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I made it safely back home to the freezing cold of Minnesota and starting to adjust to life in the United States.

A full semester worth of work in three weeks?

After the student striking and the campus closing all of my classes have started up again. I now have a seminar paper, presentation, midterm exam, and final exam for every class all needed to be accomplished in three weeks. I have no clue how I am going to be able to pull all of it off. I am going to have to the hardest I’ve worked in a long time. I have nine written assignments all due before the ninth of December. I am stressed and part of me does not know how I will be able to accomplish all the work I need to get done, but I’ll do it. I will take it one assignment at a time. I have never not turned in an assignment and I am not going to start now. I will get everything done and it will be done to the best quality I can do. It is going to be tough, but I am so thankful for the opportunity to still be on the campus and being able to take classes. I ran into a first year student yesterday and she was asking me about why we are still able to take classes and if she knew when the University was going to reopen. I started thinking to myself “why am I so entitled that I still get to take classes?”
Even though I am stressed an the next three weeks I have a lot of stuff to get done and will not be sleeping a lot. I am lucky, I get to go to school and take the classes I need to go towards graduation. I’m lucky and blessed that the reason why I am not sleeping is because I am working on school work, while my peers are not sleeping because they are out on the streets. Last night their was a virus on my flashdrive and I lost six pages of my journal entries and at first I was upset and close to tears, but looking back on it I realize that it will all be okay, I can retype it. A professor from Concordia told me that our best work is when we type it all up once and are forced to retype it because our thoughts are more complete the second time around.
I feel like I have been complaining about such simple things that I take for granted. I have nothing to be upset or stressed about. I’m broke and in debt from a western view point, but I am one of the richest people I know because I am able to get a higher level education, I have a roof over my head, food on the table, and a family who will be by my side to support me in anything that I may need. What ever happens will happen and I know that at the end of everyday everything will work out okay. I just have to remember to keep counting my blessings and even though I might be going through a hard time with classes, I’d rather be stressed because of assignments than stressed with wondering where my next meal will come from or when school is going to reopen and if I will be able to afford to go back to school.

The Aftermath

Now that everyone has left campus and things are quite I am starting to realize the affect that closing the school has on the students, administrators, staff, and even on the community of Dar es Salaam. The students get a stipend for the school year and it comes in four installments for the year. They have only received the first stipend when the school closed. Most of the students are broke and have no money. When the school shuts down and all of the students have to leave campus many of them will move in with family or friends who live in Dar es Salaam. Other students who have money will move into a hostel until they find out for sure when school will reopen. If is it is going to be two or three weeks they will just stay around Dar es Salaam because it will be cheaper to live here then it would be to travel home. Most of the bus companies raise their prices when school is shut down because they know their will be a greater demand for tickets. Then there are the students who do not have any money and most of them will end up on the streets. As on Tanzanian put it, the girls will resort to prostitution and the men will go hungry. On Thursday as we were walking to the bus station heading for Arusha the streets were lined will students just sitting and hanging out because they have no place to go. Everyone is just waiting for word when and if the University will reopen.
My roommate, Monica and I were talking about the affects it has on her studies as we were packing up her things. She is a third year students and this is her last semester before she graduates. She had three months till she was done and could start applying for her masters, but now she has to wait for maybe up to three months. It was so hard and frustrating for her because she is so close to being done. She can not continue on with her masters, and she cannot go out and start working because she does not have her degree and since no one knows when school is going to reopen she can not get a short term job. These same frustrations are the same for many of the third year students. They are all so close to being done and now have to put their lives on hold because of some students. Not all students wanted to strike, it was only about ten percent of the students, but it had a ripple effect and caused all of the students to be impacted.
The closing of the university also affects the cafeteria workers because they had to shut down the main two cafeterias leaving about a fifty workers without jobs until the school reopens. We have become friends with the fruit vendors at the cafes and then many of the workers and it is hard to think that they no longer have jobs and are just sitting idol until the University reopens. The impact also goes beyond the University, the daladala drivers also lose a lot of business because there are not students around the University and city who will take the daladalas. All of the dukas on campus and near by will also lose business, because no one has money to buy anything. There are so many people who are affected by this on the university, and also all around the community. I don’t think I fully understand the full affects it has on everyone in the community, or what it is like to be living at the university and then four hours later be homeless.

Student Striking Day III (Wednesday, October 12)

I did not have class today till nine o’clock so I was going to stay clear of campus until then and just see what happens. We were ordered by the prime minister to go to class and from talking to other students we were supposed to go to class. Stacey had gotten a text from her professor that her 7:00am class was being held and that attendance was mandatory. When I woke up at 6:00am we could hear some students singing from other dorms, so I made the decision that if Stacey had to go to class she was not going to go to class by herself. There is no way I would have let her walk through campus alone. Stacey, Monica, and I set out for campus at 6:45am and it was completely dead. It was like the calm before the storm. Stacey went to class and they were going to have a lecture so I met up with Chris to go get breakfast and then went to the Links office to talk to Mama Kaaya to see what was going on and what we should do if they close campus. She didn’t have any answers for us or advice it was frustrating because we were at a loss of what to do. I later understood that no one really knew what was going to happen. It was all up to the students and if they decided that they were going to continue with the strike. Around nine o’clock there was no sign of the strikers so Chris and I walked to my seminar to see if there was any chance of having class, but there were no students or professor. On our way back to meet Stacey, and Kate at the Link’s café we saw the students who were striking walking through campus. It was a smaller group than the previous days only about three hundred students. They most startling part was that they were walking in complete silence no one said a word. They walked up to the outside of the administration building and soon as everyone was there they joined hands and started singing the Tanzanian national anthem and then the familiar chant of “solidarity forever.” That was all it took, within an hour signs had gone up that campus was being closed indefinitely and students had to leave campus immediately.
During the next four hours on campus there was a lot of tension. The military was present and ready to spring into action all it would take would be one student to slip up or get angry. I felt like I was walking through a scene from the movie Hotel Rwanda with a pickup truck with speakers in the back making announcements that all Tanzanian students were ordered to leave campus by 2:00pm. That truck was followed by another truck that was full of military personnel fully equipped and ready to use tear gas and water cannons if a riot broke out. There were also military teams, with tanks and tear gas launchers up by Hill Park who were on stand by waiting for the order to move if anything happened. Soon as the announcement was made that campus was shut down I went back to my room to help Monica pack and to lay low for the rest of the day. By two o’clock all of the Tanzanian students were gone, 16,000 students had left campus in four hours. It was over . . . UDSM is closed indefinitely. I had to say a quick goodbye to my roommate and was not able to see some friends before they left. It sucks because I don’t know if I will every see them or Monica again.

Student Striking Day II (Tuesday, October 11)

I did not have class today till eleven so I was going to stay in my room and get some work done and study for an exam and hear about what was happening on campus before trying to go to class. My roommate, Monica was still going to try and go to her eight o’clock class because she had an exam and could not afford to miss it. Her class was in one of the lecture theaters that seats about six hundred students and it is always full. Since the class is so large people can not tell who is actually in the class. The professor showed up and told them that they were still going to have the exam and hopefully that they would not be interrupted by the boycotters. Soon as she started handing out the exam half of the students stood up and started singing, pounding on the tables, and yelling at the students to get out of class. When Monica got back to our room she was so frustrated and angry because she just wants to go to class, but after this she had given up. She was no longer going to try and go to her other classes.
After hearing her story I made the decision not to go to class today and to leave campus. So a group of us decided to go to the beach. At first I felt really bad for going to the beach because I felt like I was skipping classes, even though I knew that they were not going to happen and that it would have not been the best decision to try and go to class. Once, the students who are striking get riled up things can get out of control really fast and it is just safer off campus for the day. When we got back to campus after the beach we went to eat dinner in the cafeteria and they were packed full of students watching the news where the prime minister of education made an announcement that all students are expected in class tomorrow at seven in the morning. Soon as the announcement was over the entire cafeteria erupted with the singing of “solidarity forever!”
When I got back to my room after dinner, my roommate had taken out her suitcases and was starting to pack. She had a feeling that the students were still going to strike tomorrow and if they did the university would be shut down. Monica was hopeful that they students would take what the prime minister said to heart and go to class, but she had a feeling that it would continue. At about nine o’clock a large group of students were running all over campus singing and trying to get students riled up for tomorrow. They ran into the courtyard of our dorm and starting singing and shouting up at the buildings telling people not to go to class and to join them. We stood out on our balcony and were able to see the silhouettes of all the students below yelling and chanting.

