Up on the Mountian

The song that explains my experiences and my love for Tanzania and it's people is best described in Steven Curtis Chapman’s song

The Mountain

I’m wanna build a house up on the mountain. Way up high where the peaceful waters flow to quench my thirsty soul, up on the mountain. I can see for miles upon this mountain. Troubles seem so small they almost disappear; Lord I love it here, up on the mountain.

My faith is strength and my all that I see. You make it easy for me to believe, up on the mountain. Oh up on the mountain.

I would love to live upon this mountain and keep the pain of living life so far away, but I know I can’t stay up on the mountain.

I said I go Lord where ever you lead for where you are is where I most want to be and I can tell we are headed for the valley.

My faith is strength and my all that I see. So lord help me remember what you told me up on the mountain.

You bring me up here on the mountain for me to rest and learn and grow. I see the truth up on the mountain and I carry it to the world far below. So, as I go down to the valley knowing that you will go with me. This is my prayer Lord help me to remember what you have shown me, up on the mountain.

I cherish these times up on the mountain. I can leave this place because I know someday you will take me home to live forever up on the mountain.

My Last Friday in Iringa

Almost every Friday the DIRA group, I and whoever else we invite go out for Kitimoto. We just sit there relax, because it always takes at least an hour to get your food maybe two. We talk about our weeks and just enjoy each others company. It's a really nice ritual.

Well, we went this last Friday because it would be my last Friday. We were all getting ready to go when Inga's mom called. So, they decided that Ross and I would go ahead and order. Chrissy and Inga would meet up with us in 15 min. It had been a little rainy that day and Sally said that I could borrow the SUV for the night.

We got there and ordered and had a beer. We talked about me leaving and Ross was sad that not only was he the only boy at Dira since Juho and Eero left, but now he would be the only American. We were joking that he would have to learn German face since he would be surrounded by them. lol

Then the girls came to join us. We talked and waited for our food. It hadn't rained for a while so, we got to sit in our usual spot outside. It was a really nice night. The past could of night had been really cold. When I say that they were cold I mean they were probably around 65 degrees. I would go out side at night and shiver like crazy, so I will probably die of hypothermia the moment I step out of the airport doors. lol lol

Anyways, we finally got our food after and hour and a half. It was unusually really really good! Less bones and fat then normal. It was a great meal. After we were done eating Inga ordered another beer. I was thinking oh great it always takes Inga an hour to finish one beer and I don't have time to sit around for too long. I have to start packing, but I said nothing. We sat there and talked as we waited for Inga to finish the beer. Like clockworks an hour later we were ready to go.

We all hopped in the car and went back to Dira. Chrissy had to go to the bathroom really bad so I tried to get home quickly. We pulled in and there were candles sitting on all the ledges in font of the building, there were also kongas hanging form the clothes lines a ways above the candles. I was thinking oh... how cute we are all going to sit around and talk just the four of us and have a beer. I realized my previous notion was wrong when Felix one of our German friends popped out.

Then there were people that came out of nowhere. All of my friends that I had met while being here were at this party for me. It was so amazing.

We had a great time talking about Tanzania and all the great things that we had done over here. They all told me how much they would miss me, I think some of them even cried. It was such an amazing surprise! I had never had a surprise party before. Now that I look back on it there were so many little things that I should have noticed, I can't believe I don't figure it out! lol

This would be the last night that I would get to spend time with my whole Tanzanian family.

