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| Painting the new fence! |
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| Lunch time! |
On Friday, Kelly and I went to visit our friend from the program, Lauren, in Arusha, Tanzania. We took off the afternoon on Friday and took a seven-and-a-half hour (supposed to be 5 hour) 14-seater bus from Nairobi to Arusha. The drive was absolutely stunning, especially once we crossed into Tanzania. I am always struck by the sharp change in landscape that occurs as soon as you cross the political border. The terrain became lush and green and mountainous as soon as we crossed into Tanzania. We arrived in Arusha late at night and got a cab to Lauren’s homestay where dinner was waiting for us. We caught up with Lauren over a bottle of wine and it was really a lovely night.
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The kids didn't leave a speck of food on
their once overflowing plates |
The next morning we went to the orphanage that Lauren has been working at for the past three years. We took two dala-dalas (public transport a la Tanzania, think rickety 14-seater bus that they cram at least 25 people into) to the base of Mount Meru and then walked 45 minutes part way up the mountain to get to the orphanage. The walk was a bit of a workout but was very peaceful and beautiful which was welcome after the hectic and stressful dala-dala rides. We found that people in Arusha, and especially those encountered on the dala-dala were very aggressive and rude. It made me realize how well people treat us in Nairobi. I’ve never felt stressed or threatened in Nairobi and I’ve never been touched or grabbed by a matatu caller (matatu=Kenyan equivalent of a dala-dala). Arusha was a completely different story so I thanked my lucky stars that I chose to do my internship in Nairobi.
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| The beautiful Rosie :) |
But the dala-dalas were the
only bad part of our experience in Arusha. Everyone else we met were lovely. This was especially so for the people at Lauren’s orphanage. So after a walk up the mountain we arrived at Lauren’s orphanage. We played with the kids for a bit and then got to work on painting the new fence. Lauren fundraises when she’s home in Canada for the orphanage and puts the money she raises towards any projects that need to be done around the orphanage. There are 19 kids at Lauren’s orphanage and they were the sweetest, most well-behaved and well-adjusted, kind, calm children I’ve ever encountered. The whole place was buzzing with such positive yet relaxed energy. After we finished the second coat we played with the kids a bit more, had some delicious lunch and then headed back down the mountain standing in the back of a pickup truck (you can take the girl out of Carleton Place…) We took a dala-dala back to Arusha, had a gelato in “wazungu square” (named as such because of the profusion of shops that would appeal to wazungu, i.e. white people) and then went back to Lauren’s homestay. We had a delicious rice pilaf for dinner and then went to a bar and danced the night away with a break-dancing team from Nairobi.
All in all it was a fantastic weekend and I am so thrilled that I got to see what a wonderful place Lauren works at. That being said, we got off of the bus after dark in Nairobi and were greeted by a swarm of taxi drivers. No one grabbed us or acted in any way aggressive or vulgar. We engaged in a light-hearted banter while negotiating the price back to Lenana Palace. We had the drivers roaring with laughter as we walked over to the lucky driver’s cab, and it felt good to be back home.
But the dala-dalas were the only bad part of our experience in Arusha. Everyone else we met were lovely. This was especially so for the people at Lauren’s orphanage. So after a walk up the mountain we arrived at Lauren’s orphanage. We played with the kids for a bit and then got to work on painting the new fence. Lauren fundraises when she’s home in Canada for the orphanage and puts the money she raises towards any projects that need to be done around the orphanage. There are 19 kids at Lauren’s orphanage and they were the sweetest, most well-behaved and well-adjusted, kind, calm children I’ve ever encountered. The whole place was buzzing with such positive yet relaxed energy. After we finished the second coat we played with the kids a bit more, had some delicious lunch and then headed back down the mountain standing in the back of a pickup truck (you can take the girl out of Carleton Place…) We took a dala-dala back to Arusha, had a gelato in “wazungu square” (named as such because of the profusion of shops that would appeal to wazungu, i.e. white people) and then went back to Lauren’s homestay. We had a delicious rice pilaf for dinner and then went to a bar and danced the night away with a break-dancing team from Nairobi. 
Hi Sarah! Another great post. One of the most rewarding parts of travel and living in another place is the connections you make with people. Those moments of laughter like your encounter with the taxi drivers back "home" in Nairobi show that you don't need to pay for wonderful experiences. You just need to be willing to put yourself out there and be willing to engage with people.
ReplyDeleteThe children are so beautiful at the orphanage. I wondered why the orphanage is so far removed and somewhat inaccessible.
Let the great adventure continue!
Mom
The orphanage is positioned where it is because the man who started it (a former school principle who resigned out of protest because the ministry was reprimanding him for letting orphans attend school for free) has land there. Also land would be cheaper up the mountain. The school is very close to the orphanage though and there's a market at the base of the mountain (not that they need to buy much food- they're very nearly self-sufficient) so they don't need to go far for anything anyway.
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