So Much Happy

Sorry, it has been a busy week so this post is going to be long. Last Friday morning, we visited the Tanzania Tree Seed Agency and listened to them speak about what they do and on issues like deforestation. Many trees are being cut down, burned, and being made into coal so people can make some money, not thinking about the long term effects of their actions. The agency collects around 195 species of seeds, 60% of which are indigenous. We watched them graft some plants, taking part of an adult mango tree so instead of waiting ten years for it to produce fruit, one would only have to wait two or three years. For lunch, we headed to the local agriculture university to eat and talk to some students. After eating, we were led in a discussion relating to gender as well as touched on the topic of HIV/AIDS. It was interesting to talk to them and compare and contrast gender between our cultures. In the afternoon, we came back to the seminary to watch Kadeghe play soccer in the teachers vs. students match. Santiago even played for the teachers part of the time too. The teachers won 4-1.

Saturday morning, Professor Ben from the agriculture university spoke to us about conservation, national parks, and related issues. Perfect right before heading to Mikumi. Before lunch, we each planted a couple of saplings. After lunch we planted seeds that we bought from the agency the day before. For supper, we went to Dragonaries, a restaurant that serves American style food, so that was entertaining. 

Sunday morning, we went to Sanga Sanga, a Maasai village. Though it was really small. We drove on a bumpy road for about and an hour and a half to get there, so that was a long ride.  When we got there we walked to the well to see how far it was. I estimated about half a mile but I am not certain. We walked back to the church to wait for the service.  I sat next to Kadeghe in the church. While we were waiting, I took a hymnal and pointed out my favorite songs (God Be With You Until We Meet Again [in Swahili] and Mungi ni Penda) which he sang for me. He also sang his favorite song for me too. There also a little booklet of songs in Swahili and English, so I sang Lord of the Dance and Keep Me Burning for him.  The service was short compared to the other because it started much later and was a smaller congregation.  The people were both Maasai and Berabi (spelling?), so it was neat to see the two groups together. While walking to the town center, I ended up in the middle of a group of young Maasai girls. I said a simple "Habari?" to one and with her shy response, she handed me a simple, yet beautiful necklace. I wish I could have better conveyed my gratitude of her gesture better than just "Asante, asante sana." When we got the center, we got to watch both groups sing and dance before we were served lunch. We finally got to eat at four in the afternoon. Before left, a letter was read to us from the son of one of the leaders. Kadeghe was translating for some people and the speaker was talking about how each group was happy that we were there, that the old people and the children were happy, and going on, so as he was translating said, "So much happy," which has now become on of our catch phrases for the trip. Before going to the seminary we met Emi, a widow with several children of her own and a few other people at the house where she lives.  As a class, we are purchasing some adjacent land of the house for her to make a garden. In the evening, I was fortunate to Skype with my family for a while including my grandma, uncle, aunt and two cousins. It was nice to wish my grandma and mom a Happy Mother's Day that way.

 On Monday, we left to go to Mikumi National Park. We did a early evening safari after checking into the lodge. The sky was so clear, an stars were bright after supper, that we spent some time admiring them. We saw the Milky Way Galaxy,band found the False Cross, Southern Cross, and the Big Dipper upside-down. Tuesday morning, we went out a little after six. We went back to the lodge for breakfast before going out again before lunch. We rested in the afternoon, and took another early evening safari. That night, the girls that I was staying in the cabin with and I heard a loud noise outside, and when we shone our light behind our porch to see and elephant about twenty feet away, as well as lots of impala. It was kind of eerie because one could really only see their eyes. Wednesday morning, we went out early in the morning again. Overall, we saw baboons, elephants, zebras, impala, water buffalo, wildebeast, giraffes, silver-backed jackals, hippos, crocodiles, a couple of lionesses, and lots of different birds. Wednesday during the sunrise, we got to see a beautiful rainbow, so vibrant one could even see the purple band.

