Ol Doinyo Lengai - Mountain of God

This blog is long overdue.  A few weeks ago myself and 3 other volunteers embarked on an adventure with one goal in mind.  To conquer the active volcano in the Eastern Rift Valley in Northern Tanzania.  We hired a local driver/friend Ernest to drive us the 6 hours to the base of the volcano.  So the four doe-eyed volunteers and their trusty driver set out early one Friday morning.  Ol Doinyo Lengai is an active volcano located south of Lake Natron and had its last eruption sometime in 2009.  There are many villages located around the base of Lengai and the Tanzanian government has tried many times to "relocate" the people who live in those villages due to the dangers or living at the base of an active volcano.  The local people say there is no need to relocate because they can determine when the volcano is going to erupt and therefore get to safety before any "real" danger is close.  They described a "fool-proof" system for detecting volcanic eruptions.....watch the animals.  If the animals in the surrounding areas are acting strange/migrating at abnormal times then the local people are aware of unrest in the volcano.  Who needs fancy geological equipment when you have an old Maasai trick?!

On the way to Lengai

We bought some gum and candy to give to 

Maasai children on our drive.

Ol Doinyo Lengai

We arrived to our final destination around 2 PM after a very long and dusty car ride.  Ernest negotiated us through some pretty hairy terrain, sometimes a road wasn't even apparent to us, but not to Ernest who has a GPS implanted in his brain.  We secured a place to stay for the next couple of nights and negotiated with a local guide to take us up the volcano.  Lengai has to be climbed in the dark.  Our guide explained the reason for this is because it would be way too hot (from the sun mom, not the lava..) to climb it during the day so they do it in the cool of the night.  But afterward we all new better, they make you climb it at night because there is no way on Earth anyone would climb it if they saw what they were about to do up close.  It is simple as that.  So we had a little lunch/dinner, checked out the local village and crawled into bed at 9 PM for a couple hours of sleep before we drove the hour to the start of the trail.

At the start of the trail.

If we only knew what we were getting into!

After negotiating dried and not so dried river beds on our drive to the base we took a couple minutes to gather ourselves and prepare for our 6 hour hike to the top.  The first 2 hours of the hike were fast paced but not very steep.  Although pitch black we could make out what seemed to be bottomless crevasses to our left and right as we hiked up the mountain.  Taking frequent water breaks we made it about half way and the light from our truck was well out of the range of sight.  We took "moments of silence" to look up at the amazing stars (you could actually see the ring of the Milky Way) and to take in the eerie effect that total silence has on a person.  As we continued to climb the terrain got steep, very steep, almost 45+ degrees steep.  Soon we were sprawled on all fours trying to keep our balance as we slowly but surely made it up the mountain.  Due to the duration of the climb an interesting thing happens to ones equilibrium after a period of time looking down at your feet while climbing.  If you turn around and look the opposite direction your equilibrium resets itself and you go through a period of dizziness and disorientation, not ideal when one slip equals a tomahawk tumble down the face of a volcano....although, if you had to go, it wouldn't be a bad way to do so.

The easy part of the climb.

Finally, we got to what had to be the top or what I thought to be the the top but of course like a father on a long car trip, our guide said it would be just a bit more.  I figured out later that this was a tactic used to keep moral boosted.  "How much further until the top?"  "20 minutes." One hour later:  "How much further to the top?"  "15 minutes."  Tanzanian time is great.  We finally came to two large walls on either side of us that was the most intense part of the climb, but we knew we really were getting close to the top.  When we got through the two walls we could see the top, a steep sandy slope upwards to the top of the volcano.  We reached the summit at 7:00 AM.  Just in time to see the sun rise.

A happy group at the summit.

Right side: Volcano crater

Left side: Down the volcano

Our guide on the left meeting up with his buddy at the summit.

Our guide and I taking a walk around the crater.

Our guide and me at the summit.

When we got to the summit we thought that was the end of our climb but our guide insisted we take a walk around the crater edge to the other side in order to get a better view of the sun set.  We walked around the crater with impending doom on both sides.  On one side we had the bottomless volcano pit and the other the face of the volcano all the way down to the bottom, we treaded lightly.

Taking a little stroll.

