Monday, June 28, 2004
I've been back on-site since Friday evening. It feels good to be back, where all my stuff is and I can feel comfortable hanging out in my underwear if I want. The flight from Dar was a bit different. I typically fall asleep very soon after takeoff. I woke up just as we landed, rather confused because they wouldn't let us off the plane. Turns out we had returned to Dar because some people noticed a bad smell in the cabin. Then there were lots of people looking at the left jet engine, and then a couple of guys began pulling out tufts of bird and feathers. Seems we finished off a big bird on takeoff.
It surroundings do look different, though. The fields and everything look like late fall - yellow going on gold and brown. The brown seems to be a little more pronounced every day, and wind now seems to be a constant. It is also cooler - I sweat less when I bike to town, and sleep under a sheet now. The good part is that there are fewer mosquitoes, ants and other assorted bugs. I'm told this is standard dry-season fare, and will continue until September or October. I want to go up to the hilltop this evening with my fancy new camera to take some panaramic shots before everything is totally brown.
Last night I met with my group to present all the stuff I learned in Dar about what other groups are doing to teach small business skills in Tanzania. There was a lot to cover - I'd visited six different organizations. The Internationl Labor Organization, TechnoServe and Junior Achievement seems to have their act mostly together. But we are clearly proposing to do something different than anybody else. Onward!!
It was a long meeting. We have a lot to do before we get started. But my instructors insisted that they have to go home for a MONTH now that they have graduated. As a result, we will also have to delay our start date by a month. That isn't so bad, actually - gives us more time to handle the preliminaries. We talked about financing - which we don't have yet and the hour grows late. I'm sure we could fund this pretty easily from all kinds of charity donations. I'd bet that my Unitarian friends would come through big-time. But I proposed that we try to use only African funding. There seems to be this whole dependency culture of expecting foreigners to pay for even basic infrastructure. Sometime, they just have to get off these handouts and take responsibility for themselves. So why not now? My group thinks this will be a real shock to Africans, but they are behind it. We will see what the Rotary thinks.
This morning I dropped in on the Mgr of the ExIm bank, who assures me that the Mwanza Rotary Club is actively deciding what kind of support they can/will provide, and that it does include the loan of a computer. Bingo! And that the Rotary should be meeting with me "soon."
Meanwhile, my instructors have decided that they need more money than was originally budgeted. I have to agree with them that what I/we had proposed does not seem like enough to live on but still, it is in-line with what secondary school teachers with families and experience earn. Can we really give them more without looking like we are feathering our nests?
It surroundings do look different, though. The fields and everything look like late fall - yellow going on gold and brown. The brown seems to be a little more pronounced every day, and wind now seems to be a constant. It is also cooler - I sweat less when I bike to town, and sleep under a sheet now. The good part is that there are fewer mosquitoes, ants and other assorted bugs. I'm told this is standard dry-season fare, and will continue until September or October. I want to go up to the hilltop this evening with my fancy new camera to take some panaramic shots before everything is totally brown.
Last night I met with my group to present all the stuff I learned in Dar about what other groups are doing to teach small business skills in Tanzania. There was a lot to cover - I'd visited six different organizations. The Internationl Labor Organization, TechnoServe and Junior Achievement seems to have their act mostly together. But we are clearly proposing to do something different than anybody else. Onward!!
It was a long meeting. We have a lot to do before we get started. But my instructors insisted that they have to go home for a MONTH now that they have graduated. As a result, we will also have to delay our start date by a month. That isn't so bad, actually - gives us more time to handle the preliminaries. We talked about financing - which we don't have yet and the hour grows late. I'm sure we could fund this pretty easily from all kinds of charity donations. I'd bet that my Unitarian friends would come through big-time. But I proposed that we try to use only African funding. There seems to be this whole dependency culture of expecting foreigners to pay for even basic infrastructure. Sometime, they just have to get off these handouts and take responsibility for themselves. So why not now? My group thinks this will be a real shock to Africans, but they are behind it. We will see what the Rotary thinks.
This morning I dropped in on the Mgr of the ExIm bank, who assures me that the Mwanza Rotary Club is actively deciding what kind of support they can/will provide, and that it does include the loan of a computer. Bingo! And that the Rotary should be meeting with me "soon."
Meanwhile, my instructors have decided that they need more money than was originally budgeted. I have to agree with them that what I/we had proposed does not seem like enough to live on but still, it is in-line with what secondary school teachers with families and experience earn. Can we really give them more without looking like we are feathering our nests?
