Hi All!
I am now safely back in the land of Aus and already Tanzania feels like a dream. I honestly can’t describe what an amazing experience and journey living in Tanzania was! I don’t think I will ever be able to put my experience into words. I literally had the time of my life-filled with beautiful scenery, beautiful people and a beautiful way of life. I feel so incredibly lucky to have been given the opportunity to live a completely different life for 6 months; filled with new people and new experiences. I can guarantee that my trip was definitely not my last to such a wonderful part of the world. I’m sure I will call Africa home once again, in the future.
I’m sorry I didn’t write in my last few months-things got incredibly busy and I was having too much fun just living the experiences, I didn’t have time to report on them. Now that I’m home, however, and have a little more time on my hands, I thought I better write one last entry to let you know of all the awesome things I did in those last few months of my time in Africa.
Firstly, the Library got finished, WOOHOO! We finished it on our last day in Ikwiriri, so a pretty solid effort on everyone’s behalf. Thankyou to everyone back home who kindly donated to this project, it really meant a lot to the students and staff at Ikwiriri Secondary School. You have no idea what a difference it will make!
I also wrote another set of exams for my beautiful students’ annual exams, which they sat in late November-and then proceeded to pull a few late nights getting them marked so I could hand them back on Form one’s final day of school for the year; Dec 2nd. A bit of a sad day, saying goodbye to some of the most beautiful, inspirational and amazing people I have ever met!
After a few hectic days spent cleaning, packing and saying more goodbyes, we said our final goodbye to Ikwiriri on December 4th and hit the road. We got a driver to drive us to Dar Es Salaam (as we had WAY too much stuff to try and fit on the bus!) and our headmaster accompanied us, which was a nice way to finish up our time as the “Mzungu teachers” at Ik.
Dec 5th we jumped on the bus headed for Uganda, which was a lovely 32 hour bus trip! We spent a few days in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, where we went and crossed the equator and visited a few orphanages. One was called Mlisada, which is a home for street children and I can guarantee every single one of us was so moved by the kids there! They raise all their money by playing a brass band (of 2nd hand instruments), dancing and doing acrobatics. Every child is encouraged to find their special talent and use this to raise money for the home. They put on a great big concert for us and then we were asked to get up on stage while every single kid came up and hugged us! One of the most touching experiences of my whole time in Africa.
After Kampala, we headed up to Jinja-the source of the Nile! An absolutely beautiful part of the world! On our first day there, a few of us tried the local delicacy-grasshoppers (don’t recommend it, they were disgusting) and then headed out for a leisurely horse ride around the Nile. We spent our second day watching the more brave ones of the group bungee jump (me, not being one of them), and then did a little exploring. That night we decided to do a booze cruise along the Nile at sunset-all you can eat and drink in two hours. It got messy! Especially after we smuggled the grog off the boat. Was a very fun night!
Best hangover cure-white water rafting! The next morning, we headed out for a day on the water. Was so much fun and seriously adrenalin pumping! The rapids were fairly extreme at times, rafting up to grade 5’s. I highly recommend it to anyone who gets the chance, was really fantastic!
After a tiring day of white-water rafting and a boda-boda (a motorbike of sorts) ride I’d rather forget-we boarded the bus for Rwanda, ready to trek some Mountain Gorillas! Had a bit of fun at the border after we were informed we couldn’t get visas into the country (thankfully we got ourselves out of that situation and EVENTUALLY were able to buy them) and then got into the country, only to find out that our Gorilla trekking permits STILL hadn’t been secured. So we weren’t off to a great start. However, all worked out in the end and we were able to go Gorilla trekking-which was an incredible experience! We literally had a man out the front with a machete, creating a track for us through the jungle while we followed the ‘Ntambara ‘ family of Gorillas. They are the most amazing creatures and watching them made it evident just how closely related we are to them! We were able to get really close to them which was awesome. Loved it!
Also, while in Rwanda, we visited the Rwandan Genocide Memorial; which was a very sobering experience. Before entering East Africa, I must confess I knew very little about the Rwandan Genocide of 1994 so between the book “Emergency Sex and other Desperate Measures”, some other little bits and pieces I read from other places and my visit to this memorial; I was given a real education. Was so hard to grasp that something this horrific happened in my lifetime! The effects are still evident, you still see and meet people who are survivors of this horrific event; often with amputations and disabilities to show as a result.
After Rwanda, I headed back to Jinja for a night, to break up the trip a bit and to meet up with Ross; with whom I finished my travels. Had a very relaxing time there, and struggled to get on yet ANOTHER bus back to Tanzania. Once in Tanzania, we had a bit of a stop off in Moshi, where we met back up with Angus and Alex as well as some of Ross’ friends from Morogoro International School. Here we visited Mt Kilimanjaro, one of Tanzania’s most famous landmarks. Then it was time to head back to Dar Es Salaam to pack, do some last minute shopping and board the plane back to Australia.
Two days, four flights and one car trip later, I arrived back in the little town of South West Rocks on Christmas Eve to surprise Mum. It was fantastic to be back to spend Christmas with my wonderful family. 2010 has now come to an end and, so, the next phase of my life begins; whilst last year really did bring me the most amazing experience, I look forward to 2011 and what it will bring.
Thankyou to everyone who read this and supported me! You really do mean the world to me :D
Over and out
xx
