Into The Wild

Tomorrow morning I will be awakened from my sleep by a tiny beeping alarm sounding-off inside my wrist watch.  The time will be 6 am, the weather clear, and the temperature crisp and cool.  Wrapped in my shuka I’ll inevitably shuffle myself into my shoes, grab my duffle bag, and sling my back-pack across my back. 

   Tomorrow morning I’ll find myself heading towards what I have considered to be the upsurge of my research here in Tanzania.  Like a carefully orchestrated concerto, I am finding myself caught up in the whirlwind of a great crescendo that has been masterfully building over these past 6 weeks.  Instruments are ringing out from the arena, with the various hums and vibrations – sounds – colliding together harmoniously, blending to create a masterpiece that flows humbly down into the theatre where I feel I am the only audience attendee.  It sometimes feels as if I’m drowning in the noise that is Tanzania.

   Tomorrow morning I will find myself heading off for a brief 5 day excursion into the Serengeti National Park.  Camping and conducting research, it will undoubtedly be the shining feature of my stay in Tanzania this year.  My mornings will begin with a sunrise that sounds like a slow, soft drumming cadence.  Donning my hiking boots will rouse a light trill of flutes, inexorably followed shortly after by the warble of the rest of the wood-wind instruments.  As the day continues, and I set my feet to the mud, my strides will be accompanied by the inclusion of violins, cellos, and other sounding laments pouring from various stringed instruments.  Horns will sound across the plains, preceding our rovers, and following along in our dusty trail.  Soon daylight will begin to dwindle, as will the declarative roar of my spiritual ensemble.  The stars will show their faces against the dark blanket of the night sky, their twinkling a soft strain of chimes to lull me to sleep… and then, as the sun rises again the next morning, so too will the day, stirring to wake the music of Serengeti once more.