YES, we have been missing in action on our blog, as we have been in areas with challenging wifi! And we have been busy…
Welcome back to our Green Global Trek and hope you enjoy our latest youtube video on our slice of life in the rural village of Olasiti in Arusha, Tanzania.
Our Airbnb was a tent nestled in an acacia tree forest, where we had daily monkey and dik dik (tiny antelope) visits! But the best part was the proximity to a small village right there. African village life illustrates a different model for child rearing. Children have a lot of independence and an unusual degree of autonomy. We observed children as young as 3 years old playing in the streets with older siblings and walking to school completely on their own.
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The last post we wrote was from Taormina, Sicily and from there we went to the historic island of Ortigia in Siracusa, Sicily for a month. This was followed by a month back in Oaxaca, Mexico for a long planned family get together with my sons. From there we spent a week in L.A en route to Tanzania, Africa. We will eventually catch up!
We started the Live Anywhere with Airbnb program in September and we still have 3 and a half months to go….
We are currently in Kenya, East Africa. You can also find us on instagram @greenglobaltrek, for our visual diary. Comments on the YouTube video itself are always appreciated by us both. Many thanks in advance.
I have wonderful memories of Arusha.
Great. When were you there Peggy? Did you enjoy our video then…?
We were there in 2009. In fact we spent most of 2009 in Africa.
What an amazing experience! I wondered where you were. I love the interaction with the children. So special. You two are incredible. xo
Ah yes Darlene, we have fallen way behind in our blogging “duties”…! We have so much to catch up on. Between bad wifi starting in Mexico and Ben’s full time job, there just has not been enough time. But hopefully we will start catching up soon.
Thanks for the kind words. Those kids were really special. Very playful and open to connection. The exact opposite of our experiences when in the U.S. where if you talk to a child in the park or on a bus, they will mostly ignore you because they have been taught not to talk to strangers. A different world entirely.
Peta
Hi wow sooooo wonder-filled. I was transported with you and left dreaming about how little it takes for children to smile and how love, family and friendship are the joys of life. Thank you for sharing your travels in such a beautiful way.
Thank you Heidi for such lovely feedback.
Yes, it was eye opening to see how little people have in the way of material belongings and yet how rich they are in the way of community and the support of their neighbors. Consistent smiles from young children to adults.. has remained with us as a very strong association with Tanzania. Something very special to witness.
Peta
You two are incredible — and wonderful choices for AirBnB Ambassadors. I love following your adventures.
Thanks Donna. We are very much enjoying our Live Anywhere on Airbnb adventures. Being in Africa is a dream come true for me. A home coming of sorts.
More to come…
Peta
I had to laugh at this: “Children have a lot of independence and an unusual degree of autonomy. We observed children as young as 3 years old playing in the streets with older siblings and walking to school completely on their own.”
You just described my childhood. I still have the photo of me heading down the sidewalk by myself, for my first day of kindergarten. Granted, I wasn’t allowed to go around the block on my tricycle until I’d memorized our phone number (1906!), and I had to come in when the street lights came on, but otherwise? It was a childhood perfectly designed to nurture independence. I suspect the similarities between my ‘village’ and the one I found in West Africa helped me to settle in there quite comfortably.
It’s good to see you again!
I too had a childhood which offered a lot of independence ~ I grew up on a hillside in South Africa and we roamed the nature reserve next door and the hillside totally freely. As long as we got in at sunset. We also walked to school down the hill but none of these activities did we do alone at the age of 3. Also, the feeling of community that the village in Arusha has, is incredibly strong. I grew up, free, independent but isolated.
How long have you lived in West Africa? Are you living in a small village today?
And interesting to note that my children, who grew up in the Northern suburbs of Chicago, in the nineties, walked to school alone as well, as early as Kindergarten. Today, in that same area that would just never happen.
Thanks for reading us and for your interesting feedback.
Peta
I’ve been enjoying your beautiful photos on Instagram. So much glorious scenery.
Thank you so much. Photography is definitely my current form of artistic expression and I have been enjoying the street photography opportunities in particular.
peta
An amazing video. What a different experience you had in the village. I didn’t stop smiling the entire time I watched your footage. I’ll have to check if I missed any episodes. WiFi in some parts of Baja – like during your travels – has been hard and unreliable to come by. Enjoy Kenya!
Thanks Liesbet, so good to know you enjoyed the video of the village. Yes, the main reason we stopped posting youtube videos was the fact that in Mexico when we were back there, peak season meant that wifi was even worse than it normally is. We just gave up!
Loving Kenya and moving on to South Africa soon.
Peta
I’m amazed you could even get time/internet to write this post! I love following you on Instagram and your stories that go with the photos. The photos are so well done that I feel like I’m (almost) there. Sorry, I’m not a youtuber. I’ve had such misery lately over technology that I’m reducing, not adding. But I’ll follow you on the blog and Insta always. What an incredible experience you two are having, and this is multiplied by the way you share it all with us. THANK you.
Thanks Pam! Yes time is becoming the tricky part… and I really do miss reading your blog as well as others! Instagram seems to have become a very effective way for us to photo journal our adventures. Because everything is in short bites it feels more manageable right now. Thanks for the compliment, much appreciated.
Totally get the technology misery… I am the least technical person in the world, so I really do get the misery part.
Thanks for the lovely feedback and for keeping up with us on instagram and on here.
xo
Peta
I have so enjoyed following along on Instagram where I feel as though I am right with you. I can understand that it is so challenging to blog while on the road as well as do social media. enjoying your arrival in South Africa!
Thanks Sue! Yes, instagram has become our new tool of choice as it is more immediate than the blog and less of a time commitment. It is also serving as a visual diary for our airbnb adventures. I do miss reading all my favorite blogs, but it really is incredible how much time searching for airbnbs takes as well as all the logistics re bookings and tickets and covid etc. Whew.
Loving being back in South Africa, with Ben!
Peta