Twenty six weeks in Tanzania: Has it really only been a week?

Well I had a fairly busy week last week and as cheap as things can be here it is really easy to burn through your money. Not too much has changed although on Thursday I did have a relatively interesting afternoon. The day started with swahili class which was normal, then Jay and I had planned with Yusuph (a Roots and Shoots intern) to get lunch and for him to take us around town a little. Our original plan was to go to Kariakoo, which is a huge market/shop area where you can buy just about anything and for cheap prices (Tanzanian prices not mzungu prices). But because we had been there briefly before (only in the food market section) we decided to go to Mwenge first which is a community that produces and sells wood carvings (mostly to tourists). Wood carvings, like Tinga Tinga, are found all over but this is where most of it comes from and you get the best product and prices there. So from there we grabbed lunch then had to stop by a school for a roots and shoots meeting which we were SUPER late for but was apparently no big deal because this is Tanzania. We stayed there to talk for like 10 minutes then take pictures. We could have (maybe should have) gotten a ride home with the JGI driver. But we thought that since we were relatively close to the national stadium and Kariakoo and since we had a Tanzanian friend to guide us, it would be such a good idea to continue our adventure. The stadium was cool, very big and a little rundown but you can tell they love their football (soccer) here.

From there we had what was thought to be a "short" walk to the daladala station which was at least a mile, but eventually we got there and hopped on a bus into town. Unfortunately the police or whomever is in charge of it, decided that since traffic is so much greater going out of town, they blocked us from going in for at least 30 min. By this time the afternoon was gone and evening was quickly approaching. I was getting a little worried about being so far from home at that time of day but if we had to grab a cab and pay extra to get home, so be it. We managed to get moving and make it to K/koo which is the last stop. But when the bus should have stopped, it turned around to switch passengers and go back out of town. We were eager to get out and get moving but the people (many many people) surrounding the bus were far more eager to get on the bus. People started chasing the bus for about 1/4 mile of its final destination and when we stopped, a mob of people started shouting and pushing and hitting the bus and quite a few people starting jumping into the bus through the windows. Apparently this is standard behavior for the people on this route but it was unlike any experience I've had and I was on the verge of a minor freak out. We were squished in the bus for about 5 minutes just not moving, eventually the people leaving the bus were pushing harder than the ones pushing on (or maybe someone explained to the crowd that there will be more space if you let the people who want to get off the bus the chance to do so...but probably not). Thankfully we had Yusuph and Azizi (a R&S volunteer who joined up with us to go to K/koo after the school visit) to guide us and assure me that we would be fine. We were fine and I was laughing about it before long but I tell you, I felt like I was directly in the middle of a pending riot, I was scared. After shoving our way off of the bus we walked quickly through the market, but it was too late to explore the shops. We caught a Bajaji out of K/koo and headed towards home with Yusuph. We were supposed to meet our classmates and teacher for dinner near the house so we headed straight there and parted ways with Yusuph. The rest of the night went smoothly and the rest of the weekend as well but to avoid another hour of typing I'll skip ahead a bit.

I started this e-mail yesterday and I'm finishing it today which is all for the best because I had a great day today! In the morning, I went to Twiga Cement with Jay and Dr. Goodall where we were participating in a tree planting event. The Twiga Cement company has decided in the last few years to start a tree nursery on a section of land that had become barren from their quarrying. They are done with the land but they still own it so they decided to start this project and have collaborated with local roots and shoots clubs to help plant the trees there and spread them out in the community. So there were several introductions and Dr. Goodall gave a speech which she came up with on the spot. You can tell she's done this sort of thing hundreds (thousands?) of times before and she did an excellent job. After that she planted a tree while everyone stood around and watched, then the students (and the rest of us) had a chance to plant trees of our own. There were probably about 20 trees planted today and as small of a thing it might seem the change in the landscape is incredible, and they're planting all indigenous trees so of course they have been very successful.

After Twiga, Jane had a meeting and the rest of us prepared for an event in the evening. We showed "Jane's Journey" on a projector at a local theater and followed it up with her giving another short speech and a q&a/autograph session. If you've never seen the movie I absolutely recommend it. It has been great to come here and meet her and have this experience. But going to an event where people are actively doing something and trying to do more, watching that movie and hearing her speak was so incredibly inspiring I can't even describe it. The concept of Roots and Shoots is something I believe in so strongly and to see it action and portrayed so well, and to know I'm a part of it gave me one of the most amazing feelings I've ever felt. It's so easy to talk about doing something like this and to tell people, but to really feel like I'm part of something that will have the power to make a difference in the world is something I've dreamed of for years. I'm thrilled to be here but I'm just as excited to take this back with me. I don't know that I could ever be like Jane and travel 300 days a year inspiring people all over the world, but I'm excited do my small part and hopefully inspire my small network.

Well I think that will sum things up for now. As usual there are many more things I have that I could say but this will have to do for the time being. I'll be going to Moshi on Wednesday to get settled in so that will produce a new set of adventures to read about!