Two Countries Reunite

On the 13th of December I boarded a Scandinavian bus to make the 8 hour haul to Dar Es Salam to pick up Lindsey on the night of the 14th. I’m not a bus fan in the least! I have heard way too many stories about people dying and getting hurt on buses.
I had gotten my ticket three weeks in advance because I wanted to make sure I would have a spot on the bus since it was somewhat close to Christmas. I hated standing at the ticket office and debating where I wanted to sit. It was a terrible feeling. It was like oh if I sit here and we get in to an accident would I survive? Well, I decided to sit in the front behind the driver, then I would have more let room.
My Tumaini driver too me and the little luggage I had packet to the station, which is not really a station at all. The bus station in Iringa is just a huge parking lot that contains a lot of busses large and small. It’s a mess of confusion with people yelling to you trying to get you to ride their bus and the weirdest people just loitering.
I got on the bus and headed out. The Scandinavian is one of the nicest buses in Tanzania and they are one of the safest. They drive slower than most of the other buses. That is what makes them safer. Well it wasn’t a terrible ride. I sat next to the cutest little Muslim girl and I had fun trying to talk to her in Kiswahili. She was so cute and nice.
About half way there the bus broke down, up to this point I had never been on a Scandinavian bus that hadn’t broke down. All of the passengers got out of the passengers got out of the bus and found shade in the trees of this small village. Basically what happened is a belt broke, but it took them a while to fix it. So, you just sit and wait and wait. Eventually she was fixed and we all boarded the bus again and continued on our journey. One of the only good tings about the 8 hour bus ride to Dar Es Salam is that you drive through Makumi National Park. If your lucky you may see lions, elephants, giraffes, water buffalo, zebras, kudu, or impala. When I went to Dar with Mark and Terry we actually had to stop and let the heard of water buffalo cross the road. There must have been 200 of them. Let just say that we waited a very long time. Lol But what a sight!
I finally arrived in Dar and could not get a hold of Pastor Muro. I would be staying at his house. About an hour later I got a hold of him and his driver was on the way to come and get me. I was finally in Dar with my family. I love the Muro’s so much! They are so nice and carring. Flora always calls herself my mother and I always tell her that she is way too young to be my mother. She is like 34 years. That would have made her 11 when I was born. Lol
The next day I sat around and played with the kids waiting for they day to pass so that I could go with the driver and pick up Lindsey from the airport. Lets just say that it was one of the longest days of my life!
Finally the time came to leave for the airport. It’s about a 45 min drive from the house to the airport. Pastor Muro sent Jackson and Michael with the driver and I. Jackson is Pastor Muro’s nephew that lives with them, and Michael is also a nephew that is visiting the Muro’s.
We Arrived at the air port and didn’t have to wait too long for people to come out the double doors out of the airport. In Dar the airport is set up in a weird way. When the passengers get off the plain and get their visas and grab their luggage they are ushered through two sliding doors that lead outside and that's where they meet the cab drivers or who ever is picking them up.

I stood by the sliding doors for an hour and no Lindsey. Eventually no one was even coming out any more. I was really starting to get nervous! Where is Linds! Well then about a half and hour after that she finally came out with someone else. She was with this girl named Francis from BC Canada. Lindsey had given her my cell phoe number so that we could meet up later.

Michael, Jackson and I loaded Lindsey's stuff into the car and we were off. We didn't get alot of sleep that night because we had a lot of catching up to do.

I hope you all had a great Christmas and that you will have a great New Year. We have been very busy and I will write more tomorrow! Sory I as taken mo so long to write!

Jen

My African Debut and The Christmas Sprit

Ok let me set up this story. As you may know Ross (American) Eero and Juho (Finish) love to sit around and play guitar. They decided to put their efforts to good use. So, they started a little band with two Tanzanian guys, Steve and Andrew. They called themselves Simba Wapole (friendly lion) It was just for fun at first, but then they started to talk about playing at a bar in the area. They got a gig at Shooters, which used to be the bottoms up bar.
On a rare occasion I would sit there and sing with them. So, they asked me if I would sing with them at the gig. Of course I said yes…, Why not!
It was quite a night! The place was packed with a lot of Tanzanians and all the wazungu we had ever met. It was so much fun! They sang some covers and some original songs written by Andrew. The crowd loved them and then I got my chance to sing with them and they even wanted me to sing a song on my own. This was about three weeks ago and every time since when I see Andrew he tells me how much him and all his friends liked my singing. Andrew is friends with this guy named Bonnie that works at EBONY FM and he goes over there to record songs a lot. He asked me to record with him before I leave. I might have made my Tanzanian debut!! Lol It was a great night and a good way to have a going away party for Eero and Juho!
They have been gone for a week now and it has been really quite! Ross is also in Dar, so it’s just been the girls Annika, Inga, Chrissy, Sunna (from Finland, she moved in to Eero and Juho’s room) and me. We have been trying to cope without the guys. It’s amazing how close you can grow to someone in such a short time. I guess I’ll just have to go visit them in Finland.
Sally Harris, who is from MN and teaches at Tumnaini has left for a couple of weeks and she gave me her keys and I have been enjoying a hot shower everyday. She also has internet at her place so I go over there to Skype Linds and mom. Even better though she has a projector, so we can watch movies on a big screen!!
The girls and I decided that every Sunday until Christmas we should get together light our advent candle and make Christmas cookies. The first Sunday we rolled out dough and didn’t have any cookie cutters, so we had to just make things by hand. I was getting really good at making trees when we found a giraffe cut out and we decided that since we are spending Christmas in Tanzania that I giraffe would be perfectly acceptable for a Tanzanian Christmas. Then we started talking and we decided that in Africa, Santa does not have reindeer his sleigh is pulled by giraffes. This Sunday when I will be in Dar to meet up with Linds the girls are going to be making ginger bread. Instead of making a house they will make Santa’s sleigh and eight tiny giraffes pulling it.
Also I was amazed to hear that Sunna says that Santa is not from the North Pole. He is from Finland. She said he can’t be from the North Pole because they do not have Reindeer there, so he’s from Finland. They even have a Santa town that you can to talk to Santa at any time of the year. They take it very seriously! Don’t ever tell a Fin that Santa is from the North Pole or you might be stoned to death. Lol lol.
Ya, we are all starting to get in to the Christmas spirit. We made really yummy oatmeal cookies and some Finish cookies at Sally’s. We started to sing Christmas songs that we all know and then I started to sing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. The girls had heard it but didn’t know the words. They made me sing it like 20 times. I like Rudolph but oh man! Lol

