Karatu (Day 7: May 24)
We woke up very late this morning compared to other days. Waking up after 8 was not something we were accustomed to, but it was very nice to get that little extra rest after all the sleep debt we had. The breakfast was very delicious: eggs, waffles, the local pancakes, and fruit. We proceeded with our daily AMP, led by the leaders. This is a very important step to get ready for the day and prepare mentally and physically. After that, we got ready to get on the bus—which we call the Twinkie—which we didn’t need to ride because the market was so close to our hotel that we just walked 5 minutes down a hill to get there.
When we first got to the market, we saw a whole bunch of food that didn’t smell so good, like dried sardines and fish, but there were also some nice fruits. We noticed this small group of old men playing a strange board game, so we approached with curiosity. It looked like a strange variation of checkers, and we observed carefully. We realized it was actually just checkers, and Alberto and George proceeded to take the hot seat after they were invited by the leader and coach of the band of players. The match was intense and hard-fought, and Alberto ended up narrowly coming out on top with some coach’s help, which was really cool in itself—not just because of the victory, but by seeing all the Tanzanian and American crowds enjoy the game we all knew well. It seemed like a blend of cultures with a simple game of checkers.
After, we strolled through the narrow alleyways of the market until we stumbled across a vast yet tight section of soccer jerseys. You could smell the dampness and sweat in the air, the fish and the spices, the yells of the vendors. All the boys approached to find the best jersey to buy. There are two teams to buy from, the two main rivals: Simba and Young Africa. After finding multiple good-looking jerseys, the boys ended up buying around two jerseys each, one from each team, and there were many variations. The boys bargained well and got around half off on all of them. This selective process of choosing the jerseys was very important to the boys, so it took them a long time to get the right ones—which held the group back for a bit. Everyone loved it, and there were no complaints about the amount of time it took to buy the soccer jerseys by anyone, especially not the girls.
After that, we took a little trip to the store that sold ice cream and small snacks for very cheap. Then, we went to the postcard-selling store as some of the girls got traditional braids, and it was their first time. The postcards were sent today, so be on the lookout for those. The boys were especially grateful for this little kid who was on his bike with jerseys, taking trips back and forth from his store far away in order to provide us with the best jersey options possible before we left the area. In the end, he ended up getting us a lot of the jerseys we ended up getting. Thanks to his hustle, we were able to buy some of the jerseys.
We then returned to the hotel, and we wanted to refresh ourselves by hopping in the cold pool for around thirty minutes, and we enjoyed ourselves. After we all got showered, we came back, and George, with the help of Alberto, fooled everyone into thinking that George had very good mind-reading skills. It was a simple trick that had to do with there being nine rocks. George would leave, the people pointed to a rock, and when George returned, he would know which one was picked. It worked with Alberto standing around the group of observers and signaling which of the nine rocks the spectators had pointed to when George left the room. Alberto did this with a cup on a napkin.
Then we had dinner—which was very good. After that, we did our daily ANCHOR, in which we unpacked what we learned and saw. We gave the schedule for the next day and went to bed.
When we first got to the market, we saw a whole bunch of food that didn’t smell so good, like dried sardines and fish, but there were also some nice fruits. We noticed this small group of old men playing a strange board game, so we approached with curiosity. It looked like a strange variation of checkers, and we observed carefully. We realized it was actually just checkers, and Alberto and George proceeded to take the hot seat after they were invited by the leader and coach of the band of players. The match was intense and hard-fought, and Alberto ended up narrowly coming out on top with some coach’s help, which was really cool in itself—not just because of the victory, but by seeing all the Tanzanian and American crowds enjoy the game we all knew well. It seemed like a blend of cultures with a simple game of checkers.
After, we strolled through the narrow alleyways of the market until we stumbled across a vast yet tight section of soccer jerseys. You could smell the dampness and sweat in the air, the fish and the spices, the yells of the vendors. All the boys approached to find the best jersey to buy. There are two teams to buy from, the two main rivals: Simba and Young Africa. After finding multiple good-looking jerseys, the boys ended up buying around two jerseys each, one from each team, and there were many variations. The boys bargained well and got around half off on all of them. This selective process of choosing the jerseys was very important to the boys, so it took them a long time to get the right ones—which held the group back for a bit. Everyone loved it, and there were no complaints about the amount of time it took to buy the soccer jerseys by anyone, especially not the girls.
After that, we took a little trip to the store that sold ice cream and small snacks for very cheap. Then, we went to the postcard-selling store as some of the girls got traditional braids, and it was their first time. The postcards were sent today, so be on the lookout for those. The boys were especially grateful for this little kid who was on his bike with jerseys, taking trips back and forth from his store far away in order to provide us with the best jersey options possible before we left the area. In the end, he ended up getting us a lot of the jerseys we ended up getting. Thanks to his hustle, we were able to buy some of the jerseys.
We then returned to the hotel, and we wanted to refresh ourselves by hopping in the cold pool for around thirty minutes, and we enjoyed ourselves. After we all got showered, we came back, and George, with the help of Alberto, fooled everyone into thinking that George had very good mind-reading skills. It was a simple trick that had to do with there being nine rocks. George would leave, the people pointed to a rock, and when George returned, he would know which one was picked. It worked with Alberto standing around the group of observers and signaling which of the nine rocks the spectators had pointed to when George left the room. Alberto did this with a cup on a napkin.
Then we had dinner—which was very good. After that, we did our daily ANCHOR, in which we unpacked what we learned and saw. We gave the schedule for the next day and went to bed.
-George & Alberto