Student Striking Day I (Monday, October 10)

Today was the first day of the students strike. We had heard a little bit about it from some students around campus, but it was not talked a lot about. It did not really hit me that it was actually going to happen or that it was something I should be concerned about until yesterday when we were at church and Pastor Travis asked the congregation of students, who was afraid of tomorrow. At first I thought it was just a general question, like who is afraid of what the future might bring, but then I realized that he was talking about the strike. We then started praying for the campus and it will be peaceful and will not be very long. It was not until we started talking about it and praying about it that I realized that this was the real thing. The strike we had heard about all semester was finally going to happen. I was not sure what to expect because I have never experienced anything like this before. We were not sure that it was even going to happen because last week there was “student strike” that only involved about one hundred students and nothing really happened and classes still continued.
This morning I was able to go to my nine o’clock class that was in a department that was further away for campus so we were still able to have class. When I was walking back from class up towards the main road I ran into the student who were striking marching through campus. I’m not even sure how many students there was who were involved. It was almost like a parade, walking through the streets singing and chanting, it took about ten minutes for all of the students to pass where I was standing. I did not feel unsafe, but I was a little bit uncomfortable. I tried to go to the rest of my classes, but they were not happening. Most teacher and students know what has happened in the past and how fast things can get escalated so they just do not go to classes. I know that the classes were more than likely not going to happen, but there is still the little part of me that thinks that maybe it will happen and I would feel bad missing a class.
After we had all attempted going to class we decided that we needed to get of campus for the afternoon so we went down to the Mwenge, the woodcarvers market. It was nice just to be able to escape from the questions that were running through our minds. Questions like, are classes going to happen tomorrow? If the students actually strike for three days will the university actually shut down? If the university shuts down will I be able to get the credits I need for graduation? How can I afford another semester at Concordia if I can get the classes? There are so many unknowns, but the biggest was what is going to happen tomorrow? No one really has a plan of what is going to happen or if the students are going to strike or if they are going to stop and just go back to class. Around midnight we found out the answer to our question of if the students were going to continue on with the strike tomorrow because a guy came around the outside of all the dorms with a megaphone and made the announcement that they were going to strike at 8am tomorrow and that to go to class betraying your fellow students. These announcements woke both my roommate and myself up, and Monica tells me not to worry because “this is normal.” How is this normal? I feel like I am living in a movie, there is no way that this is my actual life.

Things I love about Tanzania (Part I)

When I first got to campus I was having a tough time adjusting because of homesickness and was really looking towards December. In the pre-study abroad class at Concordia they told us to make a list of the things that you like about where you are studying and post them in a place where you will see them everyday. That way you will keep looking at the positive things. I decided that I would give it a try. This is the beginning of my list and it is only the beginning because I have not updated it in a while. It has been a big help for me on some of the harder days because then I remember some of the positive and exciting things about Tanzania.

• Blue skies
• Moneys running around campus are equivalent to squirrels on Concordia’s campus
  The miniature bananas
• Chapati
• Kennedy’s fruit stand on the way to Mlimani
• Friendly people
• Markets!
• Public transportation and how easy it is to use
• Animals
• Artwork
• Beaches
• Mars Bars
• Chocolate biscuits
• Peter (Concordia Scholor)
• Steven Ndosi
• Pendo (Concordia Scholor and Kiswahili teacher)
• Mama Macha
• Avocados
• Making new friends
• Trying new things
• Climbing Mt. Rungwe
• Running with Kate and Stacey every morning
• Random cows and goats roaming the streets
• Pendo’s purple chickens. (They dyed the chickens purple so they would no be eaten by other animals)
• Chipsi Maiyi
• Wali na Maharage
• Learning and discovering new things about myself
• Over coming obstacles by myself
• Learning to trust myself
• Tanzanian children
• Maasai
• I am alive!
• Independence
• Learning that I can depend on myself
• Fabric Market and going to the Tailors
• African Drumming and Dancing shows
• Finding a church where I feel accepted
• Ulitmate Frisbee on Wednesdays with the missionaries and Pastor Travis
• Finding God again
• My amazing roommate!
• European film festival-Free movies for a month!
• Doughnut Runs on Saturdays!! – We run down to the BP station by Mwenge and buy the best doughnuts in Dar es Salaam and then walk back to campus.
• Bounty Bars and the Ice cream bars
• Going to shopprite and buying a liter and a half of ice cream and splitting it between Kate, Stacey and I.
• MANGOS!!!!!!
• Cold showers after running
• The amazing breeze on the eight floor.

“How goes it, my malaria Mama?” –Kate

For some reason whenever I get sick it happens to me during the time when there is no water. I started getting sick on Thursday. I was just having very bad stomach pains and did not want to eat anything. The stomach issues lasted until Saturday when I should go down to the health clinic and see what was going on. At the clinic they told me that I had a bacterial stomach infection and gave me antibiotics and some other drug that I think was a muscle relaxer for the stomach cramping. The medicine helped for the rest of Saturday, but Sunday I started getting the stomach cramps again and by Sunday night I had a fever and was feeling sicker. I ended up getting sick twice that night. The worst part about getting sick was that there was no water so the toilets had not been flushed for a couple of days and they were disgusting.
I was still planning on trying to go to my nine o’clock class on Monday, but I decided last minute that I should really take it easy. It was a good thing I did not go to class because by nine I had gotten sick again and had a fever. I talked to Kate who convinced me that I should go back down to the health clinic and see what was going on. We only made it down to seventh floor before I had to go back up because I got sick again. My roommate came in to the restroom and told me that if I did not think I could make it down to the health clinic I should let her know and she would be able to call someone who would come pick me up and take me. I thought that I would be able to make it. Kate and I headed down to the clinic again and this time we made it half way before I had to stop and wait for the nausea to pass before we could continue going. While I was leaning up against a tree trying not to get sick a guy who was cutting the grass came up to us and started trying to create small talk. Neither of us were in the mood to deal with the random males, but he asked Kate if I was sick and that I should go down to the health clinic. Kate told him that is where we were headed. He then very respectfully told me “Pole sana dada, (I'm very sorry sister)” it was very sweet if I haden't been about to throw up.
We finally made it down to the health clinic where one of our friends was waiting for us. I must have looked like the walking dead because they still gives me a hard time for not stopping to say hi to, but I just kept on going. If I would have stopped to talk I either would have gotten sick again or started crying because I was miserable. When we got to the waiting are there was about forty students waiting to be seen. I ended up waiting for only about forty five minutes, but during that time I got sick again. When I finally say the doctor he sent me to get a malaria test so I had to go outside and all the way around the building where I ended up waiting for a half an hour to get my finger pricked and then we had to wait another hour and a half before I got the results back and there was a big stamp that said, “Malaria Seen” I had to go back up to see the doctor, who told me I had malaria. I cannot fully remember, but I am pretty sure I started laughing. Not because it was funny that I had malaria, but because he had said it like it was some big shock even though I had read it on the paper. He told me “Pole sana (I'm very sorry)” many times and after about the fifth time of replying “Asante (Thank you)” I finally told him “pole sana” and we both started laughing.
I finally got back to my room about three and a half hours later. My roommate, Monica, was taking a nap and woke up when I came in and started freaking out asking me if I was okay. Apparently, that morning when I got sick she had called her uncle that lives in Dar es Salaam and told him that I was sick and that she did not think that I would be able to make it down to the health clinic so he offered to come all the way over to campus to drive me about 600 meters to the clinic. It was so sweet of her to worry and him to offer to come pick me up. I am so lucky and blessed that I am surrounded by so many caring people that are looking out for me. Kate ended up missing a group meeting and our other friend missed a half day of work so that they could come with me to the doctors and make sure that I was okay. I don’t know how I will ever be able to repay them for their time. It meant so much to me especially since I do not like asking for help when I am sick. In the past I have almost looked at being sick as a weakness and refused to let other people know that I was not feeling well. Being in Tanzania I know that there are some things that I can not try to deal with on my own and this was one of them and I am learning that it is okay to ask for help and that there are people who are more than willing to help out.

