#42 In Memory of Tom

I woke up this morning to find emails of tragic news. One of my very close friends, Tom Lueders had passed away. There was an accident in a hotel room involving carbon monoxide poisoning. His father was with him and, after being taken to the hospital, survived. I felt frozen; how could this be?

When I started this trip my first destination was to Washington DC to visit Tom. I am so happy that I had a chance to spend time with him again before I left out of the country.

Tom and I met when he moved to Grosse Pointe from Boston my senior year and I found him in my science class. When we first hung out with a few of our other friends, he suggested we go putt-putt golfing. We convinced him that it must be a Boston thing and that we had never heard of it. After a couple of hours of trying to explain this game with colored golf balls and hitting the ball through clowns and such he realized that we had him going; from then on it was a mutual harrasing and a great friendship.

I went to visit Tom in Boston where we painted the town red. I went to visit Tom in Rome where we arrived back home at around 6am to throw all the cheese in his refrigerator out of his 6th story window at anything or anyone we felt deserved some cheese. He came to visit me in college and easily got along with and became friends with all of my other friends.

In the summers when we were back at home we spent time discussing life, going out on the boat with his dad, going into Canada or just hanging out, trying not to get into trouble.

Tom grabbed life by the balls. He didn't just sit around and wait for things to happen, if he wanted something he would go and get it. He always enjoyed himself because life is too short not to. If I ever checked my email and saw there was something from Tom or saw his name on my phone (Tommy Boy) when it rang, a huge smile would come over my face because there would be a great, entertaining story or just a voice with excitement in it.

I know that Tom lived life to its fullest and enjoyed it more than most people. I am happy to call him my friend and even luckier that he called me his.

When I would talk to Tom before a night of going out, I would tell him to stay out of trouble and he would tell me that if he got picked up by the police he would use his one phone call to call me. I never got a phone call, which was a good thing.

It is not length of life, but depth of life. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

#41 Walk like an egyptian...just don't get run over

I have put up all of the pictures from the trip through africa and Egypt. Sorry it took so long.

From Nairobi to Dubai (6 hours) From Dubai to Cairo (4 hours)= long night.

My plan for Cairo was to blend in which is why I grew a beard for a month.
I was surprised when I walked down the street and every 10 feet someone asked me if I needed a hotel room or wanted to know where a good souvenir shop was. How did they know? How could they see past my clever disguise? Was it the blue jeans and sneakers? The baseball hat or sweatshirt? The blue eyes or white skin under the beard and everywhere else on my body? The backpack I had on or was it just the fact that I can only speak two words of Arabic and I don't even pronounce those two right? Anyways, I blended in like a bull in a chicken coop or a cheap modern day building next to the pyramids (you'll hear more of this later).

When I arrived in Cairo I got in a cab and headed towards my hotel room that costed $8. After checking in and getting my bearings I headed to the Egyptian museum. People say you could spend days in there, maybe you could but I was out of there in less than 2 hours. Don't get me wrong, it is amazing; all of it. After you see a couple tombs, you've seen them all. Things weren't labeled very well either. That and I really am just not good with museusm, if you don't remember reference back to one of the first blogs in Washington DC in august.
I met a guy who owns a shop who I got talking to, his name is Mohammed if you can believe it. It is the most common name in the world. If you are in a Arab country and you want to make a guess, well it's a good guess to make. (Lots of people with the name steve in Africa, in Middle East not so many). Anyways, I spent a bit of time with this guy talking about egypt and the history. He bought me dinner, a free dinner is always good even if it cost less than a buck.

The following day I headed out on a day trip with a couple of friends I had made in the hotel. Gustavo from Argentina (no one in Egypt could pronounce his name so they called him Mustafa) and Kiran and Vibha who were a couple from India who I will meet up with again while I'm in India. Anyway we headed out on our day trip to the Pyramids, Sphinx, and the surrounding areas. I had imagined for the pyramids that I would walk a mile or so into the desert before coming across these wonders. I was wrong, they are right in the middle of the city, it between houses and restaurants, well with a big fence around it.

