The last three weeks of our program included a bit of adventure and a lot of relaxation. After we departed TAYODEA three members climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro while the rest of the group headed out to Zanzibar to swim with dolphins and enjoy the white sands and crayon blue water.
Climbing Kili was amazing for everyone – and we are so proud to report that all group members summated the 19336 feet peak, and though I hear it was quite rainy and cold, it sounded amazing.
I myself spent my time lounging on the beach and had one totally amazing day swimming with dolphins in the Indian Ocean (turns out those animals are QUITE large). Since I have gotten home everyone has asked me if I tried to touch the dolphins, and to be honest, I kind of got scared every time they came with-in touching distance. So, the answer is “no,” I didn’t touch them. But it was awesome.
A little later on in the week the group reconvened on the beach for some hang out days. We had a very chill time, but it rained all day every day – so there wasn’t a lot of tanning time, much to the dismay of the group. However, we were able to finish some final card tournaments that had been carrying on for the majority of the semester!
Our final days were spent in Stonetown learning how to SCUBA Dive and exploring the back streets of an ancient and beautiful old city. Almost everyone in the group completed their scuba and enjoyed it. I got to see a 7 ft. barracuda on my final dive! Totally cool! Our final night on the island consisted of a beautiful sunset sail on a traditional Zanzibari dhow – complete with a musical trio to serenade us out onto the serene waters.
Now that I am at home sitting in front of my iMac with my cell phone close by – it is hard to remember that just 10 days ago I was listening to “call to prayer” while eating tandoori chicken on the streets of Dar. Our trip was amazing – and so impossible to represent in a short cyber blog. But, we hope that you have enjoyed reading about our adventures. We certainly have enjoyed being them…. Peace.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Swine Flu - Update from Carpe Diem HQ
The following is a post recently made to our FAQ page that we wanted to include to all of you who might be reading this blog.
Swine flu has recently been confirmed throughout Mexico and parts of the US. A few other countries have also reported possible infections. While we're in touch with the CDC and monitoring all of the international news we can put our hands on, we also feel we are uniquely placed to handle the situation given that all of our field staff are trained in Wilderness Medicine; two of our office staff are currently Emergency Room nurses; and the other is a Wilderness EMT. We also have contact with a variety of local doctors (including a few with advanced training in international and tropical medicines) that should needs require we can reach out to.
Our spring & fall 2009 programs will continue to run as scheduled although we plan on requiring flu shots for our fall programs as they have been proven (with Avian Flu for instance) to much reduce any severity of infection. We may also choose to outfit our medical kits with extra supplies such as extra hand sanitizer and the like.
Swine Flu is an offshoot of the 1918-19 flu: just as every flu since then has been. In that strain of flu as well as most that have followed including Swine, Pneumonia has been the actual concern and the one we're most on guard for. The good news is that once recognized there are very good treatments for Pneumonia and we are very familiar with good doctors in the areas our students travel. Of course we plan on continuing to take the proactive approach and deal with any medical potentialities quickly and professionally. Since that initial pandemic in 1918, the subsequent strains have historically been more and more benign. The Swine Flu is presenting thankfully as a low-mortality flu (currently, in the US as an example, there have been 50 suspected cases and only one took an overnight in the hospital before being discharged in good health). So, while this particular flu strain is stronger than the typical seasonal flu, we are hopeful that it will continue to be as easily treatable as it has been.
Swine flu has recently been confirmed throughout Mexico and parts of the US. A few other countries have also reported possible infections. While we're in touch with the CDC and monitoring all of the international news we can put our hands on, we also feel we are uniquely placed to handle the situation given that all of our field staff are trained in Wilderness Medicine; two of our office staff are currently Emergency Room nurses; and the other is a Wilderness EMT. We also have contact with a variety of local doctors (including a few with advanced training in international and tropical medicines) that should needs require we can reach out to.
Our spring & fall 2009 programs will continue to run as scheduled although we plan on requiring flu shots for our fall programs as they have been proven (with Avian Flu for instance) to much reduce any severity of infection. We may also choose to outfit our medical kits with extra supplies such as extra hand sanitizer and the like.
Swine Flu is an offshoot of the 1918-19 flu: just as every flu since then has been. In that strain of flu as well as most that have followed including Swine, Pneumonia has been the actual concern and the one we're most on guard for. The good news is that once recognized there are very good treatments for Pneumonia and we are very familiar with good doctors in the areas our students travel. Of course we plan on continuing to take the proactive approach and deal with any medical potentialities quickly and professionally. Since that initial pandemic in 1918, the subsequent strains have historically been more and more benign. The Swine Flu is presenting thankfully as a low-mortality flu (currently, in the US as an example, there have been 50 suspected cases and only one took an overnight in the hospital before being discharged in good health). So, while this particular flu strain is stronger than the typical seasonal flu, we are hopeful that it will continue to be as easily treatable as it has been.
