Through the Seasons

I’m so excited.  One of the biggest challenges here is church.  There are many Swahili churches to choose from.  But.  They’re in Swahili.  Haha.  Not only that, the teaching is sometimes…off…  (Such as…  One preacher claimed the point of the Good Samaritan is that you shouldn’t be out walking alone…) 

But we just found out they are starting an English Christian Fellowship which means it is run by the “ex-pats” (Westerners) in the area.  It will be every other week on Sunday afternoon.  Us mothers have a plan to maybe rotate kiddie duty so we don’t all miss the service every week.  I mean, we can still pay attention to the service but it would be a treat to be able to fully focus on worship for an hour a month.  (That doesn’t seem like too lofty a goal, does it?)

So I’m grateful to God for providing this opportunity for the English speakers in this area.  I pray the locals here who also don’t speak Swahili as their first language will one day be able to worship God in their own language as well.

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We have finally figured out how to get ourselves, our baby, our dogs, and our stuff to Mbeya from Dar, which is no easy feat! 

We know of no one making that trip around that time who we could ride with and because of how many of us there are now if someone was going they probably wouldn’t have room for us anyway.  We usually take a 16 hour bus ride but the dogs can’t go on the bus so that’s out.  Our car won’t be ours until June so that’s not an option either. 

So we hired a guy with a truck to take our stuff to Mbeya for us.  He should get there by the time we do so ideally when we get to Mbeya our stuff will be there waiting for us.  At worst, it will arrive shortly after.  That’s if we arrive on time ourselves.  The five of us are taking the train.  Our neighbors in Mbeya happen to also be taking the train the same time we are so we’ll all be together although we’ll each have our own sleeper compartments.

We’ve heard the train is both good and bad.  It’s much better than the bus because you’re not stuck in a seat for hours on end.  You can get up, walk around, use the bathroom, and get food from the restaurant on board.  (Unless they run out of food.)  The down side is that it’s hot, bumpy, and not always (or even usually) prompt.  (Of course the bus is also hot and bumpy – it just doesn’t last as long.)  The train ride should take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours.  The best part, besides freedom of movement, is the view.  We’ve heard it’s beautiful so that’ll be a fun experience.  I’m actually somewhat looking forward to it.  If I’m going to be able to enjoy it. 

We leave Charlotte at noon on Saturday the 26th and arrive in Dar at 10pm on Sunday the 27th after 2 short layovers and over 20 hours of flying time.  There is a 7 hour time difference between NC and TZ right now.  We then take a taxi (actually a small bus due to the bulk of us and our stuff) from the airport to our friends’ house where our neighbors (who are taking the train with us) are also staying.  The next morning we will get up and catch the train that is scheduled to leave at 11am (but who knows when it will really leave).  After the 24-48 hour train ride we get a ride or taxi or something from the train station to our home in Mbeya.  Yes.  Our home.  Aahhhhh! 

With all that traveling and jet lag with it, I wonder what of the trip I’ll even remember.  We should have our cell phones set up before we get on the train and that should give us internet access so we should be able to keep you updated as we go – but – that is all yet to be seen.  It will be a long journey indeed but the end result will be worth it.  I’m so looking forward to setting up our home and getting settled in.

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As I think about going home I can’t help but think about some of the luxuries we’ll be experiencing again. I’ll list out some of those I’ve thought of so far…

- We can buy a piece of fruit or a vegetable – and then – eat it. Amazing. You really have to sanitize your fruits and veggies here. (I realize in the States it’s good to wash these things too – mainly because of insecticides and things like that. Here you’re not only washing but sanitizing and you’re trying to get rid of diseases and parasites.)

- When we want to mail something we can walk to the mailbox and drop it in. Convenient! Oh and we could probably bet on that piece of mail arriving to its destination.
- We won’t be sleeping under a mosquito net. These look kind of fun and romantic. Some people in the States decorate with them. But here it’s a matter of safety. It’s important that the mosquito net completely surrounds the bed with no openings, goes all the way to the floor, has no holes, no mosquitoes are actually inside the thing with you instead of on the outside, and that you don’t lie against it at all. And if you have to get out of bed it requires you quickly raising the net, crawling out from under it, and lowering it back down to the floor. When we’re in the States we’ll be able to just sleep, get up, sleep, get up…

- We’ll be able to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night without scouring the area for unwanted critters that may have snuck in overnight. We could, technically, get up and go to the bathroom at night without turning any lights on. Here I keep the light in the bathroom on all night so I can search for bugs as I’m walking in. Oh. And I’m pretty confident there won’t be any geckos in the house in the States. Geckos are harmless but when you stagger into the bathroom half asleep and see something scurry away – it can give you a heart attack!!

