Not much to post about today. It was a pretty slow day with nothing really planned. All I had was an appointment with the new Provost here at Masoka. He had to leave for Dar es Salaam later in the day and would not be back until after I had left. He’s a nice man (Mr. Temm, if I’m spelling that correctly - its pronounced “Tim”) but seems to be in pretty deep at this point. He was appointed Provost the day after I arrived and he’s been extremely busy ever since. The spoils that come with power, I guess.
My appointment was for 8am but he wasn’t in when I arrived at five after. I came back at 9 and was able to talk to him for a few minutes - his work area was covered with stacks of papers and he looked as if he was out of breath already. We chatted some about my experience here so far and left the doors open for future contact and support. I felt bad taking up his time just to chat - but he didn’t seem to mind much. We wrapped up in about 15 minutes.
After I left, I went back to the apartment and realized that I was supposed to lecture another IT class at 9! D’oh! So I went back to the main office but no one seemed to know where I was supposed to go or what teacher I had to contact - nothing was mentioned on my handout/schedule that I received from Aiwe. We all decided that it might be best to just skip the class and not worry about it. I could always makeup the lecture sometime next week if it was really that big of a deal.
So, with that taken care of, the only other thing on my agenda was dinner at 7:30 at Mr. Mmbaga’s residence here on campus - sweet - no traveling, no major time out in the sun, no dust, etc. So I basically chillaxed in the apartment all afternoon, took a short nap, read a magazine, watched two episodes of The Shield on my laptop, and then went to dinner. My stomach was giving me some trouble most of the day - it may have been the blood soup I had eaten the day before, but who knows. It may also have been all of the traveling and work finally catching up to me. Either way, it was nice to rest up a bit.
One thing I did after a light lunch was to go to the internet cafe here on campus - it was actually open! I have been able to access the internet several times while in town, but only for basic stuff like checking email and downloading some docs from home through Blackboard. But with the slow connection times and the sheer demand for a computer, updating things like this blog are just too big to do from here. So again, I apologize that this blog is “recorded live” but posted at a later time. Trust me, not much editing is being done to these entries.
Anyway, I went to the cafe and was able to get on a machine - they have 8 computers here for over 100 students. They have Pentium 4 desktops running Windows XP on 512 MB of RAM... Yeah, they’re slow. And their internet connections are a turtle-ish 10 MB/sec. Good thing I brought a book with me. Besides that however, I began to notice a copule of things -
students save their work and personal documents on the desktops. I saw some rather unflattering pictures...
I don’t think anyone has done a disk check on the computers, no one has defragged the computers, and I have to wonder when the last OS update was conducted
they are using IE 6.0 as their main web browser - red alert!
their anti-virus protections are about 8-12 months old - platinum red alert!
Many of the students have their own flash drives but still leave their content on the computer. I have a flash that I’ve been using here and have caught viruses every time I’ve used an internet machine, either in town or on campus. It isn’t pretty. The lab tech (a young woman named Edith who is completely overwhelmed with requests from students) logged me on her administrator account so I could begin to clean up at least one machine - but I ran out of time, partly due to the slow internet connection (trying to download updates) and partly because about 20 students showed up to use the computers. I didn’t want to take away from anyone’s time, so I stopped my maintenance about halfway through. I asked Edith if she wanted help tuning up the computers, and she acepted very quickly. I am supposed to meet her back in the cafe (lab) at 2pm on Saturday to continue working on the first machine, but to also train her in basic maintenance. When I told her about disk check and disc defragger, she wasn’t sure what I was talking about - it may have been the language gap, but even when I showed her on-screen, it seemed to be something new to her.
For the record, my Mac laptop has not caught any virus from my flash drive (yet) - when I put the flash in, the computer spots them but since they’re all .exe extensions, it doesn’t do anything with them. I may try to catch some of these viruses on my flash and bring them back to our IT department just for kicks - see what they think. I’m no expert, but its my imprssion these are some nasty viruses - as in, “destroy everything on your hard drive” viruses. People are hurting over here - and FWIW, my laptop is going through a massive scrubbing when I get back, just in case.
Dinner at Mr. Mmbega’s place was nice. He is the former Provost (just replaced by Mr. Temm) - he has a new title with the university (didn’t quite catch it) so he hasn’t retired or anything. It was a huge meal - the party consisted of me, him, his wife, and Jean Kocher who is a visiting professor from Midland Lutheran College in Nebraska. She has been here since August and will spend a year here, teaching classes and conducting research. Needless to say, she is light years ahead of me in speaking Swahili (but she doesn’t rub it in). Turns out she has been keeping a blog about her experiences here (and it is an awesome blog - you need to check it out), and quite frankly, I can verify everything she mentions in it. There is a lot to love about this country, but there is a lot to get used to also. Turns out I’m staying in her old apartment - she has a different spot on the other side of campus that actually has a refrigerator and a small stove - lucky dog. And it turns out she knows Dr. Tom Martin at Susquehanna - apparently Dr. Martin spent some time at MLC before winding up at SU. I’ll try to get some blackmail stories...
Again dinner was nice - too much food for the number of people. I almost ate myself sick. I swear, I’ve eaten more food here than I would be at home. But the company was good - I learned a lot about the history of the Masoka campus and the Tumaini system overall. We left about 10pm, and I came back and completely crashed around 10:30. I was still very tired, it seemed.
Friday nights are very quiet here - I guess most of the students leave campus for the weekend. It is much louder here during the week.
The only other thing to do was wake up at 4am on Saturday to call home and wish Zach a happy 6th birthday! He was still awake, so I got to talk to him and Mrs. Professor Stark for a few minutes. It was a nice convesattion and I’m glad I called. I’m having a great time here, but I miss them terribly. It doesn’t help that the stars twinkle here at night - I’m not kidding. When you’re talking back home, missing people you love, and hte stars *twinkle* - oh man. I even think I’m starting to miss my students at SU... nahhhh... it ain’t that bad :)
For your entertainment, please enjoy a snap of my boys - Zach is on the right and Jack is on the left - happy birthday Big Man!
