The end is near...

And not just because I finished Stephen King's "The Stand" today...

I just booked my last block of hotel nights - and even a ride to the airport on Wednesday morning.

So, I will have 5 nights at the hotel I stayed at last night (see post below), starting tomorrow up until the day I leave. It will be like a mini vacation-within a working-vacation. The biking, hiking trails, and fresh berries are so calling my name...

Get ready America, Eric's coming home!

Live from the Jungle...

Gotcha! You probably thought this was Eric reporting, but nope! Just Pepper here, wanting to fill my fan club in on my first few days at my new home! In this first picture I'm just helping Mom mow the lawn (we both love her new lawnmower that doesn't use gas or electricity (it's the old school kind w/ 4 blades)!

Lots of big things have happened lately....



and I mean big! My first meeting with Bisou was actually pretty anti-climactic; Mom says I normally go CRAZY over other dogs, but I couldn't even tell if Bisou was a dog because his head was so far away from me. Mom got scared when Bisou tried to play with me...I think the whole 15-times-my-size thing made her nervous!

I got to meet my Gammy and Granddad on Sunday. No pictures yet, but I get to meet my aunts Melissa & Rosie this weekend, as well as cousins Rambeau, Ella, and Jackson. I can't wait to see them...wait a minute....

They say that when two beings are in love, you can't tell where one starts and where the other begins...I don't know about that, but I sure do love my cow!


One thing my mom says she is the most proud of is how tough I am. See below for an example!

Well, I guess it's a love/hate relationship.

Gosh, life sure is fun lately. Maybe even too fun...this is how I end pretty much every day:

Hopefully you do too! Have a good one, and thanks for checking in!

In Zomba

Crazy, crazy day. And it's not completely over yet.

I didn't make it to the village, but I did get to spend about 6 hours in total in a crowded minibus, going from Blantyre-Zomba-Blantyre-Zomba. The tour of the village and big joint discussion capstone meeting of my visit is all set for Friday morning, 10am.

Now, I am sitting in a corner room of my hotel on Zomba Mountain - the Ku Chawe Hotel - recommended by my boss as the most amazing hotel he's ever stayed at anywhere in the world. So. It's dark now, but I have to say, it's pretty amazing. As the man from the front desk was showing me to my room, he said, "this weekend, let me know if you want me to guide you to some of the best views around the mountain, we have waterfalls, rock climbing, biking, just let me know." Ok.


my room. yep, that's a stone fireplace in the corner.


view from my window this morning.


fresh berries from zomba mountain. some of the best i've ever had. (no joke)

Things that remind me of Africa

-Wearing the same shirt for days in a row.
-Driving down the middle of the road when there's no one coming.
-Banana trees.
-Indian restaurants.
-Farm animals on soccer fields.
-The smell of eucalyptus.
-Little blue and white notebooks.
-Dirt.
-Cold showers.
-HUGE bottles of bottled water.
-Blue band margarine.
-Cell phone coverage.

And others. =)

Back in Malawi

Never mind exploring the country of Malawi, flying on Air Malawi is an adventure of itself.

Granted, my return trip from Dar to Blantyre yesterday went very smoothly. But it's just a unique experience to fly on the national airline of a very small African country.

First of all, the airplane is totally unmarked. Pure white. And, as usual in Africa, there's no boarding gate - they load you up on a bus and take you out to the plane, where you walk up the steps, 1960s-style. When I got in the door, I noticed that my seat number corresponded to an empty aisle, where the bulkhead wall was separating 1st class from the rest of the plane. I asked the stewardess. "Oh, just sit anywhere in the back." Ok. Next, we made an unannounced stop in Nairobi, to pick up other passengers, adding about 3hrs on to the trip. The only thing the whole day confirming that Air Malawi actually existed were the seatback covers on the first class chairs.

But the views were amazing. (I'm so thankful for that stopover in Nairobi!) We flew directly over Kilimanjaro - which reminded me why I am an environmentalist. How can you not be, witnessing something so beautiful, so powerful - and yet knowing that we are changing that beautiful thing permanently (myself included by taking the plane). But the snows are still there, and I was thankful to see them.

Now, back in Blantyre, I'm busily trying to finish up the work here before I head home next Wednesday. I've already been twice to see the met service people here, and tomorrow I'm hopefully going up to the village (for the first time) to talk to some people there.

