By 9pm my stomach was eating itself...
Trip Start
Nov 27, 2008
1
4
8
Trip End
Jan 04, 2008
Kijenge Juu (Arusha), Tanzania
Monday, December 1, 2008
Here I am, exhausted again. It seems I spend the day thinking of things I want to write (many very funny I must say!) and then end the day too tired to type.
I'm also challenged by the pigeon English that is now running through my head. "I want to type, but very, very tired. Can-not type. Must go to bed and sleep. Very, very tired." All of this thought and written with a lovely Tanzanian accent.
That said, here I go.
Yesterday I woke up and started my orientation for MondoChallenge. I trekked about town with Leonard (a Mondo staff member who is Tanzanian) learning my way about Arusha (not too hard), getting a nice new cell phone (very simple the way I like it) for only $30, visiting the market (really interesting and yummy avocados here), and having a skirt made. I think I'll make a few skirts in these bright, fun patterns and why not! They're only $6. I now understand why dorky westerners come home speaking Swahili and wearing totally inappropriate clothing - it just WORKS here. I will look very, very pretty wearing these patterns (at least in my own head).
Leonard also gave me a survival Kiswahili course (and was impressed at what I know - I somehow just seem to be picking up this language, I have no idea what's going on but it's fun). Today's words: Badai (later), chui (leopard), naombi chenji (I would like my change). I even visited a shop, asked for a phone card, gave the amount I needed, and all this after a nice greeting back and forth (hujambo, mambo, poa, habari, nzuri). Lovely.
I got in a "quick" internet visit (meaning, it took 20 minutes to send one email which does NOT bode well to the research I'll need to do for my job here OR the uploading of these blogs).
Then, I was taken to my home stay. I call it posh. I'm not joking. Kate has asked I keep that quiet when talking to the other volunteers because I have one of their nicest. I was reminded of my lovely Shawna actually as I took in the tiled floors (she loves tile) and spotless surfaces. It's behind a pretty blue metal gate and is a beautifully painted cinder block home. I have a big room with a big bed and there's even a TV with cable in the living room. Ok, the Tanzanian soap operas aren't exactly the Amazing Race but why be picky?
Mama Scola is a beautiful middle aged woman with two daughters - Scola and Caroline. Scola is 15 and Caroline is 10. Caroline clearly speaks the best English and is a funny, sweet, little girl with a lovely smile and engaging giggle that makes you want to giggle right back (something I'm quite good at and we've bonded extensively over as I write this on day 2 of my homestay). Gigglers unite!
I was nervous of course - and the English is limited so speaking mostly consists of questioning looks, ah yes's!, and halting words as we search each other's faces for a hint of understanding. The best moments for me were when Mama Scola and her girls would just go back to Kiswahili and I could sit there in comfortable silence, trying to pick out words I know and enjoying their banter with each other.
When I first got there Leonard showed me around - I exclaimed over and over how beautiful it was (and I meant every word - the drive up was on a muddy road passing houses made of mud and straw or, at best, unpainted rundown cinderblock drowning in the muddy streets, trash all around, you get the picture). You can imagine my relief at seeing the "gated" house - and lovely gate at that. Let me be clear - I know what I signed up for and I was totally prepared to stay in a home with no running water, no electricity, and a hole outside for a toilet. That alone is the reason that when I arrived on Mama Scola's doorstep relief overtook me and I could not contain myself - gushing for 20 minutes about the beauty around me. She loved me instantly. Bringing chocolates with me for the family probably helped.
Mama Scola told me dinner would be at 7:30pm. OK, I know these Tanzanians like to eat late (my downfall). Breakfast: 10am, Lunch: 2-230pm, Dinner: 8-10pm. But, I have my granola bars. I'm ready.
So, at 730pm I left my room and knocked on the kitchen door at 730pm. "Hodi?" I asked. "Karibu" (welcome, come in) they replied. We sat on tiny stools almost on the floor around a hot plate in the middle of the tiny kitchen (maybe 8x8 including counters about the size of mine at home but square shaped) as Mama Scola made the food and we all attempted conversation (again, mostly smiles, happy talk, fun).
By 9pm my stomach was eating itself. But, I will say, Mama Scola does not disappoint. She is an amazing cook - and clearly wants to fatten me up. Which will likely happen if these eating habits keep up (and there is no "gym" in Tanzania). Dinner was rice, some mashed up veggies (typical dish here but Mama Scola's is the best), spinachy stir fried dish, mangos...yum. I taught them that word by the way. Yumyumyum.
We ate, then went to watch a bit of the telly - Tanzanian soap operas. I sat there obsessing over how to say, "I'm tired, I'm going to bed." Then she saved me by asking if I was tired. So, to bed it was!
The next day, Leonard and Kate picked me up and Kate took me to the nonprofit I'll be working with. We took a daladala - I honestly think someone should write a photojournal about the various types of transport in each country. Jeepneys in the Philippines, daladalas here...always little van-y things, always private, always decorated in some way, always overcrowded. BUT - at least I can speak enough Kiswahili not to get ripped off in Tanzania! Take that daladala!
We were dropped off into, surprise, another lovely village. Norbert is the guy I'll be working with and he is a sharp dresser who is on-time to all meetings. In other words - he really doesn't quite fit in (Tanzanians place no value in being on time - time is a very loose concept here). He was there waiting as we were 6 minutes late (and of course blamed the daladala). He walked us down paths of mud lined with banana trees and little (surprise) cinderblock houses. Some were definitely more, ah...down trodden than others. Melissa would have loved the little cows tied up and munching away at the grass around them (sorry Mel, I know you've outgrown the cow adoration - but you still appreciate them, right?)
The day was exhausting. Norbert is an incredible guy. Really - I'm a pretty harsh critic of nonprofit managers. This guy has little education and training and yet just "gets it" - seeming to know exactly what he needs to do and trying so hard to do it. He reminds me of me my first year as an Executive Director. No money, insurmountable odds, a great love for the staff (like a family) and an interest in their welfare personally....but did I mention insurmountable odds?
And when I say he gets it - well example...there aren't many place with internet here yet. Especially when you consider that Arusha is a big tourist town (Mt. Kili climbs and most safaris start here). Yet, when I asked him if he had things written about the nonprofit (how do you say "do you have marketing materials" in Kiswahili?) he said he didn't think it was good to focus on making more paper. That they needed a website to reach their donors. Oh, he gets it. Tim - I guess now's a good time to let you know I've signed you up for a volunteer project to build his website. You don't mind, right?
I was exhausted by the end of day one but I'm sure Norbert was worse off - he was not only answering all the mzungu's questions but also translating for about 5 hours. I took pity on him around 3pm and we headed off back to Kijenge Juu - the neighborhood I'm living in. We took his motorbike - thus starting my new adventures in motorbike riding. Let me say - the rules of my motorcycle class do NOT apply. I am in sandals, maybe pants, short-sleeve shirts, no helmet, no "eye protection" - I'm lucky that I have a bar on the seat behind me at butt level to hold on to. But, like everything here, somehow it just works for me. And I'm going with it.