I've been back on-site since Friday evening. It feels good to be back, where all my stuff is and I can feel comfortable hanging out in my underwear if I want. The flight from Dar was a bit different. I typically fall asleep very soon after takeoff. I woke up just as we landed, rather confused because they wouldn't let us off the plane. Turns out we had returned to Dar because some people noticed a bad smell in the cabin. Then there were lots of people looking at the left jet engine, and then a couple of guys began pulling out tufts of bird and feathers. Seems we finished off a big bird on takeoff.
It surroundings do look different, though. The fields and everything look like late fall - yellow going on gold and brown. The brown seems to be a little more pronounced every day, and wind now seems to be a constant. It is also cooler - I sweat less when I bike to town, and sleep under a sheet now. The good part is that there are fewer mosquitoes, ants and other assorted bugs. I'm told this is standard dry-season fare, and will continue until September or October. I want to go up to the hilltop this evening with my fancy new camera to take some panaramic shots before everything is totally brown.
Last night I met with my group to present all the stuff I learned in Dar about what other groups are doing to teach small business skills in Tanzania. There was a lot to cover - I'd visited six different organizations. The Internationl Labor Organization, TechnoServe and Junior Achievement seems to have their act mostly together. But we are clearly proposing to do something different than anybody else. Onward!!
It was a long meeting. We have a lot to do before we get started. But my instructors insisted that they have to go home for a MONTH now that they have graduated. As a result, we will also have to delay our start date by a month. That isn't so bad, actually - gives us more time to handle the preliminaries. We talked about financing - which we don't have yet and the hour grows late. I'm sure we could fund this pretty easily from all kinds of charity donations. I'd bet that my Unitarian friends would come through big-time. But I proposed that we try to use only African funding. There seems to be this whole dependency culture of expecting foreigners to pay for even basic infrastructure. Sometime, they just have to get off these handouts and take responsibility for themselves. So why not now? My group thinks this will be a real shock to Africans, but they are behind it. We will see what the Rotary thinks.
This morning I dropped in on the Mgr of the ExIm bank, who assures me that the Mwanza Rotary Club is actively deciding what kind of support they can/will provide, and that it does include the loan of a computer. Bingo! And that the Rotary should be meeting with me "soon."
Meanwhile, my instructors have decided that they need more money than was originally budgeted. I have to agree with them that what I/we had proposed does not seem like enough to live on but still, it is in-line with what secondary school teachers with families and experience earn. Can we really give them more without looking like we are feathering our nests?
It surroundings do look different, though. The fields and everything look like late fall - yellow going on gold and brown. The brown seems to be a little more pronounced every day, and wind now seems to be a constant. It is also cooler - I sweat less when I bike to town, and sleep under a sheet now. The good part is that there are fewer mosquitoes, ants and other assorted bugs. I'm told this is standard dry-season fare, and will continue until September or October. I want to go up to the hilltop this evening with my fancy new camera to take some panaramic shots before everything is totally brown.
Last night I met with my group to present all the stuff I learned in Dar about what other groups are doing to teach small business skills in Tanzania. There was a lot to cover - I'd visited six different organizations. The Internationl Labor Organization, TechnoServe and Junior Achievement seems to have their act mostly together. But we are clearly proposing to do something different than anybody else. Onward!!
It was a long meeting. We have a lot to do before we get started. But my instructors insisted that they have to go home for a MONTH now that they have graduated. As a result, we will also have to delay our start date by a month. That isn't so bad, actually - gives us more time to handle the preliminaries. We talked about financing - which we don't have yet and the hour grows late. I'm sure we could fund this pretty easily from all kinds of charity donations. I'd bet that my Unitarian friends would come through big-time. But I proposed that we try to use only African funding. There seems to be this whole dependency culture of expecting foreigners to pay for even basic infrastructure. Sometime, they just have to get off these handouts and take responsibility for themselves. So why not now? My group thinks this will be a real shock to Africans, but they are behind it. We will see what the Rotary thinks.
This morning I dropped in on the Mgr of the ExIm bank, who assures me that the Mwanza Rotary Club is actively deciding what kind of support they can/will provide, and that it does include the loan of a computer. Bingo! And that the Rotary should be meeting with me "soon."
