Goodbye Tanzania

The past few days since getting back from the Serengeti have been extremely busy. On Friday, we went to visit the Hadzabe, a tribe of bushmen in northern Tanzania. We got to see how they gather food (roots, fruits, etc.) and we got to "learn" how to shoot a bow and arrow. To top off the day, we helped the Hadzabe build a fire so that they could light their illegal substance filled pipes. Obviously, we had no idea that was the ultimate goal of the fire (I actually think our professors probably had some idea) and it was pretty hilarious to see them offer the pipes to all of us (of course we turned them down).

 Baboon skulls and jewelry hanging on a baobab tree

 Professor Kioko posing with some giant horns

Lighting a fire

 Hadzabe man packing his pipe

The cute child I tried so hard to make smile (didn't happen)

Yesterday (Saturday), we went to a local orphanage to help paint a mural outside their new building, donate items (we raised enough money to buy them two new beds) for the children, play with the children and help the fundi build an office building for the managers of the orphanage. I teared up being introduced to the children. There are 38 of them. 6 of them don't even have beds, and the other children are required to sleep at least three to a bed. Their daily food rations consist only of bean and rice, and the construction of the buildings and lease of the land comes only from donations from others. The orphanage is not sponsored by any outside organization (like others in the area), and it really struggles to provide for the kids. On the brighter side, the children were some of the happiest kids I have ever met. For about two hours when we first got their, I either a child in my lap, on my back or on my shoulders. They had me guard their new pencils, crayons and coloring books. I even got to help paint the mural, which naturally caused me to end up with oil based paint on every crevasse of my hands (I went a little overboard on the finger painting). I also got to help the fundi put bricks and mortar onto a work-in-progress office building. And although the fundi spoke no english, he seemed to really enjoy (meaning find it hilarious) the help.

Today is our last day in Tanzania. I cannot even begin to tell you how much I am going to miss this wonderful place. I'm lucky, because I get to come back for another week and a half at the end of December, but for others this truly is goodbye. I'm going to miss everything about the landscape here. With a camp situated on the edge of the rift valley, my geology brain has been going crazy. I'm going to miss being close to a village and being able to interact with the local people on a daily basis. Most of all, I'm going to miss the staff at the SFS center in Tanzania. We have all grown to love being around them, and it is going to be extremely hard to say goodbye. We cross the border into Kenya sometime around lunch tomorrow, and we get to see the other half of our SFS-Kenya and Tanzania group momentarily before parting ways once again. I am incredible thankful for this experience (aheemm- parents that is directed at you), but I have no doubt that Kenya will be just as amazing.

Kuwa huru, Tanzania. Nitakurudi. (Be free, Tanzania. I will return)