last stop

June 21st Almost home! I am sitting in Zurich, Switzerland waiting for my next and final flight home. For the last two days I have been waiting in the crowded and congested Dar es Salaam preparing to leave. On Tuesday I spent the day in the largest Tanzanian market: Kariakoo. The experience was daunting and after a few hours I went back to the hotel to shower and prepare my luggage. I thought venturing into the crowds would prepare me for the cultural adjustment of life in America but I think I am sorely mistaken. Last night as I was waiting to board my flight a girl walked into the waiting room with short shorts on. My reaction to seeing someone in skimpy clothes scared me a bit. There are going to be a lot of things I need to get used to again. For now I am sitting watching people move around the airport hoping that will help with this whole adjustment thing. We shall see. See ya soon! Love, Gretchen

paradise

June 17th (part two) My nine hour bus ride to Dar was actually pretty uneventful. I was happy to be at the bus stand when the sun was still out. The Ubungu bus stand in Dar is probably the most dangerous bus stand in the country and when I am white and traveling with a heap of luggage it is good to have the sun at least on your side. I spoke to my taxi friend Steven and he sent a driver to come pick me up. He didn’t tell me he was sending someone else though so I was not too fond of the stranger that knew my name. When the bags were loaded I told him to drive me to the New Pentecostal Guest House. When I was recommended the guest house I didn’t ask its location…it was a bit of a ways outside of town. I thought the new driver, Mike, was driving me to my death trap. When we did reach the guest house safe and sound I was most pleased and grateful. The next morning I woke early to catch the ferry to Pemba. When I reached the ticket booth in Dar the man told me the boat was full. I laughed in his face. While in Tanzania I don’t think I have ever been told that the transportation is full. The transportation is NEVER full. He told me the computer locked him out from buying tickets and that I should try an agent. Since I didn’t want to be bothered with the hacklers outside I called a friend who knew an agent…he was also sold out. In the end, a nice woman, Viwe, overheard and told me to buy a ticket to Zanzibar. She informed me from Zanzibar it would be easy to catch a ferry to Pemba. I did as told and hoped for the best. Luckily, we ran into each other while departing the ferry in Zanzibar and she helped me out. She obviously had some influence and the men working on the boats gave me a ticket and didn’t make a commission off it! I was very impressed and happy that things were working out. Prior to my boat and bus ride I tried desperately to find a hotel or two during my stay in Pemba. I emailed and called around and couldn’t get much below $20 USD a night. This was quite expensive but I thought it would just be a few days and the island is supposed to be gorgeous so it will be worth it. When I got off the ferry one of the hotels called a man to greet me and send me in the right direction. Since he obviously worked hard to get my business I thought it would be a good start to the trip. I spent my first night in Wete and realized I was reversing my progress into civilization. I travelled to a little town where no white person is visible and no one spoke English, what was I thinking! On Thursday I rented a bicycle and did a little island tour up the northern end. The beaches are supposed to be gorgeous and I kind of wanted to check out the road conditions and the hotel availability while there. After a long three hour ride to the light house I thought I would reward myself and go swimming at the Verawimbi Beach. When I came to a gorgeous beach that looked too pristine to be anything but what my book said it was, I decided to strip down to my sports bra and change into swimming bottoms. No one was around (that I could see) and the transition wasn’t too difficult. I only stayed in the water for a short time worried about the theft of my camera. When I got out there was still no one in sight so I took the opportunity to dry in the sun. Five minutes later a Tanzania rode up on his bicycle and started to stare. I quickly threw on a shirt, a wrap, and rode out of there. Since I couldn’t do the long ride back without changing into pants, I went to the Swahili Divers Center to ask for a room to change into. I thought the Swahili Divers Center worked in conjunction with the Verani Guesthouse which I emailed for a room quote. The mix up just made me look stupid when informed management that I had contacted them but never got a response. I actually contacted the Verani Guesthouse which was a quarter of a mile further down the beach… I later (the following day) found out that the Swahili Divers Center is combined with the Kervan Saray Beach Hotel. In the end I was offered a room with all meals included for 25 USD a night, two dives with all equipment included for 90 USD, and best yet they could charge my credit card with all these expenses. Since my cash fund is running low and there is only one ATM (at the other end of the island) that was music to my ears. When I was researching places to stay I found Kervan Saray online but the prices were out of my price range. The owners were being quite generous and I still don’t understand how I got so lucky. I told them I would see them tomorrow and headed back to Wete. That night I treated myself to rice and beans instead of cooking on my little travel cooker and went to sleep very happy. Friday morning I headed via daladala (overcrowded minivan) to Swahili Divers. In the end a policeman offered me a good price on a ride and I left the daladala and continued the journey in his convertible. Two days later and I am still here at Kervan Saray but plan to leave tomorrow. I have gone on four dives (two yesterday and two today) and think I have found paradise. I am currently sitting on a dock listening to the sound of waves on the Indian Ocean, pretty awesome. The diving yesterday was a little stressful for me. I had not gone diving since my time in Australia and was a little rusty. It took me some time to remember all the techniques and I had a lot of trouble equalizing. Today was perfect. The dives were perfect, I wasn’t stressed out, I had a great partner, and I saw a gorgeous underwater life. In between each of the dives the boat anchores at a beach and we sit, drink tea, and eat pancakes while the staff gear us up for the next dive. After the eating and drinking today a few of us did some exploring. In between some of the rock walls we found a little beach with the rock walls cut through to a path. Following the path we came to some barbed wire which opened up to a wooden platform overlooking a lagoon. Of course we climbed in and explored. There were a few huge fish but I was waiting for the barracuda to come out and eat us. Luckily we found nothing dangerous just a beautiful cave and some cool scenery. Tomorrow I head out via airplane. There are no boats leaving tomorrow and the airplane would only cost me 20 USD more than the boat so I figure it is a pretty good option. Two more nights in Dar then I am headed back to the good ol’ USA! See ya soon! Love, Gretchen