I’ve been busy, ok? I know my last post is dated January 9th, but its been a very hectic past few days and I’m finally getting down to getting all of this stuff out of my head and on to disk, etc. I say “on to disk”, because as you may have noted I have not updated this blog in awhile. That is mainly because in TZ the internet is in horrible shape - or should I say, internet connections are in bad shape. I have been online twice since I’ve been in the country, and to top that off, have only been able to call home and speak to someone live once. Both times I have been able to check my email but due to limited bandwidth and limited time, not much else. So my plan is to continue updating this blog/journal as if I’m online and when I can get reliable access either in Europe or at home, I will post all I have so far. Mass/electronic/wireless communications-wise, this is a very different place from what I am used to.
So what has happened since last Saturday? A lot - and be warned, this will be a long post. I’ll do my best to update on a more regular basis and I’ll break up this post into segments if it gets too long.
Lets start with today, Thursday, January 14th. Today was actually a pretty easy day - I spoke with the faculty and student organization at the Moshi Town campus and led a lecture/discussion with both IT courses as well. This is the third, and final meeting I had with the university’s student organizations and faculty members. The other meetings took place on the 11th at the Mwika campus, and last Friday, the 8th here on the Masoka campus. Today’s meeting with the faculty was the smallest one yet, as many faculty members had already heard me speak last Friday. Many faculty members split time between here (Masoka) and the Moshi campus, so y’know...
The faculty meeting at Mwika was a good one - it was a pretty good turnout over tea and snacks. The interesting thing (to be included in my official report to the ELCA) is the common concerns each faculty group has. It has boiled down to three things: reliable acess to the internet, materials and resources for libraries, and resources and funding for research. In regard to libraries, the disparaties between each campus are striking. At Moshi, the campus has a HUGE space for library resources and materials - but it is completely empty. Apparently the campus was able to acquire some old warehouse and manufacturing space which is in the midst of being retrofitted into academic facilities such as classrooms and offices. Picture a storage warehouse about the size of an airpplane hangar - and picture it empty. There are a handful of tables and chairs that are being used for temporary classroom space and that’s it.
At Mwika however, they have less space but their shelves are almost overflowing. It is difficult to turn around in their library, much less look around. But don’t let that fool you - they have many books, but many are copies of the same book and even more of them are outdated and very old. I recognized some titles from my undergraduate days over 20 years ago. Here at Masoka, the library is somewhere in-between - there are more books than at Moshi but there are nowhere near as many as there are at Mwika, and not nearly as many different titles.
While I don’t think reliable internet access will solve everyone’s problems, I think it will go a long way toward helping alleviate some of them. With reliable internet access, it would be easier to access books and journals online; if the university decided to subscribe to online versions of journals, they could save a lot of money in subscription fees as well as save a lot of space on the shelves, and as is the case in Mwika, instead of having 30 copies of one book, possibly freeing up shelf space to have thirty different books in the same area. I also have other ideas regarding the benefits of online access for funding, research, and publication and applications. I’ll try to dig into those ideas here, but they will definitely show up in my final report to the ELCA. I’ll also try to get pictures of Moshi and Mwika campus the next time I’m there. The point for now is that these students don’t have a pot to you-know-what-in and they’re still doing good work - the best they can do anyway. I know now that we’re incredibly fortunate in the US and that too often we take these basic services for granted.
Dig this - in order to obtain reliable internet access, the students at each campus have to ride/hike/trek into the nearest town, enter an “Internet Cafe”, plop down good, hard-earned cash for internet access in 30-minute increments (generally on older computers with slow connections), and then ride/hike/trek back to campus or home. And if they use a flash/USB drive to store or save information, they’re *lucky* they won’t get a virus on the flash drive that destroys or damages their data. How do I know this? Because last Monday I was able to venture into one of these wonderful enterprises (I *had* to send an email to my wife somehow). I had typed up a Word document to send to her, which I saved onto a flash drive on my laptop. Earlier today, I was inspecting/using some of the student computers here at Masoka and decided to try to download some content on to my flash. In goes my drive and -pop!- congratulations! You have a virus! The student techie told me it happens all the time and not to worry about it. Nonetheless, I deleted everything on the disk and will eitiher format it or give it to one of the students to format and use for themselves - either way, it goes nowhere near this laptop. I’ll buy a new flash drive in town tomorrow, thank you very much.
But see, that’s the point - I can afford a couple of bucks to buy a new drive if and when this happens. These students can’t, and I get the feeling that they’re just reserved to the idea that this is just how life is. I mean this when I say it - I don’t think the average Susquehanna University student would last 3 days here with some of these conditions in regard to communicating with the outside world. I doubt many SU professors would either - we are all very fortunate and as an unfortunate result, very soft. I know I am - for instance, did you know that for those of us who are lucky to have laundry access, that it takes 3-5 days for your laundry to return? Yep! No dryers here - well, there’s the sun but you know, most days it rains here and any drying that happens could be wiped out by a good 10 minute shower. No washers here either - well, there is the laundry and cleaning staff who have to wash everything by hand using an outdoor faucet and some soap packets. Yeah... And when you bring only 3-5 days worth of underpants & socks... yeah... lets just say two things and then we’ll never speak of this again...
#1, I’m on day three of my current pair of socks, and day two of my current pair of underwear and both are starting to get pretty gamey. Fortunately some of my clothes came back today, including five pairs of underwear. I nearly jumped for joy (ASANTE SANA!!!) - but realized there were no socks in the pile. So day four will be brought to you tomorrow by Gold Bond Medicated Powder (tm).
