Hamjambo Marafiki! (Hello all my friends)
The first half of my research is over, and now we are staying at a beach resort on Matemwe beach called Panga Chumvi. Our group visited during the May experience, and loved it, so of course we had to come back. I must say, after leaving the village homestays, a beach resort is a very welcome sight. Overall, my time in the village was a little rough, but overall an amazing and life changing experience, and I was only there for a few weeks. I can only imagine how my advisor Dr. Farris felt when she stayed for several months in hers.
We started by dropping off Kylie and Heather at their homestay in Fumba. We rode in a cab to the homestays, which was scary enough as it is. In Zanzibar, for one they drive on the left, which is fine, however they choose to drive on the left...drive as fast as possible...without anti-lock breaking systems. This, scares the crap out of me everytime I am in a car. As we fly around in this bat out of hell cab, instead of breaking, the driver would honk, and swerve around the slower people, narrowly missing the other bat out of hell vehicles coming from the other side of the road, straight towards us. Eventually, we do make it to our first destination, homestay number one, Fumba.
As we pulled into the dirt road, steadily making our way to their home, both Heather and Kylies eyes grew wider and wider with fear as well as anticipation. We enter the home, and are greeted with about ten children, all huddled on the floor watching some random action movie on a tv resting on a stool in the main room. Their homestay mother, Sophia is a small woman who greets us all with a smile and a friendly hamjambo (hello for multiple people). We reply Shikamo, which is a respectful greeting you use to greet someone older than yourself. Despite her size, she has quite the presence, as her voice is loud, and demands attention. As we walk around their home, they become speachless as their eyes grow larger, almost as if they were thinking "what have we done....what have we gotten ourselves into". After saying goodbye to the girls, we laughed about their expressions the entire way back. We quickly learned though, that our expressions were just about the same as we
arrived to our homestay in Kizimkazi Dimbani.
We were fortunate though, as we got the opportunity to pick our homestay from two of the three homes owned by a man named Ali. The first home was simple, with 2 main rooms, and 3 others. One for cooking, and two for people to sleep. There was however, no roof. Instead, there was a sort of sheet metal type covering the top. The second home, proved to be more welcoming as it had a roof. Outside of the home, there were about 20-25 animals, comprised of ducks, chickens, roosters, etc. at any given time. In order to prevent this clucking, hissing, and crazy hoard of animals from charging into the home, they had a large piece of wood that would be proppd against the door. This was to prevent the freely swinging metal front door from flying open when the wind was strong. This piece of wood at times also carried a secondary purpose....of locking me into the home when I wanted to leave....as it would sometimes get jammed against some of the coral rock rampant outside of our homestay and throughout the village. Inside the home, there was an open area lined with long strings that allowed the sun to come in and dry the clothes. On the right side, there were three areas. One for an enclosed bathroom...which was perpetually wet and contained a shower that did not work, a bucket and a ladel, (which turned out to be our true shower even though Ali turned on the shower when the professors were visiting...we think he just turned off the water to save money once they left impressed), and a toilet flat on the floor. The other two areas were open. One for the kitchen, and the other to store shoes, flower, sugar, etc. A street cat that frequently came to the house, which we named Simba (Swahili for Lion), also had a small plate in the storage room next to the garbage for food scraps. Simba frequently meowed until the last part of my daily fish was given up.
The first night, John-Micheal and I stayed in the same room. Although they promised to bring in a second bed...we had to share one that first night. We have named this night, "Hell Night". For our one bed, we tried to set up both of our bug nets, because neither net quite fit the entire bed. These nets that were created to protect us, turned into light-weight prisons during the night, as they made the temperature even hotter and kept us each enclosed in a tiny space. The nets really did not work at that point in time because they were brushing up against us, which doesnt really work to prevent mosquitoes from landing on you. Furthermore, I was too big for the bed, so I had to curl up inside of the net so that my feet would not hang outside of it. Throughout the night, as we were both so close to one another in our mesh prisons, it got hotter...and hotter...and hotter...and hotter. We did have a fan in the room, but they failed to mention when the professors were with us touring the home that it did not work...I woke up the next morning feeling as if I was incredibly hungover because I was so dehydrated from sweating the entire night. The first thing I did was ask when the promised second bed would arrive. Ali informed me it should get there on Tuesday....It was only Friday...I quickly requested to see if I could switch homes and be in the one without the roof, simply to sleep in two separate beds because I was NOT about to go through another hell night. After making it clear I wanted to move homes, (which now I think wold have caused Ali a little more work), it didnt take long for him to bring in the second bed that afternoon...the same one that apparently would have taken another 3 days to get there...The following nights we were still incredibly hot as per the no fan in Zanzibar thing, but much better than before.
