May 25th

We left Ngorongoro Crater today. We first stopped at a Masai village to learn a little more about their culture. They are very interesting people and live a life very different from our own. They live in huts they make out of sticks and mud. Their lives are centered around their cattle. They are semi nomadic and roam all around the land. The men can take mulitple wives and this family unit makes up one of the little villages. We saw their traditional dancing and we saw them bleed a cow. They drink cow milk for extra protein and nutrients. We also saw them make fire by rubbing sticks together. Some of them spoke English very well, and some do not. One of the men I talked to was doing his grad school work in conservation ecology. It was very cool to learn about their culture.

After visiting the Masai village we had a long drive back to Arusha. We stopped at the Cultural Heritage Center which was a big place selling a lot of souvenirs. They also sold Tanzanite there and some from our group decided to purchase the rare gem. Our next stop was the Tanzanite museum. We learned more about the history and properties of Tanzanite. Then we made our way back to the African Tulip. The African Tulip is in fact a tree and not the tulip we see in Holland.

Dinner consisted of rice and chicken in coconut sauce, along with potatoes and soy beans and vegetable curry. It was very rich and filling. Those of us who planned on losing weight in Africa are finding the opposite to be true.

Tomorrow we fly out to Dar es Salaam in a little plane out of Arusha. We are going there to work at an orphanage and do some other activites. We will be staying a Catholic dormitory, which is safe and clean but very plain, especially compared to the places we have been staying. I don't think there will be internet there, so if I do not post for the next 3 days then that is the reason why. Please pray for safe traveling tomorrow and also pray for the orphanage we are about to visit.
Gonga!