Culture Shock has an enantiomer.

I'm sitting here in the lobby of the Kempinski now, awaiting my taxi to Nyerere International Airport. In less than 4 hours, I will begin my long journey home. I will get to see loved ones, particularly Steph, and hopefully my parents, close friends who have been supportive over the past several weeks both via chat, email, and this blog, and many co-workers who I have missed. I hope to enjoy steak again, and drink beer so dark and rich that it absorbs light (Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, I'm coming for you!). There are bills to pay, bachelor's parties to attend, apartments to find in Philadelphia, and weddings to look forward to.

So why am I feeling so internally conflicted right now about all of this?

Something profound happened as I walked into this hotel yesterday afternoon. I had been expecting to walk in and feel as if I had stepped back into a little piece of my world here in Dar. Instead, I felt quite alienated by it all. It felt so unusual to hear people speaking english around me. I tried to greet people in Kiswahili, and they uniformly replied in English. I had to wait in a small lounge area, and I was put aback by how clean and polished everything looked, how well-kept everyone sitting there was (esp. knowing how scruffy I had become); this rather cosmopolitan setting, from which I had come just 6 weeks ago, was now quite foreign and uncomfortable for me. I stared at the menu... can I eat pork here, is it safe? WHY does this sandwich cost 9,000Tsh? How is that just? 6000 Tsh to print out a single page flight itinerary? 30,000 Tsh for dinner? These sorts of costs, which had certainly not bothered me on my trip here, now seemed completely outlandish.

This all troubles me deeply. How much has changed inside me during this short period of time? If I react this way to the Kempinski, how am I going to respond to Manhattan? How am I going to interact with friends? Many of them have traveled before; Have they experienced this "reverse culture shock" before, or will they think I have lost my wits whilst in Africa?

For now, I will focus on seeing Stephanie on Thursday morning to guide me through.  I fear though, that as my friend Dan had predicted, I really may not see things in the same light as when I had left, and that this feeling I am experiencing now is my brain starting to process everything that I absorbed while here.

My return to Dar Es Salaam and the Kempinski Kilimanjaro

Now that we have gotten past the long-promised safari-related posts, time to continue to update my status.

After such drama getting TO Zanzibar, I had quite a bit of anxiety with regards to my boat trip to Dar. I hardly expected it to go as smoothly as it did. By the time 12pm rolled around and it was time to depart the Clove Hotel, I was ready to do so. I had grown weary of the much more aggressive street touts, always trying to harangue some form of payment via tour, taxi, etc; they were much more aggressive here than they had been in either Dar (where they were still fairly intense) and Mwanza. A taxi came and took me to the dock. As I got there, a torrential downpour began, but fortunately the waiting area was covered. Many ex pats and travelers were here, awaiting the ferry as well, and I anticipated it would end up being quite crowded.

Surprisingly, the ferry arrived on time. It was quite large, and there was plenty of room for both me and my garish green luggage ;) The trip was smooth, lasting about 2 hours, and I spent some of it (about 20 minutes) writing blog posts (until my battery died), and the rest just listening to my ipod. I unfortunately did not have a a great window seat, but I tried to strain to see through a window on occasion. The seas were smooth and Neptune was smiling upon us, granting us smooth passage.

I arrived in Dar, quickly found a taxi, and for only 5000Tsh arrived at the Kempinski unscathed. What happened next, however, was extremely unexpected... and is something I am still dealing with to a significant extent now, and I anticipate will get worse over the next several days....

Safari Day 3 pt 2 - The Final Chapter

After visiting the Masai camp, we packed up and drove for about another hour through some very rocky terrain, reaching the edge of Olduvai Gorge. For those who are unfamiliar (as was I until someone reminded me) Olduvai Gorge is often referred to as the "Cradle of Mankind". It is an extremely active archaeological site, yielding so far Australopithicus Boisei (or Africaans) and Homo erectus, as well as what is thought to be the earliest footprints of man thus far found in the fossil record. It was quite powerful standing there, knowing what has risen from this land. Excavation is on-going with a team there from Rutgers University.

After Olduvai, we had lunch and began our journey home. It was a long ride, cutting back through the Serengeti. We saw more lions, giraffes, elephants, and jackals along the way, but at this point we were definitely a bit tired.