The meals in our homestay were...simple...yet also fairly good. The first Dinner and breakfast from the evening we arrived to the morning after hell night turned out to be the same thing, which worried us. We had fish, bread, and tea for both meals. For the next few weeks, we continued to have this variatioin for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I like fish and bread ok, but once I return to the United States, I plan on avoiding it as much as humanly possible...Lunches turned out to be special, as we sometimes got squid/octopus with coconut sauce and rice. I actually enjoyed these meals quite alot. Other interesting foods we tried include Bobwe, a sort of playdoh like block made of flour and coconut. One of my contacts in the Village and in Stone Town, Hamissi, would love to tell us with heaps of laughter that if we ate the bobwe at one meal, we would be full for THE ENTIRE day. There was also Ugali, which is a type of flour dish you use to mold together with your hands to make a sort of spoon to scoop up your food...I hate this stuff...I do not want to come back hungry...and have to play with my burning hot food trying to mold it into a spoon...which is impossible by the way...the stuff crumbles and sticks in awkward ways to itself so you have to spend 5 hours actually making the spoon...
Kizimkazi itself is simple, but also very beautiful. The village itself is small with about one restaurant, and a few tourist resorts scattered near the beach. Every evening, we went to the local soccer field, and would watch the soccer games. John-michael actually ended up playing in one and scoring! He became quite popular with the younger villagers after that. There are several types of tropical trees there such as Banana, Pappaya, Mango, and of course, Coconut. It was strange seeing these types of trees scattered about the village instead of the hundreds of pine trees I am used to in the United States. It made the village look at the more beautiful, especially during sunset. To see the different shades of orange, red, yellow, etc. paint the sky and then fade, all behind a set of coconut trees is truly a beautiful site. The villagers themselves are all very friendly and accomodating. It was a strange dynamic though, as there really has been little to no research done in that village, so to see Wazungu (outsiders/white people) living with them inside the village and eating the food they eat took them by surprise. Whenever they see people like me, they wonder which resort I am staying at. We were later told, that periodically during our time there, villagers were actually calling one of our advisors here, Narriman (the woman whom we are incredibly indebted to by facilitaing the homestays for us as well as a number of other things), telling her how happy they were John-Michael and I lived there because of how respectful and immersed in their culture we were. I hope the villagers experiences with us helped to establish a positive dynamic for the people, and future researchers that may come to the area.
Kizimkazi is a very popular destination for dolphin tourism. In fact, it is the best in all of East Africa it seems. Whenever someone around Zanzibar mentions dolphins, we are told they think of Kizimkazi. The Bay area the village of Kizimkazi sits on is known as Menai Bay,which is kind of like the dolphins home. There are other places to see dolphin, but Kizimkazi is the place to go, as you are sure to see dolphins.
One morning, we had the opportunity to go on one of the Dolphin Tours, headed by Ali. We woke up at 6 in the morning, and left the beach by the soccer field on a small boat with Ali, our translator Abass, and another guy driving the boat. We had no idea what to expect as we rode further out into the water, until suddenly, our translator Abass says to us "OK, now I think it is the time to put on the fins and masks and prepare to jump in..." At this moment, I look over at John-Michael and find he has the exact same expression of confusion on his face as I do. But, we do as we are told, and put everything on. Shortly after, we see a rather large pack of dolphins. About 12 in fact, a family of several adults, children, and teenagers. My first thought is, "Oh how nice! We actually got to see some dolphins today!" then as we draw closer and closer to the rather large family of dolphin, Abass says "ok be ready now". Once more...confusion...both of our faces. Finally, as we come right up onto the pack, Abass yells in a very excited and enthusiastic manner, "OK GOGOGO", and tells us to jump in ON TOP OF THE DOLPHINS. We jump in, and immediately look down. Suddenly instead of being in a cold, windy small boat, I am surrounded in the water by this family of dolphins. It was incredible to see them so close, and literally swim with such a large group. Shortly after we got in the water though, the dolphins dove down to the bottom of the bay, and kept going. When they left us, we all got back in the boat, and proceeded to hunt and chase of the dolphins as they resurfaced around the bay. It almost felt like some sort of marine training, as we were yelled at to jump out of the boat, look down, then get back on, over and over and over.