Iringa

June 17th I meant for there to be a part two from yesterday’s blog post but as I began typing dinner arrived. Instead, I will continue today as I sit peering out at the Indian Ocean trying desperately to conceal my Farmer’s tan before returning home. When we got off the bus at 10:30 on Friday morning in Iringa, our driver for the safari was waiting for us. He loaded the car with our bags and we began the journey into Ruaha National Park. Sam, the man from England paying for this trip, and I were quite excited but we still had about two hours of driving before actually entering the park. On day 1 (Friday the 8th) we were pleased with all our sightings. The day started off with a cheetah sighting. The male was sitting in the shade of the tree until our car pulled up. When he heard the engine of the car he started to walk around and show us his territory. He basically walked over to a tree and left his mark in a few spots. Later in the day we came across a group of six lions eating a giraffe. In the bush surrounding this feast were another six and as we were leaving we spotted more further in the bush. In total we believe there were about twenty lions either eating or resting after eating the giraffe. The giraffe had died the previous day so we were unfortunate not to see the hunt but it was still exciting to see that many lions in one place. I wouldn’t say I was as excited about the horrific stench of the day old giraffe. We saw various other animals throughout the park such as hippos, giraffes (alive ones), elephants, and zebras but none were as impressive as the cheetah and lions. On day two, Saturday the 9th, we woke up rather early in the morning for a morning drive. On the morning drive I spotted a male lion in the bush. When we stopped the car to get a better look we found that it was a male and female lion sitting together. For fifteen minutes we stopped and waited and sure enough they started to mate. The female didn’t really do much but remain lying in the bush while the male took charge of the situation. The female is pretty docile throughout the minute long ordeal and the male looks to almost bite her head off towards the end. One of the many times I have been here wishing I had a camcorder. We sat and watched for about a half an hour. Supposedly (I don’t trust the intelligence level of our guide) lions mate for two or three days. They roam around together and mate for about a minute or two and then rest for 15 to 30 minutes in between. We also saw a family of elephants digging through a dried up riverbed looking for water. Before departing back to Iringa we returned to see the dead giraffe. The stench was worse and there were new lions that joined the feast. I was hoping the lions had left and the hyenas were picking over the leftovers but not yet (our guide told us the hyenas probably would be there). Around 1:30 we left the park for good and headed into the town of Iringa. Since the day was still young, Sam and I wandered around the streets a bit and I finally tasted ice cream! Iringa makes fresh ice cream so it was probably the best place to start up the eating again. It was so delightful that I sampled ice cream from multiple restaurants/shops throughout my stay in Iringa. Early Sunday morning Sam left. During breakfast I met a couple from New Hampshire who are Lutherans. They teach business and law classes at Tumaini University in Iringa. They come to Tanzania for a few months every other year to teach some courses. During one visit they met a gentleman from the Saint Paul Synod in Minnesota. That synod has partnerships with Lutheran Churches in Iringa. On Sunday, Dot and her husband Kurt along with two of their friends and a fellow coworker and I drove to their partnership church in the bush of Tanzania. There are about a dozen churches that take part in this partnership and each of these American churches has their own Tanzanian church to financially and spiritually support. It was a very interesting and different service than what I experienced this year. There was definitely more liturgy than I expected. I expected the service to be like that at Kafule but I am now beginning to realize the true difference between Moravian and Lutherans. The service was heavily based on the liturgy and there wasn’t much singing and dancing. When we got up to greet and I was the only one that didn’t need a translator the congregation was most pleased and wanted me to return the following Sunday. After the service many people gathered around asking me questions and wanting their photo taken. At the end of the day we returned to the hotel around 4 and I did some Internet checking before having dinner with my new friends. When I finally left Iringa on Tuesday morning I left with a new group of friends who may be very helpful in my future job hunting. A friend of Kurt’s is an actuary job hunter… we exchanged e-mails. On Monday I spent the day relaxing and figuring out my next move. After much debate and uncertainty I decided to head to Dar on Tuesday, leave my bags at a hotel, and head to the island of Pemba on Wednesday morning. I called around and found that there was indeed a ferry traveling to Pemba on Saturday. After two days of travel and a lot of money spent on taxi rides I finally made it to Pemba where I am spending much more time and money than I imagined prior to my departure. Check out part two! Love, Gretchen

