Today was really good. The highlight was definitely my swahili class because I really got to connect with the other students on this trip, particularly in our class. I didn't know anyone except for Amber before I came, and the creation of relationships with the other students has been a little slow-going. However, today in our swahili class we were learning how to form sentences in the present tense. Everyone struggles pretty equally to pronounce the words we're learning, but today our teacher taught us a chant to remember the subject prefixes for the negative present tense. At first, everyone was a little awkward during the chant, but then we all got into it and started dancing and making beats on the table. We joked about being a step team and laughed for the longest time. Even the teacher was dancing and laughing. I swear, we spent a solid 10-15 minutes just on that chant because we all enjoyed it so much. One of the girls even took a video of it with me dancing while everyone else was just chanting and it's pretty hilarious, but she probably can't post it to facebook until we get back to the states. I feel like it has really helped me become more accepted (most of them already knew each other before this trip) and i'm hoping to develop lasting friendships with these awesome people.
Day 5: Step Team in Swahili Class
After class I hopped on the bus to the orphanage. My time there wasn't very exciting, but was still very fulfilling. Mysellf, Evie, and Nicole were on laundry duty so we hung baby clothes on clotheslines the whole time we were there. We talked about how we were happy to help them so that the mamas do not have to worry about the laundry, they can just focus on the children. All of us felt like we were making a big difference by doing such a small thing. I hope to get to spend more time with the children, though, because on the way out they were eating lunch and saw us. We stopped to say hello and a few of them quit eating and ran up to us with their arms spread wide. They embraced our legs and laughed. They were so affectionate and adorable! This orphanage is really great and I love the focus on family preservation and reunifications. I also like that they exclusively employ native Tanzanians from the surrounding towns. The children are being brought up in a Tanzanian family-style environment, which means that when/if they are adopted, they will have less trouble adapting.
In Dr. Davidson's class today we learned about afrocentricity. Afrocentricity is a philosophical paradigm that emphasizes the centrality and agency of the African person within a historical and cultural context. It involves a rejection of historic marginality and racial alteration of history while seeking to add substance to the idea of a black perspective on facts, events, texts, personalitites, historical records, and behavioral situations. Afrocentrists try to reposition Africans at the center of their own historical experiences. With regards to this, we discussed how people tend to assume that there weren't societies or intellectuals before the Greeks, but African philosophers began to teach about math, science, medicine, architecture, manners, oratory skills, nationalism, and physics at least 100 years before any of the Greek philosophers.
At home, Baba took us for a lovely walk up to the school where his children go. He also took us to his church and explained that there are 2 Lutheran churches in his village because there was a huge split in the church due to corruption in the late 90's. He sided with the "rebels" and is now chairman of the committee to continue building on the church. We also talked about corruption in the government. He is very knowledgeable and a great teacher. I really enjoy our talks!
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Day 4: My New Agency
Today we learned the swahili pronouns and the verb for "to be" before loading up and going to our agencies. I was placed at a new agency today called the Nkwaranga Orphanage which is located at the Nkwaranga Hospital which is one of, if not the, oldest hospitals in the the area. It is up the side of a large hill connected to Mount Meru and is an open-air hospital that has absolutely beautiful grounds. Myself, Nicole, and Evie met with Deb, the director of the orphanage who gave us a run-down of what they do and how they usually conduct business. Most of their children come from the hospital due to the high rate of maternal death. However, the focus at the orphanage is family preservation and reuinification so they hope to place the children with other family members. Deb said the overall goal for the orphanage is to be out of business in a few years because the children have been returned to healthy families. We talked a lot and it was really nice because Deb is actually from Tulsa, OK so we connected easily. We didn't actually get to go into the orphanage today due to the tour of the hospital, but we will get to work with the children ages 2-5 starting tomorrow. I'm excited for the experience, and for the opportunities my relationship with Deb may bring in the future.
After Nkwaranga, we came back and had a seriously yummy lunch (made even more delicious by the fact that I was starving). For lunch I had minced beef stew (that was HELLA bomb), carrots and squash, beans, avocado and cucumber salad, and potatoes. For dessert, I had mango and watermelon. It (the mango) was slimy, yet satisfying :P
OU classes were relatively uneventful, but afterward when we went home, we had a great time talking to Mama and Baba before doing our homework. Mama and baba left for a while to go see a bereaved friend while we did homework, so we finished that and had dinner with Stanley, their nephew who we talked to all about OU, life in the US, and studying abroad. He's thinking about looking into studying in Oklahoma for his masters degree, which would be really cool and it'd be awesome to get to host him.
