A quick blog post on a slow computer at the Ibaru Safari Lodge in Arusha, Tanzania. Some punctuation marks don't work, so hope you can understand this.
The trip over went smoothly and I am enjoying my new friends with whom I will be teaching. Yesterday, we went on a walking safari at the African Wildlife Federation West Kilimanjaro Elephant Research Center--walking among elephants, zebras, baboons, wildebeest, eland, giraffes and water bucks (with an armed guard). It was amazing. They regarded us with interest, but only as one more of the beasts that roam the plains. Because it is a private reserve, they give walking tours. In the national parks, you can only get out of the vehicle at designated rest stops.
Today we walked in a local village and bargained for handmade knives and jewelry, shopped for Tanzanite (rare gem) in Arusha, and went to hear the UN tribunal that is being held here on war crimes from the Rwanda genocide. They had just gone into closed session, but we were able to talk for a while with the head of security about the challenges they had these past 10 years in balancing justice with the need to heal wounds and rebuild Rawanda.
I do love Africa. I will try to write more in a couple of days.
