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Day 23: Sunday Funday

Today we got up, had breakfast, and went to church. Amber and I wore our new dresses and got lots of smiles and compliments on them. There was so much singing and the church itself was beautiful! They introduced us and welcomed us. They also give offerings to the church multiple times each service. We saw a baptism as well πŸ‘ΆπŸΏ


Amber in her new dress 

Me in my new dress 

Then, a bunch of Danish professors came over for lunch and Baba talked about the Tanzanian health care system and the upcoming elections. They also asked me about my education, working, and my time in Tanzania. I taught them the word for coffee in Swahili ("kahawa") and then baba showed us how he roasts, grinds, and brews the coffee. Afterward, everyone got to drink the coffee we had watched him make (admittedly, it was a bit strong because Baba was rushing so he could stick to the Danes' schedule). 

Baba's coffee demonstration 

I also took pictures of the flowers in Mama and Baba's garden: 



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Day 22: Family Saturday

Today we slept in which was truly wonderful. Then we had breakfast outside in the garden with Mama and Baba. There was a feast of arrow root, beef sausage, avocado, oranges, boiled eggs, and coffee. It, of course, was delicious. During breakfast we told Mama and Baba about our travels and remarked on how much we loved our host brothers and sisters. Baba told us Frank's story and how his mother passed away about a month and a half ago. He's really been struggling with it, but is very bright and loving. 


Breakfast in the garden 

After breakfast, I cleared the table and Baba took Amber and I slug hunting. There were so many! They live between the bark of the banana trees and they're huge. We also walked through his coffee farm and discussed how to prune them so that all of the leaves get sunlight. He also showed us how to prepare for the next season and explained about the process of building houses in Tanzania. I've really grown passionate about this place and am seriously considering returning next year after I finish my masters to get some ground work experience in international social work to beef up my resume. Plus, I just love this place and the people and the culture. Mama says i should come back and bring my boyfriend so she can meet him. Baba says he wants me to return and live in the "small" house I'm living in now. I asked how much he would charge me for rent and he said probably like $500 a month. He asked where I would want to work and I told him it would be cool to work at the Nkwaranga Orphanage. He said if I have a passion for Nkwaranga then consider myself hired. He knows the director, they are good friends and Baba has familial ties to the organization. 

Baba's coffee

Slugs!

Mama's beans 

I'm really going this some thought and I think it would be a great opportunity in many ways. I figure I will do a lot of research and calculations when I get home. I'll also have to continue emailing Baba and working things out. I guess we'll have to see where the wind takes me πŸ’πŸ»πŸ’¨πŸŒπŸ’œ

Panoramas of our host family's compound 

As for later in the day, we went to Tengeru and picked up our dresses. We also navigated the hectic market to purchase groceries with Baba. After that, we hung out outside until dinner which was a delicious array of foods including chipsi maai (not sure if I spelt the second word right), carrots and green beans, cucumber and avocado salad, and pumpkin. I figured I wouldn't be a fan of the pumpkin and I was right, but everything else was scrumptious. Then, baba told us why he doesn't support the ruling party and we discussed why the people of Tanzania are poor. It's not because they don't have resources, it's because the government doesn't put money into the people. It is highly corrupt. Then, we discussed the difference in power structures between Tanzanian and American families. It was a great day. I love my Tanzanian family 🌍😍

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Day 21: the 10 hour drive back to Arusha

After some craziness regarding being on time and ready, we all loaded up onto the bus and started our journey at 6:30am. We reserved 30 seats and the rest were bought by other Tanzanians who also wished to travel to Arusha. The hotel made us little breakfast bags with a cinnamon nut roll, a boiled egg, 2 samosas, a yogurt, and some juice. It wasn't bad tasting but after eating it I felt like crap, which was made worse by how hot it was on the bus. The ride out of the city was bumpy and made me want to vomit, but I stayed strong. I put my headphones in and tried to drown out the awful music that the bus driver was blaring as we jerked from stop to go and back. 


I dozed on and off for the first leg of the trip and tried to drink very little because bathroom breaks were few and far between. Thank the universe for music or I might have lost my mind. The bus AC was broken and the driver wasblasting the worst music. I shifted in my seat a bunch, no doubt disturbing Amber each time until we got a 30 minute break at a rest stop sort of place for lunch and bathroom breaks. I got chicken and fries, but the fries weren't cooked and after a few bites of chicken, I quit. It tasted fine, but something about it was suspect and I decided to just forgo the rest of the meal and practice self preservation. 

Bus boredom selfies 

Too soon we were back on the bus, and honestly, I was over it. I was tired of being cramped in a hot bus with crappy loud music and the stank that comes with a bus filled with sweaty people. There was a funny moment when my heart will go on came on and everyone burst into song though. 

After a lot of groaning and sweating we finally arrived at TCDC. It felt so good to be home and I was so happy to see Mama. She was wearing one of my favorite dresses that she owns and smiling as she walked towards us with her arms open wide. I have really come to love Arusha and my host family. As I near the end of my time in Tanzania I find myself conflicted. I love and miss my family, friends, boyfriend, and cat but it's going to be so hard to leave the people I've met here and the connection I've made to this beautiful place. 

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Day 20: Bargaining At Its Finest

Today we went to this huge market where we got to purchase gifts and souvenirs from local merchants and artists. We got to practice our bartering and see what it's like to be bombarded by people trying to sell you totally overpriced goods. People grabbed my arms, others hollared at me, some just said, "sista, sista! Karibu! You come to my shop! Look around! Very goody price!" It was all very loud, hectic, and to be honest, overwhelming. Still, I prevailed and got all the gifts I'd wanted to get for people back home and a few treasures for myself at solid prices. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful and now I'm trying to go to bed because I have to get up at 4 to catch a public bus back to Arusha. I'm not looking forward to the 10 hour bus ride.. 


