My Hiatus is Finally Over

Over the last month and a half many things have changed in my life.  I needed some time to adjust and get on track for the upcoming months.

Unfortunately, due to the financial status of the country, I will be unable to make my Tanzania trip in January.  It’s just too hard for people to help at this point, and the cancellation has also relieved a huge financial burden from me.  This in no way means that it will not happen in the future. In the meantime, I will definitely continue my service work here.

I really appreciate all the love and support that you have given me and look forward to sharing my future adventures with you.  And trust me, I have some great ones in the works!

My Tanzania Destination: Rau Village!

I finally found out where I’ll be stationed during my service trip to Tanzania!

Rau is a low-income village with a population of nearly 12,000 that has a beautiful view of Mount Kilimanjaro. There is a large market nearby, where once a week vendor come to sell everything from second-hand clothing to local crafts.  People come from all over the region to do their shopping.

Rau is near Moshi, which during the colonial times, was once one of the economy giants of Tanzania.  On the outskirts you can enjoy waterfalls streaming from the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, coffee plantations, and houses from the local tribe of Chagga.

Just a reminder that I still need sponsors.  Please click here to contribute!

UPDATE: I was unable to secure funding due to the state of the economy. Thanks for your support and stay tuned for more adventures!

The Black Rhinoceros

In preparation for my Tanzania adventure, I have been researching the history and culture of the region. One of my greatest curiosities in this continent is the the amount of incredible animals of which, in the United States, we are unfortunately only able to observe in captivity. I wanted to start with some of the more popular species in the African culture. I previously posted on the lion, and next on Africa’s Big 5 list is the Black Rhino.

One of the most notable traits of the Black Rhino are the two (occasionally three) keratin horns and the front of its skull. The largest known horn ever recorded was five feet long. That’s as tall as I am! They also have horrible eyesight, leaving them to rely on their sense of smell and hearing. In fact, they have large ears that rotate like satellite dishes to detect any possible threats.

Black Rhinos have a reputation for being EXTREMELY aggressive. Yet they only attack out of fear, panic and confusion. With their poor eyesight and highly excitable nature, they have been observed to charge tree trunks and termite mounds. Oddly enough, they aren’t aggressive toward others in their species and rely more on bluffing their threats when the occasion arises.

There was a time when the Black Rhino was the most numerous of all the rhino species, numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Sadly, they have been nearly pushed to extinction due to poaching and loss of habitat. The horns of the poached animals are used in traditional Chinese medicine, and are said to have the ability to revive comatose patients and cure fevers. These effects have not been confirmed by medical science.

There are now about 3,600 Black Rhinos existing in the world today.

The Roaring Lion

Since I want to learn about the different creatures that I would love to come across in Tanzania, I would like to try and focus on one a week and share a few interesting facts. I would like to start with the top of Africa’s Big 5 list: the lion.

The Swahili term for lion is “simba”. Lions are very sociable creatures and live in prides of five to ten animals. Most of the hunting is done by the females, although the first feed normally goes to the dominant males.

There are often battles to the death between males to determine the leader of a pride. Young males are often pushed out of their prides at around age three, and it is common for male cubs to be killed after a takeover. Yikes.

But don’t worry about the lions exerting themselves too much. They tend to spend up to 23 hours a day resting…

Searching for Sponsorship!

Hello Everyone!

I’m still looking for additional sponsorship for my Tanzania service project through Cross-Cultural Solutions.  The total price for the program is $2,885 (that’s excluding the plane ticket cost).  I would appreciate any help I can get!  Upon my return, I will send a photo album or a DVD of my video diaries at my sponsor’s requests.

I am very excited to share my adventure with you all and am dedicated to helping as many people as I can.  Please help me in my journey to foster cultural understanding and make a difference!

You can make a credit card payment online via Cross-Cultural’s Make a Payment site where you can look me up in the sponsor’s section, under the name Vanessa Griffin.  You’ll be pleased to know that all contributions are 100% tax deductible. If you have any questions please feel free to comment below and I’ll get right back to you.

Thank you in advance for your generosity!

UPDATE: I was unable to secure funding due to the state of the economy. Thanks for your support and stay tuned for more adventures!

Back on Track…Finally!

If I actually had people who read my blog…perhaps they might wonder where I’ve been? Between this last semester of school and moving to a house in Los Angeles, my life has been absolute madness. But now I am FINALLY back on track for my Tanzania adventure.

I changed the length of my trip. I shortened it in hopes that I can perhaps go on another service project later in the year. So I will basically be in Kilimanjaro for January 2009. Yesterday, I bought my plane ticket! So excited, it’s finally beginning to feel real…

UPDATE: I was unable to secure funding due to the state of the economy. Thanks for your support and stay tuned for more adventures!

Sponsor Spotlight

I wanted to give a special thanks to Moonfish Productions Ltd. for being my first sponsors! Their very kind donation is helping to jump-start funding toward my trip to Tanzania. Thanks again!

UPDATE: I was unable to secure funding due to the state of the economy. Thanks for your support and stay tuned for more adventures!

The Beginning of a Journey

So this is the beginning of a long journey. For the next year I will be preparing to travel to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, where I will be volunteering through Cross-Cultural Solutions. I am soooo excited! I have started to learn Swahili, as well as begin my search for sponsorship. I have several ongoing projects that will assist me in my preparation, as well as others that are just for personal enrichment. I will talk about those projects as they come up. Farewell!

UPDATE: I was unable to secure funding due to the state of the economy. Thanks for your support and stay tuned for more adventures!