May 25, 2012
I left this morning for my Kili adventure. The trip to the aiport with Nesro felt normal. I sat next to a high school kid going on a mission trip in Kenya. I wanted to be supportive and welcome him to the continent, but he sat there practicing his lecture about creationism and I didn't want to have that conversation. He's too young to have the "should-we-be-preaching" conversation without breaking him or upsetting him. And then Kilimanjaro came into view. For the entire flight the view out the window was a forever reaching field of clouds. And suddenly there was a massive mountain growing out of them - and that was only from the cloud line up. I said to the kid next to me the same thing I said when I first saw the city of Addis - "I think I made a big mistake". Once the dread subsided I got really excited knowing that in a few days, I'd be on top of that mountain.
Arrival at JRO was no problem. Joseph from Zara was waiting with a sign that had my name on it, but the car wasn't. I waited with a Brit-German couple for the car to come. She had volunteered in Kenya for a few years when she was young and was in Tanzania visiting her daughter who is teaching in Moshi. The Zara rep kept coming up to apologize for the driver. Poor guy- he must have to deal with impatient tourists all the time. Luckily we had all lived in Africa for a while and didn't mind the delay. Now I am at Springlands waiting for my prep meeting. A few people who just finished climbing were talking about how shitty altitude sickness is. Is it weird that I'm excited to see how I fair? I'm happy to be climbing by myself, but I am a little jealous of their comradarie. Maybe I can find someone to swap stories with for a little while tonight.
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Now I am sitting next to a HUGE group that just finished and are about to start their debrief meeting. Now I am sure that coming alone was a good decision. Not only is the total group size overwhelming (30 porters!!) but some of them are absolutely obnoxious. They are asking things like "who was the last up?" and "who was the last down?" and "who did you pass?". And their tip situation sounds terrible. I think I would have been miserable. I also think Peace Corps has made me a bit of a loner and a recluse.
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I met my guide today, Samuel. At first he seemed shy and unsure of his English. I had a deep feeling of dred that it would be like a week with an Ethiopian who wants to hang out but doesn't say anything. I cracked a few jokes, mentioned I live in Africa and smiled a lot. He warmed up to me and we agreed to tell stories, communicate and speak Swahili. I think he was just weary of a week with a weirdo. After the meeting I sent an email to the family and talked to a guy that just finished. He made me feel confident that I'm more prepared. No one has said a thing about the fitness demands, just altitude sickness. I'm a naturally slow person so I'll be golden. I also spoke with a spanish lady at dinner who just finished the Rongai route by herself. It was her 4th attempt and she did it! I'm glad I started a conversation with her, I'm sure she was itching to tell someone about it. And she had some advice. Also, she too has tingly feet and hands from the Diamox. Phew! It's normal! I'm glad I met some folks today to get a little bit of a briefing and to be more social.
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