My Wanderlust Adventures

I have been steadily researching ways of getting the best bang for the buck with this first extended trip . My purpose is to see some of the country, become proficient in the language, live among the locals, assist in some of the community efforts, and go on a safari. I have known for some time that safaris often costs thousands of dollars, which makes it impossible for the average Americans to take part in.

I discovered that if you plan your safari from within the African country it is less than half the price. Yes more than a 50% savings. I had been told this by my husband who is from Tanzania, but it was amazing to see.

Going though an organization like Art in Africa you can participate in one of the Adventure Programs as opposed to R & N Xplorer safaris. There is a major difference in price, about four grand of a difference.

Art in Africa covers most of the base that I want to cover with this trip. The only thing that is lacking is extensive language instruction. It appears as though they only offer Kiswahili classes for one week. I can get that much at home, and I intend to do so.

Most flights leaving from the states travel through Dubai, but I hear that going through London may be a cheaper option. Therefore I have been searching that route as well, but have not found it to be much cheaper. I feel like I have only touched the surface of researching this trip and I will keep on until I find what I am looking for. I am told that the best time to take a safari is after the long rains which are between March and May. After May everything starts to get green again and the animals once again emerge to feed.

All comments and advice are welcomed here. I will keep you posted as I continue to research and narrow down my trip.

As many already know I intend to travel as much around this world as I possibly can. There was a time when I thought that I could just pick up a backpack and go, but I am not sure if I can or even want to do it that way anymore. I believe that I need a degree of comfort.

I am trying though, being the spoiled American that I am. I have downsized my life considerably, and realizing how much I can actually live without, but there is more to do and I am steadily working at it.

The reason that I have wanted to travel has now become a need. The need for enlightenment and growth, the need to see the beauty of this world, its physical beauty in its landscape as well as the spiritual beauty of its inhabitants. I also have this aching need to find ways to give back to those that require so little, things that I can do as an individual, I want to be my brother's keeper.
Documenting this through photographs and words will show others what is possible in this life.

I am going to take it slow by immersing myself into a few cultures by going to a language school, which will give me the safety net that I feel I need to get started. I will learn a language, live among the locals, and have unscripted tour guides. Sounds good to me.

Tanzania, Africa is where I am going first. Initially I thought it would be better to go to a place with a culture and language that I was already quite familiar, i.e., Spain or South/Central America, but my going to Africa will give me the culture shock that I may need. I don't intend to be shocked at all because I will do my research and learn a great deal of the language before I go.

However, this text book knowledge will be corrected and realized through the experience of being there.

February, Black History Month, is the month I just happen to see this black history exhibit that is being presented by Tavis Smiley and various sponsors. It is entitled, America I Am: The African American Imprint. The exhibit debut in Philadelphia and is traveling all around the country, and it is presently in Los Angeles, California. I remember reading about it last year and looking forward to seeing it, but I honestly had forgotten all about it until this morning.

I assumed that the exhibit would be housed in California's African American Museum. Well it is not at the African American Museum, it is actually at the Science Museum, which is still in Exposition Park along with the Natural History Museum.

I arrived at the Science Center at exactly 12 noon, along with bus loads of school children. I should have known that this would be the case because it is a Wednesday and early enough in the day for the kids to go to the museum and get back to school in time to go home.

However, it was not as disruptive as you might think. The staff there had it all under control. If you do want to avoid lots of kids, then I am told that later in the day during the week and Sundays are the best time to avoid large crowds.

The exhibit was well worth the $9.50 admission. It was beautifully done, with a great deal of authentic pieces. One of the things that touched me the most was to see some of the clothes of Frederick Douglas, as well as a few of his original books. They also had one of Malcom X's original hand written journals, and it was legible. They even had the bench and key from the jail cell occupied by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr in Birmingham, Alabama, where he wrote Letter from a Birmingham Jail. It shows a picture on the back wall of Dr. King sitting in this cell pensively peering through the bars, the worn bench was sitting in front of the picture, and this was all enclosed behind some jail bars, as the key was displayed on the wall outside of the cell. This sort of tugged at my heart, but also made me very proud.