Student Strike

UDSM students sent packing

BY DAILY NEWS ReporterDaily News;
Wednesday,November 12, 2008 @21:15

The University of Dar es Salaam yesterday sent away all undergraduate students at the Main Campus on an indefinite suspension, ending a three-day strike at the Hill, Vice-Chancellor Prof Yunus Mgaya has announced. Prof Mgaya told reporters yesterday that the students were ordered to vacate the premises by 6:00 pm – after which they would be removed by force. However, the order does not affect students at the Institute of Journalism and Mass Communication (IJMC), where normal classes were still in progress, Prof Mgaya said. However, the fate of students at the premiere education constituent college at Chang’ombe Campus - the Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE) – remained unclear, and Prof Mgaya said the University administration was still awaiting details of student attendance reports there before a final decision could be made. Prof Mgaya said the University administration had summoned the Dar es Salaam University Students Organization (DARUSO) leadership since Sunday in vain efforts to stop the strike and ongoing demonstrations, which he said posed a threat to ‘peace and harmony’ within the campus. “The students have contravened the university’s by-laws … whose penalty is suspension,” Prof Mgaya said. The students went on strike to press the government into doing away with the cost-sharing policy, arguing that criteria used to determine the amount the students should contributedoesn’t work. At the IJMC, studies were meanwhile suspended yesterday to allow safe-keeping of personal belongings of students living at the Mabibo and Main Campus hostels, but classes are expected to resume today. At the Main Campus, the affected students started packing – ready for peaceful exit – soon after the announcement was made, even though some complained of the notice being “too short.” However, they should have seen it coming – since the University bylaws provide that any cessation of classes for three days running meant imminent closure. On Tuesday, the Minister for Education and Vocational Training, Prof Jumanne Maghembe, ordered the students to resume classes by early morning yesterday, all in efforts to allow the government time to resolve some of the sticky issues around costsharing in institutions of higher learning. Cost-sharing was first implemented in 1992 following a government decision requiring parents and guardians to contribute towards the running costs of social services such as education, health, water and energy. So far 254bn/- has been spent sponsoring some 145,970 students between 2005 and June, this year. Meanwhile, DARUSO President Anthony Machibya said the students would respect the suspension order, but added that the students leaders would remain within Dar es Salaam a while “to ensure that everything is under control.” “It is not that we have cancelled our demands … we stand by them and should they not be sorted out, the situation would not change when we resume studies,” he said. He also said DARUSO would be on standby to provide “help and guidance” to any students who might have difficulty in meeting “any conditions” set by the University administration before classes resume next time round.

http://dailynews.habarileo.co.tz/home/index.p hp?id=8379

http://dailynews.habarileo.co.tz/home/?id=8393


All international students will still be able to live on campus and classes will continue being held.

Theater major for a day...

*I went to the drawing class the next Monday to see if it was going to start. I asked another student where the classroom was and they pointed me in the right direction. I sat down and a guy came in behind me and asked me my name and if I was excited to take Directing . . . I didn’t want him to know that I was in the wrong class so I said “yes” and then he told me that he was a theater major. I sat in the class for what felt like ten minutes. Finally, I got up enough courage to ask him again what class it was and where the drawing class was being offered. I had the right room that was posted on the time table, they just rearranged the timetable to fit their needs so the classerooms were switched. I was so close to sitting through the entire directing class because I did not want to stand up and have every one look at me as the crazy mzungu who had the wrong classroom, but I also did not want to sit through an hour of directing at seven in the morning.

First Day of Classes

The “first day of classes” was very confusing and a big flop. Luckily, I was told by the students who were here last year that it would be hectic and classes would more than likely not start on time. I went to find my drawing professors who informed us that classes may not be starting at all till net week and will more than likely not follow the time table, because students show up on the first day of class and then they discuss who has conflicts with the meeting times and will rearrange classes to make sure that everyone can attend. I was also informed that we will not have class either, Wednesday, Thursday or Thursday, Friday, depending on the moon. I was also told that this was a possibility of happening, but I thought that the students from last year were just kidding about moon, but it was actually true.

Peter and his new baby

This past week we went over to Peter’s (Last years Concordia Scholar) house for dinner. We were warmly ushered in by him and his sister and offered the best mango passion fruit juice. He asked how classes we going. After about ten to fifteen minuets of small talk he showed us his wedding pictures and the picture of his wife. He apologized that his wife would not be able to make it to dinner because she was at the hospital. We got really concerned and asked him if everything was okay and he calmly answered like he said it everyday, “Yeah she’s okay, she just had a baby.” We were all excited and couldn’t believe how calm he had been telling us. I knew that his wife had been pregnant because she had been in and out of the hospital for the past month, but I did not want to ask too many questions because I know that it is not something that is usually talked about. Peter and his wife had a baby boy!
The next question we had for Peter was, “What are you doing here?” He just became a father, his wife and child are still in the hospital and he is at home entertaining guests. Peter told us that his wife still wanted us to come over to their house for dinner since the date and time had already been set. Peter’s sisters prepared the dinner for us and Peter came home for a little bit to greet us and then during dinner he left again for the hospital. This really enforced the idea of Tanzanian hospitality where the guest is always important. I do not think I would be able to do the same thing. I would want my husband next to my side regardless of who was coming to visit.
Peter and his wife have been married a little under a year. They were married in December and he left in January or February to go study at Concordia. According to Peter he did “good work,” and now he has fulfilled the social traditions expected of him. It was so interesting to hear this because it was so blunt, but also probably very true. Traditions put a large emphasis on getting married and having children, especially boys. We are hoping to make a trip back down to their house later this week to go visit the baby, but we need to wait a little bit because she had a caesarian birth and is taking some time to recover.

Praises to God for Babies

To get up to Mama Macha’s house on the side of Mt. Kilimanjaro a neighbor, Justin picked us up in his land rover. It was quite a site to be seen, ten “muzungu” standing in the back of a pick up truck. Justin is a engineer living on the mountain, but works down the village of Mori. Everyday he picks people up in his truck on the way down the mountain. Justin is a long time family friend with Mama Macha and may even be related in some Tanzanian way. Three weeks ago his wife gave birth to their fifth child, a little girl. Justin forgot to tell Mama Macha about the extension to the family because the day after her birth, Justin’s brother was murdered by the wife.(This was the second generation in which the wife killed the husband.) Mama Macha said that it had something to with thoughts of witchcraft.
Today we went to visit Justin’s wife, new baby, and bring a small gift. We were given a warm welcome and all allowed to hold the baby girl, who was adorable!! The mom was so excited we were there, it even brought tears to her eyes she even had to call Justin at work to let him know that we came to visit. Later when Justin came to drop some other girls off at Mama Macha’s house he was praising God and jumping up and down because we went to visit his family. This was very confusing for me because I did not understand why he was so excited. When I asked Mama Macha why he was so happy she asked me, “How many houses have you walked by with out stopping in?” It all made sense, to me visiting was something that you just do, but for Justin and his family to have all of us visit was something very very special. It has really made me understand Tanzanian hospitality a little bit more. I thought it was just a tradition, but Justin has shown me that they are really truly happy to have us.

To be continued . . . Stayed tune to next entries that will have more exciting entries about our week in Mori on the side of Mt. Kilimajaro, a comparison of different tribes; differences in rural villages and Dar es Salaam, hopefully classes starting, and my personal journey.

Being healthy for the first time in a long time

The strangest part about it all is that I am healthier over here than I have been at home in a long time. I am getting eight hours of sleep, running every morning, eating three healthy meals a day and drinking lots of water. Not to mention how emotionally and spiritually healthy I feel right now. I have been stereotyped before people have gotten to know me, and eventually I became the person everyone assumed that I was. I lost my own personality in, education classes, Residential Life, teaching Sunday school, and being a day care teacher. I love participating in those activities, but with them come the responsibility of living a life in a fish bowl. I’ve always been a role model and sometimes the pressure of having to do the right thing gets to be too hard. I feel like everyone is looking at me watching everything that I do waiting for me to make a mistake. It feels so good not to worry about any of that. Over here in Tanzania I have gotten a fresh start where I get to rediscover who Wendy Nelson truly is. I am no longer the little girl who worried about making everyone else happy and follow the guidelines other people have placed in my life. I still have the same morals and I am still the same person, I just no longer am going to concern myself with worrying about the person that I thought that I had to be. I am now the person I want to be, strong, independent, compassionate, and hard working. As my friend from home said, “When you come home you will be healthy and have you own personality.” I am finally becoming the individual I want to be rather than the person my peers have made me become.

The Dirtiter You Get the Cleaner You Feel

I’ve never been more thankful for running water than this weekend. The water went out on Thursday night and did not come back on till Sunday afternoon. This would not have been a big deal at all, but unfortunately I was sick at the time. So we were not able to shower or flush toilets. Drinking water was okay because I ended up buying some because since I had been sick I did not want to take a chance with just boiling water, I wanted to make sure that it was really clean. At home I would never go a week without showering, or wear clothing more than one day. I thought it would be a little difficult for me over here with shortages on water, but I am fitting in just fine! My hair is actually healthier and growing faster, since I am not washing it everyday. I forget about all the little things at home that I took for granted. Things like being able to flush a toilet, take a shower, and even the lights. They are things that I thought were necessities, but I am starting to learn how to live with out them. It is going to be so strange going home and having electricity everyday and water.

