20 hours on a bus is fun!

So, if you've kept up with my blogging you know that I've been studying a region of Tanzania called the Usangu plains, and right now I am supposed to be in the middle of a week long visit to the area to talk to the main land owners and goverment leaders involved in the evictions of pastoralists that have been happening since May last year. But, I was also not supposed to have internet connection for the entire week, yet here I am, sitting at my computer, blogging away.... so, with your powers of deduction, you assume one of two things:

1) I found a secret hidden internet cafe in the middle of nowhere, Tanzania; or
2) I am NOT in Usangu right now...but how could that be?

Well, number 2 is correct, congrats Sherlock! This past Sunday, I boarded a bus, bound for a 10 hour ride to Mbeya town, in Mbarali District, Tanzania. 10 hours passed rather uneventfully, and we arrived to discover that the following day we would have to travel for another few hours to get to the area that we were trying to go to. So on Monday, after meeting with a local official, we drove for those few hours to find the district commissioner of the Usangu area. Instead of finding her, we found another gentleman, the District Executive Director, who proceeded to tell us that we hadn't planned enough for the trip, that we were coming at a bad time, and that the District Commissioner would most likely not want to meet with us. On top of that, he told us that LEAT is widely viewed as a political position rather than as a non-profit organization, due to its association with our branch manager, Tundu Lissu, who I guess has a past in politics in Tanzania. (Understand, this was all spoken in Swahili, so I only have brief notes from a follow-up meeting and am not sure exactly what happened). Thoroughly discouraged, we spent a night in a guest house in the area, and met with the district commissioner the next day- now this woman was one BIG Mama. She also was not a big supporter of our plans, and basically told us to go home and come back later. Now, when the DC tells you to go home, you can't just ignore her, even if her reasons for doing so are based in exerting her political power rather than in any good explaination... she could have us arrested, though not held on any real charges... basically, that was the end of the Usangu trip. So yesterday, I got to get back on a bus and come 10 hours back to Dar Es Salaam, where I now sit typing on my computer back in the LEAT office.

Now, this is all well and good, I really enjoy spending money to ride for 20 hours on a bus within a 3 day period of time... really! However, I have learned a lot about the politics of the organization that I am involved in, as well as about the political corruption and power in the country. Indeed, the only question that I am left with is how I am supposed to turn this failed field study into a portion of my 20 page paper, which was really dependant on completing the interviews this week with the main stakeholders in Usangu. I am most likely going to end up writing a joint report on the history of Usangu and land law in Tanzania, and also serve as an exterior consultant to LEAT, giving them my opinions on how they could make the organization work more productively and fix the flawed reputation that they currently have across Tanzania. I have found that you must include a certain amount of flexibility in all plans in Africa, as nothing ever works out exactly how you would like....

So here are a few more pictures of Africa... and yes, that is me in 2 of the pictures, so stop complaining that I never post pictures of myself :).

Dar is still hot, but I am now living with one of the women that works for LEAT in her small apartment... and how luxurious it is! We have electricity, and a TV, and a refrigerator, and even a double burner hotplate to cook on! No more cooking on fire, and we can shop for more than 1 day worth of food at a time! Plus, of course, cold water, which is amazing. She's overcharging me a bit for staying there, but I'm alright with it.

I'm actually currently sitting in the board room at the LEAT office, which is an old house, and they have given me a wire to connect to the internet! Which means that my "productivity" level has dramatically dipped in the past half hour, as I figured that this update is equally as important as coming up with a 20 page paper on something in the next 3 weeks. I have focused my study here on a current issue in the country, the Usangu Plains issue (google Usangu and a bunch of stuff will pop up). Basically, the area is a water cachement, and the river that flows out of it has been progressively drying up for long periods of time. This has been attributed to many reasons, the reason most scientifically-sound attributing the lack of water to poor irrigation practices of rice farmers in the area, in addition to poor management at the two hydroelectric dams on the river. However, the common media opinion (echoed in many of those same google articles) is that the pastoralists are causing the entire problem, through overgrazing and large herds etc. So, since May 2006 the pastoralists are being forceably relocated to far away areas, and are losing many of their cattle on the trip to this new location. Next week we go to visit the area to talk to the main stakeholders on the land, and then I get to come back and write a 20 page paper. In addition to a 10 page paper on the Serengeti ecosystem that I'm supposed to be working on... (No internet next week most likely)

So thats where I stand... let me know whats up with you! Emails are appreciated, as are the continuing comments on the blog!

Dar Es Salaam...aka "the city"

So, I have officially arrived in the big city of Dar Es Salaam , on the coast of Tanzania. It serves as a port for tanzania, as well as a stop for all tourists traveling to Zanzibar, the overly touristy island that everyone thinks of as encompassing the entire cost of Tanzania. When i say "Big city" don't be thinking NYC or anything, but there are big buildings here and traffic and people everywhere and it is certainly not a place I want to walk around in after dusk. A high percentage of Muslims live on the coast, so most women walk around with their heads covered and certainly every decent non-mzungu wears skirts below the knee, though that is normal of most of Tanzania. Upon first arrival, I paid the most I have paid for a taxi yet in Tanzania (about $8 USD) to get to the YWCA, where I spent last night and will stay again tonite... and which, surprisingly, costs the most out of anywhere that I've stayed in Tanzania (about $8 USD per night for a single room)... these are what I consider expensive prices now, lol...

