Saturday, November 29, 2003
Yesterday I re-took a written Swahili exam, and today took the oral exam. As I expected, I did pretty well in the oral part, and not well in the written. But I PASSED! Their borderline target mark was a 60, and my score was 60.5. How about THAT?
Tomorrow morning I fly back to Mwanza. It may be a few days before I am back on-line. Would like to say more now, but I am about out of time here. Sorry
Tomorrow morning I fly back to Mwanza. It may be a few days before I am back on-line. Would like to say more now, but I am about out of time here. Sorry
The mosque is at the corner of Zanaki and Indira Ghandi Streets, and I found Dr. Kamenpoori there again today. He seemed delighted to see me, but we will not soon have our long conversation together. He is busy this evening because he is grading examinations from the secondary school where he is the principal. And this weekend he leaves for India to attend the funeral of his nephew. When he heard that I will be teaching in Mwanza and may come back to Dar for meetings in 5 or 6 months, he invited me back and suggested that I also give a lecture to his school.
Apparently an important reason why he feels I am so worthy was my answer to his inevitable first question: What is your religion? My answer was I am Unitarian, which of course required an explanation and for that I said that Unitarians do not necessarily believe that Jesus was devine, equal to God. He found this very welcome and equivalent to the teachings of Islam.
I told the Dr. that I would very much like to know more about the curriculum of his school, for instance how much time is devoted to religious study and how much to science, technology and the arts. He said that this was very interesting to him, and indeed he is writing a book that will demonstrate how science reveals the one-ness of God. For God is perfect and so true science must reflect this nature of God. I replied that while it is true that science can describe the hand of God, it cannot explore the mind of God. This response pleased him a great deal, and he seems to feel that we are on common ground despite our differences in background and customs. Maybe we are?
I finally mailed Christmas packages today. I was particularly anxious to get this done, since I expect I can save at least a week in mail time over using nthe P.O. in Mwanza. 2 Packages to Guatemala, 1 each to China and Downingtown. The contents were pretty trivial - ie, inexpensive - for one of the Guatemala packages - hey, I'm in the Peace Corps now! It was a bit of a shocker then, to find that mailing them would cost $60. Well, that's life.
Today we had the written re-take of the Kiswahili exam and tomorrow is the oral exam. I think I will do a little better than I did the last time around. I find I am at the beginning edge of talking to Tanzanians, and it is fun. But I do not have the gramatical details they have been trying to stuff into our heads. So I wouldn't be surprised to find I am still sitting at the bottom of the class. Not a concern, I am confident that the sequence I want to follow will get me conversant with the language. By now I know that I really do have to do some things my own way.
I am REALLY looking forward to Mwanza and to finally living in a house of my own again - be it ever so humble. Sunday is the day!
Apparently an important reason why he feels I am so worthy was my answer to his inevitable first question: What is your religion? My answer was I am Unitarian, which of course required an explanation and for that I said that Unitarians do not necessarily believe that Jesus was devine, equal to God. He found this very welcome and equivalent to the teachings of Islam.
I told the Dr. that I would very much like to know more about the curriculum of his school, for instance how much time is devoted to religious study and how much to science, technology and the arts. He said that this was very interesting to him, and indeed he is writing a book that will demonstrate how science reveals the one-ness of God. For God is perfect and so true science must reflect this nature of God. I replied that while it is true that science can describe the hand of God, it cannot explore the mind of God. This response pleased him a great deal, and he seems to feel that we are on common ground despite our differences in background and customs. Maybe we are?
I finally mailed Christmas packages today. I was particularly anxious to get this done, since I expect I can save at least a week in mail time over using nthe P.O. in Mwanza. 2 Packages to Guatemala, 1 each to China and Downingtown. The contents were pretty trivial - ie, inexpensive - for one of the Guatemala packages - hey, I'm in the Peace Corps now! It was a bit of a shocker then, to find that mailing them would cost $60. Well, that's life.
Today we had the written re-take of the Kiswahili exam and tomorrow is the oral exam. I think I will do a little better than I did the last time around. I find I am at the beginning edge of talking to Tanzanians, and it is fun. But I do not have the gramatical details they have been trying to stuff into our heads. So I wouldn't be surprised to find I am still sitting at the bottom of the class. Not a concern, I am confident that the sequence I want to follow will get me conversant with the language. By now I know that I really do have to do some things my own way.
I am REALLY looking forward to Mwanza and to finally living in a house of my own again - be it ever so humble. Sunday is the day!
Tuesday, November 25, 2003
TUESDAY, November 25
What a mixed-up day. This is the week that the linguistically retarded among us are staying in Dar es Salaam for more intensive Swahili. However, this is also the week for Eids, celebrating the end of Ramadan. As of last night we were due to have today off as a vacation day thank you Eids. But this morning Kent dropped by our hotel room to say that the Imam had not been able to sight the moon and so Eids was postponed for a day. This may sound a little like Punxatawny Phil the Groundhog, but it is serious news here.
Not surprisingly, we were all late in showing up for class. The afternoon class was to be a project - go to the market, carving area, or the museum - and talk to somebody. Ask them their name, where they live, do they have kids, whoop de doo. So instead I detoured by the Spanish Embassy to pick up Spanish reading material and hopefully a subscription to a magazine. No such luck. I got a couple of outdated magazines and a list of shortwave frequencies dated 1999. Sr. Lopez was a nice enough guy, though.
Next stop, food at an outdoor cafe across the street from the Museum. Chicken, french fries and beer, and a nice discussion with Charles that more than fulfilled my class exercise. Charles is a driver, is younger than my kids, and his family includes two kids. I bought a power strip from a walk-by vendor after getting his price down from Ts9000 to Ts3000. Charles thought that was a good deal. Me, too.