Meanwhile, my instructors have decided that they need more money than was originally budgeted. I have to agree with them that what I/we had proposed does not seem like enough to live on but still, it is in-line with what secondary school teachers with families and experience earn. Can we really give them more without looking like we are feathering our nests?
Thursday, June 24, 2004
Right now, I’m pooped.
I was scrambling all day today, trying to locate material for the Life Opportunity Club. Visited the Junior Achievement League, the Enterprise Development Center and the International Labor Organization, all in different parts of Dar. Each has some programs of interest going and they are glad to talk about them, but they get vague and spacey when you ask for actual copies of their stuff to help guide us in preparing our own business startup course. Start talking about copyrights and things. There were offers to send stuff later – and I’ll believe that when I see it. I am left with a ton of followup to do: thank you letters, request reminders and things. Wonder how this will mesh with class preparations, mixed with reporting to my University guys and getting back in touch with the Mwanza Rotary Club. Well, I guess it won’t be dull.
Also, I again dropped in at the Shia mosque downtown. If you’ve been reading this blog for a long time you might remember that I had a discussion with the Imam the last time I was in Dar, back in November. I wanted to see him again and find out more about their school curriculum. He wasn’t there, but this time the visit felt very uncomfortable. I was again treated with the same welcoming friendship, but had to walk by, and wait near, a very large display of gruesome photographs of war-mutilated Iraqi civilians, each one captioned with quotes from Rumsfeld and Bush about the better lives, freedom and security that the US has brought to Iraq. Especially, young boys were gathered around, studying the pictures.
Tomorrow morning I repack all my stuff so my big suitcase meets the PrecisionAir weight limit, and then I’m back to Mwanza.
I was scrambling all day today, trying to locate material for the Life Opportunity Club. Visited the Junior Achievement League, the Enterprise Development Center and the International Labor Organization, all in different parts of Dar. Each has some programs of interest going and they are glad to talk about them, but they get vague and spacey when you ask for actual copies of their stuff to help guide us in preparing our own business startup course. Start talking about copyrights and things. There were offers to send stuff later – and I’ll believe that when I see it. I am left with a ton of followup to do: thank you letters, request reminders and things. Wonder how this will mesh with class preparations, mixed with reporting to my University guys and getting back in touch with the Mwanza Rotary Club. Well, I guess it won’t be dull.
Also, I again dropped in at the Shia mosque downtown. If you’ve been reading this blog for a long time you might remember that I had a discussion with the Imam the last time I was in Dar, back in November. I wanted to see him again and find out more about their school curriculum. He wasn’t there, but this time the visit felt very uncomfortable. I was again treated with the same welcoming friendship, but had to walk by, and wait near, a very large display of gruesome photographs of war-mutilated Iraqi civilians, each one captioned with quotes from Rumsfeld and Bush about the better lives, freedom and security that the US has brought to Iraq. Especially, young boys were gathered around, studying the pictures.
Tomorrow morning I repack all my stuff so my big suitcase meets the PrecisionAir weight limit, and then I’m back to Mwanza.
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Tomorrow I will have been in Dar es Salaam (D'Slaam to those in the know, a name simplification like the way Philadelphia becomes Fluffya) for almost a week. The medical staff here suggested that I take some time just to chill a bit and decompress after the funeral, the struggle to change Myrna's tickets, and her last minute emergency with her Mother. Good advice.
I spent the weekend camping at beautiful Kipepeo Beach on the Indian Ocean a short ferry and daladala ride from Dar - noted for its thatch-roof bandas, broad sand beach, and warm turquoise water. There were almost no waves so it was fabulous for just swimming out and floating. I pitched my tent under a banda so it stayed cool even during the day. Take a look at their pictures, at www.kipepeocamp.com, and plan your next vacation trip. The south seas have nothing on this place. Even with the camel rides on the beach, beach volleyball, and an occasional horseback rider it felt like a good inexpensive getaway.
It was a great to be more-or-less alone, and after two days it was enough and I came back to Dar for more activity and to be with people. There are loads of PCVs trooping through right now because for most of us, our classes are not in session.
For the last two days I have been telephoning a lot and going to visit organizations that have an interest in teaching young people about small business. I've been to the U. of D'Slaam, to TechnoServe who are hooked up with NFTE (pronounced Nifty, for the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship), will visit the Entreprenureal Development Center tomorrow, and also hope to get to Junior Achievement Tanzania and the American Embassy (USAID) before I leave for Mwanza.
