Journeys In Africa

I'm back

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 12:59:00 +0000

Well I have safely made it back to Ohio and am already back to work at BGSU. My time in Kenya and Tanzania was wonderful and I look forward to further journeys in the future. Thank you to everyone who helped me along the way; I couldn't have done it without you. In the next couple days, I'll be writing a few recap entries so if you have any burning questions about my trip, ask me now and I'll see if I can answer them on here.

A few more pictures

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 10:33:00 +0000

Dad just e-mailed a few of the pictures he had taken on our safari so here ya go...

Winding Down

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 08:49:00 +0000

Well just a few days left for my time here in East Africa. I will be boarding a plane from Nairobi Friday night and will be touching down in Detroit Saturday morning. It's been a good time here and these last couple weeks have been great as I've been on safari with my Dad and now hanging out with some of my best friends, Sam and Amanda. They were sick for a few days, but thankfully they have recovered.

One of the little adventures we got to enjoy the other day was a Kenyan wedding. Why was it an adventure? Glad you asked. You see, the wedding was supposed to start at 8:00 AM, which here means more like 9:00, but it didn't really start until closer to 10. And this wasn't just any Kenyan wedding, but a Kenyan wedding time eight. That's right EIGHT different couple were getting married. Oh boy. I don't think we left until 3:00. That's a long time to be at a wedding for a bunch of people you don't know and one person you've met before. I'm still glad we went though as it's one more thing I've now been able to experience.

And remember a previous post when I mentioned my amazement at the Kenyans' language ability? The wedding was tri-lingual with the service bouncing back and forth between Swahili, English and Luo. One moment the past would be speaking English and someone would translate to Swahili, then the paster would switch to Luo and the translation would be into English for a minute and then Swahili the next and so on. There were probably a couple other languages thrown in too that I just didn't pick up. Crazy.

OK, so here's some pictures from the Safari that you've all been waiting for...

Lions playing with each other as the other eat their breakfast

Dad sporting a Lion's mane hat as he chills with some Masai

This was the first of several groups of "Tembo" we came across

Some of the millions of "Nyumbu" roaming the Mara

"Twiga" just chilling

Cheetah before the hunt....

...Cheetah after the hunt. Well, I think there's cheetah still there, or maybe its just the Wazungu.

A few lions having a nice wildebeast dinner

Wildebeast about to cross the Mara River.

The great migrations

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 12:52:00 +0000

Well Dad and I just returned from our safari. I don't have pictures yet, but they will be coming soon enough. It was a great time and saw more animals than I ever imagined possible. Around this time each year, millions of Wildebeast and Zebras migrate from the Serengeti of Tanzania into the Masai Mara of Kenya. With all these crazy looking creatures, the carnivores get excited. We saw a Hyena just throwing around a wildebeast by the entrails while the prey was still trying to kick away; Cheetah run down wildebeast in a flash; and several Lions having their breakfast or dinner on the poor animals exhausted from the long journey north.

The migration of the Wildebeast is not the only migration we witnessed though. There was also the great migration of the Wazungu. If you're not familiar with the Wazungu, it is a white-skinned creature that walks along on two legs and drives around the park in these silly little vans just waiting for something to happen. The instant someone saw a cheetah, all the safari guides were on the radio letting the others know. When we found the cheetah getting ready to hunt, it was witnessed alongside about 40 other vehicles all filled with camera-snapping Wazungu. Yes, I am part of the problem as I am one of the Wazungu who also migrated, but something just seemed weird about it all. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the Mara, I just wish there was another way to experience it all. More details to come...

Back in Kenya and other notes

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 06:34:00 +0000

Well I have once again successfully crossed a border and have arrived back into Kenya. Borders aren't normally my favorite spot, especially in the dark and in the midst of a 17 hour bus ride that you were told would be 12. Anyhow, I'm here and all is well. I'm having fun hanging out with Sam and Amanda who are living here for a year.

Unfortunately, something finally made it into my stomach that shouldn't be there. Without going into details, I've been making several trips to the toilet recently. I hope the medicine from the chemist (aka pharmacist) helps.

So my dad is currently airborne and will be arriving in Nairobi tonight. We will get to hang out for a day or so before taking off to the Maasai Mara and seeing the amazing animals.

