Blogging the Kili Bowl: Daily Log

Day 1
The world of international travel is not an awesome and amazing adventure. It is, quite frankly, a miserable experience. It is as if the world is training us through the most basic form of conditioning that we should stay put. But after driving in a bus for 7 hours, hauling 4 bags of approximately 50 lbs each, going through security 4 times, twice at Minnesota experiencing the onset of jet lag by sleeping in a store door frame until the shop startled me awake by opening for business. It started with a grain of salt. But upon our arrival in the country the aura shifted. Cameras appeared to capture the glow of the muggy night. Seeping sweat, we made our way down stairs and were greeted by a mass of friendly people. With a smile and a hug they greeted us, with a handmade lei of fresh cut roses; the scent of golden yellows, soft shades of pink, reds and whites hung on our weary necks. It was truly a sight to behold. The teams from Mexico and the US interacting with the Tanzanians. Observing the cultures of one another in turn. At the customs gate we experienced a tribal dance. Children, seemingly high school aged, bounced in traditional garb, shaking fans on their necks and wielding staffs. An emotional flurry of excitement and awe brought three cultures together in photos and film at the entrance to a very unfamiliar world that we will come to know over the next few weeks.

Day 2
Today I woke up, for the first time in my life, in a foreign country. When I walked into the courtyard, from my room, i was greeted by a patch of long stemmed red roses and a tree whose branches wound together in such a way that I was reminded of a spider web. Fresh rain dripped down from drooping leaves and the sun was invisible behind clouds; it is the most beautiful morning I have ever seen.

When the buses pulled away from the hotel lot we were lead by an army, literally, through the streets of Arusha. An armed caravan pulled us through a winding path of amazingly extravagant gardens and streets that were covered in mud, the people smiled and waved. We had the feeling of great celebrity, and it would not stop there. Our practice went as usual although it was in the shade of a mountain on a rugby club's wet field. But the importance of the day could not be matched until the children poured in, decked out in school uniforms and smiles they lined up and the youth day began.

My group, consisting of some of my teammates and our counterparts on the Mexican team, instructed the kids on some football stylings but primarily the focus was fun. A great idea of adding "bingo" screams to interception drills and "boom" to touch tackling made for laughs and enthusiasm i never imagined. The kids, though often confused compensated for inexperience with enthusiasm and remarkably I am in awe again of these amazing kids.

Our day ended with trips to assorted orphanages. I got to experience one of the more adequately run and financed orphanages of the area, of which there are many. The kids love as they attacked us with games and affection reflected a world that few people get to experience. I felt like I meant the world to these kids and they didn't even know my name. I will never forget the feelings I've had today. I have been reminded how blessed I am; i have been given something and felt like I gave all at once.

Day 4 – Game Day
In the morning: Today I am going to play an amazing game in front of thousands, in the view of millions, at the base of the mountains of Africa. I am going to see and feel the excitement of something historic, the birth of a sport in a country that has never seen anything like American football before.

After the game: Emotions were high when the game began. Though the people of Tanzania, in the stands, seemed confused, the cheering could still be heard reverberating off the stands, walls, broken buildings, and mountains that made up the background to an amazing event. I will never forget holding the trophy up, the Tanzanian people running onto the field with their footballs, and the chants of ‘USA’ that roared over our team’s chants of ‘Tanzania’.

The game itself was unlike anything I have ever been apart of. Though the crowd seemed confused at the pace and play of the game. The excitement, much like the camps, made up for it. The passion incited by both teams carried into the stands and made the environment special. When the kids rushed onto the fields with their new footballs they automatically began to play as they saw us. Some moved amongst the players to take pictures and keepsakes. This sport is becoming part of the lives of the children in Tanzania as it has been for each of the players who played in the game.

Days 5 & 6
A lot has happened in a few short days. Our team has made the move from Arusha to Moshi. A small group of us made the trek up one of the 27 Kilimanjaro foot hills to a preliminary school. As we arrived we were greeted by elders who played tribal drums made of long cylindrical trees with a tightly bound hide over the top of it and a hollow antelope horn. When we reached to top of the mountain where the school sat we danced and sang with them. When the excitement reached its end the sun was setting to the back of Mount Kilimanjaro, the tourist in each of us took the time to admire the setting sun and snap a few photos.

The headmaster called us together and introduced us each to the people that we would be staying with. I was last to be paired, but when my host's name was called he dropped his long drum into the unexpected lap of another player and lunged, throwing his arms around my shoulders. "My new best friend,” he said in a strongly accented voice. Laughs radiated through the circle of us. It was getting dark so we each branched off down the path through the forest. I followed the man to his home. I was so tired when we reached the small huts of brick and mortar that I promptly curled into my sleeping bag and went to sleep.

I awoke with the crow of the nearby chicken coups and met his family over fruits and the best coffee I have ever had. When I asked about it the wife told me it was grown on the mountain. After breakfast he led me back to the school and we began laying the foundation for a teacher's building by laying brick and filling cracks with mortar. All day we worked, until relief came in a group of football players climbing up the mountain. They helped us finish laying the foundation with the locals and we walked back down the mountain. Goodbyes were emotional as we gave gifts of food, clothes, candy and books. Whatever we could find to give away we did. All in all, this was my favorite part of the trip because I saw what it was like to live outside my comfort zone. It helped put into perspective just how lucky I am.

Day 7 – Safari
The early morning silence was broken by the chants of Muslim prayer through a loud speaker. I was unable to get back to sleep due to the excitement of the upcoming trip to the plains. Six o'clock couldn't get here fast enough. When the buses pulled away and the sun began to crack on the horizon I was already fixing my camera with its lens. Despite the pending four hour bus ride I was already gripping my camera and was ready to shoot. Photography has always been a hobby/fascination for me and the opportunity to photograph animals I have only ever seen in zoos and on TV was something I had always fantasized about but never thought it would happen so soon.

At the entrance to the park there were images from national geographic of the violence of Africa running through my head. These images, I would come to find, were not a reality. The first sight was a herd of zebra's grazing. Next, elephants in their large families, two silhouette images of the continent of Africa hanging and flapping off their heads. Two lioness tucked under a bush were barely visible until they came out to greet us before curling back under by their cubs pawing at the bushes.

A giraffe walked with our car as we drove down the road. A commotion drew us to a stop. Following fingers revealed the rare visage of a cheetah poking her head above the grass. It limped, obviously injured and malnourished to the road, only feet from the base of vehicle and meowed like a kitten. After a long time and many photos the cat realized we were not there to help or feed it and it limped back to the base of the tree as we drove away. 

Lunch was only a few hundred yards away. I ate slowly deliberating the fate of the cheetah. Meanwhile laughs could be heard from some of the guys resorting to swatting away the greedy hands of spider monkeys that cleverly distracted a few football players and stole a few sandwiches and brownies. 

After lunch we saw a collection of animals we had seen. A few we hadn't, antelope, some birds, and a large pod of baboons. We will eventually see the exit; a gift shop where I would be okay with overpaying for a wooden rhino, and home. And while I enjoyed the nature, it was not as I expected, it was not violent, hostile or dangerous; but instead: peaceful, familiar and fragile.