We have also had a lot of fun setting up the menu for Christmas. It should be really interesting. Not only are we having some what of a typical American Christmas feast, but we will be having some traditional Finish and German things too. We have been trying to get a handle on the Christmas tree situation, but I don’t thing that we will have a tree. We might have to either buy a plastic tree, which none of us are excited about, or decorate a baobob or coconut tree. Out side of our little DIRA community there is no sign of the Christmas season yet. It will be interesting to see if any pops up considering that there is a pretty big Muslim population here.
Oh, and I know that you all miss me so much that you will surely be getting me expensive and elaborate Christmas presents and I will be more than happy to accept them when I return home. Merry Christmas!

Tanzania, the perfict place to be a party crasher!

Tanzania would be the best place for white people to party crash. Since I have been here I have been invited to so many parties for graduation, confirmation and baptisms. Your family is though to be higher up on the totem pole if you have white people at your party. The only problem with being invited to so many parties is that they they all occur on the same day. After Tumaini graduation I was invited to five parties, but they were all on the same day and you can only go to one. It’s kind of a weird practice. But, really you have to choose only one to go to.
The other weekend I was invited to a confirmation party and it was so interesting! The ceremony was at the Lutheran center. It was Alfred’s son Sammy. All of the white people that I live by are pretty close to his family since we hang out with Alfred’s younger brother Adam all the time.
We all got invitations that said that the party would start at 2:00pm. This was the stupidest thing! Tanzanians are always late for everything. We all showed up at 3:00 and the ceremony still had not started! We came back two hours later and finally the ceremony had begun. I don’t understand why they would not adjust the time on the invitation for white people. It’s like if you say 2 we think you mean 2 and not 5. Oh, man you gotta love it over here! J
At the ceremony a guy that I don’t know talked a little bit in Kiswahili. The room was set up so that Sammy was sitting in front of all of us. Then the cake was set before him. After that one by one his whole family came up to him. Then one by one Sammy fed his family members a little piece of cake. I’m not sure what this symbolizes, but it was really cool. During all of this they are playing music mostly Christian music, but there was some Cilene Dion and Toni Braxton in the mix too.
After this process the man I didn’t know spoke again and then a women said a prayer and Sammy got up and helped himself to the food that had been set up. His family followed, each grabbing their selves some grub. Then we (the white people) were ushered to the buffet line, but before anyone can eat they must wash their hands. Luckily enough the Lutheran Center has two sinks so we could wash our own hands. After dinner a server came around with a plate of little cake slices. We each grabbed one. It was some of the best cake I have ever had, but then again it’s been about 4 months since I have had cake so even bad cake would probably taste delicious to me. lol.
Before we ate dinner I asked Alfred if later on I could get a picture of his family, so after dinner and cake was time to piga picha or take some pictures. It’s actually kind of funny because piga means punch. It really means punch pictures. Lol. Also, when they brush their teeth they call it piga mswaki, punch teeth. Lol
The family gathered at the front so I and another guys could take some pictures. Then they decided that all the wazungu (white people) had to join in on the picture. Then we went out side and took some more. After that then they dance. We stayed a little bit but the Finish guys needed to get ready to go back to Finland.
All in all it was a really neat experience. Also, since white people are though of so highly it would be so easy to walk in to any party even if you weren’t invited because they would feel so honored to have you there. You could totally use this to your advantage……….. if you wanted to. Lol

Sink or swim I'm diving in!

Before I left for Tanzania I was really scared to go; I would be leaving my friends and family and living in a country far far way. I mean really really scared. I had been here before, but two weeks is nothing like two months. Also, let me say right now travel doctors are the devil. Mine pretty much told me that going to African with Crohn’s disease is the stupidest thing I could ever do. They put all these terrible thoughts in your head and mine just made every thing worse! I was freaking out inside I almost felt trapped. It was my choice to go but could I really go through with it? My passion for Tanzania was the only thing that kept me from jumping ship, until I heard this song. This is exactly what I felt a couple weeks before I left and it gave me the courage to go. I just needed to take the leap of faith. Jump in and immerse my body in the experience, feel the water rush over me and cleanse my thirsty soul.

Steven Curtis Chapman- Dive
All the waiting rains have fallen hard upon the thirsty ground and carved away to where the wild rushing river can be found and like the rain I have been carried here to where the river flows. Ya. My heart is racing and my knees are weak as I walk to the edge. I know there is no turning back once my feel have left the ledge and in the rush I hear a voice that’s telling me it’s time to take the leap of faith. So, here I go.
I’m diving in I’m going deep in over my head I wanna be, caught in the rush lost in the flow. In over my head I wanna go. The rivers deep, the rivers wide, the rivers water is alive. So sink or swim I’m diving in. I’m diving in.
There is a supernatural power in this might rivers flow. It can bring the dead to life and it can fill an empty soul and give our hears the only thing worth living and worth dying for. Ya. But we will never know the awesome power of the grace of God until we let ourselves get swept away into this holy flood. So, if you take my hand we’ll close our eyes and count to three and take the leap of faith. Come on lets go.
I’m diving in I’m going deep in over my head I wanna be, caught in the rush lost in the flow. In over my head I wanna go. The rivers deep, the rivers wide, the rivers water is alive. So sink or swim I’m diving in. I’m diving in.
I’m diving in. I’m diving in. Ya, here I go!
I’m diving in I’m going deep in over my head I wanna be, caught in the rush lost in the flow. In over my head I wanna go. The rivers deep, the rivers wide, the rivers water is alive. So sink or swim I’m diving in. I’m diving in.
So, sink or swim I’m diving in. Sink or swim. I’m diving in!