Our guide then told us that we needed to head back down the mountain in order to beat out the sun.  We would fry if we were on the upper half of the mountain when the sun got to the top of the sky so we headed down the volcano.  This was by far the worst part of the experience.  You don't realize as you are climbing up that you will of course have to climb down.  Seems logical of course but you just don't even think of it!  Knees, shins and toes were burning by hour 2 and I think we had all had enough of the downward climb by hour 3.  After 6 hours climbing down the mountain our truck could be spotted in the tall grass, we were home free.

Macon and I taking a break on the way down.

Our guide would run, yes, run down 

the mountain and take little naps on perches while the 

soft white folks took their sweet time....he had the patients of a saint.

He didn't take a single sip of water or a bite of food during the 12 hours of hiking...

More of the climb down.

Our trusty leader Ernest was waiting for us at the bottom to take us back to camp for the rest of the day.  We had a quick nap and then went and explored the water falls which were also beautiful.  The next couple of days were spent exploring the local village and just relaxing after our long climb.  It is a good thing we were in Africa because there is no way we would have been able to climb the volcano without training, ropes, proper equipment and a trail that doesn't change day to day and about a thousand release forms.  I don't regret a second of it and if they chance arises I would even do it again.....perhaps in a couple years.

After conquering Lengai.

Everything else has been going pretty well.  I have been working on getting to know the purchasing process here at Peace House and have also been working with some teachers to get a tutoring schedule set for students to be helped in math and other subjects.  This week the kids go on break for Easter so it will be quiet around here for a about a week and a half.  Perhaps a trip to the coast is in order to take in some of those fantastic Tanzanian beaches I have been hearing about.  Sorry for the lack of posts, they will be more frequent from now on!

The Library, Bug Bites, More Rugby and Hospitals

The past week hasn't been terribly eventful.  I have caught up on the majority of my inventory work this past week so I have moved on to bigger and better things!  I have been spending a couple mornings and afternoons taking in the sights and sounds of the Peace House Library.  Susan the librarian has given me a crash course in the library database systems and before I knew it I was checking in and checking out books for students like a pro.  Yes, I am proud of this skill, I get to use a barcode scanner and it makes me look pretty important.  In all seriousness though, Susan has made the library an amazing place for students to have classes, learn about the cataloging of books or just to have somewhere to kick back with a good book.  It is an amazing place. 

Library Study Time

Jim teaching computer classes in the new lab he donated

Study Group

The temperature here in Arusha is fairly moderate for Africa, it usually hovers around 80ish (yes, that is a scientific term) on a sunny day and around 60s or 70s on a cloudy one.  So every night I continue to ask myself why I wear long-sleeves, sweatpants and socks to bed because I sweat profusely through the night (I run a bit hot..).  Then I wake up and see the welts from our friend the local mosquito.  Being from Minnesota I figured I had endured the worst possible wrath a mosquito could dish out during my short-lived, yet eventful, camping days in the BWCA.  Could not have been more wrong.  Now, we must remember that I use a mosquito net over my bed, I use bug spray that has a higher percentage of DEET than needed and I keep the light off in my room so not to attract our malaria riddled friends (yes mom, I am taking my pills).  Doesn't matter.  These beasts manage to find the soft open flesh that makes an appearance at some point through the night.  Wrists, ankles, hips, and neck.  Possibly THE worst spots to itch throughout the day.  They swell and itch and never seem to go away.  Their relentless kamikaze-like attacks are just something I am going to have to get used to during my time here in Tanzania, but as bad as they are, it seems like a fair tradeoff for the view I have outside my widow every night.

Mount Meru Outside My Window

Peace House Secondary School

This past Saturday was spent with the rugby team on a trip to the Arusha Stadium for a day of rugby exercises and scrimmages.  The rugby team spent the morning training a few local primary schools the basics of rugby, school was in session for me of course.  A quick break for chai and chapatti and then it was time for scrimmages.  The Peace House team beat their local rivals in a scrimmage, 12-1.  All in all a successful day, I got to learn a little bit more about rugby and I also got a bit of a sunburn which is great too.

A quick pushup contest on the way home in the back of the truck!