My Best Day and Worse Day, The Same Day

About two weeks after mom, Mark and Cindy left I got a call from my good friends Aidon. He said that he was at the front gate and that the guard would not let him in. I went to the gate and Aidon was carring a sack. I talked to the guard and he finally let him in. Then he handed me the sack and said, “Well, you said you wanted a cat”.
I took the bag and opened it up and staring back at me was the most beautiful set of neon green eyes I have ever seen.
Since it was late the guard would not let Aidon come back to the apartments so, I thanked him and he went home. I brought the sack inside of my apartment and let the cat out. She was not a full grown cat but she had to be at least two months old.
When I let her out she hid under my bed and would not come out. I set out some water and bread, since that was all I had that a cat could eat. She would not come out that night so I went to bed. It was funny though because I kept hearing the cat hit her head on the bottom of my bed. It took me a little while to realize that she was really using the bottom of my bed to rub and scratch her head.
The next day was devoted to setting up my apartment to have a cat. I went out and bought some daga (dried minnows) and I bought a round container to put sand in for a litter box. I was pretty much set. I brought it back to my apartment and she ran and hid as soon as I walked in.
I situated myself on the floor trying to coax her to come out. I would place my hand under the bed and try to pet her. Once she realized that, that was all I wanted she slowly came out. She would let me pet her head, but she would keep they rest of her body under the bed.
She also liked to hide in one of my suitcases in the corner. I would find her and not take her out, but just sit there and pet her in her space. I was amazed form day one because as soon as I would touch her she would start purring even though she was scared.
She gradually became accoustomed to me. I would be sitting in a chair in my room and she would hop on my lap between the book and my face to get my attention. She would also sit outside my mosquito net around my bed and meow at me to let her in. She quickly learned to get in and out on her own.
She was very playful and would keep my room bug free. She would lie and let me pet her and than all of a sudden she would be biting my hand. That was one thing nice about her. She would always play bite. It would never break the skin or hurt.
She was my friend. She kept me company when I was in a bad mood or if I was just relaxing. She would make every effort to be as close to me as I slept. She was my best friends.
She was all black except for a tiny spot of white on her back right leg. She had a scab there when I got her and it healed, but the hair was white. Some of my friends would come over to see her. If they were my wazungu (white) friends it would not phase her. She would rib up against their legs and want them to pet her, but if it was my Tanzanian friends she would want nothing to do with them, all except Adam ( the one that lives at Dira with his brother and his family). It was a running joke between me and the white people that live here that my cat was a black white supremacist.
When I got her I knew that something was wrong with her. She had a fleshy lump on her left back side. I had went to the Masi village and while I was there I talked to the English vet about it. He first suggested that I go buy de-wormer solution. The next day I went out and bought some and a needle and gave her a shot of the amount the vet had told me. I gave her the shot. It was not hard since I had grown up on a farm and had given animals shots before. The lump didn’t go away, but she did seem to get healthier. She put on weight and was doing well.
A while after that a Tanzanian vet came to stay at Dira for a short time. He looked at her and said what I had suspected. A part of her intestines were on the wrong side of her muscular wall. He said that she could have surgery, but since it was not sore he didn’t think that it was needed. She never really had problems with it.
She was my sole outlet for company when I was tired of listening to German all the time. She would even meow yell at me when I would come home late. I’m really not a cat person, but I loved this thing with all my heart.
About a week ago, Sunna a Finnish girl that had went to Tumaini and lived in the area for about 5 months came to stay at dira. She would only be staying three nights and she didn’t want to pay the 15,000 tsh per night, so I said that she could stay with me. Well, she unloaded her stuff and she left out a little plastic bag of ear plugs. The orange ear plugs, kind that you twist and put them in your ear. Not only that but one morning she left the door open and let the cat out. I woke up, knowing that something was wrong because my cat always climbed in to bed with me every morning. I got up looked around my whole placer and could not find her. I almost started to cry and freak out when I heard a meow out side my door. I opened it, looked out and there she was. She bolted back into my room.
Well, my cat decided to play with the ear plugs. I caught her and would take them array, but she must have eaten one. I noticed something was wrong when she would meow in pain when I would touch her stomach. I called Andy the English vet and he came over to give her a look over. He said that she did swallow something that was having a hard time navigating through her intestines. He said, that he would put her into surgery, but he didn’t have anesthesia because it is hard to get in Iringa unless you are people doctor. He also said that if it didn’t come out he would have o put her down. The only thing that I cold do was give her tuna fish in cooking oil to help coat her intestines.
After hearing all of that gave her some of the oily tuna. I had picked up a can in the market about a month ago. I gave it to her and she ate a little. I was so discouraged about this whole situation I pretty much sat around moped and wrote my finals for two days.
After that my cat was still not doing much better, so Andy came over again. He said that what ever it was inside of her had moved, so there might be a chance for her. I said, really I’ll do any thing. What can I do? He gave me a syringe and told me to fill it up with cooking oil and gat into her stomach. So, I did it. I felt so bad forcing oil down her throat, but if it could save her it would be worth it!
In the meantime I still tried to get her to eat the tuna and she would not touch it. I though we were in the clear when she did go to the bathroom twice in one day. But, as time when by she stopped eating anything.
I hated this whole situation. I had never experienced anything like this. Yeah, sure I have had animals get hit by cars but never anything like this. Well, when I was really little we had to put my cat Mitten down, but I barely remember that. I hated the thought that it was I who had to decide how and when my cat would die. I could let her die in pain, or I could end her suffering with one call to Andy. I waited a day since it seemed like she might be getting better, but she wasn’t. By now she was nothing like the cat that I had brought home months ago. She just spent her days lying on my extra bed sleeping. I would move over there to cuddle with her and could not help but cry. While I looked up in to those amazing neon green eyes and cold almost see the fire go out within them. I knew what I had to do.
Andy came over the next day and put her down. I was with her in our home, as she went. We had a late night funeral with candles for her and all my neighbors were there to help dig the whole.
It was a great day because I spent most of it in the market shopping with Ross and just hanging out. Earlier that day we had decided that we would walk up to Gangelonga rock to watch the sun set.
Inga, CHrissy, and I were the only ones that ended up going though. Ross had found out that he had malaria and he wasn’t up for it and Annika was traveling with her boss from the Berlin Mission. We headed up the side of the mountain and made our was to the same rock that I had visited the day that my mom, Mark and Cindy left.
We got up there and the clouds and the setting sun mixed to form the most beautiful orange I have ever seen. We were all sitting there when Inga and Chrissy pulled out a surprise for me. They had packed fruit, pudding and wine.
We sat there enjoying each others company in my last days. It was do relaxing and enjoyable! He I am over looking the city that I have called my home for the past six months and sitting with these two amazing people that I would have never met if I hadn’t taken that leap of faith.
We stayed up there and watched the sun sink slowly over the other side of Iringa. It became dark and we watched one by one as the stars pierced through the black blanket above. It will be those quiet moments with my friends I will remember forever.

