Safari!

Day 1

Lake Manyara

We got up at 7:30 am for breakfast at Backpackers, which was the usual disappointment, showered and changed to get ready for the safari. We were all refreshed and ready to go at 8:20am even thought we were told we'd be picked up at 8:30am, which is about 9 am Tanzanian time. As we sat down waiting, I was talking to my Tanzanian rafiki Sake and soon after he left we were approached by a small Chinese woman asking if we were going with African Smart Safaris. We said we were and she told us that she would be joining us. First fail. Actually, we weren't entirely bothered but when four close friends are spending four days cramped up in a Land Cruiser together, it must be hard for a fifth stranger to come in. It meant she had to make an effort to get to know us and we had to make an effort to include her in conversations. As bad as it sounds, the precise reason I was looking forward to the safari was to get away from all of that. Out of the three volunteers I was going with, I lived with one, saw another almost every day for the last month and a half, and had my induction way back in March with the final member. I knew that I would not have to make an effort to talk with them, because I knew I liked all of them and conversation came naturally. I would not have to portray a side of me that was always fun and talkative. I could change from the person everyone thinks I am. I could enjoy some peace and quiet, while also having time to mull over things in my mind. It sounds bad but, as much as I love the other volunteers and have hopefully made some friends I will keep for a lifetime, I just needed a break from it all, for various different reasons. But in the end I was not too fussed. She turned out to be from Hong Kong, was 34 (although she looked 12) and had been travelling in the Middle East and South America.

As we set off, we were all tired and a little frustrated that we had not, at least, been told we were having someone join. We were told before that we could have invited volunteers on the day of departure and that would have been fine. Apparently not and luckily we did not bring any last minute additions. The drive to Manyara was long and bumpy. The Tanzanian government has this great idea of putting the same speed bumps, that are painted yellow and black and put in car parks in England where the speed limit is 5mph, on their highway. The drive to Manyara was about two and a half hours and we went straight to the camp site to deposit our things. Afterwards, we opened to roof of the car and drove down to the national park and began our safari. Almost immediately, we were surrounded by baboons, including mothers with their children, and blue monkeys and the picture taking began.

The park itself was beautiful as you would expect, with the lake being surrounded by rolling grassland, which was in turn enclosed by dense forest. As we drove through the park closer to the centre the forest dropped away and was replaced by shrubbery where the Kirk's Dik-Diks hang out. Dik-Diks are tiny antelopes, growing to about 40cm high, and are pretty much like a safari version of a chihuahua. They were scattered around the park in pairs and we my favourite animals that we saw that day. We then visited a hippo pond, passing by zebras, wildebeest and water buffalo on the way. In the pool were some hippos and we stopped for some pictures and lunch. In the distance, as the shrubbery turned to open grassland, the lake was full of flamingos turning the horizon pink. It's hard to pick out certain highlights to tell you about. I am of the opinion that in order to fully experience the tranquility of being out in the vast open grounds of a national park, one must really escape from the images broadcast with Sir David in the background. Everyone should go on safari at least once to see the magnificence of all the animals from the giant elephants to the tiny Dik-Diks, the famous flamingos to the innumerable, yet no less beautiful, smaller birds.

As the day drew to a close we made our way out of the park towards the camp site, passing a couple of baboons getting down and dirty on the way. Always interesting to see. At the camp site, we were given dinner and were entertained by some dancers and drummers as well as an acrobatics crew. As we walked to our tents, we took some time to sit on the edge of the camp site, enjoying the clarity of the sky, unfamiliar stars dotted around the blackness.