While it was incredible and breathetaking to see the dolphins so up close, overall I did not like the experience, nor did John-Michael. We felt strange about the hunt and chase tactics. It was as if we were harassing and scaring the dolphins, instead of being there with them. After speaking with a representative from a local NGO called KIDOTOA, which stands for the Kizimkazi Dolphin Tourism Association, I learned that there is an established protocal for taking people out on Dolphin tours, and that they actually send the boat captains through an education program, before they can take people out. Regulations and procedures include driving slowly to the dolphins, (we drove quite fast), staying behind them and not cutting off their path, (we sped ahead infront of them and cut them off sometimes), slowly getting into the water next to the pack of dolphins, (we were instructed to jump in as quickly as possible and look down), and many other things, all of which the captain seemed to have forgotten from his training. This type of behavior with the dolphin tour operators is actually a problem in the area we found. Needless to say, I do not plan on doing any additional dolphin tours in Kizimkazi for quite some time.
My schedule in the village varied day to day, but typically I would wake up in the morning, grab some breakfast, (which consistently was bread and butter, some fish, and a bit of tea), go out and conduct interviews during the morning, come back around 1p.m. for lunch (this was usually some sort of rice/coconut sauce dish with squid or fish), then rest or continue to conduct some interviews for the rest of the afternoon. John-Michael f requently gave me crap because part of my interviews are with tourists. This means I got to sit at a resort drinking sodas and reading whilst I waited for tourists to come out. At night, we would eat dinner, (again fish with bread and butter), then watch the craziest most violent movies I have ever seen. There is this whole market from china, which produces these films jammed full of crazy fight scenes, explosions, and very poor translations to english. The villagers will watch these movies almost every night, and because many of them do not know english well enough to watch an entire movie all in english with a plot, they watch the films for the explosions and action. Some of the films I admit...were pretty awesome...others were terrible and the translations would make me cringe. As I was leaving the village, John-Michael told me they watched Spiderman. I kid you not, one of the scenes peter parker yells get out of here. They translated it to "want to go watch a movie with me"? I thought to myself..nay nay...spiderman does not wish to watch a movie with this gentleman...he wishes to shoot webs and punch him in the face.
Overall, my experiences in Kizimkazi were great, and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have lived in the village. While it was tough, I feel I am a better person for having gone through the experience. I now have a completely different outlook and perspective, which I have carried with me during the remainder of my research here in Zanzibar. There are so many things in the United States that I rarely consider as blessings. Really, its the little things that I plan to never again take for granted. These include having a chair to sit on instead of concrete, tables, air conditioning, not eating fish and bread 24/7, not having to sleep in mesh prisons known commonly as mosquitoe nets, not hearing a crying baby with a megaphone seemingly built into her vocal chords 24/7, actual showers instead of a ladel with a bucket, clean water, movies that make sense and I can understand, toilets that you can sit on, and of course...actually understanding what everyone around me is saying... yea there is alot to appreciate in the United States
Apologies for the giant post, hope those who are reading enjoyed. I will try and post again about the rest of my experiences for the remainder of my trip. I am actually finishing this post at a place called Mercury's in Stone Town, a restaurant created by Freddie Mercury, the member of queen. Yes marafiki...be jealous...im in a famous restaurant conducting research in the tropics as I hear the ocean waves crash around me (:
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
I came, I saw, I conquered
The May Experience is now over. Overall, the trip was amazing. I met many people, experienced new things, and gained a new appreciation for the culture here in Tanzania. Over the past week, our group finished off the trip with a safari with a group called Klub Afriko, based out of Arusha.
The weather in Arusha is much cooler than in Zanzibar. We departed from Zanzibar in a small puddle jumper plane sweating profusely, and arrived in what felt like the Arctic comparatively. It took quite a bit to get me to come back to the hot weather here in Zanzibar.
The Safari was an incredible experience. We traveled in three Safari Vans, with the crew from Klub Afriko. The drivers, Julias, Elias, and Samuel were all Maasai, and all very nice. Over the five day trip, we stayed at three locations. We first stopped at Lake Manyra. Here, we took a drive through the lake park and saw Dig Dig, Elephants, Babboons, and several bird species.
