So the last couple of weeks have been less traveling than before. Mostly because I can't afford anymore big trips, and my free flight to Rwanda fell through at the last minute... oh well. But it has still been quite eventful and full of good stories. The last couple weeks have included two more bouts of stomach sickness including a hospital visit, several BBQ's at the house, un apéro francais, lots of partying, LOTS of intern drama (of course), our first successful food delivery experience in Arusha, the US winning the France v US women's world cup semi-final, dancing to the only DJ in Arusha that plays rock music, attending two birthday parties for people I'd never spoken to before, a much too expensive hike to a village that turned out to be a museum of a village and to a beautiful waterfall that was only amazing thanks to lauren and stephanie's "power through" skills, POWERING THROUGH!, my first Dalla Dalla experience where they fit approximately 25+ people in a minivan sized "bus" and you pay less than a dollar to get an hours drive, a movie viewing of an excellent French classic "La Heine", African-style dress fittings, double dates with the frenchies, getting drunk on the roof of the 8 story UN building, getting really excited to find dark chocolate covered digestives, finding out that Lively Lady is NOT a strip club, finding out that our popular local bar managed by our good friend Tony with delicious Chips Mayai DOES sell sex in the back rooms for approximately 2$, staying out at Via Via til it closes on Thursday night (well actually Friday morning) at 5am, solving last night's mysteries, learning how to play Rugby, and earning the nicknames "G-Balls" (you can figure it out) and "Rugby Practice" (not explaining that one).
My last couple of weekends here will include several goodbye dinners, one big goodbye house party this Saturday, a visit to the Maasai village Ngaramtoni, a Rugby Tournament, souvenir shopping at the Maasai crafts markets, and an A-Z 26 bar pub crawl starting at 10am.
Keep you updated!!
Friday, July 22, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Hippos, Rhinos, and Cheetah!!
So the weekend after my Nairobi trip, I had my first hit with food poisoning... NOT FUN. Luckily, there was nothing but a house party planned for that weekend, so I didn't miss out on much. But I was REALLY sick for about 24 hours. After 3 days of antibiotics though, was feeling just about at full speed. But it was a chill weekend at home for me.
But this past weekend was a BLAST! We went on a two day safari, leaving at 6am Saturday, and getting home around 8pm Sunday night. The first day was at Tarangire National Park, which is like a smaller more condensed version of the Serengeti. Serengeti would have required an extra day, since it is a couple hours farther to its edge, and at this time of year, the migration is at Maasai Mara, which is closer to Kenya, and would take a long time to get to from Arusha. But many people that have done both Tarangire and Serengeti have said that the animal viewing is better at Tarangire, minus the huge migration of course. And Tarangire was only three hours away from Arusha!
So the trip didn't start off great. We left a little late, around 6:30am, and about an hour and a half out of Arusha, the engine of one of the safari trucks blew. When they opened the hood, the engine was overheating so much the coolant was literally boiling over hahaha. We had two 4x4's since we had 10 people. So we were told another truck would be there in about an hour, so we decided to wait. Btw, NEVER listen to times in Tanzania. Everyone goes by "Tanzania time", and would rather make you feel better by saying something will happen soon, even if it is an outright lie. So two hours go by, and we decide to pile 9 of us into the 6 seater truck, along with the driver, so we don't lose out on our day. My buddy David who organized the trip stayed behind to wait for the other truck. Later, we find out that it took the truck FOUR HOURS in total to get there. Ridiculous. But anyways, the trucks had three big holes in the roof that popped off, so the 9 of us were able to stand and get a pretty awesome view of the park for the morning drive.
So Tarangire was a lot of wildebeest, zebras, giraffes, elephants, impala, and birds. Very cool, and very very up close. We even had an elephant start to charge at us. Then in the afternoon, we drove to Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area. It is a HUMONGOUS crater, created by a volcanic explosion/earthquake, that caused a volcanic mountain to collapse on itself. Very cool. So we camped in tents up on the rim of the crater, which was inside the Conservation Area, so had animals in there. There were elephants near our campsite when we arrived, and during the night buffalo were sniffing the sides of one of our tents, which kept up my poor friends terrified that night. Then, after waking up at 5:30am for breakfast, we descended into the crater, and spent the whole day there. We drove around for HOURS and saw SOOO much. The scenery by itself, without any of the animals, was just breathtaking. I have never seen anything like it. The whole crater is surrounded by these steep slopes, and within the crater there are lakes and even a forest/jungle like area. And the animals were also amazing. We saw lions that came right up to our trucks, kind of scary, and again lots of wildebeest and zebras. We also saw hyenas, waterback antelope, baboons, some other kind of monkey, and warthogs (pumbaas). But the best animals were the hippos, the black rhino, and the cheetah. The black rhino and the cheetah are very rare to see, and some people have gone on many safaris without ever seeing them. For us to see them on our first safari and it being a two day safari, is just amazing.
