Well, I suppose here I am...going into my third month of being amid the culture of Tanzania. Of course, it is dawning on me that time is flying drastically, and soon I will be on a plane flying back to America and diving back into my own culture. But lets not think about that yet.
So, lately I have been working alongside the Arusha Society for Protection of Animals, or ASPA (a non-governmental organization, non-profit too), to help teach children of all ages about animal welfare. I am also involved in writing proposals and designing brochures and all that for the company, which is new to me since I have never truly been in the business sector of a company. However, I hope to get the opportunity to participate in dog, cat, and donkey vaccination clinics soon. 
Truly, though, my internship couldn't teach me more. I work hard every day with this job with the hopes that I am constantly getting better at communicating in Swahili, or understanding the mindset of the people, or doing business things. The ASPA also has volunteer work for anyone who is interested. A neat fact about the ASPA is that it partners with "Roots and Shoots", the Jane Goodall Institute here in Arusha, which means we have a big opportunity to work within their institution and gain experience, as well as working for the very famous Chimpanzee researcher and conservationist herself. If you don't know about her, she truly is an ambitious and amazing character. 
Recently, my colleague, Chris, and I got to go in and teach about animal welfare to a class 12-year olds. Let me tell you that the education system here is very different. It's very restrictive and disciplined. The students have to raise their hands every time they want to talk, have to stand up when they talk, and always have to behave because people are watching always. Critical thinking isn't a thing within schools; it's memorization. From a teacher's standpoint I can imagine how having well behaved children is the ideal, but I can feel how suppressed sometimes the children feel, even if they don't know what they are capable of. One thing people may not like is that they still beat the children with thin wooden sticks for punishment. We witnessed five young boys being forced to bend over, and each time the stick would strike their backs we could hear their faint pathetic squeal. Whether this is right or wrong is a great controversy among American parents. Is punishing using pain and fear the right way to go? I'll leave it for you to think about. 
Otherwise, the lesson went very well, even though we couldn't entirely teach in Swahili. We had a wonderful translator to help us, but the children were very involved and very excited. We had about 50 kids in the class, which was more than I was expecting, but I am slowly learning that Tanzanians may have a very very VERY wrong rough estimate about 95% of the time. We were thankful with the opportunity and now, we will see where the rest of our internship takes us.
As for the moment I, and most of you, have been waiting for, we have experienced our safari to its fullest. We stayed in some of the nicest places that I have ever stayed in and may ever stay in again. We stayed in a "tent" with a queen sized bed and beautiful wooden floors... I am sure everyone could camp in that fashion, but believe me it will forever be the nicest tent I will ever stay in. It was so nice I wanted it to be my house one day. The hotels were absolutely gorgeous sitting atop mountains to look out upon the miles and stretches of the east African scenery. It was unbelievable.  |
| Swimming pool at the lodge on safari |
We saw many types of animals; from all the animals on Lion King, except Timon, even a BABY LION, and then some. As my friend, Ruthie, would say, "I basically died from happiness..." and I felt that happy in that moment. Most of the animals came within 2 feet of our car, except the rhino. It was so majestic and magical that the scenery reminded me of many places I have hiked back home with the addition of so many diverse animals. I am making it a priority to go see those places when I get home, and, in essence, I can sort of carry Tanzania back home with me by hiking those beautiful places.
We saw many baby animals, which is everyone's dream to just fall into a haze of baby animals, but I will let my pictures do the talking, and then you can feel as jealous as you'd like. If you ever go on safari, check out Africa Untamed for your company (also keep note that prices of things to me are unknown because we also got resident pricing) because our guides were hilarious and personable, and they know their stuff. It is easy to get caught up in seeing all the big animals like lions, elephants, wildebeests, etc. But try your best to really dive into knowing the little animals, like the birds and the lizards because they have a lot to teach us too. As for me, I felt so drawn to these sorts of areas. Of course, that isn't a shocker since I love animals, but my heart has a place for these conservation areas, the animals, the country, and the peace found within God's creations.
A wonderful person I have met on this trip is actually the owner of the safari company, whose name is Elphas. Elphas is originally from Nairobi, but he was such a wonderful and understanding passenger guide. He came along with us to get updates about the company and learn of our own experiences, which is quite amazing customer service, and surprising because I have never had any African ask me about what I have learned about African culture and what I have learned from my host families. His idea is he might begin a safari tour where people can come in and dive into African culture and live with local families to live a life in their shoes. He truly finds value in people knowing the culture of Africa, and he is proud of where he comes from. Isn't that interesting?! He is also very interested in American culture and asked so many questions about where we come from. 
Coming from a business that attracts international people, Elphas taught me about ways on how to communicate to people cross culturally, even to high maintenance tourists. He remains understanding and it also becomes one of the best parts of going on safari with clients. He has taught us so much Swahili, and we have shared so many laughs. He actually reminds me a little of Samuel L. Jackson by the way he talks. However, he has insisted that I come back to Kenya to come visit his family and go to the Serengeti. He has even said he would do research about what it takes to work at the national parks we have been to, which would be just one more option among many for possible careers.
As for all the things I have learned, it is one new thing everyday. I will say after conversing deeply with my peers I just begin to realize what type of person I want to be. We have students who have their own ministry, who volunteer everywhere, who are camp counselors and singers, and future politicians and brainiacs. They are people who were just born to make an impact on life with ambition and passion and do things you could only dream of. They have so many traits that I would love to aspire to be and learn from, whether it is more patience, be a better listener, more organized, more involved, or more confident, but, you know, characteristics you just can't force. Even if you think it is such a wonderful thing to start your own ministry, maybe it is just something you weren't meant to be good at. Even if you want to be that daredevil who tries everything in the world, sometimes you just know it isn't for you. People want to be that person that others say "she/he is such a force of nature, a down to earth, ambitious, super smart, beautiful person that it's intimidating because you want to be just like them." But it is okay. You shouldn't feel the need to be more involved, or start ministries, or do daring things that don't make you happy just to feel awesome, because it is okay to just be comfortable with what you enjoy even if it means you aren't doing other people's definition of awesome. You are awesome for being comfortable with who you are. Be who you want to be in the world. That is something I am learning to tell myself every day.
Commitment: Be who YOU want to be in the world. Experience how you want to experience it. Not how you think people want you to experience it.
Love from Africa,
Jax
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