WorldView Magazine - Summer 2009 - (Page 37)
Letter from Tanzania hOMO SAPIEN IN AFRICA “Big game” is not always what you expect it to be by Lindsey Clark Tanzania/September 2006 he moment I arrive at the office of the Arusha tour company with which I have booked a two-day safari, the manager tries to convince me to extend for a third day. “The others in your group, they go to Lake Manyara for third day. You want to go, too?” “Sure,” I say, looking around. The electricity is out, as it always seems to be during daylight hours in northern Tanzania. “If the third day is free.” He laughs. I laugh. “Not free,” he says, “but you pay only the cost of the park, no extra for us.” “Well, those parks are pretty expensive, so I can only afford two days. Thanks anyway.” I change the subject. “So don’t you think it’s strange the government gets so much money from tourists for the parks, yet they can’t keep the electricity on for you?” “Ah,” he says, “well it is the fault of the previous government we have these problems with electricity. We have a new government now, elected in December. They try to fix the problems.” “Well, that’s good.” “Thank you. So, you will sign up for the third day of safari?” Our guide, Shaniel (“like the fabric,” he clarifies), packs up the Land Rover before herding me, a Spaniard named Raúl, and a Canadian called Eric into the vehicle for a two-hour drive to the entrance of Tarangire National Park. I finished my Peace Corps tour in Madagascar six months ago and have been traveling around Africa ever since. Though an organized safari tramples my meager daily budget, I am very excited to be splurging on the luxury of two completely programmed days that require little thought or effort on my part. Tarangire is home to an impressive elephant population, but my main motivation for dropping this kind of cash is the next day’s visit to Ngorongoro Crater. We wake at 5:30 a.m. to decamp and hit the road west from Tarangire to Ngorongoro. This land is Masaai territory. The tribespeople at the roadside sport elaborate beaded jewelry, pierced-ear art (various parts of their lobes are stretched wide with progressively bigger earrings), and richly dyed blue and red fabric wraps. Many Masaai are still pastoralist nomads, wandering this region irreverent of the Kenyan boundary or protected game parks. “So the Maasai are polygamous, right?” Eric asks Shaniel. “Yes, polygamous,” confirms our guide. “Each man has many wives. Six, seven, eight, okay.” “There’s something about polygamy that confuses me,” says Eric. “If every man has so many wives, then aren’t there a whole lot of men just sitting around with no wife at all?” “It is not a problem here,” Shaniel informs us. “You know, seventy percent of the babies born in Tanzania are girls.” Raúl, Eric and I laugh and try to argue, but Shaniel is steadfast. He is a good- T It’s not too late to become a doctor The Postbaccalaureate Premedical Program at Bryn Mawr College Realize your dream to become a physician at one of the nation’s oldest, strongest, and most respected postbaccalaureate premedical programs. • For women and men changing career direction • Intensive, full-time preparation for medical school in one year • Highly respected by medical schools—many look for Bryn Mawr postbacs • Over 98 percent acceptance rate into medical school • Early acceptance programs at selected medical schools—more than any other postbac program • Supportive, individual academic and premedical advising • Ideal size—small enough for personal attention, yet large enough for diverse perspectives • Wide range of medically related volunteer and job opportunities and programs BRYN MAWR COLLEGE POSTBACCALAUREATE PREMEDICAL PROGRAM Canwyll House | Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 610-526-7350 | postbac@brynmawr.edu www.brynmawr.edu/postbac/ WorldView
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of WorldView Magazine - Summer 2009
WorldView Magazine - Summer 2009
Contents
More Peace Corps Campaign: Better and Bolder!
Africa Rural Connect
Readers Write
You Too Can Be Bill Gates
Taking Peace Corps Back into the Field
Come for the Information, Stay for the Dancing
A “Green” Community Rising
Microfinance Pioneer Receives 2009 Shriver Award
The Colombia Project
A Voice for the Unheard
Hear Ye, Hear Ye: Microfinance Podcasts
Selected Microfinance Resources
Bicycle! Bamenda! Orange!
Luck and Fame
A Step in the Right Direction
Bringing What She Loves
Letter from Botswana: First Tongues of the Kalahari
Letter from Tanzania: Homo Sapien in Africa
In the Beginning (There Was John)
The Peace Corps Community Making a Difference
Community News
Advertiser Index
WorldView Magazine - Summer 2009
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