Hopefully I will be able to put pics up soon!
But this past weekend was a BLAST! We went on a two day safari, leaving at 6am Saturday, and getting home around 8pm Sunday night. The first day was at Tarangire National Park, which is like a smaller more condensed version of the Serengeti. Serengeti would have required an extra day, since it is a couple hours farther to its edge, and at this time of year, the migration is at Maasai Mara, which is closer to Kenya, and would take a long time to get to from Arusha. But many people that have done both Tarangire and Serengeti have said that the animal viewing is better at Tarangire, minus the huge migration of course. And Tarangire was only three hours away from Arusha!
So the trip didn't start off great. We left a little late, around 6:30am, and about an hour and a half out of Arusha, the engine of one of the safari trucks blew. When they opened the hood, the engine was overheating so much the coolant was literally boiling over hahaha. We had two 4x4's since we had 10 people. So we were told another truck would be there in about an hour, so we decided to wait. Btw, NEVER listen to times in Tanzania. Everyone goes by "Tanzania time", and would rather make you feel better by saying something will happen soon, even if it is an outright lie. So two hours go by, and we decide to pile 9 of us into the 6 seater truck, along with the driver, so we don't lose out on our day. My buddy David who organized the trip stayed behind to wait for the other truck. Later, we find out that it took the truck FOUR HOURS in total to get there. Ridiculous. But anyways, the trucks had three big holes in the roof that popped off, so the 9 of us were able to stand and get a pretty awesome view of the park for the morning drive.
So Tarangire was a lot of wildebeest, zebras, giraffes, elephants, impala, and birds. Very cool, and very very up close. We even had an elephant start to charge at us. Then in the afternoon, we drove to Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area. It is a HUMONGOUS crater, created by a volcanic explosion/earthquake, that caused a volcanic mountain to collapse on itself. Very cool. So we camped in tents up on the rim of the crater, which was inside the Conservation Area, so had animals in there. There were elephants near our campsite when we arrived, and during the night buffalo were sniffing the sides of one of our tents, which kept up my poor friends terrified that night. Then, after waking up at 5:30am for breakfast, we descended into the crater, and spent the whole day there. We drove around for HOURS and saw SOOO much. The scenery by itself, without any of the animals, was just breathtaking. I have never seen anything like it. The whole crater is surrounded by these steep slopes, and within the crater there are lakes and even a forest/jungle like area. And the animals were also amazing. We saw lions that came right up to our trucks, kind of scary, and again lots of wildebeest and zebras. We also saw hyenas, waterback antelope, baboons, some other kind of monkey, and warthogs (pumbaas). But the best animals were the hippos, the black rhino, and the cheetah. The black rhino and the cheetah are very rare to see, and some people have gone on many safaris without ever seeing them. For us to see them on our first safari and it being a two day safari, is just amazing.
Hopefully I will be able to put pics up soon!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Nairobi!!!
So Nairobi was a blast, though we only had a short time there unfortunately. We spent the day on Saturday in the slums of Kibera (one of the largest slums in the world with estimated over 1 million people) visiting a school for orphans, a crafts shop run by women with HIV/AIDS and a bone crafts shop run by a male youth group. We also visited a couple of community projects like a bio-centre for showers and sewage, as well as another youth group that volunteers going through the many mounds of garbage to recycle. It is a very dangerous place to be if a woman by yourself or anyone anytime at night, but by day it was a good albeit very eye-opening experience. I fell in love with the women and especially the children and definitely plan on returning and spending my next summer working there for some legal NGO in education if possible.