Tukuyu and around

3 September 2008

Tukuyu and around

The day started with Stacey and I trying to go for a run, but not being able to get out of the compound/hotel where we were staying because they had locked all the gates. It made me feel good that we were secure, but we were not able to get out. Our run through town was okay, there were a lot of people already out and about, we had a lot of people cheering for us as we ran by, which was fun. Before we left for the day Stacey and I went to the market to buy some bananas to take with us, and usually they are 100 shilling a piece so we were just going to get 5 bananas 500 shillings, right . . .wrong. We couldn’t understand what the woman was trying to tell us so I told Stacey just to give her the 500 and see how many bananas we got. Well we got bananas . . . we got 18 bananas to be exact and they were not the little bananas they were the full size bananas.

Our plan for the day was to go south and see Lake Nyasa and then on our way back make it to some waterfalls. The guide book made it sound like it would be really easy. To get to Lake Nyasa hop on a Dahladahla to Kyela and walk south until you run into water. It ended up not being so easy . . . we got off in Kyela and started heading south until some guy asked us where we were going so we told him and we were going the wrong direction, so we got directions and asked how far it was. It ended up only being about a 5-8km walk so we decided to walk down to the lake and then depending on time either walk back or catch a Dahladahla back to Kyela. We started walking again and were walking for about 45 min when someone else asked us where we were going and we told them and he started laughing telling us we still had 5km to go. At this point in time we were tired and hot, so we decided to turn around go back to Kyela and get some lunch and then catch a taxi down to the lake. (There were no Dalahdalahs from Kyela to the lake) We finally made it back, ate lunch at the Steak Inn where we both ordered rice and beans. It was one in the afternoon by the time we were done with lunch so we decided just to head north and try to make it to the waterfalls.

To get to the waterfalls according to the guide book take the Dalahdalah get of at a certain stop and rent a bike and bike 12km to the falls. This sounded pretty fun and we were ready for a bike ride. We got off at the right stop and walked around town asking about a place to rent a bike. To our great disappointment there were no bikes to rent. At this point in time Stacey and I were tired and very very disappointed. We decided to go back to Tukuyu and try to rent a taxi from there. Soon as we had made the decisions, two guys came and asked us if we needed a bike and we were like YES!!! So they went and got two bikes, got on the bikes and told us to get on the back. We have seen this done all through the small towns in the highlands. People can not afford a car so they get on a bike. Now I would have never ever gotten on, but I was so disappointed that we didn’t make it to the lake and not knowing if we were going to make it to the falls we agreed. This ended up being a good thing because even if we were able to find out own bikes there were so many roads to take and then you have to get off the bikes and walk over a river and through some fields where we would have never been able to find it on our own. I am very thankful to our tour guides.

When we finally got back to our hotel in Tukuyu we met back up with Siri, Liz, and Sara so that three of us could hike Mount Rungwe the next day.

4 September 2008

Tukuyu

I just climbed Mount Rungwe the third highest peak in Tanzania!! It was a tough climb and I kept thinking about how proud my Dad would be. I was so proud of myself for making it to the top. It was a four hour and forty five minuet climb to the summit and three hours down. The way up was so hard, it was at a 30 to 45 degree incline the entire time, but well worth it. We were dropped off at the bottom and had to hike through some tea, potato fields. Then we entered the rainforest at the bottom of the mountain. As we started working our way up it changed from a rainforest to a forest and later on into a bamboo forest. It was so interesting how fast the geology of the area changed. Unfortunately when we made it to the top we were in a cloud so we were unable to see even 10 yards in front of us, but it was still an amazing feeling knowing that I made it to the top. Michael our guide showed us to the edge of the crater so we could see inside of the volcano, but since it was so cloudy we couldn’t see in and it just looked like we were standing on the edge of a cliff. So we gave him a hard time and told him that we didn’t believe him it was a volcano. He told us we could hike down into it, but that was another 3 hour hike down and 5 to get back out . . . we quickly decided to believe him after that. My legs would not allow me to hike uphill anymore.

After we got back to the hotel and met up with the two girls who decided not to climb the mountain we all went out to dinner at the only restaurant in town besides our hotel. I had a typical Tanzanian meal of ugali and beans. Ugali is kind of like cream of wheat just really really stiff. Most Tanzanians eat ugali with their hands. The waiter brought it out without a spoon and left to get some other people’s food. I was so hungry that I started to pick at the edge with my fingers. When the waiter came back he was like “Ahh you are a Tanzanian you know how to eat ugali!” and then to his disappointment I asked him for a spoon. During dinner all the power and lights throughout the city were shut off so we got to enjoy the rest of our dinner by candle light.

Iringa!

30 August 2008

Dar es Salaam to Iringa

Today we started the nest leg of our journey in Tanzania, our independent travel. I am still finding it hard to believe that we are starting travel. It feels like just yesterday I arrived in Tanzania and was afraid to go buy a banana in the market and today I start traveling. My group which is composed of Liz, Siri, Sara, Stacey and I are headed to Iringa. Iringa is supposedly a six to seven bus hour ride from Dar es Salaam, but due to T.F.T. the ride took nine hours. I thought that it was going to be really long and take forever to get there, but it went surprisingly fast. The bus stopped a few times in order to use the restrooms and get dinner. On our dinner stop we all had a hard time deciding whether or not to get food. We spent so much time in making the decision by the time we got the food it was time to get back on the bus. Luckily, the conductor of the bus realized that he was missing five people . . . we are very hard to miss. The drive was through the mountains and the outskirts of a national park. The mountains were covered in dead trees, which was such a contrast to the green foliage near the river. By the national park we got to see some elephants crossing the road and a few giraffes off in the distance. We arrived in Iringa after the sun had started to set so we had to hurry and find our hotel before it was completely dark. We ended up staying at the Lutheran Center for 5,000 shillings per person a night (roughly $4.50 USD). Since the Rough Guide had been published they renovated so they wanted to charge us 35,000 shillings a night for a room, but the receptionist was very helpful and told us that we should try to bargain with her and we were able to talk her down. I was so surprised at how inexpensive a hotel was. The room was really nice, three big queen sized beds and even warm water.

31 August 2008

Iringa

I am officially turning into a Tanzanian, or so Liz, and Stacey say so. I have this issue of staying awake. I am usually asleep by 9:00pm and get up at 6:30am. This is so different from when I am at home and only get a few hours of sleep a night or staying up till early hours in the morning and not waking up until the afternoon. I really like this new schedule, I feel like I can get more done in a day and overall feel more healthy and happy. I hope that I will be able to continue this when I get back to the United States, but I highly doubt that I will be able to just because the culture is so different. Anyways, the first thing we did this morning was try to find breakfast, this turned into somewhat of a challenge because it was Sunday and a lot of the places in the guide book were closed. We ended up walking around town until we found a Salama café a small cozy café that was open. They served the best chapatti I have had so far during my time in Tanzania. After breakfast we headed to the market, where this time unlike the first time in Arusha, I was not over whelmed and I had a good conversation with one of the vendors about all the different spices and how they were used. We continued walking through the different districts of town. Discovering it was broken up into separate areas for the fruit vendors, fabric, auto/household goods. Iringa reminds me of a small town in the United States it is so welcoming and relaxing. In the afternoon we decided to hike up to Gangilonga rock which is where an old chief used to go and meditate. According to the hand book all you have to do is start walking towards one end of town past the grain silos and you will see it “nestled in between two mountain peaks.” The two mountains ended up being more like hills and the rock was just that . . . a rock. We were not even sure if we were headed to the right rock since nothing is marked with signs, so we just started walking in the direction we thought it was. Impressively we all made it to the top. The only reason why I say this is impressive is because we were all wearing skirts and flip flops. The view from the top was amazing, it looked over the entire town of Iringa. From this point we could see the Iringa was actually nestled into the mountains. We stayed on the top of the rock for a few hours listening to some middle school aged boys rap hit songs in English. It was very random and kind of strange having the different cultures work their way together. Dinner was also an adventure, we kept looking for a certain hotel, but were unable to find it so we ended up at a Mexican/African/Italian eat out of take in restaurant. I ordered chicken curry and after waiting about twenty minuets we heard some squaking coming from the kitchen. All eyes turned on me and Liz since we were the ones who ordered chicken. Needless to say dinner was very fresh and delicious. Rest in peace chicken curry. . .

