From Midland to Oxford

The Year Ahead

As a West Point cadet, the end of summer meant the end of freedom. Yet now that I've tossed the hat, this coming Fall brings something far different than the gray walls of USMA.

During the 2010-11 academic year, I'll be studying as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar at Oxford University. I'll be reading for a one year Masters degree in African Studies. My choice to study Africa was largely inspired by my volunteer experience in Ghana in 2009.

There's much more to be said about this wonderful opportunity that my local Rotary district has made possible for me, and how I plan to make the most of the experience. So much, in fact, that I've started a new blog: Oxford Tales.

Follow it this year at: http://oxfordtales.wordpress.com

The blog's primary audience is the people in mid-Michigan - family and friends in Midland, and especially Rotarians in District 6310 - who are supporting me during this scholarship period. Please check it out here. Thanks for reading.

Rafiki: Friend

More than a Name

Rounding out the Swahili words I was familiar with prior to Tanzania is the simple word "rafiki." Rafiki means more than just the name of the wise, prophetic monkey in the Disney movie. It means "friend."

Like in Ghana, Tanzania was a remarkably friendly country, with well-intentioned strangers everywhere, ready to lend a hand or help where possible. Relationships in Tanzania are born first from conversations and lengthy greetings, then by common interests and purposes. In Tanzania, I made a number of great friends that will not soon escape my memory. But, as tends to be typical of me, my most memorable friends were those I played soccer with: Jakob and Castro.

Castro

When my small plane landed in Mwanza, my backpack and I skipped the baggage-claim hassles and went straight to the streets, where a taxi-driver asked if I needed a lift. He introduced himself as 'Castro' (maybe not a typical Swahili name), and proceeded to drive me to my hotel on Lake Victoria. Along the way, we talked soccer, and arranged to meet later in the day to go out to the soccer fields by the airport. I wanted to watch some good soccer in northern Tanzania. Castro had other plans for me.

After I arrived, Castro handed me his cleats, and showed me his ankle. "Swollen, see? Injured last week." While he hobbled around as the referee, I put his cleats to use and played striker on his team. Through soccer - which remains the one global language that transcends verbiage or grammar patterns - Castro welcomed me into his group of friends. No longer seen solely as a 'Mzungu', I was now a rafiki. And I was invited to return the next day to take part in a more official match.

Jakob

How's this for a random act of kindness: walk a wandering stranger through your village for 20 minutes to get back to the main road. Show him your home. Ensure his safety. Translate for him when necessary. Jakob - my 15 year old impromptu tour guide in Mwanza - did all of these things for me, the lost, aimlessly wandering white guy who stumbled upon his village. On the walk, he showed me his home, introduced me to his brothers, and made sure my valuables were out of sight when we walked through the crowded part of his neighborhood. Through some Swahinglish, we exchanged life stories over a Coke once we returned to the main road. His showcased his soccer skills for us, juggling a soccer ball made from plastic bags, a rock in the middle, and fishing-wire.

Safari: the Journey

The Swahili word 'safari' means to embark on a journey. To go away. To move between two points. Thus, you can have a successful safari without seeing lions, elephants, or giraffes. And in Tanzania, the thrill of the safari is the process of the journey itself. Like life, the safari is not about the destination so much as it is about the ride itself.

With this meaning in mind, I went on several safaris over the course of my stay in Tanzania.

Zanzibar

It started with a two hour ferry ride across a sliver of the Indian Ocean to arrive at the turquoise waters off the Zanzibar coast, and ended with a terrifying 12-seater flight back to point A three days later. As the previous post describes in detail, my journey to Zanzibar was a weekend I'll never forget.

Mwanza > Musoma > Arusha > Dar es Salaam (by bus)

The second largest city in Tanzania, settled on the southernmost point of Lake Victoria, Mwanza made a great stopping point during my trip's second safari. The city itself is pleasant; smaller and more spread out than Dar es Salaam, it has a more communal feel than either Arusha or Dar. Capri Point provides a nice spot to look out over the fishing boats and trading vessels traveling across Africa's largest lake, and the market - accessible and friendly - shows the life of the city.

People often provide the defining memories of a safari. And the Tanzanians I got to know in Mwanza were truly gracious and welcoming. I was invited to join the airport's soccer team - consisting of taxi drivers who shuttle foreigners from the airport to the nicer hotels in town and several airport employees. Though I didn't produce a goal, I was able to provide an assist en route to a 2-2 draw against another local team. Our team wore Manchester United replica jerseys (completing my transfer from Arsenal to Manchester United; see last summer's post from Ghana). Lake Victoria was beautiful, and Mwanza was an excellent launching point for my safari back to Dar.

From Mwanza, I took three bus rides in three days to return to Dar es Salaam. My safari took me first north to the fishing town of Musoma, then back east via the Serengeti to Arusha, and finally southwest past Mount Kilimanjaro back to Dar es Salaam. After spending 25 hours on a bus in 3 days, I emerged with a new appreciation for paved roads and deodorant, as well as several new friends and fun stories from the journey across Tanzania. It was truly a great safari, and the highlight of my trip.

The Mzungu Safari...

With 18 days in country, I was able to spend some time on what a Westerner ("Mzungu) considers a true 'safari' - driving around for hours in hopes of seeing some of nature's most incredible creatures in the wild, before they run off at the sight and sound of a vehicle. With friends from the embassy, I traveled to Mikumi National Park, a small game reserve a few hours southwest of Dar, which proved to be a very inexpensive yet successful alternative to the Serengeti. And, as mentioned, my safari from Mwanza to Dar took me on a micro-safari through the Sergenti itself, though my bus-driver's break-neck race-pace down a road full of pot-holes and gravel sent the herds of zebras scurrying and kept the larger game out of sight. Still, seeing these animals in the wild - whether at Kruger in South Africa or Mikumi in Tanzania - is truly awe-inspiring.