The Road to Dar

So we left Ruaha just before 0600. It was going to be a long hard drive to Dar - 11hrs at the shortest. The Rover was loaded to the gills, we had boxed lunches. We all piled in - all 11 of us - nice & cozy. The sunrise was a hot deep orange & phenomenal. Luckily I still had the park permit to present to the guard at the gate & off we were bumping along. At one point we did kill someone's chicken. It was a flapping pancake in our dust. Oops! We made it to a church in Iringa that let us come in and have our food around 0900 & they made us some tea & use the bathroom (a regular one!! and the last regular for the remainder of the trip until we got to Dar) Then on our way. As we headed to the mountains we did gain quite a bit of speed as is the tanzanian way to drive. Both 2 way vehicles crossing over the imaginary line, huge pot holes. When in Tanzania - we made up a saying "15,682 pot holes that could swallow a vehicle, priceless and amazing....MISSING one of those potholes....a miracle!" So, as we were at the speed of light up a mountain, we hit one of those potholes & the Rover never sounded the same again. Eventually we had to stop at the side of the road (another frightening adventure - being on the side of a road - not safe!) Something had broken off the radiator & sliced a hole in it. Well thank goodness the guys had a pliers, leatherman, duck tape (thank you Rick). So pictures were taken, a piece of rope from the luggage was cut & tied onto the radiator for some make shift repairs. Time to Dar - still about 9-10 hrs away....Time to civilazation......hmmm, forever. All there were was small villages. The clock ticked to nightfall. So eventually, stop again - the hole is bigger. Add more water from our bottles. This continued & we slowed down considerably to keep from over-heating. I do believe this was a blessing as car accidents do happen frequently on the mountain. So.....on & on it went. Eventually Jacob stopped at one small village & got some tea (Chai Bora to be exact!) The lady came running after him as he just took it off her stand but we paid for it. Into the radiator for stop leak it went. More water, more tea, more water, more tea. Eventually, more problems. They had to make a make-shift gasket (rubber, knife, more duct tape). Then we bought a water jug from another villager. Eventually ran out of water & stopped at a river & filled up more water. More tea. You could see Jacob was getting nervous - constantly watching the temp gauge & his watch. If we could only make it to Morogoro by sundown & maybe get it fixed we could leave early the next morning for Dar so we could still make our flight by evening. But Jacob was determined to get us all the way to Dar before night. Once to Morogoro, I was happy we were able to get all the way to Dar also as I really didn't want to stay there. I did chew Jacob out for messing with the radiator & almost burning himself with the steam as all medical supplies had been left in Kidugala. He then referred to me as Mama for the rest of the trip. Me & Jacob got along great. He said he is going to name his next child Deby after me - no matter if it is a boy or a girl. His wife just had a baby a month ago (her 3rd) & I said "what makes you think Rita wants another baby?" he said "no problem" I said, "what makes you think she wants to name a baby Deby" he said "oh, we talked, no problem". I told him it is very sad if he names a boy Deby. Well, anyway - back to the vehicle. He seemed so stressed I finally asked him when the tea would be ready. That finally put some laughter back into the situation & nobody was stressed or really worried the rest of the trip. He got some type of a part/cap in a larger village & we made it to Dar by 7pm which there is getting very very dark. We made it to TEC in time to have some supper. One thing is for sure - both Lutherans & Catholics know how to eat! A looooooooooong steamy & sultry nite it was in Dar & difficult to sleep. The next morning a tepid shower was just the ticket. We got up & plans were for Rick to go the post office & meet with the agriculture/mineral dept to get the soil mailed out. It cost over $300 USD to mail. What a trip. At one point an armed police got into the car with them as they were going the wrong direction on the road (how could you tell with the way people drive there!!) but he told the driver to go to the station for a ticket. Mind you - armed means an AK-47 OR M-16 - not a holster hand gun. Ok, so the 3 talked in swahili while Rick smiled & listened. At one point the driver passed some shillings to the police. I guess the conversation was something like: going to the station for a ticket, drive there, then...you want to get me into trouble-I can't take a bribe & in front of the American, he won't say anything - he is a missionary, do you have more than this? (more money), then on to the station & drop the officer off. No ticket given (but he kept the money) the funny part was he was offered 1200 shillings......Rick said "you bribed him with 90cents!!!!!!??????!!!?"...How funny. Anyway - the rest of us went to the Indian Ocean & took pictures, hunted for stones & seashells with Neema, Philippo, Jacob. Had a nice day. Eventually an early supper back with all of us together & last minute story telling & then on to the airport. It was so much fun experiencing Neema & Philippo's FIRSTS. The escalator, going thru security, the airport, the moving walk-way, the bathrooms in the airplane, take-off, landing, the head-sets. Seeing their faces when the pilot said "WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!"....

