Just a note....

Just as a reminder, if you want to see larger pictures:

1) Click on the picture slide shows that appear in this blog, it will send you to the photobucket website.
2) Once you're there, in the upper right-hand corner you'll see a button that says "slideshow"
3) When you click it, it will start a slide show that's much larger.
4) Once the slide show starts, in the bottom right hand corner there's a button that says "full screen" - that, in my opinion, is the best way to view the pictures (: (And you can see the captions on each of the pictures, too!)

...... and back again.

Already my standards have changed...

Case in point:

I was getting breakfast at the YWCA today (my choice budget accommodation in Dar these days). Nothing fancy, just 2 'donuts' and a cup of tea. Said donuts are really just fried bread with a hole in the middle. They aren't really sweet, either, as they don't have any frosting or delicious filling. But hey, for Tanzania, it's not a bad attempt.

To this, you may be thinking, "Justin - you're in Tanzania. Why in the world are you choosing to eat DONUTS when you could be soaking up the culture and enjoying the fabulous local cuisine???" Great question. But there's really nothing else to choose from aside from Tanzania's version of a tortilla (which, while usually delicious, I had eaten for breakfast the last 3 days in a row). And I'd be careful about throwing around the word 'enjoying' when speaking of Tanzanian food; while there are the highly occasional surprises, the food is mostly bland and quite short on options.

At any rate, the kind lady assisting me opened the glass cabinet that housed the food, stabbed one of the fried goodies with a fork, and plopped it onto my plate. Little did I know that I was going to get a little extra protein with my carbs, because a roach -about 3/4 of an inch long- crawled out from his little hiding spot on the bottom my donut and scurried to the top. I guess he needed to get a better view as to what the hell was interrupting his morning snack, and he wiggled his antennas around wildly to make sure we understood his frustration. The lady, upon seeing this, picked up the donut (roach and all) and proceeded to put it back in the case where it had come from. All without a moments hesitation, mind you.

To her credit, she was nice enough to pick new donuts from the other side of the case this time. Maybe the roach hadn't made it over there yet. I don't know. But I do know that I ate them without another thought. Except to ponder if the 'fried crunchies' on the outside of the donut were actually roach eggs or something. (I mean, I seriously doubt it - but the mind does wander a bit at times...)

So with that, I am going home. I am bringing two pairs of clothes and some souvenirs, and am leaving the rest in Tanzania for my return in January. This is by far the least amount of stuff I've ever traveled with abroad - It's a REALLY cool feeling (: Though I have to admit it's not too hard a task since I've got a closet stocked full of my stuff waiting for me. It's like I have two homes now and I can travel to either one with hardly any planning needed. Which is wonderful, I really don't like planning...

To the bush....

Seventy Three days so far in Tanzania.

For the touristy stuff, the pictures will work nicely to show you what it's like.

For the 'real Tanzania', here are some observations:

1) Mexicans ain't got SH*T on Tanzanians when it comes to packing people into vehicles. Take all those stereotypes you might have and toss them. I was fortunate (?) enough to have been a part of a Guinness World Record (not really) when I was one of 16 adults and 3 children, with bags, packed into a Land Rover. It was literally one of the most uncomfortable rides of my entire life, and I can guarantee that Eric, at 6'5'', would agree.

2) The only cool part about living in a village in Africa, at least food-wise, is that you have to go through some fairly large towns to get there. That means you can stock up on fruits and veggies and other good stuff. But perishables only last you so long, and after you've gone through them, your choices are quite limited. Peace Corps volunteers joke around about having the option of having rice and beans or beans and rice, but I can tell you first-hand it's really not a joke. Seriously - rice and beans. Every meal. For weeks. Ugh.

3) Water is wonderful. But it isn't necessary for it to be clear for you to drink it. Sure, we did our best to purify and filter it..... at least 3 minutes boiling, followed by filtering it with either a "candle" (a porcelain cylinder with a ton of tiny micro-holes in it) or a piece of fabric. But no matter what, you just can't get that river water as pretty as Ozarka's 'natural' spring water. If it bugs you, my suggestion is to put it in a cup that you can't see through and avoid looking inside when you drink.

4) For all the bad stuff I've mentioned about food, I have to admit that when you DO have a variety of ingredients available to cook with (huge 'if' here), on average I eat better in the bush of Africa than I do in the suburbs of America. Why? Cooking is quite the process when you're so far out. You use charcoal or wood, and you have one small stove to make your entire meal on. So much effort is spent lighting the fire, preparing the food, washing the 3 pots that you used for last night's dinner, keeping the animals from stealing your meal, gauging the heat and and continually adjusting your pans.... that it only makes sense to go all out to prepare some delicious-a$$ food, since the same amount of effort will be spent on making crappy food. My three favorite, in no particular order, have been: 1) stuffed tomatoes, 2) vegetable cream soup, and 3) peanut butter brownies (I didn't cook them though, shout out to Peter for that one).

5) Don't expect to do anything there in a hurry. Time is one of the only things people have plenty of, so there's no sense in finishing things quickly since when you're done, there will probably be nothing else to do. As a result, efficiency is quite unimportant and I'm sure that if you tried to explain the concept to a Tanzanian it simply wouldn't compute.
One cool thing, however, is that if there's a line, you are often-times ushered to the front to be served first. It's like being white gives you some kind of unspoken VIP pass...

And that's about all for now. I'm sure there are a million other things, but I either can't think of them now or don't want to type it all out just yet (:

Petra: The Dead Sea and Madaba

After a couple of days in Petra, we headed to Madaba and the Dead Sea.

Madaba is a small town known for it's intricate mosaics that decorate it's many churches (see the pictures). The Dead Sea is the saltiest sea in the world, and as a result even rocks float (and if you don't believe it, check out how well I'm floating in the pictures...).

Jordan: Petra

After two weeks in Egypt, we crossed the Red Sea into Jordan. Our first stop was the Lost City of Petra. Petra is a city that wasn't discovered until the 1800's, as the only way to enter is through a narrow passage in some sandstone cliffs. Big temples and rooms were carved into the rock everywhere... quite a site to see.

Egypt: Luxor

Headed up north for a Felucca boat ride on the Nile, and of course saw some more temples!

Egypt: Red Sea Diving and Mt. Sinai Climbing

The diving was FANTASTIC, and the climb was really cool as well!!!

Egypt: Aswon

Headed south for more temples!