Mar 24, 2010

Mzungu in Africa

I started wearing the kerchief to try to disguise my blonde hair- it did help.  My hair drew some unwanted attention due to the arrival of internet cafés to my town.  As embarrassedly explained by my boss Frieda, "Your yellow hair is bad because of the sexy on the internet."  That one took me a while, but boiled down to the fact that the majority of women in porn have blonde hair.  Therefore, Tanzanian men, who don't see blondes on a daily/weekly/monthly basis, except on the rare occasion they use the internet, assume that all women with blonde hair are big ole slut buckets.  Exactly the image I want to project while completely alone in a third world country with a high rate of AIDS.

Coupled with the fact that all Americans are rich (a just perception considering the circumstances which most residents of Arusha see Americans- on luxury safari), I was the perfect wife- rich and promiscuous!  The marriage proposals came left and right- my "mama" would retort "My daughter is here to teach school, not to get married!"

Ha- you can see how I stand out in this picture- also, in the foreground is the dreaded dala dala which I refused to ride, preferring to walk 4 miles home. I didn't realize until I had been walking to work at dawn for a couple of months that I was strolling through the worst part of town that mzungus were never supposed to visit.  Oops.

Also, the background shows the mountains which surrounded us- on a clear day you could see Mt. Kilimanjaro from our kitchen window.
I loved this sign for a school near my home.  The little students would walk by wearing the exact same uniform as the statutes on the sign.

When Mama came to visit, we spent a couple days living my volunteer lifestyle, then went on safari where I had a shower for the first time in many months.  Have I told y'all about my bathing situation? Taking a bucket, as I referred to it?  I (or Anna the sweet house girl who did not like me tackling chores in her domain) would heat water on the stove.  I would drag the bucket into the washroom area, which had a sort of shower stall. I added cool water to the hot, dipped a cup in bucket, and dumped its contents on my head.  I have very thick hair and tromped around in ten feet and ten miles of mud everyday.  It was time for an actual shower.

I love this picture of Mama in the tree.

My favorite thing on safari was the big cats, more specifically the lions.
Maybe because I'm a Leo, maybe because we have the same coloring, but I have always loved lions.  Feels a but childish to have a favorite animal, but there it is.  Lions and golden retrievers. Love them.

If we could afford it, and if Hubs would have been into it, I think an East African safari would be the most amazing honeymoon ever. Dream trip- maybe someday.  What is your dream trip?

13 comments:

  1. One of our friends went on safari last year and brought home the most amazing pictures. I totally agree that this is a dream trip (but possibly a bit too much for a honeymoon?).

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  2. I LOVE learning about your time there. The picture of you mom in the tree is so cool. I honestly don't know if I could have handled your bathing situation, and even more so, that's SO wild about the blonde/internet/porn - eek! I love that "she's here to TEACH." haha My dream trip would probably be 6 weeks in Europe - enough time to REALLY visit all of the pockets and enjoy the pace.

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  3. . I spent 15 months after college doing photojournalism and your description of the bucket bath made me laugh! and cringe at the memories of spending weeks in villages and have the dirtiest feet ever and no real shower! I love hearing your memories, experiences and seeing the pictures! I have blonde hair too and it was horrible standing out so much and gathering that unwanted attention! and I’ve been trying to convince my husband a safari is the perfect trip…I went on one in Kenya and it was amazing! Thanks for sharing about your time there!

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  4. My dream trip was Morocco - we went there for part of our honeymoon then went on to Paris, Venice and Scotland. I need to come up with another dream destination!

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  5. I'm not a Leo, but I love lions, too. They are the most beautiful, regal animals.

    My dream trip is an African safari-- and I mean the swanky kind. I could rough it for a little while, but what's better than seeing animals in the natural habitat while sleeping in a gorgeous tent?

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  6. Gah, I just love your posts about Africa. What an amazing opportunity you had there. I love living a little bit of it through your posts. I would love to go to Africa someday and go on safari--so would my husband (luckily), but, you know, we gotta save up for that kind of thing!

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  7. Hiking the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu!

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  8. I love lions as well--and I am also a Leo. Maybe there is something there? actually, i am on the cusp...b/w leo and virgo. i usually just pick which one is best depending on the magazine. ha. love these pictures. incredble.

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  9. best all-time use of "slut bucket"

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  10. I love, love, LOVE your Africa posts. And do not feel childish for having a favorite animal... or else I am the ultimate child :) I've seen my lovely elephants in their native Asia and now must go see their African cousins (my ULTIMATE dream trip!).

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  11. I can't ever come up with good "dream trip" ideas, mostly because I don't think I could handle an African safari. There's a lot of Europe left that I'd like to see, and I would love to explore Japan. Next year, for our 5 year we are 90% sure we are going to Bora Bora, which I'm pretty damn excited about.

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  12. I could read about your time in Africa every single day. I just love all of these photos! Since my parents' trip to East Africa, I really want to go too.

    Fun fact: during our freshman year of college, everyone in our friends group had an animal alter ego assigned to them. (It was freshman year in college... who knows what this was about.) At any rate, mine was a lion. :-)

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  13. I loved my safari, too. So magical and it made me feel like a child. My dream trip is sailing through the Greek Isles. Ah, someday!

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