The coordinator at TechnoServe is Atiba, who has a Tanzanian Mother, an Afro-American Father that was a Black Panther and who grew up living between California and Zambia. Made for some interesting conversation - here is this son of a Black Panther who is now teaching Tanzanian kids how to become capitalists.
After three weeks it will feel good to get back to my own place again. I'm eager to see whether I entirely missed my crop of peas and lima beans, and if the fence has kept the goats out of my new crop of sweet corn, and how my cherry tomatoes are doing.
I spent the weekend camping at beautiful Kipepeo Beach on the Indian Ocean a short ferry and daladala ride from Dar - noted for its thatch-roof bandas, broad sand beach, and warm turquoise water. There were almost no waves so it was fabulous for just swimming out and floating. I pitched my tent under a banda so it stayed cool even during the day. Take a look at their pictures, at www.kipepeocamp.com, and plan your next vacation trip. The south seas have nothing on this place. Even with the camel rides on the beach, beach volleyball, and an occasional horseback rider it felt like a good inexpensive getaway.
It was a great to be more-or-less alone, and after two days it was enough and I came back to Dar for more activity and to be with people. There are loads of PCVs trooping through right now because for most of us, our classes are not in session.
For the last two days I have been telephoning a lot and going to visit organizations that have an interest in teaching young people about small business. I've been to the U. of D'Slaam, to TechnoServe who are hooked up with NFTE (pronounced Nifty, for the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship), will visit the Entreprenureal Development Center tomorrow, and also hope to get to Junior Achievement Tanzania and the American Embassy (USAID) before I leave for Mwanza.
The coordinator at TechnoServe is Atiba, who has a Tanzanian Mother, an Afro-American Father that was a Black Panther and who grew up living between California and Zambia. Made for some interesting conversation - here is this son of a Black Panther who is now teaching Tanzanian kids how to become capitalists.
After three weeks it will feel good to get back to my own place again. I'm eager to see whether I entirely missed my crop of peas and lima beans, and if the fence has kept the goats out of my new crop of sweet corn, and how my cherry tomatoes are doing.
Friday, June 18, 2004
The flight back to Tanzania was long, but otherwise uneventful. Except that I stopped by the internet cafe during my layover at Schiphol Airport/Amsterdam. It turns out that Myrna's Mother is in the hospital with, I think, dangerously high blood pressure. So Myrna will not be coming to Tanzania, at least not now.
From Amsterdam I rode beside a Dutch railroad engineer of about my age He is also divorced with grown kids, and he comes to Tanzania for three months at a time to train Tanzanians in track maintenance and to install "turnouts" on the lines. Interesting guy. He may drop in on me when he is in Mwanza in about three weeks.
Yesterday was a loss. I had intended to use it to make appointments to discuss resources for my Life Opportunity Club, here in Dar. But too much has been happening, too fast. I just didn't want to do a thing - wasn't even thinking straight. So I hung around, shuffled clothing between my various backpacks, and killed time at the American Club. Got together with some other PCVs who are passing through or have one sort of problem or another, ate ice cream at a streetside restaurant, called it a night.
Maybe now, without hope of Myrna for the time being, I can buckle down and actually learn some Kiswahili. I kind of made a resolution to do that, but even to me it doesn't sound very resolute. Ummm.
From Amsterdam I rode beside a Dutch railroad engineer of about my age He is also divorced with grown kids, and he comes to Tanzania for three months at a time to train Tanzanians in track maintenance and to install "turnouts" on the lines. Interesting guy. He may drop in on me when he is in Mwanza in about three weeks.
Yesterday was a loss. I had intended to use it to make appointments to discuss resources for my Life Opportunity Club, here in Dar. But too much has been happening, too fast. I just didn't want to do a thing - wasn't even thinking straight. So I hung around, shuffled clothing between my various backpacks, and killed time at the American Club. Got together with some other PCVs who are passing through or have one sort of problem or another, ate ice cream at a streetside restaurant, called it a night.
Maybe now, without hope of Myrna for the time being, I can buckle down and actually learn some Kiswahili. I kind of made a resolution to do that, but even to me it doesn't sound very resolute. Ummm.