Me with one of Amber's weave casualties 

Wish me luck! πŸ˜›πŸ˜ž

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Day 19: Poop Happens

I was sick today so I stayed at the hotel, drank water, and slept. Amber was sick too, so she did the same... 


Blech! πŸ˜–
#foodpoisoning 

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Day 18: Medical Agency Visits

Today we visited 2 agencies: Health Promotion Tanzania and Muhimbili National Hospital. We were given extensive lectures at each that were a little bit tiring, but overall really good. Health Promotion Tanzania is an NGO that was established in 2004 with the purpose of creating a link between communities and health facilities and establishing a responsible and healthy society. Their  main pillars (aka objectives) include community system strengthening, social accountability monitoring, policy advocacy, and institutional strengthening. Three of their most successful programs include Participatory Reflection and Action, the Families Matter Project, and Pamoja Tuwalee (meaning "together we care"). 


Participatory Reflection and Action aims to build the capacity of the community to reflect on health issues and identify priorities and interventions. It has achieved a revitalization of family planning (in fact, the instance of family planning use in the communities where this project has been enacted has just about doubled). They've also reduced wait time at health facilities from 4 hours to 1 hour. The second project, the Families Matter Project, teaches parents of pre-teens about how to communiate to their children about reproductive health. The primary aim is to reduce risky sexual behaviors among youth and ultimately decrease both HIV rates and early pregnancies among school children. Part of this presentation focused on the Tanzanian policy toward school-age children and sex. It states that when a school girl gets pregnant she must leave school. Advocates are trying to negotiate with the government to change this so that she can stay until time of delivery, give birth, have adequate maternity leave, and then return to school. These advocates believe that chasing the girls out of school condemns them to a life of poverty. Finally, the Pamoja Tuwalee project aims to mobilize communities to provide sustainable support to the most vulnerable children through the use of community health funds and microfinance options. This project has worked to improve access to medical care and has even successfully constructed a dispensary building. 

Health Promotion Tanzania

The presentation was good overall, and touched on some hot-button topics that was interesting to learn about. When it was over though, we piled into the bus and headed to Muhimbili National Hospital for a lecture on what medical social work in Tanzania is like. Social workers here face many of the same challenges as social workers in America such as lack of funding, lack of transportation, and destitute patients. We also learned that health care for children under 5 years of age is free and health care for anyone with a long-term issue such as diabetes, cancer, head injuries, HIV/AIDS, etc. is also free. This is a good and bad thing because it puts major strain on the hospital and can lead to a lower quality of care in many facilities (though the quality of care I observed at Muhimbili was surprisingly good compared to my other experiences with Tanzanian health care facilities). 

After the lecture, a snack, and a group photo we split into smaller groups to go on tours of the hospital. Our group was taken to the pediatric ward which was amazing and HUGE! It is a whole building dedicated to taking care of kids, and it currently housese about 300 children. There are seperate wings for malnutrition, cancer, gastroenterological issues, long-term care, burns, etc. We got to go into the malnutrition and burn units. The malnutrition unit was weird, and in one area (a consultation room of sorts) there was just one random crib with a baby in it in the corner. We asked about him and the social worker told us that the baby had been dumped by his mother and the police had brought it to the hospital. They had just found out the whereabouts of the mother and were going to bring her in soon. 

Muhimbili National Hospital pediatric building 

We also went into the burn ward which was sad but very impressive. I've been on burn wards before and usually there is a strong, foul stench of burned flesh and ooze that is accompanied by moans and screams from pain. However, when we walked into this ward, the children were all quiet and calm. There was no stench, only a faint smell of wound that comes with all hospitals. The mothers were allowed to stay with the babies 24-7 and were taught how to keep them hydrated and nourished through their feeding tubes. All of them were well-fed and none were crying. The doctor explained that they adhere to a strict 4-hour schedule of anti-anxiety and pain meds to keep the babies comfortable so that they don't further damage their wounds. All of their bandages were fairly clean too. It was sad though because some were covered almost entirely in bandages. 

Names of some of the kiddos on the ward 

The social worker explained that children ended up burned mostly due to lack of supervision and the type of cooking methods used in the homes. Many houses use open-flame methods, combustible gases, and/or unsafe electrical methods all of which cause house fires and injuries. The walls of the ward also illustrated how some of the children had come there through murals that taught about being watchful and knowing where your kids are. Apart from these murals there were also adorable murals of happy children and cartoon characters all over the pediatric building. They were gorgeous! I really enjoyed our tour. 

Muhimbili murals

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Day 17: Spice Tour & Giant Speedboat

Today we went on a spice tour which was cut short and was rushed due to unexpected rain. It was cool though because we got to hold and smell all of the spices right off of the plant. Then we hopped on the ferry to Da Es Salaam. This seemed like a good idea in theory, but was a huge mess in practice. The ferry was like a giant speedboat. It went so fast! It was obscene! Plus, the water was really rough and choppy causing the boat to toss and jerk back and forth. On top of the turbulence (does that term still apply for boats?) the cabin was not air conditioned and As such was hotter than hades. Due to these factors, a ton of people got sick. I spent most of the ride on the back of the boat tending to and comforting a student who was violently ill and ralphing over the side of the boat. I'm everyone's mama. 


Sucky ferry ride aside, we arrived in Dar and made or way to the Tiffany Diamond Hotel which was very nice. Amber and I even have a bathtub in our room! It's the first one I've seen here and you better believe I'm going to take a swim in it later! 

I suppose that's all for now, lala salama! ❤️🌍

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