Day 2

Serengeti

For the second day we had a long drive from Manyara through Ngorongoro Crater through to the Serengeti where we would do an afternoon game drive before settling down for the night at a campsite in the middle of the Serengeti. The drive to Ngorongoro was unremarkable. Long but on a smooth road which allowed us to get some sleep. The entrance to Ngorongoro Crater is a huge gated archway, without making any attempt to blend in with the natural beauty that lays behind it. After passing through the gate we were immediately faced with a cliff face dropping off to our left as the trees plunged into the crater. The drive itself was unremarkable, slow and cold but once we passed through the clouds and the rain we were granted a glorious view over the crater as the sun lit up the grasslands and the lakes. That was for the final day though and we continued past en route to the Serengeti. I had heard different things about the Serengeti, that it was the place to visit when doing a safari in Tanzania but also that it was too big, that the vastness of it meant long drives seeing nothing.

On the drive to the gates of the Serengeti, we drove past a herd of giraffes, long necks poking out into the blue sky but the most impressive viewing was the annual wildebeest migration. Hundreds, if not thousands, of wildebeest and zebras dotted the landscape, giving the horizon the impression of being a distant forest. Dotted among the vast numbers of wildebeest and zebras were pockets of Grant's and Thompson's gazelles. And then the dense herd opened up, forming a sizable circle around a lone male lion. He was just lying there, a fairly young male judging by his mane. As we approached the gates to the Serengeti we stopped for lunch, surrounded by dazzlingly bright blue and yellow birds. They were so used to humans and didn't shy away when approached. In fact, they seemed quite bold in trying to steal your food. One negative aspect of the trip to the Serengeti was the Maasai children and women who approached your safari car saying, "give me my money" and "give me my lunch". Having met and worked with some proud Maasai men and women, watching them ask for free handouts in this way was shocking and it was a good example of the negative aspects of Western tourism. These Maasai boys only do this because there are some Western travellers who do give them $10 or a bit of their packed lunch because they have rich man's guilt about having lots of money and flushing toilets and Nike trainers. Knowing the Maasai men and women that I do, few, if any, of them would resort to demeaning themselves by begging foreigners for food and money.

Anyway, we ate lunch and began our game drive. We saw many more elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest and a few water buffalo too. But the inevitable highlight of the day was driving past a single lioness munching away on a recently killed wildebeest. We arrived as it finished feeding and began following it when it stalked off, heading through the tall grass before climbing up a tree. As we marvelled at a lion in a tree, off in the distance two more lioness had appeared out of the grass and were walking towards our car. As they moved across to the road, they were followed by six adorable lion cubs. Watching the cubs play and feed on the wildebeest was one of the best moments of the whole safari.

As the day drew to a close we headed for the campsite located in the Serengeti. On the way we were able to see a herds of elephants and impalas settling down for the night. Seeing over thirty elephants grouped together was an awesome sight to behold. However, one bull elephant took exception at how close we stopped to him and seemed agitated, ears flapping, stamping on the ground, our driver took us away at the request of the girls.

We drove into the campsite as the sun was setting and I helped put up the tents before dinner. As the sun set and darkness enveloped the campsite, a lightning storm periodically lit up the background. Flashes of purple and blue illuminated the dark clouds on the horizon in an awesome showcase of natural beauty. Apparently, there was a giraffe eating about 20 yards away from our tent in the middle of the night but I was too tired to go and have a look.

Day 3

Serengeti

We woke at 6 a.m. so we could experience the sunrise in the Serengeti. As we drove through the chilly morning air we managed to catch the unexpected speed of the sunrise. One moment it was but a bright speck on the horizon, the next a blazing ball of fire in the sky. We drove around the Serengeti in the cool morning air, the only car visible in the vast plains. We saw the lion family we had seen feeding yesterday and passed the remains of the wildebeest being stripped clean by huge vultures. We carried on driving through the endless plains.

And then we saw them. Three leopards walking down the open road towards our car. Three magnificent creatures, sleek, patterned skin, hiding rippling muscles perfectly designed by mother nature for to serve their purpose. Our driver was immediately on the radio letting the other safari groups know that there were three leopards here. In his six years of driving he had never seen this before, he told us. We watched and followed as they walked past, eventually stopping, two climbing into a tree and the mother searching the surrounding area.