There is so much of this trip to tell, so much more. So many things that could never be related in pictures and telling..only by seeing. A piece of my heart has really been left in Tanzania but that part of my heart has been filled up and part of Tanzania has been brought home with me & will never leave. Coming home though to carpet on the floor, my own shower, my own bed & my family, a renewed faith in God...I am complete.

Nobody really got sick or hurt while there (even when we found the chicken in the cupboard!!). We all got a little queezy after our meal of goat one day, LH had the stomach thing one day but it wasn't serious, Babu got a big bug bite but the benadryl quickly counteracted that, Linda & Rick had the sore throat & a little stomach thing one day but it was short lived, I got some mosquito bites & one day had the stomach thing come on REAL quick...I didn't know if I would lose it as I ran past the cemetary or the chickens but I made it (well, I had to change clothes) but...enough details of that. Cheryls still isn't over her fear of chickens & I really don't like them... but all in all...we stayed healthy without anything serious.

Arriving home & coming thru the gates & seeing Mark....the whole crowd there with signs for Neema & Philippo. This weekend home with Mark & our conversations...my life has been changed.....

If you have any questions, want to know more stories, just ask. There are many more stories.

Sights, Sounds, Tastes & Memories of Tanzania

Every morning while in Kidugala you hear the same thing (it is the only thing that stays on schedule in TZ!)

0515 - - - You hear the dala dala bus horn....hooooooonkkkkk! hooooonkkk! honk honk honk....then it stops & then it does it again (the bus comes from Kidugala to all the surround villages & ends up in Njombe & then returns at the end of the night)..This is crowded & can have 3 times the amt of people that it is suppose to hold, along with chickens tied by the legs & thrown under the seat, a goat or 2, baskets & other goods.

0520 - - - - the ROOSTER!! The evil one, the show-off...he starts to crow...and crow....and crow. He never shuts up. I swore that I was going to kick his butt. In fact, he strutted down the road in front of us one morning on the way to church. I got a picture of him just running out in front of us - crowing all the way. We thought of many ways to hold him down & cease his endless crowing. When we got to Ruaha, the 1st morning the sun was coming up, you heard the birds & it was beautifully peaceful...then echoing across the river it came....Err, err, err, err, errrrrr!!!! (It was Babu with his Kidugala Rooster impression!!)

Then again the honking of the horn of the dala dala - a final warning to those who would need the bus that it was leaving.

Then 0600 - the church bell rang & rang to let everyone know that it was 0600. Which really doesn't matter because nobody is ever on time.

Karibu! Karibu! Asante Sana! Comweyne! You never hear it enough!

"only 1 hour!"

Seeing amazing things transported on bikes - yes, have even seen a wooden chair & a bed!!

Seeing amazing things being transported great distances on the heads of women while holding an infant in her wrap while breast feeding & dragging a toddler along also & a bucket in the other hand!!

Black tea at every meal served with boiled & re-boiled milk and lots and lots of dark-large granulated sugar.

A wash basin with a water pitcher for washing hands before each meal or tea time.

The colorful dress & kongas

Fruit!!! All kinds & sizes of fruit. Huge fruit!

Someone trying to sell you something in the city....fruit and roasted cashews!

Going to bed and waking up when it is cold & you can see your breath!!

Standing in the hot sun later in the day.