Friday, April 17, 2009
What a day-a, TAYODEA.
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh....how to describe our last two weeks...?
Well, to start off, the leader of the organization introduced the conference as a scam (Not too promising). The first few days were pretty shaky. Our room had cracked walls and maybe a few ghosts and Carrye's bed was eternally wet, but it gradually started to become more comfortable. The town we were in is called Mlalo and is located in the mountains and dinosaurs live there. We (Emily and Lizzy) swear. We saw them.
We were supposed to do some tree planting, but it involved two trees and a couple plants. On the plus side, we got taken to a lot of schools and got a chance to really interact with kids. We had a discussion about corruption with some of the upper level students.
The best part of the summit was being able to help out in the kitchen with Mama Elisa and Dada Pia. Mama was a temporary grandmother to everyone and made fun of me (Emily) for farting in the kitchen all the time. We had three really awesome cultural nights. Kim, Carrye, Sally, Rosy, and Marshall did American night and made potatoes and eggs and banana bread. Miriam and the two of us cooked for Korean night with a Korean volunteer named Sasa. She taught us how to make two types of Korean pancakes and cold vegetable tea stuff and a spongey egg thingamabob quiche-y magiger. Vegans have sadness.
Mlalo was so amazingly beautiful and we all took a lot of epic walks. Some people went to pride rock and some climbed to the cross.
On Easter, the bells started going off at 4 in the morning and then suddenly a marching band started playing right outside our room and, seeing as I (Emily) wasn't going to be going to sleep anytime soon, I ran outside and followed some kids down the path to the cemetery. A huge crowd gathered around a cross and was listening to the preacher as she passionately preached about Easter. It was awesome. A bunch of us dressed up and went to church later that day.
Custard apples exist in the mountains and they are delicious. Like creamy mangoes with a bunch of seeds. Pear peeling is the greatest thing in the world. Sugar may or may not belong on pasta. We are addicted to rice. Donuts taste better when you sneak them. Ugali is fine with us. It means we can eat with our fingers.
Love you all!
Emily and Lizzy (Bob)
Well, to start off, the leader of the organization introduced the conference as a scam (Not too promising). The first few days were pretty shaky. Our room had cracked walls and maybe a few ghosts and Carrye's bed was eternally wet, but it gradually started to become more comfortable. The town we were in is called Mlalo and is located in the mountains and dinosaurs live there. We (Emily and Lizzy) swear. We saw them.
We were supposed to do some tree planting, but it involved two trees and a couple plants. On the plus side, we got taken to a lot of schools and got a chance to really interact with kids. We had a discussion about corruption with some of the upper level students.
The best part of the summit was being able to help out in the kitchen with Mama Elisa and Dada Pia. Mama was a temporary grandmother to everyone and made fun of me (Emily) for farting in the kitchen all the time. We had three really awesome cultural nights. Kim, Carrye, Sally, Rosy, and Marshall did American night and made potatoes and eggs and banana bread. Miriam and the two of us cooked for Korean night with a Korean volunteer named Sasa. She taught us how to make two types of Korean pancakes and cold vegetable tea stuff and a spongey egg thingamabob quiche-y magiger. Vegans have sadness.
Mlalo was so amazingly beautiful and we all took a lot of epic walks. Some people went to pride rock and some climbed to the cross.
On Easter, the bells started going off at 4 in the morning and then suddenly a marching band started playing right outside our room and, seeing as I (Emily) wasn't going to be going to sleep anytime soon, I ran outside and followed some kids down the path to the cemetery. A huge crowd gathered around a cross and was listening to the preacher as she passionately preached about Easter. It was awesome. A bunch of us dressed up and went to church later that day.
Custard apples exist in the mountains and they are delicious. Like creamy mangoes with a bunch of seeds. Pear peeling is the greatest thing in the world. Sugar may or may not belong on pasta. We are addicted to rice. Donuts taste better when you sneak them. Ugali is fine with us. It means we can eat with our fingers.
Love you all!
Emily and Lizzy (Bob)
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Pete O'niel's Crib
Jambo! Miriam here.
Well first of all, it was nicer than I can express to escape into what felt like the lap of luxury for a few days. We had hot showers (usually) Home-style cooking, and real beds! It might as well have been on a completely different planet from the maasai village.