As we left, we were all aware of how lucky we were to have seen these three creatures together. We drove some more, seeing hartebeest along with the usual wildebeest, zebras, elephants and giraffes before coming across two impalas fighting. Watching this was like being part of the crew filming a BBC wildlife programme. It wasn't long until we had to begin our drive back to Ngorongoro. As we drove back through the gates of Serengeti, we were able to truly get a grasp of the sheer numbers of wildebeest and zebras that were completing their annual migration towards Kenya. Like ants in your garden, hundreds if not thousands of animals littered the plains, occasionally allowing some green to show through the sea of brown, white and black.

As we drove back towards Ngorongoro, we could see dark rainclouds on either side of the road and rain pouring down, even though it was sunny along the road. When we got to the campsite, my camera ran out of battery and my phone was close to doing the same. Disaster on the crucial last day of the Premier League season! I was getting updates on my phone until it ran out of battery in, roughly, the 90th minute. Having to borrow one of the other volunteers phones, I almost cried when one particular staff member texted me that Arsenal had lost, Tottenham had won and we were 4th. That despairing feeling lasting for ten minutes as he texted me again to tell me he was just screwing with me and we had made it. I think I disturbed a good number of people by jumping in the air yelling "I'm going to kill him!"

As we lay down to sleep in our tents, we heard something seemingly pull up some grass, followed by munching. It turns out that about fifteen water buffalo had made their way into the camp and were having a midnight snack. An odd way to drop off to sleep.

Day 4

Ngorongoro Crater

The drive down was cold. And wet. Driving down through the clouds, the car was cold and visibility was low. All of us were tired. The morning was slow going, seeing the same animals again, zebras, wildebeest, a few elephants in the distance. Rain surrounded us, while never quite falling on us. Hyenas dotted the landscape in between the herds of gazelles. We were on the lookout for a cheetah and a rhino. The morning was taken up by seeing much of what we had seen before as we drove around the crater. It was suprising how accustomed the wildlife here was to the noise and presence of the safari cars. On the way to the Serengeti, the zerbras would run away as soon as the car pulled up; in Ngorongoro they would simply stand there and watch you. One cool thing that the zebras would do though was stand side by side facing opposite directions so they can watch each other's backs for predators.

As the early morning cloud dispersed, the sun began to shine over the crater and the view opened up. When in the middle of the crater, one could see all the way to the edge in a three hundred and sixty degree arc, all eight and a half thousand square kilometers of it. Green grass stretched from one side to the other, encircled by the high remains of the mountain that once stood, rivalling Kilimanjaro as the tallest peak in Africa. It was a truly undescribable experience.

We continued with our hunt for a cheetah and a rhino and, on two separate occasions, we thought we had spotted them. Or at least, our guide thought he had seen them. For the rhino, the driver told us he was driving round to get us a better view, which never materialised and, for the cheetah, the driver kept pointing and telling us it was lying down in the grass. Now, as we are not professional safari guides, it was going to take us much longer than it took him to find it. However, he decided to just drive on. Either he was frustrated at us for not seeing it, or what he saw was actually the rock we saw.

Finally, we spotted two rhinos about 200 meters into the distance. From the car, they simply looked like a big rock but on closer inspection with the binoculars, you could make out their features, although you couldn't see the tell-tale horns. Until they stood up. Then they were clearly rhinos. There was something about being unable to take any pictures, due to the lack of batteries. that allowed me to really focus on seeing the animals for the brilliant creatures they were.

As we moved into the latter part of the day, we ate lunch at a hippo pool. Moving swiftly on, we headed to see the flamingos and went on one last drive. We stopped the car to view a herd of wildebeest. Then, to the left, three lions appeared, stalking through the grass. We followed them; until they vanished. Eventually, we caught sight of them once again as they popped their heads out of the grass, much closer to the herd than when they disappeared. This continued for about half an hour when we noticed that four other lionesses had been approaching from the rear. It was fascinating stuff. Watching, waiting. Unfortunately for us, the driver told us that the lions would wait until one wildebeest made a mistake and, if the wildebeest didn't, the lions might just go home without starting a chase.

