Science Day

An annual tradition here at St Jude is Science Day.  It's quite similar to a science fair you would see in Canada, the exception being that most students didn't start working on their project until the day before at about 3 pm.  However, there were a few projects that showed me just how innovative and amazing these kids can be when they are given the forum for it.

Here were some of my favourites...

These guys made a real airplane out of a water bottle and cut-up pieces of a whiteboard marker box.  The flimsy motor we had was not enough to make it fly, but I loved their gumption!

Christine is a lovely, hard-working girl I have chatted with a few times here.  She mulched up paper to make "charcoal" bricks that could be used by villagers to cook their food.  People around here cut down a lot of rare and precious trees for fire wood, and there is no formal paper recycling here so this could actually help our environment a lot.  I love it!

We had a visit from Bernard, who is a real inventor working for an organization called Global Cycle Solutions.  He invents machines that can be powered by a bicycle.  So far he has invented a maize sheller, cell-phone charger and many others.  Here a student is demonstrating the use of a blender he designed that connects to the back tire of a bike.

This boy is known around the school for his crazy creations.  He made an amazing drum kit out for students to use in the assembly, with the cymbals and high-hat made out of paint can lids.  This is his juice-maker, called "Refresher" (note spelling above) which allows you to chop the fruit into smaller chunks at the top, then scoop them into a blender which he has fashioned himself out of cut pieces of scrap metal.

These girls did a real scientific experiment- comparing the merits of thatch roofs to metal ones.  They build models of the two types of Tanzanian homes in art class, then sat them out in the sun with a glass of water in each one, and measured the temperature. 

These students did research on traditional remedies and then tried making some of their own.

Liston Innocent, our resident scientist.  Every year, he starts the next year's science day project the day after science day.  He taps the teachers and lab technicians on the shoulder all year, asking for some copper wire or an alligator clip and works the night away on his creations.   Last year he created his own cell phone out of parts from a dvd player.  This year he built his own generator that can be fuelled with corn oil.  What a cool kid.

Here's everyone gathered as the head of Science, Mr. Mcharo (blue shirt) prepares to open Science Day.

Getting My African On

 One thing I am painfully aware of in Tanzania, and particularly at the school where I work, is how bland and boring my Canadian clothes look over here.  Tanzanian women walk by me wearing colourful, vibrant, perfectly tailored outfits that hug their sumptuous curves.  I, on the other hand, am wearing a faded baggy t-shirt and a skirt I bought at Value Village.  About a month ago, I decided- this is enough!  It's time to get my African on.

The process starts with choosing the fabric.  I met my friend Linda in the market early one Saturday morning, and we went through a few shops... they were about as big as my bathroom back home, but stacked to the roof with colourful wax-print patterns.  What a fun exercise, taking a big piece of fabric and picturing what it might look like on me in different shapes and fashions.  I finally chose one, and handed over about $6 Canadian for enough fabric to make a whole outfit.

Then to the tailor.  She just sits out in the market with her pedal-pump sewing machine, watching the buses and people go by, making clothes for people. She has an iron with hot coals in it.... like the ones I have seen at Heritage Park.

She takes my measurements and then I show her pictures I've drawn of what I want.  Linda translates for me, as I don't want to risk getting it wrong with my mangled Swahili.  Then she cuts a little corner of my fabric off, tapes it in her notebook next to my measurements and a little sketch of what I want.

Getting measured

My friend Linda the librarian (left) and handy translator!

4 days later, I head back to the market and there it is!  My new outfit.  She leads me through the labyrinth, into a dark corridor where I change and she holds up a mirror to show me.  It is perfectly sewn to match every curve of my body.  So cool!  We complete the transaction with me paying her about $10 Canadian for her work.  You can't even get value like that at Value Village.

I am a happy customer.... so a week later I head back into the market to have two more made.  African ladies, look out... here I come!  I now am able to walk into work with dignity (3 days a week), hearing whistles and "umependeza!" (I like it!) from my coworkers. 

Here are the finished products.....

Climbing the Big Mama

I have never lived beside a mountain, and for the past 6 months it has been a joy for me to look up at Mount Meru every day.  I have started to understand how Canada's aboriginal people looked up at mountains and thought of them as gods.  There's something about this towering presence beside me that takes on a personality after awhile.  I love to greet her on my morning walk, lit up shades of pink and purple by the sunrise on her peak.

 

She seems to reflect my mood a lot of days... some days she is huge and clear against a bright blue sky, every contour and fold defined.  Some days she is dark and mysterious, enshrouded by clouds and mist with her summit hidden from view.  Looking up and knowing she is there does something inexplicable to me.  Needless to say, I've developed a somewhat spiritual connection to this mountain.  So I had been anxiously awaiting February's half-term vacation, when we would finally reach her top and look down.  I didn't realize what a mental and physical challenge she would present to Brent and I.

Day One

We were picked up by our guide, Bruno, and after a short drive to the Arusha National Park gate, we drove through the park to the second (Momella) gate, where we would start our hike.



At the gate, they assign you a park ranger who walks with you each day (other than the summit night) who carries a big rifle in case you run into any buffalo.  So we walked a 4 hour hike,  across a hot plain area, then heading up 1000m into lush forest to our first hut at 2500m asl.  A highlight was stopping for lunch at the Fig Tree Arch- two parasitic trees that intertwined themselves around other trees (eventually killing the original trees) and then grew together at the top, creating an arch big enough to drive a car through.



Another was walking through the crater of Mount Meru and looking up at the huge ash cone jutting up through the centre.  Despite being a volcanic crater, it was lush and beautiful.