- Fast food will be – um – fast.  The quickest restaurant here in town (1 of only about 3 restaurants total) is called “Hasty Tasty”.  The food is good.  But hasty?  Not by a long shot.  The service here in Tanzania is good – just slow…

- The temperature will be regulated about everywhere we go.

- There will be plenty of living, relaxing space to enjoy. As well as furniture! Since we’ve been at a campsite all this time, and I’m sure you wouldn’t expect otherwise, we have no couch to sit on. That means when we’re at the banda we’re either in a plastic patio chair or on the bed and either one can hurt your back after a while. It’ll be soooo nice to sit on the couch in front of a fire drinking hot chocolate. Mmmm…

- I will be able to pick up anything purchased at a store without having to worry about the sanitation of it or the need to wash my hands afterwards. Here, when I buy something – let’s say a bottle of ketchup or carton of milk – there’s no telling what has touched the container. So anytime I touch it afterwards I think of how dirty it probably is and quickly wash my hands afterwards to prevent any unwanted side effects.

- We’ll be driving a borrowed vehicle on beautiful, smooth roads. I saw a picture recently of an American road and gasped. I have almost forgotten what they look like! The main road here in Tanzania goes from coast to border and truly isn’t THAT bad – until you put it beside an American road. That’s when I realize the difference! I probably won’t be bounced around at all in the car while we’re home.

- Speaking of traveling, we’ll be able to drive down the road too without having to stop at police check after police check. I guess there are so many here because the police aren’t driving around everywhere. I really don’t know. I feel like we never get too far until we’re stopped again either by those police checks or big speed bumps in the middle of the road – or dodging a pot hole.

- There will be an abundance of things available to us in the States that we’re used to having. That will be a luxury and at the same time we’ll have to be careful. We’re already repeating to ourselves, “We do not need one of everything. We do not need one of everything.”

- Internet service will be reliable AND affordable – neither of which describes the service here.

- I can pick up the phone and make free or reasonably priced phones calls in the States. Not so here! Expensive. Expensive. That’s why most people here send text messages instead.

- Our clothes, dishes, and bodies will be washed in CLEAN WATER. At the campsite all of these are washed with river water. That’s right. Brown, stinky river water. Sometimes I wonder what the point is at all. But I realize there is a point so we still wash all these things. And in Mbeya obviously it won’t be like that. It’s just good old “camping life”. We do use bottled water for washing some things, for cooking, and of course for brushing our teeth but if I used it for everything I’d like to use it for (including showers) we’d be broke already!

- I’ll be able to brush my teeth with warm water from the tap. I don’t know why I like to do that but it’s something I’ve missed. It’ll be nice to have an abundance of clean water to drink, cook with, etc.

All this is not to say that being here is terrible for us. It’s definitely not. We’ve adjusted well and the African ways have become somewhat like second nature. Some things we didn’t even consciously adapt to. Some things just are what they are and we immediately became okay about it. Some of the things mentioned are also because we’ve been living at a campsite instead of our own home in Mbeya. We have things to look forward to there as well!

I think the contrast between the two countries has just become more apparent to me now and will be even more so when we first get to the States. The sanitation thing is probably the most drastic difference. It is always on my mind here. Everything I touch. Every hand I shake. I have to be careful not to touch my face or forget to wash my hands thoroughly with soap. It’s like always living during flu season. You think about it when you’re shopping, cooking, visiting, traveling…always, always, always. It’ll be nice to get that off my mind for a period of time.

I always knew that America was a comfortable, luxurious country full of conveniences but now it has become even more obvious. It’ll be interesting to see how “re-entry” will affect us. We really don’t know what to expect and hopefully it will be as smooth going back as it was coming here in the first place.

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(Good Safari)

Well, we got back from the safari to Ruaha National Park safe and sound yesterday afternoon.  We spent the evening unpacking and getting settled back in.  Today we dove back into classes and now we’re totally beat.