The monument was built by the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty around the year 2560 BC to serve as a tomb when he dies. The structure consists of approximately 2 million blocks of stone, each weighing more than two tons. It has been suggested that there are enough blocks in the three pyramids to build a 3 m (10 ft) high, 0.3 m (1 ft) thick wall around France.

So this place is impressive!!! I didn't realize that the whole thing is basically brick, I always thought of it as open inside. And people had these things built so they could be buried inside of them; just one person, it's a bit greedy. The only opening is this small room where the tomb is held and you can only get to it by walking through a very narrow tunnel with low ceilings. We took a camel ride around the pyramids to see all the angles and also to see the sphinx. It just amazes me that these were built so long ago and with nothing except a human work force. They guess that it took between 20-100 years to complete with anywhere up to 25,000 people working on it at one time. What I don't understand it that right next to the pyramid they put up a building maybe in the last 20 years. This building may have taken a month to put up. They don't even make it the same color or material as the pyramid so that it will blend in. It is hideous and embarrassing to see this crap of a building next to one of the biggest wonders of the world. Just outside the fences of the pyramids you can sit in a restaurant to watch the sun set over the pyramids. It is not a fancy restaurant like you would imagine, in fact it is a KFC/Pizza Hut. So for the price of fries we sat on the 3rd floor and watched the sunset.
When we made it back to the city center we stopped at a local restaurant for some local food (koosheri) and stuffed ourselves for under a couple of dollars.

The following day and my last day in Cairo I went to see Old Cairo and the different Mosques that were built years back (one was 450 years old and the other about 100). They were both absolutely beautiful and very calming to be inside. I then headed to the citadel which is where the king Mohammed Ali used to live after he had it built back in the 1800's. I went with a driver Farouk who drove us the day before to the pyramids. He was a good man who I learned a lot from about the local culture. He would always sing "come with me, I'll tell you we do" and announce that "life is delicious". He told me that he didn't believe me that I'm American because all Americans are very arrogant.
If you want to visit a clean city don't go to Cairo, the smog is amazingly bad. The two days I was out driving I saw two accidents, both involved only one car luckily. Both times the driver was going to fast and spun out of control and hit the median. The traffic lane lines mean nothing in Cairo, I think the drivers think that it is just decoration. On a highway there may be four lanes with 6 cars driving along in them. If you earn your drivers licence in Cairo you can drive anywhere in the world, however you might piss a lot of people off in other parts of the world.
My last night I went on a boat cruise up the Nile river (the longest river in the world) with Kiran and Vibha whose company I enjoyed very much. That night I said my fairwells and got a few hours of sleep before heading to the airport where my plane would be delayed 4 times and I would spend the next 12 hours of my life.


Anyway, I am a faker and I don't care, and I proved it today by being photographed on a camel in front of the Pyramids, and if that wasn't impertinence I do not know its name.
Richard H. Davis

#40 Possible help with the Maasai and those less fortunate.

As you know I spent quite a bit of time in Kenya with families and the Maasai people.
The one woman I stayed with in Nairobi who I called mom works with orphans to help them get an education along with trying to donate to local villages that can't easily get things. Auntie who I stayed with also helps orphans to be educated.
In the maasai tradition like I said previously the girls anywhere from 12-17 will be married off and before marriage must get circumsized which can cause many health problems. Some girls from these villages have run off so this doesn't happen to them. Auntie gives them a place to stay and tries to get them into school to be educated to make decisions for themselves in life. To raise money for them many of the maasai women walk several hours each day to make bead work. Maasai beadwork is known around Africa as top quality work. When I get home I will bring some beadwork (bracelets, necklaces, etc..) if people want to see or possibly buy some.

I saw all the buildings and met many of these people and know that it is a very good cause. I also know that people everywhere in the world need some help.

If you have clothes that you are getting rid or maybe after the holidays if you clean out old stuff and would like to help these people that I stayed with they would be very appreciative as would I for some donations.

The address to send stuff (clothes, pencils, pens, old card games) to is:

Martha Betty Miyandazi
Box 00200 67196
Nairobi, Kenya

If you do send anything please include a piece of paper with your name and return address inside the box.