But, good news! I found the organization that I am going to be working with for the next month or so! It was a bit of an adventure to get there, because its out in a residential area and the taxis from in town aren't quite sure where it is located, but once arriving I was made to feel quite at home and was introduced to the organization itself. In case I have yet to mention, it is called LEAT, short for the Lawyers' Environmental Action Team, and they have a webpage (not at all updated however) where you can read a bit about them. Basically, they pursue litigation for communities faced with issues surrounding land rights, pollution, and violation of environmental law. They also educate local communities about their rights in relation to environmental law, as well as about conservation and sustainable resource use. Finally, they work with policy makers to suggest changes to old laws, and help to draft new laws, regarding the environment in Tanzania and in East and South Africa. I think that, whatever I end up doing with them, I am bound to learn something and to interact with interesting people during this next month! And, the very very good news, the ladies at LEAT have offered me a room to stay in for free, so no more expensive YWCA!!

Back to Dar itself, a few more brief notes before I sign off for the night... I should have regular email access, as I have found a cheap internet cafe with a very nice muslim lady who has offered to take me around town and to her house for lunch (which is relatively normal in Tanzania, though if she were a man I would certainly refuse and as is I'm not so sure yet if I'll go)... I DO have a cell phone (see previos blog), and I expect at least my not-very-worrisome parents will call soon, so that I can test my phone as I have yet to recieve a call...hint hint... and thats about it for now... more soon!

Back in Touch with...

Ok, so first a list of pictures...
1. Hippo Pool....very huge smelly animals
2. Maasai homestay, Baba and child inside hut
3. The hut, made out of sticks and cow poop
4. Mama and sister, beading
5. Milking the goats (amazing chai)
6. Jake (from highschool) and I, overlooking Ngorongoro crater
7. More Ngorongoro
8. More Ngorongoro or Serengeti (i don't know...)
9. Cheetah. 30 yards from the car. Amazing.
10. Check out that sky...

Now the news, and lots of it. I just returned yesterday from a two week long safari to the Ngorongoro crater, Serengeti National Park, and to Maasailand, which involved a 4 day homestay in a Maasai boma. But first, so that you at least read this far... starting this Tuesday (April 10th), I will have a cell phone!! So, if you have a spare $5 and feel like spending it on calling Tanzania, my number is: 011-255-752-94-8353... that includes all of the country codes etc that you need to call from the states. NOTE: I am 7 hours later than those of you on the east coast. Remember this when you try to call me. A good timeframe between which to call is between midnight and 2pm, east coast time.

Now, back to the stories...The Ngorongoro crater is about 11.5 miles in diameter, and is absolutely amazing. You drive down a switchback road, after having driven through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), one of the most successful multiple land use areas in Tanzania (This means that it incorporates both human and wildlife uses, which is important since all of the Maasai that once lived in the area were kicked out of the crater itself and relocated to the surrounding area). The crater is packed full of animals, and contains the only rhino left in Tanzania, a dwindling population of 12 that is most certainly going to die out over the next 20 years or so... so many issues in this place... and so many lions, lol, we saw males and females up close and personal.

We camped a few nights near the crater, with bush pigs and buffalo running around camp and rutting at our tents, as well as hyena whooping and an incident involving lions licking at one of the girls tents... yet another sleepless night. However, a rainbow, sunrise, and sunset overlooking the crater floor makes up for the lack of sleep... on a slightly amusing note, I was wearing more layers than I usually wear during a New Hampshire winter, because it was in the mid 50s at night and that is freezing for Africa... we were all quite a sight, bundled up in our khangas and any jackets and fleece we could find, shivering and complaining, lol...

Next was the drive to the Serengeti, which included a stop at a beautiful gorge, where I gave a presentation with another girl Amy on the Serengeti itself... followed by the actual drive, which was long and hot and dusty and incredibly beautiful. You can't imagine actually being in a place that you read about in National Geographic, seeing the great migration or wildebeest, zebra, and the following young male lions stretching over the crest of a distant hill... encountering rock outcroppings that used to be hills, now inhabited by big cats of all types... studying giraffee for 3 hours each morning to try and catagorize their social interactions... words can't do this experience justice, though I find it interesting to see what sticks out while trying to recall this experience after 2 weeks :). For example, I actually got bored while staring at giraffe... like this was becoming normative, like these were my dogs back home... and we saw a lion sleeping next to a recent kill, something that takes weeks to find for the photograph that magazines want....

Maasai homestay was one of the most interesting and trying experiences of my life. First, we were bordering the rift valley wall, and Langai mounain, an active Volcano where a maasai god lives. Amazing views all around, in a semi-arid hot, dry area. Now, a snapshot... short dung and stick huts, where women cook inside goats live inside children crowd inside... dirt floors, men herd goats and cows all day while women fetch water, walk to town, clean, bead... 5 people crammed onto a hard wood and hard leather "shelf" that served as a bed in the middle of the hot night in the hot hut while men get to sleep outside... being crushed against a dung wall with a 5 year old trying to cuddle with me, coughing in my face from 3 inches away when all I want is some space... language barrier with kiswahili being the only shared language, none of us speaking it well because the Maasai speak Kimaa, their mother tounge...cultural gap so wide that we really have no level of comparison on which to have a "cultural exchange".... craving personal space like I have never craved it before. This only semi-describes the experience, which was most likely one of the most different and trying 4 days I've ever had.

So, as a final note because I'm hungry and tired and am going to sign off shortly, we were all talking and much of this program will never be able to be truly described... much of it requires such internalization and a level of understanding that you only gain through the experiences here, getting knocked down and picking yourself back up within periods of a few days.... an interalization that bonds us all while we are here, and disconnects us from the lives that we will return to... a new way of looking at our experiences and the world around us that can't be put into words... nothing to regret and so much to gain from this world.... I hope you enjoy this hodgepodge of thoughts and feelings, ttyl :).