Ups & Downs of March

Well, it’s been awhile!…

This month has truly been an interesting learning experience. Just as I thought things were starting to move along, road blocks popped up everywhere and I am suddenly back to square one…

In the beginning, I felt pretty cool cruising around Arusha in my little Suzuki Escudo… I have the freedom, control over my pace of the day (somewhat) and security of having my own car. Well, buying a car in Africa has proven to be way more complicated than I imagined. Trying to find a seller that will be 100% honest with you is nearly impossible, as soon as anyone sees a “mzungu” (“affectionate” slang for white person...hmm) the price doubles! Plus you have to find a way to avoid the (8) middlemen who are all trying to make a profit off a young mzungu woman. Fortunately, I have a good friend here who I can trust completely and he helped me get the car without paying a ridiculous amount for it and acted as my translator so there was no confusion. Having the car is awesome, but I am glad that transaction is almost over…

My TAWIRI permit has been denied. I applied and PAID for this permit back in early December, so it is quite ridiculous that it has taken them this long to figure out that I am not exactly eligible for a Tawiri permit. COSTECH told me that I had to have the Tawiri in the first place, which was dead wrong. Tawiri (the Tanzanian Wildlife Research Institute) gives out permits to NGO’s and scientists that are doing formal research projects. I am here to do a project in photography on a pre-existing research project, not to start my own new one! I was confused as to why I had to have this very expensive permit, but I did as I was told. Costech (the Commission for Science & Technology) should have read my research proposal when I sent it to them IN JULY and realized that I was doing Photography then. NOW I have to apply for the Photo/Film Permit from the Ministry of Information. (who knew?!) Okay, should be easy enough, I just have to write a 1 page summary of what/who I will be documenting, etc.EXCEPT….

It looks like my original project will be changing a bit. Okay, maybe a lot. Turns out, the guy I came to work with is WAY too busy to support a foreign student living here. Making a documentary is completely new to me and I am in a totally foreign world. I was living in his house and I saw him maybe once a week, tops. How am I supposed to make a successful, in depth amazing documentary about a project who’s primary researcher is basically unavailable? Besides, he has real film crews out there making documentaries about his project already. Why should I waste my effort creating an amateur documentary for a project that already has plenty of support? I feel like my creative services can be used to benefit smaller, developing projects that could really use the help from a photographer. We’ve had our differences too, so I am happy to be changing my focus to a project that will appreciate my efforts! Everything is a learning experience, especially when it is confusing, frustrating and challenging, which this month has surely been.

But it hasn’t been all bad!

Before, I was feeling pretty down and disappointed about the whole change, but I am staying positive and taking it as an opportunity to broaden my Fulbright Documentary Project. Since I am affiliated with the entire African Wildlife Foundation, I have been personally invited by the director to work with any AWF project that I like!!!! So now, instead of worrying about not having enough information or material to make a photo/video documentary, I will have PLENTY of material since the AWF has projects going on everywhere!!! So I will no longer be shooting just elephants, I can shoot everything! I will be able to see more of Tanzania and spend more time with different people working on a whole range of environmental, ecological issues. I like to think everything happens for a reason, so I’m optimistic!

In other news….

In the beginning of the month, I took a trip out to Manyara with some students to visit our friend Lelahey’s village. We slept in his family’s boma in the most beautifully made dung huts I have ever seen. We went hiking in the bush, hung out with the kids in the village, which are ALL Lelahey’s siblings and ate a ridiculous amount of rice, potatoes and goat! It was amazing to stay in a Maasai village, Lelahey said that we were the first wazungus to ever come and visit his community. I learned that throwing a spear is a lot harder than it looks, Maasai can walk seriously long distances with no problem at all and spf 15 does absolutely nothing to protect you from the African sun!



