I’m Dreaming of a Wet Christmas…

Since Sr. Valentina is now back at the orphanage, I went to visit today. I met some of the children and learned that not all are true orphans. Some children have a parent still alive but the parent cannot care for others because s/he is drunk or mentally unstable. There are also a few children who are mentally handicapped and are at the orphanage because their parents did not take them back during the school holiday (they go to school in Singida). However, there are about 40 children who live at the orphanage where they have a few cows and a very large “garden”. Actually, most of the land around the 2 buildings (1 for girls, 1 for boys) is planted with a food crop, especially banana trees. Sr. Valentina planted the trees and I am told it is because she is Chagga (from up near Kilimanjaro) and bananas are a staple crop for them. Many PCVs, especially teachers, will pay school fees for a student out of their monthly living allowance. Sr. Valentina said she would find a good student for me to support, probably a girl. By going through her, I can remain anonymous but still ensure that the student is taking their studies seriously (threatening to stop paying school fees is a great motivator here).

In true Christmas fashion, I baked a lot today but still need to finish tomorrow. I made bread, peanut butter oatmeal cookies, and Snickerdoodles (cinnamon & sugar coated cookies). I’m just bummed I couldn’t get into the computer lab today because the lock was changed. It appears that they needed to get into the room while I was “not available” this week and I must have had the only key – they had to cut/break through a steel lock loop and remove the lock in the door (2 locks total). I would have given them my key if I’d known they didn’t have one.

Christmas Eve mass was at 22:00 (10pm) so it was dark out and a bit scary walking to the church. I realized I should have taken the slightly more traveled route and hoped that any people sleeping on the side of the path (my light beam caught one) would stay there. It had also rained so the slippery mud was a bit of a challenge to walk in but I made it to the church. I tried to think of the rain as being like snow back home on Christmas. At the beginning of mass, the church bells were rung and the sound really seemed to signify the joy of the occasion. The church is decorated in white and yellow with a nativity to the side of the altar that has banana leaves arched over it. Though the typical Christmas carols I’m used to were not sung, there did seem to be a Kiswahili version of Gloria in Excelsis Deo that I enjoyed. Quite miraculously, the mass was a little shorted than the regular masses I have been to here; maybe because the priest is different. After mass I had more trouble navigating down the muddy hill but I ended up following a group of people and found a better route to the church.

While walking today, I couldn’t help but sing Christmas carols to myself…at least those parts I could remember.

Masai Country

Never did hear back from PC about the trip until late Sunday so of course I couldn’t officially go. Luckily my close friend *ahem* Manderz does not have the same restriction and was able to take advantage of the opportunity. She told me all about it and I will relate her experiences here. (She is a dead ringer for me so you may think it is me in the pictures).

Manderz woke up early, biked to her friends to drop off a key so her pet could be looked after, and went to the 07:00 mass at the hostel. After chai (i.e. breakfast), she got into the Land Cruiser with Fr. Magnus, Sr. Valentina, and Patrisi (driver). They took the backroads way to Dareda so Manderz was able to see more of the countryside. From Dareda, they continued to Babati then turned towards the north again with the first stop at a tiny little church just off the road near the Monduli area. They were quite late but the people were very happy to see them. The tiny church was packed with Masai women and children…and one man not counting Fr. or the other minister guy. Manderz sat next to a bunch of children toward the front who seems intimidated by her; probably the first white person they’d seen up close. In true Tanzanian hospitality, they were invited to a nearby little shop where Manderz, Fr. Magnus, and Sr. Valentina were given chai and chapati.

Following the snack, they were directed to a small group of houses way off the main road where some sort of transition celebration was taking place. The men were standing straight and jumping in place in a (stereotypical) Masai dance when they arrived and were introduced. Someone asked if they had a camera and took pictures of Fr. Magnus, Sr. Valentina, and Manderz with the group of Masai. Manderz even had a beaded disc from one of the women placed around her neck and thinks she was proposed to by at least one man. Even out here they were served sodas as they visited but had to finally move on to Meserani with a gift of a goat for the home for runaway girls run by the sisters where they stayed for the past 4 nights. The girls are 17 or younger but were being married off. I have heard that life for Masai girls and women is very hard. The girls at the home wanted to continue their studies rather than get married. Apparently a couple of the girls are technically married. To some, 17 may not seem too young to be married (*cough* Utah) but girls here (and kids in general) tend to mature much slower than in America and Manderz noticed the same is true for these girls; they still look like girls, not young women. Right now the girls are at the home caring for the animals and garden because the schools are on break. I am told that most will return to boarding schools when it is over.

