- INTRODUCTION - YOU DON'T KNOW OZZ? WHAT?? PART 2 / 6 - MY TIME IN AFRICA

Ok, as promised here is part two of my 6 part introduction. But before we move on...
If you haven't already read part one please follow the link below.

https://steemit.com/travel/@ozz/you-don-t-know-oz-what

As you read in part one, a year after my birth (I am now 45) my parents and I moved to Tanzania in Africa.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanzania

I spent the next 4 years (to the age of 5) living in Tanzania. As I was very young, most of the memories are based on stories that my parents told me and old dia slide shows. The time spent in Africa, for me, was a care free time of living outdoors and enjoying life to the fullest as a toddler together with my best friend Pepper (a Doberman Pincher). ;)

Before the age of three I learnt how to speak basic Swahili, the language that is spoken in Tanzania and did my share of translating for my parents.

My parents told me stories of how the diplomatic world back then was a very stuck-up world where ambassadors tried to control everything up to and including clothing that was worn by the wives of the diplomats and in which cars they were allowed to drive. The main rule there was... Don't look better than the ambassador or his wife... LOL. Since then things have changed fortunately but this way of thinking will never totally disappear as it is seated strongly still in so many walks of society.

Fun stories however were ample.

My Black Mamba encounter:

One morning whilst playing in our garden a few meters away from my mother, who was drinking her tea at the table, something remarkable and very dangerous happend. As my mother recalls... She took a glance at me whilst I was sitting in the grass playing and noticed that I had found a string in the garden. Closer inspection on her part almost gave the poor woman a heart attack as she noticed that the bottom of the string I was holding up started to make its way up towards my hand. At that point she screamed "LAAT LOS" ("drop it" in Dutch). Our gardener came running and chased away my beautiful sting as it wiggled away into the brush. He came back to my mother and told her that the snake I was holding was a baby Black Mamba. One of the most aggressive and dangerous snakes in the world. For me now it was more like baby boy and baby snake meet out of curiosity. :)

Swimming before walking!

Another fun fact is that we were at the beach a lot and I loved floating around in the water whilst my parents enjoyed snorkelling. This resulted in me being able to swim before I could even properly walk. To this day being outside and swimming are things I still love! Thank you Africa for teaching me to enjoy and respect the beauty of nature.

Of course other great sites in Tanzania are the Kilimanjaro mountain range that towers over the beautiful surroundings as seen below:

Lobster is still one of my favourite dishes and most probably something that I acquired a taste for as a toddler living in Tanzania as they are caught there and are a very popular dish. My favourite is Lobster Thermidor!

Also the wildlife in Tanzania is simply amazing and the Big-5, as they are known all reside there!

Malaria
We went on a wildlife safari that lead us many days away from civilisation. As a youngster, of three years old, I fell ill with Malaria. A very serious situation, so young and so far away from professional help. Our guide told my parents that there was but one thing that we could do and that is to visit a Masai village to go and see the medicine man for help. I was burning up with fever and would not have made it out alive without medical help. My parents were freaking out because a medicine man in the middle of the bush was not what they saw as competent medical help.

After reaching the village, the Masai helped me and 2 days later I was good as new. I will be forever in debt to the Masai as they saved my life!

Wow, whilst I am writing this so much is coming back... Sorry if this story is getting too long ;) I will bring it to a head now. Although there is so much more to share about Africa, this has given you a peek into my magnificent time there.

I would advise anyone that has not taken a breath of African air to go and experience it. You will immediately feel deep inside that Africa is the cradle of life.

I love it and whilst writing this story for you guys tears have come to my eyes more than once as it brings back so many fond memories.

But... no time to waste as I must begin to work on my next story that takes place on another continent again. See if you can guess where we went after Africa in the comments... ;)

If you liked part two of my introduction to Steemit please upvote, resteem and follow me as there are still 4 parts to come in this 6 part series.

Have a good one and see you tomorrow with part three!

@Ozz