1 September 2008

Iringa

Stacey and I woke up this morning at 6:30 to go for a run. It was an amazing run!!! We ended up running through the suburbs of Iringa as all the children were heading to school and as the sun was starting to rise. It was a bit chilly because we are in the mountains and further away from Dar es Salaam. Today was the souvenir day, where we spent way to much money buying gifts for other people and ourselves. The prices in Irigna were some of the best that we have seen way better than Arusha. In Arusha it felt like we were getting the tourist prices and here in Iringa it was more of the everyday price. Granted it is still not as cheep as local Tanzanians can get things, but it was more reasonable and as Gemma told us at the Maasai market, “Try to bargain, but remember that extra few shillings means more to them than it does to you.” It does not bother me too much to have to pay a little bit more as long it is not the Muzungu prices and if after having conversations with the shop keepers and getting to know them I have no issue. We were privileged in the afternoon to be able to get a tour at a place called Nemma’s Craft Workshop. It was created with the intention as an outreach program in order to give people with disabilities in the Iringa area a vocation and means of living. They now have people coming from all over Tanzania who want to be part of this project. If someone has a disability their choices become very limited. Neema’s provides them with training in a specific craft, such as beading, weaving, and paper making. The profits that are made by the items sold goes back to the people who are working. They also have a small café where most of the waiters and waitresses are deaf so you fill out a card with what you would like and they bring you what you ordered. The center is aimed at more of the tourists, but when I bought jewelry or carrot cake from them I knew that the money was actually going back to them and I did not mind spending a few extra dollars to help out a good cause.

Traveling

I will be traveling around the country for the next two weeks. So it will be a while untill the next update, but it will be a good one :)

25 August 2008

This week is our last week of Kiswahili classes and then we have two weeks of independent travel. During the time of independent travel my group will be going and traveling around the southern part of Tanzania. We are meeting tonight to figure out exactly where we want to go.

This past weekend was a blast!! It was very busy, but a lot of fun. On Friday night we went to our teachers house and she made us some of the best Tanzanian food yet!! We arrived at her house about 3:30pm and didn't leave till around 7pm. This length for a meal is very typical in Tanzania. Nothing is ever rushed! Saturday we went to our Teacher assistants house and they taught us how to make about 5 different dishes!! To prepare all the dishes it took about five hours from start to the dinner table. Then another few hours afterwards to look at pictures and watch some of the Olympics. Hopefully, when I come home I will be able to prepare a traditional Tanzanian dinner for my family and friends. (Maybe for Christmas dinner??) On Sunday we went with a family friend of another student on the LCCT trip to the beach! It was beautiful. Kate, Stacey and I decided to first go for a run down the beach before going for a swim. We made it about 10 min when we discovered sand dollars and really cool sea shells. Our hands were so full of shells that we ended up having to walk back to our spot on the beach. After the beach we went back to Mama Macha's house near campus and she made us all dinner. Rice Pilau!

To answer mom and dad's question. I did get hit by a car. We were walking on a campus road and I was on the shoulder of the road. A car came up behind us and clipped the shoulder of the road where I was walking. He ended up hitting my elbow with his rear view mirror. It all happened so fast that I am not really sure what happened. One second I was walking and the next Kate and Chris were asking me if I was alright. Luckily, nothing was broken and no damage. I have a very nice looking elbow, I believe that it had been every single color and shade of the rainbow! The guy who hit me did stop and ask if I needed a ride to the hospital, but I was okay mostly shaken up. I still can't believe how lucky I am that I didn't get seriously hurt or break anything considering I ended up breaking his side mirror. I have one tough elbow, the next day I was doing push-ups and playing ultimate Frisbee. I had lots of guardian angels looking out for me that day and everyday I am here.

18 August 2008

(Sorry, I'm a few days behind)
Hmm where to start. . . not a whole lot has been going on over here mostly taking classes and volunteering at the primary school.

Teaching at the Primary School
Last Friday when I arrived at the primary school the teacher was standing in front of the main offices texting on his cell phone. When he saw me walking up to the school he told me that he had to go help a student who fell and that I should go with him. About 5 meters away from the teacher was a little girl with a skinned knee who was trying hard not to cry as the teacher put away his cell phone. He started to assist the student and realized what time it was and told me to go teach th class and he will be right in. He didn't show up till about twenty minutes later told me that he had to go help another class so I would have to teach the rest of the class and that he would catch up with me later. Teaching was pretty good, I just wish that I knew more kiswahili because it is hard for the students to understand me. It is an English class , but since they are just starting to learn English it is hard for them to understand everything that I am saying. After class I looked for my teacher, but he was no where to be found. I have officially had my first teaching experience. I am kind of grateful to be thrown into it right away so that way I don't have time to get nervous or make mistakes. You just stay confident and go with it. I go back to the school on Wednesday with no clue what I am going to teach, since I haven't heard from my teacher. I'm hoping that he plans a lesson.
I am thankful that I am not in a class where the teacher still practices corporal punishment. There are a few teachers at the school who still hit the students on the wrist for something as little as spelling a word wrong. It is against the law here for a teacher to implement this discipline and only the head master is allowed too, but it still happens in schools all across Tanzania.

Yesterday Kate (another girl on the LCCT program and good friend) received a package in the mail!! This was very excited, but in order to pick up the package she had to go to the LINKS office on campus where foreign exchange students get their mail. She got a yellow slip at the LINKS office that she had to bring down town to the mail post office. So two dahladahla rides later we made it to the post office. Where we had to wait and push our way forwards to the counter and give them the yellow slip and pay 1,200 shillings ($1.00). After receiving her package from the holding area the package then had to go through customs to make sure there was nothing in it that was not allowed into the country. It was a very long process, but fun at the same time. Since, we were down town we took a tour around the city and saw the Prime Minister and two Star Generals escorted down the street. It was done in a similar fashion as the president of the United States with unmarked cars with blacked out windows. It was very exciting!!
The way back to campus was not exciting at all. It took us an hour an thirty minutes to travel about 10 miles and it wasn't even rush hour!! Talk about a traffic jam!! It was fun though to get off campus and see more of the city. Tomorrow we are going to the market with our swahili teachers and on Friday night our main teacher is having us over to her house for dinner and teach us how to cook some traditional Tanzanian dishes.

Updates!!!

It has been a while since I have had good blog posting so I thought I would take some to share everything that is going on over here in Tanzania. This will be a hodge podge of things all together from the past week and what I have been feeling.

This past weekend we went to Bagamoyo. It is a small town about an hour up the coast from Dar es Salaam. It used to be a main location for the slave trade. Our first day in Bagamoyo we took the time to spend the day at the Indian Ocean! It was a lot of fun. The beach had picturesque views of the ocean with white sandy beaches, and clear water. I did go swimming in the ocean, but since the tide was out we had t walk 400m in or to get to water that was only up to our waist. That night our professors from Luther College took us out to dinner at a very nice and westernized hotel where I got a cheeseburger. :) On Saturday we got a personally history lesson from and toured some ruins of an ancient mosque and grave site of many Arab sultans. It was very interesting and really meaningful to learn about the slave trade and history of Tanzania, but also being able to experience the ruins and slave houses first hand.

Where I am living:
I am living in the dorms on campus. I currently share a om with another girl from the LCCT program, but once classes start I will be moving in with a Tanzanian roommate. The rooms are pretty big considering I am in Tanzania. We also have balcony views of the city of Dar es Salaam and the Indian Ocean.

The food here is starting to get better because I am learning more and more what I am ordering . . . at first the only thing on the menu that we could understand was wali maharage, beans and rice. So I had beens and rice for the first week in Dar, but I have recently expanded my selection to fresh fruit, ugali, spinach, and many others. Last night I was being daring and I ordered fish, which ended up being very small dried fish in a tomato like sauce over rice. I tasted it and ate mostly the rice, but it was still rather fishy.

My main struggle over ere right now is finding things to do. At home I am always busy and am running around with tons to do. With my day going from 6am to 10pm. Here it is more laid back with a lot of free time. I don't know how to relax so I have to try to keep myself busy or else I think to much about how long I still have here. I have been really blessed though with a very supportive family and friends. I know that I will succeed during my time over here and in th future because I have the support of my parents, family, and friends. I can't help but feel so spoiled with loved and I have been thanking God everyday that these people are in my life.