Mbeya

June 16th I am glad I didn’t plan anything for my post-village travels because it has made this experience much more enriching and full of excitement. Today I went diving off the island of Pemba. Didn’t imagine that or that I would be staying at (what you could consider) a 3 star hotel while doing it. Last time I wrote I was still in Mbeya preparing my climb up Mount Mbeya. The climb was fun and very fast. The guide told me it would take 4 hours to reach the top…it took us 2.5 hours. The descent wasn’t as enjoyable though. He took me a different route and it was very difficult to see the trail for most of it. I fell a few times stepping into the tall grass that I thought was part of the trail but actually sat much lower on the side of a ledge. Once we passed the grass we entered the bush. I told him he needed a machete and he laughed at me! My arms are still scarred from that walk! I don’t think many people walk along it. Once I reached the base I continued walking to the main road instead of using a cab. The walk lasted another hour and a half and by the time I caught a daladala (overcrowded minivan) to Mbeya I was exhausted. On Wednesday I spent the morning in town then visited my friend Hawa in the afternoon. She was a student teacher at Kafule last term and is studying at one of the universities in Mbeya. She met me in town and insisted I visit her “dorm room.” They don’t actually call them dorm rooms but when the house has 6 bedrooms with about ten girls living within them I consider it a dorm room. Hawa obviously had more money than others as she had her own bedroom and a television inside. We sat and watched music videos while drinking tea for about an hour before I said I was ready to go. As we were walking back two men ran into me and tried to steal my phone. The first time someone tried to pickpocket me and I was walking with a Tanzanian, go figure. Hawa was not happy and started hitting the man then he dropped my phone and we left. So much for Mbeya being a safe town! On Thursday I bought a bus ticket to Iringa. I never planned to go to Iringa but a perfect opportunity presented itself and I couldn’t pass it up. Jo’s coworker was having a visitor from England the week I was in Mbeya. He was flying out on Sunday and before his flight he wanted to do a 2 day safari in Ruaha National Park. He had already paid for the trip and offered me to join him if I threw in a little money. I decided it would be a good way to end my year and jumped on the opportunity. On my last night in Mbeya Jo and her roommate Susanna and I ate popcorn and watched an old movie. Before the movie I was telling Jo how it took almost a week but now the mosquitos are really biting me. She said the mosquitos aren’t normally that bad. For a little while we continued talking about the bites. Finally it clicked that I picked up bed bugs from sitting on Hawa’s bed! So much for my luck! Fortunately I didn’t wear too many clothes since Hawa’s home and got the situation under control once in Iringa! The next morning I boarded a 5:45 bus and said goodbye to Mbeya. In part two I will tell you about my time in Iringa and my first tasting of ice cream! Love, Gretchen