As we were ending our drive, one person in our car noticed elephants right next to the road, and we promptly drove up to them. For about ten minutes, we observed a baby elephant and another more mature elephant walk around and eat. Our eyes were wide and filled with excitement as we looked upon these massive creatures so close. Then, out of nowhere a third, much larger elephant appeared out of the trees right next to our van. That excitement quickly turned into fear as a quite large, seemingly upset elephant came rushing out flapping its ears walking directly towards our van. It was at this time everyone slowly sank back down into their seats, and our driver Julias turned on the van and we quickly drove on.
After the lake, we traveled to the Serengeti happy to be alive. We spent two days there. Our first night, at around 9 p.m. as everyone was geting ready for bed, we noticed some sounds rather close to our tents. We looked around for a bit, and quickly realized there were three giraffes literally in our campsite eating out of the trees. My first thought was, if something as large as a giraffe can get into the site...what else can make it through? It was at this time I hastily went back to my tent, took a few sleeping pills, and zipped my temporary haven of safety shut. Luckily, nothing else made it into the site, despite the Black Mamba snake some others saw on the way in...In the Serengeti, we saw many Zebras, Wildabeast, Giraffes, Hippos, Gazzelle, Hyenas, and Lions.
One evening, our van actually got to get up close and personal with a Lion Pride of about 17. All three of our vans stopped and watched in awe for about thirty minutes. My van was the last to leave, which turned out to be both a blessing...and a curse. As we started to leave, we noticed the pride began to move, so we slowed down. At first, the pride seemed to focus on a watering hole...but then we found our van was their end goal. Suddenly, our van was totally surrounded by the Pride of Lions as they circled around it checking us out. Nothing bad happened as it seemed they were just curiousabout us, but it was quite scary nonetheless. After about ten minutes of this, we were ableto leave, that is after the Lion that sat down in front of our tire got up.
Our final destination, Ngorogoro crater, was spectacular. The crater is so vast, that it actually formed its own ecosystem. The drove down into the crater was breathtaking. Driving inside the crater, we saw many of the same animals from the Serengeti, (without the whole surrounded by a Lion Pride thing), plus some Maasai people who were allowed to utilize the land for their goat herds. It was amazing to see the Maasai people using the land walking with spears amongst the Buffalo, Lions, Zebras, Lions, Elephant, Wildabeast , and Hyenas.
After leaving the crater, we traveled to a Maasai village, and had the opportunity to actually get up close and go inside the village. The people began with a welcome song, as the men gruntedand chanted, while the women sang. All the while children were dancing in the middle of the dirt between us and the villagers. After the singing, we went to the childrens schoolhouse, and then took a look inside the Maasai homes called Bomas. The experience in the village overall was positive, but some people did have some reservations about our time there. Some felt we were intruding, others felt it was a very touristy, constructed, and heavily commercialized experience (after touring the homes they had alot of beads and jewelry ready to sell us). Personally, I felt the experience was a good one. Although I do agree it seems todd to use these people as somewhat of a commodity, we still got to see inside their village, and looked into a small window of what their life is like. Additionally, in the world we live in today, it is very difficult for the Maasai peoople to live stricly how they used to. Now, much of the land is off limits for their use, and must pay around 400 dollars a month to ship water to their village. Yes, they can use the Ngorogoro crater a bit, but no doubt there are many restrictions on its use. Because of this, the Maasai people need new outlets for making money, and tourism is their way to do it. Through groups such as ours who pay to enter their village and enjoy hearing their songs and seeing where they lived as well as purchase their jewelry directly, instead of from the markets, they are able to afford new livelihoods such as sending their children to schools in the city, and paying for villagers to travel the world and bring awareness to their community.
Now, we are at Hotel Kiponda in Zanzibar preparing to begin our research, and I am very excited for it. I will do my best to continue posting blogs, but the internet access is sparse, as one might expect.
The weather in Arusha is much cooler than in Zanzibar. We departed from Zanzibar in a small puddle jumper plane sweating profusely, and arrived in what felt like the Arctic comparatively. It took quite a bit to get me to come back to the hot weather here in Zanzibar.
The Safari was an incredible experience. We traveled in three Safari Vans, with the crew from Klub Afriko. The drivers, Julias, Elias, and Samuel were all Maasai, and all very nice. Over the five day trip, we stayed at three locations. We first stopped at Lake Manyra. Here, we took a drive through the lake park and saw Dig Dig, Elephants, Babboons, and several bird species.