And finally today I have a feature I've been wanting to incorporate for a while, but never got around to it: "You know you're in a foreign country when..." So without further ado, you know you're in a foreign country when a newspaper caption reads "the price of an AK-47 has dropped from 10 cows in 1986 to 2 cows currently". Wow!

Ok, that's all for now, gotta run.

Hakuna Matata, right?

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 12:54:00 +0000

Hakuna matata. That was a phrase I repeated several times yesterday. I told myself if I said it enough times I might just believe the Kiswahili phrase for "No Problem". I mean, it's not a big deal to lose your ATM card somewhere in Africa, is it? Oh wait, maybe it is. Especially when you just took a 2-hour ferry ride to an island off the coast. And when credit cards are pretty worthless here. Oh boy. Don't worry, hakuna matata. It has been found, but losing my card sure did make one hectic day.

In other news, my much anticipated diving trip did eventually take place, despite losing my card. I found a well-respected dive shop here in Zanzibar that rents prescription goggles, so not having my contacts was once again, hakuna matata. The diving wasn't the best I've done, but still a blast. I absolutely love being under the ocean swimming with the fish and just enjoying the water. To top it off, on the short ride back in to the beach we saw a beautiful Marlin jumping all over the place.

It will unfortunately be a very short trip for me in Zanzibar as I head back to the mainland and up to Nairobi.

Where am I?

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 10:21:00 +0000

Well after a couple weeks in Tanga, I decided it was time for something new. So I hopped on a bus yesterday morning and came down to Dodoma with my buddy Naftal. Staying at his place now for a few days. I think I'll be going to Zanzibar after here, but I am still frustrated about leaving my contact lenses behind and therefore making a possible dive in the beautiful Indian Ocean worthless. We'll see, well maybe I won't.

I can't believe I only have a few weeks left: a week or so here in Tanzania and then up north to Kenya where I'll get to go on a safari in the Maasai Mara and see "Samanda" (i.e. my good friends Sam and Amanda Parks). Then it's to the airport on August 17th to head on home.

For the safari, my dad and I will be heading to the Maasai Mara in southwest Kenya. Here we will see all sorts of wildlife including the "Big Five": lions, elephants, leopards, buffalo, and rhino (hopefully). We should also get to see some of the massive migration of wildebeest in which every year over a million of them form massive herds and move through the Serengeti in TZ into the Mara. It'll be quite a sight to see.

My First Earthquake, sorta.

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:56:00 +0000

So yesterday I was sitting at the computer playing some card game when I noticed my chair was shaking a bit. I was rather confused and tried to figure out the cause. Less than a minute later it did and all went back to normal. I don't think anyone else even noticed. After a few moments I thought, "Hmm, I wonder if that's what an earthquake would feel like". I soon forgot all about it as I was once again wrapped up in my card game.

Turns out there was an earthquake in Tanzania yesterday and what I felt was indeed part of it. It was a 6.0 magnitude not far from Arusha where I have been before. Thankfully, there's been no casualty reports yet and hopefully everyone is fine. You can read a story here or see the stats here.

All in all, not a big deal, but I'm going to add it to a list of my African firsts: chasing down cheetahs, heroically surviving bomb attacks, jumping over canyons created by massive earthquakes...

Surprises

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 07:17:00 +0000

A friend asked me the other day if I had been surprised by anything since being here. My initial reaction was "Yes, they eat a lot of margerine." Now, that may seem silly, but really, in a place where it seems all the food is natural they eat one of the most plastic-like foods made. Then again, I guess butter melts rather easily in the sun. Anyhow, the point is, her question got me thinking about what else I've been surprised by. So without further ado, in no particular order, here's the list:

How much Kenyans speak English and the stark contrast to the Tanzanians
Before coming here, I thought Swahili would be the predominant language throughout the two neighboring countries, but that I would be able to get by alright with my English. Instead, I found almost everyone in Kenya (at least the parts I was in) speaks English and almost no one in Tanzania. And this is the first time I've really been in a country where I don't know the language at all. In Western Europe, the languages are similar enough and I knew enough Spanish to get by. It's been pretty funny a couple times trying to order at a restaurant, talk to the maid, find something, etc.