Today was my first day of teaching at Milimani primary school, where I help out in an English class. I didn't do much teaching today, mostly observing and asking questions of the teacher. The teacher and I walked into the classroom he handed me the chalk and said “Introduce yourself, I have to go take care of something.” I was a little scared because I don't really know how much English they understand and I don't really know any Swahili. After a brief introduction about me and snow. The teacher came back and had the student present their speech they created for homework. Only abut a tenth of the class had theirs finished and the teacher didn't really care that the others did not do it. I am getting the sense that the students who want to move forward will, and those who are struggling will fall behind and not be able to continue their education. Out of the 120 some students in standard 5 only about 30 will continue to secondary school. These number are rather shocking, but when I looked around the classroom there were about 60 students and 10 books. The resources are not here for children to succeed. Students that do not have money don't get an education. There is no help for students once they fall behind, and no help for development issues that can hinder their education. It will be interesting to learn more about the education and what is being done to help students so they are not left behind.

I think that is it for now. I will try to keep you all up to date.
Miss you all!!

12 August 2008

Classes at the Univeristy were supposed to start on September 15th, but they have been pushed back to weeks and will not be starting till September 29th, which means we have two extra weeks of vacation. I'm excited about this, but I'm also ready to get into a normal routine. We have had a lot of free time the past couple of day, which has been a good and bad. Last night we went down to the soccer field and kicked the ball around for a while and ended up playing world cup with a couple of kids. Tomorrow I start teaching at the primary school . . . I will let you all know how it goes. I'm both excited and nervous to start teaching. :)

REBECCA!!!!

I'm supposed to tell you that Pendo says "hi" she is one of the scholors that came to Concordia from UDSM . . . she is also my teacher in Kiswahili!! :) :)

Taking a deep breath . . .

Yesterday was just one of those days where nothing goes right and every little think makes me upset. . . it happens. But the good news is that today is a new day and it is going much better. We only had Swahili class in the morning and then we get free time this afternoon. It is the first free time I've had since coming to Tanzania and it feels amazing. I'm planning on washing some laundry, going for a walk down to the mall to pick up my cell phone, sitting on my balcony that has a view of the Indian ocean and just start taking this all in. Dar es Salaam is very different from Arusha . . . during our first weeks we were vary spoiled with luxuries like hot water, comfortable beds, cool weather, and now life in Tanzania has started. I'm looking at all of the positives and everything seems to be going well. Cold showers are no problem you just have to wake up early and go for a run, so that when you get back the cold shower feels good. I will not only love the cold showers, but I will also get in shape. Washing cloths by hand is also a good deal because I have to wash more often because of space on our cloths line so there are no more days where I spend the entire day washing 6-7 loads of laundry. (and I save 10 dollars!!)

The food situation here at the University is rather good. A lot of the meals are beans and rice or rice and spinach . . . lots of rice or ugali (like cream of wheat)! My favorite part is getting fresh fruit from the market! Yesterday I got two fresh mangos and bananas. For those of you who were worried that I wouldn't last 5 months without peanut butter. You no longer have to worry! I got fresh peanut butter and some fresh honey :) Life is Good!

I am also starting to learn and get really good at something called T.F.T. (Tanzanian Flexible Time) Things are a lot more laid back here and the pace of life is a little slower taking more concern in how people are doing rather than if things are getting done. I'm learning and growing and practicing my patience.

Love you all and talk to you soon :)

UDSM

We made it safely to the University of Dar es Salaam and starting to get used to the campus life and dorms here . . . it is very different from Concordia. I'm doing my very best to stay positive, but some days are harder than others. I'm sure that as time goes on things will become more routine. Swahili classes are also a huge help. I'm learning as much as possible. I will post more later internet here cost money and my time is running out. Talk to you all soon. Miss you and Love you!

Camping @ a Maasai Boma

We just got back from spending three days at a Maasai boma and it was culturally overwhelming , but at the same time unforgettable and life changing. The Maasai are usually nomadic and travel around to where there is enough grazing land for their cattle, but in the past years have started to settle more in specific places. The boma or village we stayed in had about 15-20 grass and mud huts on top of a hill with virtually nothing around in eye sight the view was amazing especially when the goats and cows came home right as the sun was setting! There was no air pollution or extra noise, it was real and it was refreshing. Our hosts for the weekend were Lesikar and Gemma. Gemma grew up in Britain and took a trip to Tanzania where she met Lesikar and they ended up getting married. Her story is so interesting and inspirational, because she has left everything she knew and was comfortable with to go live in a foreign land. Together they started an organization called Aang Serian in which they provide cultural experiences, fund schools, and help an organization called Dira (Some great things are happening there so check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HQQf94jgIs) . The schools not only teach the curriculum that the government enforces, but they also have classes such as medicinal plants, folk tales, and other classes that are important for the Maasai so they do not loose their heritage.

During the first day we got to visit the secondary and pre-primary school they built and then walked the distance from the school to the boma to see how it would be like for a child to attend school. The journey took us about and hour and a half. We were greeted by the elders of the village and when we met Lesikar's father we had bow our heads to be greeted. This is something that I don't know if I could get used to. I understand it is a cultural difference and they do it to show respect to elders, but it made me a little uncomfortable when children would come up to me and do the same thing because I was older. After all the introductions we had lunch and then waited for the cows to come home . . . seriously right as the sun started to set you could hear the ringing of the cow and goat bells as they started getting closer to the village. Once they were all accounted for (Lesikar's father knows every single animal and if one is missing they have to go back out to look for it till it is found.) Then I got to help milk the goats and cows with very little success. That night the stars were amazing, the sky was clear and I saw more stars, planets, satellites than I have ever seen before!

The next morning we started preparing for our trip to Orpul, a sacred place where the Maasai go to heal spiritually, mentally, and physically. To orpul it was about a hour hike that turned into almost two hours because along the way we learned about the different plants and the medicinal uses. I got a toothbrush from one tree (I don't remember the name of the tree), and a leaf from a bush for good luck. Our purpose at orpul was to sacrifice a goat and make medicinal soup. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, we didn't have to do any of the actual butchering of the goat which was good. I passed on the eating of a fresh kidney, and the drinking of the goats blood, but I did try a piece of cooked liver. I also had a sip of the medicinal soup that included plants, the goats stomach, intestines, fat, and other parts that I don't really care to know. The taste was . . . umm well imagine what a goat or a farm smells like and that is what it tasted like. Luckily, I didn't have to drink a lot of the soup, because I didn't eat any raw meat. The soup is full of natural antibiotics that would kill off any ecoli, or other bacteria found in raw meat and blood. That night the people in the village got together to have a traditional dance. It was completely dark outside, the men were lined up on one side and women on the other. All I could see was the men jumping up and down and then all the sudden I could see the figure coming at me and then move backwards. At first this was so scary, I felt like I was in the middle of a horror movie. After a while the women were showing us how to dance and bringing each of us to the middle of the circle to try. I realized that I was among friends and when in the world would I ever be given another chance to participate and dance with Maasai warriors and their families. It was amazing how accepting everyone was and how much fun it was! There was a lot of laughing, chanting, and overall it was a great time.


We also got to meet some of the six Maasai warriors that ran in the London marathon to raise money in order to get a water source in their village. They ran the marathon in their traditional Maasai attire including the tire sandals, spears, and shields. (www. maasaimarathon.org)

30 July 2008

This afternoon we have been given a little extra time to pack and get ready to go camping this weekend at a Maasai boma, so hopefully I will be able to upload some long awaited pictures. Check here or facebook later on today . . .



Today we concentrated on learning about the different aspects of AIDS and HIV, how it affects the people of Tanzania, and what it being done to help solve this issue. Our first stop was an aids nursing home/orphanage that they expanded to add on a day care and classrooms. At the nursing home they were currently housing about 20-30 patients. At the school/daycare we were able to go into a classroom and help teach small groups of students how to read and write the numbers 1-5 and the capital letters A,B, and C. This was a lot of fun especially since the children were so happy to have visitors. There were about 30 students at four different grade levels with one teacher!!!! I can't imagine teaching a classroom with four groups of students learning four different things, but the funding is not available to hire an extra teacher. All of the students have tested HIV positive and are reciveing free medication from the government. Most of the student are orphaned or being raised by other family members. Along with housing HIV patients who are in need of medical care, providing education/daycare for students, they are also reaching out to the community to educate others about the virus.