To tell you a little more about the maasai way of life I have to first tell you their main idea is to let life take care of itself; to live without hurting the land, air, fire or water. They are very good listeners, they will not consider anyone an enemy until they know them. Cow's are life, they are the main food supply and raising cattle is the most important job in the maasai world.
Men can marry multiple woman, usually determined by how many cattle they own.
They are very close, caring people who trust people.
For more information and to learn about my friend Miyere who walked from Nairobi to Cape Town (it took him over six months) go to www.maasaiwarrior.com

Thanks for your help


We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give. -- Winston Churchill

#39 My family and stay in Kenya, an experience you can't book through any tour

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After finishing the tour trip in Nairobi we spent the day at the police station and around because EGG got her passport stolen. She is home safe now so life goes on. If you are traveling in a big city that you aren't familiar safe be careful with your stuff, people are trained to steal. Oh yeah, the police station didn't have a fax machine to have a copy sent to and when we asked if the embassy was open they said they didn't know. When we asked if we could use a phone to call and find out they pointed us to the pay phone: thanks boys, keep up the good work.

I was picked up by family of my friend from South Africa, Miyere. After not long it was established that I call her mom and the girls with her my sisters. It turned out not just to be names they truly did treat me like family. We went back to the house and had dinner while we got to know each other. They gave me my own room while 4 of them shared another. I was then picked up after dinner by another sister who lived on the other side of town and shown around to different bars and clubs. The busy bars besides having all people with darker skin than I were the same as anywhere in the world; lots of people drinking, talking loud and listening to music or watching sports on tv, I want africa not a bar.

The next day I was taken to Auntie's where I met my aunt, uncle and cousin's. They run about 5 different groups there beside taking care of the farm and family. A youth group, a group to raise money to get water to people who live in the country and can't get fresh water, a group for awareness of the maasai people and a group to help runaway girls who leave home because they don't want to be circumcised and married off anywhere between 12 and 17 years old. A girls circumcision consists of having their clitoris cut off; I know it hurts just thinking about it. There is a lot of interesting stories and things happening in this part of the world. I also heard about the Koreans in Kenya who cook and eat cats. Not only that but they don't kill the cat before putting it in the oven. The family I was staying with is friends with a girl from Rwanda who saw her dad executed, her mom gang raped before she was beaten to death and she herself was buried alive only to be dug up and rushed to the hospital in time to save her life; you'll think twice again when you think you've got it bad huh?
I will get back later on the girls in the maasai life and what they are trying to do to help them get educated and to end the bad customs, it is bad because circumcision for girls is very dangerous and can lead to diseases and big problems.
On the other hand the night I arrived there was a celebration for the boys of the village who had been circumsized. It was ironic that while they lie in bed in pain we all eat a great meal and celebrate the night. When it was mixed company in the room talk was of travels, cultural differences and family. When the women left the room talk turned to how many different animals the different men have killed during their life and none could believe I've never slaughtered a goat before: oh forgive me. One guy had killed five lions, 2 elephants and a rhino; I had nothing to say but that I was beaten. After dinner everyone here uses toothpicks, they are quite skilled with them. In their custom when they get the food out of their teeth they just spit it out anywhere in the room (some people I know would fit it this culture with these habits).

The next morning I woke up early and milked my first cow. It was weird but quite enjoyable; is that wrong?. They said I wasn't bad for my first time, that doesn't mean in anyway that I was good at it. They couldn't believe I've never milked a cow. This day it was the independence day so we went to a neighboring village and watched singing, dancing, and skits which taught us about being smart about HIV. After we went to a restaurant and had a lunch paid by the government. I then went to learn how to make a pair of sandals from tires. I had a great teacher and after a couple of hours with a huge crowd watching the mazungu make the sandals I completed it. (After wearing them for a day I had cuts on parts of my feet where the tire dug in which later led to my food swelling, I need to fix them).

Bungee jumping, white water rafting, sky diving; these are nothing. Deworming cattle!!! This is what we did the following morning. It consists of grabbing these massive animals by the horns, ears, legs or tail; usually taking 4-5 people and holding long enough to put the seringe of medicine in the back of its mouth. It was very difficult even to watch which is what I did: someone had to take pictures.
I spent a fair part of this day herding the cattle which is probably the most important thing in the maasai life; cattle=life. I asked uncle if he had 30 cattle and had a choice of losing the cattle of his wife he replied "I can get another wife". After herding I met the people from the different groups in town before heading back to Nairobi to have dinner with mom and sisters.