We reached the Bugando Guest house at 8pm, at which time we all took turns showering, before calling it a night. What an amazing weekend! And I also think we were quite lucky to have such an excellent driver/guide in Moshaka, he did a great job of pointing things out as we went and helping us see the more rare animals.

Safari Day 3 part 1

Day 3 started much the same as Day 2, only substitute Waffles for Pancakes. Again, a familiar taste that I was very welcome to see. We hit the road early again, around 8 a.m. Our first destination was an actual Masai village. We got there around 9:30 am. For a small fee, we were allowed to tour the village, see some traditional dancing, their housing, their livestock, and even sit on their school for the youngest children.

I had mixed feelings about this experience. On one hand, it was an excellent cultural opportunity to view the Masai, in one of the natural villages, see their houses and how they still live to this day, etc. It was very impressive, and I left with a profound respect in their ability to maintain such religious and cultural practices in a rapidly modernizing Northern Tanzania, as cities like Mwanza, Arusha, and Kilimanjaro continue to expand due to tourism and industry.

On the other hand, it bothered me deeply that I was there. I view this sort of interaction in a "schrodinger's Cat" kind of light. For those who are far removed from basic chemistry, "Schrodinger's Cat" is a bit of a thought experiment we are told as freshman in college, an analogy to allow us to better understand the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. The essentials of it as as follows: It is impossible, at any particular time to know exactly where or how fast a particle is moving, we can only estimate. We can attempt to measure the location of the particle, but the closer we try to getting an exact location, the more likely we are to move the particle in our attempts to measure it- Where do cats come in? Well Shroedinger came up with a similar example involving his beloved cat. Imagine we had a box on the ground and in it was a cat. Also inside the box was a radioactive isotope, that may or may not have killed the cat. We can postulate by looking around the outisde fo the box or listening to the box to see if the cat is alive, but actually opening the box will trigger a massive release of isotope, assuredly killing the poor Kitteh. So we can only ever estimate whether the Kitteh is actually still purring inside.

By visiting the Masai in such an intimate manner, I really got to see their culture and learn a great deal. But how much of their culture is actually intact, if they are constantly receiving renumeration feom groups of mzunugus coming out of Ngorongoro. How much of their local economy is now dependent on such tours as opposed to herding cattle? How much of their real culture is still in existence, and how much of it has become some Colonial Williamsburg re-enactment?

I guess it is impossible to tell. BUt I do feel a profound sadness that these visits may be eroding into the very culture they intend to portray, much to the chagrin of the elders in these villages, I am sure.

Coming up next on Frank's Safari: Olduvai Gorge, Mary leakey, and the birthplace of mankind.

Safari Day 2

We began the second day with breakfast at the seronera Lodge. Pancakes taste awesome, regardless of quality, when you haven't had them in 2 months ;) We left early, between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m, and soon saw another hippo, and several lions. The majority of the morning was spent driving to Ngorongoro Conservatory, which has slightly relaxd restrictions in terms of living there, allowing the Masai, a local tribe that subsists on their own herded cattle as opposed to hunting, to still settle in the area.

At the gate leaving the Serengeti, there was a large herd of elephants. Since we had to stop there to get permission to carry on anyway, this made for a great pictures. We continued to drive, and as we approached the crater rim we saw several tribes of Masai herding their cattle, and several villages (more on the Masai during day 3). There were many gazelles, a few jackels, and even a cheetah along the way, in the distance. We reached the crater edge around 11am.

There are several pictures I will be posting to flickr involving Ngorongoro crater. Let me tell you that none of them do it justice. This is one of those sights that, I guess without uber-wide panoramic style lenses, can not just be captured well, much like the Grand Canyon. The decent into the canyon was harrowing, a very narrow, very steep, very unpaved dirt trail that us about 45 minutes to transverse into the crater floor. Once there, the vistas were even more impressive. A massive lake was at the center, filled with thousands of pink flamingos. Wildebeasts roamed everywhere, as did zebras. We saw atleast 10 lions in the crater, 2 of them approached ours and several other cars, sniffing them and looking puzzled. We stopped by one of the lakes for lunch, but were told to keep away from waters edge for fear of crocodile attacks.