The Museum consisted of huts constructed in the styles of the various Tanzanian tribes. These huts that look so fragile and temporary at first glance are really quite solid and serviceable, with more than adequate space inside. Most have multiple rooms, including a couple of bedrooms, a kitchen, and a general space. Construction and materials varied by tribe: bamboo, sticks and mud, sticks and elephant grass, just mud, thatch, various roof thatching methods. But I didn't stay too long at the demonstration of traditional drumming/dancing.
When I got back downtown it was the beginning of the rush hour and I had to shove pretty hard to clear a path out of the Daladala, and somehow I cut my hand in the process. It bled some which I was glad for as that tends to wash the cut, and I didn't bother to wipe away the blood because I was headed directly to my hotel. But walking along the way, I stopped in at an attractive mosque. I was invited to enter, after removing my shoes and washing my feet by stepping into a water-filled depression. I did, and was sitting there in their huge, carpeted room reading a translation of the Qu'ran and looking around. One of the leaders came over to talk with me in perfect English, a very intelligent and pleasant man, principal of the seminary associated with the mosque. Dr. Kamanpoori was disturbed by my hand, and insisted on having his friend take me to the clinic around the corner and have it cleaned and covered, treatment that he also insisted on paying for. Although I was generously invited to return after the clinic, I chose not to go back, because it was the night before Eids and by then the mosque was filling with communicants. But I do hope to go back again and talk with the good Dr., who said that he had been trained in Chemistry at a University in ... Botswana?
Thanksgiving Dinner looks like it may be shaping up at the American Club, here. Pumpkin pie, anyone?
What a mixed-up day. This is the week that the linguistically retarded among us are staying in Dar es Salaam for more intensive Swahili. However, this is also the week for Eids, celebrating the end of Ramadan. As of last night we were due to have today off as a vacation day thank you Eids. But this morning Kent dropped by our hotel room to say that the Imam had not been able to sight the moon and so Eids was postponed for a day. This may sound a little like Punxatawny Phil the Groundhog, but it is serious news here.
Not surprisingly, we were all late in showing up for class. The afternoon class was to be a project - go to the market, carving area, or the museum - and talk to somebody. Ask them their name, where they live, do they have kids, whoop de doo. So instead I detoured by the Spanish Embassy to pick up Spanish reading material and hopefully a subscription to a magazine. No such luck. I got a couple of outdated magazines and a list of shortwave frequencies dated 1999. Sr. Lopez was a nice enough guy, though.
Next stop, food at an outdoor cafe across the street from the Museum. Chicken, french fries and beer, and a nice discussion with Charles that more than fulfilled my class exercise. Charles is a driver, is younger than my kids, and his family includes two kids. I bought a power strip from a walk-by vendor after getting his price down from Ts9000 to Ts3000. Charles thought that was a good deal. Me, too.
The Museum consisted of huts constructed in the styles of the various Tanzanian tribes. These huts that look so fragile and temporary at first glance are really quite solid and serviceable, with more than adequate space inside. Most have multiple rooms, including a couple of bedrooms, a kitchen, and a general space. Construction and materials varied by tribe: bamboo, sticks and mud, sticks and elephant grass, just mud, thatch, various roof thatching methods. But I didn't stay too long at the demonstration of traditional drumming/dancing.
When I got back downtown it was the beginning of the rush hour and I had to shove pretty hard to clear a path out of the Daladala, and somehow I cut my hand in the process. It bled some which I was glad for as that tends to wash the cut, and I didn't bother to wipe away the blood because I was headed directly to my hotel. But walking along the way, I stopped in at an attractive mosque. I was invited to enter, after removing my shoes and washing my feet by stepping into a water-filled depression. I did, and was sitting there in their huge, carpeted room reading a translation of the Qu'ran and looking around. One of the leaders came over to talk with me in perfect English, a very intelligent and pleasant man, principal of the seminary associated with the mosque. Dr. Kamanpoori was disturbed by my hand, and insisted on having his friend take me to the clinic around the corner and have it cleaned and covered, treatment that he also insisted on paying for. Although I was generously invited to return after the clinic, I chose not to go back, because it was the night before Eids and by then the mosque was filling with communicants. But I do hope to go back again and talk with the good Dr., who said that he had been trained in Chemistry at a University in ... Botswana?
Thanksgiving Dinner looks like it may be shaping up at the American Club, here. Pumpkin pie, anyone?
Saturday, November 22, 2003
FRIDAY, November 21
The Peace Corps has not yielded on requests to stay an extra day or two, so most of us are leaving Dar for our sites tomorrow and it is a day for good-bys and for sharing addresses and phone numbers. A group of us formed an expedition downtown to buy cellphones at Food World, which is a snack shop with a side business in selling phones. I chose a Sony-Ericcson because it is the thinnest one I ever saw and I figure I can wear it on a chain around my neck under my shirt without having it create a tempting bulge for thieves. But now I have to figure out how to use it.
Tara and Kim are two volunteers who have completed their term and extended for an extra year. They have been with us for our entire training program to share their experiences, guide us, hold our hands, encourage us, explain what really happens out in the field, listen to us complain, and generally BE THERE for us. They have been wonderful! So tonight we gathered to acknowledge them. Which they didn't expect, so after they went out for dinner, they didn't come back until quite late. But we waited for them anyway and when they arrived, gave them each notebooks of photos along with personal notes from every one of us. It was a total surprise to them, and we had an emotional, teary scene there in the empty outdoor space of the tacky City Ambassador Hotel where you sweat just standing there at 10:30 at night. Many of us won't see each other again until our Mid Service Training Meeting which I think is six months from now, and Tara and Kim will be long gone by then.
So now our training is over, we are officially Volunteers in the United States Peace Corps - PCVs - and LET THE GAMES BEGIN!
Except for the dozen or so of us, including me, who will be staying in Dar for one more week for one final, intense week of working on Kiswahili.