Later, Baba taught us all about the Tanzanian educaton system. They start classes at 7 and go to school for 7 years before taking a written exam. If they do well, they pass to the next level, called Ordinal level, and they have 4 years of that before another exam. If they do well there, they go on to Advanced level for 2 more years. Then, if they do well, they are eligible to start college. He also told us about the history of the education system here. He said that in the 60's during President Nyerere's time, the education system was doing much better but now teachers are not highly trained or well paid and as such are not motivated to do well. Sometimes their paychecks are even delayed and the government does not recognize them as being incredibly essential to the success of society, so they feel very disenfranchised.
It was very enlightening to learn about education in Tanzania, but afterward I was WIPED. Amber and I took our bucket showers and headed straight to bed!
Day 3: Swahili Greetings and Baba Wisdom
FToday we had our first day of swahili lessons, the subject being greetings. My teacher is very nice and super fun. I really enjoyed class and even though i'm not picking the language up quickly, I am definitly loving learning it. In class today we learned greetings such as...
Habari za asubuhi? - How are you today?
Hujjambo? - How are you?
Hamjambo? - How are y'all?
Shikamoo - I respect you, a greeting for people older than you
Mzima? - Are you okay?
Umelalage - How did you sleep?
Umeamkaje - How was your morning?
Umeshindaje- How was your day?
Salama - peaceful
and the youth/slang greeting: Mambo - what's up?
After swahili lessons we went to our service agencies. The professors contacted the Maasai Children's Organization where I was supposed to be going and found out that they do not really want to take volunteers, so while they figured out my new placement I went back to the Neema House. I was not even a little bit mad because I had a wonderful time there. We took the kids for a walk and played with them. I spent most of my time with the little Malakia (the adorable little blind girl I discussed in my last post). She loves to sing so we spent our time singing and dancing. She knows the words to itsy bitsy spider, old mcdonald, twinkle twinkle little star, and even the ABC song. She's very bright and smiles the whole time you play with her. I just loved the time I spent with her! After our walk and play time, we went back to the house for lunch. All I had to do was mention "chakula" (food) and Malakia was all sorts of excited. We fed the kiddos some sweet potatoes with peppers and onions (pureed) and then let them fall asleep in our arms before we had to go back to the TCDC.
Malakia and Me at Neema House :D
There, we had a lunch of cucumber and carrot salad, fried nile perch with curry sauce, beans, mixed veggies, and tomato soup. I don't usually like fish, but that nile perch was bomb! For dessert we had a whipped pudding sort of dessert that tasted like vanilla and strawberry ice cream with fruit salad and tea. I love how much they drink tea here. We have tea/coffee at least 4 times a day. The coffee is the best coffee I have ever had, especially the kind from Baba's farm. Usually I have to put lots of sugar, milk, and/or creamer in my coffee but his tastes so good with only one teaspoon of sugar. I'm going to bring back a kilo for me and a kilo for my mom, the coffee fanatic.
After lunch we had our first session of OU classes with Dr. Davidson and Dr. Riley. We mostly just talked about our reactions to what we have seen and how that has affected our world views. I mostly commented on the difference between how Tanzania and the US treat their minorities. In the US, being a minority is usually associated with being underpriviledged and unequal. However, in TZ being a minority, which I am, does not equate to that. Being white is still associated with being educated and having money. In Tanzania, we still have white priviledge, which I had not thought about before coming here. It makes sense though, given the history of British colonization in Africa, including Tanzania.
When classes were over, we met up with Mama and took the bus down the main road. We stopped to buy some pineapple before Baba picked us up and drove us up the road to their home. For a while, we hung out and practiced swahili with Mama while drinking coffee. Then, she went to go cook dinner so we talked with Baba who explained the Tanzanian family structure. It is patriarchal and all of the brothers of your father are not your uncles, they are your "other fathers." All of their sons, are your brothers and all of their daughters are your sisters. You do not have cousins on your father's side of the family, only brothers. However, on the mother's side, her sisters are your "other mothers", but their children are your cousins. This is because a woman belongs to the men in her family and once she is married her ownership is transferred to her husband and the men in his family. It was all very interesting.
