Most of us have seen the article on Pearl Law’s experiences in Africa that was published in the Mercury-News; if you have not, take a look here:
http://www.dyestatcal.com/ATHLETICS/XC/2011/sjmn0928.htm
If you are interested in the long version of the story, here are Pearl’s adventures in Tanzania, told in her own words.
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By Pearl Law
Traveling has always been a passion of mine. I have traveled to 32 countries so far, but one place I had always hoped to be able to go to was Africa. I wanted to see the magnificent landscape, the running wild animals, and get to know the people. When I turned sixteen this year, I asked my parents to let me go to Africa to do some volunteer work. Although I had prior experience in Nicaragua the year before, Africa was a whole new level. I never thought they would let me go, but after numerous begging’s and countless months of research to prove to them that Africa was a worthwhile investment, they agreed! I cannot tell you how excited I was!
This past summer, I traveled to Tanzania for 24 days with a high school volunteer abroad organization called The Road Less Traveled. My journey began when I flew out from SFO at 10 pm to Newark. Once I landed at 6 am, the next morning, a leader greeted me. Being the first one to arrive at Newark, I patiently waited for the other participants to fly in from other states and countries. As a group, we flew to Amsterdam, before arriving at Tanzania the same night. By that time, I had been awake for 48 hours with no sleep. The last thing I wanted to do at that point was to spend over three weeks with a group of people I did not even know.
Thankfully, my fatigue wore off quickly the next morning and my energy soared. I rushed out of our “home” and got onto the dirt road, eager to see what Tanzania really looked like. To my surprise, there were cornfields and sunflowers surrounding me everywhere. Before this trip, I imagined what Tanzania would look like and feel like, but I definitely did not expect what I saw. This country was filled with green vegetation. Another aspect that surprised me was the cold weather. Although I was told ahead of time to bring tons of long sleeves and long pants, I didn’t really take it seriously because I had the stereotypical mindset that Africa was supposed to be hot. Luckily, I brought just enough to keep me warm.
For the first two weeks, I stayed in a village called LeRai where we helped to build residence platforms for a teacher at the primary school. I helped by moving rocks into and out of individual rooms, carrying water and dirt buckets, and mixing cement. That sounds pretty tedious, right? Well, one of the days as I was moving rocks, I saw a snake slithering in the corner of the room. I later learned that it was a Black Mamba, the most venomous snake in Africa. It was one of the most memorable, yet nerve-wracking moments when Frankie, one of the local boys helping us, attempted to kill the snake by prodding at it with a stick.
Overall, the physical labor was intense and draining. However, it all paid off because we were able to see the impressive progress we made at the end of the two weeks. Moreover, in addition to working at the school, our group also received conversational Swahili lessons from the principle of the school every few days after lunch. Those lessons were very useful and fun, and helped us communicate with the community. Every morning that we walked from our home to the school, everyone who passed us by would wave and greet “Jambo” to us. And of course, we would wave back and say “Hujambo”. I felt so good about myself when I finally learned enough to start having brief conversations with the locals, speaking only in Swahili. It made me feel a lot more connected with the people living there.
Through the conversations and interactions I’ve had with the Tanzanian people, I’ve learned how strong and remarkable they really are. For example, our mamas, the women who cook for us every day, struggle so much to raise their children. Most of them have lots of children and they have to support their children alone. Many of the fathers in LeRai have either passed away or they are too lazy to work. These men do not care about their families, and some even have affairs with other women. It makes me very angry. This is not to say all men in LeRai act this way because there are others such as Leonard, the principle of LeRai primary school, who has dedicated his time and life to give the local children their education.
Within those two weeks, we also got the chance to take time off to hike up Mount Meru, visit an orphanage and learn about the effects of HIV/AIDS and what is being done to empower women and children impacted by the disease, and explore Arusha, a city on the outskirts of LeRai. We also visited two very different markets, one mainly for tourists, and a Maasai market, consisting of three sub-markets, an animal, fabric, and vegetable market. The Maasai market was especially interesting because it was one of the first times I got to see how the Tanzanians interacted with each other and went about their daily lives. On the other hand, our visit to the orphanage was a rather difficult experience to go through. The life these children were living shocked me and I remember feeling a sense of reality snapping into me. When I was playing with the children, I thought they were around six years old. I couldn’t believe it when the owner of the orphanage told me that these children were ten or twelve years old. These children were so small and fragile. At first I was puzzled, but eventually, it all made sense to me. If you take any American child who is ten years old and compare him or her with a child at this orphanage, you can clearly see that the American child is stronger and much taller. Not only are these children malnourished, but also they don’t have people there to give them individual attention and care, which can really be detrimental to them psychologically. However, despite everything they lacked, these children were still able to smile and have a good time. After visiting this orphanage, I decided to sponsor a young girl named Frieda who has AIDS. She is such an inspiration to me. Whenever I feel like my life is difficult or that I’m suffering, I think of her and think to myself how she is probably struggling more. She has helped me become more self-aware about the things I complain about.
On the last week of my trip, our group traveled on a military-like truck for 12 hours to live with the Hadza tribe. They are a small group of only 600 hunter-gatherers who move locations every two weeks. I experienced their way of life and sadly, learned about what the future holds for their disappearing culture and people. Together, we hunted, climbed trees, dug for tubers, and hiked through the Yaeda Valley. I also learned how it takes the Hadza’s less than 30 seconds to start a fire by rotating wooden fire drills between their palms. I really admire these people that they know how to live, better than we do, and somehow we easily overlook that. It is unfortunate that our society looks mainly to a person’s educational abilities as the key factor in judging who someone really is. Their skills are rare to find and meet basic needs to survive. Living with them has made me more adventurous to try new things.
For the last two days, I had the opportunity to visit the Ngorongoro Crater, the largest unbroken volcanic crater in the world, and Lake Manyara National Park, both of where I was able to catch a glimpse of the Big 5 and many more wildlife animals. I took this as a chance to take as many pictures as possible. Many of my pictures showed the rear end of these animals, but trust me; they were the best views I could get without compromising everybody’s safety.
Before we left, we were able to present our gifts to the school children. Coach Flatow was so generous to give me 20 pairs of Monta Vista jerseys and shorts, which I have been waiting to give to these children since the first day I arrived. I felt extremely proud and honored to be able to bring the spirit of the Monta Vista distance team to Tanzania. When the children put on the jerseys, I felt so much joy and connection in my heart, with both the children here and my teammates back home. The picture that I took with the children is so important to me. I look at it every once in a while and it makes me so happy because I know that even though I’m so far away, there will always be a part of them deeply rooted within me. It was an incredible ending to my service trip and my Africa experience.
I volunteer abroad because I know that when I’m traveling, I’m traveling with a purpose. My purpose is not to come to anyone’s rescue, but to learn how their culture has influenced their lifestyle. My trip to Tanzania has challenged me to push beyond my comfort zone through the interaction with different people. I still remember how every night, after a hard days work, our group would gather together to reflect on the meaning of what we were doing. Our leaders posed difficult questions at us. Are volunteers like us really making a positive influence? Do the volunteers do what they do mainly to satisfy their ego? I do not have ready and clean-cut answers to these questions. However, I am certain that regardless of how helpful I had been, or not, through the smiles and brief conversations, there was exchange of mutual appreciation. The local people and my group have helped me discover a bit more about who I am. This trip has taught me skills that are impossible for me to gain in a classroom or even traveling with my family. The experience I have had is one that can be described to a certain point, but never fully understood. One thing I’m sure of is that I will always remember those long African nights during which I wondered about my existence and my relationship to the world.
–Pearl Law