The trip was good.  It was interesting to see the scenery between here and there.  It was a 3 hour bumpy ride.  On Saturday evening we got to the campsite and cooked pasta over an open fire.  The next morning we got started at 5:30am.  The drive to the park was a bumpy 30 minute drive.  We saw a few antelope and giraffe on our way there.  (The animals don’t know where the park boundaries are.)

In the park we saw hippos, crocodiles, a fish eagle, giraffe, antelope, dik-diks (dwarf antelope – so cute), warthogs, monkeys, elephants, buffalo, many birds, and another big animal that we’ve yet to identify.  I really wanted to see hippos and they were the first thing we saw.  Everything else was icing on the cake from there although it took us a long time to see elephants.  We saw lots and lots of elephant poo without seeing the animals themselves.  And they’re BIG.  For goodness sakes.

We drove around the park (which was also extremely bumpy – and extremely hot) for over 7 hours before finally stopping at a lodge for lunch.  We were SO tired of being in the car.  The food was good and really rejuvenated us so we’d feel like driving for a few more hours on our way out.  The lodge is called Mwagusi and the price to stay there is staggering!  For residents it is $130 per night PER PERSON.  For non-residents it is $390 per night PER PERSON.  It’s a nice place…um…without air conditioning and electricity is run off solar panels.  The animals come right through the lodge areas though so that’s cool.  We were fine with our $20 per night tent outside the park.  (It had real beds in it and the staff was wonderful!  It was also quiet and peaceful.)  Maybe one day the rates will come back down for the lodges inside and we’ll treat ourselves to a vacation.

The park gate closed at 6:00pm and we went back to the campsite for another pasta dinner.  This time the staff gave us extra food to go with it and our little scraps became quite the meal.  Jonathan and I were in bed at 8:45 that night and slept until 8:30 the next morning.  We had our breakfast of eggs, toast, and cereal then hit the (bumpy, hot) road for the 3 hour journey back to Iringa.

It was really fun to see the animals in the wild and to see them so close.  All the bouncing around a vehicle though I got very tired of and the heat was draining.  I’m sort of glad to be back in a familiar place.  I’m not sure when I’ll get back in a car again! 

We took about 1,000 photos and a few videos.  Jonathan will post the pics on the website soon.  (Don’t worry.  He won’t post them all!)

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We’re back on for safari…  Now we’re leaving today (like – now) and coming back Monday.  Honestly, my personality doesn’t like this on again, off again stuff but I’ll adjust.  Spontaneous I am not.  Maybe this is a test…

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Well, we thought we were going on safari today but the guy we were going with is extremely sick so the trip is off.  Maybe another time…  I’m sort of looking forward to a weekend of relaxing since we were just traveling last weekend too.  I can also do some studying.  Maybe. 

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For the first time since arriving, Jonathan and I will be going on safari! We’re leaving this afternoon, spending all day tomorrow in the game park, then returning sometime Sunday. It should be a fun time away. Hot (very hot) but fun! The park is called Ruhaha and is 3 hours away from the campsite. We’ll camp about 20 minutes outside the park. We should see elephants, giraffe, zebra, birds, impala, warthogs, etc. And if we’re lucky we may see something like a lion or cheetah. I’d really like to see some hippos myself. That would be the biggest treat to me I think. Jonathan, I’m sure, will post lots of pictures!

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A couple of weeks ago we went to church with our friends in Mbeya. What an experience!

The first 2 hours were spent in singing and an occasional, brief word from someone. Then there was a 30 minute sermon followed by more talking and singing. Oh and dancing! Lots of vibrant dancing. Since we were visitors we also had to stand up and introduce ourselves. (Horrible!)

The offering during the service was interesting too. They stand up front and everyone gets up and puts their offering in the basket. Then a man takes it out, counts it, and a little later comes back in to announce the total. The day we were there we didn’t catch the amount but the last time our friends went to that church the total offering was 11,000 shillings which is $10 and our friends gave 2,000 shillings of that total.

After church service everyone goes out front and shakes every single person’s hand. Then they form a circle where they auction off tangible goods that people have brought as their offering. When we were there a lady brought an egg. It was quite sweet and humbling.

The whole experience though was exhausting honestly. That’s just a lot of singing when you don’t come from a background where that’s normal. The fact that everything was in Swahili made it so much worse because you’re exerting so much energy to try to follow (which we hardly did at all).

