6/11: Arrival in Kigoma and Dinner with Jane

On Monday morning, we finally left for Kigoma. We were so excited to finally be on our way, Dar was beginning to feel a little like purgatory. We had to leave our hotel at 7am, which made us a little tired and wasn’t helped by the fact that my first (and I’m sure not last) bout of traveler’s diarrhea kept me up all night. Our flight was on one of those cute little planes I remember from the Caribbean, seating about 25 people and having propellers. Our landing was on a dirt runway, definitely a first for me and a little rough I must say!

Kigoma is a little more what I expected from Tanzania. The dirt roads, which the words bumpy and potholes cannot begin to describe, are a bit of an adventure in the 1980s Corollas that serve as cabs. It’s definitely a small, rural town: tons of kids running around, mud houses, a small market with a thatched roof, and goats and cows for neighbors at our hotel.

After relaxing at our hotel for a few hours, we had a meeting with Dr. Godfrey and Mr. Ganai about the project. As I anticipated, they already have it in their minds how things are going to go, and we’re just along for the ride. I’m totally fine with that, it just means you have to be on your toes and never really know what you’re supposed to be doing. We’re going to have the team training on Wednesday and Thursday, and begin data collection on Friday.

At the end of the meeting, Dr. Godfrey said that the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) is nearby, and she’s the one that worked with the chimps, and that she’s only in Kigoma one week out of the year and tonight is her last night. He then said that we were invited to go with him to the farewell dinner at our house. We were given five minutes to get ready (what do you wear to meet Jane Goodall?), and headed out to JGI. There was an intimate dinner party set up outside next to the lake, with about 30 or so people there. Dr. Jane (as they call her) ran up to Dr. Godfrey when he arrived and gave him a big hug. He introduced us, and she sat us down at the table next to hers with an American that is volunteering with her organization Roots ‘n Shoots (a youth-led education program). I ate dinner about four feet away from Dr. Jane, totally in awe of what was going on. At the end of the evening, she gave a short speech and finished it with an impression of a chimp calling to another. The head of JGI in Kigoma escorted us out, saying that we were welcome anytime to use their internet or offices (yay wireless!), and we rode back to our hotel in a USAID Landrover. Very surreal.