Getting a Tanzanian License

So, I set out to get a drivers license. I was really worried that it would take forever. I talked to Terry and she said that it was a huge hassle and it took her five days. She had to go to one office on one end of town and then pay for a license book. Then she had to go to the government hospital on the other side of town and pay to see the eye doctor. Of course, then she had to go back to the office on the other side of town and pay the license guy, but he was not in. Tanzania is so corrupt that in any office there is only one guy you can give money to otherwise the others would more then likely just pocket your money or they charge much more then they should. Then a couple days later she had to go to the police station so that a head traffic cop could sign off on her license.
Well, I decided to use this corruption to my advantage. I talked to my friend Alfred who is really well known in Iringa and he has a lot of connections. So, on Monday he agreed to take me to get a license. Me being the casual air head that I am I forgot to bring my glasses for the eye exam. I told Alfred and he said no problem. I was really nervous. I did feel a little good though. I had the feeling that today I would be like every other Tanzanian and bend the rules to get my way. Finally I would have the resources to avoid the normal problems that you have to deal with being white in Tanzania. Of course people want you to pay more for things because they think all white people are rich. They also usually jerk their chain a lot and make white people jump through more hoops then they would a Tanzanian.
Alfred and I went to the office on one side of town. We talked to the tax guy right away and he told us that we would need to go to get a passport picture and get an eye exam and come back. We got my passport picture and headed to the government hospital. I don’t know what Alfred said to the receptionist, but I got to see the nurse right away. Then Alfred worked his magic once again and the nurse didn’t even give me an eye exam. Then we made our way back to the office. He made me the license. Everything was going so smoothly and I was amazed. I was finally getting the same treatment a local would get. It felt so great! Our last step was to go to the police station and get my license signed. We headed over there.
We entered his office and he looked at my incomplete Tanzanian license, my Minnesota license, my passport, and all the other paperwork I had. He looks up at me and says “where is your international license?” I was like he has to be joking!! If I had an international license I wouldn’t need a Tanzanian license!!! He agued with Alfred for about a half an hour. He didn’t know what a Class D license was for. I told him that in the U.S. I can drive cars and trucks, but not big trucks or busses. Then he saw that under other endorsements it says firearm. I think that he thought that that meant that in the U.S. I can drive around with a gun and shoot things. (OH MAN!) I don’t understand a lot of Kiswahili, but I could definitely tell that he was being really rude and crabby. He told us to come back the next morning.
After we left Alfred explained to me that this guy wanted me to pay 50,000tsh about 47 USD to take driving classes, but this guy owns the company that gives these lessons. There is just one example of the corruption. On our way back we ran into one of the big potatoes (important person) at the police station. He said that if this guy didn’t give me a license we would talk to his superior about the situation and that I would be guaranteed a license by the next day.
The next day I could not continue on this adventure because I had class really early. Alfred went in to town for me and tried to get the license signed. Again they told him that he would have to pay them off. He said no. Then they told him to bring me back the next day. The next day I got to continue on this wonderful adventure of corruption.
We set out and first went to the tax office on the other side of town. They said that we would need to make some copies of the paper work that we had been given. That meant that Alfred and I would have to go to the main street and make copies. Ya, they don’t have any copy machines in most offices and why would they waste their ink and paper on you when you could spend your own money to pay for copies. Then we went back to the tax office he made me a new license and then I had to pay for a new license book. Don’t ask why. I don’t know. Then we set out to the police station. I sat there waiting for about a half an hour waiting for someone to help me. The office was empty. FINALLY when he came he signed my drivers license, no questions asked. Now, it is legal for me to drive in Tanzania for the next three years. Tumaini has agreed to borrow me a vehicle over Christmas break. Petty much I went through all of that so that I can drive for a week when Lindsey is here.
I can’t believe the hassle though! People are crazy behind the wheel here. I drive better than most of them on any given day. Linds and I will use the car to travel around town and other places close to town. It’s not really safe for us to go long distances by ourselves. The only thing that makes me nervous is driving on the wrong side of the road. It should be interesting! Lol :-)

My Day at the Massi Village

One night I want over to Mark and Terry Jenson's apartment for dinner.  Mark and Terry volunteer at Tumaini.  What they do is go out to villages and teach the villages how to be better farmers.  Where to plant their crops and what crops will grow best in the area.  They also work for the Ag institute at the U of M. Well, so they go it to different villages often.  I really wanted to go with them sometime. They told me I could go out to a Massi village with the Image group from MN.  I jumped at the chance because I have always been fascinated with the Massi Tribe.

            I found out the reason that the Image group was gong is because this tribe's chief has six wives and he is sick and tired of all of them asking him for money. They wanted money for things like food and medicine for their children.  He decided that he would allow them and other women in the tribe to have their own livestock. The problem now is that the women didn't know how to take care of livestock. 

            I was so excited to go since I grew up on a farm and have been around livestock all my life.  They mostly had chickens, cows, and goats.  I told Terry that I used to show goats in 4-H and I would be interested in helping out.

            Well, finally the day came.  I had to get up early and meet the group at the Lutheran Center.  Then we all boarded the buss and we were off.  It was really fun getting to know the members of the group.  They were all from Minnesota.  It was also very interesting because Terry exaggerated when my knowledge about goats.  When I met everyone they were like "Oh, you're the goat girl".  Lol  I was like um, sure I used to show them, but I'm not really an expert! Lol 

            It was me the Image group, some interpreters, and a vet.  Andy was the vet.  He is originally from London, England until he heard that Iringa and the surrounding areas needed a vet.   He goes to villages often and helps them with their livestock and other things.

            Ok now let me give you a little background information on the Massi tribe.  They used to be nomads that would just travel everywhere with their livestock. It is very normal that the man have more than one wife. They are a really unique tribe.  Also, because they generally travel so much other tribes don't really like them because often their livestock eat other tribes' crops.  This tribe usually does not respect their women very much.  They are just there to have sex with, take care of the kids and to cook the men food.  In fact they are an often ostracized because they circumcise their men, not only the men but the women also.   They do this it to make it painful when their women have sex and to deter them from being sexually promiscuous.

            It was a great opportunity for me to go with them.  We got there and the women were so happy to see us.  The Image group also had bought the women some chickens and goats a couple of months ago. They also have raised money to send some of the younger girls off to school to get an education.  A lot of other men in the tribe were upset with the Chief.  They were worried that the women would get an education and then leave the tribe to get jobs and they didn't like that their women would have their own money.