THURSDAY, November 20
Well, we were sworn into the Corps today, and now are Volunteers rather than merely Trainees. Impressions of the day: Security. Standing in line in the sun while we were slowly processed to enter the embassy grounds. The embassy has lots of blank white walls with large dish antennas above the buildings, and is set far back from the barrier fences in a campus atmosphere. Our cameras were taken away as we entered, and of course any pocket knives, nail clippers, etc. Later our cameras were returned in time for the ceremonies. Bright sun providing intense heat, but under the striped canopies a slight breeze kept us surprisingly comfortable.
We sang the Tz and US anthems, heard some speeches which included the last official speech of Ambassador Royal of Texas, who has resigned after two years here. We swore that we would defend the Constitution of the United States and signed our names to a document that said so. Then we ate some snacks and a big cake, chatted among ourselves, Peace Corps people and embassy staff, and took photos of ourselves.
Then we went to the American Club to swim, drink, eat, watch movies on VCR and DVD, play ping-pong, tennis, and look at the Indian Ocean across the street. All in all, a suitable day. Some of us have gone out to a disco tonight, but I have opted out of that opportunity. I am not feeling all that energetic.
WEDNESDAY, November 19
The troops are restless, bordering on surly. That nine hour bus ride into the heat of Dar es Salaam without air conditioning had us all a bit tired and grumpy. Then in Dar we immediately went to the Peace Corps Headquarters to completly unload both buses, sort out all the baggage into things we would need in the next few days and things we put into storage for shipment to our sites. That took awhile. Then we went to our hotel, feeling grimy, tired and hungry.
The hotel. Oh boy. I haven't thought about my senior high school trip to Washington in many years, but this shabby hotel with its peeling paint, broken fixtures, cracked mirrors and beds that fell apart brought back such strong memories! We were parceled out, three to a room. Each room was consumed by its two single beds, one a little bigger than normal, the other a little smaller than normal. Steve, Bob and I were to share one of these cells, but Bob immediately stormed off, declaring it totally inadequate. As a result Steve and I have a pretty good room, all things considered. Private bath including a shower with luke-cold water, fan, a TV we don't watch, and a surprisingly strong air conditioner. In the end, most other volunteers also enjoy some combination of most of those features, although Bob ended up in the Tanzanian Suite - or Dormatory, depending on your terminology - with six other guys. And about a dozen of us got shipped off to a so-called sister hotel because there weren't sufficient rooms here even with the tripling up.
The hotel tried to make amends with a free dinner and entertainment. The entertainment was a group of little kids doing traditional dances non-stop for 1 1/2 hours accompanied by intense, infernal and continuous drumming. An amazing feat of energy and stamina! It was pretty enjoyable for the first 15 minutes or so, although it would have helped to have somebody provide a little context for all the jumping around.
Today we had a round of unexpected meetings at the UNESCO offices with various rights and health organizations, giving us information we had largely covered in our sessions back in Arusha. Tomorrow was to be a free morning before the afternoon swearing-in but then meetings got plunked in there, too. And they want us to be on our way out of here on Saturday - except for the dozen or so of us who are slated to stay a week longer for more Swahili lessons. So a delegation has formed to protest this schedule. Aren't we supposed to experience the different areas of Tz? Haven't we come here for celebration and recognition? Our teaching duties don't start until January, right? Isn't there a beach right out there that we won't see again any time soon? It is the INDIAN OCEAN for god's sake, and THIS is some water we can swim in without worrying about shistosomiasis!
Meanwhile I snuck off to buy a UPS to protect my laptop computer in Mwanza where the power grid is not grounded, and a replacement camera for the one I destroyed by putting it in my backpack under my very dirty hiking boots. I was lucky with the camera. The store closed at 5:00 for Ramadan, but they responded to my rapping on the door at 5:30 after my assurances that I wanted a camera and knew what I wanted and was leaving town tomorrow. They stopped complaining when it was clear that I meant what I said. I got a basic Olympus digital for $60 less than the first store I had gone to, but it still cost me about twice what it would have in the States. Oh well.
I'm also working my strategy to snag a used TREK mountain bike if any decent bikes get turned in by departing volunteers. Our new environmental volunteers automatically get new TREKs, but us teachers do not. We are expected to buy the local sturdy - read HEAVY - one speed bikes, or the very poorly made local multi-speed bikes. Neither of these options is appropriate for the hills that lie between my site in Nsumba and Mwanzatown in my view. My chances? I dunno, maybe 50-50. We'll see.
TUESDAY November 18
Kilimanjaro! At last we have a chance to see this majestic mountain in its glory, with early morning sun highlighting the snow crown and the crevasses on its upper reaches. It is imposing, solitary. Not part of a mountain range, it rises abruptly from the expanse of the flat plain that extends back to Arusha. A low-lying haze makes this massive blue cone appear to be floating.
They tell us that it takes five or six days to climb Kilimanjaro, and two more for the descent. A faster climb risks serious altitue sickness. And the view from the top is said to be incredible. We've had a session on making arrangements to climb Kilimanjaro with or students - no more than three students per teacher. As an educational expedition, many of te fees are waived. Hmmmmmmmm.
This is my seventh time in the vicinity of the mountain, if you include the times we flew to Mwanza and back. But every time before, she was shrouded by clouds. Perhaps that makes it even more delicious now, to be granted this pristine view. Even the bus operator (not the driver, fortunately) keeps glancing over at her.
We are speeding along in two express buses, headed to Dar es Salaam for our swearing-in ceremonies. We have COMPLETED OUR TRAINING and are anxious to get to our sites and settle in. We got our bags to the Center yesterday, and our departure time was 6:00 this morning.
I haven't written much about my home stay lately. It really has been a bit trying for both my hosts and me. Christopher and I had quickly developed a good relationship, but he left after 1 1/2 weeks to do further studies in Iringa, 'way down south. That left Mama, and the two girls who are relatives of some sort and live here in return for doing all the household work except cooking, which Mama handles unless she is not there. Then there are the two adorable children, 7 and 3.