#2, we’re going shopping for clothes tomorrow. Shopping in the street market that is. No Wal-Mart of Penny’s here.
Ok, I’m blabbing - what else happened today? Oh yeah - I had my first experience with local banana beer! I’m really ticked at myself for not taking my camera, but I didn’t know what to expect and the last thing I wanted to do was be distracted by taking pictures all the time. So... here is the best way I can describe it - this afternoon, a little after 3pm, two teachers and a staff member here on campus invitted me to visit a local “bar”, about 1/8th of a mile up the road from campus, to learn more about (and try) the local delicacy known as banana beer. Yes - beer made from bananas! Cool! Lets go!
So we walk up the road, again, about 1/8th of a mile. When I say “road”, I use the term loosely. This is more like a bombed out road than anything else - anyway, we reach a home and meet the owners, who make banana beer and serve it to the locals for a living (I wish I could remember their names, but I guess it makes sense I suck at remembering Tanzanian names as much as I suck at remembering American names). The “tour” took place in two areas. The first, was referred to as the “factory”. This is where the bananas were processed and basically turned into beer, but they could also be turned into wine, simple juice, whiskey, or anything else. Let me explain the process (as it was told to me):
First, the bananas picked from the trees are skinned and then mashed into a thick paste with water. This “banana mash” is placed into a vat/pot that I would say is about 15 gallons large, and is placed on a hot fire to boil. They had a pot boiling as we were there - if you have ever smelled boiling bananas, you know what I’m talking about. It smells so good - sort of a sweet... banana smell I guess. But really good nonetheless. However, if you have ever *seen* boiling bananas... ewww. They turn into this purplish/red color, and the parts that don’t get mashed turn almost black. And its a “thick” boil - think of lava boiling. Very - slow - bubbles - POP - POP - POP. I was able to take a taste straight from the pot - very very good! Very sweet - like bananas! Just don’t look at it...
After boiling for awhile, a bit more water is added to the mash, which is then filtered to extract the water. What is left behind is this sort of purple goo that has the consistency of wet clay. Various herbs (mostly millet, I’m told - they wouldn’t divulge much else) are added to help the mixture ferment and the whole thing is stuffed into a separate tub/vat/pot, about 10 gallons in size and then LEFT OUTSIDE to ferment. And when I say ferment... dude, I mean it. They had three buckets in the process. They were sitting directly in the sun and covered with flies and bees. Some of the mixture had cracked and separated and some had turned this sort of gray-brown-purple color, and the smell! Oh man... yeah, fermentation. If I had seen it without knowing what it was, I would have thought someone had cleaned their pipes and decided to discard the sludge. It was just flat out nasty. And to top it off, the mixture would sit that way for three to five days. Woof. I'm just glad my Cipro treatments were still going on...
After the 3-5 days are finished, a bit more water is added and another filtration process takes place. What is left is - banana beer. The thing is, the amount and time of fermentation affects the alcohol content in the brew. I was told that not only could a person make beer, but he or she could make wine and whiskey, or simple juice, depending on how long they left it to ferment. Five days was the max however - after that you apparently run the risk of the mixture rotting and making someone very sick if they drank it. Great! So will the Cipro help keep me from going blind when I drink this stuff?
To finish off the entire experience I was invited to the second base of operations, the bar. Now, small-town home bars are different in Tanzania. We walked through the “servant’s entrance” which was a door attached to the back of a wall - once inside, the bar consisted of a wooden counter and a table and two chairs. The bar was operated and supervised by the husband (this beer process was overseen by a husband and wife team). I was informed, without hesitation, that the husband is always in charge of serving the beer, while the wife is the only person who makes it. Whatever floats your boat.
The barkeep grabs one of the filthiest plastic cups I've ever seen - it is yellow with so much dirt and smudging on the outside of it... and the inside didn't look much better. He takes the cup and fills it about halfway from a small keg he has behind the bar. I notice at this point that the only other drinks available in the bar is a brand of bottled banana beer that is made further up the road by a larger facility. Nothing else is available.
So he fills the cup and hands it to me - everyone is watching. I look in the cup (yeah, its really dirty in there too) and I see that the banana brew is sort of purplish/red in color and that there appear to be small black things floating in it. At first I was taken aback but then realized that when you liquify bananas you usually get small black things - make a banana daquiri sometime and see what I mean.
The beer was also warm - it came straight out of the keg, remember. A keg that who-knows how long had been sitting there. It smelled great - kind of fruity but with a bit of a beer hint. After noticing all of this, I looked back up at everyone else in the room. And everyone was still watching me... well, whatever doesn't kill me only makes me stronger...
It tasted like it smelled - fruity with a bit of beer. I tried it again. Hey, that's pretty good. One more time. Well alright! There was no funky taste, no bad aftertaste, the consistency was sort of runny, but not bad... hey man, this is good stuff! So I had a couple more sips - everyone was happy and started laughing.
And then the hammer came down. My stomach was fine - but this stuff went straight to my head. As in "Do not pass Go, Do not collect $200" straight. Bing! And there was still over a quarter of a cup left. After admiring the brew some more and admitting that it was very strong (something the barkeep liked to hear), I had to confess that I could not finish the entire thing. If I did, I would basically roll downhill back to campus. Fortunately everyone was cool with that and understood. Sometimes it sucks being a flyweight when it comes to alcohol (but most of the time it doesn't).
The professors pass on finishing my cup, but the staff member who accompanied us... I never caught her name, but she was probably about 5' 3" and maybe about 110 pounds - she asked if she could help finish the brew. "By all means", says I.
She proceeds to take the cup from the bar and completely POUNDS it down in one straight shot. She slams the cup on the bar and everyone cheers.
Ok, I am so not getting into a drinking contest with you.
