes, while the professors had blue jerseys that were quite boring compared
to ours! We got down to the field, and
to our surprise, we had a referee and everything. And by the time we started, we had a huge
audience that had come to watch us!!! We had enough players to play 11 vs. 11
and still have subs, and it was the best game ever. Surprisingly, we kept up pretty well and I
got a major workout in the process. Not
playing on a normal size field started to wear down on us quick though, and we
ended up losing 3 to 1. Not too bad
against a country that is obsessed with their soccer! Out of nowhere after the game, a truck showed
up with 5 cases of soda for all of us!!!
We all got fantas and cokes and everything in between and sat in the
warm sunshine drinking our sodas and hanging out with the staff and local
community. I couldn’t have been happier
at that moment. What else can you ask
for on your last day than an amazing game of soccer with the staff, a cold soda,
hot sunshine, and some amazing friends to enjoy it with?!
After we wrapped everything up, we had a present to
take to the tailors really quickly with scraps of fabric and pens and pencils
and things. We were so excited to drop
it off and you could definitely tell how thankful they were for
everything! We walked back to camp for
the last time, and when we got back, it was crunch time for everything else we
had to get done. Our bags had to be
packed by 6 pm and in the car, we were cooking another big feast with a bunch
of random foods, and we needed to decorate the dining hall for our last
meal! We immediately got to work, and a
lot of people were so willing to help with everything! The dining hall looked amazing by the time we
were done with it! We tied balloons
everywhere from every place possible and hung up streamers both in celebration
and to thank the staff for everything they have done for us! It made the dining hall look so great, and
really added to the festivities the rest of the night!
We had our amazing feast, including barbeque chicken
pizza, black bean burgers, snickerdoodles, brownies, cake, and lots of other
good things and by the time I was done, I thought I was going to explode! We then had our final RAP, including a
reflection about the entire trip, and then several announcements. We talked about what time we would be leaving
in the morning, and then the staff thanked us for being here with them and
being one of the best groups they have ever had, which is definitely true
hahaha! Then our SAM was presented with
a cake to thank her for everything and a gift from the staff. Patrick and I decided it was a perfect time
to give out the cards, so we ran to my banda and handed out all of the staff cards. They were thankful, yet questioning of the
weird North American animals that we put on them, but started to laugh when
they realized how ridiculous the pictures were.
The rest of the night was spent in looking back
through the semester. Katie made this
amazing video that was a combination of pictures and videos all wrapped into
one. We set up chairs and the projector
and watched it like it was movie night.
We also had yearbook pages that we were all signing for each other to
take home with us for the next few days that are destined to be pretty tough
leaving everyone. It was a really great
night spent with everyone, just talking and reminiscing about the semester, and
it made me realize that maybe I wasn’t ready to go home as much as I thought I
was.
Our flight tomorrow is out of Arusha at around 6pm,
but we are heading out early since Arusha is a little bit of a drive and we
want to make sure everything is running smoothly. I plan on writing one more blog entry to close
things up, but it will definitely be back in the United States. I want to thank you again for still reading
my blog throughout this semester. It has
been honestly the most amazing three months of my life and I am so happy that I
was able to share it with you.
Talk to you from the US!!!
Love,
Mollie Ann