The following weekend, I found Jaala. I was driving my friend, Gertrude, to her friend’s home in Namanga and Jackie and Anna came along for the ride. It was just supposed to be a quick errand, but that all changed when we found this tiny little white puppy stumbling down the road! 3 Americans and 1 Tanzanian girl get out of a car to coddle an adorable, helpless, unwanted puppy…what are the odds that puppy is going to be left on the side of the road?! Slim to none!!! Before I could think about what was reasonable or practical, I paid tsh 7,000 (almost $5) for her and we took her with us. Well, Gertrude’s brother happened to be a vet, and HAPPENED to be in town that day! We went to see him, he got Jaala all registered, vaccinated and treated for ticks, worms and parasites and didn’t charge us anything! It was probably not the best idea, raising a puppy is definitely time consuming, but I am definitely happy I have her to keep me company in my single apartment.



And I moved into my own apartment! Living for free is great, but it’s not always the best deal if you are not comfortable. My friend helped me find a place through family friends that is safe, comfortable and ALL MINE! It’s a little 2 bedroom apartment on the 3rd floor of an awesome old brick building. Rent includes all utilities and the generator, which is a big plus since the power goes out very often in Arusha. After one of the other tenants moves out in a month, I’ll be moving down to the 2nd floor so I can have a huge balcony! (I already bought plants!) The whole compound, which includes the 6 unit building that I’m in, a small 3 bedroom house for rent and the large house in the back where the landlord and his family live, is all gated and guarded 24/7, Dad. There’s fruit trees all over the property, little flower lined paths leading to the parking spots and plenty of grassy spaces for Jaala to run around!

So now things are looking better. I got the car, my own place, a small animal friend and honest, genuine support from the right people. With the help of the director of the AWF, I will come up with a new project proposal, get my Photo/Video permit and start working on documenting the AWF Heartlands projects! I’m sure I will be busy snapping pictures very soon!

1st trip to West Kilimanjaro

The last weekend of February, I took my first trip out to West Kilimanjaro to see the KERCP Research Camp, where I will be living when I finally get all my ducks in a row. Of course, the camp, region, and actual logistics of the KERCP were waaayy different than I had imagined, but since you cannot google image search anything about the KERCP or the West Kili region, my imagination was all I had to go on. I went with Bariki, Kikoti's cook for the camp, (but cooking seems like the last thing he does, he's more like an over all assistant!) and Nurdin, a driver from the AWF. The trip took 3 hours...even though Nurdin was going 120km most of the time down dirt roads through small villages. I'm sure the trip will take me much longer when I'm driving! Traveling the road out there, you feel like you're driving through different worlds. We started on tar roads lined with people carrying 7gal. buckets of water, bundles of firewood, huge stalks of green bananas, bags of coal or maize balanced effortlessly on top of their heads. The roads are jammed with cars, daladalas and trucks exhausting huge black clouds of diesel fumes, passing each other so closely, you swear they are driving straight into oncoming traffic. A few kilometers out of Arusha the road clears up a bit and we are flying at 120km. You would have to pay me to walk along roads where trucks are whizzing by that fast. The concentration of buildings and people starts to dwindle and soon we are flying by farms and massive rows of greenhouses. Open spaces start to dominate the landscape, dotted with herds of cattle and goats, followed by children wielding large sticks. Dust devils are swirling over the fields, carrying the red dust and bits of grass. Soon the only signs of civilization are cattle and the empty looking shells of concrete cubes covered in corrugated tin. You would think that no one lives here, but they do. Houses are built so far from any village, shop, or water source that most people walk several miles without even thinking twice about it. Before long, the concentration of homes and people starts to increase again as we approach the turn to Sanya Ju. The turn for the road is about halfway between Arusha and Moshi and goes all the way around Mt. Kilimanjaro to the western side, where the camp is. Bariki made sure to point out the sign and told me to remember it. I thought, 'how could I miss it, it's the only turn for 30 miles, marked with a huge sign!?'. We turn down the road to Sanya Ju and the road becomes narrow and winding, again we whizz by small concrete cubes and cattle, women walking, wrapped in kangas, carrying heavy things on their heads. The environment changes rapidly, from flat grassy plains and farms to bush to desert to forest and back to open plains. This is why Tanzania is so amazing to me. The ecosystems vary so much, in one area you can have tropical-like forest, dry, dusty bush, and dense shady forest filled with long grasses.