Unfortunately, Mama speaks as much English as I speak Swahili, and the girls speak none. Maureen, the 7yo was essentially our only effective mode of communication. Probably any guest becomes a burden after 10 weeks even if the hosts ARE getting good payment for their services. But our relationship has slowly degenerated, along with the general cleanliness and order in the household as Mama seemed to be spending more and more evenings away from home. By the last week or so, I was doing all I could to be as independent as possible and avoid the family, the loud TV and boom box.
Well, it is over now. On to Dar and new experiences.
The Peace Corps has not yielded on requests to stay an extra day or two, so most of us are leaving Dar for our sites tomorrow and it is a day for good-bys and for sharing addresses and phone numbers. A group of us formed an expedition downtown to buy cellphones at Food World, which is a snack shop with a side business in selling phones. I chose a Sony-Ericcson because it is the thinnest one I ever saw and I figure I can wear it on a chain around my neck under my shirt without having it create a tempting bulge for thieves. But now I have to figure out how to use it.
Tara and Kim are two volunteers who have completed their term and extended for an extra year. They have been with us for our entire training program to share their experiences, guide us, hold our hands, encourage us, explain what really happens out in the field, listen to us complain, and generally BE THERE for us. They have been wonderful! So tonight we gathered to acknowledge them. Which they didn't expect, so after they went out for dinner, they didn't come back until quite late. But we waited for them anyway and when they arrived, gave them each notebooks of photos along with personal notes from every one of us. It was a total surprise to them, and we had an emotional, teary scene there in the empty outdoor space of the tacky City Ambassador Hotel where you sweat just standing there at 10:30 at night. Many of us won't see each other again until our Mid Service Training Meeting which I think is six months from now, and Tara and Kim will be long gone by then.
So now our training is over, we are officially Volunteers in the United States Peace Corps - PCVs - and LET THE GAMES BEGIN!
Except for the dozen or so of us, including me, who will be staying in Dar for one more week for one final, intense week of working on Kiswahili.
THURSDAY, November 20
Well, we were sworn into the Corps today, and now are Volunteers rather than merely Trainees. Impressions of the day: Security. Standing in line in the sun while we were slowly processed to enter the embassy grounds. The embassy has lots of blank white walls with large dish antennas above the buildings, and is set far back from the barrier fences in a campus atmosphere. Our cameras were taken away as we entered, and of course any pocket knives, nail clippers, etc. Later our cameras were returned in time for the ceremonies. Bright sun providing intense heat, but under the striped canopies a slight breeze kept us surprisingly comfortable.
We sang the Tz and US anthems, heard some speeches which included the last official speech of Ambassador Royal of Texas, who has resigned after two years here. We swore that we would defend the Constitution of the United States and signed our names to a document that said so. Then we ate some snacks and a big cake, chatted among ourselves, Peace Corps people and embassy staff, and took photos of ourselves.
Then we went to the American Club to swim, drink, eat, watch movies on VCR and DVD, play ping-pong, tennis, and look at the Indian Ocean across the street. All in all, a suitable day. Some of us have gone out to a disco tonight, but I have opted out of that opportunity. I am not feeling all that energetic.
WEDNESDAY, November 19
The troops are restless, bordering on surly. That nine hour bus ride into the heat of Dar es Salaam without air conditioning had us all a bit tired and grumpy. Then in Dar we immediately went to the Peace Corps Headquarters to completly unload both buses, sort out all the baggage into things we would need in the next few days and things we put into storage for shipment to our sites. That took awhile. Then we went to our hotel, feeling grimy, tired and hungry.
The hotel. Oh boy. I haven't thought about my senior high school trip to Washington in many years, but this shabby hotel with its peeling paint, broken fixtures, cracked mirrors and beds that fell apart brought back such strong memories! We were parceled out, three to a room. Each room was consumed by its two single beds, one a little bigger than normal, the other a little smaller than normal. Steve, Bob and I were to share one of these cells, but Bob immediately stormed off, declaring it totally inadequate. As a result Steve and I have a pretty good room, all things considered. Private bath including a shower with luke-cold water, fan, a TV we don't watch, and a surprisingly strong air conditioner. In the end, most other volunteers also enjoy some combination of most of those features, although Bob ended up in the Tanzanian Suite - or Dormatory, depending on your terminology - with six other guys. And about a dozen of us got shipped off to a so-called sister hotel because there weren't sufficient rooms here even with the tripling up.
The hotel tried to make amends with a free dinner and entertainment. The entertainment was a group of little kids doing traditional dances non-stop for 1 1/2 hours accompanied by intense, infernal and continuous drumming. An amazing feat of energy and stamina! It was pretty enjoyable for the first 15 minutes or so, although it would have helped to have somebody provide a little context for all the jumping around.
Today we had a round of unexpected meetings at the UNESCO offices with various rights and health organizations, giving us information we had largely covered in our sessions back in Arusha. Tomorrow was to be a free morning before the afternoon swearing-in but then meetings got plunked in there, too. And they want us to be on our way out of here on Saturday - except for the dozen or so of us who are slated to stay a week longer for more Swahili lessons. So a delegation has formed to protest this schedule. Aren't we supposed to experience the different areas of Tz? Haven't we come here for celebration and recognition? Our teaching duties don't start until January, right? Isn't there a beach right out there that we won't see again any time soon? It is the INDIAN OCEAN for god's sake, and THIS is some water we can swim in without worrying about shistosomiasis!
Meanwhile I snuck off to buy a UPS to protect my laptop computer in Mwanza where the power grid is not grounded, and a replacement camera for the one I destroyed by putting it in my backpack under my very dirty hiking boots. I was lucky with the camera. The store closed at 5:00 for Ramadan, but they responded to my rapping on the door at 5:30 after my assurances that I wanted a camera and knew what I wanted and was leaving town tomorrow. They stopped complaining when it was clear that I meant what I said. I got a basic Olympus digital for $60 less than the first store I had gone to, but it still cost me about twice what it would have in the States. Oh well.