headin' home

June 4th My journey home has begun. Today I am in Mbeya preparing for my climb up Mount Mbeya tomorrow. I am taking today as a resting day since I have had a long last two weeks with very minimal rest. After the church celebration the previous Friday, there was an all-day youth celebration at the church on Saturday. In the morning I wrote my last blog post and then ventured into Isoko in the afternoon. The Mbeya Regional Education Officer, Mr. Kaponda, was visiting and giving a lecture to all the teachers in the area. I was told to come to greet him. As I entered Isoko I found Grace and Stela (teachers from my school). They informed me that Mr. Kaponda left on Friday! I was pretty angry that they didn’t tell me this when I called them earlier in the day. It was a waste of a trip and I was already worn down from my previous night of dancing. After my trip to Isoko I spent until midnight at the church dancing again. This time I didn’t dance nearly as much. The celebration was also geared towards the kids who seem to like dancing while kicking and punching in the air. I blamed my lack of dancing on being tired and most people let me sit and watch. The exhaustion continued throughout the week. On Sunday there was a church “celebration” where they tried to raise money by selling sodas and cookies. My attempts to leave this celebration early were futile. I did manage to avoid the sodas which I was quite proud of but I still ate a lot more food than I wanted (after the church celebration there was rice and beans and meat and leafy greens and cabbage to finish the celebrating). The rest of the week sort of went on the same way. I didn’t sleep much. I went from celebrations/visits from one house to the next. In the mornings I mostly had time to myself but that was filled with the million and one tasks I had to complete before leaving. In the beginning of the week those tasks consisted of typing up all my exams for WorldTeach. They didn’t ask me for this and if I had known how long it would have taken I don’t know if I would have done it. Since I was the only mathematics teacher I thought it would be good for future volunteers to gauge the level of mathematics they must teach (if they are considering it). Hopefully some good will come out of my hours of typing. The tasks of typing were mixed with washing of my clothes. I felt like I had a never ending supply of clothes to clean. And then it would rain and the clothes that were close to drying were drenched again. The rain postponed my departure for one day. Instead of leaving on Friday the 1st, I headed out this past Saturday with a group of friends escorting me down to the road to say goodbye. I managed to say goodbye in some fashion to everyone throughout the week but some more than others. On Monday I spent the night at the teacher’s housing; on Tuesday I spent the night at Enea’s house; on Wednesday I spent the night at Mbughi’s house; and then the rest of the week I spent the night at Mbughi’s again. Wednesday was the “goodbye Melvin” celebration at Mbughi’s home then I was invited back for my remaining nights in Kafule. I didn’t have any food left in the house on Thursday or Friday and was glad they invited me. I also visited Elizabeth on Thursday afternoon. She taught me (by request) how to make kande (mixture of cattle corn and beans). When I come home I must test out my teachings! I also visited Umbege on Thursday morning but he wasn’t home. On Friday he came to visit me at the worst possible time and I wasn’t very happy to answer his million questions. Friday was cleaning day and he arrived right in the middle of it. By 3 o’clock the house was swept and mopped down. The chairs and tables were piled up and my remaining clothing was given to passing students. All that was left was the handing over of the keys. At 3 o’clock Saturday morning Mbughi, Noel, and Wema arrived at my house to escort me. On the way to the road we picked up Elizabeth and Mbughi’s house boy. After standing at the road for ten minutes my student Nisile and her mother arrived. They brought parting gifts of banana and peanuts. As my departure grew closer throughout the week I got very emotional at nights but the morning I left was very easy and not too sad. I think part of the ease of the departure had to do with exhaustion and the fact that I was practically thrown on the bus when it arrived. Transport to Mbeya was like any other trip to Mbeya but this time with a lot of luggage. After 2 busses and a daladala (a minivan crammed with people and things) later I finally arrived at the Karibuni Center. I met with my friend Jo, ate some food, and went to bed. Life is very different. I am trying to remember to turn on lights when I enter a room. I also keep forgetting to flush toilets. The adjustments are coming though. I am getting used to living with cars and access to luxury foods. I haven’t ventured into the ice cream or cheese yet but that will come in due course. Yesterday I went to a resort with Jo and her friend Andrea. They go to play tennis and I went to go running. It is hard to run while in a city and I don’t want to lose all my muscle! I ended up running through bush trails around the resort…so much for leaving the village life! I was quite angry with the manager of the resort though. She sent me on these trails in my running shorts; I felt so inappropriate as I was passing the mamas and children in the village. I guess it’s good I don’t live there! Tomorrow I am super pumped to climb Mount Mbeya, I will let you know about it soon! Love, Gretchen