Hot/muggy & sweating & stinking at other times.

Chickens in the house! Chickens in the yard! Chickens everywhere! (the dead chicken that we hit with the Land Rover!)

Huge baskets of eggs, tomatoes, other things being sold on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.

The mountains & the changing terrain

Waiting in a restaurant forever until you fall asleep & forget why you are there.

Miriam and her family

Giving a sermon at the funeral of a man that died of malaria...one who could not have the funeral in the church because he had 2 wives & 10 children but still had a Christian burial at graveside.

The sticker bushes that I always got in my butt when I sat on the ground

The hard, dry red clay

dust!

The friends that we have made....becoming dugu

Losing 14# without even trying

Tangawezki and Krest Bitter Lemon

Poa biscuits

Drinking warm Fanta until we burst!

Thinking you are understanding swahili & then they make a switch & you have to learn some kibena. - - Ongo!

The baboon that waited for the bag to be thrown out a window of a dala dala & then grabbing it with lightening speed by the handle like a thief!

Riding in the back of the land rover, seeing a "path" in front of us that really isn't a road, having vehicles on your side of the road that don't move over, mountain roads, pot holes the size of Texas, dala dalas and trucks dumped over on the side of the roads & wondering if you will be next.

Learning how to repair a radiator

New sisters & brothers

Laughter

Sadness

Hard boiled eggs

My Penpal

Well,,,,,,,,Ok, my original penpal never came back. I did find that when I got home I received a letter from her & one of her friends. The post mark was from February! Who knows where it had all gone as the address was: Harlan, Iowa - Germany....For some reason she thought I lived in Germany. I did find from some others that she has "some things going on in her life" I didn't ask. But I did wrap up her gifts & give them to some other girls to give to her. I will write her again for some support if needed & see what comes of it. From what I understand now is she is 17 yrs old, in Form 2 & wants to be a nurse. She has an older brother that does live in Germany, 1 in Dar & some others. Now, there is another very motivated girl that came to me early in our trip & asked to be my penpal. She looked at all my pictures of family & was very interested. Her name is Sophia Kiwanuka. She made me a beautiful skirt and shawl or konga. The imprint on it in swahili says "marriage is love" Her very best friend came with her & is now Linda's penpal. Both of these girls are very smart & doing well in school & have goals. They came & played frisbee and hung out. We found that we were a main gathering place for teenagers from the seminary for games, discussions & just having fun. The last nite there, both girls came back. I was there alone waiting for them. We made PB&J sandwiches for which they loved! They thought of other ways to make sandwiches.. They said it is much better than ugali & kande! We laughed & laughed & told many stories and talked about what things they want to accomplish. Then everyone else came back & Linda & I spent some more time with them & gave them some gifts also. It was getting dark & they finally had to go. Yet another wonderful blessing to have these girls as our friends now & such a connection.

Chris Erickson - PCV for Masage

Who would have thought we would come 10,000 miles & meet another American in Kidugala. One day we met Chris Erickson. he is a PCV for Masage. He rode his bike to see us. Great visits for both he & us. He came again the next day & the next & even spent the night with us. It was a cold, windy & very dark night & I do believe he wanted to enjoy American company a little longer. The guys discussed much info in regards to agriculture & thank goodness he brought a PCV cookbook for us before the women's meeting so we could brush up on wood-burning cooking & recipes! He visited the hydro-electric area with us. The best thing was he knew many of the other PCV that I had been following on their blogs including Russ & Lisa Grandgeorge who I have been corresponding with by e-mail!! Sure makes this huge world of ours a little more personal. I asked him how he knew we were here. He said "oh for months, all the villages have been talking about the American missionaries from Iowa coming" How exciting. He had so much valuable information for us it was a joy to spend some time with him.