After lunch we stopped by WAMATA an HIV and AIDs organization that is all across Tanzania and Steven, our teacher is on the Board of the Arusha division as the secretary. At WAMATA they are working to empower people to get tested, providing medications, giving out small interest free loans, teaching vocational classes like taloring and drumming. I really like this organization because it is run by the community to support the community. Three women who are living with AIDs and HIV came to talk to us and share their stories. One of the women was shunded from her family and when people from WAMATA told them they were going to get her medications to help her get better they told them not to waste their time and money on her because she is going to die soon anyways. . . . she is still thriving today because of the help she recieved and her family has changed their view points about AIDS and HIV. Two of the women took out loans and have since repaid them and were able to take out a second loan. The loans that are giving out are a huge help because many people are not able to get a foot in the door and struggle to find a direction. For instance one women took a loan of 50,000 shillings so less than $50 with that money she was able to buy some chickens. After repaying that loan she was able to take out a second loan of 100,000 shillings with that she bought a bull. With out the loans it would have been a lot harder for her to get started and make a good living for herself and her family. It took a lot of courage for them to come and talk to us, it was very eye

29 July 2008

This blog is going to be short and sweet. We just got back from an overnight safari and I am exhausted, but there are some people I would like to tell you about.

Here at TCDC we have many wonderful drivers who not only get us safely from one place to another (which is challenging enough with traffic around here), but they also serve as body guards, give us information about EVERYTHING (the city, politics, animals, people) and answer any questions that we might have. They have truly been a blessing to all of us here. Tonight I am asking you all to say a prayer for Peter, two weeks ago his seventeen year old daughter died at boarding school due to complications of malaria. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Asante Sana!
(Thank you very much)

27 July 2008

Today we went to church with our teacher and good friend Steven. The church was called African Mission Evangelist Lutheran. About five years ago this church broke of from another church because of corruption. So they are in the process of building a new church. They have been working on it for 5 years and have a ways to go, but my favorite part is that it is being built by the people. Every Sunday they have an offering just for the building and the money they collect goes into buying more supplies for the church on Monday. Like today they collected 386,000 shillings and tomorrow they are going to buy more cement to finish the walls. Even though we could understand very little of the service it was still nice to have the feeling of being in a church and we were warmly welcomed. After church they had an auction of different items that we brought like fabric and t-shirts along with donated items from the community (even two live chickens :) Then we broke up into small groups to have lunch at the homes of different community members. My new family has a mother, father, one son, and two girls. The father is currently studying at the University of Dr es Salaam so was not around during our stay. The son Laurent will also be studying economics at the University this fall. Since, Laurent's father is not at home he has taken the car battery out of the car, hooked a converter to it so he is able to make his TV work. He said that his father would not be upset because he was using it to watch the "news" . . . and sports along with Spanish soap operas that were translated into English. Our lunch at their house was wonderful, rice, stew, mashed potatoes, spinach, oranges, cucumbers, avocados, tomatoes, tea, sodas, water . . . I am still full from all the food. After lunch we went to visit another family member who offered us coffee and biscuits. Culturally if you are asked if they can prepare you something you must say yes even if you are full. So I had some coffee and crackers. I wish I could post some photos because as we were leaving the sun came out and the kids were out playing soccer and the parents we laying around talking, cows were grazing on the green grass, with the mountains in the background. It was so beautiful, everyday I fall more and more in love with this place and the people!!

26 July 2008

The blogs are starting to get harder and harder to write because there is a lot more thinking and processing of information that goes along with them. For instance, we have visited about three/four different schools and they are all different and every teacher has a different views about what type of education children should be receiving. It also doesn't help that the government has set strict regulations about the education from what classes need to be taken to the size of each classroom. There are specific regulations about the size of the classroom, they need to be a specific length and with with windows and doors positioned a certain area. We have visited private schools funded by organizations from the United States, public schools, schools in the city, and a school out in a small Maasai village. There are some big gaps in the educational system that could be hurting some of the cultures more than helping. For instance, we had a tour guide named Ben who went to primary and secondary school and now has an education and very good English. After graduation he went back to his village where the most important things is finding food, and knowing what plant does what. Every single school and every culture is so different that the educational needs of each individual is unique. The government has created guidelines in order to help the country as a whole, but not always beneficial for each culture or individual. This is what my final research paper is going to be about, the current struggles of the Tanzania educational systems and over the next few months it will start to be narrowed down.

25 July 2008

Mambo??

Yesterday we went to the coffee farm of Hamidu and his wife. On Hamidu's farm he had many different crops all growing together. Many farmers do this so that if one crop is slow one year they still have a different one to bring in income. We were able to help pick coffee beans, then take the shell off, dry them, and roast them, and finally my favorite . . . we got to drink fresh coffee right from the farm!!! It is by far the best coffee that I have ever had, it was not as bitter as the coffees found in the U.S. The family is not able to harvest all the beans themselves so they let people help out on their farm for money. They let other people "help" rather than "work" on farms because when you use the term "work" it is putting one person above the other and here everyone is the same. When people help on the farm they have to fill about a 3 gallon bucket full of beans and they get 500 shillings for it, which is less than 50 cents. It is said that some of the only people who are able to send their children to school are coffee farmers. School in Tanzania is free, but the parents have to supply the uniform, pencils, pens, and workbook. Which is very hard for some families.

Today we went to Maroroni village. It has a population of about 4,000 people. We were lucky enough to be able to help Martha and Reuben on their farm. They have 20 acres with beans, maize, sunflowers, cows, chickens, goats, geese, and dogs. We get made fun of for keeping dogs and cats as pets and letting them live in our houses because dogs are used to keeps other animals where they belong and cats are good for killing mice that could eat their plants. I have come to learn that everything whether it be work, school, or business in Tanzania the people always come first. When we arrived we were welcomed into the house to be blessed and have a prayer. Then we sat outside where we had tea and conversations about life on a farm in Maroroni. After all the talking was done we went into the field and got to work. Cutting down sunflower heads and collecting. We did this side by side with Reuben and Martha's family and later. It was a little frustrating because you want to have a conversation with people around you, but you are not able to because they do not understand English and I don't understand Swahili. Hopefully soon I will learn a little bit more and be able to hold a conversation.
After working on the field we walked about a mile to the center of town (town was about 5 buildings) we got to tour the primary and secondary schools and talk with some of the teachers. In the primary school they have over 600 students enrolled and only 11 teachers!!! I can't even imagine what it would be like to teach a class that size. The classrooms are basically four walls benches and a chalkboard. There were a few classes that were not being used, I thought it was because they didn't have enough teachers, but it was because they did not have enough desks to have another classroom. The attendance at the primary school on a daily basis is 93% and their are more males than females, which is typical in most schools.
It was a long day at the farm working and touring, but our day was not over. We had some free time from 4:45 - 6:40 and were previously informed that there was a orphanage called "Cradle of Love" right down the road from where we were staying that needs lots of help especially during feeding time. All you have to do is show up. We walked in and the first thing someone said was find a baby bring them inside for dinner. At Cradle of love they have a maximum capacity of 40 children and are currently at 35. The ages range from newborn to three years and there are only 4-5 full time workers and currently 4 volunteers. I can't even imagine! At the center I used to work at for infants the ratio was three children to one teacher and there were times when that was hectic and here they are taking care of many more babies around the clock. All of the children have been abandoned by their parents either at the hospital, sometimes along side the road, even found under a bush, and some the mothers die at birth from HIV and AIDS complications. This week a 4 month old baby was brought in weighting 6 pounds!!!! All of the children look much younger than they actually are because they have been malnourished. I was playing with one child who not able to walk and I didn't even think twice about it because he was so young . . . he was two years old.

It has been a long and enjoyable day and I'm so thankful for all of the wonderful experiences.

Love, Wendy

24 July 2008

I woke up this morning at 5 am to rain! Rain is a very good thing and common in this area, but since it has been very chilly the past few days. We have been wearing pants long sleeve shirts and jackets!! This morning was perfect weather for hot chocolate and coffee mmmm . . . . it was perfect till I took a sip and ended up with a dead bee in my mouth. I guess that's what happens sometimes when you are in Tanzania :)

The place we are currently staying at is called TCDC Training of development cooperation center. It is in a compound so there are a bunch of little units with two separate rooms. Here they train people from all over the world to get them ready to spend time in Tanzania for what ever reason they are here for. The classes we are taking have to deal a lot with the language and the culture. They have a dining hall where we get all of our meals and they have clean water all the time for us. A computer facility with free Internet. :) I'm staying in one with Stacey and we have our own bathroom with a shower!! We are so lucky that there is even hot water!!