We pay the barkeep for his brew (and a little extra for showing me around) and head back to campus. By this time it is almost time for dinner so I bid my new friends adieu and have a most excellent meal. As I work on this now, at the end of the day, I realize that today was a pretty damn good day.
I’m currently on the plane from Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro - of course this won’t be posted until I find some internet access but at least I’m getting something down and out of my head.
The flights have gone rather well so far. I’m about 5 hours into the Amsterdam-Kilimanjaro leg with about three more to go. This flight left exactly on time this morning (ugh - I can’t believe or understand how it was morning then). According to the plane GPS we are currently over Africa, west of Aswan, Egypt by my best guess. Crazy.
The flight from Dulles was delayed over an hour and a half last night, so basically I “ranwalked” to my departure gate on the other side of the Amsterdam airport. I have to admit I’m not too terribly impressed by the airport - seemed rather small and cramped. On top of that, I had to go through a complete security check again. That’s the way it goes I guess.
I’ve met some nice people on both flights so far - very friendly and very willing to share whatever information they could about Tanzania and Kilimanjaro in particular. The more people talk about it, the more anxious I am to get there.
I’m trying to do some more prepping for the classes I’ll be teaching but I’m finding it tough to concentrate while on the plane. I never really could read while riding in a car and I think this might be similar.
About the biggest problems so far are the lack of communication back home (had to spend $2.50 US to send an email home from the plane to let my family know I was still in one piece), and the fact that for some reason my nose and mouth have been completely drying out on these flights. There are no air vents on these planes, like you might find on domestic flights and I think they keep the air super-dry on purpose. I’m not complaining about that much, because I prefer the air inside the plane to be dry rather than humid and stinky. The problem however is that with dry air, when I fall asleep I tend to snore - and I think I’ve *really* been snoring. I was wearing noise-reduction headphones earlier and woke myself up snoring - I’m afraid that’s pretty loud...
Ha - I just noticed the clock on my computer reads 9:50 AM on January 6th - yeah, right. In Kilimanjaro it is currently 5:50 PM on the 6th. Oh, this jet lag is going to be fun.
Attended my first Tanzanian wedding today (Will it be the only time I do so? I've already been invited back for Allen's wedding).It was quite a blast, but I think it helps if the parties getting married are loaded (financially... keep it clean you dirtbags).I attended the wedding of Thomas and Lucy Arusi, who I have never met before and chances are, will never meet again.I think the only reason we (Aiwe, Allen and myself) were allowed to attend is that Aiwe is friends with the Pastor who helped oversee the ceremonies.Hey, a free wedding isn’t bad - especially considering the reception that took place afterwards.
But about the ceremony first - it was held in town (Moshi) in the main Lutheran church.It was a very hot and dry day today and my eyes were bothering me quite a bit from all of the dust and smog.Moshi is a pretty cool town but it is always busy and always dusty.Every time I go there my eyes start watering and I find myself squinting a lot.Part of the problem lies in the motor vehicles used by many here - many of them are in dire need of an oil change and muffler replacement.As a result, many belch a ton of smoke as they start up and as they pick up speed.I find it somewhat hard to breathe there at times.The other part of the problem is the town’s location.Moshi sits at the bottom of a small basin, which reminds me somewhat of Los Angeles.As a result, the dust and smog have no place to go and when the sun heats them, they just lay on you like a blanket.When the wind blows, all it does is blow hot dust and smog in your face.I’m not exaggerating when I say that the last four times I have bathed, I have left a ring around the tub and the rinse water is brown.It is that dusty here.At Masoka it isn’t so bad and at Mwika its even better - both places are at higher elevations.But Moshi - man, I don’t think I’ll ever complain about the EPA back home any time soon...
Anyway - The wedding began at 2pm but we didn’t arrive until about 2:20pm or so.We were late because Aiwe suggested we eat lunch before the wedding started and it took a few minutes to get from the restaurant to the church.I’m glad she suggested it - the ceremony took over two hours and ultimately food at the reception wasn’t served until well after dark.The church ceremony was really nice and Aiwe helped translate for me, much like she did last Sunday at the building dedication.There was a baptism before the ceremony began, and I could never accurately determine if the baby belonged to the bride and groom or to someone else.All I know is that it was the bride’s sister and brother-in-law who presented the baby for baptism, and that the best man and the maid of honor were the baby’s godparents.But information about the baby’s mother and father was never clearly explained to me, and I figured it was none of my business, so best to just leave it alone.The important thing is that I got a two-for-one deal: a baptism and a wedding, both in Swahili. Poa!
Hey kids, did you know that the main participants in the wedding ceremony (the bride, groom, best man and maid of honor) have chairs to sit in during the ceremony?Yep - there were four chairs up front, with their backs facing the audience and the four main players all sat down facing the front as the ceremony went on.I think that is a good idea, considering that they were all up there for about two hours.That is a long time to spend standing in one place, all dressed up in this heat.Another Bishop - this one retired - led the ceremony but I guess he was a friend of the family.He delivered a sermon about halfway through the proceedings, which Aiwe thought was pretty funny.Apparently the Bishop kept reminding the newlyweds that they needed to “cling to each other” in all phases of their married lives and to not let anyone get in-between (including parents and other family members) - you know - the usual stuff you probably hear at a US wedding.I didn’t think much of it, but Aiwe thought it was pretty funny.She kept laughing when the Bishop mentioned, “clinging”.“Oh, clinging” she would say, and laugh.Hey, I’m not going to stop her from having a good time...
The bride and groom looked both beautiful and handsome, respectively - both appeared very nervous of course.I noticed the groom was sweating a lot and that his best man was literally wiping sweat from the top of the groom's head and from his brow.The groom didn’t have to do a thing - I thought that was pretty cool (considering all my best man did was just stand there; yeah, I'm looking at you Sam) - but overall, it was very much like a ceremony you might see in the US; exchanging of vows, putting on the rings, kissing the bride and all that.
