Moshi Hotels
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Fun Day! Wednesday, March 19
Entry 19 of 26 | show all | print this entry |
Wow! I have gotten to use the computer twice in one day!!
So now to tell you all about Wednesday.
Today CCS staff took all of the new volunteers on a cultural field trip. It is a special day to thank us for volunteering and exposing us to their culture.
We left the house at 8:30 am. Our first stop was at a batik making shop. Fabulous! The owner gave us a short demonstration on the making of batik. Then we were able to shop! He had a beautiful selection of wall hangings/pictures in many sizes. He also had a picture book of others he had done. You could order one and pick it up in three days. I really wanted this gorgeous creation of a map of Africa accented with the African animals, but I couldn't think of any place to put it when I got home. So instead I bought several small pictures, but they are also lovely. Then we drove to the volcanic ash quarry on Kili. How amazing! The men/women/children go down to the bottom of the quarry and carry large, heavy rocks on top of their heads up to the top. They are paid $.20-.40 per rock. On the top of the quarry they cut them into large bricks. They use machetes to cut them! The leftover pieces are used in peoples' gardens and on the roads.
We left there and went to a blacksmith. They do all of the work by hand. We watched for a while and then shopped! They had authentic spears, rattles, hammers, knives, bells, etc. I bought a bell and rattle for $3.00. When we finished, we hiked from the blacksmith through the rainforest to a Chagga tribe home. There is an authentic Chagga hut, with a tunnel hut, too. A tunnel hut was were they would hide in case of attack by other tribes. We were invited to go down into the tunnels. Only 5 of us went. You go straight down a hole on a rickety wooden ladder. At the bottom there is only room for one person to stand. During attack, that person would have been armed with a spear. The tunnel starts there. You must crawl on your hands on knees through the dirt tunnel about 8-10feet, You emerge into a small round sitting room. The ceiling is about 3-4' tall., and it is about 12' in diameter. Then there is another hands and knees tunnel into the area called the kitchen. I didn't go there! I felt claustrophobic, so I crawled and climbed back out to the aboveground again! Air!!! I guess if it was a choice between getting killed and staying in the tunnel, then I would stay in the tunnel. But it was not pleasant. And I was filthy! After we kind of cleaned up, we hiked back to the van at the blacksmith.
We went to the 'Market' next. I find them very interesting. It is very crowded with everyone selling there wares: bananas, fish, clothes, baseball caps, fruits, veggies, electronics, etc I bought a Kanga (traditional African wraparound skirt) for $4.00. I love it! We also bought our bottled water for our picnic,
We had a picnic a little ways up Mt. Kili. A dirt road goes up the mountain and we went to Gilman's picnic area. Gorgeous! A manicured yard with large wooden carving and beautiful flowers. We had our box lunches there. Well, my time is about up on this computer, so I am going to save and send. I will fill you in on the rest later!
Latest Comments (1)
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Wow! (reply)
Mar 26, 2008 00:10 EST by marianlcoe
Nancy,
Your description about the tunnel was incredible. I don't know how you could have even gone down there - wow! It sounds like you are having such a great and memorable experience.
-Marian
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