Malawi is what I always pictured Africa to be. Slow-paced, friendly people, dusty roads, and a lot of people struggling - full of hope - but struggling to make ends meet.

I'll try to have more in the next few days.


Who owns this plane, anyway? =)


Free A/C for the pilot??


Confirmation.


Kili with Mt. Meru in the background.


Kili on the way back from Nairobi


Landing again in Malawi.

So, here's some news...

When you see the image below, what do you think?



a.)"That is the cutest dog in the world!"
b.)"That is a 5-month old beagle/jack russell mix."
c.)"That is Megan's new puppy."
d.)"That really is the cutest flippin' dog in the world!"

Answer...well, all of the above! That's right, after discovering this little Pepper last Thursday (the 17th), hanging out with her three times, consulting with my peeps, and listening to my heart, I decided I wanted to make those hang-out times permanent. I officially adopted her on Thursday (the 24th), but she didn't come home with me for real (except for a "walk-thru" on thursday) until last night. Because she is blind, we wanted to make the transition as smooth as possible for her (from her foster home to her forever home!), so we decided to wait until the weekend so I could have all wk.end to spend with her. I was really nervous b/c she's come from a home w/ 2 other dogs, which is REALLY helpful for her to get around, have a companion, etc., so i didn't know how it would be for her as an "only canine," but she is doing AMAZING. She is just an awesome little being. Come meet her! I don't have any batteries for my camera right now, but I'm working on it...I'll definitely be posting lots of pictures/videos SOON!

I recently heard a great quote I've been thinking about a lot lately, especially given this situation. "Some people say love is blind, but in actuality, love sees everything." (Chris, please refine to make it sound pretty. :))

A restful day

Today was a little window of paradise, otherwise known as the northern-most beach town in Zanzibar. I went to see an area of protected sea-turtles, chatted with a volunteer from the local fair-trade women's cooperative workshop, ate some coconut vegetable curry, and just generally chilled out on the beach. Not a bad weekend getaway!

Tomorrow will be a travel day, and then Monday I'll be back in Malawi.

See you all there!

Zanzibar

I just wrote this down on a piece of scratch paper my waiter gave me at dinner tonight:


Zanzibar is Zanzibar. There is no other way I can describe it. It's unlike anywhere I've ever been.

I was so nervous on the ferry ride here. Because of the last time. I was envisioning long hours on the phone with the embassy again - and chewing my fingernails the whole way. But it was easy, and now i'm here. Stepping off the boat, I just tried to make peace with the situation. I decided to just greet whoever I met with love - with a smile in my mind. It worked.

Now that I'm here, it's impossible to be worried about anything in a place like this.

The waiter just brought fresh peanuts, just for while I'm waiting. After he brought me this piece of paper. I rest my case.

I'm sitting on the roof of this restaurant. There is a cool breeze. There are a million stars. I am very happy.

I walked through countless narrow winding alleys to get here. Every corner is mysterious. Boys playing tag in Swahili. An old woman selling oranges. A bike zooming past. I couldn't help smiling the whole way.

In Zanzibar, nothing is closed off. Inside, or outside, there is always a breeze blowing through. There are details everywhere - wood carved doors, always something catching your eye. It's beautiful.

I'm going to the beach tomorrow. To just be.

My food is here - vegetable pulau and (fresh) spiced tea. It's amazing.

...

I just looked up from my paper. I'm still here.

And I'm going to order dessert. It's a special night.

near danger... averted.

i went on another walk tonight... in the other direction from the hotel this time. it was a beautiful evening (still is), and i'm trying to soak up my last couple days in dar before i head back to malawi on sunday. so, a walk on the beach.

after a while, these two guys come up to me.

"excuse me, how are you."
he grabs my hand, tries to hold it - not uncommon in africa, but usually after you know someone first.
"i'm very fine, how are you?"
"we are just wondering, if you know that it is against the law, what you are doing now."
"what?"
"this beach area, it is against the law to take photographs here."
i pull my hand away, back up a step.
"i..."
"this man here, he is a police officer"
(they are both dressed in old tshirts, shorts, and flip flops)
i think for a minute...
"you guys are crazy."
i start to walk away.
"excuse me, sir. we have told you this, now you must stand up some words. you should be punished, you are breaking the law."
i turn my back to them, start walking away. they follow me.
"sir, excuse me, we must now go to the police station."
i walk quickly, looking down at my feet - i'm about 10min from my hotel, but on the main road. i know that if i just stay walking, ignore them, don't say anything, they'll give up.
but they keep following.
i cross the street. heart beating a little faster now. they're not walking as fast as me, but they're still following.
i know that these kind of guys are a little unpredictable, but usually get bored quickly. they're still following.
if i can just make it back to the hotel, i'll be fine.
"excuse me" (louder, from 100ft or so behind me) "we have said this to you, now you must stand up some words... we go to the police station"
i can see my hotel ahead.
i turn into the gate of the hotel - the luxury of safety, the protection given foreigners with money, is apparent.
they don't follow me inside.