Of course my eyes are killing me and it looks like I'm crying the entire time... I just love weddings so much! But, as with most weddings, the real fun started *after* the ceremony.
For starters, the reception took place at the Mount Kilimanjaro Lodge, which is about 15 minutes from the Masoka campus, on the same road.That was nice and convenient because when it would be time to leave, it would not be a long trip.Keep in mind that Moshi is about 20-30 minutes away from Masoka campus, depending on the traffic.In Tanzania (Moshi in particular), after the ceremony it is customary for the wedding party to drive around town, beeping horns and waving to anyone on the street.Picture about 20 cars and trucks (including us), moving at a snail’s crawl through the town, blocking and clogging traffic the entire time.I think I learned some new Swahili cuss words from other drivers today - man, we went all over the downtown area, through both traffic circles, and then up the hill towards the lodge.Add to this parade of cars, the usual crowd of pedestrians and cyclists as I’m mentioned before, along with the dust and smog I mentioned previously... and it was a long, hot, dry afternoon.
As I said before, the ceremony took a little over two hours.It took just *under* two hours until we parked the car at the lodge.The procession was so slow that we actually had time to run out of the car (Allen stayed behind the wheel), run into a local bar, buy several bottles of maji, and get back into the car before it had moved 20 feet.But boy was that water good -
The road to Masoka is a small, paved, unmarked two-lane road.There is just enough space for two cars and some walkers/bikers near the shoulders.Usually, the shoulders end in very deep ditches, which are used to help water run off during the rainy seasons.Apparently, another tradition (to help pass the time I guess) is for the cars - and some trucks - to start weaving in tandem with each other on the other side of the road.It was pretty cool when everyone was in sync for a bit of time - it reminded me of a snake, it was that fluid and organized.Of course it was broken up whenever a car came in the opposite direction but sometimes the snake would not stop and the other driver had to wait or get hit.Again, I couldn’t drive here - not a car anyway. I'm thinking a motorcycle would be the way to go when I visit again.
So here is the snake, going up the hill - we’re listening to 50 Cent, sitting in the sun and drinking cold water.Life is good - and then we get to the lodge.The lodge is actually part of a coffee plantation (apparently one of the largest in the region).Wow!This is when we all realized how much money these families had.This reception probably would cost $25,000 to $35,000 in the US, by my estimate.I would say over 500 people were there, with a full buffet (set up in three places) for everyone, and an open bar.Each table sat 8 people (you do the math).There was a live band, a DJ, a video screen that was used to show baby pictures but was also used for live video postings of the married couple... there was a lot of stuff.I counted at least six tents covering tables for people to sit and eat.It was all outside and the decorations were not necessarily extravagant, but they weren’t chintzy either.There were fresh pink roses at each table and the head table was covered in pink and light green roses (pink and light green were the colors for the wedding - it looked very nice, honestly).Yeah - I could smell the money.
Of course, just because the families may be rich doesn’t mean that everyone in the families may be.We sat at a table towards the back of the field, but not all the way back, because behind us were several tents and rows of tables that seemed to be occupied by... how should I say it... the “B List” relatives.Many of them looked like they just came for the alcohol (and acted that way) and I would say the US equivalent might be having your distant third cousins show up unannounced - someone you haven’t seen in 20 years, but who suddenly becomes your favorite cousin/uncle/nephew/brother-in-law that day.I suppose that isn’t really a big deal, but where they were required to sit did seem to be interesting.
I haven’t commented on it much, but it seems to me that TZ has a class issue in its society - economic mostly, but possibly cultural and political as well.I’ve mentioned the miserable poverty I’ve seen here, but on the flip side, whoever is rich in TZ is filthy rich - and sometimes filthy stinking rich.There seems to be a very small middle class, if one even exists.And what gets me the most is the expression towards the poorer classes here - there really isn’t one.If anything it seems the poorer classes are ignored, but tolerated somewhat.There don’t seem to be many local or national assistance programs, although I'm sure they exist.But they don’t do a very good job of making their services known, it seems.I mean, smack in the middle of many of these poorer areas are some of the most elaborate gated-in homes I’ve ever seen.They usually sit behind tall walls, with either barbed wire or sharp plants at the top (one home appears to have broken glass shards glued to the top of the wall) and you can tell they are really rich.There’s nothing wrong with that, IMO, but I just don’t know how anyone can live that opulently and that securely in an area surrounded by such abject poverty.I don’t think I could do it.At the same time, I don’t think I could put relatives (no matter how distant) in such a segregated section of the reception.At least I’d like to think I couldn’t do that...
A couple of things about the reception and I’m done - Tanzanian wedding receptions obviously have some different customs and events.One is to have a goat cake (see Sunday, January 10th entry), but a really cool one is toast the couple.And I don’t mean a standard toasting from the other side of the room - I mean making what could be described as a mosh pit in front of the couple and clinking your glass with theirs.There really is no rhyme or reason to it - whoever gets there gets to toast.It looked like fun - so I did it.
Basically I joined this sea of humanity, flowing downhill toward the head table.The closer I got, the tighter the group became.I found myself cheering and clinking glasses with strangers in the crowd and basically glomming into what could only be described as a mosh pit, but without the jumping and throwing of bodies.I was able to get as close as about 8 feet to the couple when I ran into this solid, unmoving block of people.The closer you got, the harder it became to toast.Part of me thought of going back, but no way - I’d come that far, I was going to see it through.I just kept dancing and muscling my way up - trying to be as polite as possible but understanding that I couldn’t be like that all the time - and after what seemed to be a couple of minutes of squirming, twisting, pushing, etc., I made it!Clinked glasses with the couple (who probably had absolutely no idea who this white guy was, but politely smiled nonetheless), and followed the dancing crowd back to the tables.