Soon after we began the long, long drive back to Arusha bringing an end to a truly spectacular four days.

My personal top five moments in no particular order:

The lightning storm in the Serengeti
The lion cubs feeding
The three leopards
The view around the crater when it cleared up in Ngorongoro
The Impalas fighting

Lego!

Thursday marked the end of exams for class two while class three had one final exam in the morning. The day was used to allow the children to relax after the exams and as we moved all the tables to the side of the room, a box full of Lego appeared. I wasn't entirely sure who was more excited by this, the children or their twenty-two year old teacher. Getting the children to be quiet and play nicely was a huge challenge and we were constantly bombarded with complaints of one person stealing something off another. However, when the children finally did start behaving and building stuff on their own, it was nice to see how something that gave me endless amounts of joy when I was younger could do the same for these children brought up in another part of the world with a completely different background. The children built a variety of things, most simply stacking things to make a tower before holding it triumphantly like a trophy when I went round with my camera. Others were building forts and space stations with one child in particular, one who is usually very disruptive, showed a concentration which could only be dreamed of when it came to academic work to build a large manned station complete with wings and a makeshift Tanzanian flag. Photos will be on my Facebook soon! Soon after it was the turn of class three and similar towers began popping up. They were much better behaved though, probably because of the smaller class size meaning there was more Lego to go around. Two other things caught my eye: one was the large ship one child managed to build, as well as making a wheelbarrow-like machine out of Lego technik stuff (or whatever it's called); the second was that there was far more co-operation between classmates. After school, we were subjected to a workshop on various topics, explained mostly in Swahili so I was pretty damn bored throughout.

Later that evening was the Projects Abroad social, starting with a dance show where volunteers would have the chance to learn some traditional Tanzanian dances. Some volunteers took part when we were given the chance and I was one of them. Many of the moves were fairly simple, using at most four steps, but the speed at which some of it went meant that it was really tiring, especially in the heat. Afterwards, we headed to the Chinese Dragon restaurant for, you guessed it, Chinese food. Having not eaten noodles for nearly a month, it was a relief, although the owners spoke Mandarin and not Cantonese. I had beef ho fun, which wasn't on the menu but the manager told me they could have it made. The portion was huge and the food was goo enough. We then headed back to Via Via for the night.

Waking in the morning, late, I had to run to catch the dala-dala to get to school on time while feeling pretty rough. It was the last of my volunteering and the last day of school before Easter break for the children. They were having a party for the last day, with the school providing food and drinks. There was a lot of singing and drumming of tables which doesn't do hangovers any good but it was nice to watch. I have a video to upload, but that may have to wait until I'm back in the UK with broadband.

Friday afternoon consisted of a HIV/AIDS workshop put on by Projects Abroad which was basically a refresher of my Biology lessons but there were useful bits on the rate and methods of infection specifically for Tanzania and the work that some organisations are attempting to do. It lasted for an hour and a half and included a, frankly ridiculous, clapping game. Afterwards, Quirine and I met some other volunteers and headed to Africafe for a drink and then on to Picasso, a restaurant based near the Impala hotel. The menu was extensive and the cocktails being prepared for another table looked rather tempting but I decided to rest my liver for a day. The menu is fairly extensive, with European dishes ranging upwards of 15000TSH for a main course. I had calamari with some sautéed vegetables and French fries for 17500TSH, a Sprite for 1500TSH and a rich chocolate brownie, which was delightful, for 4000TSH. Speaking of desserts, too, the café has a nice selection of desserts including: the brownie I had, huge slices of Black Forest gateaux, lemon meringue pie, cheesecake, and carrot cake. So a main, drink and dessert for under £10 and this was one of the more expensive meals that I have eaten so far in Tanzania.