In the afternoon, we hunted for the elusive Black Rhino, an extremely endangered species. We caught a glimpse of one that was visible with high power binoculars, but photos were not possible with our equipment. Later in the afternoon though, much like the first evening, Moshaka got a call over his CB radio, and began to drive very quickly across the canyon fermament. We were moving through a mixed herd of zebras and wildebeasts, but noticed that some of the animals were fleeing from some large, black shape off in the distance. As we approached, Moshaka yelled to us "BLACK RHINO" and we all quickly stood up to see. Sure enough, about 50-75 yards off, was a black rhino, chasing away a few animals, and then breaking into a light jog. Such an impressive animal!

Later we saw a mother lion with her two cubs, less than 10 ft from the car, and also spotted 2 more cheetahs, well within photographic range. So, with Day 2, we completed the "Big 5" of game viewing, and headed up out of the crater, proceeding along the outer portion of the southern rim. It was here that we stayed for our second night- The Ngorongoro Wildlife lodge. Another impressive lodge, with great food, amazing views; the crated physically sat on the edge of the southern rim, with all windows and a massive outdoor patio looking out into the crater. We had some more Tusker, showered again, and called it a night, even more fatigued than the night before.

Zanzibar update

A brief update on my location/status etc.

I've made it to Zanzibar, but was unable to post about it initially due to difficulty in finding internet connectivity. My technical situation has worsened significantly here: I think the fluctuating power supply in Tanzania has permanently damaged my battery in my laptop, a full charge now lasts only 15-20 minutes or so. Ironically, Internet access and electrical outlets are frequently not in the same place. So until I get to Dar Es Salaam for my final night, it may be harder for me to post.

My trip to Zanzibar was fairly stressful. It started with a flight from Mwanza to Dar Es Salaam, and was then supposed to be followed by a ferry ride to the island; it is about 25km off the coast of the Tanzania. Things appeared to initially be going smoothly. My taxi to the airport arrived on time in Mwanza. I got to the airport and checked in, and yet again had to pay the "weight overlimit" fee of 2000 Tsh per 1kg over, and I was 10kg over the limit of 20kg. An aside: how does one pack for 6 weeks and have their luggage be any less than 20kg?? Anyway... I also noticed lots of passengers bringing large plastic opaque jugs and styrofoam containers with corporate names up and checking them, and thought that a bit odd.

I boarded the plane, it was a larger propeller plane, with an engine on each wing, and about 40 seats. I saw them bring my large, rather awesomely garish lime green duffle trolly over to the plane, and even saw them put it into the cargo hold area. I thought I was safe, and closed my eyes for a bit as it was still fairly early and I was up late packing. So, I was quite shocked to notice that, as we began to taxi, my bag was sitting on the runway about 100 yards from the plane. Needless to say, my flight from Mwanza to Dar was not a relaxed one. This is Africa.

Two hours later, I arrived in Dar, expecting the worst. I made it in one piece (and given that Mwanza International Airport has no real Air Traffic Control system, this was something I was quite grateful for, all things considered). And as I had suspected, my luggage had not been so lucky. I brought my electronics in a rucksack and several days worth of clothes and few fragile souvenirs in another carry on, but my duffle with all of the remainder of my items (re: most of them) was nowhere to be found. I went to lost and found, where I found about 15 other passengers had a similar issue, many with connecting flights (one poor girl had a connecting flight to Dubai in 6 hours, and then was off to Manila).

So what happened? Per the staff of precision air, the actual airline(!!), our luggage was removed from the plane in order to make more room for fish transportation . I couldn't make something like this up if I had wanted to! So I spent the day in Dar Es Salaam awaiting my luggage. Noticing that the next flight from Mwanza was at 4pm, I deduced that I wold most likely be missing the last ferry to Zanzibar, which left at 4pm. So, not to be deterred from meeting two friends on the island, I quickly ascended the management chain of Precision Air at Dar Es Salaam Airport, and when done, had a plane ticket for a small plane leaving at 18:00 for Zanzibar Int'l Airport, at a markedly reduced rate (32,000 Tsh, less than the 50,000 Tsh ferry ticket), and waived luggage allowance for that flight.

Thankfully, my luggage arrived around 16:45, and I was able to easily make it to my 18:00 flight, which lasted all of 15 minutes. Once here in Dar I was able to get a cheap taxi to the Clove Hotel, where I have now been for two days.