Little monkey getting some grub at the TCDC
After he told us about the family structure he took us to visit his mother, father, and niece's graves which are on a family plot near his house. He told us about them and the plans he has to upgrade their memorials, which look like large concrete beds almost. Then, he took us around and showed us a new type of fruit which smells like candy before giving us a short lesson on how to arrange banana trees to produce year-long yields. He also told us about the importance of land and what it means in Tanzanian society. It is very expensive and accrues interest, so having it is like life insurance. We also discussed weather differences and how Baba feels about planting trees. He is very passionate about the importance of planting trees and tries to encourage the people in his community to do it, but the struggle is real.
I want to end this post with a Tanzanian saying that Baba taught me: I am because we are.
My happiness is your happiness, my grief is your grief. Life is not about the individual, and here, you are never alone. You will always have a whole army of people to assist you and be there for you as you are for them.
Salama <3
Day 2: TCDC History and Agency Intros
Today I woke up at 6 to cool weather and a yummy breakfast go hard-boiled eggs, beef sausage, and watermelon with Masala tea and fruit juice. Then, Baba took me and Mama to TCDC where we got a safety and history presentation and a tour of the facilities. after that, we had tea and met students from other universities before heading to our service agencies. My service agency was supposed to be the Maasai Children's Organization, a school, but when we contacted them they were on safari and my professor doesn't think they will be taking students. So, last minute they sent me to Neema House, an orphanage for babies and toddlers. It was very interesting because when we showed up they wouldn't let us in. They told us to leave and seemed very upset by our presence, which was not helped by the fact that they did not know we were coming. We explained who we were and why we were there and after some time sitting outside the main gate, they let us in. As it turns out, immigration had been there earlier and was giving them a hard time because some of the students did not have their practicum visa (which we don't have either, and wont until next Tuesday). From what i'd heard, immigration does not usually stop in and check on service agencies, so we were all pretty surprised.
However, they eventually let us in and we got a tour of the facility which was very nice and was given by an older lady from Fort Worth, TX who had a wonderfully strong Texas accent. They have 30 little ones there currently and each one has it's one interesting story. One of the children, a little girl named Malikia, sparked my interest because she was born without corneas so she cannot see and never will. She has no iris or pupil, and i'd never seen that before. Even with her lack of eyesight she is a vibrant little girl who is constantly smiling and dancing. After our tour we played with the toddlers and fed them, but soon our time was up (we only spend 2 hours at our agencies each day, and the drive is a solid 45 minutes).
After the Neema House, we returned to the TCDC where we had a delicious lunch and chatted with each other about how it went with various agencies. OU has never sent students on a Journey trip where they did internships, so this is new for everyone. As it turns out, many of the agencies were not expecting us and a few ended up not working out for various reasons. Now our professors have to work out new placements.. I don't envy them. Anyway, once lunch was over we packed into a bus and started out on what turned out to be quite a long drive. Noone knew where the driver was taking us, not even the professors, but we were excited to find out.
As it turns out, we were going ot the Maasai Cultural Museum and Snake Park. I was stoked! We had a Maasai man give us a tour of the museum where he explained the culture of his tribe and what it means to be a man. He told us that when boys are 13-15 (usually) they are circumsized with no antiseptic or anesthesia and if they cry or scream, they will not be considered men and will bring shame to their family. If they prove themselves, a celebration is held and they are given a new wrap to wear. The Maasai dress according to age, and once you're older and have been circumsized you get a new outfit. He also told us about what they use for weapons and how they do not kill animals that are not dangerous. They do not kill animals for food usually, instead they wait until they are dying already before eating them. It was all very interesting!
Next, we explored the Maasai Women's Market where I bought some hand-made jewelry for cheap. I liked it because the women are given a hut a piece to sell their wares and try to make some money. After that, we went to the snake park which was really a little zoo. They had all sorts of deadly snakes that are native to Africa as well as crocodiles, monkeys, baboons, vultures, and turtles. The baboon even came up ot the front of the cage and reached out to me. When I put my hand in his, he gripped it lightly and shook it! It was super awesome. Seriously.
After everything we returned to our host families for dinner. We had cooked bananas (not yellow bananas, but a type that is grown specifically for cooking), beef stew, greens, and avocado followed by oranges and ice cream for dessert. It was so nzuri sana (very good)! Afterword however, we were exhausted. Honestly, I could have gone to bed at 7:30pm, but I stayed up and hung out with Mama and Amber for a few hours. Mama taught us some swahili words and we watched some odd soap opera.