The whole dinner was arranged by a girl who is leaving Tanzania on Sunday and even though I have only known her for less than a month, it's sad to see someone leave. But those are the facts I suppose. I have met so many great people over this last month, and will meet so many more until I fly back to the UK in June, but it is hard to say who, if any, I will ever see again in my lifetime. I hope I keep in touch with as many as possible but I'm notoriously bad at that, as my friends back home can probably attest to after this last month. Definitely need to get on Facebook more so I can find out what's going on with everyone at home. Blogging is great method of telling people what's happening to you. This, for example, is informing anyone at home wanting to read what I have done in this truly wonderful past month but it is a one way conversation. Now that I have blogged for an entire month, I need to make more of an effort to find out how everyone else is. Be less self-absorbed should probably have been one of my goals! Speaking of which, I'll give an update of those tomorrow but tonight I head to watch the mighty Arsenal. 'Til tomorrow.

A Little Bit of England

Lake Duluti was the venue this time for the Projects Abroad social. Located a 15 minute drive away from Arusha, the lake was yet another side of this varied land that I got to see. I had a few expectations of the lake as we were given an itinerary for the day, which included volleyball and a few other games along with a walk along the edge of the lake. We also took a football along so we would have a little kick around. I expected a large lake surrounded by flat grassy areas where we would sit with a picnic and play a bit of football under the beating rays of the Sun. What we actually found was a small, picturesque part of England in Tanzania. The lake was compact, and the area we were staying at was a built up, bar with wood chipping steppes leading down to the water's edge. There was a small narrow clearing to one side with a volleyball net suspended between a swing frame and a tree forming a makeshift court.

We were offered drinks on entry and as everyone settled down at the tables overlooking the lake, the day had the atmosphere of a school day trip with the volunteers settling down into their established social circles chatting away while the teachers organised the day's activities. First on the agenda was a walk around the lake along a small forest trail. Under the shade of the trees on a fairly cool day for Tanzania, the tranquil lake on one side and steep hillside giving rise to various trees and plants on the other, we could have been taking a stroll through a small forgotten part of England. Sometimes I half expected to find myself bumping into English school children taking part in orienteering. The walk itself was pleasant, simple enough to be able to be traversed in ordinary shoes while burning a few calories and making us all hungry for lunch. There were not that many chances to stop and take photos or even stock of the surroundings until someone spotted a snake chilling out in a tree. Unfortunately, I was not able to get a photo and apart from a few birds resting on a partly submerged tree, there was not that much wildlife to be seen.

On arriving back to 'base camp' lunch was promptly served. It consisted of a burger with optional guacamole, some rice, various salad vegetables, gherkins, grilled aubergines, potato salad (my mum's is better, much to my surprise), coleslaw, chips and hummus. The food was good, the presence of hummus a welcome sight and many went back for more. Shortly afterwards a raffle took place with a small prize for every volunteer; I won a carved giraffe which I named Anastasia. Next up was the marshmallow quiz. Four volunteers including myself were sat down and were asked five questions. If one answered correctly then the remaining three put a marshmallow in their mouth and were not allowed to chew or swallow it; if no one answered correctly, all four were given a marshmallow. In the end I answered two questions correctly, two others one correct each and the fourth, answered no questions and had to stuff five large marshmallows into her mouth. Lastly, a few of us moved over to the volleyball net and began a game before the boys moved on to playing keepy-uppy. We weren't terrible.