            We started with the chickens.  It was much too hot and sunny to just sit under the sun so we moved to some trees for cover.  We didn't know it but the men were using the trees for shade so they could take a nap.  I think they were kind of irritated that they had to move.   Andy then asked a women how the chickens were doing.   The lady said that they were dying.  They would stop drinking and would almost lose their equilibrium because their necks were always cocked to one side.   Andy knew what it was right away.  I guess it is a common disease in the area.  He assigned two women to administer eye drops to the chickens once a month.  The women were so happy to have Andy there to help them.

            Then we went to the school building to talk to the group about clean water.  The Massi have a very high rate of children mortality.  It is mostly because they get water from the Ruaha River and it is not very safe to drink.  We brought a bunch of empty water bottles and showed the women how to use them to clean the water. 

            It is actually very simple and resourceful.  Most of the time the locals don't buy water bottles; if they do they end up just burning them with the other garbage.  But, if you fill them 3/4ths the way full, shake them to aerate the water and put them on a tin roof for about 24 hours the UV light from the sun kills all the bacteria and parasites.  Then it is totally safe to drink.  It is also free of you have a water source.  There may be particles in the water but then if you use some fabric to strain it out you are sitting pretty.

            Then we moved back outside to look at their goats.  They all looked really healthy.  The main thing that we focused on with them was the condition of their hooves.  Since the rainy season is rapidly approaching it is important that they take good care of their hooves.  In the rainy season they are more susceptible to infection.  Andy gave them some solution that the women should use to soak the goats hooves for one min.  The solution just coats the hooves for protection.

            Then Andy and the Image group asked if the women had any questions.  The women said yes, but let's go in the school so that the men don't hear us.   We moved in to the school and the women had many questions.  They were all answered.  The Image group gave the women bags full of things that would help them take care of their children they also gave some of the women mosquito nets.

            It was such a great day.  It had been a while since I had gotten out of Iringa and I love going out to different villages.  The Massi are such a unique and interesting tribe.  It was really a great opportunity for me to see them living their daily lives.  There are some Massi around Iringa, but mostly they are in their shops selling jewelry.  That is one of the things that the Massi are known for is their jewelry. 

            Here in Tanzania people are generally judged by their wealth.  So, the women frequently wear every piece of jewelry they own.  This makes them look like they have a lot of money. Generally Massi women and men wear more jewelry then other tribes.

            Here is another adventure story from Tanzania.  It always amazes me how many different cultures this place has and how unique it is.  It also makes me sad because they all urn to be more like the U.S.  Yes, when it comes to respecting women more, but I'm worried that eventually this place will loose everything that makes it unique because they want to be more like America. 

           

Jennifer (J.C.) Olson

Life is a little back to normal

For the past week it has been Annika, Chirssy and I. Ross was in Dar and Eero, Juho were visiting friends in Zambia and Inga was traveling with her boss. Well, so it was really quiet around the apartment. It's the guys who usually want to go out for dinner or who initiate us hanging out. Also, I was lonely because Inga and I get along really well and hang out a lot. I lost my pool partner. Inga and I were hanging out a couple of Fridays ago and we played pool against Eero and Juho and kicked their butts! Ever since then we will go out to play pool at least twice a week to hone our skills lol lol It was really weird to have them gone. Now, they are all back except Inga. She will be coming home tonight, hopefully.
They all are so much fun! I'm glad that I live where I do. We have all become very close. It's sad though because Eero and Juho will be leaving in the middle of December. It's going to be really weird without them around. They are both students at Tumaini and are from Finland. They are really nice and really funny. I'm going to miss falling a sleep to them playing guitar in the next room over. lol
Tonight we have decided to all have dinner together. Sube, who is a native from Daresalam, will be making daga. I don't really like it but I grin and bear it. Basically what it is, is dried minnows. Yum! Yum! They sell them at the market and you take them home, cut off the heads and throw them in with tomatoes, onions or what ever you want. After they are cooked you eat them tail, scales and all. It's interesting. I actually buy about a half a kilo a week. lol lol But I give them to my cat and when Sube makes it tonight my cat will be having an extra helping of fish heads. lol
Otherwise, things are going reall well. My students are doing good, my cat is good, and I'm perfectly fine. I do have cravings for things like... well, chipotle, steak, ham, honey crisp apples, apple sauce, apple butter, Granny smith apples, stuff like that, since I missed fall in Minnesota and I will be missing Thanks giving. LOL But it should be ok because my friends have decided to have a make- up Thanks giving for me. LOL LOL They are going to call it Jenni O. Turkey Day. lol lol Miss you all and hope you are well!!

