July 12th (part two)
I had two alarms set for 4:30 on Saturday morning. Unfortunately, I slept through both alarms. At 5 PM, when we were supposed to depart in taxis, I woke up due to someone turning on the hallway lights. I jumped out of bed and quickly dressed. Luckily my things were packed and everything was laid out. I was a little stressed and thought I forgot to do something. Once I brought all of my things into the hallway of the hostel I calmed down a bit.. Lisa and Nicole are two volunteers who are living two hours away from us so Lindsay and I were traveling via bus to Mbeya with them. Lindsay and Nicole were able to pile into the first taxi but Lisa and I had to wait a few more minutes. Luckily, we were not too far behind and actually managed to beat the first taxi to the bus station. The bus station was super crowded. The taxi couldn’t take us to our bus because it was so crowded. The bus left at 6 AM and Lisa and I managed to get to the station at 5:50 which was a bit late. A gentleman had to use a trolley to carry our two large bags and we walked with him trying to find our bus. He had no idea where the bus was located and had to keep asking people. We finally managed to reach the bus and headed to the back to load our luggage. Once our luggage was in the bus, the gentleman started asking us for money. He asked for 25,000 Shillings which is equivalent to about $17 which seemed very high for someone that walked us for about two minutes. Lisa was able to get the price down to 20,000 Shillings and then our bus started to drive away. We ran to the front to stop the bus but realized the driver was just jockeying to get a better position to leave. Every bus at the station leaves at the same time so there wasn’t very much wiggle room, he wasn’t going anywhere. I jumped on the bus to save seats while Lisa continued to haggle our luggage carrier and look for Lindsay and Nicole. Eventually Nicole and Lindsay made it to the bus station. They didn’t actually get on until 6:10 but they only had to pay 10,000 Shillings! Soon after they took their seats and we took off for the long journey.
The bus takes a very long time to reach Mbeya. We realized that was mostly because every ten minutes we would stop and pick up more passengers. Luckily the bus isn’t like the daladala and there is no one on the bus without a seat except maybe the five employees that stood in the front. Once the bus was filled we didn’t stop as frequently. Initially, we were told there was only one stop the entire trip at which we were to use the restroom. I was very worried that I would need to use the bathroom and wouldn’t know what to do. Eventually I realized that was not true. About every three hours there was an extended stop for a bathroom break. Sometimes those bathrooms were on the side of the road. At one point we stopped and everyone jumped off the bus. In previous stops when there was an actual bathroom only about ten people got off. At this stop the woods served as the restroom and everyone just piled in. I stayed on. I only went to the bathroom when it was necessary or if I knew there was an actual bathroom.
There were definitely highlights to the trip which made it unforgettable. The moment we left the bus station, Lisa started complaining of a stomachache. She was getting constant cramps and really needed to use the bathroom. After an hour she went and spoke to one of the five employees in the front of the bus. They said they would be stopping in two hours and she said that she will try to hold it. I kept nodding off to sleep in those first couple of hours but I knew she was having a very difficult time. After an hour we stopped to pick up a passenger and Lisa asked me for a bag. She said if they didn’t let her off she would need to poop in the bag. Luckily, they let her off the bus. A few minutes passed and then the bus started to leave. I didn’t know what to do so I stood up looking for Lisa but she is nowhere in sight. The other passengers realized my concern and motioned me to tell the driver. Out of desperation I yelled, “My friend! My friend! Rafiki!” A gentleman in front walked into view and gave me the thumbs up and the bus pulled to the side. Minutes later Lisa returns. One of the workers actually took her to a house to use the facilities so she knew she wouldn’t be left. I, however, did not know this. I was excited she arrived safely back.
The best part of the trip was that we drove through one of the National Parks. As Lisa and I were sitting there we both noticed the sign for the National Park and our eyes lit up. We became very concentrated on seeing some wildlife, our eyes were glued to the window. We didn’t realize at the time but we drove through 50 kilometers of National Park! We first saw gazelles and impallas. Later we saw giraffes and zebras and buffalo. It was very exciting. The other passengers were happy to see us so excited that they started pointing out animals to us. After the National Park, we saw many baboons running next to the various buses waiting for food to be thrown out to them.
The trip was very memorable and I was glad to be on it. Many of the other passengers did start to look after us and were always concerned when we arrived late or walked too far into the bush to pee (me). After thirteen hours we finally got off the bus in Mbeya. Getting off was a bit uneasy. We were told to be careful because people will try to steal from us at the bus station. When we got off we found out that our transportation was nowhere in sight. A nice Tanzanian gentleman helped us get our luggage and told people to get away from us. We were quite uneasy though and tried to keep our distance. Eventually we walked to a nice well lite area and made the necessary phone calls to find our ride. An hour later we were picked up. We were very uneasy with the driver at first, questioning him and hoping he would give us the right answers. He did and we loaded our gear into his truck. For about twenty minutes we drove until we reached our hotel. The hotel was nice enough and we were glad to have a place to sleep. We were also very hungry and thankful to have a restaurant in the hotel. We all slept very well that night.