Zanzibar is amazing. It is incredibly hot and humid here. You sweat sitting still in the shade with a good breeze. The sun feels as if it is 10 feet from you, you can feel it beating at your skin. The beaches are white, the water is blue and clear, probably around 75 deg. F. 40 -50 Dhows litter the coast off of Stone Town in the evening. The island is 90% Muslim, and the architecture is a mixture of Arabic and Indian. The streets here in Stone Town are tiny, about 5-6 feet across, with shops on the first flood and apartments occupying the 2nd, 3rd, an 4th floors. Most locals wear traditional Muslim garb, though I don't know how the women manage in this heat.

I went on a spice tour yesterday morning. Spices are the island's main export, particularly clove, but also including Coriander, chili, pepper, cumin, coffee, cocoa beans, lemon grass, etc. An interesting note about cocoa- the island exports massive amounts of dried and roasted cocoa beans, annually, but lacks the processing ability to actually make chocolate, so they end up importing it from Switzerland and Germany, of course for markedly elevated prices.

I went on a walking tour of Stone Town early in the afternoon yesterday, and then spent a few hours sipping a Tusker lager on the beach until about 5pm. Dinner consisted of some very fresh Marlin, the seasoning was of course top notch.

So, next up is Dar Es Salaam, one more night there, and then the final journey begins. My hotel there promises to have both internet and electricity, so I am hoping I can upload some photos then, and even write more about Safari. Sorry for this brief interlude!

Tuta onano badai (see you later)

Safari Day 1 pt 2

Lunch was served at a small series of cocrete tables, about 15 feet from the base of the hippo and crocodile infested pool. we could hear the Hippos splashing water on their backs as we ate. The first day's lunch was on us, so had packed a bunch of pbj sandwiches as well as some left over beans and Chipate (a flat fried bread sort of like a pita but greasier) from dinner the night before. We each topped it off with can of Tusker beer, which everyone is rather fond of (we had purchased a case for the trip).

The afternoon kicked off with some more monkeys and baboons initially, as well as my first Tsetse fly sighting. Tsetse flys are these large, half brown, half black flies that transmit a parasite that causes Trypansomiasis, or African Sleeping Sickness, which can be fatal if not aggressively treated. We were advised to not wear blue or black clothing, as this can attract the flies.

We soon saw our first lions in the afternoon, a pair by the side of the road. Being most a predator at night, most of the lions appeared rather lazy during the day. There was both a male and female within maybe 10 yards of each other, about 15 to 20 yards off the road. We stopped for many pictures from the safety of our vehicle. We also saw a massive hippo jogging along the roadside. We asked Moshaka if lions ever attack hippos. Apparently this is extremely uncommon (which is unfortunate, because we were eager to capture some animal violence). Hippos are massive when not submerged in smelly ponds, and can move quite quickly! We saw several more giraffe, zebras, and monkeys before the last big sight of the day.

Around 5:30pm moshaka got a call over his rdio that there was something important to see. He drove very quickly over this muddy, rough terrain, and in the distance we could make out the silhouette of 4 or 5 other jeeps sitting still. in the same spot. As we cgot closer we slowed for our final approach and we could make out the barrels of some lenses which must have been quite impressive ;) In the grass, about 25 yards from the road side, was a large cat, which we soon learned was a leopard. Leopards are much larger than their couosin the cheetah, and are powerful climbers as well. I managed to get a few pictures at a distance. According to Moshaka, seeing a leopard is extremely rare, as they usually hide in the trees or brush during the day, far from the road.

After the leopard we looked for some more lions, but ended up settling for some more hippos, as well as some rare birds, whose names escape me. (Can you blame me, given everything else i saw that day?) We drove off to our lodge, which was only about 30 minutes away, in the middle of the Serengeti.

Seronera Lodge was amazing. It is literally right in the middle of the park. It was great enjoying some tasty food, as well as a few more Tuskers and a hot shower, we were all covered in the reddish dust that was constantly blowing about. We called it a night around 11pm, and had to be up around 6:30 am for day 2.


Barry If you are reading this- Have u seen the finale of Battlestar Galactica by now? I've missed the last 4 or 5 episodes over here, but, without spoilers, how bad ass was it?