It became extremely clear that to get the spiritual nourishment we crave, we’re on our own. It also reminded me of the 10 minority languages around Mbeya who don’t know Swahili and their only option for church and Bible is Swahili. It’s exciting to be a part of work that will take the Scripture and make it come alive for them in the language that they understand. And I’m even more grateful now for the fact that I grew up with English preaching, teaching, and Bible. We are so fortunate to have these things! Thanks Mr. William Tyndale. And thank You God for sending him to give us Your Word and for sending us to give Your Word to others.

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Today our class assignment is that we go to town to take care of some sort of “business”… in Swahili of course.  So we took the opportunity to go to the doctor for a prenatal checkup.  It’s been 5 weeks since my last one.

I had a great report!  My last 2 checkups I’ve “gotten in trouble” for not drinking enough water so I have been vigilant about upping that and today I was in the clear.  My iron was low at my last appointment so I’ve been taking iron pills.  Today my iron levels were great.  My blood pressure is still normal and I still don’t have any swelling.  The only “bad” thing was my weight gain.  I’ve gained 4 kilos (almost 9 pounds) in 5 weeks.  That sweet nurse said, “Haiwezikani!”  That means, “It’s impossible!”  AH!  What?!  Well.  Not impossible apparently.  I joked with her that I needed to stop eating.  She got very serious on me then and told me that if I stop eating, the baby will stop growing.  Right.  It’s hard to joke in Swahili…  The baby’s heartbeat was good too.  I wasn’t much worried about that though as much as he moves around now!  So, overall I’m doing well.  I did email the doctor in Dar to see if she had any concern about my weight gain.  My body looks absolutely no different except my tummy.  Jonathan and I may fit another walk into our days.  It would be a nice time together anyway.  Otherwise, I’m just not going to overly worry about it.

This trip to the doctor was different than any of our others though because Jonathan didn’t handle anything for me.  I wouldn’t have let him because I need to practice my Swahili in real life situations… and he had the same idea so that’s good!  I handled the appointment with the receptionist and prepaid (of course).  I spoke to a nurse who was cleaning the waiting room.  I handled the lab time and then did the talking with the nurse during the checkup itself.  She had to ask me a million questions so that was really good practice.  I understood everyone pretty well and they understood me.  The last nurse said that I speak Swahili well.  Heehee…  (I really don’t but for an American I guess I’m doing okay.)  Now there were words here and there that I didn’t know and she would say them in English.  One time she said a word a couple times and I didn’t understand.  Then she said, “Pain.”  Yikes!  What!?  I’m glad she said it in English!  She put this metal funnel thing on my tummy using a little pressure then put her ear on it.  She was listening to the baby’s heartbeat.  Crazy!  Then she got out a little machine to listen to the heartbeat again.  I don’t know why she did it twice unless the little metal thing wasn’t working or something.  Anyway, it was a great time of practice and it really helped my confidence that I was able to communicate there because I can directly compare it to the last time we were there and could hardly say anything and could understand absolutely nothing.  Progress!!

Now we’re at the internet cafe because Jonathan wants to do something online.  I’m sure this is not exactly what the teachers had in mind as we’re just sitting here on our computers…and typing in English but hopefully we won’t be here too long.  We have a little shopping we’d like to get done before we head back for lunch.

Oh and maybe you’ve noticed…  Jonathan figured out how to connect to the internet via his cell phone so we’re able to get online at the campsite now.  That’s why I’ve been able to respond to email more quickly and blog more frequently.  We still have to come to town some though for the big projects because those sort of things are cheaper here.  I do hope to continue keeping you better updated now that I can.  Jonathan has posted a ton of pictures in the photo gallery on our main web page too so check it out!

Nitawaona sasa hivi.  (I will see you soon.)

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And I must remember that!

Outside of our banda is a river. Many days women from the village come to wash clothes, dishes, and their kids. The kids spend most of their time playing and swimming in the water.

One day Jonathan decided to give the kids candy. He did this a few times after with long delays between but at some point it became a little more regular. The kids have discovered the best time to catch him, which is around dusk each evening, so now each and every evening we hear little voices from the river saying, “Jonathan. Jonathan. Jonathan.”

He, of course, doesn’t want to just give them candy every time they ask so he keeps telling them he doesn’t have any candy. A few days he’s also given the families down there beans. They’re very grateful and happy when that happens…but they have yet to ask for beans. It’s always candy. Kids are kids wherever they are I guess.

Of course, Jonathan just answered them and gave them candy so…we can’t really wonder why they call for him every night.  LOL!

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