The under 25 group (as we have been known to be called) payed their first visit to the Arusha Hospital.  Considering it could have been a wide variety of ailments that we could have visited for, it wasn't a major problem.  Someone who will not be named, came down with some bad bacteria and a case of dehydration and in turn got to be the guinea-pig for the first hospital visit.  We are very lucky, Arusha has a fantastic hospital that rivals some of the hospitals in the United States so it wasn't as if said person was sharing a room with cows and goats.  Although a very long process and a bit nerve-racking, it is very comforting to know a top-notch hospital is close by.

Lookin' good in the hospital

Next week myself and 4 other volunteers are planning a hiking trip to Ol Doinyo Lengai, which is an active volcano in the northern part of Tanzania.  We hired our local driver as a guide and plan to hike it this upcoming weekend.  Yes, it is an active volcano, but we have something going for us.  If anyone falls in when we get to the top the lava is only 1,000 degrees F rather than a normal 2,000 degrees F in other volcanos.  So we have that going for us, which is nice.  Until next week.

Rugby, Marathons and Toaster Cleaning

So this is my attempt to keep close friends and family updated on my time here at Peace House School in Arusha, Tanzania.  Check in periodically for updates, funny stories and photos of my stay here.  I hope to keep my posts short, sweet and informative.  No one wants to read a 10 page blog about feelings.....you can check out Macon's Blog for that.  Kidding, I haven't actually read hers, so it can't be that good can it?

I arrived in Arusha on Monday night and was swiftly picked up from the airport from Peace House driver Faustine and social worker Christian.  If my time spent with Christian during that hour and a half drive is any indication of the attitude of Peace House, then my time here will be filled with excitement, eagerness and good conversation.  I can safely say in the past week Peace House has exceeded all my expectations.  My time during the day is spent in Ernest's office (Office Manager for Peace House School) in my own little corner at my own little desk.  It takes a great man to share a work space, and he is a great man in spades.  I will post pictures soon so you can get the full effect, I will know Earnest's face better than my own before I leave.

I spent my first weekend here in Arusha attending a rugby match between Arusha and Dar es Salaam at the local gym called TGT.  It was great to take in a new sport and also get to witness the Peace House Rugby Club have a strong showing against another local school.  Tuesday and Thursday afternoons I will be helping Andre (the school's estate manager) with the rugby team.  I tried to explain to him I have no experience whatsoever with rugby, but he didn't seem to mind/care.  I'll make sure to post how much of a fool I make of myself in front of the kids, but that's what it is all about sometimes right?

Andre and Friends at TGT

TGT Rugby/Football fields

Peace House Rugby Team

This past Sunday morning, some volunteers and Peace House's running club loaded up into the Coaster (school van) and departed for Moshi, Tanzania.....at 4:50 AM.  We made the drive to attend the Kilimanjaro Marathon at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro.  The Running Club and the volunteers ran the 5K and stayed to watch the half and whole marathon runners finish in Moshi Stadium.  The kids were so excited to see running on a professional level and to witness such a big event for all of Tanzania, even the Prime Minister made an appearance.

Running Club on the way to Moshi

Running Club before the 5K

Katie, Me, Kelly, Loth and Macon before the 5K

Angelo with 5K finishers

Watching the Finish Line for the 1/2 and Full Marathon

Peace House Running Club after the races

2010 Kilimanjaro Marathon

My first week here in Arusha has been spent getting used to my surroundings, meeting new people and slowly adjusting to life here in Tanzania.  The hospitality here at Peace House has been incredible to say the least, the accommodations for my stay are easily better than the cramped dorms of Gustavus.  Who knew I would have to travel to Africa for good room and board?!  The volunteers are so well taken care of here.  Our house Mama, Imackulatta (affectionately called a phonetic E-Macks for short) has taken such good care of a not-so-experienced 22-year old when it comes to living on your own.  She cleaned out the inside of our toaster.....our toaster.....who does that?!  E-Macks does that.

I'll update as I take some more photos and have some other things that are worth posting!  Tips, criticisms and general distain can be sent to "thisismyfirsttimebloggingsogivemeabreak@gmail.com".  But seriously, please send an email if you'd like to kevin.clevette@gmail.com I'd love to hear from you!