After the day trip I headed to Empire Sports Bar to watch Arsenal win comfortably against Villa with a couple of the staff and another volunteer. I missed the first goal but having caught the replays Given should really have done better. Happy for Gibbs though, hope he stays fit for the remainder of the season as Andre Santos once again revealed his careless side when he came on late in the game. Walcott showed that he does have the ability to run rings around opposition defences and he needs to produce more of the same as he did against Villa. His second goal was sublime after almost succeeding in exactly the same manner moments before. We need to see more of this next season and he needs to contribute with a few more goals. Reading BBC this morning, I read two interesting statistics. Walcott is our second highest scorer on eight, Vermaelen third on five and this was the first time two Englishmen had scored in the same game for Arsenal since 1997. Arteta's free kick in stoppage time put the icing on the cake and after Chelsea and Spurs drew, we are three points clear of fourth. Away at QPR next weekend will be an important game, especially with City visiting the Emirates the weekend after, and three points is a must. As the night drew on and more volunteers showed up, we sat outside around a table talking books, music and films while a few of the guys tried to work out whether I slept or had a life back home. I declined to comment. When the DJ replaced the live band, the night started but it is nice to be able to sit outside the bar at two in the morning around a table because the nights are still warm enough. Oh, I'm also starting to like that one Danish song that is always played.

Confusion reigns.

Thursday morning was the worst part of my trip so far. The TL:DR (Too Long: Didn't Read, for you non-nerds) version is that I almost quit my placement but nevertheless woke up to my own stupidity, swallowed some pride and reasserted that the most important people are the children I'm teaching.

The more substantial version is that one of the students was sick, so Quirine and I went to his house at the request of his aunt to pick him up and take him to the hospital. As we went to pick up our bags, we were intercepted by the headteacher who told us we had to be accompanied by a member of teaching staff. At first we were told that this was simply because we can not speak Swahili, so we explained that there was a member of Projects Abroad already at the hospital who we had been in contact with already. They insisted we needed to take a teacher and this stand off lasted about ten minutes, after which we said okay, can you bring the teacher to accompany us. We just wanted to get the child to hospital as soon as possible. The teacher was brought, we were ready to leave, and then we were told that we needed to now wait for the director. After a period of further arguments over why exactly we needed to wait, the director showed up and took us into his office to yet again explain why we needed a teacher with us, while we sat with the sick child waiting for him to finish. I repeatedly tried to get him to let the kid go to hospital, with either Quirine and me or Quirine and a teacher, yet he was adamant that in doing so I was not respecting the rules and regulations regarding informing the office of the kid's whereabouts. At the end of the day, the whole thing was entirely trivial. He was being proud and stubborn, insisting that every box be checked without concern for any mitigating factors. We were just as stubborn and guilty of not seeing past cultural differences and the language barrier. That said, I stormed out after a while and from what I hear, he was less than respectful to Quirine. Anyway, all water under the bridge. Whatever, my thoughts on the situation or the people involved shouldn't cloud the fact that the most important people at Gohechi are the children who need their education. I was going to have an interview with the director for today but given Thursday's events I have pushed it back until Monday but it will still happen and I think that the children deserve the exposure.

Anyway, after that was a teaching workshop at Projects Abroad, which was really a feedback session on how Projects could improve their system for placing volunteers and where they could help us better while we are in Tanzania. Most of the feedback centred around improved pre-arrival information, as some care volunteers have found themselves teaching and some teaching volunteers have found themselves doing more care work. Most are fine with this but would like more information before they arrive and are thrown into teaching or care work. Much of what was discussed I had already been talking about with the next Gohechi volunteer so it was mostly rehashing that and other points covered earlier in the blog.

Onto other news. Arsenal are third! What an amazing turn of events considering at the beginning of February we were seventh. Whilst I have been in Tanzania, Arsenal are P4 W4 F10 A2. Maybe I should stay a bit longer, a year or two perhaps so Mr. Wenger can get his elusive Champions' League trophy.