On the way to Udzungwa, we stopped at a snake park. It was kind of scary, because the cages for the poisonous snakes were not nearly as good as US standards. At the end, we were got the chance to hold the python, which was pretty cool. After checking in at Udzungwa, we had a short steep hike to a small waterfall. We even got to swim in it. The ground was wet while we were hiking so it was quite challenging. Thursday, we hiked to Sanje Falls. I even went all the way to the top where we got to eat lunch. Though this hike was not as steep, it was much longer. The climb was worth it because the view from the top was incredible. Today, we drove back to the seminary and just had a relaxing afternoon and evening.

Mambo?

On Tuesday,  there was class in the morning. We got out a little early to walk into Morogoro to eat at a restaurant. While waiting, I walked with another girl and the two professors for my class farther up the mountain. We came across a waterfall. A young man led us directly to the waterfall. We even got to climb it. At times, it was quite the challenge because of the rain not to long before made it muddy. Because of the mud on my shoes, I slipped a couple. Thankfully, I did not hurt myself. I worried the professors more then anything though.  The view from the mountain side was absolutely beautiful. We even climbed the waterfall. The water was cool. By the time, we climbed up to the other end of the trial and walked back down to the restaurant, the chips mayai was ready. The food took so long that we messed afternoon classes so we just rested.

 Wednesday, we visited Faraja Trust Fund which works with HIV/AIDS prevention and education. I thought it was interesting that one of the ways they educated youth was red business cards with a list of risky behaviors. Someone can give their friend a "Red Card" for risky behavior, going on their love for football (soccer). Afterwards we ate at a restaurant, where I got to try Tangawizi, a ginger soda pop. After eating, we went to the supermarket.

Today was the last day of Swahili classes. My group asked Agnes, our teacher about dating here which was quite interesting. For her, one does not have friends of the opposite gender. They might text or talk but in public if a guy and a girl are seen together it is believed they are together. If a guy likes a girl then he can ask her to lunch or something but then the girl owes the guy, usually expected in the form of sex. After classes in the afternoon, we went up to the orphanage again. I love watching the kids play with all of us. On the way back to the seminary, I talked with Santiago, a student at the Swahili school from Columbia. He is a priest who studied English in Kenya before coming here to learn Swahili. He is going back to Kenya for a mission. Though at times communication was a little challenging it was interesting to get to talk to him about what he is doing and share with him about myself. At the market yesterday, our professor bought a pineapple to share and the two boys from the class were keeping it on their stoop. Today, it went missing. After our choir practice tonight, we sent them on a scavenger hunt going to the rest of the group and the professors to get it back. We all had some fun and a good laugh. When they finally finished, the one boy cut it up using the Maasai knife to share it with everyone. There's nothing like fresh pineapple.

Habaro za usiku?

It has been a very busy few days. On Saturday morning, we drove to a youth prison. I learned that it was the only youth prison in Tanzania. It is for those between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one. When we first arrived, he listened to the head officer talk about the prison. Unlike most of the other prisons, there was no wall surrounding the complex. Instead of using militaristic methods, this prison uses psychological methods. Instead of having an officer/prisoner relationship, they want it to be like a father/son or teacher/trainee relationship. Because the conditions are better there then other prisons, the youth are less likely to run away. The prison also helps them finish their education if they need to do so.  After his talk, we donated a laptop to the prison. However, I was the one who got to hand it to him. So when he saw me pulling it out of my bag he got so excited and he remembered my name from our introductions.  We also donated a soccer ball and pump. After giving the donations we were given a tour. The dorms were a little tight and the mattresses were just on the floor, though each on did have a mosquito net. The youth get their meals through a small window but it sounds like they only get one meal per day. Though I am sure the conditions at the youth prison are better than other prisons, I do not think that the conditions there were not as nice as they wanted us to believe.