Friday's celebration

May 26th (part three) Last night was the celebration at the church. As I mentioned in the last post I was an hour late. The thing about celebrations though is the celebration just went on an hour later than it was meant to…no harm done. The night started off with dances from four different choirs. There was the old ladies group, the middle aged women’s group, the little younger than middle aged and men included group, and the secondary school students. Most of the dances I have seen in the past but I enjoyed them none-the-less. A select group of three ladies and three men composed a song in Kindali for me. I was told that the song meant they had no trouble living with me and wished me a good journey. I just wish my camera took videos! As the rehearsed songs gave way, we had some free dancing and I was mostly given the floor while others were warded off with sticks. The free dancing was opened up with the Pastor and I and then others joined. I had some opportunities to dance with my friends for the year but was quite embarrassed because all eyes were definitely on me. Later in the evening gifts were presented from various members of the church. I was given another woven sign from a student, Nisile, and her mother which read, “The family of A. Mlwafu wish you all the best in your life.” Another two kangas appear in my possession as well as my fifth bag of peanuts, another stalk of sugar cane, a rice sorter, and a carved statue of Mary (I had to be told it was Mary—I was also told it looks like me which scared me). My friend Elizabeth made a song with Umbege and two students which brought tears to my eyes and then the celebration ended. Obviously they didn’t listen when I said the celebration was to celebrate Pentecost, not me! Again, Grace sat strong by my side and became the photographer of the night. We ended the night with dinner at the pastor’s house before I was escorted home with all my gifts. Today I typed four blog posts and then my computer died. :( (This one was first handwritten) I have so much I want to type for WorldTeach and can’t now. I am hoping to charge it at the church tonight. They are having an all day celebration and I am waiting to hear the generator then I’ll head over! The celebration started at 9 AM and lasts until midnight! Another long night lies ahead. Love, Gretchen

nilihubiri! (I have preached!)

May 26th (part two) Preparations for the sermon went well into the night on Saturday. I think I read the entire sermon to a person only once. It was so long that I would get tired or others would get tired as I read in my slow Swahili. I read it alone a few times but didn’t have anyone correcting me if I made a mistake. My friend Elizabeth was very helpful and I spent Friday and Saturday afternoon at her home rehearsing. The most helpful of all was Grace. Grace is a teacher that arrived in January to Kafule. She teaches form 1 and 4 Swahili. When I rewrote the sermon I put a wrong letter in a few words and she helped to correct it with me. On Saturday morning we spent an hour sitting with the pastor telling him about my plans for the sermon and read through the first half of the sermon. That evening I walked to her home and read the second half of the sermon to her. She was very encouraging and knew how difficult the preaching was for me. On Sunday, she sat at my side throughout the two church services and then brunch at the pastor’s home. Last night she again sat at my side during the celebration at the church. She was awesome and I don’t know how I could repay her. The sermon went way better than could have imagined and I went home that evening so happy. The sermon lasted about 40 minutes with pauses for laughter and applause. At the end, the congregation was very happy. They lifted me onto their shoulders as they danced around singing. Eventually they carried me back to my seat and sat me down. After the church service we had a short communion service. I have never had communion while in Kafule (or in the surrounding area) so it was an awesome way to spend one of my last Sunday’s here. It was a short service but very moving. We sang some of my favorite songs and read a few passages before departing for the pastor’s home. At the pastor’s home we had a feast while everyone congratulated me and told me how great I did. Throughout the week everyone has told me that they are prepared for Friday night. Since everyone is ready to dance I tried to get as much rest as possible for the big night. This week was my last week of teaching so of course it was full and very busy. I managed to get only two runs in. I am starting to lose all the muscle I built these last few months! This week was a much slower week which I was happy to have. On Monday I spent the night dancing at Mbughi’s which is always fun. On Wednesday I spent the evening at a student, Ikupa Mbughi’s, home with Grace. On Thursday I came home from school, ate some leftover soup and peanuts, and started to feel very sick. I really wanted to get a run in and thought it would help clean me out which is exactly what it did. I came home and threw up everywhere. Not the most pleasant experience but I felt much better. I prepared a nice pasta dinner and couldn’t even touch it. I couldn’t do much of anything but sleep. The next morning I woke up still feeling ill but able to eat. On my last day as a teacher I didn’t have any energy. Luckily the students were full of energy and it made the day go by well. I taught all of my classes and at the end of each class we had a short photo shoot. The photo shoot lasted until the end of the day. Random students came to me requesting a photo together. By the time 3 o’clock on Friday came around I started shaking. I could eat again but I wasn’t fully hydrated. Grace prepared a nice meal of rice and beans but something still wasn’t right. I tried the caffeine route and hyped up on tea before walking to the pastor’s home. The celebration began at 4 o’clock but Grace and I didn’t arrive at the pastor’s until a little past 5. After her home, I went home to take some Advil and quickly clean up. In part three I will tell you all about last night’s sherehe! Love,