it was 12:30 AM, and Wisconsin Senior Alana Keusch found herself stopped at a police checkpoint in rural Malawi, the tiny country in East Africa. Hours from town and facing a possible arrest, Keusch used up the last juice in her cell phone to call her mother in Boston.
“Mom? Hi. Um, I don’t know how to say this, but we crammed far too many people into this cab on our cross-continent road trip, and now we’re being told that we’re going to be thrown into an East African Malawian jail. Can you call the embassy?”
Crazy stories like this one were the norm for Keusch’s life in Africa. The above story was resolved after paying a hefty bribe to these crooked country police, and Keusch and her friends continued on their way to the capitol city of Lilongwe.
During the winter break of her year in Kenya, Keusch and friends decided to take a road-trip south from Kenya down to South Africa. Her trip began in Nairobi, Kenya, went through Tanzania, to Malawi, to Zambia (with one finger in Zimbabwe), and then to South Africa. Here are her descriptions and funny stories from the road:
Nairobi, Kenya: Described by Keusch as, “like any city in America, just dirtier,” she explained how she enjoyed the modern comforts during her time in Nairobi. She began her program with an orientation and coursework in Nairobi, and thus, she had the time to check out the nightlife, which includes “everything from fancy European-style clubs to prosty bars with the men that love them.” She explained that in Nairobi, she lived “a very social existence” with her host family of “incredibly handsome young 20-some year old men and their friends.” She explained how it was easy to mesh with local students by avoiding ex-pat bars and instead going to the bars that catered to Kenyans—Keusch’s clubs of choice. After her time in Kenya, however, she was anxious to leave for the rest of Africa.
Tanzania:After driving past the smokey base of Mount Kilimanjaro, Keusch and her four friends arrived in the beautiful country of Tanzania. Entering its largest commercial city, Dar es Salaam, Keusch and friends spent 5 days in and just outside the city. Keusch describes:
“For $8/day, we moved into a beach resort, in which you had the option to sleep outside under a tent. Imagine white sand beaches, perfect turquoise ocean, a full moon shining down on grass-covered huts and big canvas tents, and then, waking up each morning to the sound of waves. That was our experience in Tanzania.”
After this relaxing break, however, the five students went back to real Tanzania, jumping onto a “matatu,” or mini-bus public transportation, in which the entire floor was missing with everyone clinging to the side as it barreled down the highway. Goodbye, Tanzania!
Malawi:After getting stuck at a border town called “Border Town,” forced to sleep in an insect-infested room for $1 total for all eight travelers on her bus “with a single bathroom, and by bathroom, I mean hole in the ground,” Keusch and friends were overjoyed to reach their Malawian paradise. This paradise, known as Nkhata Bay, a quiet little town on Lake Malawi, had hostels built into the sides of cliffs, “you had to practically rock climb to you place with each cottage on stilts over the lake.”
For their five days in Malawi, the five travelers relaxed, swimming out to little platforms to watch the summer storms roll in across the ancient lake. “We’d swim in through the rainfall and then just watch the storm, sipping hot chocolate in our little bungalows on stilts with all the 20-some year old travelers socializing. It was so peaceful and beautiful. It was my favorite place.”
Zambia: Following their unpleasant run-in with the law, Keusch and her friends made it into Zambia, the land-locked East Africa country of former British Rhodesia. From bungee jumping over Victoria Falls to playing with baby refugee elephants rescued from Zimbabwean poachers, Keusch and friends enjoyed the exotic beauty and tourist attractions of Zambia.
Aside from the beauty, however, Zambia and its neighbor, Zimbabwe, have their fair share of problems. With one in five of its people infected with HIV/AIDS and over 60% of its population living on about $1/day, Zambia represents a struggling new democracy in East Africa. Its neighbor, however, Zimbabwe has even greater problems due to political instability, disease, and inflation.
“On Sunday, we saw lines of desperate Zimbabweans waiting to cross the border into Zambia. It was the height of the cholera outbreak, so we assumed that’s what they were escaping,” explained Keusch. “However, on Monday, when the city opened up, we discovered that these people were actually waiting for banks and groceries. The country of Zimbabwe has become so unstable that inflation makes their currency worthless, and banks aren’t even open there any more. All of these desperate people were crossing the border for these basic service.”
This adventurous trip, lasting three weeks in the height of the Southern Hemisphere’s summer, included four women and one man (“…but we could have done it without him safely,” Keusch added).
“The polarity of the entire experience was the best part, not only of the road trip, but my entire time in Africa,” reflected Keusch. “One moment I felt incredibly safe and welcomed, and then the next, I’d be in very dangerous or uncomfortable situations.”
“Travel is the most empowering thing you can do for yourself. You discover your own strength, and you become a different and better person through this exploration.” Keusch will be graduating in the Winter of 2010 and will pursue a career in public health. Here at Spotted, we can’t wait to see where her life takes her! To learn more about Keusch’s experiences or get some advice for your own, email Keusch at alana.keusch@gmail.com.