When we got to Miriakamba hut, we were able to sit out on the balcony and stretch our legs with a gorgeous view of Mount Kilimanjaro in the sunset.
 

 Also a spectacular view of the ash cone and the ridge which we would soon  climb to get to the summit.

 

 Our room was a cute little cabin which felt like summer camp in all its bunk bed glory.  We collapsed into bed after supper and slept very well.

Day Two

We set off around 7:30 am, after a hearty breakfast of coffee/tea, porridge, eggs, pancakes, sausages, fresh mangoes and toast (might I add the food was amazing on this trip- especially considering it all had to be carried up by two guys with giant bags resting on their necks as they RAN up the mountain).  We headed up through more beautiful, lush forest.  The trees looked almost other-worldly as they were draped with hanging moss over all of their branches.  Colobus monkeys howled and chatted in the trees above us.


As we climbed, the view behind us of the Momella Lakes, plains of Arusha National Park and Kilimanjaro just got better and better.  Not only was the view breathtaking, but so were the hundreds of stairs we were climbing as the air started to get thinner.

Kili in the distance.

 In the last half of the trip up to the next hut, the landscape really started to change- from lush forest to a more dry, alpine-desert kind of feel.  The shrubs around us were shorter, heartier and more spiky.  Finally we reached the Saddle Hut at 3500m asl around 1 pm.  We could feel its height... the chill in the air, the heaviness in our chests, our quickened heartbeat and breathing rate.  After lunch, Brent rested while Hussain, the young assistant guide, took me up to the peak of Little Meru.  The view was great as we hiked up, him chattering away merrily about his life and family, and fears that he will not get married.  By the time we reached the top, however, the peak had been totally socked in by clouds.  We had a few shivering snacks, took photos in the mist, and headed down for dinner.

Looking down on our hut from Little Meru.

 
Day 3

Here's where the most physically challenging day of our lives starts... you might find yourself questioning why someone would pay a lot of money to put himself through  this.  I know we did.  After dinner, we tucked ourselves into bed around 7:30 pm for 5 hours of almost non-existent sleep.  Between the cold, the difficulty breathing, and the knowledge that we had to wake up at midnight to climb a mountain, we both were able to sleep intermittently for about 45 minutes at a time.  Brent had taken a diamox (medicine to prevent altitude sickness, which is also a diuretic), which had him running to the outhouse every hour or so.  Finally, at 12:30 we dressed ourselves, layering with almost every piece of warm clothing we had, and headed into the dark dining hall to have a bowl of porridge before our trek.

Brent bears a striking resemblance to his nephew here, n'est pas?

As we set out at about 1:45, the night was quite beautiful.  There was a full moon lighting up the ground in front of us and all of our surroundings, allowing us to walk without headlamps and look around at the beautiful black-and-white photograph around us.  We got to some spots where we had to scramble along, holding on to the rock with our hands to prevent slipping down a slick rock face.  I was quite enjoying the trek until we got to the long, windy ridge.  Picture a metre-wide path of scree in front of you with pretty steep drops on either side of it, and an icy wind pushing you from the side. Every once in awhile I peered tentatively down over the side to see a spectacular cliff down into the crater, with the ash cone lit up in the moonlight.  It was amazing and terrifying at the same time.  However, the cold wind made it unpleasant- although Bruno swears it was not windy at all, compared to other times he has climbed Meru.

After the windy ridge came many, many, many false summits.  It got rather disheartening after awhile, thinking that you can see the summit, then coming around the corner and seeing another one even taller.  The sun began to rise over the clouds below us and light up the rock faces pink, which at least provided some beauty to our exhausting trek.  At around 8 am, we started climbing the real summit.  We could see the flag at the top and the last 30 minutes up to it seemed like hours.  And, finally, we were there.  We opened up some celebratory chocolate bars our friend had given us, and had a little chocolate party with the guides.  Interestingly, the wind had totally died down and we were able to bask in the sunlight at 4565m asl, enjoying the beautiful view from the top.

Boy do we look happy... we have cleverly masked the screaming pain felt in our legs.

There's not too much more to say about the trek, other than the fact that Day 3 was hardly over... there was still an excruciating 3- hours back down to our hut, and after a quick rest, another 3 hours down to the first hut.  Words can't really describe the exhaustion we were feeling, not to mention the pain in our leg muscles, knees, and tips of our toes.



Here are some of the amazing views into the crater we were able to see on the way back down...
 

 




 
 
Day 4

Our team, departing on the final morning. From top left: Emmanuel the porter, Gena the porter/waiter, Ali the cook, Hussein the assistant guide, Bruno the guide, Brent, Gabby

After another fantastic breakfast, we headed for a painful walk down to the park gate- but one of the most lovely walks, with alpine meadows, a huge waterfall, and a field full of  cape buffalo and warthogs.  Sitting and drinking a soda with our team at the bottom, looking up at the mountain, we were filled with a lot of awe and pride at having done it- particularly Brent, as this is the first mountain of this nature he has ever climbed.  Although Meru is 1000m lower than Kilimanjaro, many (including me) consider it to be quite a bit more difficult of a climb.  I don't think he would do it again in any near future, but Brent is very proud of his accomplishments.

Our trek was over, but we were left with lots of fond memories, and in case we forgot it too soon, we would be reminded of our adventure by the fact that we could not walk properly for four days.

We'd like to put in a little plug for our guide here.  He's a wonderful human being and a very skilled mountaineering guide.  If you are coming to Tanz and would like to do any trekking or safaris, consider him.  www.brunosadventures.com