The next morning mom and I headed out on a 12 hour journey to "Boma"=home, in another part of the country where Miyere and the family are from. We started off waiting on a bus for 2 and 1/2 hours before we left because they don't leave until the bus is full; and I mean full. I sat with a baby's head on my chest, a woman's arm restingon my knee and a baby's hand on my other leg while sitting in a seat that only had room for half of my back with luggage crammed all around me. These are the times that I wish I had stuck with the good old whitey tighties that hold me snug so I don't have to keep adjusting to get comfortable in my crammed space. They there is a moment of room and I remember why I switched to boxers and boxer-briefs, so that my boys down low can swing with the movement of the bus as it hits crater size potholes. I told you before I visited Ngorgoro crater which is the largest crater in the world; well I am convinced that the next 10 biggest are in the roads throughout Africa. When we reached the end of the road with the bus we had to switch to a Matatu (=dala dala). In this big van with 14 seats they fit 21 in so I was even more scrunched than on the bus. I was relieved when two people got off until they decided that since two got off we would put 4 more on making it a grand total of 23; holy shit!!!

After we survived the ride we arrived home to Kilgores with open arms and met my other aunt and cousins. Much of the time during the couple of days here was spent relaxing drinking tea (made from real tea leaves, real milk, real sugar, so it tasted different than any tea I've ever drank) and talking. During the talks the little kids would spend their time petting me. They would have their hands in my hair, on my arms, legs, hands and feet since many of them have never seen a white man before and if they have they haven't seen one as hairy as me. I really didn't mind at all, at least someone was paying attention to me right? When it was time to sleep I was taken to the room of the two boys that were close to my age and I spent most of my time with, Licky and Antoni. Their culture when they have guests is to never leave them alone because they think it is rude, but when I told them they didn't have to sleep in the bed with me and I'd be alright they left only to be yeld at by their mom. So they dragged a mattress into the room so I wouldn't be alone in the room.
I met lots of grandmas, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors and most of the community since we also went to a wedding. It was quite fun and I was the main attraction for the little kids, many who were scared of me and would cry just from seeing a white man.
A couple of the cattle were sick and had to be injected with medicine so I grabbed the ears and legs and wrestled it to the ground while they stuck it with the needle.

I ate sugar cane for the first time which was quite delicious. While they ate it with their teeth; everyone from gramps to the 2 yr old, they wanted to cut mine for me so it would be easier. This like many things I had to refused getting babied beyond belief; how soft do they think I am?

There was no electricity or plumbing.
I crapped for the first time in the bush. On my way to this mission I had envisioned how it would be. It's a lot more work than what I'm used to. Unlike my normal style where it's my time to relax maybe with my feet up, a book in hand, possibly even a short nap, this going in the bush is what I would imagine the CIA's work to be like. Get in quick, check around for danger (plants, wild animals, someone with a spear) take care of business and get out. I was however quite proud of myself when I finished, more than anything because I was worried about my body at this point (it had been almost a week before I pushed some brown out). When I went back they were all curious how it went and I told them I was happy the stump was there for me to hold onto. They wanted me to show them my stance which by the laughs I took to be the wrong one. I then learned how to squat the right way which made me want to try again.
They taught me maasai dances and songs which was good fun, it involves lots of jumping which I'm always up for. It was really great just to be immersed in their way of life and for them to accept me as one of the family. They really didn't want me to go and told me to tell my family at home that they love them too since now they are part of the family through me.
I got to know much more about their culture and how life is in that part of the world which I will explain in the next blog.

They LOVED the cameras, mainly for the reason that no one has one and they have never used it. It was a fight every time I took them out for who got to use it. When there was something to tape and I asked them to tape about 5 minutes to see a little of it I always had to go intervene after 15 or 20 minutes or else it would go until the tape ended. With the still camera after every shot, everyone wanted to see how it looked which would take much more time than the actual setup and picture taking.