It was, of course, another amazing day in Tanzania!
Day 1: Arusha, Orientation, and Meeting my Host Family
So, for our first official day in Tanzania, we started off with a delicious breakfast of sweet potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, beans, fruit, sausage, and tea. It was really tasty and I am pretty sure I'm addicted to that tea now. I'm going to have to bring some home with me because omg it's so good, for real. Anyway, after breakfast we went to a short orientation about what our schedules will be like.
We will have breakfast with our host families, Swahili lessons 8:30 to 10:30, tea break 10:30-10:45, service learning at our agencies (mine is the Masaai Children's Organization) 10:30-12:30, lunch back at the TCDC 12:30-2:00, class 2:00-4:00, then dinner and the rest of the evening with our host families.
After orientation, we hopped on the bus and headed out to see the important places in Arusha. We stopped by the bureau de change to exchange our money into Tanzanian shillings then got heckled by some artists who were trying to sell us their wares at the highest prices possible. After that, we visited the bank, pharmacy, and supermarket. We picked up some snacks before heading back to the TCDC for lunch.
After lunchbox we had a quick lesson on Tanzanian culture and what to expect with our host families. After that, it was time to finally meet my new Tanzanian parents. I was pretty nervous. What if they didn't like me? What if we could t communicate effectively? Did they have kids? So many questions ran through my mind. Then, I spotted him, Baba was wearing a black suit with a red tie. He was tall and had a huge smile. When I approached and told him I was his new daughter he gave me a big hug and laughed heartily. Then, he introduced me to Mama who gave me a hug and cheek kisses before we sat down for a cup of tea and a quick introduction.
They were so nice, warm, and open about everything. They told us about their jobs, Baba is retired but used to teach both at TCDC and at multiple universities, Mama is a chef at the TCDC. They are both educated and have 3 sons who are all in college or have graduated college. Baba is very proud of his sons! He beams when he talks about them.
After our read we got in Baba's Land Rover and headed up into the flourishing greenery that led to their home. Our new home is stunning! We have a house all to ourselves and our own rooms! The family lives on a compound with their housemaid and extended/adopted family which includes their son, Stanley who is 23 and about to graduate college, Frank, their adopted son for all intents and purposes, glory, their adopted daughter for all intents and purposes, their housemaid, and their niece and nephew.
When we first got to our new home, Baba showed us around before we sat down with Mama and Kaka (brother) Stanley for some coffee that Baba had grown, harvested, roasted, and ground himself. We talked about their hobbies and Baba's views on the importance of education. He also showed us around his "small" garden where he grows papayas, tangerines, and avocado (which we got to have with dinner and omg, it was so good). Mama even picked a tangerine for us to have right off of the tree!
After coffee and socializing, Baba took us for a walk to show us his coffee and banana farm. He has 8 varieties of bananas! He is very proud of his coffee farm and is going to teach us how to take coffee from the plant to the cup. The walk was really relaxing and ended with him showing us his late father's house and telling us of his dream to build an English secondary school in his village. He's really an awesome guy.We also talked about his view of gender roles and how he wants more equality. He thinks education will bring that, and I think he's right.
For dinner we had chicken stew, potatoes, stir fried green beans, avocado and cucumber salad, and beans with tea and watermelon for dessert. We spent the rest of the evening chatting and watching TV before retiring to our respected houses and going to bed.
What a wonderful start to my Tanzanian adventure!
Departure: The Journey Begins
Hey guys! First let me start off by apaologizing for taking so long to start posting. Traveling, meeting everyone, and going on mini adventures has kept me very busy!
Anyway, our flights- we flew out of DFW at 8:15pm on June 4th. DFW is a place very familiar to me, but this was Amber's first time flying so she was a bit nervous. It didn't help that, as per usual, I got picked to have my carry on searched. However all was well and it turns out that Amber's a flying natural!
