Submitted by Amanda Paul on the 2018 winter session program in Tanzania sponsored by the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology…
After missing our connecting flight and gaining an unexpected adventure in Amsterdam, we finally touched down in Tanzania!! Feeling unbelievably excited, we headed off to our first stop – the Lark Plains. I was able to identify 37 species of birds and at lunch time we got our first opportunity to speak to some Massai girls. When we asked one of them what their hobbies were, one who looked about 14 seemed confused and told us that she’s married and has a child. It was eye opening to hear about the lives of these women that are so different from our own.
The next day, we traveled to Arusha National Park and our focus was the primate group, specifically Olive Baboons, Guereza Black and White Colobus, Mitis (Blue) Monkey and Vervet Monkeys. They were so curious that they came right to the edge of the road. It was so incredible. The next morning, we cruised out to watch the sunrise from a safari car in Tarangire National Park. At one point, a pack of Black Backed Jackals surrounded our car, and then we saw baby baboons, lions, zebra, giraffe and an amazing herd of elephants traveling closer than they’ve ever been!
Near the end of our first week, we traveled to the Nou Highland Forest and were introduced to the Iraqw people. We were able to sit with a family and learn from them. We asked them about their lives and in return they asked us a lot about America. We learned that basically every aspect of daily life is taken care of by women – farming, earning money, taking care of children, building houses, taking care of the animals, etc. The people here are struggling with overpopulation, but the reason people have so many children is because they need help caring for the animals and land.
Before departing on this study abroad program, I was really focused on the animals, but I’m beginning to think the experiences I have with the people here are what I’m going to take home with me. This week, I spent a lot of time with Mama Maggie, one of the guides taking care of our group, and she taught me more in one week than I could’ve imagined. As we were driving out of Tarangire, she drew our attention to the run down communities and children begging for food on the road outside the National Park Border. We learned that the entire park used to be Maasai land, and the people allowed the government to convert it into a park as long as a percentage of the park proceeds went back to the communities which due to corruption in the government never happened. Unfortunately, when people come from all over the world, they only focus on the parks and animals and ignore the people. Mama Maggie also explained some of the other issues people in her country are facing, such as female circumcision, the scarcity of food, domestic violence and overpopulation.