We all had lots of laughs and good discussion and when I left after such a short time I really did feel like I've been there for a long time and have known these people for ever. The visit will always be with me and they will always be my Kenyan family.

(Kenyan) Mom and I headed back home the following morning on an express matatu and got the front seat so we had some leg room; it was a much better experience than on the way there. We were met at home by sisters who had big hugs for me. We looked at the pictures, listened to music and had dinner before my last night in Kenya.

I leave tonight to Cairo and then after a few days head to Kuwait.

It has been one hell of a journey so far and it amazes me to think it's only half over. Thanks to all of you who have been part of my journey and experience and making it what it is.


Live as if your were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. -- Gandhi

#38 Random stuff that I thought or forgot or don't know where it came from.

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The tour guide on the last truck I was on was named Belinda.
When it was Thanksgiving and we were excited she asked what it was that Jesus did on that day. She also had never heard of Fidel Castro. When we passed a block of buildings that was being demolished and someone asked why this was happening she said "oh that, they are demolishing the buildings but I have no idea why" This was our tour leader; one reason I was ready to be done.
A bigger reason: Dodo. This is the name a older german woman on our tour chose to have people call her. A bird that is extinct partly because it is an idiot bird. The name fits!!! First day on the bus she sat right in the front of the truck of 22 next to the speaker and then asked to turn the music down. When she wanted it further down she grabbed my ipod and turned it off; if you know me then you know that she was a close to death as she could have been. She also takes pictures of EVERYTHING. If the pictures I post aren't enough I can get hers but it may take you the same number of days I traveled to look at the pictures since she spent every moment taking pictures. I don't dislike many people, she is an exception.

In Africa guys hold hands. If it is your brother, father or real good friends and you are walking then it is acceptable to hold hands; and I mean fingers interlocked. They are not gay and can't believe that anyone in the world would see it strange. They are just comfortable and it is a way of life. It is nice!!! When I get home I'm holding hands. Mike and Adam if you were in Africa no one would question you.

People in Africa have nice hair cuts all the time, it doesn't get scraggly. Not that they feel the need to always look their best but why not, to go to a barber and get a haircut is less than a buck. If haircuts were cheap like that in the US I would get a haircut every week or two, wouldn't you? I don't even shave while I'm here, it is cheaper to go and have them shave my scruff than to use up the razor.

I've gotten 3 proffesional massages since in africa. It's like $10 for an hour and it's well worth it for the money I was saving sleeping in tents. These women have some strong hands, makes me want one now.

When I was driving in South Africa we were stopped by a police check point. (Africa has so many check points on the roads, sometimes used to harass drivers until they give them a bribe, sometimes for real reasons.) This particular time we were stopped and asked if we had pork in the car. We told them we didn't and they were satisfied. They didn't want to check and weren't worried if we had bombs or guns in the car; but pork, it's out of the question.

I read a great book: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer.
I like the kid that the book is about, the page where he is talking to a shrink is my favorite page, if you read it keep that in mind. It is written from the perspective of an 8 yr old who lost his dad in 9/11. If you want to tell me some great books that you've read I'd be happy to know about them.

MAZUNGU
This is what people in africa yell when they see me. In their language it means white person. Some places it is very rare to see a white person so they can't help themselves and it just comes out. It is not meant to be a bad thing. The only bad part is when they see a mazungu they charge you more for anything than they would charge a local; bastards!!! I spend a lot of time trying to make people that do this feel bad, I don't think it works very well.

People I meet on the street and talk to for minutes, sometimes seconds ask me for my address in the US in case they come to visit. Fine, I give it to them. Then they give me their address and tell me to write them a letter, of course they don't have email and when I mention it they get disgusted which makes me feel bad; maybe I should write them two letters now. We all know I will lose the paper that the man I have known for 40 seconds has just handed me.

I like catching someone on the streets eye and smiling, they can't help but to smile back. (I'm sure they are thinking: why is that mazungu smiling at me, I better smile so he will go away).

A smile costs nothing but gives much. It enriches those who receive, without making poorer those who give.
A smile takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that he can get along without it, and none is so poor but that he can be made rich by it.
A smile creates happiness in a home, fosters goodwill in a business and is the counter sign of friendship.
A smile brings rest to the weary, cheer to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and is natures best antidote for trouble.
Yet a smile cannot be bought, begged, borrowed or stolen, but for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away.
Some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as no one needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give.