I'm also working my strategy to snag a used TREK mountain bike if any decent bikes get turned in by departing volunteers. Our new environmental volunteers automatically get new TREKs, but us teachers do not. We are expected to buy the local sturdy - read HEAVY - one speed bikes, or the very poorly made local multi-speed bikes. Neither of these options is appropriate for the hills that lie between my site in Nsumba and Mwanzatown in my view. My chances? I dunno, maybe 50-50. We'll see.
TUESDAY November 18
Kilimanjaro! At last we have a chance to see this majestic mountain in its glory, with early morning sun highlighting the snow crown and the crevasses on its upper reaches. It is imposing, solitary. Not part of a mountain range, it rises abruptly from the expanse of the flat plain that extends back to Arusha. A low-lying haze makes this massive blue cone appear to be floating.
They tell us that it takes five or six days to climb Kilimanjaro, and two more for the descent. A faster climb risks serious altitue sickness. And the view from the top is said to be incredible. We've had a session on making arrangements to climb Kilimanjaro with or students - no more than three students per teacher. As an educational expedition, many of te fees are waived. Hmmmmmmmm.
This is my seventh time in the vicinity of the mountain, if you include the times we flew to Mwanza and back. But every time before, she was shrouded by clouds. Perhaps that makes it even more delicious now, to be granted this pristine view. Even the bus operator (not the driver, fortunately) keeps glancing over at her.
We are speeding along in two express buses, headed to Dar es Salaam for our swearing-in ceremonies. We have COMPLETED OUR TRAINING and are anxious to get to our sites and settle in. We got our bags to the Center yesterday, and our departure time was 6:00 this morning.
I haven't written much about my home stay lately. It really has been a bit trying for both my hosts and me. Christopher and I had quickly developed a good relationship, but he left after 1 1/2 weeks to do further studies in Iringa, 'way down south. That left Mama, and the two girls who are relatives of some sort and live here in return for doing all the household work except cooking, which Mama handles unless she is not there. Then there are the two adorable children, 7 and 3.
Unfortunately, Mama speaks as much English as I speak Swahili, and the girls speak none. Maureen, the 7yo was essentially our only effective mode of communication. Probably any guest becomes a burden after 10 weeks even if the hosts ARE getting good payment for their services. But our relationship has slowly degenerated, along with the general cleanliness and order in the household as Mama seemed to be spending more and more evenings away from home. By the last week or so, I was doing all I could to be as independent as possible and avoid the family, the loud TV and boom box.
Well, it is over now. On to Dar and new experiences.
Friday, November 14, 2003
FRIDAY November 14
We got the results of our final oral examination in Swahili today. Most of the volunteers really did quite well, and Charlie even scored at an Advanced level. But a few of us brought up the bottom and I was among them, scoring Novice Intermediate. It is a base to build upon.
I do expect to learn Swahili, but think I will have to do it my own way. By now I know myself, and in some things I just have to find what works, independently. I did not like the disorganized book we studied from, and really rebelled from the group drills in repetition. So I began using a different book, but it was tough because it used a different vocabulary. The Peace Corps also went out of their way to arrange individual instruction for me, concentrating on grammer. That helped, but put me on a different track. By now I've found some beginning reading books that I think will really help me, and I will just plug away with them. That, plus talking with teachers in the Staff Room, the neighbors by my home, and the vendors in the market should do it. Onward and upward!
I received a large box of textbooks from Paul, with reading books for the kids at my home stay and lollypops and candy filling the spaces in the box. All were most welcome. The texts are really an important resource for me. And the candy made a lot of my friends happy in addition to my kids at home. And me too, of course. By now, Baby Ruth candybars, Oreos, Butterscotch Tastykakes and anything Chocolate have become the subject of dreams.
THURSDAY November 13
Mike stayed at the Impala Hotel last night, and we met him there for a farewell buffet breakfast this morning. It is a good hotel, and it was a real pleasure to have a good buffet, with scrambled eggs and all the trimmings and CEREAL with REAL MILK, along with the fresh fruit and fresh brewed coffee instead of the sweetened tea that is the National Drink here.
So we were having a great time with Mike, kidding around and laughing and making noise and stuff. On my fourth trip back for more food - or maybe it was my fifth, who was counting? - this guy with a goatee, wearing a safari outfit and carrying his arm in a sling stopped me. Seems he was a tour guide himself, and he wanted to talk with me since I obviously had brought this large group of high school students along on their African Tour... So I agreed with him that yes, sometimes they do get a bit noisy.
I don't know who should have been more offended, the high school students or the old man who was their guide!
WEDNESDAY November 12
Mike dropped out today. It was an emotional experience. He announced his decision to the group after we completed our session on ... I think it was on how we can assist in the empowerment of women in our schools here. I believe he was the fifth volunteer to leave the group since our first pre-training back in Washington on September 8th. The early departures were related to volunteers who felt they could not be away from their families and support systems for two years, or who found the experience in Africa too disorienting. Then there were one or two who found the language too challenging, on top of the other problems with home stay situations or accomodation to the lifestyle here. But Mike was the first departure within the past month, for us.
Talking amoung ourselves about Mike's departure has made me realize what a close group we have become. Not that we all have turned into a lovey-dovey family or anything, there certainly are social groups who tend to hang out together or do things together. But we all know each other, can talk with each other easily, have shared a lot of new experience, boredom, surprise, and delight. We have been in seemingly endless small group discussions together and have all struggled together with the complexities of Swahili in our small group sessions. For anyone to leave now feels like the loss of a friend, like an incomplete relationship. I think I begin to understand the bond, the esprit de corps, that exists between people who have served in the Peace Corps, even decades later.