After Ruaha Park

The next couple of days Lindsey and I spent around Iringa. I took her around the usual places that I go to. We also spent a lot of time shopping. It was actually really nice to have a couple of days not doing anything because up to this point we had felt really rushed like we could not take a break and relax.
Before we knew it New Years was upon us. I got together a bunch of my friends and we all went out for kitimoto. Then when we were done we went to a small bar and hung out for just a little bit. Then we moved on to Twisters, the dance club. It wasn’t really full, but there was a nice amount of people there.
Pretty much all the Germans had decided to spend New Years in Zanzibar. So, it was Linds, Frances, Olli, Adam, Aidon, Puis, and some others. Linds, Fran and I were the only white people in town.
We spent most of the night chatting with friends and dancing. I think Linds and Fran had a really good time. Linds had even brought some champagne from the states for New Years. She brought it to Twisters with her. They really don’t care if you bring outside alcohol in to any bar or club. The only time I think they would have a problem is if you brought in a whole crate of something. When the clock struck midnight linds popped off the cork and we all had some champagne. It was a really good night. We had a lot of fun.
One of the only things that wasn’t good about that night is that Linds got her bag sliced. She was walking and felt someone touching her brand new African fabric bag. She turned and looked at it and some one had cut it. They cut the side and luckily enough they had cut the bag too high, so nothing fell out and nothing insede her bag as lost. But, what if Linds had turned in the moment that someone was cutting her bag and she got a knife in the side! Scary Huh!

For the next two days Linds and I just relaxed and did some more shopping. We would usually have dinner with friends every night or just make some food at my place and watch a movie. We spent a lot of time shopping for the best prices. It can be a really long ordeal. I also too Linds and Fran to the outdoor clothes market. It all used clothes, but they are still in pretty good condition. There must be 50 different little shops. It’s really cool to see. We didn’t stay there too long, but it is one of those places that you could easily spend half a day looking at all the different clothes.

After spending a couple days just relaxing and resting we were reenergized to go on to Wasa. I had talked to Father Msofu months in advance to set up with him where we would stay and so that he could inform Wasa Lutheran that we would be coming.
Father Msofu had arranged for a driver for us. It was two Catholic Fathers. They live in Iringa but they decided to take us to Wasa. We still had to pay for the gas which is not cheap over here. I don’t know how anyone affords to get around!
It’s about $3.70 per gallon. It’s 1,300 tsh per liter and there are about 3.79 liters/ gallon. Ya, It’s really expencive for it being such a poor country! It’s really shocking!
Well, so any ways Father Benjamin drove us and he is an insane driver. Linds was really worried. He was going about 40 miles over the speed limit, which nobody really really cares about. He was also trying to dodge potholes at that speed! It was pretty intense!! Linds was holding on to the handle above her hear for dear life. Not only was my seat belt stuck in to seat for about half the drive, but it didn’t really bother me. Because I am so used to crazy drivers, I kind of likes it. It was like being on a rollercoaster! Well, we arrived safely in Wasa. It was strange for me because when we got there, there was no one to greet us. We just went straight to the catholic compound. There really was no one. I’m so used to having people singing and dancing to welcome us, but not this time. It was kind of sad that Linds didn’t get a grand welcoming! We did get to see Father Msofu right away though.
We were shown our room in the Convent and we relaxed a little. Then we ate some dinner. Like always it was delichious! So GOOD! After dinner we sat around with Father Msofu, Father Benjamin, and another Father. It was so fun. We played dominos, and drank wine and talked for at least two hours. They we suck fun to talk to and hang out with.
That night some people came from Wasa Lutheran and greeterd us and wanted to talk about church tomorrow. They said that since they do not have a pastor anymore one comes from another village and then he takes turns going to different preaching points every Sunday. This Sunday he would be preaching at a point that was very far away. Since we didn’t have a vichel there we were not able to go to that service. What they wanted to do was go to that church and meet up with us after church around 2. Well, then Father Msofu said well, you do have 4 evangelists why don’t you have one preach here at the Wasa point and Jenni and Linds can go there for church.
I was kind of disappointed that we would not be able to have church all together like we normally do, but I guess this would do.
The next morning we got dressed for church and started to walk to the Wasa preaching point. I think Father Msofu was worried that we would get lost on the way so, he had one of the members of his congregation take us there. He was just going to take us there and go back so that he wouldn’t miss mass, but he stayed to translate for us.
We got to the church and they were just setting up the alter. We just sat out side and waited for more people to come. They did and we started church. Mrs. Nala (Mama Rachel) led the service. I though that it was actually really unique I have never been to a church here that had a women lead the whole service. I mean I knew that it does happen over here. I have theology students that are female, but I had never seen them preach.
It was a really good service. When it started there were probably 5 people and when it ended there were 20. It was funny.
I did stand up and give greetings from Fish Lake. They tough I was very funny because instead of specking English I tried my Kiswahili and they all think it’s so funny because they just expect you to speak English. I talked about our partnership with them and how we pray for them, and so on. They also send their greetings and they are so thankful to go for Fish Lake.
After the service we all walked together back to the Catholic compound. They wanted us to meet up with them when the pastor and the other s came back. SO, we relaxed a little and had luch with Father Msofu. In all fairness I warned Linds that today we would be eating lunch twice. It was guess, but a very informed guess. Low and behold I was right we ate with Father Msofu and then when we met up with everyone from Wasa they had prepared food for us also. We ate twice, but since I warned Linds she didn’t fill herself on the first lunch, so we were ok.
We sat and talked for a while. They wanted to know how I was doing at Tumaini and I wanted to know what had been going on in Wasa. They have not yet put on the roof for the Nala’s house. No one has went to Bega Kwa Bega to get the money. But they will be going soon. I wish someone would have told me that before. I could have brought the money to them, but oh well. We do not have a pastor, but we do have a decon and his wife. I forgot his name, but he is a very nice man. They were all so happy to see Lind and I. We ate with them and then just relaxed and talked while having tea (chi). It was very nice. They all seemed to be doing very well!!
After it was time for us to leave. We took some pictures of us as a group and loaded into Father Benjamin’s car. Luckily for Linds the nother Father that we had come with was now driving and he was a lot calmer driver. Linds was happy, I was bored. We got back to Iringa and once again relaxed. By the time we got back it was about 7. We went some where for dinner and them went back to my place and went to bed.
Now linds only had five days left in Tanzania. The next day we went to the Isamilia stone sight and saw where they had found all of there prehistoric aftifacts. They even let you touch them!! That would never happen in the states! It also has some really amazing rock formations. All in all it was definitely worth seeing!! We enjoyed it a lot!
Otherwise on the 6th linds went to class with me to meet my students and to really see what I have been doing here for 6 months. They were all very excited to meet her! They are a really good bunch of students!
The next day we were off to Dar to get some last min things and she left on the 9th.
It was go great to have her here!! I wasn’t getting home sick but, it would have been harder to spend Christmas without my family and her. We did a lot of thing, saw a lot of cool thing and generally had a great time together! I miss her even though we talk on the phone at least once or twice a week.