The Hitchhikers Guide to Tanzania

The Hitchhickers Guide to Tanzania

*When staying over night in Tanzania you must always have a scrub brush. This scrub brush can be used for a number of things. You may use it for washing your feet and legs (they will get very dirty due to heavy sandal use). It may also be used for cleaning off your sandals when sand build up occurs. A brush is also necessary for washing your clothes.
* When spending any considerable amount of time in Tanzania invest in a water boiler. They are amazing machines that you fill with water and plug in. The astonishing coil at the bottom of the pitcher will get your water boiling in less than five minutes! When you use a stove it may take up to a half an hour. This extraordinary contraption will save you a lot of time. Not only will water boil faster, but if you use the water to clean the dishes and silverware it will save you from wasting time being sick. It is also very useful when your shower does not have any hot water (again).
*Hand sanitizer may also be needed when you go out to dinner. The Tanzanians will often bring out a pitcher of water to clean your hands. You will never really know if they are washing your hands with clean and boiled water. That is when an extra washing with hand sanitizer may be necessary.
*Traveling any where out side your home no matter how short a trip, always bring toilet paper. A lot of restaurants, bars, and shops do not have bathrooms; if they do they will not provide toilet paper. When entering a rest room if applicable, you will need to roll up your pant legs or tuck up your skirt, so that you do not soil them on the foul floor. To relieve your self you will be kneeling over a whole in the floor. Caution to those who go out for dinner late at night toilet paper and a flash light will be necessary! A flash light is best held in your mouth so that both hands are free to support your self against the wall to keep you from falling over on the polluted floor.
*When going out for Kiti Moto (fried bite size pieces of pork) physically walk up to the pig leg hanging in the kitchen and point out what meat you would like to eat. It may be a little shocking to see a pig leg just hanging there and the cooks hacking off pieces of meat, but you must pick out your meat. If you miss this important step you will be given pieces that are mostly bone and pieces that are all fat. Hey, they have to give them to someone, but be smart and don’t let that someone be you!
* When you are out with your friends enjoying dinner and you feel like having a beer or a pop be sure you order a cold one. You will say the type of beer/pop followed by the word barede. As an example: ninahataji coka barede tafadahili ( I presently need a coke please) Many a night will be ruined if you forget to use the word barede and you have to choke down a warm beer/pop.
*When shopping at the market you will need to bring a big bag. Shop owners will often charge you extra money if they have to give you a plastic bag. A big bag is also useful to promote circulation. When you carry a lot of heavy plastic bags your fingers will no doubt go numb.
* When out in the market do not share your name with everyone who asks. Only tell shop owners that you regularly visit. If you are to free with your name it will be yelled at the top of the shop owner’s lungs every time you step within 30 feet of the market. They will scream it trying to get your attention so that you will shop in their store.
*It is important to note that you are in Tanzania and people are always late. You may have an appointment with someone at 3:00pm and they will not show up until 4 if at all. You may get frustrated at times, but take in a deep breath and the next time they ask to meet with you show up late. It’s the Tanzanian way. Omna Sheda (no worries).
* When making plans with some one be aware that Tanzanian’s live on a different time schedule. 6:00am is 12:00 asibuhi (morning) 7:00am is 1:00 (asibuhi) 12:00pm is 6:00 mchana (afternoon). Be very carefull that you and the person you are making plans with are using the same time schedule western time or Swahili time. Many mishaps will occur if a time schedule is not agreed upon, it may cause you to miss an important event.
*When volunteering at Tumaini University secure an office immediately, but don’t get too comfortable you will be moved. When being moved refuse to hand over your keys to the old office until you have the keys to the new office. If not you may be without an office for an undetermined amount of time.
* Walking anywhere in Tanzania can be treacherous. If the side walks are crowded and you are forced to walk on the side of the street, do so with caution. If you hear a car horn move immediately to the sidewalk no matter how crowded. Cars will hit you without thinking twice. The locals will tell you not to worry because they have taken the part out of the car that kills people. They say that if you are hit you will be fine, but following this information could be seriously bad for your health.
* You will be approached by many kids. They will all either ask you for money or food. Do not give them either. If you do you will be stalked by a herd of kids everywhere you go. Not only will they bother you, but they will also try to heckle the next unsuspecting white person they see.

Halloween

Well, they really don't celebrate Halloween over here. We did have a party though. The house that was just built for the German girls was just open 2 weeks ago. We had a house warming party for them. It was a lot of fun! There was a lot of people there! There was even a camera crew there. A German station came to follow around this German guy who is living in Tanzania permanently. He came to the party and so did the camera crew. Of, couse me being an American and not really good at German they didn't talk to me. lol lol
After the party died down The neighbors and I went to Twisters. Twisters is the only dance club in Iringa. It is really cool. At the beginning of the night they play African music and then as the night goes on they play American Rap, Hip-Hop & Pop. It is really cool to hang out with the locals and do the things they do. I really like it. Let me say American men can't hold a candle to Tanzanian Men when it comes to dancing!!!! I have never met a Tanzanian guy who doesn't love to dance. It's a great experience, but a lot of times I have to be a little careful. When white girls dance they are almost mugged by the guys dancing. So, we dance in a group and keep an eye out for each other or we dance by some of the Tanzanian guys we are friends with. They seen to ward off teh other guys well lol lol :-)
I love The African music. It is so intense! It has a great beat and it's really fun and easy to dance to. I danced with my friend Justers last night and he would tell me what they were saying in the music. A lot of the themes to the songs are a lot like ours in the States.
So, all in all it was a great night! I had a lot of fun!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERY ONE!!
JC

My Future Husband

So I was at Tumainis Graduation ceremony. I ran it to an old friend. This is Benedict. I met him two years ago when I was here. He was the first person to teach me a little Kiswahili, but the only words he taught me were love, beautiful, marriage, and how to say I'm single. lol lol Well, when I came here in September I was wondering if I would run in to him. I did at graduation. He has his degree in Theology of Diploma. He has his own congregation now. It's by Arusha. I guess it's like 13 hours away. Well I was really happy to see him and I was surprised that he recognized me. Well, he wanted to get together and catch up on each others lives so I agreed.

Well we went out to Lulu's a cool place in Iringa. I was suddenly bombarded with questions..... are you married, are you single, why aren't you married, do you think you could live in Tanzania? He said that he was so happy that God brought us together again. I was feeling a little uncomfortable., but I just ignored it. Then when dinner was over I wanted to meet up with Ross, Eero and Juho. Well we said goodbye and he kissed me twice on the neck.

I told mom about it and she said that it was just an African thing......FALSE.

Sorry mom your wrong :-) I asked the mama at dira and she said that it means that he loves me. He left to go back to his congregation on Tuesday and I have already gotten a text from him every day ever since.

Don't tell any Africans this other wise I'll have to beat them off with a stick, but its not that I couldn't marry an African, but I just don't have those feeling for him. If your African and you marry a white person it's like a position of status. Your a big potato (big deal) if you marry a white person. The two most common questions I'm asked over here is are you married and why aren't you married. Even Pastor Muro was teasing me about being so old and not being married. I just tell them that there are a lot of things that I need to accomplish before I even think about marriage.

Well, that's the news of my life lately.

Hope all of you are doing well in the States!

