vrijdag 4 mei 2012

Tanzania

Hello again!
I hope everyone had a great week! Today we are getting ready to pack for our trip to Madagascar which we will be visiting soon. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. In the meantime, here are a few things that brightened my world from this past week in Tanzania…
The first thing we did when we arrived in Tanzania was check in to our hotel and get some sleep! We were so tired! And we knew that the day after would be an exciting day, because we had a safari planned! J
 I was pretty stoked when we spotted all of the lions... But I also made a few new friends… including a baby elephant. I think I’m in love! J See the pictures below! 

                          
After our safari we went to the northern part of Tanzania, to take a look how the Maasai warriors live.
It is a semi-nomadic group of people called the Maasai. As an ethnic group, the Maasai are made up of different sections such as the Isiria, Ilarusa, Kore, Isikirari and Parakuyu. The majority of the Maasai people live in Kenya.

In a 2007 census, the population of the Maasai was said to be at approximately 646,000 in Tanzania. The 2009 census places the population of the Maasai at 840,000. Although there have been invitations and even programs encouraging the Maasai people to give up their semi-nomadic way of life, some members of the tribe continue to live that way.
Maasai People - Masai - Warriors - Ngorongoro, Tanzania, Africa

They are a proud ethnic group with distinct customs and traditions. They speak the Maasai or Maa language, which is also spoken by other tribes in East Africa. Some members of the Maasai tribe also speak Swahili and English. Getting to know more about the Maasai customs, traditions and way of life is important because, just like the other cultures sharing this place called Earth, the Maasai are part of the rich history of this planet.

ð  Kufurahia (that means "enjoy" in Swahili) J

It really has opened my eyes that you can live happily in a really non-materialistic way! I think I will carry all this experiences with me my whole life and have a different look on certain things when I’m back in Belgium!
All in all we had a really great week in Tanzania! I’ve always wanted to come to Africa and so far this trip is completely blowing my mind. Everything is so beautiful and everyone is so kind.
Big kiss Aurélie <3