As we were ending our drive, one person in our car noticed elephants right next to the road, and we promptly drove up to them. For about ten minutes, we observed a baby elephant and another more mature elephant walk around and eat. Our eyes were wide and filled with excitement as we looked upon these massive creatures so close. Then, out of nowhere a third, much larger elephant appeared out of the trees right next to our van. That excitement quickly turned into fear as a quite large, seemingly upset elephant came rushing out flapping its ears walking directly towards our van. It was at this time everyone slowly sank back down into their seats, and our driver Julias turned on the van and we quickly drove on.
After the lake, we traveled to the Serengeti happy to be alive. We spent two days there. Our first night, at around 9 p.m. as everyone was geting ready for bed, we noticed some sounds rather close to our tents. We looked around for a bit, and quickly realized there were three giraffes literally in our campsite eating out of the trees. My first thought was, if something as large as a giraffe can get into the site...what else can make it through? It was at this time I hastily went back to my tent, took a few sleeping pills, and zipped my temporary haven of safety shut. Luckily, nothing else made it into the site, despite the Black Mamba snake some others saw on the way in...In the Serengeti, we saw many Zebras, Wildabeast, Giraffes, Hippos, Gazzelle, Hyenas, and Lions.
One evening, our van actually got to get up close and personal with a Lion Pride of about 17. All three of our vans stopped and watched in awe for about thirty minutes. My van was the last to leave, which turned out to be both a blessing...and a curse. As we started to leave, we noticed the pride began to move, so we slowed down. At first, the pride seemed to focus on a watering hole...but then we found our van was their end goal. Suddenly, our van was totally surrounded by the Pride of Lions as they circled around it checking us out. Nothing bad happened as it seemed they were just curiousabout us, but it was quite scary nonetheless. After about ten minutes of this, we were ableto leave, that is after the Lion that sat down in front of our tire got up.
Our final destination, Ngorogoro crater, was spectacular. The crater is so vast, that it actually formed its own ecosystem. The drove down into the crater was breathtaking. Driving inside the crater, we saw many of the same animals from the Serengeti, (without the whole surrounded by a Lion Pride thing), plus some Maasai people who were allowed to utilize the land for their goat herds. It was amazing to see the Maasai people using the land walking with spears amongst the Buffalo, Lions, Zebras, Lions, Elephant, Wildabeast , and Hyenas.
After leaving the crater, we traveled to a Maasai village, and had the opportunity to actually get up close and go inside the village. The people began with a welcome song, as the men gruntedand chanted, while the women sang. All the while children were dancing in the middle of the dirt between us and the villagers. After the singing, we went to the childrens schoolhouse, and then took a look inside the Maasai homes called Bomas. The experience in the village overall was positive, but some people did have some reservations about our time there. Some felt we were intruding, others felt it was a very touristy, constructed, and heavily commercialized experience (after touring the homes they had alot of beads and jewelry ready to sell us). Personally, I felt the experience was a good one. Although I do agree it seems todd to use these people as somewhat of a commodity, we still got to see inside their village, and looked into a small window of what their life is like. Additionally, in the world we live in today, it is very difficult for the Maasai peoople to live stricly how they used to. Now, much of the land is off limits for their use, and must pay around 400 dollars a month to ship water to their village. Yes, they can use the Ngorogoro crater a bit, but no doubt there are many restrictions on its use. Because of this, the Maasai people need new outlets for making money, and tourism is their way to do it. Through groups such as ours who pay to enter their village and enjoy hearing their songs and seeing where they lived as well as purchase their jewelry directly, instead of from the markets, they are able to afford new livelihoods such as sending their children to schools in the city, and paying for villagers to travel the world and bring awareness to their community.
Now, we are at Hotel Kiponda in Zanzibar preparing to begin our research, and I am very excited for it. I will do my best to continue posting blogs, but the internet access is sparse, as one might expect.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Conservation, Culture, and Cooperation
This trip has continued to prove to be an amazing experience. We left Stone Town, and are now staying at Panga Chumvi, a beach resort on Matemwe, located on the northeastern part of Zanzibar Island. Although the weather continues to be quite hot...as tropical regions tend to be...the location here is once again, very beautiful.
