Safari!

Sorry it has been awhile since I last posted! My 21^st bday here was very fun…we went to the snake park with some of our students from day camp and saw some amazing snakes, birds, and crocs in different stages of development. I even held a snake! I was semi-froking out, but I figured it was a good way to commemorate becoming a fully fledged (American) adult. I did not drink at all, but spending my birthday in Tanzania is a 21^st that I will never forget.

Last week I did another community training for GSC for a women’s group in Arusha. It was actually called Notre Dame Women’s Center, which was special to me. They were a great group and had a lot of intelligent questions and suggestions, too. I bought a kitenge that has their name and emblem of sorts on it, and I think I am going to get a bag made from the fabric at the tailor near my house. Actually, I need to put in my orders at the tailor soon so that she has time to make everything before I leave.

I started interviews for my anthro research last week, and they are going very well so far. At this point, I am focusing on the changes in gender roles and female sexuality that are occurring right now. In all of the trainings that I have done, the idea of shifts in gender roles has come up, so I want to explore if and how these perceived changes will have an impact on HIV rates for women in Tanzania. In the next two weeks, I am going to be doing many interviews. Add in shopping for some gifts, community trainings, and MAYBE some preliminary MCAT studying…and I have a very busy two weeks before I return to the states.

On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I went on safari to the Serengeti and Ngorogoro Crater. It was amazing, definitely some of the most gorgeous things I have ever seen in my life! Highlights included the best sunset of my life in the Serengeti, a man-eating sized python in a tree, one month old baby lions, a cheetah super close to the jeep, black rhinoceros, and watching 2 mama and 5 baby lions eat a warthog that they had just killed. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget…while it was quite expensive, it was worth it.

Finally, I think posting photos on this blog is a lost cause for now. Once I get home in two weeks, I will go back and put up pictures that are relevant to each post within each entry. For now, I am paying for internet access and uploading photos takes a ridiculous amount of time with the extremely slow internet, if it is not completely impossible. So keep reading, but no pictures for now…samahani (sorry). My new fbook profile photo is actually from here, at the first day camp I taught. So at least you can see one I suppose.