#37 Are Lions or drivers more dangerous?

A dala dala isn't a food and it isn't an expression.
If you want cheap transportation you take a dala dala.
If you want to test your luck with life you take a dala dala.
They are these mini bus/big van type or auto that seat 8 or so people. They usually have anywhere from 7 to 15 people in them. It's not the amount of people that will make you clostrophobic or worried. It is when they bring in their luggage, goats, or anyother assortment of stuff other passengers may be carrying. They are about a 20th of the price of a taxi and it is what the locals do and so that is what I do to. Luckily I am here to report about it.

It is now mango season through much of africa. What does this mean? If at any point of the trip during any part of the day anyone and everyone is will to sell you a mango. You can't go 10 feet without passing someone with a pal of mangos. Pineapples are plentiful too.

I have a bit of a cold or flu or something which worries me not only because I'm in Africa but because I have a lot of crap to do and don't want to be sick for it. First step was to see if it was Malaria. After spending less to get a malaria test than I spent to write this blog I found out I was clear of that. Now I just chug water, get some sleep and push on.

Lion is the driver of our huge truck which we have spent way to much time in. While the majority of the group did a set up safari, myself and a few others chose to stay back and find our own means thinking it would be cheaper. Believe it or not it was a bit cheaper. We (Me, Alice and Egg) found a guide to take us to the Ngororo crater in Tanzania. This is the largest crater in the world. 17km by 21km. Because it is surrounded by mountains the animals there stay in the crater making it one of the most spectacular sites that I've ever seen. Driving through the crater we saw thousands of animals every way we turned. Tons of Zebra, Wildbeasts, Buffalo, a cheetah, a jackal, and a family of 11 lions which is where we ate our lunch; right in the car about 30 ft from the lions. The crater is also home to the Black Rhino which is an endangered animal and there are fewer than 100 left in the world. Each one that exists has a tracking device in its horn and is traced 24 hours a day. We were lucky enough to see 3 of them, one sighting was the mom and the baby. We also saw tons of baboons and some zebras mating (the expression hung like a horse goes for hung like a zebra as well). While nobody is allowed to get out of their vehicles in the crater I was able to get out for a couple of hours. Why you ask? Because our truck got stuck in the mud and we had to figure out ways to get it out. Luckily the lions weren't near or weren't hungry. After a bit of time and breaking 3 chains a bigger truck was able to pull us out and set us free. Lion our driver came with us on the safari which made it twice as much fun.

We head to Nairobi today and our tour ends tomorrow which is when I will be traveling alone again. My next stop will be in a maasai village to visit the family of Miyere who I met while in Cape Town and it turns out he is probably the most famous Maasai warrior today since when you go to maasaiwarrior.com it is all him and what he has set up. It should be an interesting experience. If you check out the website and have any questions you want me to find out while I'm there just let me know.

"I live the life I love, I love the life I live"
-Toots and the Maytals. in the song 'free man'

#36 Water, beaches, and locals.

HAPPY DECEMBER. I have been gone 4 months, has anyone noticed?

If you find yourself in Tanzania and are out on some local streets, but are worried because you don't speak the native tongue, Hakuna Matata=Don't worry. When you see people on the street, who ever speaks first just says "jambo" and the second person responds with "jambo". If by chance they say "mambo" you just reply "poor", and all is good in the hood. You can also use another saying that they also use in a few of the other African countries; that being "shop, shop". It has nothing to do with buying anything. If you say "shop, shop" it means-hello, how are you, I'm fine, ok thanks have a good day. (it could mean all of this or just part of it depending on how you feel and how they interpret how you say it, but either way it's a good thing to say.
If none of these things seem to suit you then you can say eminem or D12 or 50 cent and point to their shirt or hat since it seems that this was these rappers marketing plan: to outfit everyone on the continent of Africa with their apparel.
When I see someone with one of these on this is usually how the conversation goes: we'll say they have an eminem shirt on.
ME: oh, eminem Local: yes, eminem, I like very much.
ME: I'm from Detroit, the same city as eminem. Local: Yes, I like eminem.
ME: Detroit Local: deetwoit, what is deetwoit? ME: the city I'm from that eminem is from too. Local: Yes, eminem, from USA. You are from USA?
ME: Yes, I'm from USA, in Detroit. Local: I like USA...New York City.
ME: USA, New York City, no I'm not from there. I'm from Michigan.
Local: oh, Mexico. ME: shop, shop. Local: shop, shop.