Our Three Christmas Miracles and The Haruma Center Part 3 & Are we really stuck? Thanks Linds!

Our Three Christmas Miracles and The Haruma Center Part 3
The next morning we went out for chipati once again. I just can’t get enough of it. Then we once again waited for Anni to call us so we would know the best time to go to the Haruma center. We still had a suitcase filled with yarn, knitting needles, and stiffed animals to give the orphans at the Haruma Center. We cleaned my apartment. It had gotten quite dirty with all the commotion. We also loaded all of Lindsey, and Frances’s pictured on my computer so that we would all have each others pictures. Finally Anni called and said that we should leave Dira and head to the center.
We took the suitcase and put it in the car. Frances wanted to come with us since she had come with the day before and she liked seeing the kids. We arrived at the center and there were a bunch of Tumaini students there. They had organized a fashion show so that all of the children could show off their new clothes and shoes. It was really cool to watch.
The fashion show went on for a while. There were about 15 students from Tumaini there. It was really cool because most of them were from Dar Es Salaam and they had decided that instead of going home for Christmas they would stay in Iringa and spend Christmas with the children. I thought that that was really unique and kind of them.
When it was time one of the students, his name is Alex, he called me to the stage and I wished everyone a Merry Christmas. They all looked so nice in their new shoes and clothes! I introduces myself once again and Lindsey. I reminded them that I was there the day before and that today I brought them Christmas presents from Fish Lake Lutheran. Alex was nice enough to interpret for me.
They were all really excited. First Linds and I pulled out the yarn and needles and told them that they could use it to make different things. I also showed them the books that had directions in them. (Annika tells me that two weeks after we gave them teh yarn they were out. They have mad themselves hats, and bags. I guess they didn't even need the books!) They were very excited about it. Then I pulled out the enormous bag of stuffed animals and their eyes widened. We had everyone come up, linds and I would pull out big handfuls of stuffed animals and they would pick out which one they wanted. They were all so greatful even though in American standards a lot of them were “too old” for stuffed animals. The rest of the time we were with they were clutching on to their stuffed animals. The only time they would loosen their grip was to show them off to the Tumaini students. It was pretty cute.
Then the Tumaini students gave them some candy and they all sat in their chairs griping their stuffed animals and eating their candy. After all of the festivities they had a little dance party. It was really cool. I found it a little comical because one of the songs they played over and over was this song from the African group P- square. The song is called I love the way you do me. Nobody seemed to care that they song was all about sex. But then again it was in English and most of the children don’t know English that well. So, I’m chalking it up to they liked the beat.
It was such a great day. It gave Linds and I a feeling of gratitude, gratitude to everyone at Fish Lake for donating their time and money. You really made these children’s Christmas some thing special. The gave me a card that I will have to share with all of you when I get home.
After everything was over and the children were about to sit and have dinner Linds, Frances and I left. They invited us to stay, but we didn’t want to take any of the food away from them. It was more important to us that they get to eat more.
We went back to Dira and then moved over to Felix and Yoshka’s house. They are some other German volunteers. They had left over food and so did we. We combined every thing and had dinner all together. It was fun, but being surrounded by Germans is not always a blast. They speak in German most of the time, so we just sat there and really weren’t included in the conversation. It was not as terrible as it usually is because instead of being just me Linds and Frances were there.
The three of us were really worn out and Frances was still recovering, so we left early. We also needed to pack for our trip to Ruaha the next day. We went back to dira, packed and Linds and I watched a movie on my lap top and relaxed.




Are we really stuck? Thanks Linds!

