"Goin' to chapel and we're... gonna get maaaried"

Saturday, January 16

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.

Bad kitty

No phone, no lights, no motor cars... not a single luxury

Ok, so maybe it isn't that bad but still...

Saturday, January 9, 2010

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...

UPDATE (02/05/10) Well, I was close - according to Article #19 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, released in 1948:

• 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

Getting acclimated...

Thursday, January 7, 2010

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.

Update, update update...

Yeah... well, about that. I noticed it has been one month to the day since I last updated - online anyway. So here is a disclaimer/special announcement!

I continued to work on blog updates while I was on the trip, however access to the internet in Tanzania - and in the Kilimanjaro region in particular - was spotty at best. It definitely was not guaranteed and it certainly was not able for updating this blog and uploading multimedia content for said blog on a regular basis.

That said, the remaining posts you see on this blog regarding Tanzania have been "back-posted" (for lack of a better term). That is, I'm taking the entries I wrote on the spot in TZ and posting them today. Only minor, if any, editing to the posts has been conducted.

So my apologies for not updating on the fly while in Tanzania, but sometimes you just have to go with what you have. IOW, hakuna shida.

On the way to Tanzania

So I’m at Dulles airport now, waiting for my flight to Amsterdam and then on to Kilimanjaro. I arrived about an hour and a half ago and made it through security with no problems or issues. It was pretty hectic and I had to go through the scanner twice - my belt and my pen kept setting the alarm off. But the good news (I guess) is that my bags didn’t set anything off or need any extra searching. Considering all of the electronics I am carrying, I guess I got lucky. It is about 4:30 now and the plane is supposed to begin boarding in about an hour or so. I’ve been to the currency exchange here in the airport and have 24 Euros to my name in addition to the remaining US cash that I have. I would not recommend exchanging cash at the airport - the rates are pretty lousy and they charged an $8 service fee. I’ll exchange the rest of my cash in TZ once I get there. At the very least I have enough for a cup of coffee in Amsterdam - we’ll see.

Lucky me - there is free internet at Dulles through January 15th! Of course I don’t trust it a whole lot but at least it lets me update all of this.

Its been a long day - woke up a little before 5, left Selinsgrove about 9 and got here about 3:30. In between I met up with an old friend of mine from high school. He is letting me leave my car at his place while I’m gone, which saves me about $300 by my best estimate. So I figured the nice thing to do would be to take him to lunch (which I did, thank you very much Susquehanna University).

The drive down to Virginia was a snap - I went route 15 all the way and other than a little bit of construction and delay south of Harrisburg (natch) it was smooth sailing. Route 15 dumped me off in Leesburg, VA which was about 10 miles from my friend’s house which is about 5 miles from the airport. All in all it has been a pretty long day but not as stressful as it could have been.

My stress level surrounding the upcoming part of the trip is still pretty high. I’m not necessarily concerned about the upcoming flights (7 and a half hours to Amsterdam; 8 hours to Kilimanjaro) but I’m not crazy at all about sitting on a plane for so long. Add to that the time differences between here and there and I’m afraid things might get pretty kooky. I’m also a bit stressed about not knowing what to expect when I arrive. I guess the best thing to do is to play it by ear - I’ve prepped as much as I can and I’m glad I’m going. I’m also a bit stressed about leaving the family behind too however. I know they’ll be ok but I guess its just the principle of being gone for so long, and so far away.

Well anyway - I better get this posted before I lose any more battery power. I will update as I can - check the Twitter update on the left side of the blog. It might be easier for me to update my whereabouts that way.

BTW, my suitcase was 7 pounds overweight - mainly due to the extra school supplies and gifts I’m bringing. For those not in the know, 7 pounds overweight cost $100 at check-in. Thanks very much again, Susquehanna! :)

Updating a blog

... is a pain sometimes. There is a lot going on right now, with final grades due soon as well as the approaching holiday season. To pile on, I leave for Kilimanjaro three weeks from tomorrow. I'm putting some finishing touches on upgrading/modifying/securing my laptop computer and over the next three weeks I'll update my contacts on my cell phone and work on packing.

I picked up a couple of smaller things for the trip today - smaller, yet just as important as anything else. Got some more Immodium, some Tums, some toilet paper (ELCA's suggestion, not mine), and some pre-packaged, additive-enhanced snacks (peanut butter crackers - yum!). A friend of mine told me it might be a good idea to pack some pre-packaged snacks for both the flight over as well as for my time on the ground. According to him, sometimes a snack from home just hits the spot. If I can find a jumbo pack of Slim Jim's, I think I'm in business.

I think what might be scaring me the most is just the sheer amount of stuff I'm packing. I'll only be there for three weeks but it feels as if I'm packing for three months. I think I'll be able to stuff everything into one suitcase and one backpack, but it will be a tight fit. Part of the problem is that I am bringing several gifts for my host and her students - gifts such as school supplies and a notebook computer. The way it looks now, I'll head to Tanzania with a pretty heavy load and come back home much lighter. The school supplies alone should reduce my load quite a bit.