I have been talking a lot with other students from our program and we all have kinda agreed that we thought we would have been more impacted by some of the things that we have seen. There are so many things to take in these next few weeks and it will take a long time to process everything that we have done and seen. So for right now I will keep on writing down my experiences so I don't forget and slowly start to process everything that we are seeing and hearing.

Well I am headed off to a lecture, then later go to a coffee farm to harvest some coffee beans and then lunch at a local resturant.

Have a great Day!!

Love,
Wendy

23 July 2008

Today was our first full day in Arusha, Tanzania. After about only an hour and a half of sleep the day got started at 6:15 am. On our way to breakfast we saw our first monkey playing in the trees. We had an orientation class this morning about the TCDC Training center for development cooperation, and then Facts about Tanzania. Which was really interesting, especially when they started to talk about the poverty in Tanzania. According to our teacher Tanzania is not poor, they are actually very rich in resources including lots of minerals, coffee, gold, maize, and tourism. The issue is it is all being privatized and there is a ton of corruption from the government so the common people of Tanzania are not getting any sort of income from it. All the income goes to the investors outside of the country. Another thing that I found really interesting was that the government has set up a food bank where during harvest season the government buys food from the farmers and stores it incase a dry spell comes and there is a drought. Then the government sells the food back to the people at a low price.
After our history lesson we had our morning chai (tea break) and then headed down to lake Duluti where we sat outside and had our first Swahili lesson. After a picnic lunch by the lake we then headed to the heart of Arusha to put our new language skills to use. We first went to the currency exchange place where we got 1130 Tanzanian Shillings to the US dollar. We took a brief tour of the city and then went to the first market where they sold all sorts of fresh meat, produce, and dried fish. This was our first interaction of standing out in a crowd. The people are really friendly and want to sell you their products, so they will say "Karibu" (welcome) and"Sister sister look at this!!"and some will even try to get you to marry them. Our teacher told us to say yes for 10,o00 cattle. (This was a joke Mom and I promise I will be coming home and not some cows) Since, were warned about this before hand we were given some polite saying to say no thank you such as "Hapana Asante" and another longer one that I'm still learning. At first I was really hesitant to say anything at the first market, but by the time we got to the second market where they had arts and crafts I started to be more confident and was able to say "Jambo" and "Karibu" back to the vendors and even tell them "Hapana Asante" and they actually listened!! I even got enough confidence where I made my first purchase, which is a handmade bag and I even bartered to get a better deal!!!! We stopped by one last market to pick up our Kangas (fabric that you wrap around your waist to make a skirt) and our teacher Steven was with us and told us not to buy one for more than 5000 shillings (a little less than 5 us dollars) and I was able to barter again gaining with more confidence this time.
It has been one very long day, but a wonderful first day too!! I am excited for what tomorrow's adventures might bring!!

Love you and Miss you all!!!
Wendy

22 July 2008

(I wrote this on the plane and finally got Internet access to post it)

I left Minnesota in true Wendy fashion . . . I left my keys for my locked luggage at home on my bed. Luckily I noticed this before I was through security and my wonderful neighbors were able to bring them to me at the airport. After being flustered and that commotion I'm not hesitant to say that I had a "What am I doing???" moment as I was going through security, thinking about how easy It would be to just turn around, but my feet kept moving against my greatest fears and I made it on the plane. I would be lying id I said that I wasn't scared or nervous, but while I was sitting at the airport in Amsterdam I realized that I have no reason to be afraid. I have my parents, brother, sister, extended family, friends, and so many more people praying and thinking about me everyday. Not to mention my closest friends, people from church, neighbors, and my three guardian angels up in heaven. Between all of you, I know that I am going to have an amazing trip. I know there will be hard times where I just want to reach out and grab the phone, but I get to relay on myself and Jesus to help get me through, and not to mention the other 9 students who are sitting on the plane with me.

On a lighter note on the flight from Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro they gave us HOT TOWELS on the plane! It is the little things that make me happy.

Thanks to everyone for all your prayers, they are helping by providing comfort. So please keep the prayers coming and I will keep the posts coming!

Tutanana!! (See you later)

Contact Information

The best way to get in touch with me is through e-mail
wanelson@cord.edu

Mailing Address in Tanzania
(mail is slow and sometimes unreliable but it can still be sent)
Wendy Nelson
c/o Mrs. Mabel S. Kaaya
LINKS OFFICE
Box 35091
University of Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, East Africa

Itinerary

This is a rough schedule of the first few months while I am in Tanzania.

Tuesday, July 22
Students arrive at Kilimanjaro airport

Wednesday, July 23
Introduction to TCDC by Steven Ndosi
Introduction to Kiswahili language
Lecture on Tanzania by Steven Ndosi
Lunch at Lake Duluti
Visit Arusha, change money, purchase kangas

Thursday, July 24
Lecture on culture in Tanzania by Steven Ndosi
Visit coffee shamba (farm)
Lunch at Tengeru
Lecture on political history of Tanzania by Steven Ndosi

Friday, July 25
All day at Maroroni village
Work on maize farm with host family
Tour Maroroni village

Saturday, July 26
Morning at Peace House Secondary School near Arusha
Afternoon at Maasai market in Monduli Juu

Sunday, July 27
Church service at Nkoanrua AMEC followed by fundraising auction
Lunch and social time with parishioners

Monday, July 28
Morning at Aang Serian: introduction to youth music and media projects
Travel to Karatu near Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Tuesday, July 29
All day inside Ngorongoro Crater and return to TCDC

Wednesday, July 30
Morning at St. Lucia HIV/AIDS Nursing Home
Afternoon at WAMATA Arusha and visiting PLHAs

Thursday, July 31
Visit Noonkodin Secondary School at Eluwai
Set up camp at Olekitayemuni homestead (Maasai boma)
Lectures and practical workshops on Maasai culture

Friday, August 1
Hike up mountain and spend all day at Enjorro orpul site (forest retreat)
Goat slaughter and preparation of medicinal soup
Lectures and practical workshops on Maasai traditional medicine, health, illness, and healing

Saturday, August 2
Return to TCDC and prepare for trip to Dar es Salaam

Sunday, August 3
Early breakfast at TCDC followed by 10-hour bus ride to Dar es Salaam
Settle into rooms in the UDSM residence halls (students) and research flat (Lori and Yarrow)

Monday, August 4
Tour campus and complete paperwork
“Life on Campus” lecture by Carol Swai, Assistant Dean
Daladala to Mwenge with UDSM student guides
Purchase cell phones at Mlimani City (if time)

Tuesday, August 5
Morning: Kiswahili orientation (students); LCCT interviews (Lori)
Afternoon: Tour Dar and conduct important business (all); NBC Bank, Aga Khan Hospital, US Embassy, IST Clinic, Tinga Tinga workshop, Slipway

Wednesday, August 6
Morning: Kiswahili course (students); LCCT interviews (Lori)
Afternoon: Visit Mlimani Primary School with two UDSM student guides (students, Lori, Yarrow); open email accounts (students)

Thursday, August 7
Morning: Kiswahili course (students); LCCT interviews (Lori)
Afternoon: Lunch and tour of City Centre: Kariakoo market, Uhuru Street cloth market, etc. (students, Lori, Yarrow, UDSM student guides)

Friday, August 8
Morning: Kiswahili course (students); LCCT interviews (Lori)
Afternoon free
Evening: LCCT dinner for previous scholars and UDSM administrators (Lori, Yarrow, students, LINKS staff)

Saturday, August 9
Day trip to Bagamoyo, with dinner in Dar on the way home

Sunday, August 10
Church (optional)
Free day
Yarrow departs on KLM evening flight

Monday, August 11
Morning: Kiswahili course (students); write up LCCT interview results (Lori)
Afternoon: Mlimani Primary School (students); LCCT business (Lori)

Tuesday, August 12
Morning: Kiswahili course (students); pack and finish LCCT business (Lori)
Afternoon: Mlimani Primary School (students); say goodbyes (Lori)
Final briefing (Lori and students)
Lori departs on KLM evening flight

W-F, Aug. 13-15
Morning: Kiswahili course
Afternoon: Mlimani Primary School

M-F, Aug. 18-22
Morning: Kiswahili course
Afternoon: Mlimani Primary School

M-F, Aug. 25-29
Morning: Kiswahili course
Afternoon: Mlimani Primary School

Sat., Aug. 30- Thurs. Sept 11
Student travel period: Time to explore Dar and travel outside the city

Friday, Sept. 12
UDSM international student orientation: required!

Monday, Sept. 15 - Dec. 12
UDSM classes begin; resume teaching at Mlimani

December 13
Depart for MN

December 14
Arrive in MN