The First Four Days

We finally have internet! All the IT guy had to say was "goodluck" though so who know if we'll keep it.

So much has happened... The traveling to get here was painfully long (17 hours on a plane, 4 hours in a car plus 2 hours on the underground in London) but it was totally worth it. None of our bags got here with us and I had to wait a day to get my bags. It was okay though because the staff here was amazing and they found blankets in town, gave us blankets students had left, and even gave us some of their own bedding so that we didn't have to sleep on plain mattresses the first night.

The first day in camp we had orientation and then we had our first classes. Some of the teachers are a little difficult to understand- they talk really fast!- but they are great about repeating things and even spelling them out if we still don't understand.

The second day we had class here in the morning and in the afternoon we had travelling lecture. We went to three different places in the area to see how Tanzanians are encouraging and practicing sustainable living. The first place was a school that had a sustainability education center as well as a tree nursery, rainwater collection tubs, and a garden. The two things that amazed me the most there were that they give trees out to local farmers for free if they sign a contract agreeing to care for them, and some of their trees can bear fruit at as young as 3 months. The second place was a house with a biogas processing system in their backyard. What it does is collect the gas from decomposing manure and then the gas can be used to power the stove and some electricity in the houses. Also, the byproducts of this process can be used to fertilize crops. It was very impressive because the government pays almost the whole fee to have the system installed; all the local people had to have was 4 cows, some cement and some bricks. The third place that we went was a brick making place. They used sand, dirt, and cement to make bricks because it saves on the cost (both monetary and environmental) to make bricks that way. They also form the bricks using pressure rather than firing them and make the bricks interlocking so that mortar doesn't have to be used to bind them together. The other thing that I thought was really cool was how light weight they are:I picked one up that was about the size of 3 normal bricks and it didn't weigh any more than a normal brick.

In the evening we played soccer with the staff. It was a crazy game but it was so much fun!

Today we went to a place called elephant hill and learned about grasses and human-wildlife interactions. Did you know that elephants don't like chili peppers and they are so afraid of bees that they will run from them? This means that people can prevent elephants from eating their crops without harming the animals. After that we went into a town and learned about the sustainable farming practices that are being promoted in Tanzania currently. I was surprised to hear that they have such a water shortage that you have to pay and get a permit to use water for any purpose other than recreational activities like drinking or cooking.

In the afternoon we went to the neighboring town called Karatu. I am very proud of myself because I talk a man down from 10,000 shillings for one necklace to 10,000 shillings for 10 necklaces (about $0.80 each). It was scary though because two men were fighting for my business. They were yelling at each other, pushing each other, trying to put necklaces in my hands and trying to take my money out of my hand. It was insane but really fun.

After Karatu, we went to the local primary school and socialized with the children. We taught them duck duck goose and they tried to teach us some of their games and songs. Duck duck goose ended up in mass chaos with everyone tapping each other, yelling "toose" and running away. It was a blast though. I love the kids here. They are so happy and friendly- everyone is. It will be hard to come home.