Ruaha

On the way to Ruaha, we had to stop in Iringa to have a shock replaced. The men thought we were just too heavy & were "bottoming out" (ha! who are you calling heavy!). While in Iringa, we stopped to eat lunch where of course it took forever. Pr Chengula said that it would be fast food. Upon leaving there quite some time later - he said "turn around & look, this is where they serve fast food - slow!" Ah yes, and at that place we were introduced to yet another type of choo.........Kind of a bedpan that has been embedded level into the cement. The only good thing about that compared to the other type is, it is a little larger than the 4" square hole, so therefore easier to aim. If you want more on the women's discussion on aiming - ask us - I won't write it here. So on to Ruaha we went. The road from Iringa to Ruaha was your typical TZ road - DIRT & very bumpy. The land became much more arrid. However, the park was beautiful. We did get showers - 2 days in a row! Animals are everywhere & we had a Massai guide that would take us safely to eat from our bandas at nite & back again in the dark. He was armed with 2 large sticks, 1 large spear & a flashlight. He did keep us out of the large parade of siafu 2 nites in a row. The 1st nite, Patty took her shower & went out in the dark to sit on the porch & she heard something. Her & I went out with flashlights to see 2 hippos on the sand eating - wow! Then that nite we heard snuffing, breathing, snorting, footsteps, something eating. Now this is just on the other side of a screen window (no glass), that was approximately 5 feet from our bed. It was an elephant outside our screen. Can you believe it!!!!!! I knew it was an elephant & wanted to go see but didn't want to wake Patty & I didn't want to go look by myself. The funny thing is, Patty was doing to the same thing! The evidence was right outside the next morning, the elephants were there!!!!! Heard lions on our way to breakfast. That day we saw them all: elephants, jackel, giraffes (twiga), lions (simba), zebra, water buffalo, crocks, monitor lizards, baboons, impala, kudu, dik dik, hippos, warthogs, colorful birds galore!! God is truly magnificent the wonderful animals that he has created. The sunrise & sunsets can never be captured the full burning beauty of it on film (well, at least not on my camera).

The Women of Kidugala

Some women surprised me at the questions they would ask in regards to bearing children (many children), being forced to have children, what our husbands do with a wife that is in menopause (that was a sticky question). Actually, a man asked that question at a previous session with both men & women - "what do American men do with a wife that is now in menopause?" This is usually when Rick and Babu would get all nervous and wonder how I would answer - my answer "they enjoy their wife anyway, in fact, they enjoy them even more!", other questions were in regards to husbands taking another wife, etc. Also, another issue was midwives vs trying to WALK OR RIDE A BIKE to the health center to have a baby (now doesn't that sound fun while in labor). Many babies born on the way on the side of the road, so some don't even bother to try & get there (I don't blame them!) This is where the over 300 midwife kits will come in handy (lifesaving!) for those in the surrounding preaching points. These women work hard and long hours & really do not get acknowledgement for it. Cooking is labor intensive: gather wood, start the fire, cook, clean up, care for the children & the hoes they use for farming - well, they are large & heavy, nothing like what we use. It takes great strength to swing it. All day in the fields, another meal cooked in the field, yet another late at nite. To get anywhere, of course you walk. These are strong women in what they do, their friendships and most of all, their faith in God. Many of them walk every morning to go to devotion at 0715 to start their day. We had some time to spend alone with them and both sides had a great time. One day they showed us how to tie kongas, wrap their babies, discussed their farms and vegetable gardens and we passed out seeds, that is the day that we got ourselves into committing to giving a cooking class. The class was a success, we had 80 women in our courtyard. Yes, we cooked on a wood burning stove and wood burning oven!! All I had to cut with was my pocket knife!! Thank goodness Mark had me pack it. We made pans of cornbread, pancakes, syrup, vegetable stirfry (that took several times to interpret as they said, yes - we know - you stir & fry, but what is it called) ok, that went around & around like "who's on 1st" until they finally realized it was simply called "stir fry". We also made guacamole, talked about other versions of cornbread, what to do with leftover ugali and we made vegetable cabbage rolls, discussed making rice pudding. I think maybe that day gave them a little taste of thinking outside the box a little. We visited their tiny sewing center & saw their old singers (pedal type) and a knitting loom. The women of the church also run a small store. During our stay we received some beautiful things from the women: baskets made lovingly, an embroidered dress along with a konga, and the beautiful weaved purses. The best gift of all is their friendship. It was very tearful to say good-bye to many of them. There is one tiny little spit-fire that popped up all the time. She was about 80yrs old, still farmed for herself, was outspoken, always grateful, and always wanted to visit. One day she stopped me & Linda & showed us her bag of rabbits that she had slung over her shoulder along with a huge branch of rosemary. All we got from the conversation was there was a combination of rabbit, rosemary & tea going to be prepared. Her name is Nahema but we nicknamed her "Clarabelle". Spent a great deal of time with Rehema Kidzumbe, she is the church secretary. Also, my heart has been left with Upendo Ngihili. She cried so the last day at church & I couldn't pull myself away from her. Her father came a few days earlier to her home so she could care for him. He has malaria. Cheryl & I went to their home and had a nice day. She wanted the Christmas picture of me & Mark. She has the most beautiful lemon trees, cutiest little goats (tiny ones for meat, the larger breed for milking). Her husband Marco (connection there as my husband is Mark) was building her a bike out of various parts. We promised to write each other. The necklaces she got from us where hanging on her wall. She is the head of the women's group and the orphan society. Also, she was one of the women that critically fitted and dressed us our last nite in our secret by candlelite ceremony into our special vizi and kongas. In case you want to know - the swahili name of love is....upendo (of course).

