by LaurelC-19, 14 January 2010

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In Tanzania stands Mount Kilimanjaro: a magnificent snow-capped mountain, the highest point on the African continent, and the subject of dreamers and poets including Hemingway himself. I was in a very random and a very small town at the base of Kilimanjaro, desperately trying to register for university courses at an Internet café. Of course, that is when the power went out. Surrendering to my circumstances, I walked over to my friends who kindly were waiting for me. They appeared to be talking to a local man. Having arrived mid-conversation, I was rather confused. He repeatedly insisted that he was but a simple peasant, a coffee farmer, but mentioned having lived in San Francisco.

"The bay area, in fact."

And what were you doing there? we casually asked.

"Oh, I was working at UC Berkeley. As a professor."

Ah.

"Ah yes, ever since winning the Nobel Prize it's been quite interesting blablabla...."

There was a slight pause as we looked at each other, unsure as to whether or not we heard correctly

Excuse me, wait a second, what? Did you say the NO-BELL prize?

"Why, yes. Last year, 2007."

As in.... with Al Gore?? (because perhaps he meant the Tanzanian Coffee Farming Nobel Prize)

"Yes, yes, I used to work with the IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]."

It was so funny to meet a Nobel prize winner in the middle of nowhere, Tanzania. He was an interesting character, and had chosen to move back to his village after decades as a professor in California. He was checking his emails on the way to getting feed for his pigs on his farm, and yet he flew to Europe every 6 weeks or so to go to UN conventions and what not. He spoke about not having a wife, and I said that surely, having a Nobel prize in your credentials would boost his chances. But no, he said, women here don't care about the Nobel Prize, they just want to know how many cows you have!

And so that was our surreal moment of the day. This random encounter is the quintessential travel experience, meeting someone on a whim and forming a temporary connection with another person that you would have never met otherwise. We could have so easily crossed him without a thought, without ever realizing the life he leads or the things he has done. But yet we did - and that is the beauty of travel.

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Please click here to read :
Part 1 - Laurel on NAMIBIA
Part 2 - Laurel on Uganda
Part 3 - Laurel on Rwanda
LaurelC-19's Wanderings on Planet Earth: Kachumbe
LaurelC-19's Wanderings on Planet Earth: Mozambique
LaurelC-19's Wanderings on Planet Earth: The Makgadikgadi Pan