Wednesday, February 16, 2005There are several events that CCS schedules for us to help us learn about the culture here in Tanzania, and today we did a whole day of stuff! This is a big field trip that encompasses a ton of stuff and I have really been looking forward to it. We all loaded up in the van at 8:30 and took off for our first stop. Simon, our driver, had not been driving for even fifteen minutes when he pulled over to an empty lot. When we asked what we were doing, he pointed across the field. There stood the single biggest tree I have ever seen! It is a bao bob (?), and they are sacred here in Tanzania. Not only is it against the law to cut one down, but spiritually, it is akin to commiting hari-kari! Simon says that these trees can grow 2000-3000 years old, but this one was only about 800 years old. Can you imagine? Of course, I hugged the tree! Wouldn’t you?!?! One other note of interest, ….when trying to get rid of hexes or evil spirits, people sacrifice animals at the foot of the tree. There was a bucket of something beneath the tree with a million flies in and around it, but I did not move in for a closer look! There are some things I would rather not know!!
Our next stop was a Chagas cave. The Chagas are a tribe of people that were at war with the Masai for centuries. They built a series of caves and tunnels to hide their women and cattle in, since that is what the Masai were primarily interested in. There is one cave and tunnel that leads to the river and is a TWO DAY walk….all underground! The cave that we went to was small with a long ricket-y wooden ladder leading down into the darkness. Once you got down there, you had to crawl on your stomach from room to room through layers of guano. I have to be honest, though, this is definitely second hand information. There was no way, no how I was going down that dark little hole! I really do believe that when I have a fear in this world,, the best thing I can do is try my best to overcome it. I have hiked at night, I have forded streams, I have attempted a 40 foot high cat walk (I could not do it, but I DID try!), I have flown to foreign countries, I have performed in front of thousands, and I have walked through an African village by myself, knowing no one. All that having been said, I was NOT going down into that dark little hole!! Instead, I walked behind two of the huts and met an elderly Chagas woman. We talked for about 15 minutes, (no, she did not speak English!), when all of the sudden she went running off through the banana trees! A few minutes later, she came back dragging a large stalk of corn with an ear hanging off. She had ripped it out of the ground to give it to me! She was so excited that she just kept talking in Swahili until finally Simon came over and explained that she wanted to give me a gift. I was really touched and after thanking her about a thousand times, I stuck the ear of corn in my bag and fed the rest of the stalk to the cow. I may have been scared of the cave, but I had my own wonderful adventure and I am really glad that I got to meet her.
After the Chagas cave, we stopped by a tiny market for 20 minutes before going on to lunch. I was still in pursuit of kangas so off I went to try my negotiating skills. As usual, within a minute, we were all swarmed by locals talking to us and reaching out to touch us. When I found the kangas I wanted, I bargained with the woman for a few minutes before finally reaching a price. Business done, I headed back to the van. It turns out that out of the three of us that bought kangas, I paid the lowest price! Everyone said that it was because I was a good negotiator, but I think it is because between my bad Swahili and laughter, I am the silliest! The market sellers seem to really enjoy that!
Amid groans of hunger, we headed to a small park for lunch. We drove for miles on little dirt roads, dodging the livestock before we came to a metal gate. When it swung open, spread before us was the most beautiful green lawn circled by shrubs and flowers. This was our picnic place, and it was like heaven. We lounged on the grass under a tree eating box lunches that our cook had prepared for us as we garnered our strength for the rest of the day. The next trip was a close walk to a traditional Chagas hut, and it was really neat. The guide explained the burial practices of the Chagas dead, and took us inside the hut to show us how traditional Chagas live. Imagine a round grass and twig hut woven so tightly that no light can come inside at all. When you enter, on the left, there are two pens, one for the cows and one for the goats, and on the right are two sleeping platforms, one for the girls and one for the guys. There is a small fire in the middle of the floor, and a loft above for storing bananas. It was all very interesting, but I really sat up and took notice when the guy explained that HE lived in here!! I thought that it was a display hut, like you might see if you visit Indian Village in Andarko, Oklahoma, but NO! This was this gentleman’s home! Fulgence, our director, explained that in this situation, rodents, insects, animals and humans all lived together in harmony. Hmm…..almost sounds like the Appalachain Trail to me!
After the history part of the day was done, we all went on a hike down to a waterfall. I had spent a good deal of last week worrying about this because some previous volunteers had told me that it was a very steep, difficult climb down and back up. I thought about not hiking it, but I kept telling myself that if I can do a big chunk of the AT, surely I could do this! So, they handed out sticks to everyone, (I took two!), and down we went. Well….it was steep…very steep…..but there were hand rails! And it was mostly giant steps cut into the rocks! Hah! Piece of cake!! Simon told me at the top that he wanted me to go down with him and to go very slowly. After the first five miuntes, I sat down on my butt to go down a steep section. He went’ “Oh!! Be careful!”, and I smiled at him, telling him that I did it on purpose. A few minutes later, he said softly, “you are good, …very good”, and stayed behind with some other volunteers. At the bottom was a gorgeous, huge waterfall, and I settled back onto a rock to enjoy the view. There were about six little local boys down there and they laughed at us all as we splashed in the water and hopped from rock to rock. The weather was hot, but perfect and the sky was a brilliant blue. As I looked up through the trees, I just felt totally relaxed. It really doesn’t get much better than this!
Much too quickly, Simon came to tell me that it was time to go. I had asked him for a ten minute head start so I could take my time, so off I went. The climb back up was hard on the legs and lungs, but not technically difficult. The heat was overbearing, though, so I struggled to get up out of the canyon as fast as possible. When I got to the top, I did the ‘dance of the real woman’, while saying, “tena…tena”, which means ‘again!”. The other volunteers were not amused, but I couldn’t help but feel great. One of the guys asked me it that trail was like the AT, and I explained that the AT was a lot tougher. Steps cut into rock and hand rails are a serious luxury! He just shook his head and said he would never understand why someone would ever want to do that. I just shook my own head, wondering why someone would not want to.
The rest of the day passed quickly with a stop at the gate of Mount Kilimanjaro and a long drive home. As we drove through the darkness, I listened to the music on my iPod. The Burns sisters were singing, “I’m gonna dance upon this earth”, and I was filled, once again with gratitude for my life. I am the luckiest person I know. Good night.
“When all is said and done here at the ending of the day, I look out on this world and it still takes my breath away…”
“Robin’s Song” Small Potatoes