Soon the tar road ends and we are speeding down the dusty road, kicking up a huge cloud in our wake. After driving for so long, you would think that you are past the point of civilization, there is no way anyone could live out here...then you come into another village. The next one is called Engare Nairobi, which means "black river" in KiMaasai. (literally "river black") This village is hours from the main road and every structure is made of wood. Timber is a big industry for that area, since tree cutting is allowed in the forests on the hills of Kilimanjaro. Ngare Nairobi looks like a town out of the old west..and I am clearly a rare sight. We stop to stretch and to grab a snack. I am told to wait at the car and when I get out to stretch, I understand why. When all 5'11" of me, with my blond hair and still extremely pale limbs, 2 women chopping wood stop to stare..a few kids appear out of nowhere, whispering to each other and burst into giggles when I wave. This is a common road for people going to climb the mountain, but I have a feeling most people just pass through. I am too cowardly to take any photos in plain sight, so I snap one from the back seat of the Land Cruiser while no one is watching.

Nurdin comes back to the truck with a greasy wrapped bundle of newspaper. He unwraps it and says "Liaanaa, karibuu!" Probably close to a pound of grilled chunks of beef are piled on Swahili newspapers, fat and all. I take a leaner looking piece, despite my recent attempts at vegetarianism and start chewing away. One piece on Nyamachoma probably lasts about 10 minutes..

As we drive further and further into the bush, the roads get rougher and the dusty dirt turns into rich, dark reddish brown soil. By the time we reach the camp, every inch of me, the car and everything in it is covered in a fine layer of dirt. If you try to wipe the sweat off your forehead, you just end up mixing it with the dust and smudging streaks of brown mud-sweat across your face.

Coming down the road to the KERCP, you would never assume there was an established research camp there. We pull in and stop in front of the pantry/storage building and at first glance it seems like there are only 2 or 3 small structures here. Small rock lined gravel paths go off in different directions and reveal more small buildings that are hiding in the dense bush. All the structures are a little spread out so there is privacy around all the tents. All in all, there is a large gazebo type concrete platform with a thatched roof for meetings and functions, a pantry house with a full refrigerator and coffin freezer, a kitchen with shelves full of pots, pans and dishes, complete with 2 fire pits for cooking, a row of 3 bathrooms with flush toilets and a large basin sink with a huge mirror, and an office building with 3 or 4 computers, a small library and internet access! Tents are scattered in between the concrete or wooden buildings, some under thatched roofs to protect them from the sun and rain. We unload our gear and check out the site where my tent will be set up. I get to pitch my tent under one of the thatched roofs since I will be there for 9 more months. My little home is out of the way under a huge tree that shades my whole campsite. I am near the office, Kikoti's tent and a washroom, but I have my own shower surrounded by thatched walls! We get to work right away to unpack my tent and set it up. We unroll all 10'x14' of the heavy canvas and I sort out all the poles. Soon after reading and re-reading the instructions I realize I am missing at least 4 poles, the stakes AND the rain fly!!! I start to get frustrated and angry that tent company sent me an incomplete kit and I start to get worried about having more pieces sent to Africa and the scathing email I am going to write to them!!! After complaining and cursing the tent company for my incomplete tent kit....something triggers my memory... I LEFT THE EXTRA POLES IN MY OTHER SUITCASE IN ARUSHA. When I was packing my 3 bags at home, I had to make sure the tent was under 70lbs and my other suitcases had to be under 50lbs. The tent weighed 74lbs in it's original package, so I had to unpack some poles and squeeze them in my other suitcase. Immediately, I am struck with my own stupidity and absent mind... We drove 3 hours out here so I could see the camp and set up my tent and I forgot the poles at home. I am a Rasmussen, 100%. No one else seems to mind as much as I do, these things happen and like they say, there's no hurry in Africa!