Film, Football and Computer Games

So I finally got access to the internet today. A welcome relief but I am still unsure as to how much exactly it costs to go online. The family own a dongle and volunteers are allowed to use it to connect to the net. It requires you to buy a top up card much like pay as you go phones. A glaring contrast to the UK where I have a perpetually connected broadband connection with no download limit and Wi-Fi. Today I spent the morning heading to Shoprite, the local, more Westernised supermarket in order to buy soap for my bathroom. The afternoon was spent with my new found internet connection catching up on the latest Premier League action as I caught the Arsenal match on Saturday and the first half of Chelsea but there is no way to check the scores once I left the bar.

Speaking of Saturday's football, I was invited to watch it with Projects Abroad's staff, which included three Arsenal fans and a Liverpool fan. We headed via dala dala (a local minibus which apparently is exempt from what little road safety laws exist in Tanzania) to a bar on the outskirts of town. As the match started I was able to try my first Tanzanian beer called Kilimanjaro, which was crisp and refreshing if a little plain. The match itself was a tense affair, and I apologise to anybody who doesn't like football for the next paragraph or so, with Arsenal looking like they weren't that much interested in getting anything more than a draw. When Liverpool took the lead, I feared the worst but when we equalised, and Liverpool proceeded to miss more chances than humanly possible with only eleven men on the pitch, I did start to believe, especially after Suarez's nausia inducing dive to win a penalty from which Arsenal's man-of-the-match Szczesny produced a wonderful double save. Sure enough Robin Van Persie finished excellently from Alex Song's pin point pass. The bar erupted, partly because Arsenal are one of the bigger teams in Tanzania but also because Tanzanians support the club of their choosing and any African player. The three largest clubs are Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal but I was told an anecdote of how, even though many Tanzanians were supporting Arsenal in the North London Derby a last week, they cheered when Adebayor scored his penalty simply because he is African.

Football haters can read again now. In England football (there is a wider point I promise) on a Saturday dictates the day. You get up in time to make last minute changes to your fantasy football team before the 11:30am deadline, Football Focus at 12, early kick off at 12:45pm, 3pm kick offs, evening match at 5. However, in Tanzania the early kick off was at 3:45pm and Chelsea's 3pm kick off followed after. The sheer familiarity of being in a pub watching football on a Saturday immediately threw me back to the UK and half way during Chelsea's match, I started mentally cursing the broadcaster for not giving a list of the 3pm results. It was a shock when I realised that the game was a 3pm kick off and all the other games were being played at the same time. It was something that could have brought on a sense of homesickness but it didn't. It is, I think, a clear sign of how welcome I have felt in Tanzania.

At half time during the Chelsea match I decided to take my leave and hop on a dala dala home. It was getting dark quickly and I got off a junction before I was supposed to. Not being too familiar with my surroundings the dirt road I walked up looked fairly similar to the one I lived on but on further exploration I soon realised my mistake. Not wanting to wait for another dala dala I decided to risk it and take a lift on one of the many, many motorcycle taxis back to my road. It was the first time I'd ever been on a motorcycle and just made me want to get one even more! Although it was a little scary. Walking up a dark, muddy road lit only by the makeshift shops on either side and car lights surrounded by Tanzanians is an experience I will not forget easily. Not that I felt unsafe at all, though I suppose I had the same sort of apprehension that others do in England when the street lights go off at midnight.

Anyway, Sunday brought a trip to the supermarket and credit for my phone and credit for the internet. Quirine, the Dutch volunteer, and Glory headed off to swim while I marvelled at the download speeds via dongle in a poor third world country being faster than Rapidshare (the b*****ds). When they got back, I was in my room watching Community when Glory came and lay beside my on the bed. Now Community isn't really an inappropriate show but the scene at which she sat down to watch was the darkest timeline in 'Remedial Chaos Theory'. Thinking through the episodes, the only one that would be vaguely interesting to a child would probably be 'Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas' so I flicked to that and chatted to Quirine while Glory watched, seemingly happy. Twenty minutes later she had finished watching and was perusing my very limited selection of games. Which means the Microsoft ones and a demo of Chicken Invaders 2. Not to be put off, she tried most of the games on my laptop before moving onto my HTC, where I discovered that Angry Birds has a truly universal appeal. Now I do wonder why on Earth I didn't put more movies on my laptop that she could have watched. It would be fun, something we could do together and could possibly help her with her English. Titles such as Tangled, Toy Story, Aladdin, and How to Train Your Dragon spring to mind immediately as films both she and I would enjoy watching. A real facepalm moment if ever I had one. Alas.