This post will focus on the experiences and information gathered during our groups tour of the park. Jozani Chwaka bay national park is located at about 35 kilometers from Stone Town on the southeastern part of Zanzibar Island. The three areas that will be discussed include the geographic nature of the park, biodiversity, and social influences that permeate the park. These three topics relating to the park are then explained through a personal reflection in the context of conservation efforts in Tanzania.
The name of the park itself carries two meanings. The first is "The Flooding of the Rainforest". This name primarily speaks to the geogaphic nature of the park, as certain regions of the park tend to remain wet year round. The second is "Comes from the small pond". The park area is divided into four distinct ecosystems. These are Swamps, Coral, Salt Marshs, and Mangroves. As one might imagine, as a result of this ecologic diversity, the park is 1 of 25 biodiversity hotspots in the world. The park is home to many endemic and endangered species, including some that are only found within the confines of Jozani Park. These include 10-15 leopards that migrate throughout the park, theTuraco bird, Casina Jozani Frog, and over 100 bird species.
The park is also home to a variety of snake species such as the green mamba, forest cobra, python, and other tree snake species. (And yes if you were wondering I did indeed contemplate sprinting over to the bus and locking myself inside it upon learning of the species we may come across). In particular, the less dangerous, but far more destructive species to the native farmers reside in the park as well. Both the bush pig and the colobus monkey make a habit of either eating the roots of plants, or completely destroying farmers crops in the region. Because the animals are such a problem, many farmers try to harm the animals whenever they see them. Although we did not get to see the Bush pigs, (which is probably a good thing as they are supposed to be huge and quite possibly could eat me), we did get the special privilege of getting up close to the monkeys as they jumped from tree to tree.
The park is also home to a variety of snake species such as the green mamba, forest cobra, python, and other tree snake species. (And yes if you were wondering I did indeed contemplate sprinting over to the bus and locking myself inside it upon learning of the species we may come across). In particular, the less dangerous, but far more destructive species to the native farmers reside in the park as well. Both the bush pig and the colobus monkey make a habit of either eating the roots of plants, or completely destroying farmers crops in the region. Because the animals are such a problem, many farmers try to harm the animals whenever they see them. Although we did not get to see the Bush pigs, (which is probably a good thing as they are supposed to be huge and quite possibly could eat me), we did get the special privilege of getting up close to the monkeys as they jumped from tree to tree.
In addition to the animal biodiversity in the park, there were many native and non-native species of plants and trees living within the park, many of which are used for medicinal purposes in the area. These range from child birth, child prevention, stomach issues, diarrhea, malaria treatment, headaches, joint pain, infections, convulsion treatment for children, and a host of other treatments for illnesses. Really, if there is a problem, the Zanzibari people have at least two or three types of plants/trees that can help it seems. Culturally speaking, we learned the trees also served as outlets for some of the darker aspects of society as well, which especially as an outsider (Mzungu) you should not openly talk about with local people. Many people in Tanzania still today follow witchcraft and spell making. Those who practice dark medicines and spells are called Witchdoctors, and are said to be able to cast curses on people, as well as assist in matters ranging from love all the way to revenge. Our guide explained that roots, barks or leaves from many trees can be used to make potions or concoctions for spells, such as love potions, for luck, and other things of the sort. Leopards are apparently seen to some here as mystical animals that are bewitched by witch doctors to be their pets. Supposedly, the doctors cast a spell over the animals to make them their servants/pets. According to tradition, these leopards can serve an additional purpose, which is to act as an assassin of sorts for the witch doctor. Some believe that the witch doctor can command their pet leopard to kill farmers animals for them. In this way, the doctors are able to create an image of power over the local people by producing a sense of fear. Because of this, whenever a person saw a leopard, it was quite likely for them to feel a sense of fear, as they were aware of what the witch doctor was capable of instructing the animal.
Because of the diversity that exists within the park, it is important to promote conservation efforts. Since species such as the Colobus monkey, Zanzibar Juti Butterfly, and Casina Jozani Frog are endemic to the region, it is important to promote efforts to protect their species. The mangrove forests also serve many purposes to society which merit protection. The forests not only provide shelter to many coastal species, but also protect local villages, as they keep the land from eroding and giving away during particularly harsh rainy seasons. Culturally, the forests and flora present in the area serve a unique purpose for the local people through their customs, spiritualism, and medicinal practices. Because of this, conservation efforts across Tanzania, and particularly on islands such as Zanzibar, Mafia, and others, must account for the social and cultural impacts of their work. Organizations need to work with the people when creating policies, rather than against or above them. Without consulting with and getting information from the indigenous people, conservation efforts may never truly be successful.