How much East Africans love their English soccer teams
I think if you ask a random kid on the street for the entire starting lineup for any English soccer team, he would rattle it off in a matter of seconds. Ask him for any Kenyan soccer player and he'd probably come up with a couple. No matter where you go, you'll see the logos of the various teams: Liverpool, Man. U., Arsenal, Chelsea. One day it was raining in Tanga and I think every single umbrella carried the logo of an English soccer team.

Technology
I knew before coming that mobile phones were popular here, but I am still surprised by how popular. Not only do most people have one (again i've primarily been in the cities and i am sure it's a bit different outside), but you can buy them and the pre-paid cards at almost any corner stand. Furthermore, they are also being rather innovative with them.

In Kenya, they have introduced M-Pesa stands where you can use your phone like an ATM card. So you can walk up, swipe your phone somehow and get some cash. This is especially handy since most people don't have bank accounts and most stores don't accept any kind of plastic.

And it's not just mobiles. Little Cyber Cafes are all over Nairobi and there's quite a few in the other places I've been as well. The Internet is still pretty slow here, but hopefully it will be getting faster soon.

Advertisments
Why rent a billboard from someone when you can just pay to have someone's building painted with your logo? It's really funny driving down the street and seeing a 4-story apartment building completely painted with the Coca-Cola logo. Or, little grocery stores painted green and white by Safaricom.

Flies
Flies hovering around and landing on my food don't really bother me anymore. There's too many to swat away so you just give in.

"Security Guards"
One of the largest employing industries in the area has to be security. So many hotels, stores, and houses employ security guards at night. I don't really know what they do and if they help at all since there is still so much crime. But nonetheless, you see them all over.

"Dad Should Visit Brian Campaign 2007"
And saving the best for last, my dad is flying in on August 2nd and we will be hanging out in Kenya together. Very cool. We are planning on a safari, so many more pictures will be coming in a few weeks.

Dad should visit Brian Campaign 2007

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 10:52:00 +0000

So my Dad surprised me with an e-mail the other day saying he might come over to go on a safari with me sometime during my last few weeks here. There's quite a bit of work involved to make a spur of the moment trip to Africa, but if he gets it all together, I've been telling him he should be here. So you now all have an assignment: put the pressure on my dad to let him know how cool it would be if he came over. Give him a call, e-mail him, leave a comment here or communicate with him any other means you know how that he should come.

I hate it when I'm stupid and other random thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 09:24:00 +0000

OK, so I think I did a pretty good job when packing up all my things a month ago for my journey to Africa. However, it just dawned on me yesterday how stupid I was at one point. I went through this big elaborate thought process thinking through if I should bring my contact lenses or not. In the end, I decided there was no need as I wanted to pack light (as if they are heavy) and I just don't wear them enough. Less than ten minutes later I started planning a scuba diving trip in Zanzibar. Man, am I stupid. So now if I still go diving, I will be diving blind.

Don't you just love buses? On Monday, I had a 9 hour bus trip from Kakamega to Nairobi. On Wednesday I had a 6 hour bus trip from Nairobi to Arusha and then I capped it off Thursday with an 8 hour trip from Arusha to Tanga. Keep in mind most African buses aren't quite designed for a man of my size and the roads just aren't designed for travel. Fun times.

In case your heart was tugged at all when I showed those cute pictures of the children, Mission to the Fatherless is always willing to take donations. The mission does well at providing a family atmosphere for the children, feeding them and getting them to school, but of course they are always looking at growing and are building a new home right now. If you want to consider helping, just visit their website where you can learn more.

Asante sana, karibu, tembo, simba, kwaheri, habari gani?, moja, bili, tatu....my kiswahili is growing each day, which is good now that I am back in TZ where English is not as prevalent. Speaking of language, I am super-impressed with Kenyans language ability. Most Kenyans I met are tri-lingual. They speak their tribal language, Kiswahili and English. Several spoke another tribal language as well. Crazy.

Also I wanted to make sure you all know that you can leave me comments right here on the blog. At the bottom of each post there is a little link that says how many comments there currently are. Just click on that link and it'll take you to a page where you can post your own; it will be good to hear from my readers.

Moving on...

