More Adventures

Things have been starting to get into a regular schedule now that I've been here three weeks. This past weekend I went to a very beautiful beach with people from the program as well as three guys we've all met from the University, and we camped out and spent a day hanging out. It was a gorgeous beach, with perfect white sand and clear waters, very unlike my last beach experience. We got there in the afternoon on Friday, paid the camping fees, and set up our tents in the sand. We almost immediately started making dinner, and the Tanzanian guys (Isaac, Ezekiel, and Willy) did most of the cooking with our American help. Oh my goodness, it was some of the best food I've had since I've been here! Ugali is a traditional Tanzanian dish that's made from maize and water, and cooked to a thick porridge-like consistency. You take small bits and ball it up in your hands, and then use it to pick up meat or vegetables or whatever else you're eating. On Friday night we had a scrambled egg/vegetable combination that was incredible, and some really yummy beef. The ugali I've had at the cafeteria at the University isn't bad, but it's just kind of blah, but the ugali that Isaac made us was incredibly tasty! I would have ugali with every meal if it tasted like that!

That evening we all donned our swimwear and headed to the beach around 10 pm. The full moon was out and we were the only ones on the beach for miles. We went swimming in the ocean, and it was so warm and clear. The moon was so bright, and it was reflecting off the water - it was one of the most gorgeous things I've ever seen. I didn't have my camera on me, but even if I had, it wouldn't have been able to capture the beauty of that night on the beach. It was definitely something I don't think I'll be lucky enough to see again.

We basically spent all day of Saturday on the beach, which was so relaxing and fun. We came back on Saturday night, and all crashed. Saturday was extremely fun, but a day under the equatorial sun can really wear you out! I was able to sleep in on Sunday for the first time since I've been here. I've 'slept in' during the past weekends, but usually animal noises or people yelling have woken me up around 8, which isn't very satisfying. So I got a great night of sleep, and woke up around 10 to a hard day of work with my research proposal that is due tomorrow. I went through about three ideas before I officially pinned down my research question, but I finally came to a decision and I'm really happy with it! I'm going to research the role of music in Maasai women's lives. I think it'll be a really interesting project, and combines both my interest in music and gender relations/culture.

Today was the beginning of all of our classes. I had the usual four hours of Swahili this morning, which is really starting to get rough. I don't understand how students on the block plan do it, four hours straight with only a ten minute break in the middle is incredibly hard. I find it really hard to stay focused in that last hour, but there's only two more weeks of that, and then we switch to two hours of Swahili. At least it's frequent enough that I feel like I learn more every day. This afternoon we began Human Evolution, which is going to be a total breeze because I took Human Evolution last Fall. I'll enjoy it, though, because I find it to be a fascinating subject and I can just enjoy it and solidify my knowledge. Tomorrow we start Ecology of the Maasai Ecosystem. I'm mildly nervous because Science just isn't my thing, but I'm looking forward to it because I think it'll be my kind of Science. The bizarre thing about it all is that these classes are over in just four weeks! It's going to fly by.

Another exciting tidbit is that I'm going to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro during my October break with 5, maybe 6, other students on my program! I couldn't be more excited. If you want to see exactly what I'm doing, you can go to this website: http://www.zaratours.com/kilimanjaro/machame.html, and see exactly the route I'm taking, and learn more about the company. I can't believe we'll be climbing the mountain in less than four weeks now. It's so close! But I have to push through classes first, and climbing that mountain is a great motivator.

I've officially started putting all of my pictures up on Grinnell Gallery, and I'll try to keep them regularly updated as the internet permits.