Pete O'niel is an exiled black panther from Kansas City. He is quite a character. He was very prominent in the movement, but when was charged for weapons trafficing, he fled the country. If he were ever to return, he would go straight to "shaw sahnk's redemption." After a somewhat strenuous and very exciting journey, Pete and his Wife Charlotte arrived (for good) in Tanzania. There they have formed the United African Alliance Community Center. It is quite an operation. The UAACC provides classes in a wide range of subjects for the local community such as art, computers, english and even yago, as well as clean water for everyone. They recently opened a childrens home for local orphans. These children are given wonderful care at the UAACC. They are also adorable!
While we were there we also got to make a day trip into Arusha. This gave us an internet opportunity, as well as a chance to get a good meal including burgers and milkshakes! We are now in Moshi, where we will spend one night before heading off to the Youth Conferance in Lushoto. No one knows what lies ahead!
We miss you all, and can't wait to update you about our next great adnventures.
Kwa Heri!
Well first of all, it was nicer than I can express to escape into what felt like the lap of luxury for a few days. We had hot showers (usually) Home-style cooking, and real beds! It might as well have been on a completely different planet from the maasai village.
Pete O'niel is an exiled black panther from Kansas City. He is quite a character. He was very prominent in the movement, but when was charged for weapons trafficing, he fled the country. If he were ever to return, he would go straight to "shaw sahnk's redemption." After a somewhat strenuous and very exciting journey, Pete and his Wife Charlotte arrived (for good) in Tanzania. There they have formed the United African Alliance Community Center. It is quite an operation. The UAACC provides classes in a wide range of subjects for the local community such as art, computers, english and even yago, as well as clean water for everyone. They recently opened a childrens home for local orphans. These children are given wonderful care at the UAACC. They are also adorable!
While we were there we also got to make a day trip into Arusha. This gave us an internet opportunity, as well as a chance to get a good meal including burgers and milkshakes! We are now in Moshi, where we will spend one night before heading off to the Youth Conferance in Lushoto. No one knows what lies ahead!
We miss you all, and can't wait to update you about our next great adnventures.
Kwa Heri!
Monday, March 30, 2009
maasai tribe
The last week has been a trip. The Maasai live very differnet from us. Their weilth is determined by their herds. They have cows, sheep and goats, and everyday they walk their herd miles and miles to find water. Their diet doesnt require water, but because their animals need it, that is how they spend their day, walking. All they eat traditionally is meat, blood and milk. They live in bomas which are poop huts surrounded by a fence of thorny branches. The women spend their days making a necklace or two. Life is very slow here, and for a lot of us, that was one of the hardest parts. It was almost unbearably hot from 7:30 in the morning until 6:30 at night. We would wake up, eat some breakfast and then walk to the worksite to help with our most recent volunteer project which was helping to build a latrene for the school. Work was also a slow process, there was a lot of sitting around and back tracking on the work we had already done, inefficient isn't a strong enough word, but it's the first that comes to mind. After working, we would have our swahili lesson, taught by Aleta, and then we would return to the boma for lunch which was when the flies were at they're peak. This was probably the most uncomfortable part of the day. After lunch we posted up under a tree and counted down the hours until sundown when we could eat dinner. After sunset there were no more flies and it was completly peaceful. There were some amazing sunsets and the stars were brighter than I have ever seen them. On the last night, we had the honor of watching the slaughtering of a goat. It was really cool observe this part of this culture, it is something that is so foreign to me. Marshall ate the pancreas and some of the girls drank goats blood, including myself, and it was on of the most putrid things I've ever tasted but i'm really happy that i did it. In the past week I have learned more than I ever could from a tetxtbook, not only about the life of the Maasai, but also about my own culture and the many things that I take for granted.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
SAFARI!
hey sally here!
we just finished our african safari. it was definetly a dream of all of ours and it was so awesome. our safari was guided by Maasai Wanderings, a safari group that also works with the maasai tribe (but that comes later.) we had 2 awesome guides and safari trucks that had pop-off roofs so we could stand up and check out the animals.
we saw everything! elephants, zebras, wildebeests, giraffes, antelope, impala, tons of monkeys, cheetahs, lions, warthogs, the list goes on and on. i was surprised by how close the animals got, we literally had to stop to wait or we would run over zebras. at one point, the car i was in got in a standoff with an elephant. they cant see very well but their hearing is super sensitive. so a bunch of elephatns were crossing in front of us and a big mama turns towards us and is literally starign at our car. keep in mind elephants are huge. so shes all protective of the herd and starts flapping her ears to hear us, since she cant see, and to make herself as big as possible to intimidate us. (it worked) we all stoood compleetely silent and luckily she didnt hear us or she might have stampeded our truck! so she just turned aroudn and walked away with the rest of the herd PHEWWWW
we also saw a skeleton of an antelope that a leopard caught and dragged up into a huge treee to eat. the guide said it was about a month ago, and the bones were still hanging there! it was crazy. we also saw a stand-off between a cheetah and a warthog, it was awesome, and im pretty sure the warthog won....