Most the next 2 days (Mon-Tues) was spent going back and forth between Mbuyuni, Nanja, and Meserani to supervise some construction. A primary school and Benedictine hostel are being built at Mbuyuni where they helped to build a church recently. Near Nanja is a new church that will be receiving a catechist at the beginning of next year (2011) and the living quarters are still being finished. Between the 2 days, Manderz was asked a lot for things by local children (Mbuyuni), learned how to bargain better (& acceptable prices for some souvenir items), and saw a few methods of rainwater control. The souvenirs (necklaces, bracelets, carved soapstone bowls, and paper artwork) will be sent to a sister in Luzern (Switzerland) who will sell them and send the profit back to the projects here in Tz. On the Benedictine hostel & school near Nanja are gutters that lead to large cisterns to collect water when it does finally rain; it’s still teaching us. Also near Nanja was a tree planting project that is helping to control erosion and well placed concrete troughs that direct water to a big cistern in the ground. Being an Earth Science nerd too, Manderz noticed how the rift valley was much broader up there with many little triangular cinder cones and a large composite volcano in the distance, Mt. Meru.

Wednesday was shopping day in Arusha. While the Land Cruiser got a couple of new tires, Manderz went with Valentina and Fr. Magnus to Shoprite. She said it was really weird to be in a western style supermarket after 3 months away. Just at the entrance there were toys like remote control cars for people to buy as Christmas presents. Although there were many wonderful things to choose from, Manderz didn’t want to impose on her ride and just bought a juice box, packet of soup, Italian herbs, and 250mL of extra virgin olive oil. The last 2 were crucial as they were given to me as a Christmas gift (I’m part Italian). After Sr. Valentina and Patrisi picked up some notebooks and pencils for some local school children (to encourage them to go to the government school and not the Muslim school), they made a stop at a safi bookstore. There was a large selection of books, including many in English, and Manderz picked up the NECTA (National Examination Council of Tanzania Association) exam books for Chemistry ad Physics for me as well as a Standard 1 science book so I can practice Kiswahili in my general subject. Fr. Magnus then bought them some delicious samosas from a nearby bistro (it must cater to tourists b/c Manderz said it looked like one you would find in America or Europe). On the way back to Meserani, they stopped at the Archdiocese complex on the outskirts of Arusha so Fr. Magnus could stock up on wafers. Apparently not only is the church large, but there is a good size community of sisters there; not sure about brothers.

They headed back to Gitting today but it took them forever as Fr. Magnus made sure the construction projects were taken care of (including some small things at the girls’ home) and the workers were paid. There was quite a bit of lightning to the south and they hit some rain but most of the rain had occurred before they drove through so the roads were very wet. Patrisi proved to be an excellent driver as he maneuvered around/through deep puddles and up slippery mud banks.

She also wanted me to note that traveling with an Austrian meant she was served much non-Tanzanian fare like pickles, macaroni, sardines, and fruit cake (a good one, not like the horror stories you hear this time of year).

Happy 50th Birthday Mom!

Can’t believe you’ve had 70” of snow already in December. Enjoy!

Fr. Magnus

I went to mass this morning at the hostel and the priest was white! Father Magnus is originally from Austria but came to Tanzania back in ’59 – before my mom was even born. We chatted for a little bit after mass, mostly in English. So this is the priest the sisters keep mentioning.

At home, I skinned and cooked some peanuts. I put them in a little water with a bit of salt and boiled them. When the water had evaporated, they had a milky sweet taste. Definitely have to try this again. I also dug swale #3 but it was really slow going; probably didn’t help that the slope created an optical illusion so I though the placement should be one way while looking downslope but another when looking upslope. It doesn’t really matter but I can’t help my perfectionism sometimes. Other foodstuffs I made today were corn tortillas and chocolate cake. They could use a little work to get right but both came out aright.