As this trip continues, I learn more and more about the cultural history of this place and how intricately tied the people are with their environment. This enlightenment serves as both inspiration and opportunity for personal reflection on what I can contribute to this world. I am excited for the coming days that may not simply provide me the opportunity to experience more, but also learn as well.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Stone Town, Zanzibar
Hujambo!
Our group made it to Stone Town, Zanzibar. For the past few days, our group has explored the town and all it has to offer. The atmosphere and feeling here is very different than our firts location, White Sands Resort, Dar Es Salaam. This however, is not surprsing. We are staying in a hotel called Kiponda Hotel, located in the middle of Stone Town. Although the conditions are not nearly as nice as they were before, I find this place to be simple and charming. We do have a fan and a personal bathroom for the four of us in the room, which has proven to be quite nice. The first night though we had a bit of a scare. As our group prepared to leave for dinner, the power cut off. Immediately I was concerned we would not be able to keep the fan on in the room, but in time the power cut back on.
Over the past few days, we have gone to several local restaurants and the food here is actually quite good. The most interesting dining experience was when we went to the local food market. Upon entering the food market, as a tourist, you are immediately targetted by multiple food vendors saying they "will give you the personal experience and fresh food that the other stands do not". I heard this statement quite a few times, leading to my conclusion that their food was neither personal, nor fresh. I avoided these people. The trick I learned from dr. farris and byceson, is to sit back and see where all the locals are going as well as avoid the people who go up to you personally. The people who wait at their stands and are very casual typically are the safest places to go.
The marketplace itself is not absent from agressive vendors. A perfect example is when I was followed for give or take 40 minutes by one guy who wanted to sell me a necklace. After I told the man no thank you many times to no avail, we entered a shop hoping to ditch him. Sadly the man waited for me in the shop, hoping I would notice the great prices he was offering compared to what was in the shop. A friend of mine John-Michael even turned and literally said to him "please stop" which resulted in the man only becoming upset, saying we needed to be nice to the Zanzibar and give him money. This man was out of luck, as he was obviously unaware that I am not a nice person, and felt like being mean.
Thus far, we have enojoyed two lectures from different professors here in Zanzibar. One professor, professor Narma, tought us about women's involvement in pearl and shell farming here in Zanzibar, and how she is fighting hard to overcome the cultural barriers that prevent women from obtaining equal pay in their work. Her work focuses on getting women to learn how to make different types of jewelry and sell them in the marketplace. Many of the women start off shy and timid as a product of the muslim culture here, but over time through their work, they learn to be more open and feel free to talk. We also learned the history of Tanzania from Dr. Bryceson as he traced the trajectory of social and economic development over-time.
A bug literally just fell into my Ipad case...it wont leave.
Tomorrow we leave Zanzibar for jozani national park where we will spend a few days learning more about the botany there and medicinal uses of plants.
Our group made it to Stone Town, Zanzibar. For the past few days, our group has explored the town and all it has to offer. The atmosphere and feeling here is very different than our firts location, White Sands Resort, Dar Es Salaam. This however, is not surprsing. We are staying in a hotel called Kiponda Hotel, located in the middle of Stone Town. Although the conditions are not nearly as nice as they were before, I find this place to be simple and charming. We do have a fan and a personal bathroom for the four of us in the room, which has proven to be quite nice. The first night though we had a bit of a scare. As our group prepared to leave for dinner, the power cut off. Immediately I was concerned we would not be able to keep the fan on in the room, but in time the power cut back on.
Over the past few days, we have gone to several local restaurants and the food here is actually quite good. The most interesting dining experience was when we went to the local food market. Upon entering the food market, as a tourist, you are immediately targetted by multiple food vendors saying they "will give you the personal experience and fresh food that the other stands do not". I heard this statement quite a few times, leading to my conclusion that their food was neither personal, nor fresh. I avoided these people. The trick I learned from dr. farris and byceson, is to sit back and see where all the locals are going as well as avoid the people who go up to you personally. The people who wait at their stands and are very casual typically are the safest places to go.