We were told that someone would pick us up at 8 AM the next morning. Lisa and I woke at 7 and went down for breakfast. The restaurant prepared Spanish omelets for us which I was very excited about. After breakfast we went upstairs to wait for our driver. I sat on my computer updating my blog and Lisa tried the Internet. My Internet card has yet to work since I have been in Tanzania so I didn’t even attempt mine. Lisa’s connection was so good that she was able to call her kids through Skype. I thought, let me try mine. After ten minutes mine started to work! It was a miracle! I was very pleased and eager to reply to e-mails and update my blog. I didn’t get everything done but I was able to do a fair bit until Lisa and Nicole’s headmaster arrived to pick us up. He was a very nice gentleman. He didn’t know much English but enough for short conversations. Around 10 AM we loaded up the car and headed down the road. Our first stop was the bank, the hotel needed to be paid for our stay. Next, we stopped at a store so that we could buy some supplies. We didn’t know what to buy exactly but I knew better than to wait until we were in our village. I loaded up with as much as I could. Unfortunately, the store sold very random things and I couldn’t buy most of what I was looking for. We asked to stop at another shop but we were denied. And so the journey continued.
Our driver was a very aggressive and angry Tanzanian. In our Land Rover we headed south. The first ten minutes was on a nice paved road and then the driver said he knew a short cut and pulled down a dirt road. He had to be going at least 60 mph on the small dirt road. We whizzed through village after village with children, men, and women jumping out of the way of the truck. He wasn’t stopping for anyone. At one point we approached a bunch of cows in the road with village boys herding them. Our driver honked his horn and then slammed on the breaks. One of the boys threw a rock at the car and the driver wanted revenge. He walked back until he caught up with the boy and smacked him. When he got back into the car we found out that the boy was aiming his rock at the cow for the cow to move but missed. :( Then we continued on. About 30 minutes later after much bruising all over my body we stopped again and were told to get out. We had been driving along the river and on the other side was Malawi. Our driver wanted us to take photos. I didn’t take my camera out. He also wanted photos with him and the truck. Five minutes later, we jumped back in the car and kept on cruising. Ten minutes later we stopped again. This time was a little more exciting. There was a bridge across the river made out of sticks. It looked like it could hold a maximum of ten pounds yet he wanted us to get on. We didn’t get far enough on the bridge to worry about the support though. We took photos and headed back in the car. The rest of the drive consisted of more bruising.
Our first main stop on the trip was at Lisa and Nicole’s home for the year, Ileje Secondary School. They had a nice warm welcome when we arrived. Their house is located in front of the school alongside the other teachers’ housing. They have three separate buildings: one for sleeping/preparing food, one for showering and I think keeping animals (there was a semi-dead bird inside when we arrived), and the last building is their bathroom. After checking the place out, we walked to the headmasters’ office where we signed his book and were warmly welcomed. We thought we were saying goodbye as the driver told Lindsay and I to get in the car. We hugged and jumped in only to realize that Lisa and Nicole were coming with us. Around the corner “in town” we stopped at a restaurant for lunch. We had a nice serving of rice and beans and some kind of meat before we headed off to Kafule.
The drive is supposed to take about two hours but our driver got us there in an hour and a half. That is even after we had to stop because he got a flat tire. My guess is someone called ahead complaining about his reckless driving and the village put a nail in the road for him. Probably not the case but I laughed thinking that was true. The jack he used wasn’t very sturdy so he had a bit of trouble changing the tire. After about fifteen minutes he was able to change the tire and we continued on. We eventually made it to Kafule Secondary School but there was no one to be seen. It wasn’t the welcome I quite imagined. We walked around the campus for about a half an hour marveling at the beauty of the place. As we shivered and walked I wondered if we were ever going to see our home. As we reached the office at the end of the tour we found our headmaster walking towards us. He ushered us into his office which was surprisingly big and nicely furnished where we signed in and were warmly welcomed all over again. The papers were signed and now it was time to see our home. Our home was actually a little ways down the road across from the elementary school. I was a little relieved that it was not at the secondary school because I would feel like I was stuck up there all the time And our home has just as nice of a view!
Our home was very nice and I was thrilled to finally have a place to unpack my bags. Unfortunately, that was not the headmasters plan for us. After we ate more rice and beans and said goodbye to Nicole and Lisa the headmaster escorted me to the back by the bathroom and showed me our hole in the ground for the year. He let me know that he would like to give us a Western toilet but only if we stay somewhere else for a few days. I really didn’t care too much but told him I would need to ask Lindsay. Lindsay seemed to want to live in the missionary hospital because we would have electricity and our headmaster seemed to really want us to stay there for a few days. I reluctantly agreed. We were told it would be for two to three days. I am still at the missionary hospital with no word on when I will be leaving.
The drive to the missionary hospital was very interesting. Since there is a bus that takes you on a regular basis to the bigger town where Lisa and Nicole live, there is no reason for someone to have a car in Kafule. A pikipiki or what we call a motorcycle is the primary means of transportation. At 9 o’clock at night Lindsay and I piled three deep on the back of a pikipiki going down a mountain on a gravel road. It was very thrilling. At one point it became too steep and we had to get out and walk. The hardest part about the ride was that we both had backpacks and bags to hold onto. About twenty minutes after we left our home, we arrived in a very busy street (busy meaning more than ten people). Everyone stared at us as we were escorted up the hill to the missionary hospital. We entered a building which was a decent size where we met more gentlemen that I can’t even remember the names of. They were important congressmen of sorts but I am not too sure what they did. The building has four bedrooms, bathrooms in each bedroom, two separate bathrooms, a kitchen, and a huge dining area. We even have a watchman at night!
I have asked a couple of times when we will return to our house with no definite answer! The missionary hospital is nice but we still can’t unpack and most of our luggage is at our home.
On Monday we did report to school so I will write about that in part three for you!
Love,
Gretchen
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