After visiting the prison, we walked a little ways to a Maasai cattle market.  Seeing all of the cattle and people for was crazy. I observed that the larger the wholes in the ear the older the person was or the more status he or she had.  I learned that some people come from eighty miles away. There were also goats and sheep. The sheep have really fat tails because that is where they store water instead of a hump like the cattle.  It was really hot that day so we found a place to get a pop and drink it in the shade. We order some goat to be roasted as well and placed an order for some chips mayai. Chips mayai is basically French fries in eggs. It is a little greasy at times but not to bad. After our sodas, we walked around the market some more as we waited for the food to be ready.  Once it was ready, we trickles into the little huts. To wash our hands, there was a teapot and some soap, which we were pretty sure was meant for laundry. Someone would pour the water on your hands, and you would dip your fingers in the soap, get more water poured on and then let them air dry. After eating our chips mayai, Kadhege cut the meat off the goat neck and leg. I liked the leg meat much better because it was much leaner. Kadhege is a young man who works as a teacher at the seminary who goes around with us. He translates for us a lot. We are really appreciative of all that he does for us.

On Sunday, we drove to a Maasai village for church.  Driving up, it was interesting to see a cell phone tower among the rather traditional houses. When we arrived, we were served tea and flat bread as we wait for more people to show up for the service.  Surprisingly, the congregation was mostly made up of women and children.  This church had a synthesizer. There were several different groups that sang. The funniest was the lady that lip-synced to a couple of songs. Paster Herb, our contact, gave the sermon and captivated the people. As a group, we sang a few songs we had prepared.  During the service, we stood up front to be greeted too.  The service lasted about three hours however, it does not feel like that long because of the energy. For a about half an hour after the service, we stood outside greeting people. The children were really shy at first. Once they gathered their courage, they would come and touch our arms. They loved stroking our skin. They also enjoyed feeling our hair. Most of all they loved pretending not to want their picture taken and them giggling when they looked at their picture. They even attempted to take pictures as well. We were served lunch after this fellowship.

Monday was our second day of classes. Learning is pretty intense and overwhelming at times but I like it. After afternoon class, we took donations up to the orphanage. It was like Christmas morning for them. There was something for all of them, stuffed animals, books, coloring books with crayons and colored pencils, balls, and more. We were having as much fun as they were. Well that is all I will write about for now. I will write about yesterday and today with tomorrow.

Jambo!

I am so fortunate to be back in such a wonderful country that means so much. I am loving this trip as much as my other. Though they are different, there are still so many similarities. The accommodations for the Lutheran Junior Seminary are pretty much the same; instead of just one big room with a bathroom, there is a small common room with a small bedroom and the bathroom.  The seminary is near the base of some mountains so there a beautiful view. As the clouds clear over the peaks and the sun shines upon them, it is truly a wondrous sight. Our first day on site, we were free to explore the grounds and we later went on a group walk to take some of it all in. 

Today was our first day of Swahili class. Our instructor Chuma began with telling us a couple of theories about the origins of the language which was pretty interesting. Swahili is a Bantu language and uses 15 of the 22 possible noun groups for Bantu languages. We started with learning the first eleven of them. We followed that with different forms of greetings, which in Tanzanian culture is extremely important because they greet people they know, as well as strangers. We also learned how to say what are name is and that we are American, responses to questions that maybe quite frequent. We also went over some other nouns and how to form the nouns and sentences. In the afternoon, we were split into groups of four to get more individualized practice in the conversation of the information we learned in the morning. After class, we walked to a nearby orphanage to play with the children. I could tell we were enjoying it and having as much fun as the children. I know everyone cannot wait to go back and bring along the donations next time. After supper, we had another choir practice. We  pretty pleased with how we are doing.  Until next time.

Packing

I leave for Tanzania on May 1, so my goal is to be completely packed before Monday. This is my goal because in general, or at least the last two smaller trips I have been on recently (that I would like to make a couple posts about, maybe after packing?, we'll see), I stayed up super late (like 2 or 3 am late with early mornings {4 am and 6 am} packing. However, that may have been due partially to be a busy college student, whereas now, I am on break.
I will follow this post up with tips for packing.