Day Nine
Trip Start
Nov 02, 2008
1
12
14
Trip End
Nov 16, 2008
Serengeti National Park,
Tanzania
Friday, November 14, 2008
The camp is very similar to the last, meaning we have the same higher-end tents, with a dining tent similar to our first two camps. Jenn and I have been pleased the entire trip so it was uneventful when we arrived today.
The drive was approximately four hours long but was much more interesting than those prior as we took a non-park dirt road that wove through many local villages. This is the real Tanzania, not the tourism-laden forced environments that we had seen to date. We really saw how people lived, behaved and went about their daily lives. We passed villages that resembled what was once Mainstreet USA (with cell phones and cars) complete with every kind of small business one could hope to find... groceries, mechanics, loans, bars, hospitals, etc...
We stopped to get gas in a small village and I purchased a couple of soda waters, bottled by Coke, of course, from a small store and thought - These are the real people of this country. Hard working and kind... desperate to make a better life for their children than that which they have had. Not the canned smiles and 'Jambo Jambo' you get at the lodges and camps. It's a people without a sense of entitlement, one that is willing to work hard and be rewarded for their efforts. It reminded me of our country that I remember from my childhood where hard work and entrepreneurialism were revered... holy shit am I getting old.
Anyway, on a much lighter topic... we visited a school in the Robanda Village on our journey today. There were 400 students and 8 teachers in "decent" accommodations. Our safari company, Thomson, actually has established a Friends of Tanzanian Schools (a worthy cause - check out www.thomson.com if you are interested) foundation and built new homes for three teachers at this very school. One thing that I took note of was that there was no real athletic equipment to speak of. A worn out old soccer ball and volleyball were all that I could see - however, the kids were playing in the courtyard with a ball made of duct tape and I saw a taped-together soccer ball made of rags in one of the classrooms. Jenn and I got the mailing address of the school and are going to send an athletic "care package" when we return - soccer balls (they love soccer here), kick balls, cones, etc... If anyone wants to take part, shoot me an email. We can send it via the Thomson office in Boston. Athletics has been such a huge part of my life, both as a kid and as an adult and many of the most valuable lessons I learned about teams and about myself, I learned in team and individual sports and in phys ed growing up. No child should be deprived of that chance. They should all know what it means to experience success and the pride and joy that comes along with it.
Don't mean to be preachy or profound today,.. I have had only one Tusker, I swear! I suppose just being here and being so exposed to another people make me reflect on values and experiences that we so often take for granted.
OK, back to today! We arrived in camp and were met with our usual greeting, hot wet towels for our hands and faces and fresh mango juice. We spent the afternoon leisurely. Jenn had a nice long nap and I read another few hundred pages of The Fountainhead. I am glad that I brought The Art of Racing in the Rain for the ride home as I will finish the former tomorrow or Friday.
Dinner is at 7:00 and the sky looks ominous so I'm predicting no campfire. I did promise an update on our fellow travelers so here's the reader's digest version:
Steve & Ellen: Couple from the Bay Area that are eccentric but funny as hell. Ellen did a celebration dance at breakfast when I told her Obama won. Steve is 21 feet tall and knows everything about birds there is to know.
Jav: Radiologist from Calgary who decided to take the trip about a week before it took place. An amazing athlete who brought enough camera equipment to start his own shop - clearly knocked over a Wolf photo before coming. Hahahah
Dan & Laura: Couple from Boston moving to Palo Alto in January. Dan held a senior role at Mass General and is transitioning to Stanford and Laura is studying to become a teacher. Brilliant couple and Jenn and I always enjoy our time with them. Dan is also an avid cyclist so you can imagine how much time we have spent there.
John & Kaye: Couple from Bay area that came with Steve & Ellen. John is a Director of Engineering with Agilent and he and I have had some really fun discussions on the merit of applied sciences and which type of sciences leads to the greater good (I won him over with the science that drives profitable business as it has a greater probability of positively impacting society... nice). Kaye is wonderfully sweet and a huge bird lover. Oh yes, John loves chocolate more than I love beer or cheese.
Neela: A molecular biologist at Stanford, Neela is clearly brilliant and has one of the most endearing personalities you could imagine. She is as inquisitive as she is knowledgeable and Jenn and I have enjoyed the many days we have spent with her on the Game drives. Neela also came with Steve, Ellen, John and Kaye.
Tim & Marty: Great couple, also from the Bay area. Tim did a few start-ups and eventually sold his last firm to Nielsen. Marty was a nurse for years at Stanford and I absolutely love her "let's get moving" spirit. We love these guys - they are as fun as they are outgoing and have a great sense of humor that resonates well with Jenn and me (you can only imagine what that's like).
All in all, a tremendously diverse yet cohesive group. There has not been one argument over anything... hard to imagine after 10 days in relatively close quarters. We know that we will remain in touch with many once our trip is done.
Well, off to wash for dinner... I'd kind of like to avoid the dysentery if at all possible - a simple goal, to say the least.
Hope all is well back home.
BJ and Jenn
