Day 2 - First Full Day in Tanzania - Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzanian Womanhood, and New Food (By Ari and Raul)
Following our hours and hours of travel yesterday, our whole group was extremely tired, unable to fully grasp the beauty of Tanzania. This restriction changed quickly, and upon a fresh breakfast of crepes, eggs, pineapples (aren't you proud of me for eating them mom), and more, we were ready to embark on our first adventure: hiking around Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Before I boarded the bus, I was hurriedly ushered over to just outside the gates of our hotel to view a rare site. An unobstructed view of the famed peak in all its glory. We were able to see the mountain peaking over the clouds, welcoming us to the beautiful country of Tanzania and giving us a sneak peak into our hike. On the hike, we explored the Shira Plateau, what was originally the tallest of three peaks in Kilimanjaro, but due to various volcanic eruptions and earthquakes collapsed into itself and flattened out. There was little wildlife to be seen, but I stayed near the back of the group, talking to a Tanzanian guide Tim, and we saw relatively fresh tracks of Buffalo. The area around the mountain was beautifully silent, with the only feeling in my ears being the pounding of my own heart. It was unlike any nature I've ever been around in America, and I can't wait to see more.
Following our trek, we made our way to the house of Professor Wilfred Emlei, but due to family issues we instead had a wonderful conversation with his wife Faith. With her, we learned about the childhood and expectations of Tanzanian women, and how their clothing often provides observers insights as to various struggles going on in a woman's household.
Finally, we returned to our hotel for dinner (including Butternut Squash Soup, Spaghetti, Fish, and Ground Beef), before concluding our day with early free time starting at 8. Me personally, I hope to be asleep at 9. Overall, an exhausting but wonderful day.
- Ari
Adding on, before our trip to Mt. Kilimanjaro, the World Leadership School guides had us play a game of tag. At first, I thought how easy it was going to be with my speed. However, the catch was that they made us close one eye and hold our hand up like a spyglass on the other, and they called it cyclops tag.
Now, you may be wondering out of all the activities we did today, why I chose something that seems unrelated to our trip. Before the game, the guides talked about an acronym called AMP (analyze, manage, prepare), and they mentioned that this acronym will be essential for our trip. We used this acronym about the game we just played, analyzing about the dangers of running with one eye in mud. We managed the game to make it safer, and we played another round where we walked instead of ran. With that, the guides mentioned that with every situation we are in, we need to stop and go through AMP to make sure we do our activities as safe as possible.
Ari pretty much summed our day, so I would like to end off by saying that everyone is doing well, and we are all having so much fun. This trip is a big step out of our comfort zone, and with everyone getting along and having fun with each other, it calms us a lot more. Tomorrow we will be in Arusha, the third largest city in town, and we will be going to the Tanzania Natural History museum, shopping at markets (and there will be people from the Maasai tribe there selling stuff! Will get some souvenirs), walking around the city, going to the Ngarenaro school because it's an ongoing Menlo contribution to that school, and staying overnight at a hotel. Overall, the day was wonderful, and I can not wait to continue the journey!
-Raul
