TravelBlog » Laura Lawler

Laura Lawler - Laura Lawler

I am a student going to Sarah Lawrence College in New York originally from Washington DC and Virginia. I study environmentalism, public health, and visual art--focusing where those fields intersect. I enjoy taking life easy, fishing, farming, getting into gritty political argument, museums, sensory experience, new things, old things, but mostly good things that are good not only for me but for the great --us-- that includes everyone visiting this blog and not. This blog is to keep up on my semester abroad at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. I hope its helpful and enjoyable to those of you who are curious about me and what I am getting into.

I will be keeping up this blog for the summer 2007 as a return to East Africa for the pure sake of investigation, exploration, and travel.

Top Photos Blog Map

Blog Comments Search Blogs Gallery First Entry Latest Entry

Joined on: June 7th 2006
Last Login: April 19th 2008

Blog Entries: 37
Photos: 36

TB Code: [blogger=18316]
Status: BLOGGER

Blogs & Travel Journals

by Laura-Lawler, order by Date newest first.

By Laura Lawler
August 10th 2007

bus

Africa » Tanzania » North » Kondoa

The road from Dodoma northwards to kondoa was very bumpy and very dry. The houses are flat and rectangular and made of bricks by the warangi people mostly. Spent one night in this small town---walking around and spending lots of time speaking with the women selling fruits in the market. The bus to Babati and then to Arusha where I am now was also completely dusty though not crowded at all so enjoyable. I had to breath through a kanga most of the time and when i had to scratch my nose I ended up scratching my face---lots of bumps, no [View Full Entry]

By Laura Lawler
August 6th 2007

dodoma

Africa » Tanzania » Centre » Dodoma

greetings from dodoma where i access the internet in two consecutive days! i only have some minutes so i will just write a little from the journal i carry: I love cheap hotels with verandas. It feels like a very noble place for only 6,000 shillings ($5.50) and now im settling in for a few days. my morning walk yestyerday was nice though most everything was closed except for the fabulous fabric shops none of which even tried to overchardge me. I had run out of shillings so I went to a fancier hotel to do some exchange since banks arent [View Full Entry]

By Laura Lawler
July 14th 2007

Zanzibar and DSM

Africa » Tanzania » East » Dar es Salaam

So I am typing at the computers at hall 7 of the university of dar es salaam where i have spent so many hours last year. its nice being back to something of a home. i collected on campus really nice small bright red seeds that i will use someday for something. yesterday i arrived in dar from zanzibar. i had spent my 21 birthday in the village of bwejuu in the southern east coast of zanzibar. i woke up in a beach bungalow/mzungu place with beata, sibylle, and their parents and was suprised at breakfast with champagne. then i went [View Full Entry]

By Laura Lawler
July 7th 2007

Back in East Africa

Africa » Tanzania » Zanzibar » Zanzibar City

Im back! From washington dc to new york to amsterdam to nairobi, nairobi to samburu national park in middle kenya to lewa downs rhino sanctuary next to isiolo town from where you can see mt. kenya to massai mara. this was the luxery part of the journey so far. ive seen all of the animals. (kweli kabisa) I could describe all of these experiences, but already they seem far away and my head is clogged with new things. At Lewa Downs the whole birthday court of Nancy (turning 80--the point of the trip in the first place) attended the meat eating [View Full Entry]

By Laura Lawler
January 8th 2007

brief trip through mexico

North America » Mexico » Morelos » Tepoztlán

After the trip back from Mbeya, I had one day to take a shower, say goodbye, went to my roomates mom's house which has a nice garden i wish i had known about and where her mom made me my last plate of peas and rice, and had a last dinner at angiti, a nice indian place where i filled up on delicious paneer before the midnight flight. the last tanzanian i spoke to was a rasta guy who was exactly like all the rest-clever and sneaky-always being mjanjamjanja, and he gave me a light up red heart pen that i [View Full Entry]

By Laura Lawler
January 5th 2007

Children in Matema

Africa » Tanzania » West » Matema

I arrived in Matema village on the shores of Lake Nyasa/Lake Malawi and set myself up in a 10,000 shillings (9 dollars) accomodation right on the beach--it was a splurge of an extra five bucks or so because I was alone, there are only 3 accomodaton options, I didnt have my passport on me so I didnt want to make problems for myself with the border police, it was my last few days...After justifying the expense and realizing how disapointing it really is to not negotiate and argue and make up stories for the hotel-owners, I took my marimba (wooden hand [View Full Entry]

By Laura Lawler
December 20th 2006

back from mbeya

Africa » Tanzania » West » Mbeya

dont have energy to say alot right now being as i slept on the street under the bus last night. i just travelled in buses for 26 hours and the last four hours we had to stop because the police wouldnt let busses pass because it is around the christmas season and thus lots of armed robberies on the highways i guess, or at least a potential for. short trip summary: went to iringa by bus (6 hours) where it was quite cold, and host of one of the very few tanzanian movie theaters, beata and i saw "the truth about [View Full Entry]

By Laura Lawler
December 11th 2006

in-town time

Africa » Tanzania » East » Dar es Salaam

friends moved into a house in kinondoni in a nice neighborhood with lots of small shops on an unnamed street and lots of delicious street-food. (one of the thigns i will miss most) went up to a table with chicken heads, chicken feet, chicken intestine wrapped in a ball, different organs, displayed in piles on newspapers. i stood staring for maybe five minutes after she told me the prices in luck, she also had bananna so i bought that. she put some delicious saucey on it and i didnt feel bad for starting. but i wonder---how can you eat a chicken [View Full Entry]

By Laura Lawler
December 1st 2006

trying to put some pics

Africa » Tanzania » Zanzibar » Zanzibar City

seafood in stone town

yummy seafood in outdoor evening food market watched the fishermen bringing in hundreds of octopus all strung together [View Full Entry]

By Laura Lawler
November 27th 2006

thanksgiving weekend

Africa » Tanzania » East » Dar es Salaam

SO classes have slowed to a trickle and exams creep up next week, which gives me plenty of time now to daydream and nap and dance in my room. Last thursday was Thanksgiving and after class I went to a nice house in a neighborhood near campus where some foreign students live amongst chickens and children. tenesko. nice walk across a large soccer field for 20 minutes to get there. past one of the common roadside shops with lazy women behind bars passing water and beer between the bars to their customers who then hang out outside the shop for hours. [View Full Entry]

TravelBlog » Laura Lawler

Laura Lawler | Laura Lawler | Travel Blog

Laura Lawler - Laura Lawler

Blogs & Travel Journals

bus

dodoma

Zanzibar and DSM

Back in East Africa

brief trip through mexico

Children in Matema

back from mbeya

in-town time

trying to put some pics

thanksgiving weekend