We also experienced actual Nairobi, went out to dinner to the infamous Carnivore (good food, but be prepared for 30% unexpected surcharges/taxes/etc) and then went out clubbing until 4:30am, which was a blast. Fed baby giraffes, saw baby elephants and one blind baby rhino, all very cool. The hostel was also very cool, it was like a campground, but also had a cheap restaurant with really good food and a bar. And a hobbit door!!! hahaha
But back to Arusha, which now feels like home. I was surprisingly really happy to be back after all the traveling over the weekend, especially after living in four person dorms that were smaller than my bedroom here. Still doing witness summaries at work, which is not so exciting, in fact quite boring. This weekend will be a chill weekend, probably including shopping on Saturday and then maybe we'll make it to the Hot Springs to go swimming if the weather is nice on Sunday, which would be awesome!! And it seems I may be going on a date this week with a gorgeous Frenchman ;)
I'll keep y'all updated!!! :)
We also experienced actual Nairobi, went out to dinner to the infamous Carnivore (good food, but be prepared for 30% unexpected surcharges/taxes/etc) and then went out clubbing until 4:30am, which was a blast. Fed baby giraffes, saw baby elephants and one blind baby rhino, all very cool. The hostel was also very cool, it was like a campground, but also had a cheap restaurant with really good food and a bar. And a hobbit door!!! hahaha
But back to Arusha, which now feels like home. I was surprisingly really happy to be back after all the traveling over the weekend, especially after living in four person dorms that were smaller than my bedroom here. Still doing witness summaries at work, which is not so exciting, in fact quite boring. This weekend will be a chill weekend, probably including shopping on Saturday and then maybe we'll make it to the Hot Springs to go swimming if the weather is nice on Sunday, which would be awesome!! And it seems I may be going on a date this week with a gorgeous Frenchman ;)
I'll keep y'all updated!!! :)
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Kick Off House Party!!
So the past week has been great. Finally feeling settled into our house of 10 interns, though we are considering moving for July and August. Went out to Via Via again on Thursday night, I had more fun than I wish to share on the internet ;). Friday we had a delicious true African dinner with our landlord's family, as a send off for their daughter Asha who is moving back to North Carolina after her internship at the UN.
Then Saturday our house threw the first intern house party of the summer. My good Irish friend David built a legit fire pit in the garden Saturday morning, concrete blocks, bricks and all, though he did get sun poisoning from that experiment. A group of us other housemates went out all day in search of fresh meat and sauces, etc. for the barbeque, and let me tell you, we found FRESH meat. I had the pleasure of meeting the whole cow carcasses hanging in the window of the butcher stall in the middle of a crazy maze within the central market. Have I mentioned how much I love this place?? We also bought fresh whole chickens, thankfully defeathered and all, though we had the option of buying them live. Many chickens being thrown around tied by their feet around the market. Again, sooo cool.
So the party went off grand without a hitch. Barbequed for several hours outside, had s'mores of course, then went inside to drink and played flipcup out on the second floor balcony. The one hitch being that everyone who actually lived in the house fell asleep early, I as the first one of course, before the party ended and people actually left our house... which was pretty freaking hilarious. But everyone said it was a great party so I would say it was a success. Sunday we then laid out by the nearby hotel pool, me with my constant re-application of sunblock and I still managed to get a minor sunburn on my back. Let's say the sun is just that strong here.
So crazy weekend coming up. Tomorrow starts off the weekend, yes that would be Wednesday, at the local French restaurant run by a crazy French guy named Michel, followed by Karaoke at the Sports Bar next door. Then Thursday will be the classic Via Via experience. And Friday we leave for Nairobi!! I am soo excited. In Nairobi, we will be staying at a hostel, visiting the Kibera slums, feeding baby Giraffes, visiting the baby Elephant/Rhino orphanage, going to the popular Carnivore restaurant, and then experiencing the nightlife of course. Yes, it all sounds quite touristy, but hey, I've never been to Africa, so on my first time I think it's allowed. I am planning on trying to visit Rwanda on my own though and making it more of a cultural experience and less of a party experience. But either way, I am having the time of my life!!
tutaonana!
a plus! (that means see you later in French, I am not saying A Plus haha)
Then Saturday our house threw the first intern house party of the summer. My good Irish friend David built a legit fire pit in the garden Saturday morning, concrete blocks, bricks and all, though he did get sun poisoning from that experiment. A group of us other housemates went out all day in search of fresh meat and sauces, etc. for the barbeque, and let me tell you, we found FRESH meat. I had the pleasure of meeting the whole cow carcasses hanging in the window of the butcher stall in the middle of a crazy maze within the central market. Have I mentioned how much I love this place?? We also bought fresh whole chickens, thankfully defeathered and all, though we had the option of buying them live. Many chickens being thrown around tied by their feet around the market. Again, sooo cool.