If they can't understand me how in the world could they understand any lyrics from eminem or 50 cent? the answer: they don't.

In Malawi we stayed a few nights at some different camp sites right on the beaches of Lake Malawi which turned out to be great fun. We could swim at any point and then head nearby to the local villages to talk with locals and see the local villages (schools, hospital, how they grow and make their food, and I played some soccer) They invited us one night to a bonfire on the beach where we all played drums and danced and sang. (They taught me how to play the drums; they gave me a beat to play which if I play it alone when I get home you will think I'm going crazy.) I did some haggling for some handmade crafts. I really don't want most of the crafts but just find myself enjoying the battle of the price war that I end up with stuff. (this may mean that they won since I bought stuff, or we both won because we both leave thinking we got the best of the deal.)
The little kids love to get their pictures taken and think it is the funniest thing when they see it on the screen. I went through a battery just to entertain them with different poses for the pictures and then letting them look at it.

I made a bet with the driver and cook of our truck. They said I couldn't eat 12 eggs for breakfast. So with a big build up after a couple of days the eggs were made; I picked scrambled, with hot sauce. It filled up a full silver tray they had. Fork to mouth, fork to mouth, fork to mouth for about 10 minutes which at that point I held up the empty tray and collected my prize which was a bottle of Vodka. The funny thing was that when we made the bet, Lion-the driver wanted to bet a bottle of Gin which I agreed to. Then he bought the bottle of vodka and kept referring to it as whiskey. In conclusion: alcohol is all the same to them here, it doesn't matter what type it is.

Making our way into Tanzania we visited the countries largest city, Dar Salaam which is a pretty busy, happening place. This is where we boarded the ferry to Zanzibar, the island off of Tanzania. Our first night in Zanzibar Egg and I headed to meet Megadeath (Meredith from our old tour) who was staying in a five star hotel with a friend. Going from camping to a five star is like going from eating basic sandwiches to gourmet all you can eat with all kinds of meat, appetizers, desserts and a waitstaff to make sure you have everything you want. (I know because at the 5 star hotel we payed $25 and got to eat at this gourmet buffett along with unlimited drinks which I couldn't do because I was too full from the food.) The beach in front of the hotel was huge, we could walk for a mile or longer out without the water going over our waist, this with white sand to walk in. All of this in addition to Megadeath who is so excited and animated about everything which makes it hard to not smile and laugh the whole time you are around her (that or be astonished by what comes out of her mouth which also makes you laugh).

Zanzibar is known for all the spices that they grow here so we went on a spice tour and learned about all the different uses for a lot of them. For example: If a man eats ginger it gives him a lot of strong sexual power, it is like a natural viagra.
If a women eats nutmeg it will do the same thing. In the Western world women have to be careful about men dropping a date rape drug into their drink at a bar where here guys will slip some nutmeg into a girls drink to get them wired up.

Today I spent my day snorkeling near a smaller island off the coast of Zanzibar. It was breathtaking to see the colors of these fish, they didn't look real.
It made me think about when at some restaurants or places they have the contests where they give an outline of fish or something and the kids have to color in the fish and they will use the best one for their menu or something like that. Anyway, I remember thinking when kids would use strange colors that there would never be fish those colors. I was wrong!!! Every color combination you could think of has a fish that exists like that. I was in a trance floating there and watching these fish letting my mind try to soak it all up. I also saw a sting ray and lots of dolphins swam along near our boat as well.

Tomorrow we leave and head back to the mainland where we head north for our last week on this safari. The big group has done alright. I know now which I probably should have always known that I don't like people telling me what to do and when there are a lot of people and organized like this people try to do that and it doesn't go over to well with me.

There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.
- William Shakespeare