-JC

Tumaini University

Things are going well in my classes. I am teaching two. One is Theology of Diploma and the other one is Bachelor of Divinity. At fist I was lead to believe that I would be teaching communication studies, but what I’m really teaching is English. I was really worried at first! Just because I can speak English does not mean that I can teach it! Well so I am combining both. They read chapters out of a book called A Pocket Guide to Public Speaking. We read through the chapters together then they pick words out of the chapters that they don’t understand. Then, I divide the words between the class and they look them up out of class and then share what they found. One of the emphasizes in the class is to broaden the student’s vocabulary.
I also had both of my classes write me a one page paper about themselves. I was surprised to see how the student’s English skills vary so much. Some of then are not so bad and some of them really need help.
I have pulled a syllabus together with the help of Brian Peterson. He is a Professor of Greek and Theology at a university in one of the Carolinas. He decided to spend his sabbatical teaching at Tumaini University of Iringa.
It is really hard to follow a syllabus. Some times they will just cancel class and you won’t know about it until the day before. Last week because of graduation there were no classes on Thursday or Friday.
At first I felt that the student’s didn’t understand at all what I was teaching them. Now, it’s really rewarding to see that they are learning! We have been talking about audiences and forming your message to fit different audiences. I was floored when a student asked me how to analyze their audiences. It feels good to know that they are catching on!
They were also very shy at the beginning. I would ask a question and they all would just sit there and not say anything. So, I decided to make it part of their grade to talk in class. Also, now that they have warmed up to me a little they talk more.
The Bachelor of Divinity class is a little more advanced in English than the Theology of Diploma class. LOL The Theology of Diploma class and I were talking about the word deceive. I was explaining to them what it meant and I gave an example. I said that when I go to the sokoni (market) and I want to buy a kilo of rice I look until I find a kioski (store) that sells rice. Then I asked the class how much a kilo of rice is. They agreed that it costs about 1,200 tsh. Then I said ok well the shop keeper will tell me it costs 3,000. They all laughed. Then I said the chop keeper deceives me by giving me the wazungu discount. (The wazungu discount is what the shop keeper thinks the “rich” white people should pay.) They all roared with laughter. Then one of the student said that I need to bargain more. I explained that I do bargain a lot but they usually won’t go down to the African price. They all just thought that it was hilarious!
(To solve this problem I have learned what shops to buy stuff from and what ones to stay away from.)
Well, I will be moving to a new office. This will be the 3rd time that I have moved now. I don’t really mind it because all my stuff fits into my bag and is easy to move around. The problem is that I might not have an office for a couple of days, which I cannot do without! I may be able to move my things easily, but I do need a space to correct papers, go on the internet, and plan my up coming classes.
The creepy guy that I shared an office with will now be moving in to the office that I am in. It is really his office, but I don’t know why he didn’t just move to it before. Well he kind of yelled at me yesterday. I was asked to give the janitor the keys to D1. That was the first office I had. Then the creepy guy shared it with me. Well then I was really uncomfortable with this guy starring at me constantly and telling me how pretty I am. So, I got the janitor to move me. He moved me to D8. Like I was saying D8 is really the creepy guys new office. His name is even on the door…… Any ways I gave the janitor the keys to D1 because those were the keys he asked me for. Well, the creep guy stopped me on my way to class and yell at me for giving the janitor the wrong keys. I said he only asked me for the keys to D1. So the creepy guy argued with me for a while not listing to anything that I said. He seems like he is really chauvinistic. Any way I didn’t really want to get yell at anymore for no reason, so I was like I gotta go to class and I walked away. Later on he came back to the office I was in with the janitor and was much more clam now. The janitor and I worked everything out. It was an interesting day yesterday. Lol lol
Um….. I have been the only girl around for the last day. Chrissy and Annika are traveling with the German Bishop and Inga is traveling with her boss. Inga is from Germany also. She is over here learning all she can from a German architect that lives here. His name is Johaun. Lol lol He is 56 and his African wife is 23. And I seen to be the only one around that thinks that there is something wrong with that. I asked Inga about it and she said that his wife Grace really likes to have nice things. So, what I gathered is that she likes his German money, but whatever.
Otherwise everything is going well! I hope all of you are healthy and happy!
-JC

Some More African Experinces

The Coveted Cold Shower

When I first moved in to my little apartment in the Diocese of Iringa compound I only had cold water. It was not fun to take a shower! Then I complained to the mama (the lady that cleans all the apartments in DIRA) Well, about a week later we got hot water. It was perfect...for about four days. Now, the water is so hot it's impossible to stand under it!! On the slim chance that I do get to have a cold shower it's awesome!

Tuesday the Double Rat Day

Chrissy and I decided to go out for lunch because we both had the day off. It was the first president of Tanzania's birthday. We decided to go to E.J.S. Seafood. Which does not serve any seafood. They have some really good America, European, Italian, and African food. It's reasonable priced also! I ordered my favorite African dish of koko and wali (chicken and rice) and Chrissy ordered the same thing. We are sitting there enjoying our chi (tea) When 5 men haul a huge stove out to the porch. I'm watching them through the window. All of a sudden the look on all their faces let me know real quick what was going on. When they moved a table a rat appeared.

There were a couple men sitting outside eating and they all got up to chase after this mouse! it was like they appeared out of no where! Well, they chased the rat inside. Chrissy and I are just sitting there watching ten me trying to kill this rat. It was pretty funny. After that I was sitting there thinking....do I really want to keep coming here to eat. I decided why not. lol lol It has really good cheap food. Tanzania has a lot of rats and cockroaches. If I avoided everyplace I see them in I wold have no where to eat, not even in my own kitchen.

Later that night Chrissy and I were sitting outside our kitchen reading our books. Chrissy had but some water to boil on the stove for our chi and boiling eggs. It was dark and once again the light in teh kitchen would not work. It would just flicker. She went in there to add her eggs to the water and all of a sudden I hear her scream and see her bolt out of the kitchen. "What's going on" I asked? She told me that I rat had run over her foot. I didn't doubt her we had already caught one rat in our kitchen. She was so scared! Then the look of sheer horror crossed her face when she realized that she would have to go back in there and take her eggs off the burner. lol lol lol lol lol It was priceless!!

