Tanzania: The Story Behind a SASA Photo Contest Award Winner

Lauren Underwood's winning photo submission for the SASA photo contest

And here's her story.....
I have been struggling to write this for a long time. It has been five months since I  arrived home from Tanzania and it is still difficult to describe how incredibly awesome my experience was. I do not use the word awesome lightly, either. My entire two weeks there, I was literally filled with awe.

 We started our adventure by hiking up a portion of Mount Kilimanjaro and even though the trek up was much more difficult than I could imagine, the sites and experiences were unforgettable. We spent the night on the mountain and I woke up just in time to see the sunrise. That moment was when I realized that I was actually in Tanzania. In Africa. Not home. Totally out of my element. It was freeing. I could let go and truly be myself and enjoy every second from that moment on. 

We descended the mountain the next day and as we were loading the bus, we experienced our first major encounter with the locals. A group of men bombarded us as we were trying to leave and tried to sell us their “homemade” items. A lot of us had never experienced this before and were overwhelmed. However, others took it as an opportunity to barter and buy souvenirs for their friends and family. We would experience this multiple times during our trip and each encounter became less and less overwhelming. The majority of us actually had fun bartering with them and tried to continue bartering when we came home. That did not work out so well at stores like Walmart and Target. 

We visited a few of the larger cities including Dar Es Salaam and Arusha and even in the cities poverty is extremely real and public. However, in my opinion, the most heartbreaking areas were those on the outskirts of cities and in the middle of nowhere. Stores and homes were crumbling and the people living there were extremely impoverished. However, it was even more amazing how content most of these people were with their lives. It was a humbling and inspiring experience. It made me want to return later on and help in any way I could. It also put me in my place.

We actually stopped in a fishing village where we learned about their reliance on the land and lakes and their social hierarchy. This village, in particular, struggled with alcoholism and HIV/AIDS. Many men in Tanzania do not work much due to their cultural beliefs. Women do a lot of the work and are the primary caregivers. Men socialize most of the day and take it easy for the most part. We learned that in this village, most of the men struggled with alcohol which made it even more difficult for the rest of the family because their already minute income became that much smaller after he bought his alcohol for the day. Also, many women and men in this village suffered from HIV/AIDS. Many women were shunned for this but the leaders of this village are trying something new and groundbreaking. They have started a new system where they give certain women a stipend and the women start their own (very) small businesses. A portion of the money from this business goes to the leaders until their debt is paid off. After they pay off their debt, they are able to start making an income which allows them to buy medicine and medical treatment for themselves and their family.

             

The children in this village were so fun and so happy to see white people or as they call us, wazungu. They have learned that when white people are there, they will receive some sort of candy or other food items. They followed us around and held our hands. They also laughed at our attempts to speak Swahili. Besides the treats that we brought for them, we also handed out our hair ties and bracelets. The little girls loved it.

We spent four days traveling through the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti. We saw so many animals including lions, elephants, giraffes, baboons, hippos, and many more. It was fascinating watching these animals in their natural habitat. We actually were able to observe and lion and lioness on their “honeymoon”. This refers to the time period after a lion takes a new mate. During this time, the lion and lioness do not eat,  they drink rarely, but have sex on a regular basis to ensure that they will have an offspring. Usually this is done in private, but the pair that we came across was located on the side of a trail where they were very much so in the open. 

We also stopped and visited Olduvai Gorge where many important geological remains and artifacts have been found. We actually visited the sites where specific fossils had been found and came across a Maasai man who was very interested in me for some reason. He stood right behind me and seemed to be examining me from head to toe. It was nice to know that he was just as curious about me as I was about him.

On the latter part of our trip, we traveled to Gombe where Jane Goodall did her chimp research. This was so fun! We did our laundry in the lake and swam in the clearest water I have ever seen. Then we tracked chimps for a day and a half. This consisted of us trekking some pretty rough terrain. At some points, we had to slide down hills on our bottoms because there was no other way to get down the hills. We loved it!

We left their and headed towards Zanzibar. However, at the last minute, we decided to go to the goat races. This was just a small fair where they raced local goats and sold local items to benefit charities. A few of us even had our faces and arms painted. This was a great time to just let loose. 

Our last stop was Zanzibar. Zanzibar is the small island parallel to the mainland. Here, we stayed at a beautiful resort on the coast of the Indian Ocean and went snorkeling off of a private island. We were observing coral reefs when all of a sudden, a family of dolphins arrived. We were able to swim with wild dolphins! As a swimmer, that was, by far, my favorite part of the trip.

This was definitely the trip of a lifetime which has provided me with memories that I will never forget. I look back at my photos and journal every now and then and think to myself, “Did this really happen?” I have met such amazing people through this trip and have made lifelong friendships.

Not only has this study abroad opportunity provided me with lifelong memories and friends, it has also solidified my career path. Before I left, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my Psychology degree. Now that I am home, I know that I want to work in Trauma Psychology. I want to help those who are crippled by poverty and other psychological problems that come with that territory. I also know that there is so much work to be done throughout the world and I cannot wait to get out there and do it. I am so grateful for this experience and I encourage anyone to take this opportunity while you can.