The Keller Wolf Family
The following journal and photos are an account of the Keller Wolf journey and mission to The Cradle of Love Baby Home in Usa River, Tanzania.KellerWolfs
Travel Blog Posts
All Good Things Must...
Published: December 4th 2007North America » United States » Minnesota » Golden Valley
December 3rd 2007
We arrived home safely on the evening of Dec 1st. Are acclimating to the 5F temp of this morning. Olivia went off to school this morning. It is difficult to express what this journey has meant to us. If you have ever watched "StarTrek: Next Generation" it's like the episode where the Enterprise comes upon a probe in space and Capt. Picard is zapped and experiences a whole life on another planet--he has a family, he plays the flute, he's a scientist, he grows old and when he awakens he's back where he was, but he's disoriented, because he had this whole other life. I am back in MN, but I do not want to forget this other life. I want to remember it, all of it, and I am afraid I will start forgetting. Thirty ... read more
November 30th 2007
Thank you to all of you for your love and support. We have 2-1/2 days in Amsterdam which we thought would be helpful. It has been quite the culture shock and weather shock. It is in the 30-40s here, damp, wet and cloudy--but we heard it is 9F in Mpls and 6-8 inches of snow are forecast for Saturday. The culture shock is being back in an industrialized, advanced country. I had a difficult time eating in a restaurant for lunch yesterday and realized that the price of our hotel room for a night is what one of the nannies at the baby home would make in two months. I have enjoyed the flower market here--flowers in late November and Christmas trees! Also, having Dutch pastries. But I miss the simplicity of Africa and the kindness ... read more
Nov 29--In Amsterdam Safe and Sound
Published: November 29th 2007Europe » Netherlands » North Holland » AmsterdamNovember 29th 2007
We've arrived in Amsterdam this morning and it's so cold here one of the first things we are going to do is find a place to buy hats, scarves and gloves. When we left Dar Essalam last night at 11 pm it was 84 degrees. Today we will be lucky to see 45. It will be a good transition for Minnesota where the temperature is 12 degrees at the moment. We will see you all very soon.... read more
November 20th 2007
Well...I finally have found a very memorable dessert in Africa and surprisingly it contains no chocolate at all. It's called sticky pudding and it was fabulous. I've already had two today...one at lunch and one at dinner. I didn't think that it was possible to have a dessert this memorable that didn't contain chocolate. Anne told me she had something similar in Scotland. OK, here it is...a piece of warm moist date cake, covered with warm, high cream content caramel. We haven't had anything we would call moist so far in Africa so this was a treat. Most of the desserts are reminisent of a desert not a dessert...so this was joyous. The caramel was like melted Wurther's candies only much much better and had more rich cream and more butter. I will try to replicate ... read more
November 13th 2007
Greetings from Tanzania are very different than in the States. People spend more time saying hello and will often hold the other person's hand for the entire greeting. Even for someone coming from "Minnesota nice" and who has visited "Friendly Fridley," it took me a while to get used to the greetings. People are genuinely glad to see you and often will wave and say "Jambo" or "Habari" in passing. I've always felt welcomed just walking down the street. Only men are seen holding hands with each other in public. I haven't noticed any male/female couples and women holding hands in public. Coming from the States where the exact opposite is true it is odd at first but then becomes genuinely natural. The men who are holding hands are friends and are usually in a conversation ... read more
Nov 6th--International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
Published: November 7th 2007Africa » Tanzania » North » ArushaNovember 7th 2007
Tuesday we rode into Arusha to observe trials in the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. On our drive in we saw the usual poverty and chaos on the road and yet we arrived at the International Conference Center to witness part of these U.N. proceedings. We had to go through security, receive numbered visitor badges, leave our passports, and have our small backpack x-rayed. You are not allowed to take any photos of the conference center where the trials are held, not even from outside the gated walls. Meredith Bowen, whom we met here from the states is working with the lead judge and she met us and took us up to the trial courtrooms. We had to check in again with our numbered badges, leave any carried belongings, check any cell phones and cameras, and ... read more
November 3rd 2007
The other day I was riding local Tanzanian transport to the Masaai market in Tangeru to buy some produce. I've never seen another white person using the local buses until that day and I remember thinking that he looked like an Ole. My alma mater is St Olaf College where Ole's are born and sometimes bred. I thought briefly of yelling out Um Ya Ya to see if he responded. I decided against it and continued looking out the window. At that moment I saw a young girl standing at the side of the road wearing a Kanga wrapped as a skirt with a tshirt that said "St Olaf College". I was so verklemped that I didn't have my camera. It's not often that you see St Olaf Alums so far from a Lutefisk stand. Then ... read more
Spirituality of the Serengeti
Published: October 30th 2007Africa » Tanzania » North » Serengeti National Park
October 30th 2007
Last week as we traveled over dirt roads for hours and hours to the Serengeti I looked out of our Land Cruiser over endless flat, brown, plains that appeared to be nothing but dirt, dust, and dead grass. The road was full of rocks and holes, the ride was almost painful as was the scenery. Here I was in one of the great National Parks of Tanzania and I was nothing in the midst of this. All of my seemingly important thoughts and feelings were meaningless here; my needs, my anxieties, all were nothing. I was nothing. It was a very lonely and isolating feeling. The next morning I thought about my meaninglessness in this place. We set out again and this time, an "aha" moment. In all of this huge expanse, in all of these ... read more
October 29th 2007
It’s Monday evening and we returned from safari on Friday. We were looking forward to the chance to get away for a few days. Our driver picked us up on Monday morning precisely at 8:30. Our driver and guide Alfred looked to be in his mid to late twenties and he was from the Chonga tribe by Mt. Kilimanjaro. He spoke English very well, was very well informed, was very polite and had a good sense of humor. I didn’t know that credit cards here are hardly ever used. All transactions are in cash including large purchases like a safari. I had to go to Arusha three times to three or more ATMs to withdraw enough cash to pay for our safari. It was amazing getting out of Arusha and seeing how beautiful the country side ... read more
October 21st 2007
Greetings all. We will be gone on Safari Monday the 22nd through Friday the 26th. It will be good to get a break and to see the beauty of Africa and Tanzania's wild animals. We don't know if we will have internet access. Will update you when we return. Anne... read more
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