Monday, June 14, 2004
With my sisters, Miriam, Arlene & Allegra
Roy & Alice, Paola & Ellen, Matt & Me
How to talk about this past week? I am so very glad that I could be back before my Mother died. The Peace Corps was just fabulous in the way they immediately arranged everything for my return. Allegra, Arlene, the minister and I were by my Mother's side as she peacefully sighed and closed her eyes for the last time. What a long and full life she led, with such incredible dignity and love.
Her memorial service pretty much followed the program that she had written out for us - and then revised 5 or 6 times - although many of the people she had wanted to participate in the service are no longer alive. Allegra had handled all the details of the service and the reception afterwards with apparent ease. I gave Mother's eulogy, as she wanted, and the soloist sang "with joy and with good diction," as she had directed. The eulogy began with the wonderful quote from Thornton Wilder, and ended with the sonnet of John Milton:
"There is the land of the living and the land of the dead, and the bridge between them is love." - TW
"They also serve who only stand and wait." - JM
And now there are no more members of the previous generation. My sisters and I have now become the oldest generation in our family.
The week has also included a huge buying spree for things I've missed in Africa - everything from a good potato peeler to my new Nikon camera. Rah! Rah! And many warm reunions with friends. And just driving around looking at the things I like about being in Philadelphia. Rittenhouse Square. Franklin Parkway. Metropolitan Bakery. The Italian Market. John's Water Ice. I went to church yesterday and talked with the Great Discussions Group about Africa and Tanzania, got lots of hugs from good friends and had brunch and a long stroll afterwards with Paul.
Unfortunately, none of my efforts to change Myrna's horrid flight to Tanzania and bring her to Philadelphia were successful. Delta deferred to British Airways who deferred to Four Ways Travel in Tanzania who... 'Round and round again. Just couldn't be done. Myrna doesn't understand and kind of blames me for it, and she is frightened of traveling alone on that trip. Understandably. But I will arrive in Dar only 3 1/2 hrs after her (God Willing, to use that familiar phrase).
There are more friends I hope to see while I am here, and I am trying to locate used chemistry textbooks to take back with me. Otherwise, I am very ready to be back in Tanzania preparing for the next term at Nsumba, introducing Myrna to Africa, and the start of our new life together.
Her memorial service pretty much followed the program that she had written out for us - and then revised 5 or 6 times - although many of the people she had wanted to participate in the service are no longer alive. Allegra had handled all the details of the service and the reception afterwards with apparent ease. I gave Mother's eulogy, as she wanted, and the soloist sang "with joy and with good diction," as she had directed. The eulogy began with the wonderful quote from Thornton Wilder, and ended with the sonnet of John Milton:
"There is the land of the living and the land of the dead, and the bridge between them is love." - TW
"They also serve who only stand and wait." - JM
And now there are no more members of the previous generation. My sisters and I have now become the oldest generation in our family.
The week has also included a huge buying spree for things I've missed in Africa - everything from a good potato peeler to my new Nikon camera. Rah! Rah! And many warm reunions with friends. And just driving around looking at the things I like about being in Philadelphia. Rittenhouse Square. Franklin Parkway. Metropolitan Bakery. The Italian Market. John's Water Ice. I went to church yesterday and talked with the Great Discussions Group about Africa and Tanzania, got lots of hugs from good friends and had brunch and a long stroll afterwards with Paul.
Unfortunately, none of my efforts to change Myrna's horrid flight to Tanzania and bring her to Philadelphia were successful. Delta deferred to British Airways who deferred to Four Ways Travel in Tanzania who... 'Round and round again. Just couldn't be done. Myrna doesn't understand and kind of blames me for it, and she is frightened of traveling alone on that trip. Understandably. But I will arrive in Dar only 3 1/2 hrs after her (God Willing, to use that familiar phrase).
There are more friends I hope to see while I am here, and I am trying to locate used chemistry textbooks to take back with me. Otherwise, I am very ready to be back in Tanzania preparing for the next term at Nsumba, introducing Myrna to Africa, and the start of our new life together.
Sunday, June 06, 2004
My flight arrived in Philadelphia at 5:30 last night, on time. The travel was about as pleasant as such a long trip could be, made much more pleasant by traveling with Deena. She had received word that her Father had died, so we were both traveling as a result of family crises - she to Detroit, me through Detroit to Phila.
Immediate impressions on returning:
Even from the air, everything is so rectilinear! The fields are neat checkerboards of color, the houses are all lined up in an orderly way, the streets and highways straight, purposeful.