The music - it ROCKED! The DJ was so-so but his music selection was very good, even to an uneducated hick like me. During the toasting, the song "Ni bebe" was played - imagine a big old dancing party jamming to this -Ni Bebe
The only flaw regarding the music - apparently many people here are in love with Don Williams and Kenny Rogers. Really. In fact they love K-Rog so much that "Lucille" was played several times during the reception. Awkward to say the least, but when you consider that the bride's name was Lucy (short for Lucille?)... well...
One other thing about the reception and then I'll shut up - the open bar.The only observation I have is that it seems in TZ an open bar means you drink whether you really want to or not.I tried a Serengeti beer - it was ok, but I think Tusker is better. Serengeti tastes too much like Budweiser. But I had the worst time telling the servers I didn’t want another one.As soon as the first was finished, another appeared from nowhere, and was open before I could say anything.Rather than be a bad guest, I finished the second one, and the same thing happened again!So I nursed the third one through the rest of the night and when I was finished, a waiter came out of nowhere and offered me a fourth.When I tried to tell him no more (and believe me, drunk mangled Swahili isn’t any better than just mangled Swahili), he left to get another.Fortunately Allen caught him in time.
Allen told me that if I didn’t want another Serengeti that I could have said, “no chui” (choo’-ee), which translates into “no leopard”.The majestic leopard is displayed somewhat prominently on the label of the bottle - I thought it was a cheetah the entire time... So next time I’ll know. If I do want a Serengeti, all I have to say is “chui” and they’ll know what I mean.Its the little things in life...
After that, Allen brought me back to Masoka and went on his merry way.He has been a really good sport through all of this and deserves a lot of credit.I think he has shown me a different side of Tanzania than anyone else so far - we’ve had some pretty good discussions on some of these long drives, and he has given me plenty of tips and pointers (chui being one of them).
The wedding and the reception were wonderful, and I wish I had remembered my camera.I did get my picture taken however, and I was able to grab some handouts from the entire thing,
which I will scan and post with this entry when I return to the US.After Allen dropped me off, I went straight to bed hoping the chui would be a good kitty and not give me any problems on
Sunday.
He didn't - chui was an angry, angry kitty on Sunday. I'll stick with Tusker from now on.
It has been an eventful past 36 hours or so. I didn’t write or post on Friday because I was basically exhausted and found myself “zombie-fied” - when it comes to changing time zones, the second day has always been the worst for me. I can usually handle the first 24 hours but the second 24 always knock me out and this was no exception. I still need to comment on my first day here (Thursday) but for now I’ll just say that Thursday night into Friday morning, I didn’t fall asleep until around 4:30 am - and the birds and roosters woke me up promptly at 6... I blame the time difference but I also blame myself for having a cup of coffee at 10pm on Thursday night - Stark, you dumbass. I have to admit the coffee is very strong here - but it is so good! I need to bring some home...
Let me comment on what is happening now and what happened yesterday (Friday, Jan. 8th). Today (Saturday the 9th) is an off-day for me - there is nothing scheduled and I have no appointments to meet with anyone. Basically I’m on my own, and quite frankly, that’s fine with me. I can go at my own pace today for the most part and catch up on some things while working ahead on others, and resting up some more. For the record, I slept like a rock last night. I went to bed around 10pm because I was just flat-out beat and fell asleep before I knew it. I’m actually kind of surprised I fell asleep so fast - my apartment here is located in a fairly busy place on campus. The main gate is just outside the balcony and what qualifies for the center of campus is just outside my bedroom window. Last night was Friday and comparatively speaking there were many people out, there was a lot of talking and laughing, a lot of music playing, etc. And if you close the windows anywhere, you run the risk of sweating to death and not being able to breathe. The air can get so thick so quickly if there isn’t any movement - I don’t mind the heat so much (and quite frankly, the rumors I’ve heard of the heat have been mostly unfounded) but I need air movement. Even hot moving air is better than no moving air at all. Just one of my pet peeves.
Anyway, I have all of the windows open last night, people are outside doing their thing and having fun - and I slept through all of it, which might not seem like such a big deal, but if you knew how I usually slept you would be surprised. Nothing outside bothered me at all - I recall being woken up around 3 by a dog howling close-by, but that didn’t affect me much either. When the birds and roosters started up again, I actually just sort of rolled over and ignored them. I finally got out of bed when some kind of huge bird started squawking outside my window. I have no idea what kind of bird it was but it sounded very loud and very big. I finally got the point and got out of bed.
Ok... I've been scanning local radio pretty much all day and to be honest it hasn't paid off very well. Billy Graham is on the air right now - in English. But I can’t find any news or sports in English and haven't been able to do so since I've been here. I have no idea what is happening in the outside world these past few days. In some ways it is kind of nice but in other ways, it is quite disconcerting. But, since this is the only station I’ve found that broadcasts in English so far, I’ll stick around and listen to what else might come up.
Let me write a bit about the media outlets here - seeing as how I’m a media kind of guy, its a pretty big deal to me. I’ve already noted my experiences with my cell phone - I’m glad to say that the phone has been working just fine ever since. I’ve been able to call home and leave messages although with the time difference I’m mostly leaving messages in the middle of the day back home. But at least it is working.
I have tried to access the internet several times here on campus, using the school’s system - unfortunately however, it has not been working since I’ve been here. Apparently the school contracts with an outside provider and according to rumors I’ve heard (and these are just rumors mind you), the bill wasn’t paid last month. I can’t confirm whether this is true or not, but I have heard this rumor from some reliable sources. Hopefully we will have access soon (if you’re reading this now, it was posted offline and it is now online - weird, huh?) - the only other option is to go into town and pay for access, which I hear happens a lot.