The next morning we had to get up early to fill the SUV up with gas. I borrowed a car from Tumaini University, basically so that Linds and I would not have to pay $200 a day for a driver. If you have read previously it was quite a chore to get a drivers license. But here we were with the car loaded and then we filled the tank and picked up our guide.
We were going to get a guide that could drive (Isa), but it didn’t work out because some other group had come into town and told Dennis that they would not go through his company unless he let them have Isa. Ya, I was a little frustrated. But it was ok because I had already been to Ruaha National Park twice, so it was really about Linds and Frances seeing everything. We were now on our way. The guide we got her name was Upendo (love). She is 24. She was really cool and kept telling me that I’m a great Tanzanian driver. In the situation it was a compliment, but most Tanzanian drivers are insane. Ya, ya, all I have to say is that I’m an aggressive driver…….It’s not my fault!............I take after my mother. LOL Bet you didn’t know that. Lol (Sorry ma, your busted)….
It was actually very cool! I like to drive in Tanzania ( as long as I can remember that they drive on the opposite side of the road). Sally Harris, who actually paid for the car and donated it to Tumaini told me that they key to staying on the correct side of the road, is to remember to keep your wife (front seat passenger) in the ditch.
What Upendo meant by telling me that I’m a good driver is that I’m really good at maneuvering around huge pot holes. There are so many on the roads around here. Often times if you are driving right it should feel like you are on the scrambler at the county fair. You weave back and forth darting around pot holes. It does not matter if you are on the correct side of the road or not, it’s all about saving your struts and shocks.
It was about a three hour drive. I was told by Dennis to take it slow, but the open road was too much. Dennis said that it should take about 4 hours. When we arrived early I looked over and told her not to tell Dennis that we had gotten there early.
Dennis and I have gotten close and he owns Tatanca tours. So, I have gotten somewhat close to his employees. Dennis sometimes acts like an older brother to me. I don’t even bother telling him when I’m going out with my friends for a beer because he gives me that look. You know that look. Like what are you thinking? Well, so one night I was out with some friends at the dance club and I ran in to Isa. We talked a little and I was like don’t tell Dennis I was here, and he said don’t tell Dennis I was here. Also, Linds and I went to the Tatanca office to talk to the girls and they asked what we would be doing for New Years and we said that we would probably go to Twisters (the dance club). I said, but don’t tell Dennis, and they all burst out laughing. So, his employees and I have a running joke. It’s pretty funny!
Anyways, we got there, Frances and Linds were in awe. As we were just about to enter the park there were two giraffes on the road right in front of us. It must have been so surreal for Linds and Frances. At first Frances was like are those real. It was like they were greeting all the people that came in. Very cool! The park does have such a beautiful landscape. It’s so much better in the rainy season. It’s so green a luscious! In the wet season though it’s harder to spot lions because they usually rest under bushes and they are harder to see when the bush is full of succulent green leaves. We got to our banda and we all laid down to have a nap. I was kind of worn out from driving and having to concentrate on billions of pot holes.
We got up from our nap and went on a late afternoon drive. We also decided to save money and use the Tumaini vehicle instead of paying like $150 per drive, and we had our own guide.
It was a nice afternoon. We saw twiga (giraffes) tembo (elephants), kudu, impalas, baboons, warthog, hippos, and some really cool birds. We were having a lot of fun. When we would spot something that was a ways off the road I would stop, Linds and Frances would crawl up on the roof and get good pictures. It was cool they could get a better view. It was also kind of funny because you could tell it made Upendo really nervous to have them on the roof. Lol We had been out about three hours when we stated to head back to the River Lodge. We came across another car and it was parked in the ditch. They told us that there were elephant up a head. They were just a car of workers at some camp probably heading home. So, I pulled in front of them and all of us (except Upendo) got on the roof to watch the elephants. There was a huge herd of elephants on either side of the road. Upendo said that we would have to wait till they were all on the same side of the road before we went by them. She was worried that if we drove through the middle it might upset the mothers or the bull elephant. We sat and watched the elephants in all their splendor. It was great. We waited and waited. It was really starting to get dark and guests are not supposed to be out after dark. Plus, dinner was at 8. We still waited it was about 7:45 and by now pretty dark. Finally the elephants were all on one side of the road and a little ways off of it.
I pulled forward slowly and followed the road. When all of a sudden an elephant pooped out from under a tree and was about 5 feet from the car. Upendo was like DRIVE FASTER. Lol lol Well, I threw the car in to 2nd gear and we were off. I really didn’t slow down the whole way back. It was pretty cool to be driving at night. We saw wild Tanzania at night. There were hippos on the road eating we watched a little but then we were on our way again. We got back about 15 min after they started to serve dinner. They were expecting us though, so there was plenty of food!
All in all it was a great first night on safari!