For Mike it was a medical issue, some recurrent thing that he felt could be better handled over the period of a couple of years back in the States. Also, we are still processing our experiences in having spent a week visiting the sites where we will be serving for the next two years, and I suspect that his experience there might have been a factor too, although I don't know about that, really. Many of us - like me - found that our homes weren't ready for us or had experiences that didn't conform to our expectations, and that can be a problem.
Mike organized that whole Safari From Hell that gave us so many good stories and memories. He put tremendous energy into that, and it was a key contribution to us all. He has had a priviledged background, is a confirmed, dedicated libertarian, and protective of corporate priviledge. We had a discussion or two about that and could have had a lot more. And now he leaves today. Lots of us are planning to go to an early breakfast at a local hotel to wish him well. The social clique has given him a notebook with letters from all the rest of us, he has promised to stay in touch, and we gave him a going-away present - done the things we can to let him know that we will miss him and that he has been important to us.
TUESDAY November 11
Daladalas. These minibuses are never full because it is always possible to cram in one more person or add another hanging off the door or back bumper. A lot of them have names written on the windshield, and I wrote down a couple of them today:
Black Ideals
Jesus is the Answer
Romeo Must Die
Bullet
Vegetable Dandy
Butterfly
God is One
Lisa Loops
Injection Pipe
Tracy Chapman
Magic Wind
Lionel Ritchey
New Age
Jesus is the Savior
New World Order
Chocolate City
Black People
Top Story Icon 5
Go figure. Anyway, they provide a cheap ride - 150 or 200 schillings for a ride across town, and with 1000 schillings to the dollar that amounts to 15 or 20 cents. Just watch your belongings - with that kind of jostling and togetherness, it is a great opportunity for pickpockets.
Actually, safety is an issue in Africa, especially in tourist locations and Arusha is one, big time. We are the center for safaris and Mts Meru and Kilimanjaro, and several male volunteers have been accosted while walking alone. Most were walking alone at night, but there have even been instances like Pete, who was carrying a computer case in the early evening and had the strap cut with a panga and his computer grabbed. And there have been the less spectacular purse snatches and cellphone grabs. All of us take taxis home if we have been out late for dinner or the disco . Taxis are all over the place, so ubiquitous that they tend to be annoying. Just walking down the street, taxis continually honk at you and the drivers all ask if you want a ride. It is just part of the life, here.
We got the results of our final oral examination in Swahili today. Most of the volunteers really did quite well, and Charlie even scored at an Advanced level. But a few of us brought up the bottom and I was among them, scoring Novice Intermediate. It is a base to build upon.
I do expect to learn Swahili, but think I will have to do it my own way. By now I know myself, and in some things I just have to find what works, independently. I did not like the disorganized book we studied from, and really rebelled from the group drills in repetition. So I began using a different book, but it was tough because it used a different vocabulary. The Peace Corps also went out of their way to arrange individual instruction for me, concentrating on grammer. That helped, but put me on a different track. By now I've found some beginning reading books that I think will really help me, and I will just plug away with them. That, plus talking with teachers in the Staff Room, the neighbors by my home, and the vendors in the market should do it. Onward and upward!
I received a large box of textbooks from Paul, with reading books for the kids at my home stay and lollypops and candy filling the spaces in the box. All were most welcome. The texts are really an important resource for me. And the candy made a lot of my friends happy in addition to my kids at home. And me too, of course. By now, Baby Ruth candybars, Oreos, Butterscotch Tastykakes and anything Chocolate have become the subject of dreams.
THURSDAY November 13
Mike stayed at the Impala Hotel last night, and we met him there for a farewell buffet breakfast this morning. It is a good hotel, and it was a real pleasure to have a good buffet, with scrambled eggs and all the trimmings and CEREAL with REAL MILK, along with the fresh fruit and fresh brewed coffee instead of the sweetened tea that is the National Drink here.
So we were having a great time with Mike, kidding around and laughing and making noise and stuff. On my fourth trip back for more food - or maybe it was my fifth, who was counting? - this guy with a goatee, wearing a safari outfit and carrying his arm in a sling stopped me. Seems he was a tour guide himself, and he wanted to talk with me since I obviously had brought this large group of high school students along on their African Tour... So I agreed with him that yes, sometimes they do get a bit noisy.
I don't know who should have been more offended, the high school students or the old man who was their guide!
WEDNESDAY November 12
Mike dropped out today. It was an emotional experience. He announced his decision to the group after we completed our session on ... I think it was on how we can assist in the empowerment of women in our schools here. I believe he was the fifth volunteer to leave the group since our first pre-training back in Washington on September 8th. The early departures were related to volunteers who felt they could not be away from their families and support systems for two years, or who found the experience in Africa too disorienting. Then there were one or two who found the language too challenging, on top of the other problems with home stay situations or accomodation to the lifestyle here. But Mike was the first departure within the past month, for us.
Talking amoung ourselves about Mike's departure has made me realize what a close group we have become. Not that we all have turned into a lovey-dovey family or anything, there certainly are social groups who tend to hang out together or do things together. But we all know each other, can talk with each other easily, have shared a lot of new experience, boredom, surprise, and delight. We have been in seemingly endless small group discussions together and have all struggled together with the complexities of Swahili in our small group sessions. For anyone to leave now feels like the loss of a friend, like an incomplete relationship. I think I begin to understand the bond, the esprit de corps, that exists between people who have served in the Peace Corps, even decades later.
For Mike it was a medical issue, some recurrent thing that he felt could be better handled over the period of a couple of years back in the States. Also, we are still processing our experiences in having spent a week visiting the sites where we will be serving for the next two years, and I suspect that his experience there might have been a factor too, although I don't know about that, really. Many of us - like me - found that our homes weren't ready for us or had experiences that didn't conform to our expectations, and that can be a problem.