On the ground, everything is impersonal, mechanized. In the airport rest room the toilet flushes automatically when you get up, the faucet runs only when your hand is under it, the paper dispenser automatically gives you paper when your hand approaches.
Everyone is hurrying and intent on getting somewhere. No-one saunters. Walking isn't fast enough, there are moving walkways. People scurry out of the way of electric carts delivering people. Unattended trains stop, doors open, recorded warnings are announced and then the trains leave. It all looks and feels like being processed. Automatic. No one talks to anyone else, except for the few couples who are moving together.
The security is oppressive. Line up for inspection after inspection. Why did you arrive with only a backpack and no checked baggage? There is the sense of video cameras and official observers everywhere.
Almost everyone is white! And so many older people - in Africa there are always hoards of little kids running around, teenagers trying to peddle stuff to you or just hanging around, only a few old folks. And most young women there have babies strapped to their backs.
The crab soup, hamburger and fries on the way home were fabulous! And the martini was served in a triangular glass with a lemon peel twist just the way I prefer it. With gin instead of Konyagi. They had everything we ordered - if it was on the menu, they had it. What a difference!
At my sister's, there are all these appliances - for coffee, for remote TV, FAST internet connection, sound systems, microwave, toaster oven, ice water from an outlet on the refrigerator, water without having to boil it first for that matter, just a profusion of all kinds of gadgets and devices and STUFF. Tons of books, phones, magazines, newspapers, brochures and announcements lying around. PAPER! Framed photographs and art on the walls. It is all comfortable. Convenient. Safe. Private.
I'm home.
Immediate impressions on returning:
Even from the air, everything is so rectilinear! The fields are neat checkerboards of color, the houses are all lined up in an orderly way, the streets and highways straight, purposeful.
On the ground, everything is impersonal, mechanized. In the airport rest room the toilet flushes automatically when you get up, the faucet runs only when your hand is under it, the paper dispenser automatically gives you paper when your hand approaches.
Everyone is hurrying and intent on getting somewhere. No-one saunters. Walking isn't fast enough, there are moving walkways. People scurry out of the way of electric carts delivering people. Unattended trains stop, doors open, recorded warnings are announced and then the trains leave. It all looks and feels like being processed. Automatic. No one talks to anyone else, except for the few couples who are moving together.
The security is oppressive. Line up for inspection after inspection. Why did you arrive with only a backpack and no checked baggage? There is the sense of video cameras and official observers everywhere.
Almost everyone is white! And so many older people - in Africa there are always hoards of little kids running around, teenagers trying to peddle stuff to you or just hanging around, only a few old folks. And most young women there have babies strapped to their backs.
The crab soup, hamburger and fries on the way home were fabulous! And the martini was served in a triangular glass with a lemon peel twist just the way I prefer it. With gin instead of Konyagi. They had everything we ordered - if it was on the menu, they had it. What a difference!
At my sister's, there are all these appliances - for coffee, for remote TV, FAST internet connection, sound systems, microwave, toaster oven, ice water from an outlet on the refrigerator, water without having to boil it first for that matter, just a profusion of all kinds of gadgets and devices and STUFF. Tons of books, phones, magazines, newspapers, brochures and announcements lying around. PAPER! Framed photographs and art on the walls. It is all comfortable. Convenient. Safe. Private.
I'm home.
Friday, June 04, 2004
There has been an abrupt and most unfortunate change in plans. My Mother appears about to end her full and very long life, and it is time for the family to gather 'round. Matthew is flying in from China, Paola and the kids from Italy, Ellen has been found, already nearby in New York City. The Peace Corps provided a car to transport Deena, who just found out this morning that her Father suddenly died, and me from the Morogoro meeting to the PC headquarters in Dar es Salaam. Another driver will take us to the airport in about half an hour, and we will catch the night flight to Amsterdam and on home.
Odd juxtaposition of gain and loss. I see by checking their website that DHL just this morning delivered the tickets I bought to bring Myrna from Guatemala to Africa. Now I hope those can be changed to bring her to Philadelphia so she can be part of the family before we both travel on to Africa. So in a very short time frame here I expect to gain Myrna but lose my Mother.
That cannot help bringing back memories of 1995 and the death of my wife Nancy within a week of the birth of my first grandson Roy. At that time I felt absolutely pulled in two by the simultaneous joy of birth and the grief of Nancy's loss.