So the party went off grand without a hitch. Barbequed for several hours outside, had s'mores of course, then went inside to drink and played flipcup out on the second floor balcony. The one hitch being that everyone who actually lived in the house fell asleep early, I as the first one of course, before the party ended and people actually left our house... which was pretty freaking hilarious. But everyone said it was a great party so I would say it was a success. Sunday we then laid out by the nearby hotel pool, me with my constant re-application of sunblock and I still managed to get a minor sunburn on my back. Let's say the sun is just that strong here.
So crazy weekend coming up. Tomorrow starts off the weekend, yes that would be Wednesday, at the local French restaurant run by a crazy French guy named Michel, followed by Karaoke at the Sports Bar next door. Then Thursday will be the classic Via Via experience. And Friday we leave for Nairobi!! I am soo excited. In Nairobi, we will be staying at a hostel, visiting the Kibera slums, feeding baby Giraffes, visiting the baby Elephant/Rhino orphanage, going to the popular Carnivore restaurant, and then experiencing the nightlife of course. Yes, it all sounds quite touristy, but hey, I've never been to Africa, so on my first time I think it's allowed. I am planning on trying to visit Rwanda on my own though and making it more of a cultural experience and less of a party experience. But either way, I am having the time of my life!!
tutaonana!
a plus! (that means see you later in French, I am not saying A Plus haha)
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Malaria Pills, Theft, and UN Ridiculousness
So, contrary to the title theme of this blog post, I am actually having a fabulous time here in Arusha, though it started out kind of shaky. The first couple of days I was pretty sick and getting worse until I realized it was an allergic reaction to Malarone, the anti-malaria pill I was taking. The walk-in clinic here is free, but not very good at diagnosing, so just sent me home with anti-fever pills and antihistamine. But my fabulous roommate reminded me of the possible side effects of Malarone, and when I researched it, I realized I had all the signs of an allergic reaction: fatigue, dizzyness, lightheadedness, trouble breathing, lack of appetite (ie couldn't do anything but lay in bed). So once I stopped taking them and got some extra sleep, I started feeling better.
Arusha is great, once you get used to the clay dust, incredible amounts of pollution, and constant (and I mean constantallthetimeneverforgetit) theft or purse snatching. So me, my allergies, and buttoned up pockets are having a fabulous time! No it really is great, everyone local is really friendly for the most part, the interns are all fantastic, and most things are SO cheap. And I must say, the nightlife is AMAZING. I have never partied so hard in my life!! And the places to go out can get just absolutely gorgeous. One example is Via Via, where I will have to take pictures sometime. It is the Mzungu (foreigner/westerner) Thursday night hangout that makes you feel like you are in island paradise, with palm trees, fire pits, thatched roof bars and a dancefloor outside.
Although partying is not all I plan on doing on weekends. A group of us interns have several weekend outings planned, including Nairobi, Kigali, Serengeti safari, Ngorongoro crater/Terengere safari, and maybe even Zanzibar (depending on how much money I have left). But the first couple of weeks we decided to relax and get settled in.
Work is finally starting up. Though I started last Wednesday, the UN of course did not give me a working computer and log in to use until today. Things work quite slowly here, though it was expected, being the UN and all. But I am doing some real legal work! My first assignment is to draft the decision on a motion that was just made in the case I am assigned to. How cool is that?? Ok, so I may really sound like a 1L right now, but working on something that actually gets used in a case is just awesome to me. Of course the Judges will tweak, revamp, and even maybe rewrite it, but it is still a product of my work partially. :)
Alright, I should probably get back to work. Hopefully will post pictures soon (once I figure out how I can do that efficiently). The lack of internet and constant theft really hinders the ability to take and post pictures, but I will try my best.