The rest of the weekend, we drove around the region, visiting the other KERCP camps and introducing myself to the Maasai Game scouts. (I say we because Bariki did all the talking and explaining for me, why this American girl is out here taking pictures of everything like a tourist! I can't even use what little Kiswhahili I know, cause all the guys speak Maa!) It rained on and off and we got stuck several times in the slippery mud, even in the Land Cruiser! It was fun sliding around, doing 360's in a huge truck on dirt roads and sliding into ditches and getting pushed out. When we got stuck, people just seem to appear out of nowhere to watch or help. Fortunately the roads dry up quickly in the hot sun and it's not long before we can get going again.

Hopefully by then end of this month, I will have all my permits and things straightened out so I can move out to the camp for good and start my project!! I have a lot of supplies to buy including a bed, desk, trunk for my clothes, wash buckets, etc. At least now I have a car so I can shop around and get everything I need!

Sijui kuosha nguo zangu! ..i don't know how to wash my clothes!

I packed about 2 weeks worth of clothes…so this week it was about time to do some laundry. I got up early one morning, gathered up all my skirts and tank tops and headed to the back yard to wash my clothes in the big buckets I saw Agnes, the housekeeper wash other laundry in. I don’t remember the last time I washed my clothes by hand, probably some Girl Scout camping trip 15 years ago, but I figure, how hard can it be? I get a few big buckets out of the storage closet, fill them up from the spigot coming from the huge water tank and throw my clothes in. There’s an old paint can filled with white powder detergent, I grab a couple small chunks and throw them in the cold water with my clothes. I’m sitting on a rock, mashing away at my clothes when Agnes and Lazarro, one of the Maasai guards at the house, come around the corner into the yard. When they see me sitting in front of my bucket of clothes, they nearly collapse they are laughing SO HARD!! Apparently I am doing it very wrong!? I heard a few years ago, there was another American student staying at Kikoti’s that tried washing her clothes, using a huge wooden spoon to stir them around with, “like she was making a stew!” I think I cannot be nearly that bad; it’s pretty common sense, washing clothes…right? I have no idea what I could possibly be doing wrong, I say ‘Nini? Nini? What am I doing? Sijui! I don’t know! Hapana? No?’ as I hold up my soaked, balled up tshirts. Agnes comes over to me, shaking her head waving her hands at me saying “Adja, stop.” She takes my buckets and rearranges my whole laundry setup. She goes inside and boils water. She mixes the hot water into a new bucket and mixes handfuls of the detergent into it. Okay, I know your supposed to wash things in hot water, I was just using what was easily available! And I guess I’m used to the super concentrated detergent at home, where you use a few tablespoons for a whole load! After she dumps all my clothes into the new bucket, she quickly an efficiently picks up each piece and methodically folds the seams of the collars, sleeves and bottom hems in her hands and scrubs them rapidly in her hands. After a few minutes of watching and learning, I try to step in “Na taka ku saidia, I want to help!” Lazarro and Agnes both say “Adja!” in unison. I don’t know what to do…I sit there, awkwardly watching someone else wash my clothes by hand in a bucket. Agnes usually does the wash for Kikoti and any guest that stays there, but I cannot get over the uncomfortable indications of class that come with having housekeepers, especially in Africa! I figure I can jump in when she starts rinsing and hanging them on the line…nope. Again, “Adja!!” I am forced to leave my laundry to Agnes. Maybe it would just be easier for her to do it for me than try to teach me how she washes the laundry? Maybe she is proud of her responsibilities as an employed woman (still sort of an anomaly here) and I would be insulting her if I tried to take away her usual tasks? Like I don’t think she can do it, or worse, that I don’t want her to touch my things?! I have no idea how to respond, but I do not like the idea of expecting her to wash my clothes for me. Next time, I’ll try to imitate her effective methods…and maybe try to do my laundry while she’s not here to judge me and take it away!!