The next morning, which was the 27th of December, we got up early and ate breakfast. We also had the Ruaha River Lodge pack up our lunches. All meals are included with your stay, so you might as well have them pack up your food because you paid for it anyway.
We met up with Upendo and were off. We drove and drove watching intently for whatever might appear around the next corner. We once again saw a lot of animals, but we had yet to see a lion. I was really worn out from driving and I didn’t feel very well, so I let Linds drive. It didn’t really matter that she didn’t have a license because there are no police inside the park.
It had rained the night before and the ground in some places was still soaked. There were a number of puddles that we had to trudge through. I would just kick it in 4X and take on the puddles. Linds was a little nervous driving through the puddles.
Poor Frances hadn’t felt good all day, but she still decided to come with. I think that the problem was when she went to the doctor he gave her a lot of pills and she didn’t take them. So, she really wasn’t getting better.
Well, we were all getting restless because we wanted to see a lion. We were on this stretch of trail that was along side the Ruaha river and the road was waterlogged. We stopped right before a huge puddle and linds kicked it in 4X and we surged forward. The mud that was actually clay brought the wheels to a standstill. Then Linds looks back at me and said ok Jenni. Meaning ok you know more about getting out of these situations than I do. So, I hopped behind the wheel. Linds and Upendo had gotten out also looking at the wheels. Ya, we were pretty stuck. Then I started the car and began to rock it back and forth. Well, it didn’t work. We were really really stuck! Upendo wanted to find branches and put them under the wheels, but they just sank in the clay. After we had surveyed the mess and tried a couple of things we decided to give up and got back in the car. Upendo called one of the other guides to tell him to call the lodge and tell them that we would need help.
We knew that we would be there for a while, so we decided to sit and eat our lunch. We ate and waited for help to come when out of nowhere a car comes toward us from the front. We get out, to talk to him he asked if we had a tow rope. Linds and I ripped apart the back of the SUV and finally found one. We hooked up our car and his o the rope and he put his car in reverse and pulled. We did get out and thanked him and he was off. We then continued on our way. It was really nice because when we drove ahead a little there must have been 20 giraffes. Pretty cool!
Well we drove and drove. Linds decided that she wanted me to drive and I was feeling better, so I took the wheel. Now, let me say that the road signs in Ruaha national park are not all that good. Well we came up to a three way and I just went where Upendo told me to. We ended going on a trail that had definitely not been used in like two years. There was barely any trail to follow. I wasn’t even going to pretend that I knew where we were or how to get out so I just lisened obediently to Upendo. We drove and drove.
Mostly we all just enjoyed the scenery. Then Linds is like “Upendo what are those black and blue flags hanging on the trees?” She replied “Oh we are in titsy fly area. Those flags soaked in poison and then hung and they attract the titsy fly and then the land on the flag and die”. Well, Linds didn’t hear anything but “Oh we are in the titsy fly area”, then she realizes that all of these insects that are all around her in the car are in fact titsy flys. She grabs a napkin form the boxed lunch and starts goes on a rampage, killing anything and everything in a 3 foot radius around her. Titsy flies carry the parisites that infect you with sleeping sickness. You get really tired, sleep and sleep until eventually you go into a coma and die (if not treated) We found out later that Linds didn’t know that there was a cure for sleeping sickness. She really thought that she would get bitten slip into a coma and die, which explained her killing spree. Lol lol lol To make things worse it is apparent now that Upendo has know idea where we are or where we are going. She had brought us in a circle. None of us wanted to be rude, but we were like “didn’t we just see that tree”?
Sure enough we were going back the same way that we had come. We were all certain of it when we reached the puddle that we had gotten stuck in. I stopped threw the car in reverse and took the puddle as fast as I could and the next thing know we are through the puddle and Upendo is yelling at me to stop. Not 10 feet from where we were stuck was a female lion. I wonder if she was there when we were stuck. We were out of the car for a long time. Well she was only 5 feet off the trail and we got some really good pictures. She just laid there for a while and relaxed. Then all of a sudden she got this look on her face and she was up and started to walk around. Upendo said that she went off hunting. It was such an experience!
We headed back to the lodge a while later and relaxed. We had decided not to go out for another evening drive since we had seen a lot already and Frances was sick. She hadn’t really eaten much of her lunch and she felt really weak. She hadn’t eaten a lot since she arrived in Tanzania on the same plane as Linds. She didn’t seem to understand that the climate change, the drugs she was on and just life over here almost requires you to eat three meals a day. Even if you are not sick and you skip a meal you may get weak. We had decided that night that the next day we would not go out on a drive in the morning, but we would go back to Iringa early and take her to the doctor.
We just relaxed that night and watched The Dark Knight on my lap top. We found that it helped Frances keep her mind off of how sick she felt.
The next day we made the journey back to Iringa.

Our Three Christmas Miracles and The Haruma Center Part 2

After we left the Haruma center it was time to start preparing our Christmas dinner. We went to go pick up the duck. It was quite large. I was very supprised. We all had decided that we would be in charge of different parts of the dinner. Linds and I were in charge of the cookies, stuffing and mashed potatoes. Anni was going to prepare the duck, Inga had the gravy, and Sunna would be making a special Finnish dish with sweet potatoes.
First we made the cookies. We made two different kinds peanut butter and regular sugar cookies. We had three kitchens at our disposal so, we didn’t have to be too careful about scheduling a time to cook everything. Due to that fact we decided that we had plenty of time, with three ovens and stoves.
Mom had sent Linds with a Christmas CD, so we popped it in and all enjoyed hearing Christmas music. It was like I was almost home. It made my snowless Christmas not seem so barron.
We were all hard at work helping each other with their assigned food and Frances didn’t feel really good so, she just watched and kept us company. She had been really sick and didn’t do a lot besides try to recover. She went to the market with us a couple of times, but it really wore her out and made things worse.
Linds had called her mom to get a stuffing recipie, but there was a lot of improv on the hole dinner. Linds and I prepared the stuffing and put it in the duck. Then Anni found a needle and thread and sewed the duck shut to keep in the moisture. We were all ready with everything so, we decided to lay out a blanket on the grass, have some tea and enjoys some of the cookies. We sat there in the sun enjoying this sunny, hot Christmas day, even though all of us agreed that it would be even better with snow; considering all of us come from places where there is usually snow on the ground for Christmas. Just as we had finished our tea it started to rain. It poured and poured. There was tons of rain. The air cooled and we all got back to work.
Anni had just put the Duck in her oven. She figured that it needed to cook for three hours. I had the potatoes already boiling, the last batch of cookies was in the oven and we were all set. Things would have gone splendidly but, the power went out. TIA!! We were all so upset. We all just sat out side and pouted. Knowing that there was nothing that we could do about it we decided to trade our presents.
We sat out side of Inga and Chrissy’s house and we al brought our present that we had bought. We put them in the middle of our circle while Anni and Inga explained the rules. If you roll a six then you get to pick a present and unwrap it. We did this until all the presents were unwrapped. Then if you roll a six you can switch with anyone, four you have to move the presents to the right and a two you move the presents to the left. It was quite fun!! We played for about 30 min. It was kind of funny because I got the necklace and earrings that Linds had bought and she got the two sets of earrings that I had bought. The other presents were kitanga ( African fabric) that Inga bought, a tin with peanuts and a your choice of a back massage, homemade dinner, or a traditional Finnish Christmas song from Sunna, or an umbrella from Anni.