Water! Water - Hot Water!!

On the 25th I woke to a noise @ 0330 that sounded like running water! I thought I heard some other noise but I couldn't stand it, I had to check it out. Yes! there was running water in the bathroom! Coming from the faucets! Then I was all excited so I jumped out of my bed into the pitch black darkness of the hallway & ran smack into Patty. We were like tittering school girls we were so excited. We put a basin & bucket under it to catch the water. Now, here is the good part - don't ask how or why - but the water was HOT! We got as much water as we could and then tried to shut it off, well there was this large spider guarding the faucet but we still got it shut off. I didn't care what time it was - I was taking full advantage of the hot water & took myself a bucket bath at 0330! Then hopped back into bed in my warm jammies for a few more hours. That was truly the 1st warm water bath I had since leaving the states (ahh, & it proved to be pretty much the last one also). Nobody else got up because they just heard me & Patty banging around in the bathroom & laughing & they just decided to forget about it. Now as far as hot water, every morning Masaweh would boil water on the wood burning stove and fill 2 thermos for coffee & tea. The next morning there was still left over water in the thermos & it was still kind of warm. If you took 2 cups of that & 2 cups from the bucket - at least you wouldn't have a freezing bath. Although, there was one day that I wasn't feeling well, the ice cold water on my head & hair did me wonders. We still had water coming from the faucet until July 2nd. On that day, we no longer had water there. We had to go with the large buckets from the other water sources, some days there was no water there either & we had to go further. The water in the buckets started to look a little murky to say the least (gross!) The thing about water from the faucet is, you could still flush the toilet, without that - no flushing! So no faucet water/flushing the toilet from 7/2 until 7/7 and then - - - the power went out on the 7th! We got quite a system for doing laundry. The camp soap works well (by the way - it is a 1-shot soap - works good for all: laundry, body, shampoo) Our clothes really never looked a lot cleaner - but they sure did smell better. When doing laundry, Rick's socks were the worst & he admitted it. In order to wash his socks, we had to take capture them 1st as they ran around on their own, tie them up & hold them under the water while holding your breath, allow them to drown so they couldn't fight back, and then wash them! We had 2 laundry days - once it was me, Patty & Cheryl, the next time it was me & Linda. I never have really enjoyed doing laundry but now I do think I will complain about doing it, so much easier of course with the washer & dryer. I still don't know how the women here get their clothes so clean with all that red clay dirt. Also, how smooth they get them after hanging out, we saw their irons. They old irons that they fill with coals!!! One day there were 2 girls that had just brought back their corn flour from the mill. They laid out 3 large straw mats on the ground, then spread the flour out so it could dry in the sun. Then after about 3-4 hrs, the poured it back in their baskets & wiped down the mats & rolled them back up.