This evening, when I went to use the computer, I was summoned to the hostel. Fr. Magnus invited me to accompany him and Sr. Valentina to a home for runaway Masai girls and some other projects they are involved with along the road to Arusha. Sounds like a possible avenue for a secondary project; “great” thinks I. Except they are leaving tomorrow morning after the 07:00 mass at the hostel. I sent a text to PC asking for permission to go and made plans to depart while I waited for a reply. Kitty needs more than just dried fish the next 4 days – baking powder biscuits – check. Kitty needs someone to feed him – Uma is willing – check. Mom’s 50^th birthday is tomorrow – e-card sent – check. 2^nd master needs the schedule typed – check. You get the idea. Still waiting for a reply text.

Scan + Chemicals

I’ve been trying to get this form filled out for Peace Corps to take money out of my readjustment allowance to pay off a small school loan and need to get it sent in and approved asap. The post office is a long trip and the electronic pdf from PC gave us cannot be filled in on the computer. I tried e-mailing the information but was told I had to fill in the form – print, fill out, scan, and e-mail. Dear PC office, do you realize how difficult this can be in a small village? Miracle upon miracles I was able to get it working. It only took me a couple of hours too, which isn’t bad in the States and I had to contend with the power sometimes getting so weak the computer would shut off. I just hope they approve it quickly so my bill is paid.

I have a stocked chemicals room! I can’t believe it! Met up w/ my 2^nd master and he showed me the lab and store room and gave me keys to them. The lab has sinks but no pipe from them to the trough in the floor. Something to think about when giving safety lessons. The storeroom has dozens of containers of chemicals so I made a list of them that I can reference when making lesson plans. There are also stands, burettes, flasks, and test tubes. It’s a veritable mecca of supplies. There are also various dead critters like crickets and lizards…and it’s not a biology lab.

Tonight I used some beans I cooked to create some bean burgers. They could use a little work but I didn’t use any egg to hold it together and they tasted great when I added Buck’s Seasoning. Good ol’ Buck’s. Kitty was playing with something and I thought he finally caught a mouse or small rat. Nope. Seems he caught a bat, probably the one that flew in the house last night. Apparently he likes catching flying things because he’s always catching insects and eating them. I’m still proud.

Print

I dug the 2nd swale today for my garden and it was much easier since it hasn’t rained in a couple of days. As I was working, a guy stopped by to give me unsolicited advice. He had just finished his degree in Agricultural Science and seemed to assume that I know nothing about gardens. I’m pretty sure he thought my swales and berms were meant to keep out chickens or something. I tried explaining how the water is routed around the garden and given a chance to seep into the ground but he only seemed to understand a little. When he left he said he would come by again sometime to advise me. Um, thanks buddy.
We have a water shortage right now, which doesn’t make sense because it rained heavily on Monday. Luckily I should be able to last a few days on what water I have and not have to wait 30 min to fill up part of a bucket at our trickling pipe.
There is a printer in the computer room that I tested today. It printed! I find it amazing that I am out in the middle of nowhere and can print…at least from Word, still can’t get it to print our PCV contact sheet from Excel…
Uma made cinnamon rolls yesterday and offered me some. I biked over there for a double treat of delicious rolls and good conversation. So glad I have my bike to make the trip easier/faster and for a taste of home.
For some reason the electricity wasn’t working right tonight (weak so only some lights outside work) and a bat flew in the house. Outside, I’m pretty sure I saw an owl land on the roof of my choo but it flew off as I went to grab my glasses. I’d never seen a wild owl before (through no fault of Snapper’s) so I’m pretty stoked.

Mopping

Jovin left today but my headmaster is back from the conference in Arusha; he made sure to let me know when I was in the computer room. I let him know that I put the antivirus program on and there weren’t any problems. He seemed satisfied.
Much of my day was spent cleaning. Not only did I wash clothes (remember I do this by hand), I fully cleaned my concrete floors. First I swept the whole place out. Then I made use of the bleach I’d bought and “mopped” the floor in sections. Mopping consists of swiping a cloth back and forth across the floor in small arcs; it is also by hand. It felt good to finally clean my floor and disinfect it.