Since Frances didn’t feel really well she didn’t pick out a present. Then Anni pulled out some packages that she had gotten in the mail and told all of us that we we could open one of her presents and she would share some of the candy she got with us.
Inga had gotten Sunna’s gift and decided that she wanted to hear the Finnish song. Sunna sang it and it was so beautiful. It was about this elf that lives in the sauna and he comes out around Christmas to check on all the animals of the farm also, he protects the livestock and the family. It was so unique! After that I decided that we should all sing a Christmas song in our native language. Anni and Inga didn’t really know any, so I reminded them of Oh Tanemboum. They sang a little of that. It was nice. I had went on the internet and printed out a copy of the 12 Days of Christmas song. It’s not one of my favorites, but I knew that the Germans and Sunna had never heard it before. Lindsey, Frances and I began to sing. As usual the song lasted forever, but the others seemed to really enjoy it. I was really feeling the Christmas spirit and actually enjoyed singing it. We were almost done and moving on the five golden rings when the power came back on. We were all so ecstatic! It was 8:00pm and the duck still needed to cook for three hours. We decided that we had not gone this far to turn back now. We continued cooking and preparing.
By the time that dinner was ready it was 11:30pm. We didn’t care all our hard work would now be enjoyed. We all sat around the table at Inga’s while Anni presented us with this immaculate duck. We sat there in awe looking at all the dishes that we had magically put together with the things that we could find around Iringa. We sat and soaked in the smells and smiled at each other as our mouths began to water. Luckly enough Frances did join us because she was feeling amazingly better.
This duck that we had stuffed so full with special spices and the innards, the potatoes and special gravy, Sunna’s sweet potatoe dish and others sat on the table waiting for us to dig it. We did. Let me say that My Grandma is one of the best cooks I know and her Christmas dinners are to die for, but sorry Grandma I think we may have out done you. This was the most delectable dinner I have had in my life.
Every thing had turned out perfect, hence our three Christmas miracles. One the power came on just as we finished singing the 12 Days of Christmas ( even though that song lasts forever and the power has plenty of time to come back on during the whole thing). Secondly Frances was better and lastly our dinner that didn’t have excessive planning, ingredients or recipes turned out to be perfect in almost every way possible.
At the beginning I sat there and I stopped, watched as all my new friends and Linds worked together to make us a beautiful Christmas dinner. I looked and saw the smiles on their faces even though their loved ones were half the world away. We managed to make our own Christmas with what we had. We were six women that have all grown up in very different places and cultures, but in this moment we came together as a family, laughed and loved. It was in this moment I grew. I was not the little girl who didn’t really care about Christmas itself and just wanted my presents. I was a young woman in a foreign country basically all by myself making my way in life, trying to make the world a better place. Christmas for me had changed. In the past it had always been a routine Christmas. Go to church, open family presents the night before Christmas day, go to the late service or stay home and play with the presents, go to bed, get up, open presents from Santa, and go to church again. It was this simple little Christmas in the middle of Tanzania that changed it all. It was the Christmas spirit, God, and my friends that made this Christmas one that I will never forget. Even though I missed my family and other friends I would not trade this Christmas for anything in the world.