Well, we continue to read as Chrissy is trying to pull together she strength to go back in there. About 20 min later it was time. The eggs were ready. She runs to her room to grab a flashlight. She is almost shaking at this point. She slowly inches herself toward the door, flashlight on and in hand. She is just about to enter when I scream. I didn't see anything I just couldn't resist the urge. Chrissy jumps 3 feet in the air, screams bloody murder at the top if her lungs and bolts away from the kitchen. When She realizes what happens she is red with anger until her laughter breaks though. Never the less, she did gather enough courage to rescue her boiled eggs.
What made the situation even more hilarious is that an African woman walked by. It was dark, but I could still make out the confused look on her face. She was probably thinking what are these crazy wazungu (white people) doing? lol lol I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time!
So where ever you eat in Tanzania there is more than likely a mouse, rat or cockroach hiding so where. It doesn't really phase me anymore.
Otherwise, everything is going well! I haven't taught a class all week. Tuesday was the first president's birthday, Thursday and Friday classes were canceled because of graduation. So, this week I have bee going to the sokoni (market) almost everyday. I just wonder around, practice my Kiswahili, and visit some African friends.
My best friend Lindsey will be coming for a month over Christmas!! I have been trying to pull stuff together for us to do. I think it will be nice to explore more of Tanzania with her. I'm really excited about it. I also want to bring her to Wasa. I think that it is important to mot only stay in a somewhat big city like Iringa, but also stay some where in the bush.
My Paca (cat) Pepo (heaven) is doing well. She is so cute! I don't let he inside my misqueto net for fear that she wont be able to get out and will pee on me. She has resorted to sleeping as close to me as she possible can with the net in between us. Every day when I come home she runs to the door to greet me. She tried to eat and meow at the same time and it makes me crack up. Life is good here in Iringa, Tanzania!
How every thing is going good for all of you!!
JC

My recent outtings and news

Hello all!   Last night a Ssuth African guy that is moving to Iringa for work had a bbq.  Oh man, It was so good!  He had porkchops and some sort of special South African sassage.  It was soo good!  It was me, the finnish couple that work at Tumaini, Eero, Juho, Ross, 2 other finnish students, one other prof and Pieter for South Africa.  It was a really fun night.  We just sat around and talked. 

  I found out that the readon the DIRA mama didin't want me to have a cat is because she is scared of them. When I left to go to the University this morning I had o lock my cat in Chrissy's room.  Ya, then the ct got out and I was really worried that she owulod run off, but I caught her.  The poor thing was just getting comfortable being in my room.  

   I went to the market today.  I love going to the market!  You never know what will happen or what you will see.  I bought a small wash tub to but sand in for the Pepo (the cat).  I also had run out of bread.  Lol I also had to pick up some hotdogs.  They wern't great, but they did the job.  Ya, my comfort food here is peanut butter jelly or peanut butter banana sandwiches.  I have been stock pileing foods that are easy to make and good.  My next adventure will be making egg salad sanwiches and I am really excited out it!!   

   I am learning alot here.  I am now talking Swahili classes and they are going good!!  I'm slowly picking things up. 

I went to Kiehesa Church (St. Marks partner congregation) on Sunday with Chrissy and it was really fun.  It was children's sunday.  The whole service was mosly singing.  I really enjoyed it!  I hope to get out to Wasa (Fish Lake's partner congregation) some time soon!  The problem is that it costs alot of money and I really can't afford it.  I have been living really simply here.  I don't buy anything that I don't need.  The only real thing that I sepend my money on is food.   Well, I hope you all are well!  I better get back to correcting papers. 

God Bless,

JC

P.S. The four pictures are of my room, Lindsey, Becky and I at the Airport saying goodbye to eachother, and the other two are pictures of Iringa from Gangelonga rock. 

Oh, all the Adventures!

      It's so hard to keep all of you caught up with what goes on with me.  Every day is a new adventure!!  I had my friend Aidani come over the other night and teach us girls how to make Chipate.   OH MAN...  It takes do long to make its crazy!!   Chirssy is the one in the light blue and Annkia is in the dark blue and Aidan is the other one.   It was so much fun though.  It is one of my favorite foods over here.   I had a dream the other night that I was eating at Chipotle. Oh man.  I miss Chipotle!!  Anyways..... The light in the kitchen wasn't woring so we had to borrow one of the boys lamps.  it was an interesting night, but TIA ( This Is Africa).  TIA is a phrase that we all use on a daily basis.  You never know what will happen here or what to expect.  You really have no choice but to go with the flow.  Hakuna Matata ( no worries)  It real;ly laid back here  too.  When I was gone for a week sick I think the only people that noticed that I was gone was teh student's.  When I told the Deputy Provost that i would be gone for a whole week because I was sick all he said was Pole Sana (Very Sorry).  He didn't care that I was gone.  lol  it's amazing.       ( the other pic is me in my room)

    The Theology of Diploma class has a really hard time understanding me.  They just kind of look at me like deer in the head lights.  Now, I think that they are starting to catch on and are more comfortable talking in class.  The other class is the Bachlor of Divinity students and they sometimes don't understand.  The nice thing with them though is they will tell me if I'm talking too fast or ask me to explain something diferently.  It's good because I want them to understand, but if they don't tell me their confused about something I can't help them. 

      My Paca Pepo.   I got a cat (paca) and I named her Pepo (Heaven).   I got her last night.  My friend Aidan got her for me.  Last night all she did was hide, but she did eat a little.    She hid in one of my suitcases.  When I put my hand in there to pet her she didn't mind.  She even purred a lot.     The Mama or the house keeper is nervous about me having a cat. I think that she is worried that it will destroy something.  Well, the floor is cement and there is not ich that she could wreck.  Lol  Lol It's not a for sure thing that I will be able to keep her.  I need to as the General Secritary for permission.  I have been trying to talk to him for the past fewdays but he is away or in a meeting.  Then all of a sudden Aidan called me and said I found you a cat and I'm waiting out by the gate for you.  So, I had every intention to ask permission prior to getting the cat, but it just didn't work out like that.  lol lol  Hakuna Matata? lol  lol  :-)   Oh and I might have my own chicken soon.  Annika ( one of the German Girls wants to build a chicken coop, so hat she can hae her own eggs.  Well, I might keep a chicken in there also.  I wouldn't mind having my own eggs!! There not that expensive over here.  They are about 15 cents per egg.

