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Published: July 15th 2009
Jambo Rafiki!
The last week has been a wonderful whirlwind. This past weekend i went on sarafi for three days, and it was absolutely magical. I saw the big fve, which consists of the cheetah, lion, buffalo, rhino and elephant. but they were not the most exciting. the first animal i saw when entering the park was a giraff, andsoon they were so numerous it was just part of hte scenery. i got some wonderful pictures of their sillouhettes agasint the enourmous sky, a vision i can never forget. my favorite experience was watching the herbs of zebras grazing and nuzzeling each other. They are ore magical than unicorns, with such a stark different pattern than their surroundings. somehow their white stripes are so pure and clean, and i wonder that they could have been born that way. two zebras would stand together facing opposite directions, each resting their heach ont he back of the other. it was the most precious scene - two beautiful creatures embracing each other for the maximum protection, able to lookout in every direction. When we woke up the second morning, there were five of them grazing on our campsite in the morning mist, and i thought i was in a dream.
At one point two hiyenas walked down the road towards us, and right but our car! one was smeared with blood it was so cool. we also drove through a herd of elephants, and i saw a lioness with her two cubs. i saw an eagle, vultures, hyenas and jackals fight over two carcases on seperate days, and a leapord consider jumping down from his tree on a passing gazelle. unforunately, the gazelle ran off, and we were left in disapointment.
Work is going very well. yesterday i told the children i was going to teach them about my favorite topic - religion. i asked them to list the religions they new, and they came up with christianity (which they all are), islam, and one kid had heard of Hindu but had no idea what it was. To this list i added Judaism and Buddhism, and decided to educate them about the Judaea-chrisitian religions, since 90% of tanzanians are christian or muslim. I also wanted to teach the christian kids about Judaism and show how the three religions are interconnected. It was interesting that many of them had heard of Israel, but not a single student had heard of Judaism or of a Jew, and had not clue what it was. Many of them are quite religious, so i was suprised that they hadn't learned about the religion from reading the bible or from church.
To stimulate the kids to thinkg critically about their beliefs, after writing all of the religions, i asked them which one was the right religion. They all replied christianity, and I prodded a bit further into why they thought christianity is more right than other religions, but i didn't want to create unrest with their parents or the school. I figured the best way to teach them about the connection between judeae chrisitan religions was a timeline. I showed that Judaism was first, and then Jesus was born, and the muslim prophet muhammed. I told them how each religion altered whatever was there before to make it truer in their eyes, and how people disagreed or followed them. After a half hour of this i asked the class again which religion was right.
five kids raised their hands and replied judaism, which nearly knocked me off my feet. i suppose they interpreted the original religion as been more correct, for whatever reason. a few kids got upset that they had answered that way so i decided to rap it up. I haven't told them what religion i am, only that i am not chrisitian. I think it is good for them to know i am different, but i want to teach a few more classes on religion before i tell them which i am.
Yesterday i went to the maasai market to work on my carving with Juma. It's hard to remember all these new african names, but i originally remembered Juma's because it had the word jew in it, which made him laugh when i told him. He has such a good soul, which i observed yesterday afternoon. a hindu man came into his shop to ask him to do a special carving for him. he wanted a statue of a hindu god for his brother wedding, which looks like a man with four arms and an elephant head. the god has to contain about 15 elements in the statue, meaning you need to include all the arms, the tusks, a rope and axe he is holding, etc. It took me about an hour to explain to juma, whos english is not very good, what this guy wanted, as we sat in the back alley on broken stools and in the dirt. Finally it comes to price, and a grueling negotiation ensues, which i'm silently observing while slowing dieing inside. the peice will be really hard for juma to make with all its details - juma says it will take 5 days- and a peice of ebony already costs 20,000 shillings. the guy wants to pay 25,000 juma says 70,000 and after another hour juma settles on 35.
after the guy left, I asked juma why he went down so much with the price. he thinks for a moment and says to me "sadaka." im astounded -all i can manage is a "w-what?" Juma relplies, "he didn't have enough money, and he needs the peice done for his brother, so i do for him for very little money." I can't believe it - juma is doing tzadaka! he says he heard the word in church - i'm sure they get it from the arabic language influence. But i think Juma is Jewish deep down. He gave a hearty laugh at the idea - he's such a good sport.
an old man came into the back of the market with a long green stalk. guyss bought some and started eating it. they asked me if i had ever had sugar cane. when i said no, Juma bought a stick for me to try. they all gathered around as i took my first tentative nibble. it was like chewing a thick peice of grass with sweet juice pouring forth with every gentle chew - but i didnt realize you were supposed to spit it out after all the juice was swallowed, so they all laughed at me as i coughed out the tiny peices of plant i have bit off.
you can send something to the volunteer house, and hopefully i will get it. the adress is
PO box 16446
Arusha Tanzania
i know it's weird, but that address is correct. hope everyone is well back at home. in my next entry i will tell you about the orphanage work i will be doing. I'm trying to find a place where i can be most helpful, instead of just a cuddle buddy like many volunteers have become. I feel motivated that i can make a difference that will continue once i have left, by improving the structure and materials of an orphanage. I appreciate all your love and support, and miss you all!
Warmly,
Ariel
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elli
non-member comment
hi sweetie!
hi love-- it looks like you are having the time of your life! i wish i could be there with you, even if for just one day! sending you much, much love, always elli