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 16:57:00 +0000

Well I have left Kakamega and Mission to the Fatherless behind...at least for now. The kids were such a blessing to me. Playing with them, hanging out, and listening to them sing was all so great. They're great kids and everyone who has helped out there over the years has really created a special place.

Now, however, I am back in Tanzania. Staying in Arusha tonight, hanging out with a bunch of Young Life guys as they prepare for their summer camps. They'll be leading a few this summer and they're pretty excited. It's been a fun few days hanging out with them. Tomorrow though, I'll be heading to back to Tanga working on a couple volunteer projects.

Hope everyone is having a great 4th of July. I've been waiting for the fireworks to start here, but for some reason there aren't any.

Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 12:36:00 +0000

Well here are the pictures I've promised. Enjoy...

THE KIDS

THE RAINFOREST

If you look closely, you see a couple Colobus Monkeys sitting on the trees. If you click on the picture, it should show it even larger. And no Bruce, they do not get to preach on Sunday. Are you trying to say I preach like a monkey? Nor Randy, are they Ohio State fans.

This was just one of the millions and millions of butterflies in Kakamega Forest. You can't see it colors too well, but it has bright orange spots all over it.

The Rainforest

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:33:00 +0000

There is a beautiful rainforest not far from town called Kakamega Rainforest. Went there today with a group of Clevelanders also staying at The Mission to the Fatherless. Although we weren't there too long we saw quite a bit, including some beautiful butterflies, amazing birds and plenty of monkeys. I'll have some pictures tomorrow along with the long awaited pictures of the children.

I'm only going to be in Kakamega for a couple more days before heading to Nairobi and then back to TZ. It's been a good time here with Pastor Charles giving me several opportunities to speak at his church and a couple home group meetings. Anyhow, hope to have pictures tomorrow, the Colobus Monkeys are really cool.

Brian the Preacher????

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 08:03:00 +0000

Yikes!! So the Pastor of the orphanege I am currently visiting is also the Pastor at a local church. The other day he asked me if I would consider sharing a few words and maybe a passage of scripture. "Sure, no problem! I'd love to!", was my immediate response. It wasn't until later when several people told me they were looking forward to my sermon on Sunday that I realized exactly what the Pastor was asking me for. Oh boy, I get to deliver a sermon to a Kenyan church. I have no idea what I'm doing. Better get to work...

Chapter 3

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 07:28:00 +0000

OK, so I have moved on to a new part of Kenya. As a quick recap in case you haven't been following along from the beginning, I started my journey a couple weeks ago in Tanga, Tanzania. I was doing some work for BG for a few days there and really enjoyed the town. After that, I headed northwest for Nairobi, Kenya and was there for almost two weeks. Now, I have set aside my university role for a while and am in Kakamega. Where in the world is that? Just check out the map at the bottom; it's the western most point I have labeled.

Kakamega. I'm here visiting an orphanage my friend Randy Nickel put me in touch with: Mission to the Fatherless. I've only been here half a day, but already feel blessed by the children. I was here last night for their devotional time and it was really awesome. To see them praise the Lord, thank Him and sing to Him was really moving. I have no idea what they were singing (it was all in Swahili), but it was beautiful. Watching them play games (Tag, Red Rover, Soccer, etc) was also lots of fun. I kicked the ball around with them for a little while too. I tried showing my sweet moves, but it's a little different on the side of a hill with a flat basketball.

There are about 30 children currently living in the home. They are building a new home at a new site which will be a blessing to the children. August is the projected finishing date if all the funding comes through. The new place will also be much larger and will be able to house about 80 children. I hope to have puctures soon of some of the kids and the town.

Fun Times

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 09:28:00 +0000

OK, I was gonna type out a long description about yesterday, but I think I'll just show the pics instead. Enjoy....

A white rhino

The king of all beasts

A cheetah, very up close

Some traditional tribal villages

Some tribal dances

These guys were really cool, jumping all over the place, doing flips, jumping through hoops, etc...

Oh yeah, and if you made it this far, you get the treat of seeing me a little closer to that cheetah....

Yes, i am petting a cheetah and she is licking my arm. good thing she wasn't hungry.

Why go on Safari?

