Cheers to Tanzania, Hello to Kenya!

What I Wake Up To...Kilimanjaro

Tanzania came to an end in the most beautiful way. We spent one of our last days at the orphange in Mtu Wa Mbu. It was nice to spend the afternoon with the children; they were simply carefree and excited to play with us. We colored, played some soccer, basically just tired them out (and us too!!); a couple of us got to lay the kids down for their afternoon nap before we left for camp, which most definitely kicked in some maternal instincts in all of us and made us miss our own mamas. That evening we were surprised with a huge Tanzania/American feast for our second to last dinner at camp. The kitchen staff made so much delicious food for us (potato bar, chapati, shish-kabobs, somosas, rolls, etc.) it was delicious and a fun celebration of Tanzania. We also went to the primary school right down the road from us to lay some concrete for a kitchen area. The older kids helped us out and we all worked hard to get the concrete mixed and laid nicely throughout the day. Although, we did experience one of the scariest moments at camp that day. As we were laying concrete, a black mamba (a deathly snake that can kill you in less than 30 minutes w/ its venomous bite) slowly slithered out of the concrete. It’s basically the equivalent of seeing a person with a pointed gun and it was super scary. No one was hurt and I am certain the snake was probably killed later that day. On our very last day, we went on our last run around Moyo Hill and hiked up it at the end to watch the incredible sunsets that happened every single evening. We said our goodbyes to the wonderful staff, shed some tears, and recognized how much Rhotia truly impacted our lives.

The next morning we were up at 4:30am gathering our remaining things, eating breakfast, packing lunch, skyping with our loved ones in case it would be the last time, and loading all of our things into the cruisers and the 1980s bus. And soon enough after all of our rushing, we were headed out for the 7 hour drive to Kimana, Kenya. The beginning of the trip started off how most expeditions start, which is sleep. Our car slept for a couple hours before we reached Arusha, a lively city in Tanzania full of people and markets. It was a beautiful area to see, even though we couldn’t get out of the cars. It was very green and full of banana trees; despite the burning piles of trash, I am very excited to get back to Arusha at the end of the program. Seven of us (including my boyfriend!) will be staying at the Impala Hotel in Arusha before heading out to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Of course I will be talking about this trip later… back to the trek.

The ride continued several more kilometers before we reached Smart Rite, which is essentially the African Wal-Mart surrounded by miscellaneous shops/restaurants. So of course, all of us were freaking out about going shopping for the first time in a while to basically buy junk food for ourselves. I successfully bought a couple bags of potato chips (Lays Sour Cream & Onion) as well as some “oreos”.. they are American, but they are made out of milk chocolate so they don’t exactly taste the same, but they are still delicious dipped in peanut butter or a lovely hazelnut spread. I was also lucky enough to stumble upon a coffee shop (COFFEE coffee coffee!) I walked in; well, jumped in due to excitement, and happily ordered an Americano (freshly grinded espresso with hot water). I could feel my mouth watering as I brought the steaming cup to my lips; next thing I knew, I was bouncing off the walls with enjoyment… well not really, I’m still pretty immune to the effects of caffeine. The coffee and the shops simply made the bumpy, 7 hour trip much more doable. Some chips, oreos, cheese, a baguette, and a few hours later, we drove up to our new home. We arrived close to sundown so we didn’t get to see the surrounding environment until the next morning; however, we did make it in time to see the stars that night. I can now say that I have seen Pegasus, Scorpio, Jupiter, and Cassiopeia in their brightest phases. I looked at the night sky for close to ten minutes and was lucky enough to see four shooting stars dart through the gray clouds.

I went to bed that night, smiling and realizing (once again) that I am in Africa. Little did I know that I would wake up to a clear blue sky and Mount Kilimanjaro staring in me in the face. It is simply unbelievable to see such a site right in front of me and it makes me stop whatever I am doing during the day, take a deep breath and soak in the amazing area I am currently in. Camp is huge. Much bigger than in Tanzania, but that’s because we are not allowed out of the fence because of the wild animals that surround our camp. There is a great running trail around camp that borders the fence; you can only see Kili on one side of course, so as soon as I pass it I have to sprint around the rest of the trail to see it again. It’s acting as my motivation to get in shape so I can climb it once December rolls around. The staff, the food, the bandas, the atmosphere is all wonderful. I am definitely still getting used to it all though and thoughts of Tanzania still enter my mind all the time. I am certain that I will find a home here, it will just take a little time.

I will be writing again soon. I hope all is well wherever you may be.

-Katie