If I may comment on the internet access issue - it is very frustrating. I say this both as a spoiled American who is used to continuous access but also as a visitor and guest. Traveling so far away from my family, it is very important to have reliable communications in place for many reasons. I’m not interested in wasting time online, surfing the internet or anything like that - I’m talking about basic, consistent, reliable access that allows a person to send and receive emails and do rudimentary work online at the very least. Nothing of the sort seems to exist without traveling several miles into town and paying for it. While this is inconvenient and expensive for the students and faculty, it can be even more problematic for visitors. Consider the fact that I have the day off, but I don’t know what bus to take into town, nor do I know what bus to take back to campus. Add in the fact that I’ve only been here a very short time and am unfamiliar with many local customs, can say only basic greetings in Swahili, and it has been suggested by many that I should not go into town by myself, and the problem becomes more difficult and frustrating. There is nothing more I would like to do today than to go online, communicate faster and cheaper with my family, read the news, check my work email, etc. But I can’t do that without knowing which buses to take, where to go in town, how much to pay, etc.
Part of my dissertation research focused on issues of access to media outlets and information and the pitfalls that could occur when access is not available. I’m glad (in a way) to see that several of my observations and conclusions have been pretty close - however it is extremely frustrating. So frustrating that it could be something that actually discourages future visitors.
And it isn’t just me. Speaking with faculty and students Thursday and yesterday, one of the most pressing issues raised was the lack of internet access. Faculty are frustrated because of the difficulties of conducting online research, which tends to be the only option available when the library has minimal resources to begin with. Faculty here are expected to follow the three basic academic tracks that we have to follow in the US in order to keep our jobs - teaching, research, and service - but in the 21st century, a professor cannot be completely successful in these areas without reliable online access. I'm not trying to sound like some kind of elitist snob or anything, but that just seems to make sense to me (although I will admit I am biased when it comes to electronic communications issues - screw the food! Give me my internet!)
I suppose faculty here could always rely and fall back on postal mail for communication with colleagues in other countries, and subscribe to print versions of journals - but trust me, that’s not a feasible option for this university. Online options would be much more cost effective in the long run.
The students have told very similar stories. It is often difficult for them to complete homework assignments and difficult to communicate with fellow students both at home and abroad. The biggest issue they have however is that too often they have to go into town to pay for access - this takes away hard earned money that could be better used in other areas, but it also takes away valuable time - time that they could use for studying or writing, rather than riding the bus back and forth.
The problem is not necessarily having computers - sure, they could always use more but I’ve noticed the machines they have really aren’t in bad shape. There are no flat screen monitors and my laptop is probably the most powerful machine on campus right now, but every campus machine is running Windows XP and they seem strong enough to handle most of the applications students need. But the lack of reliable access really puts them at a disadvantage and I hope it is something that can be corrected for them soon.
Ok what else - I have seen no newspapers. None. I’m sure they are in town somewhere, but they aren’t here. There were two televisions in the main cafeteria but I’m told they were stolen last month (I wondered why there were coaxial cables hanging from the wall). I brought a small portable radio with me, and I’m glad I did because that’s about all there is. So far I’ve found only about five stations, four of which are in Swahili and mostly play music, and one running Billy Graham and other gospel shows full time, it seems. I know of no news back home, no news of Tanzania outside of campus, or anything else. There is no phone in the apartment - I don’t even know the weather forecast for the weekend. The theme from “Gilligan’s Island” keeps playing in my head.
But there is running water. There is electricity (most of the time). The food is great and the people even greater. So I got that going for me... which is nice.
Please don’t take away from this post that I’m unhappy - on the contrary I find everyone and everything here wonderful. Not one bad thing has happened since my arrival and I don’t foresee any bad things happening. People are friendly and understanding and everyone has made me feel welcome. If there is one wart however, it is the access issue. And it is unfair to put all of the blame on the university or those who work for it. Lets be honest - this is not the most technologically advanced region of the world, mostly due to economics, which is another rant for another time, I suppose. But I’m really turning into a believer of the United Nations resolution in its Declaration of Human Rights (#19, I believe) that argues reliable, stable, constant access to electronic communications is a basic human right. Not a privilege, but a *right*. Just as much of a right as access to food, shelter, and medical care.
I would provide a link to that resolution in this post to make my point more clear and more credible, but y’know...
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
I'll accept the second clause of the Article as a way to defend my position. Is it possible to declare the lack of internet access here as a violation of Article 19, according to the U.N.? :p
Day one went off without too many hitches.It is currently 7:30pm local time and I’m getting all of this out of my head and on to the computer before it begins to slip away.Today was such a busy day that I need to sit down and just do a “brain dump”.
Still no internet - so I’ll post these updates whenever I can, I guess.
My plane arrived on time last night in Kilimanjaro.Going through customs was rather easy, but it helped that I had my travel visa before I arrived.The first thing I noticed as I stepped on to the tarmac was the humidity.It hit me in the face like a hot, mossy wool blanket and I was immediately reminded of my time in Houston - very humid and sticky and covered with sweat as soon as you step outside.No air movement - no breeze.It is kind of like that now although I’m finding I’m becoming used to it again rather quickly and I’ve discovered that covering myself in sunblock doesn’t help much. If anything it tends to make me sweat more.I must use the sunblock however and did so today and had no burning on my arms or neck.My nose and my hands are a bit pink tonight, but nothing bad.I must be sure to watch my amount of sun exposure while I am here.
Anyway - I passed through customs easily and retrieved my luggage within just a few minutes.As I left the baggage area, I immediately saw my contact/mentor, Mme. Aiwe Mmari.With her was one of the university students, Allen (I did not catch his last name), who is also the primary student driver for the campus.We loaded up into Allen’s father’s Toyota SUV and were off.