I guess I'm being a little AR about all of this because this is the first time I've ever set foot off of the North American continent, and I just don't know what to expect. I've heard and read a variety of stories discussing what Tanzania, Kilimanjaro, and Moshi will be like and when I think about it, it makes my head spin. Add the wonderful joy of 19+ hours of flight into the mix and the spinning continues. The longest flight I have ever taken before was over 5 hours from Chicago to Vancouver several years ago. I know I need to bring several things to read and make sure my batteries are all charged before the flight.

I really have only two more things to do before the trip. For starters I need to make an appointment with my doctor to have my ears cleaned. Say what you will about that. Second, I need to get my hair cut before I leave. Not a buzz cut, but very short at least. I have to consider the very real possibility that I won't get to bathe every day while I am there and for me, the shorter the hair the better. I'll probably hold off on the hair cut until right before I go.

Tanzania is 8 hours ahead of my home-based time zone (Eastern Standard). That means right now at 9pm EST, it is 5am there - jet lag is another thing that worries me some. And don't get me started on leaving the family behind, the drive from home to IAD, missing the first two weeks of the semester, planning for at least 8 lectures to classes in Tanzania... no rest for the wicked, they say.

Are you freaking kidding me?

I know its been awhile since I last posted but between the start of the holidays, working on grading, and the usual hub-bub it seems time has been slipping a bit. Other than needing to drop in to keep this blog somewhat active however, I recently found some disturbing news about the area I'm traveling to in January. It seems that there is a kind of "trade" in the selling and purchasing of the body parts of albinos in Kenya and Tanzania. Read this and tell me it doesn't make you sick -

For those not in the know, albinos are human beings - humans with little to no melanin in the layers of their skin. As a result, persons with albinism have very white skin that usually burns easily. In addition, albinos tend to have very light colored hair and light blue eyes. They're pretty easy to spot in a crowd, and I imagine even easier in an area populated mostly by darker skinned individuals. Not only does melanin act as a darkening pigment for most skin, it also acts as a defense against harmful UV radiation. As you might imagine, persons with albinism get sunburned very quickly and often suffer tremendous pain as a result. The constant threat of skin cancer is just one of the health issues every albino has to live with. Albinism is natural and exists among many animal species. As if living in Africa with albinism were not bad enough, like I said apparently there is a trade in the exchange of albino body parts. We're talking about hacking albinos into pieces and selling their body parts to those who believe they bring good luck. Of course it is irresponsible to blame the entire populations of both countries for the maniacal acts of a handful of their citizens. And arrests have been made (although as far as I know at this point, charges still have not been filed). But give me a break - in this day and age, you mean to tell me that there are still some people somewhere who believe in this? And that they're actually willing to go as far as literally chopping up another human being into pieces and selling those pieces - and that there are actually people out there who would buy them? EPIC WTF???? Why does this issue hit me hard? A couple of reasons I guess - for starters I can't stand to see members of any minority group persecuted simply because they are different. For me, this is an almost visceral feeling. I can try to explain how I feel, using terms such as "unfair" and "just plain wrong", but that doesn't work effectively for me. This is a feeling that just seems to occupy every fiber and molecule of my being - it quite frankly just pis**s me off to the very core. I guess this is one of those things I can "feel" better than I can "tell".

I also feel I have a bit of a personal stake in this. I'm not sure if anyone knows this or not, but yours truly has a skin condition known as vitiligo. Vitiligo is the partial loss of melanin in the skin. IOW, my skin is dark in some places, light-to-white in others. And when I say "white", I mean albino-white. I don't cover it up - basically I don't care what anyone thinks or says about it if they notice. My vitiligo is something that I came to terms with a long time ago (get a few beers in me and I can tell you some stories). When I was younger I would tan like nobody's business in my "normal" areas - but my white areas would burn pretty badly if I didn't protect them. The joke most summers was that I would soon be entering my "Neapolitan" stage - chocolate (brown skin), vanilla (white skin), and strawberry (slightly burned pink skin).

In a sense I've always felt some attachment to the albino community as a result - even though my hair is dark and my eyes are brown. I've known several albinos in the past and I still consider them my friends, so when I hear something like this it gets to me. When I hear what is specifically happening and the subsequent "fleeing for your life" thing as a result, it really makes me mad.

Like this kind of mad

So I've decided that when I am in Tanzania I want to learn more about this and I want to see what I can do to help stop this madness as much as I can. Hopefully I'll be able to post updates about it here. I can say one thing with complete honesty - if on the freak chance that someone comes after me for my body parts... f*ck that sh*t. I'll douse myself with gasoline and set myself on fire before I let that happen.