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 10:59:00 +0000

So is there really any need for me to go on Safari? I mean, I could just ride the bus to Daystar University's Athi River campus and see everything for much less a price. Daystar is one of the universities I have been talking to when I've been over here and I took a ride to their campus outside the city today. About an hour ride on a very cramped bus. But it wasn't too bad seeing gazelles, zebras, and even some camels along the way. I also saw some other big animals in the distance, but couldn't make out what they were. I'll just assume they were lions, 'cause that would be cool. Anyhow, I was prepared for long ride, but was surprised how much you would see just outside the city. Their campus is beautiful as its on a hill overlooking the vast land where these animals roam.

All is well

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 08:01:00 +0000

Good morning! when some of you wake up this morning you may read a story about an explosion in nairob i. Although it did not happen far from me, I did not even know anything happened until I saw the news this morning. I am well and all is ok. That's all for now.

Ndovu! Ndovu!

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 11:35:00 +0000

Ndovu is Swahili for Elephant. And I got to see some today. I went to a couple places outside of Nairobi where I got to see some different animals: elephants, giraffes, a rhino and some warthogs. The animals are being raised by man to be released into the wild. Most of the elephants were found as orphans beside their dead parents or trapped somewhere. The giraffes are bred in the Giraffe Centre and then released when they are old enough into one of the national parks. I even got to feed a giraffe. I'm glad I got to see some animals and I had fun, but I'm hoping to make it on a bit of a safari sometime to see them in the wild. Anyhow, here's some photos. I had hoped to upload a video or two, but the upload speed is just too slow here. Sorry.

The elephants sure like mud wrestling.

Can't see it that well, but this elephant is chasing away the warthogs.

No Comment

Giraffes walking through the park.

Looking for food...

...found it.

Updated Map

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 12:34:00 +0000

I'm not sure if anyone really scrolls down and looks at the map, but I updated it today with some new information on where I've been and where I'm going. Have fun exploring.

A sad note from my journey to Nairobi

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 08:30:00 +0000

Yesterday I recalled some fun stories that occurred during my various travels. There was a sad side to the most recent one though and I didn't wanna put it in the same post. On my way from Tanga to the TZ border, we drove through several villages. You'd see some school children walking back home, farmers in the field, beautiful scenery from the mountains, trees and such and then of course your typical African village home. Unfortunately, on this particular route I couldn't help but notice most of the homes had some form of red paint on them. Many times it appeared to be someones initials or some code painted into the wall. Sometimes it was the letters "NR". And all too many times it was just a big red X. Now I have no idea what happened in these villages and I can only speculate, but it was all too reminiscent of the scene throughout New Orleans when I went down there after Hurrican Katrina. Officials would go through the homes, check for bodies, and mark the house if someone was dead there. I don't know if this time it was a natural disaster, war, disease or anything else, but it was very sad.

UPDATE: Please read the note below from Bruce to see the real meaning behind the red paint. Thankfully it is not as I had imagined.

The crazy international traveling stories of Brian...

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 07:04:00 +0000

Ok, so this one has to rank right up there with the best of them. I've always been blessed in actually getting to where I was headed and even without too much trouble. But yesterday's/this morning's trip to Nairobi reminded me of some of my longer journeys from place to place. So without further adu, the most memorable traveling stories of Brian overseas (in no particular order).

"Port Where???"
So my friend Caleb and I were traveling around western Europe for a couple weeks and at one point were trying to take trains from Barcelona to Rome w/ an overnight stay somewhere in Nice, France. Well as soon as the train left the station in Barca, the ticketer came up to us and said "No Port Bou, Cerbere only, Port Bou no." Ah excuse me, we're going to Nice. Are we on the right train? After several moments of confusion with my Spanish and his Catalan, we figured out the French trainworkers were (surprise!!) on strike. So, the train couldn't go into France and had to stop at the Spanish border. We proceeded to wait at the border for 3 hours for a little train to carry us no farther than 500 feet over the line. I wish I would've known it was that close originally. Then we waited several more hours. Thankfully this town was on the Meditteranean and we had an amazing view and it was just beautiful. In the end, we still made our overnight train taking us to Rome, but we stayed in a dump in Marseille, got ripped off by a cab driver, and stayed in Nice for about 5 minutes, just enough time to catch a lady urinating on the beach.