Keep in mind it was pitch dark when I arrived and when we drove away.Also keep in mind that in Tanzania, driving is done on the left side of the road.I had been warned to expect bumpy roads in TZ, but at first things were rather smooth.The road we were on wasn’t any worse than most roads in Pennsylvania.About the only thing I found disconcerting at first was the fact that instead of speed limits on the main paved road, there are speed *bumps*.And big ones too.And when you hit one of those speed bumps at 50 mph... Lets just say I’m glad my fillings are still where they are.
Before I go on – this guy Allen is a fantastic driver.I always took pride in my driving skills and I often tease my wife that I am the best driver in the world - but I have finally met someone better.I’ll talk more about Allen in a later post but for right now all anyone needs to know is that I bow down to his skills.I am definitely not worthy.
The road remained relatively smooth (except for the speed bumps of course) until we made... the turn.Aiwe mentioned that she had made plans for us to eat supper before I was to be dropped off on campus.I wasn’t hungry but who am I to refuse anyone’s hospitality? :)So we made the turn and from my perspective, basically fell off the edge of the earth.
If you have ever ridden a horse - and the horse gets scared somehow and then breaks into a full-out sprint - and runs full-speed over rocks, divots, streams, you name it - and you’re holding on for dear life because if you don’t you will be catapulted into orbit... that begins to describe the experience.Again, Allen is an *excellent* driver - I have much more confidence in his driving skills than I do in the road itself - the young man is a wizard at driving.But I have to admit two things (again, no fault of Allen’s) - first, riding in a Tijuana taxi cab has *nothing* on the experience.Tijuana is for wimps after this experience.Second - I will never, ever, ever complain about the condition of roads in Pennsylvania again.
So we arrive at the restaurant - by now I’m tired and my spine needs realignment but even as haggard as I felt then (keep in mind I had also been on a plane for 15 hours), all of that was washed away with the meal.I don’t think I realized how hungry I really was - and hungry for real food, which is what I received.All day long I had been fed airline food, which was good (really, it was) but I guess I just wasn’t completely satisfied.At this meal I had fried chicken, french fries(!), steamed cabbage, and a coke.It was easily the best meal of the trip to that point (more on the excellent food later too).After eating I felt refreshed, but also very tired.A full belly led to the immediate desire to go to sleep.We left for the Masoka campus soon after eating.
I wish I could tell you the name of the restaurant, but I was so tired that I don’t remember.Plus, it was pitch dark and I could barely see a thing (the power just dimmed down - almost completely out - good thing I’m running on the laptop’s battery!).Long story short, after another bumpy (but confident) ride, we arrived at the Masoka campus and I was led to my apartment.
By US standards, the accommodations here are minimal.I have a two-room apartment (bedroom and seating area) and a bathroom.That’s it - no radio, no TV, etc.There is also a small kitchenette that consists of a sink with two glasses.No refrigerator, no air conditioner, no ice machine, no ceiling fans.The biggest (and best) luxuries I have are hot water and a mosquito net over the bed.It honestly makes me think of all the amenities I take for granted back home.At this point, I’d almost kill for ice cubes in a drink.
It was after midnight local time by this point - Aiwe took her leave and I was on my own until 8 this morning.The first thing I wanted to do was call home to let everyone know I made it and that I was fine.But guess what?No internet and (gulp) no cell phone service!I could not get a signal on my phone! Long story short, after many stressful attempts to fiddle with my phone, I finallly got the bright idea to plug it into the electrical outlet and lo and behold, I picked up thismuch of a signal and dialed home - I left two quick messages on the answering machine (everyone was either at work or school) and immediately felt much better.I won't go into detail about how much I was freaking out however.
So around 1am local time I finally went to bed.I set my alarm for 6am in order to give me enough time to get ready and to clean up - but found that I didn’t *need* to set an alarm because two roosters outside my bedroom window decided to help me out instead.And that was around 5:30.Don’t get me wrong - I’m not complaining one bit.What is funny about the whole thing is that as soon as the roosters were finished it seemed every bird within a mile radius started singing and chirping.To be honest, that is my kind of alarm clock.
It was so nice and cool this morning at sunrise.There was a nice soft breeze and the air seemed cooler - I acutally had a bit of a chill while sleeping and had to use the blanket for a couple of hours.It was so quiet last night - more quiet than I’ve ever experienced.No planes, no cars, no humming from heaters or air conditioners or refrigerators, no electronic noise of any kind.Only crickets.Only crickets.Trying to describe it does it no justice - words just can’t adequatly grab the sensation.
One final note on trying to call home - before I "got smart" and plugged the phone into the wall, I tried to pick up a signal by going outside into the courtyard.Again, only crickets - and as I looked up for a spot clear of any overhanging trees, I saw the stars.It was a completely clear night and I have never seen so many stars.I recognized a couple of constellations, so I knew what I was looking at (they were just in different areas of the sky) but between the depth and clarity of the stars... some areas of the sky looked like spilled powdered sugar on black velvet, they were so clear. Couple that with the almost absolute silence...
Up until that moment I was rather frazzled.I was extremely tired and all I wanted to do was contact home.Here I was, the literal stranger in a strange land, thousands of miles from home in pitch darkness (there were plenty of stars but there was no moon), not knowing anyone and not able to contact anyone I knew to let them know I was alright.So yeah, I'll admit I started freaking a bit - even to the point of wondering why I was here, who was I kidding, I can’t handle something this big, I can’t even make my stupid phone work correctly, etc.But when I went outside and experienced that moment of clarity, things seemed to fall into place (and as I already mentioned I was able to call home).Just as important however, I came to a closer realization that maybe I *can* do this - maybe I can travel so far from home, be placed in an area so different from my own with people so different from those I know, and be successful and have a productive experience that helps them and me.Yeah, maybe I can do this. I'm not sure if I'm completely there yet, but maybe if I give it some time...
Ok I’m rambling and I haven’t even started to discuss what I did today (my first full day) - I’ll stop here to work on a couple of things and come back soon to write about that.