Looks like our driver has arrived. Hopefully he has my tickets and itinerary. Schifel (?) Airport in Amsterdam is well equipped with internet facilities, so I should be able to advise Allegra and Glenn of my arrival time from there.
Odd juxtaposition of gain and loss. I see by checking their website that DHL just this morning delivered the tickets I bought to bring Myrna from Guatemala to Africa. Now I hope those can be changed to bring her to Philadelphia so she can be part of the family before we both travel on to Africa. So in a very short time frame here I expect to gain Myrna but lose my Mother.
That cannot help bringing back memories of 1995 and the death of my wife Nancy within a week of the birth of my first grandson Roy. At that time I felt absolutely pulled in two by the simultaneous joy of birth and the grief of Nancy's loss.
Looks like our driver has arrived. Hopefully he has my tickets and itinerary. Schifel (?) Airport in Amsterdam is well equipped with internet facilities, so I should be able to advise Allegra and Glenn of my arrival time from there.
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
First day of the In-Service Training: All these good people who went through ten weeks of training together, back together again. Lots of catching up on friendships, finding out what people are doing, comparing difficulties and accomplishments. Mostly we have been sharing war stories of dealing with our school bureaucracies, the Peace Corps bureaucracy, teaching techniques (some successful), and current and future plans. But a few have found snakes in their homes, some have witnessed brutal vigilante treatment of thieves, some were victims of armed robberies - fortunately no injuries or serious damages, and the Peace Corps seems to have been generous in providing counselling where appropriate.
Our program is pretty much what was expected: Group sharing of experiences, use of flip charts, and lists of topics for comment. Also the manditory attempt to add to our use of Kiswahili - I considered cutting out of that altogether, but there would have been no place to hide anyway. So I suffered through it, and it could have been worse.
Last night a number of us sat on the roof of the Training Center here in Morogoro, talking and joking until 3:30am. There was a full moon providing the lighting for us, setting the mood.
The trip getting here was a bit gruesome. My plane was late leaving Mwanza and was not the expected jet, so it took longer than expected. So, after arriving at Dar es Salaam airport and dashing by taxi to the Ubungo Bus Station, I found I had just missed the last express bus to Morogoro. The only options were to stay overnight in Dar, or suffer with a Daladala. I took the Dala option, in spite of its many stops and overcrowding. It took a 30 minute wait to get started, and along the line there was some sort of confrontation - I have a vague idea that our driver may have been a scab driver and the regular drivers were highly upset. Anyway, we finally got to Morogoro about 10:30 and I was glad to find that they had saved some food for me in a hot pot.
Now that Myrna's tickets have been purchased and there is a solid date for her arrival, I have really been thinking about her a great deal. She is due here on the 18th so I will try to hang out in the Dar region until then, setting up meetings with organizations that might be helpful to our Life Opportunity Club. When not in meetings, I expect to hang out at the American Club, the Peace Corps Headquarters, and Kipepeo Beach. What a tough life!
Our program is pretty much what was expected: Group sharing of experiences, use of flip charts, and lists of topics for comment. Also the manditory attempt to add to our use of Kiswahili - I considered cutting out of that altogether, but there would have been no place to hide anyway. So I suffered through it, and it could have been worse.
Last night a number of us sat on the roof of the Training Center here in Morogoro, talking and joking until 3:30am. There was a full moon providing the lighting for us, setting the mood.
The trip getting here was a bit gruesome. My plane was late leaving Mwanza and was not the expected jet, so it took longer than expected. So, after arriving at Dar es Salaam airport and dashing by taxi to the Ubungo Bus Station, I found I had just missed the last express bus to Morogoro. The only options were to stay overnight in Dar, or suffer with a Daladala. I took the Dala option, in spite of its many stops and overcrowding. It took a 30 minute wait to get started, and along the line there was some sort of confrontation - I have a vague idea that our driver may have been a scab driver and the regular drivers were highly upset. Anyway, we finally got to Morogoro about 10:30 and I was glad to find that they had saved some food for me in a hot pot.
Now that Myrna's tickets have been purchased and there is a solid date for her arrival, I have really been thinking about her a great deal. She is due here on the 18th so I will try to hang out in the Dar region until then, setting up meetings with organizations that might be helpful to our Life Opportunity Club. When not in meetings, I expect to hang out at the American Club, the Peace Corps Headquarters, and Kipepeo Beach. What a tough life!