"Ireland Isn't That Far Away"
Ireland is like right next door to England, right? Taking a couple trains and a ferry won't take that long to do, will it? Let's just say it was about 23 hours (I was going to western Ireland, to be fair). Taxi --> Train --> Bus --> Ferry --> Bus --> Train --> Bus. Oh yeah, and the Ferry was delayed a few hours due to fog. That was a long day. Oh yeah, and on the way back, I didn't remember the Bus ride from the Ferry being that long so I decided to walk: bad decision. It was much, much, much further than I remembered.

"Let's Go Home"
Last summer I spent a month in Strasbourg, France and love it, but alas it was time to go home. So my friend Tara and I loaded up our belongings (one of us had a little more than the other :) ) and boarded the super early train to Paris. But of course, the train dumps you on one side of the city and the airport is somewhere completely different. Thus, you use the subway. No problem, there's a stop properly labeled as Charles De Gaulle. Oh wait, this isn't Charles De Gaulle Airport, it's just some random stop on the other side of the city also named after the famed French leader, whoops. Back on the subway and now we are running a little behind schedule, but from where we are there's no good way to the airport. So we go to another stop where busses run to the airport and get there in just enough time to have our gate closed down because of a bomb threat. Needless to say once we get to security, I also have to undergo another random security check. All this, before the 8 hour flight back home aboard the most crammed plane ever.

"TIA"
And finally, the one you've all been waiting for, Tanga to Nairobi. So far, I've spent the majority of my time in a city that was pretty good infrastructure and many of the roads are smooth and paved. Well, that idea of Africa quickly left my mind once the bus left the city. From Tanga to the Tanzanian border, was the bumpiest road I have ever been on in my life (although I'm sure it'll be matched during the next couple months). The driver perpetually had to swerve around giant pot holes, road cave-ins and pedestrians. And all this in a Greyhound like bus. I think in all, its only about 60 km, but it took about 3 hours. Then of course is the border crossing where I thought I was gonna be left behind. The rest of the way to Mombassa was smooth, but once you get to the city, you have to take a ferry across the water in which we had to wait over an hour for. Changed busses in Mombassa and got the seat with the Emergency Exit. The Emergency Exit panel was rattling so hard, I thought it was going to fall out half the time. The driver couldn't decide on a radio station and continually switched it throughout the night. And in the end, the 6 hour bus ride turned into 8. Thankfully, it was smooth most of the way except when we encountered about 200 semis at the Mombassa port and had to ride off road for a while just to get through them. But I'm here and all is well. And of course you need a little craziness to get a good story.

The untold story of the Maasai...

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 07:16:00 +0000

I apologize, this story is not as cool as the title suggest, but I wanted to tell it nonetheless. Last night when Naftal and I went stargazing on Ocean Avenue (yes it is called Ocean Ave. because it overlooks the Indian Ocean), we were a little weary at first. You would hate to be robbed or attacked by a pack of angry guard dogs. No worries though, Peter and Benedict came to our rescue. Peter and Benedict are two Maasai tribesman who work as night guards at the hotel we were staying at. I thought it was a little funny they have rather English names. Naftal talked to them a little before we left and Peter handed over a nice Maasai sword (the same kind Sam gave some of us when he came back from Kenya) and we were good to go.

African Sky and July

noreply@blogger.com (brian childs) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 19:25:00 +0000

Wow, what a beautiful night sky here in Tanzania. Naftal and I went walking around tonight and found a nice dark sky, even here in the city. I can't imagine how many stars you would see further out from people. Unfortunately, I don't know the southern sky at all, and didn't recognize any constellations. Guess I should've done more homework before I left. It's just beautiful looking up in the sky and seeing all the God has created. The other night we saw the best meteor I've ever seen as it didn't just look like a "shooting star", but the actual burning ball of fire.

Anyhow, I'm leaving Tanzania tomorrow for Nairobi, Kenya. Remember to look at the map below to see where I'll be. Today was a very good day as we stopped by the offices of a gentleman named Mohammed who helped us out very much. He runs an organization here called Tanzania ecoVolunteerism and is well known to several of my BG friends. Well, it looks like I'll be helping in July setting up a computer center they are creating in for kids. So wave good-bye to the great unknown called July. I'll be coming back to Tanga.

OK, that's all for now. Time for bed.