Tutaonana!
Arusha is great, once you get used to the clay dust, incredible amounts of pollution, and constant (and I mean constantallthetimeneverforgetit) theft or purse snatching. So me, my allergies, and buttoned up pockets are having a fabulous time! No it really is great, everyone local is really friendly for the most part, the interns are all fantastic, and most things are SO cheap. And I must say, the nightlife is AMAZING. I have never partied so hard in my life!! And the places to go out can get just absolutely gorgeous. One example is Via Via, where I will have to take pictures sometime. It is the Mzungu (foreigner/westerner) Thursday night hangout that makes you feel like you are in island paradise, with palm trees, fire pits, thatched roof bars and a dancefloor outside.
Although partying is not all I plan on doing on weekends. A group of us interns have several weekend outings planned, including Nairobi, Kigali, Serengeti safari, Ngorongoro crater/Terengere safari, and maybe even Zanzibar (depending on how much money I have left). But the first couple of weeks we decided to relax and get settled in.
Work is finally starting up. Though I started last Wednesday, the UN of course did not give me a working computer and log in to use until today. Things work quite slowly here, though it was expected, being the UN and all. But I am doing some real legal work! My first assignment is to draft the decision on a motion that was just made in the case I am assigned to. How cool is that?? Ok, so I may really sound like a 1L right now, but working on something that actually gets used in a case is just awesome to me. Of course the Judges will tweak, revamp, and even maybe rewrite it, but it is still a product of my work partially. :)
Alright, I should probably get back to work. Hopefully will post pictures soon (once I figure out how I can do that efficiently). The lack of internet and constant theft really hinders the ability to take and post pictures, but I will try my best.
Tutaonana!
Friday, May 27, 2011
3 Days til Arusha...
So today is laundry, packing, last minute shopping, etc. I spent the week catching up with friends and family in CT who I haven't seen in a while thanks to 1L year in middle of nowhere Ithaca. I leave Sunday morning from NYC and arrive in Arusha Monday night, after 25+ hours of traveling. I am soooooooo nervous!!! The most traveling I've done is France twice and Guatemala once, the continent of Africa is a big jump for me. But I'm also really excited since it's been my dream to work in Africa, so an internship is definitely a step in the right direction.
My internship is at the ICTR, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, a tribunal set up by the United Nations designed to prosecute individuals who perpetrated the Rwanda genocide in 1994. The tribunal has been shutting down its courts slowly, since it has been operating for quite a few years now, and plans on shutting down in two years. It still has a few important cases moving through though, so hopefully I will learn a lot and get a chance at some real legal experience. Either way, I'll be in Arusha having a fabulous time.
Arusha is a large town/small city in Tanzania, a country in Eastern Africa that borders Rwanda. The tribunal was implemented in Tanzania since, at the time, Rwanda was considered not stable enough to house the tribunal. I am excited to be staying in Arusha, since that is the starting point for most going on safari or hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro. So it is a relatively safe place to call home for the summer. It is supposedly also not too difficult to visit traditional tribes and national parks in the surrounding areas to obtain a real view of Tanzania, less the foreigners. It seems like the perfect location to me!
So I created this blog mainly to share pictures and neat facts while I'm there, so next you'll hear from me will be from Arusha! :)
My internship is at the ICTR, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, a tribunal set up by the United Nations designed to prosecute individuals who perpetrated the Rwanda genocide in 1994. The tribunal has been shutting down its courts slowly, since it has been operating for quite a few years now, and plans on shutting down in two years. It still has a few important cases moving through though, so hopefully I will learn a lot and get a chance at some real legal experience. Either way, I'll be in Arusha having a fabulous time.
Arusha is a large town/small city in Tanzania, a country in Eastern Africa that borders Rwanda. The tribunal was implemented in Tanzania since, at the time, Rwanda was considered not stable enough to house the tribunal. I am excited to be staying in Arusha, since that is the starting point for most going on safari or hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro. So it is a relatively safe place to call home for the summer. It is supposedly also not too difficult to visit traditional tribes and national parks in the surrounding areas to obtain a real view of Tanzania, less the foreigners. It seems like the perfect location to me!
So I created this blog mainly to share pictures and neat facts while I'm there, so next you'll hear from me will be from Arusha! :)
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