Hidden Costs of Volunteering

As I blogged yesterday, I am continuing to document my experiences before I leave on my three month stint in Tanzania by addressing one key issue that may slip under the radar for anyone who is thinking about doing some volunteering abroad. That issue is hidden costs. I mentioned previously that the price of the project paid for accommodation, food and insurance. Obviously there's also the air fare (£795 + tax if you book via Projects Abroad. I paid £700 via British Airways) to pay unless you plan on walking there and a visa (~£35) to allow you into to allow you into the country. However, in Arusha I will also need something called a 'Permit C' which allows me to carry out volunteer work and it costs roughly £300. £300 to spend 3 months volunteering in your country sounds like a lot of money going into government officials pockets to me. Frustrating to say the least. There are also costs associated with the vaccinations you have to take. I was recommended to have Typhoid (Free via NHS), Hepititus B (£90), Rabies (£123), Yellow Fever (£60) and anti-malarial tablets (£20 with my ASDA discount card). These add up to a substantial amount of money. I also want to take a netbook with me as my 18.1" laptop is slightly to big and heavy to feasibly take with me and I would rather have my own access to the internet and a place to upload my photos than having to rely on internet cafés. The one I'm looking at is around £350, which is on the more expensive side but, as I will probably use it for law school come September, I'm looking at it as an investment rather than a one off expense. These are my essentials, I guess. Things that I must have before I go. Now onto things that I would like.

I do not particularly fancy taking a suitcase with me which travelling in Tanzania and Kenya so I'm looking at getting a fairly sizeable hiking backpack for around £70. Important but, in the end, not a life changing addition to my expenses. Then there are clothes. I'd like a few more shorts and shirts and a hat and stuff before I head off but again this costs money and is, as my mother keeps reminding me, unnecessary. I don't really know how much I'll spend on clothes but lets put it at £125. Then there is the 19 days that I will spent after my placement travelling independently of Projects Abroad. I have bought insurance (~£40) and will need a place to stay. I am currently looking at hostels catering for backpackers as they are cheaper than hotels. Seven days in Mombasa is about £140 for a single, private en-suite room on Nyali Beach. I would like to spend a few days doing the beach hotel experience and this will cost a fair bit more.

Another thing one should do when planning a trip like this is to decide well in advance what you are going to do. I gave myself roughly two months to prepare and that is not enough when you factor in working a full-time job. Give yourself enough time to get everything sorted well in advance, mostly the extra costs stuff that I have mentioned above. Laptops and clothes etc. can be bought in the sales rather than last minute. It also allows you to shop around for deals on travel and accommodation if you travel after. Give yourself six months to prepare and you will be set.

Anyway, some of that seems a bit obvious, especially the last part, but I have always needed a good idea to slap me in the face for me to realise it's there. This will probably be the last travel-based blog post for now. Will post another before departure and possibly one before then on ideas for lessons and stuff but it's hard to know what I'm supposed to teach when I know nothing about teaching children. However, in the next few days I'll post about other stuff affecting my life. Maybe my views on my beloved, and thoroughly underwhelming, Arsenal and where they are at the moment. I thought I'd miss football while in Tanzania but, to be honest, I can barely bring myself to watch more than a half when Arsenal are playing so badly. I'm also having a Community marathon with my cousin on Monday as he's never seen it. It's one of my favourite TV shows at the moment so there'll probably be a post about that too.

Anyways, Happy Weekend to you all.