Our Three Christmas Miracles and The Haruma Center

Our Three Christmas Miracles and the Haruma Center
We didn’t get up especially early. Sarri, Frances, Linds and I made our way to my favorite Chipati place to have breakfast. Chipati is one of my favorite foods over here. It’s kind of like lefsa, but it’s just made with flour and oil, so it’s greasier than lefsa. The place I like to go to is so fascinating. It’s hidden in the market and I have walked by it a million of times and never knew it was there. It’s a collection of tons of women cooking different things. They cook all of these foods right in front of you. Every time before we go we have to hunt for the best avocados. The locals don’t eat chipati with avocado, but I think it’s heavenly with avocado on it and with a little salt. Also they have the best chi yamaziwa (tea with milk). On the whole it’s a breakfast of champions!!
We sat there and had breakfast. The girls loved it. Then we made our way to the bus station because Sarri would be leaving to go to Matima for Christmas and New Years. We asked Aidan to help us find a bus for Sarri and she was off. Then we all had to go back to Dira to pick up Chrissy.
Chrissy decided that she would like to spend Christmas with some other Germans that lives in Moshi. She needed us to drop her off because she had too many bags to carry them to the bus station on her own so we just loaded everything up in the SUV. Chrissy’s dad passed away last Christmas in a car accident and she felt that she would have a better Christmas if she traveled away from Dira. She thought that if she were around different people and different scenery it would be easier for her.
After that we then met up with Inga to do our Christmas shopping. The night before when we were having dinner we had made a shopping list of all the different types of food and spices we would need. We grabbed potatoes, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, pineapple, mango, guava, papaya, and many other foods and spices.
Annika had arranged it so that our main dish would be duck. We decided that a turkey would be too expensive and a chicken would be too small. Most of the chickens over here are quite puny compared to the chickens we have in the states. It could be that they are not given the same kind of feed or that they are not pumped with steroids and things.
We had also decided that instead of buying everyone gifts we would each buy one gift and play a game. The rule was that the gift could not be too much over 3,000 tsh. Lindsey and I also spent some time shopping for the Christmas presents and looking around so that she would have some sort of idea what to get for her friends and family.
We came back to Dira right after that because Frances was feeling really sick. She took a nap and then she still didn’t feel better so we took her to the hospital. She came back with some medicine. The doctors told her that she had Malaria. Frances didn’t like the idea of taking all the pills that the doctors gave her. She doesn’t like to take pills and so the five different pills they gave her made her kind of unsure.
That night I decided to show Linds and Fran the wonderful world of kitimoto. We all went out Ross, Heather, Inga, Sunna, Aidon, Kennith, Onesmo, Annika, Puis Adam and Sandal. Ross is the cheese head, packer fan that lives next door to me had his girl friend came to see him for Christmas. Heather is working as an English teacher in Indonesia. She was really nice and pretty and I had a lot of fun getting to know her better.
I wanted us to have a pre- Christmas party so I invited Puis, a friend of mine who is a police officer, Adam and Sandal two of our Tanzanian friends that live at Dira, Aidon, Onesmo, and Kennith. Aidon and I have been friends since I came here two years ago. Him, Onesmo, and Kennith own a shop together. I have gotten to know them all really well. They are all really nice and have on many occasions went way out of their way to help me out with things like navigating the market and finding things.
We all just sat around the table eating kitimoto (fried pork) and chips and caught up on life since we had all been parted because Ross was in Dar picking up Heather and I was in Dar and Zanzibar with Linds. We also talked a lot about what the next day would hold.
Linds and Frances liked the kitimoto and I was happy that I would not have to disown them. Then we left to settle in to bed. Sunna who lives on my right had an extra bed so she let Frances share her room.
The next day we got up to go have chipati again. Annika had told me that she would give me a call when it would be best for Linds and I to go to the Haruma Center to present the children with their new shoes. We did this on the 24th. The kids were also receiving a Christmas outfit. We decided it would be best to give them the shoes the day before Christmas, so that they could wear them with the Christmas clothes. As soon as Anni gave me the call Linds and I were off.
When we got there Anni was a little frustrated because Mama Sheoveywa (don’t know how to spell it) wanted us to present the shoes but not all the children were there. We had no choice but to continue without all of them. All of the children sang Silent Night. It was really pretty. Then I got up to the front of the room and talked to the children. I told them my name and that I am teaching at Tumaini University, but that I am from Minnesota and that I am a member of Fish Lake Lutheran Church. I told them that my church wanted them to know that not only do we care about them, but God loves them as well, but we wanted to make sure that they had a great Christmas, so we raised money to buy them all shoes.
All the children knew that they would be receiving shoes from us previously. Annika took them each into the market in groups so that they could pick out a pair that they liked and that fit. We figured it was the only way to spend the money wisely and give them shoes they would like.
I also told them that on Christmas I would be coming back to give them each a present form our church as well. They were very happy! Then Anni and I started to hand out the shoes. The children had each written their names on a piece of paper and tucked it in their shoes, so it was really easy and clear to know who they belonged to. We called each child up and Anni or I would hand them their shoes and then they would walk over to me and thank me (of course me being the ambassador from Fish Lake and all) and then I would wish them a Merry Christmas. They were all so happy. It was quite a sight! The look on all of their faces as they shook my hand was priceless. These children basically have nothing. The Mama tries hard, but she can’t give love and affection to all those children and she also has so many other things to run and look after. Then there is Annika. She plays with them as much as she can, but the volunteers from the Berlin mission only stay for a year. Just when the children are getting attached to a volunteer they leave. But, on the other hand these children seem to be happy for what they do have. It’s a sad life, so knowing that you put a smile on their face should give you much joy.
They are so grateful to everyone from Fish Lake for helping them out. There was some additional money left over. So, Anni used some of it for a bike trip they went on. The children at the Haruma Center seldom get any fruits, so for the remainder of the money Annika will use it to buy the children some fruits once a week. Annika is a very health conscious person and she says that it’s good to have meals of Ugali and beans, but they need fruit in their diet.
Annika is also very grateful to everyone at Fish Lake. She loves to volunteer at the Haruma Center, but she gets so depressed to see how these children have to live. Also, the Haruma center is just one orphanage of many in Tanzania!



Stay Tuned For Part Two of

Our Three Christmas Miracles and The Haruma Center