now, i'm back in my room, writing about it on my blog.

i was never really THAT scared, i knew what to do, but it's good to remember that things are different here. everywhere in the world has its own set of customs, accepted behaviors. here, taking pictures of random people at the beach might be culturally unacceptable. maybe this was just tanzania's way of telling me that.

zanzibar will probably be the same way, at least. but to me, the benefits outweigh any potential inconvenience such as tonight. the economics of traveling by yourself in africa. don't worry, mom, i'll be careful. =)


the pictures from tonight.











that last one is by far my favorite of the bunch.

my taxi driver embarrassed me today...

i've had the same taxi driver this whole week in dar. we met on the first day, at the blue pearl hotel in ubungu center where the tanzania met agency has their offices. he's a young guy, about my age, and i like him. generally, if you smile a lot, i like you.

since then, he's been sitting in the same place, at the same time (around noon), every day, waiting for me to finish my meetings.

wednesday we tried small talk - "where you from" ... "usa" ..... "america, is very powerful country". "which type of phone do you have... i need to get a card. my phone doesn't work here." .... "celtel... it is the best" ... "ok, that's what i will get then."

yesterday he gave me a discount b/c "i'm a friend". this morning, also, he arranged to meet me here at my hotel to pick me up in the morning - even though he lives on the other end of town, by the blue pearl hotel.

on the way home today, we talked about barack obama. "he will be very good for africa, and for my country."

we were stopped at a traffic jam/intersection.

outside, a man walked - well, hobbled - up to us. he was wearing knee pads, because he had no legs below his knees. in africa, there is no such thing as wheelchairs. (unless you can afford them, which, how could you if you have no legs and can't work?) immediately my friend, the driver, reaches into his ash tray and pulls out a 100Sh coin (about 10 cents) to hand to me to hand to the man. of course, i'm in stare-straight-ahead-and-ignore-him mode, as i've been taught by all the guidebooks. i handed him the coin, and we sped away. the situation humbled me.

a haiku for tanzania

curry, dhow, and palm -
a mix of cultures under
the african sky.

a walk around my new hotel nabe...

just got back from a short walk down the street from my new hotel (on ocean rd.) it's beautiful here. i'm just down the street from the undp office i went to yesterday morning - their building is the old american embassy. must be nice, huh?






































































(this last one is my current hotel)

the market

Here are some pictures (taken this afternoon) from the market that I mentioned in my post last night.


woman on the street


sorting beans and rice


chicken for sale


coconut vendor























selling fruit


down the alley

tanzania meteorological agency

So, things here are a bit different than in Malawi. We haven't had much contact with Tanzania Met (TMA as they like to be called) before I arrived, and they are a bit skeptical (mostly they just want reassurance that we aren't going to "cut and run" like other projects). So this visit has been a little less clear cut - and more diplomatic. I'm meeting with the Director General tomorrow, but I already have the lead agrometeorologist on my side, and I think it will just be a formality to organize things officially, but still - it's definitely not as easy here as it was in Malawi. Plus, I'm by myself.

I did get to meet briefly yesterday with the UNDP country representative for the Millennium Development Goals that is my project's unofficial representative in Tanzania. A smiley Tanzanian guy, very much the politician and bridge-builder. (He had a brand-new 3G iphone) Before he left me, he said "Remember, these are real people out there in the village. They need our help." I think it was the little bit of grounding that I needed to set me on my way.

I'm also scheduled to give a presentation on Friday morning. (Before I go to Zanzibar for the wknd... =)


p.s. also, I switched hotels today - from the dusty downtown to the green tropical beach. same price. how could i not? more later.

pictures!

check the old posts... there's some surprises! (thanks to high-speed-peacock-hotel-internet.)