each night, we camped at a campsite and had our meals cooked for us as part of the safari package. each day, we went on safari for most of the day- the first day we went to Tarangerie (sp?) national park, and the other 2 days were spent in the Ngorongoro Crater. One of the days we woke up super early adn got into the Crater early in the AM to see different animals and were hoping to see a hunt, since they usually hunt at night/in the morning, but werent so lucky. but it was still really cool seeing the sunrise over the crater so totally worth it.
maasai wanderings dropped us off out in the maasai village that we're spending the next week. we turned off the main road and drove about 3 miles out into the middle of the desert where we found a Boma, or a big circle of thorns outlining the home of the Maasai family we're staying with. The thorns are to keep the animals out, since the desert is directly between the Tarangerie park and the Crater, so animals migrate right through the village. today was our first full day with them and we ahd the day free, so a bunch of us came into town. to give you an idea of where we're staying for the next week i will describe our getting-to-town process. First, we walked 3 miles to the main road. We then watied 20 minutes for a taxi, which was packed with maasai people, 5 goats and a sheep. we then got dropped off at the market, and 3 of us were to come further into town to use internet. we started walking for another 20 minutes or so with our guide and ended up hitchiking the rest of the way into town. all in all it took 2 and a half hours from our Boma.
T.I.A. (This is Africa!)
We miss you all and love you but we're having the times of our lives! <3
we just finished our african safari. it was definetly a dream of all of ours and it was so awesome. our safari was guided by Maasai Wanderings, a safari group that also works with the maasai tribe (but that comes later.) we had 2 awesome guides and safari trucks that had pop-off roofs so we could stand up and check out the animals.
we saw everything! elephants, zebras, wildebeests, giraffes, antelope, impala, tons of monkeys, cheetahs, lions, warthogs, the list goes on and on. i was surprised by how close the animals got, we literally had to stop to wait or we would run over zebras. at one point, the car i was in got in a standoff with an elephant. they cant see very well but their hearing is super sensitive. so a bunch of elephatns were crossing in front of us and a big mama turns towards us and is literally starign at our car. keep in mind elephants are huge. so shes all protective of the herd and starts flapping her ears to hear us, since she cant see, and to make herself as big as possible to intimidate us. (it worked) we all stoood compleetely silent and luckily she didnt hear us or she might have stampeded our truck! so she just turned aroudn and walked away with the rest of the herd PHEWWWW
we also saw a skeleton of an antelope that a leopard caught and dragged up into a huge treee to eat. the guide said it was about a month ago, and the bones were still hanging there! it was crazy. we also saw a stand-off between a cheetah and a warthog, it was awesome, and im pretty sure the warthog won....
each night, we camped at a campsite and had our meals cooked for us as part of the safari package. each day, we went on safari for most of the day- the first day we went to Tarangerie (sp?) national park, and the other 2 days were spent in the Ngorongoro Crater. One of the days we woke up super early adn got into the Crater early in the AM to see different animals and were hoping to see a hunt, since they usually hunt at night/in the morning, but werent so lucky. but it was still really cool seeing the sunrise over the crater so totally worth it.
maasai wanderings dropped us off out in the maasai village that we're spending the next week. we turned off the main road and drove about 3 miles out into the middle of the desert where we found a Boma, or a big circle of thorns outlining the home of the Maasai family we're staying with. The thorns are to keep the animals out, since the desert is directly between the Tarangerie park and the Crater, so animals migrate right through the village. today was our first full day with them and we ahd the day free, so a bunch of us came into town. to give you an idea of where we're staying for the next week i will describe our getting-to-town process. First, we walked 3 miles to the main road. We then watied 20 minutes for a taxi, which was packed with maasai people, 5 goats and a sheep. we then got dropped off at the market, and 3 of us were to come further into town to use internet. we started walking for another 20 minutes or so with our guide and ended up hitchiking the rest of the way into town. all in all it took 2 and a half hours from our Boma.
T.I.A. (This is Africa!)
We miss you all and love you but we're having the times of our lives! <3
Saturday, March 14, 2009
rwanda adventure!!!
hey hey hey Kim here.
so after an amazing week at carols, we procceeded to go on our 2 day adventure to Rwanda. After about 10 hours ish of driving we finally made it to kibale the capital of rwanda.. accomodations were very luxurious to our standards..a hotel, with a queen sized bed, a nice balcony and even a TV!!