The marketplace itself is not absent from agressive vendors. A perfect example is when I was followed for give or take 40 minutes by one guy who wanted to sell me a necklace. After I told the man no thank you many times to no avail, we entered a shop hoping to ditch him. Sadly the man waited for me in the shop, hoping I would notice the great prices he was offering compared to what was in the shop. A friend of mine John-Michael even turned and literally said to him "please stop" which resulted in the man only becoming upset, saying we needed to be nice to the Zanzibar and give him money. This man was out of luck, as he was obviously unaware that I am not a nice person, and felt like being mean.
Thus far, we have enojoyed two lectures from different professors here in Zanzibar. One professor, professor Narma, tought us about women's involvement in pearl and shell farming here in Zanzibar, and how she is fighting hard to overcome the cultural barriers that prevent women from obtaining equal pay in their work. Her work focuses on getting women to learn how to make different types of jewelry and sell them in the marketplace. Many of the women start off shy and timid as a product of the muslim culture here, but over time through their work, they learn to be more open and feel free to talk. We also learned the history of Tanzania from Dr. Bryceson as he traced the trajectory of social and economic development over-time.
A bug literally just fell into my Ipad case...it wont leave.
Tomorrow we leave Zanzibar for jozani national park where we will spend a few days learning more about the botany there and medicinal uses of plants.
Friday, May 10, 2013
I am alive!
Hujambo! (Swahili for hello).
I made it to Tanzania in one piece! The traveling from the United States to Africa was quite long, but worth the trip. I had never traveled for such an extensive period of time before, and was worried the 24+ travel time would be too much for me. However, I made it through and actually found the travel to be quite enjoyable. On the first flight I even met a woman who was a professional dog show judge! Upon arriving in Dar Es Salaam, I immediately felt a feeling of relief, excitement, and the jitters. On the one hand, the countless hours of flight were over, however I was now in a totally foreign and new country. I wondered how easy it would be to obtain clean water, If I was gonna get sick (or how quickly it would take me rather than if), would I be able to handle the coming weeks, etc. Above all though, I was overcome with a feeling of excitement amidst the hot, muggy air of Dar es Salaam.
So far we have stayed in a resort called the White Sands Hotel. The resort is very nice with beach side rooms, restaurant, giftshop, and a pool. Our group has greatly enjoyed staying here, however as Dr. Suresh and Farris have made clear, we are not to expect these kind of conditions for long.
Today we visited Mbudya Island, where we learned the difference between the sands at the resort and on Mbudya Island. The sands at the resort are made from quartz. The sands on Mbudya Island are made from dead biological material (corals, etc.). While both beaches appeared to be the same, it is important to remember that looks can be deceiving. On the island the locals caught fish for us and cooked them right on the spot and it was delicious! After lunch we got to snorkel for a bit, however the water was deep and a bit murky to see anything. The rest of the day we relaxed, ate dinner, and prepared to leave in the morning.
I hope to continue to have enjoyable experiences while traveling here in Africa, even if they may not be as luxurious as they are currently.
I made it to Tanzania in one piece! The traveling from the United States to Africa was quite long, but worth the trip. I had never traveled for such an extensive period of time before, and was worried the 24+ travel time would be too much for me. However, I made it through and actually found the travel to be quite enjoyable. On the first flight I even met a woman who was a professional dog show judge! Upon arriving in Dar Es Salaam, I immediately felt a feeling of relief, excitement, and the jitters. On the one hand, the countless hours of flight were over, however I was now in a totally foreign and new country. I wondered how easy it would be to obtain clean water, If I was gonna get sick (or how quickly it would take me rather than if), would I be able to handle the coming weeks, etc. Above all though, I was overcome with a feeling of excitement amidst the hot, muggy air of Dar es Salaam.
So far we have stayed in a resort called the White Sands Hotel. The resort is very nice with beach side rooms, restaurant, giftshop, and a pool. Our group has greatly enjoyed staying here, however as Dr. Suresh and Farris have made clear, we are not to expect these kind of conditions for long.
Today we visited Mbudya Island, where we learned the difference between the sands at the resort and on Mbudya Island. The sands at the resort are made from quartz. The sands on Mbudya Island are made from dead biological material (corals, etc.). While both beaches appeared to be the same, it is important to remember that looks can be deceiving. On the island the locals caught fish for us and cooked them right on the spot and it was delicious! After lunch we got to snorkel for a bit, however the water was deep and a bit murky to see anything. The rest of the day we relaxed, ate dinner, and prepared to leave in the morning.
I hope to continue to have enjoyable experiences while traveling here in Africa, even if they may not be as luxurious as they are currently.
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