We arrived in Philadelphia at around 12:35am on June 5th. It was really weird staying overnight in the airport. Everything was closed, and there was hardly anyone around.. It was so quiet. Amber and I explored a bit and found the gate that we'd be at in the morning before heading downstairs to the USO. They weren't going to let us in because Amber didn't have her military ID, but the lady at the desk took pity on us and let us crash there for the night. It was pretty legit, I'm not gonna lie. They had a TV room with big recliners (which we napped in), an array of toiletries, blankets/pillows, snacks for days, and even a chef that made us omelettes in the morning. Anyway, we stayed in there for the night and I did a lot of reading for class while Amber crocheted.
In the morning, we headed to our gate to board our flight on Qatar Airways, nonstop service to Doha, Qatar. We checked in, had put bags weighed, had our passports checked, and received new boarding passes. Then we got some snackage and hung out for a short while until it was time to board. The plane was huge and I was sitting in the middle, but was thankful to have an aisle seat. I settled in and opened my airline provided blanket, pillow, sleep mask, ear plugs, and socks. We took off, and the 12.5 hour flight began. Surprisingly, it wasn't bad at all, at least to me. I took an ambiern and slept for a solid chunk of it and when I woke up I watched Big Hero 6 on my individual screen. They also served is food, which was admittedly strange and kinda gross, but overall edible followed by dulce de leche Haagen Daas ice cream. Yum! The rest of my flight was pretty uneventful. I dosed and listened to music or played solitaire, and before I knew it we were landing 30 minutes late in Qatar.
Our next flight was scheduled to leave in 35ish minutes so we rushed through the HUGE Qatar airport, navigating both construction and a security checkpoint before finally reaching the gate. There, we boarded a bus that took us out onto the Tarmac where we boarded the plane. It was so hot there and all the rushing had made me feel, less than fresh, but when we got on the plain they gave us lemon refresher wipes. They were pretty much amazing.
My flight from Doha to Dar Es Salaam was 5.5 hours and probably the worst part of my traveling experience. The plane was hit, the food was awful, and my screen didn't work. I finished reading the textbook for one of my classes which burnte out on reading so after playing games for a while on my phone/iPad, I was super board and getting impatient . I was just ready to be there already! Plus, the guy next to me was an angry old Asian man who didn't speak English but seemed perpetually displeased. This being said, when we did finally begin our descent into Dar Es Salaam, the view was absolutely stunning. The coast was glittering and the bird's eve view of the town was super cool. It was really interesting to see that they dont have much community organization. It's just houses on top of houses, no space between them, few roads, and nothing like the "blocks" we have in the U.S.
Plane view of Dar Es Salaam
We touched down in Dar and waited about and let most of the passengers off before waiting for about an hour for the plane to be cleaned and restocked. Then we took off for our final flight to Kilmanjaro Airport. It was a short flight, barely an hour long but it was absolutely wonderful. There were maybe 15 passengers on the plane so we all got a row to ourselves. We stretched out and I got to chat up Amber and Morgan (another girl from Ou). We joked around and the whole vibe on the flight was very relaxed. Then the captain told us to look out of the right side windows where we could see the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro poking through the clouds. It was so neat! Before I knew it, we were on the ground and deplaning straight onto the Tarmac in a tropical paradise. The airport was small and we had to fill out a form before they checked our passports and visas. We got our bags and headed out, because customs was pretty much nonexistent, which was really surprising.
My. Kilimanjaro's peak, as seen from the plane
The three of us then hung out at the airport for the next 4 hours before the rest of our group arrived. We talked and explored around the airport. We sat at a little cafe or sorts for a while, but felt pretty awkward and as soon as the sun started to go down, we headed back to the airport where we coated ourselves in bug spray and waited some more.
Amber and me waiting at JRO
The OU traveling trio at JRO
Me and the elephant statue at the airport
When everyone arrived we loaded up on a bus and drove to the TCDC where we had a quick snack before going to our rooms for the night. It was so peaceful there and I slept so hard!
I can't wait to see what this adventure brings!
Quickie Update
So, it's official. I have purchased my plane ticket to Tanzania!!! AAAAHHHH!!! I am so excited! I only have to get my student visa and pay my second program fee (besides buying a few essentials for the trip) and i'm done!
I've gotten all of my shots, too, which weren't as bad as I expected.
All I can think about is Africa. I can't wait to be there, i'm in love already.
If you're interested, hit up my gofundme and support me in my trip to the cradle of life.
THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO HAS SUPPORTED ME SO FAR! Y'ALL ARE AMAZING AND I'M SO LUCKY TO HAVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU IN MY LIFE!!
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