Mike organized that whole Safari From Hell that gave us so many good stories and memories. He put tremendous energy into that, and it was a key contribution to us all. He has had a priviledged background, is a confirmed, dedicated libertarian, and protective of corporate priviledge. We had a discussion or two about that and could have had a lot more. And now he leaves today. Lots of us are planning to go to an early breakfast at a local hotel to wish him well. The social clique has given him a notebook with letters from all the rest of us, he has promised to stay in touch, and we gave him a going-away present - done the things we can to let him know that we will miss him and that he has been important to us.
TUESDAY November 11
Daladalas. These minibuses are never full because it is always possible to cram in one more person or add another hanging off the door or back bumper. A lot of them have names written on the windshield, and I wrote down a couple of them today:
Black Ideals
Jesus is the Answer
Romeo Must Die
Bullet
Vegetable Dandy
Butterfly
God is One
Lisa Loops
Injection Pipe
Tracy Chapman
Magic Wind
Lionel Ritchey
New Age
Jesus is the Savior
New World Order
Chocolate City
Black People
Top Story Icon 5
Go figure. Anyway, they provide a cheap ride - 150 or 200 schillings for a ride across town, and with 1000 schillings to the dollar that amounts to 15 or 20 cents. Just watch your belongings - with that kind of jostling and togetherness, it is a great opportunity for pickpockets.
Actually, safety is an issue in Africa, especially in tourist locations and Arusha is one, big time. We are the center for safaris and Mts Meru and Kilimanjaro, and several male volunteers have been accosted while walking alone. Most were walking alone at night, but there have even been instances like Pete, who was carrying a computer case in the early evening and had the strap cut with a panga
Saturday, November 08, 2003
SATURDAY November 8
So, Mwanza. Nice town, feels more friendly and comfortable than Arusha because there are many fewer tourists and so, many fewer aggressive vendors trying to sell outdated newspapers and batik posters to the mzungus. Lake Victoria is truly beautiful, with the old dhows slowly crossing the lake with their large triangular sails. And the area has an incredible array of huge weathered rocks with lots of huge boulders seemingly balanced precariously on top of them. Friends who have been there say it reminds them of Joshua Tree National Park in the US West. Ryan has been salivating to have his family send him his rock climbing equipment. He thinks that if Mwanza was in the US, it would be the rock climbing mecca of the country.
My house? Well, it does have water now. And as of yesterday evening, there were signs that the electrician had attacked the wiring system. So, while it certainly wasn't ready for habitation on my arrival as it was supposed to be, it does look as though it may be ready when I return at the end of the month.
Last night I moved out of the Lake Hotel where I had been staying, to the home of a new friend. Peter is a european, who does the accounts, travel and incidental arrangements for the geologists working for a new gold mining company. So the company house is large with a bunch of bedrooms, and a constantly changing flux of people moving in and out. Also, Peter gave me some excellent lessons on how to play pool at the Rock Beach Hotel. I'm beginning to think that pool is an important Peace Corps skill. In any case, this sure beats living alone in the hotel since Ryan left to live in his home. I'm the last of our group to still be homeless, it seems.
Now, back to Arusha to complete our training, then on to Dar es Salaam next week for our formal induction into the Peace Corps. It is now just about two months since we all arrived in Africa. I still have to pinch myself now and then to see that it isn't just a dream. On the other hand, it DOES seem like we have been here a lot longer than two months. Now, if I can just start to get my tongue going on this damn Swahili ....
So, Mwanza. Nice town, feels more friendly and comfortable than Arusha because there are many fewer tourists and so, many fewer aggressive vendors trying to sell outdated newspapers and batik posters to the mzungus. Lake Victoria is truly beautiful, with the old dhows slowly crossing the lake with their large triangular sails. And the area has an incredible array of huge weathered rocks with lots of huge boulders seemingly balanced precariously on top of them. Friends who have been there say it reminds them of Joshua Tree National Park in the US West. Ryan has been salivating to have his family send him his rock climbing equipment. He thinks that if Mwanza was in the US, it would be the rock climbing mecca of the country.
My house? Well, it does have water now. And as of yesterday evening, there were signs that the electrician had attacked the wiring system. So, while it certainly wasn't ready for habitation on my arrival as it was supposed to be, it does look as though it may be ready when I return at the end of the month.
Last night I moved out of the Lake Hotel where I had been staying, to the home of a new friend. Peter is a european, who does the accounts, travel and incidental arrangements for the geologists working for a new gold mining company. So the company house is large with a bunch of bedrooms, and a constantly changing flux of people moving in and out. Also, Peter gave me some excellent lessons on how to play pool at the Rock Beach Hotel. I'm beginning to think that pool is an important Peace Corps skill. In any case, this sure beats living alone in the hotel since Ryan left to live in his home. I'm the last of our group to still be homeless, it seems.
Now, back to Arusha to complete our training, then on to Dar es Salaam next week for our formal induction into the Peace Corps. It is now just about two months since we all arrived in Africa. I still have to pinch myself now and then to see that it isn't just a dream. On the other hand, it DOES seem like we have been here a lot longer than two months. Now, if I can just start to get my tongue going on this damn Swahili ....
Sunday, November 02, 2003
SUNDAY November 2
MWANZA at Lake Victoria! An hour and a half by air from Arusha, flying over the Serengeti. It would have taken 3 days by bus, detouring through Nairobi, Kenya. All of Tanzania looked scorched as we flew out to the northwestern corner, although they say it will all be green very soon, as the rainy season takes hold.
I was met at the airport by the Headmaster of my school, Nsumba Secondary School. We stopped in Mwanzatown for a sambusa and the first GOOD coffee I've had in Tanzania, joining a table of two women, one of whom turned out to be the woman responsible for coordinating the missionary activities of the Catholic Church for all of NW Tanzania. The other was a new missionary from Quebec, due to teach here for two years. After checking into our hotel, we went on to Nsumba.