  Ya, that is what has been going on with me in the last couple days.   I found out yesterday that my best friend Lindsey will be flying out here around December 13.  SHe will be out here till around the 9th of January.  It will be great!  We can celebrate Christmas together!! I'm very Excited!! 

   Well, I better get going!  I hope you all are well and God Bless!

  

A mouse in my appartment!!

I am doing good! I taught both classes yeaterday and it was great!! I'm really starting to settle in. The only big problem that I have had at Tumaini is to them communication studies is teaching English. They expect me to teach the students grammer. Well, I talked to them and I'm going to help them with their grammer but, not teach it. I am going other things though that will help them broaden their English vocab.

There was a mouse in my appartment the other day. I was wating a movie with teh Finnish guys and I went to my room to get some water and there it was. LOL I then went back to the Juho and Eero's room ( the Finnish guys) And asked them to help me. I felt really bad because they both were a little sick with Malaria. But they said that they wanted to help. So, they spent about 20 min chasing the mouse around my room. It was so funny, especially because they were running back and forth under my underware that I had hung to dry. lol lol well eventually they chased it out of my room. Well then I really didn't want to hang in my room alone. SO I was going to watch the movie with them, but then I realized it was a bad idea for me to be in a room with two guys that have malaria. lol
Last Saturday I met up with all the wazungu (white people) in the area. It was so fun! I played Volleyball with them for about 3 hours. I guess they get together every Saturday! They usually meet at the Dutch families house. This last Saturday they met by the River Camp. It was cool. Bo the Bega kwa Bega worker, Brian a teacher at Tumaini and I all went. We parked at the river camp and walked to where everyone was. It was a beautiful walk. Then there was a clearig and all these wazungu. I did feel a little strange.
The house that the Dutch family live in is amazing. They have lived here for two generations and own a huge farm. They even own horses, ya they are rich!! The view form their front lawn is amazing!!! I was thinging.... Ya, I could live here the rest of my life...no problem! I love it here!!
Well, my driver will be here shortly! All of you take care!!!
God Bless!
Jen

Hey

Hey all!  It's been a while!  I have been sick and I spent about a week in Dar to get better.   Even though I was not feeling well I had a great time!  I stayed with a family friend Pastor Muro and his family.  They are so great!  I hung out with teh kids and watched Disney movies!  It was really relaxing!  Then when I recovered I made my way back to Iringa.  It was actually very comforting to be back home in Iringa.  My neighbors were really worried about me and had a plate of spaghetti waiting from me when I got back on Wednesday night.   Well there was no school on Thursday or Wednesday because it was the end of Ramadan.  Today, I just got out of a class and am now sitting in my office. I was sharring an office, but the guy was really creepy and kept hitting on me.  Ya......    Anyways, becides being sick I have been having a great time!  I'm getting to know my neighbors.  They are all relly great!   The Finnish boys Jhul and Eero are so funny!   Some times they will argue in Finnish and we all just thing it hillarious!!  lol lol  Chrissy and Annika are from Germany and last but not least Ross is actually from Madison, Wisconsin!  We all get along very well.  We take turn cooking for eachother.  I started by makeing an African dish that has chicken in a special gravy that you pour over the rice.  It was really good.  When I decided to make that for everyone I had no idea how much "preperation" would go in!   I bought chicken....it was alive when I bought it.  I went shopping with Adam.  He is a natve that lives by us and he always comes over, hangs out and, helps us.   Well, he killed the chicken for me and we plucked it together and he showed me the best way to cut it.   It was a very educational dinner!  I even ate parts that we don't use in the US.  Let me tell you that you guys are missin out!!!

Well I better sign off for now.  Hope all is well with you all!

God Bless!

 

Tumaini University

Ok well, today is the first day of class so today is the first day of actual life over here. Today I got up at 6:30am to get ready to teach at 8:00 am I have two classes today one at 8 and 11. Wednesday I don't have any classes. Thursday I have one at 1:00 and Friday I have one class at 1:00. So it's not too bad. Tuesday is the only day I have to get up early. I live in the Diocess of Iringa Compound. It's not bad. I have a nice size room, a bathroom with an European toilet insted of just a whole in the floor that you have to squat over. The people that I live by are great! They are really nice and we get together to go out, have dinner, watch movies, and play games. I can walk to the market to get food and supplies. I think that during the day it is a pretty safe city. I'm starting to get to know the area better. House mates and I went rock climbing to watch the sunset over Iringa and it was amazing. I'm really happy because for the past two day I have actually had a hot water shower. Ya, I really like it over here. It's so peaceful and every day is a beautiful adventure. Well I better get ready for my next class. Miss you all!!

Well, we just got back from Ruaha River Lodge. It was great! Instead of getting stuck in the mud this trip we got a flat tire. It was ok because it was a quick fix. The only thing was that it was right outside of the park and the driver was worried that some animal might come along.

It was a really nice camp. Our bandas were really nice and the staff was great!

We have all been feeling well except Mark got sick one night, but is fine now. Tomorrow mom and I will get me settled into my room. It is pretty baron, but free. No complaints here. It is about 5 miles away from the university. Tuesday morning we went to Tumaini University to get a better look at where I will be teaching. Well, ta ta for now, hope all is well!

We are here!

Hello all! We are here and are having a wonderful time! We stayed with Emelda's family the first night and they send there love to everyone! They are amazing people and welcomed us with open loving arms! They all miss Emelda so much! We stayed at the Lutheren center in Iringa last night. :-) Mark and Cindy got to stay in the Bishop Suite last night. There room was huge! How do they rate? :-)
We are in Iringa now and will be leaviong today to go an safari. We are all well and eating too well! We hope all is well with all of you! The next posting should be on Thursday. We are 8 hours ahead of you. The weather has been great! Even the weather in Daresalam was great! It wasn't too humid!! I prefer the weather in Iringa. Its nice during the day and cools down to about 60 degrees at night.
We send our blessing to you all from Tanzania!
Love,
Jenni, Mark, Cindy and Ladonna

Africa

Getting Ready

Well, I'm starting to get ready to leave. I have 29 days till I board the plane. I'm nervous but I am also very excited. Ever since I left Tanzania I have been aching to return! It is such an amazing place and I'm sure that I will experience many life changing moments!