The first night, all of us ladies took a taxi to a resturaunt called gorrilla something...it was a pizaria ...so bomb. We were the only people there and the music was rather hilarous, very old school, it really just got better and better with each song. The next day we went to the Kibale Memorial Center to learn more about, and pay our respects to all of the innocent men, woman, and children who lost their lives in the Tutsi genocide which wiped out 1/3 of the nations population almost 15 years ago. The memorial consisted of beautiful rose gardens which symoized all of the differnt types of people who lost their lives durig the genocide, a garden for the children, for the woman, a garden of protection, and a fountain that in the middle had a tourch, that is lit on occasion, symbolizing death, water, symbolizing life, and four elephant statues which symolized that no one will ever forget, becuase elephants are the animals known never to forget. then there were the mass graves which have 250,000 bodies in them..it was almost hard to wrap your head aroud such a number.
Then there was the inside of the memorial which consisted of various photos, vidios and articles educating us all on the events of the genocide. The most disturbing thing to me about the entire thing was how people were killed, and who was killed. Woman were raped, often by men who had HIV, people were tortured, thrown in latrines, and even the children were not spared, they too faced death by a machete or beating...it was truley heartbreaking and eye opening. There was another part of the memorial which breifly educated us on some of the other genocides that have occured in the passt, that was also extremely hard.
It was so interersting to be in the place where such a thing occured though, much more intense, becuase almost everyone over the age of 15 played some role in the genocide. you would see a person with a scar on their face, and wonder, were you tutsi, or hutu? The day needless to say was a hard one to swallow, but really all in all made one realize how truley fortunate we all are.
On a lighter note, we got to ride on the back of bicycles, which had little seats on them, it was way fun! And now we are in Tanzania working with a medical clinic, which allows people who have little money to get medical assistaance.. sorting through containers full of medical supplies and organizing them. The place we are staying is super nice, our bedrooms even haev a bathroom with a sitdown toliet in them!! yoo!! and a shower!! Our nights here are spent playing spades, and newly poker, betting with match sticks. We are all having a grreat time, and next is our safari!!!!!!
peace!!!
so after an amazing week at carols, we procceeded to go on our 2 day adventure to Rwanda. After about 10 hours ish of driving we finally made it to kibale the capital of rwanda.. accomodations were very luxurious to our standards..a hotel, with a queen sized bed, a nice balcony and even a TV!!
The first night, all of us ladies took a taxi to a resturaunt called gorrilla something...it was a pizaria ...so bomb. We were the only people there and the music was rather hilarous, very old school, it really just got better and better with each song. The next day we went to the Kibale Memorial Center to learn more about, and pay our respects to all of the innocent men, woman, and children who lost their lives in the Tutsi genocide which wiped out 1/3 of the nations population almost 15 years ago. The memorial consisted of beautiful rose gardens which symoized all of the differnt types of people who lost their lives durig the genocide, a garden for the children, for the woman, a garden of protection, and a fountain that in the middle had a tourch, that is lit on occasion, symbolizing death, water, symbolizing life, and four elephant statues which symolized that no one will ever forget, becuase elephants are the animals known never to forget. then there were the mass graves which have 250,000 bodies in them..it was almost hard to wrap your head aroud such a number.
Then there was the inside of the memorial which consisted of various photos, vidios and articles educating us all on the events of the genocide. The most disturbing thing to me about the entire thing was how people were killed, and who was killed. Woman were raped, often by men who had HIV, people were tortured, thrown in latrines, and even the children were not spared, they too faced death by a machete or beating...it was truley heartbreaking and eye opening. There was another part of the memorial which breifly educated us on some of the other genocides that have occured in the passt, that was also extremely hard.
It was so interersting to be in the place where such a thing occured though, much more intense, becuase almost everyone over the age of 15 played some role in the genocide. you would see a person with a scar on their face, and wonder, were you tutsi, or hutu? The day needless to say was a hard one to swallow, but really all in all made one realize how truley fortunate we all are.
On a lighter note, we got to ride on the back of bicycles, which had little seats on them, it was way fun! And now we are in Tanzania working with a medical clinic, which allows people who have little money to get medical assistaance.. sorting through containers full of medical supplies and organizing them. The place we are staying is super nice, our bedrooms even haev a bathroom with a sitdown toliet in them!! yoo!! and a shower!! Our nights here are spent playing spades, and newly poker, betting with match sticks. We are all having a grreat time, and next is our safari!!!!!!
peace!!!
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