Nsumba is a large complex at the end of the Daladala line. Daladalas are the vastly overcrowded minibuses that provide public transportation throughout Tanzania. We are adjacent to a Jesuit University, and another school where my friend Ryan has been posted. The road is dirt, but not nearly as dusty and unpleasant as the roads in the Arusha area. The landscape is rocky. HUGE rocks that stand like sentinels everywhere, dwarfing the houses near them. They seem to be derived from lava as they have no obvious structure or differentiation, but I don't have the geological story on them yet. Lake Victoria can be seen in the distance.
The school was Catholic, but was taken over by the Government 15 or so years ago. It is expanding, and uses a lot of building. That means the students do a major part of the work. They have enough property so that they are cutting trees they planted 10 years ago for lumber, and they have a kiln to fire the bricks that they make on-site. They are constructing new classroom buildings for the French language studies they got a grant to offer their students. My discussion with the Headmaster leads me to believe he is a great leader, but like all the schools in Tanzania, keeps getting blindsided by the Government, who dictate changes in emphasis, scramble the student body, and decree that major programs should be suddenly added or subtracted without regard to need or resources, etc. It should be an interesting two years.
They are renovating a house for me. It is huge, because they were hoping for several Peace Corps Volunteers and only got me. There are 4 1/2 bedrooms plus a sitting room and small entry porch. The kitchen and bathroom are behind the house, off of a tiny courtyard. The house is concrete, with a corrugated steel roof. It is freshly painted blue throughout, but there are no closets, etc. The furniture includes a bed and mattress, and a kitchen table with three chairs. But that is IT. This will be hard to furnish on the Peace Corps allowance. Two trees out back are well placed for a hammock. Of course, there are a few problems. Like installing plumbing, building the kitchen and totally re-wiring the electricity. There are no screens for the windows or hooks for mosquito nets, and the doors need stronger bars. They ASSURE me that all this will be completed by Friday, but this is Tanzania. Meanwhile they are putting me up all this week in the Lake Hotel, whose primary feature of interest is a REAL HONEST TO GOD HOT SHOWER!!!!! No shower curtains so there is a lot of splashover, but hey, A HOT WATER SHOWER !!!! The Volunteers sent to other areas would KILL for this!
After this tour, the 5 of us assigned to different posts in the region met with the 4 second-year Volunteers serving in the area for the lowdown on the town and region. Mwanza features good food including Indian and Chinese - which we sampled - a bayside hotel with an outdoor lounge area that is great for drinking beer while watching the sunset - which we sampled - other places for really exceptional coffee and snacks - which we sampled - a large produce and clothing and junk market, music store, a couple of book stores and a casino where, I am told, I can plug in my laptop for free internet access!!!!! I could not have designed a place better suited for two years of service, but suspect that I may have to suppliment my Peace Corps allowance from time to time with all this temptation so close by.
Now, about getting this house completed and furnished....
MWANZA at Lake Victoria! An hour and a half by air from Arusha, flying over the Serengeti. It would have taken 3 days by bus, detouring through Nairobi, Kenya. All of Tanzania looked scorched as we flew out to the northwestern corner, although they say it will all be green very soon, as the rainy season takes hold.
I was met at the airport by the Headmaster of my school, Nsumba Secondary School. We stopped in Mwanzatown for a sambusa and the first GOOD coffee I've had in Tanzania, joining a table of two women, one of whom turned out to be the woman responsible for coordinating the missionary activities of the Catholic Church for all of NW Tanzania. The other was a new missionary from Quebec, due to teach here for two years. After checking into our hotel, we went on to Nsumba.
Nsumba is a large complex at the end of the Daladala line. Daladalas are the vastly overcrowded minibuses that provide public transportation throughout Tanzania. We are adjacent to a Jesuit University, and another school where my friend Ryan has been posted. The road is dirt, but not nearly as dusty and unpleasant as the roads in the Arusha area. The landscape is rocky. HUGE rocks that stand like sentinels everywhere, dwarfing the houses near them. They seem to be derived from lava as they have no obvious structure or differentiation, but I don't have the geological story on them yet. Lake Victoria can be seen in the distance.
The school was Catholic, but was taken over by the Government 15 or so years ago. It is expanding, and uses a lot of
They are renovating a house for me. It is huge, because they were hoping for several Peace Corps Volunteers and only got me. There are 4 1/2 bedrooms plus a sitting room and small entry porch. The kitchen and bathroom are behind the house, off of a tiny courtyard. The house is concrete, with a corrugated steel roof. It is freshly painted blue throughout, but there are no closets, etc. The furniture includes a bed and mattress, and a kitchen table with three chairs. But that is IT. This will be hard to furnish on the Peace Corps allowance. Two trees out back are well placed for a hammock. Of course, there are a few problems. Like installing plumbing, building the kitchen and totally re-wiring the electricity. There are no screens for the windows or hooks for mosquito nets, and the doors need stronger bars. They ASSURE me that all this will be completed by Friday, but this is Tanzania. Meanwhile they are putting me up all this week in the Lake Hotel, whose primary feature of interest is a REAL HONEST TO GOD HOT SHOWER!!!!! No shower curtains so there is a lot of splashover, but hey, A HOT WATER SHOWER !!!! The Volunteers sent to other areas would KILL for this!
After this tour, the 5 of us assigned to different posts in the region met with the 4 second-year Volunteers serving in the area for the lowdown on the town and region. Mwanza features good food including Indian and Chinese - which we sampled - a bayside hotel with an outdoor lounge area that is great for drinking beer while watching the sunset - which we sampled - other places for really exceptional coffee and snacks - which we sampled - a large produce and clothing and junk market, music store, a couple of book stores and a casino where, I am told, I can plug in my laptop for free internet access!!!!! I could not have designed a place better suited for two years of
Now, about getting this house completed and furnished....
