Tanzania has so much going for it - natural beauty, friendly people, and and an ideal location. It is consistently overshadowed by its more prosperous and well-known neighbor, Kenya, but in many ways it supersedes Kenya because of its relative peacefulness. Nevertheless, as past entries have shown, there is a lot to improve in Tanzania that would make it a much better place for tourists looking for nature and a taste of Africa. (1) Improve roads and other transportation to make it easier for people to get into and around the country. Additionally, it would facilitate healthcare improvements by reducing dust. (2) Standardize and make reliable utility services like water and electricity. This is a quality of life issue. (3) Eliminate government corruption and hold elected officials accountable for their actions. (4) Move the entire capital ... read more

It took me awhile, but I discovered why I didn't like Arusha. Don't get me wrong - it's a very nice city, especially for tourists. However, Arusha seemed too Western for me. At night, the streets are lit by street lamps. 10 minutes from the center of town looks like a leafy-green suburb. There are some things that scream "Tanzania" like the main market and the horrendous driving skills, but in general I found the city unsettling. An excuse for this may be the presence of a large United Nations contingent. The United Nations is in Arusha for the sole purpose to prosecute the perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. The ICTR (International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda) occupies a space right next door to the Arusha Conference Center. In fact, huge staff meetings like the one ... read more

Today is my last day in Mwanza. It's a little sad because I have really felt at home this past three weeks here. But I AM ready for my summer to begin...which it has! Classes are all finished, tests have all been taken, and papers have all been written. I therefore will finally embark upon my summer relaxing trip with a voyage through the Serengeti and around the northern circuit of Tanzania. I cannot tell you how excited I am. Anyway, yesterday I went into town with Caitlin, Ashley Y, and Pulchery. We did some last-minute gift-shopping and purchased some snack food for the Serengeti (all of mine is still intact except for the chocolate...but that was never even expected to make it back to campus). I got some really nice things and didn't bargain as ... read more

Monday was a blast! We woke up early, ate a quick breakfast, then drove down to the place from which we would get the boat to Gombe Stream National Park. We got there rather early but had to wait for some men to "fix" the boat and buy petrol. We therefore returned to town to purchase a few provisions that we still needed. Our boat was just big enough for all 8 of us. The ride took just under two hours and we got to see some amazing things. Lake Tanganyika is crystal clear and gets deep quickly. As we left Kigoma, I caught sight of several women who were able to fill their buckets just two steps into the lake. They saw us too. As did the entire town. Literally. Everyone (well, several dozens of ... read more

These past few days have flown by! On Thursday, we got our first lecture on agrobiodiversity, a fancy term that basically refers to the way farmers interact with the land and all of the plants on it. This encompasses not only foodstuff but also soil-enriching trees, grasses for thatching, etc. It's a fairly fascinating subject; too bad that we don't really get to spend time on it because of our busy schedule. On Friday we walked about an hour to see some farms and agrobiodiversity in action. It's much more amazing when you actually see it. I was impressed with the way things are managed and how much effort farmers are putting into their land even though it could be taken from them at any moment because of the awful Tanzanian laws. Yet, my day was ... read more