Submitted by Cameron Vanderwolf on the 2020 winter session program in Tanzania sponsored by the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology…
My time in Tanzania is shaping up to become one of the biggest adventures of my life. In a country full of so many unique and beautiful cultures, it’s exciting to learn to understand the differences between them and my own, but to also recognize how much I can still share and relate to them. My first day here, we walked around the village of Olasiti and heard from villagers about how they came to live here. The Arusha-Maasai are a group of people that value nature and include it in their traditional religion and origin story. They hold the acacia tree to be a sacred symbol because it brought peace to the two warring tribes, the Arusha and the Maasai, and they merged into one people. As a wildlife major, nature and the natural environment are especially important to me, so it was such a special experience to bond with these people over a shared passion for the Earth. Even though there was a language barrier at some points, I was able to connect with the people I met through our interest in the bird calls being heard and the beautiful mountain scenery surrounding us. This is very comforting to think about, how there is more that connects us than divides, especially in as much unrest is happening throughout the world right now. Tanzania is such a beautiful and diverse country, and I’m excited to explore more of it. This week has been one of the most unexpected, but also most fulfilling weeks yet, and I can’t wait to see all of the things I learn and where they will take me.
