Another word about Riverside Camp - the manager there, who was in her final week of empolyment there, was a lovely woman named Amanda from Great Britain. By lovely I mean rough, abrasive and too direct. Yet utterly endearing. She always seemed to have a half-smoked cigarette in her hand, arms crossed over a braless torso and smiling through nicotine stained teeth.
Our first encounter with Amanda was when she stopped by to give us the 'Welcome to Riverside' chat. It featured guidelines and rules, all delivered with the features listed above but adding a 'dumb-ass' voice feature, where everything was said in a tone of voice that would be perfectly natural followed by that phrase. Another treat was her widening her eyes and raising her eyebrows while finishing a sentence. Let me try to explain it to you:
Amanda: "Parents - do not let your kids out of your sight for a minute. We are on a RIVER (raising eyebrows with feature voice) and they will fall in and drown if you are not watching them. OK (brow and voice feature)
"Feel free to explore the trails here. But we have SNAKES and some are POISONOUS. (brow and voice feature)"
"Are there any QUESTIONS? (features)"
There were no questions. Despite her harshness, she also seemed gentle and very caring, and any personal issues were quickly forgotten after we had our meals there, generous and delicious meals prepared by the African staff and directed by Miss Amanda. And the staff adored her. She told us funny stories about hiding her husband's prosthetic leg to make him slow down once in a while, and I felt sorry that she was leaving this job she seemed such a fit for.
Rolling out in the morning was bittersweet as I wanted to spend more time at the campground but was also eager to serve the teachers at the Young Life weekend in Iringa. We moved slowly up a steep hillside road in heavy traffic, passing interesting sights such as a large boulder painted brightly with the slogan, "Think Global, Buy Local." I wondered if they really had many global opportunities in this remote place. There was a large military-looking truck that had toppled over coming down the hill and Ruby had many questions about why it fell over and if the people in it were ok. It looked as if it had been there for some time. How do you move a truck that size off of the road without heavy equipment?
We arrived at Ruaha University College around noon and after we unloaded our things, set to work cleaning the dining hall that also served as a club room, cleaning the grounds and bathrooms where the teachers would be staying, and gathering supplies to do all of this.
Our contact there, George, was helpful but disappeared after sayng he was going to get straight pins for hanging a homemade curtain to separate the club room. After almost two hours, he still hadn't reappeared and we dispatched two more small groups of people to purchase cleaning supplies. The bathrooms and dorms were in pretty desperate need of some love. Josie, a teenager on the trip, immediately volunteered to help with bathrooms and I fell in love with her right then.
While we cleaned the dining hall bathrooms and then the dorm bathrooms, the YL Africa staff worked on turning one corner of the dining hall into a club room. They had a box of fabric scraps and some pipe cleaner-like twisty things, not a lot to work with. When we returned from the bathrooms, I was amazed in the transformation. The African staff had transformed that little space into a bright, festive space, piecing long curtains of fabric scraps together using safety pins they found somewhere, and using the other materials to decorate the walls in designs and welcoming messages. The committee had scrubbed and mopped the dining area until it looked and smelled like new, covering the tables with cloth and adding decor. In one corner of the room, some African college students were having way too much fun with a sound system, typical boys with loud speakers and their bass-heavy music.
We were constrained by the College that our welcoming of the teachers could not occur until exactly 4:30 in the afternoon due to an exam taking place on the campus that day. As we finished preparations of the space, we had little time to spare. The African wedding band had arrived to play as the buses drove through the campus. Alexis and Martin, two senior African staff, had disappeared to change into fun costumes to lead the procession into the campus, and we all lined the drive near the gate to rest for a few minutes and save up energy for the moment they arrived.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
A Side Note - Solar Eclipse, Anyone?
I am assuming that we could not see the solar eclipse today since I did not notice the daytime turning to night at any point of our sun-drenched day by the ocean. I mean, I would have caught that, right? Did anyone see it? Should it have at least darkened the sky a little bit?
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
The Loveliest Spot on Earth - Riverside Camp
Let's just pause for a moment and consider what heaven might be like. I don't usually like to do that, because I hope it is far better than my ability to imagine. But our first night out of Dar seemed to be on the right track.
After lunch at the snake park (with nice toilets and sinks with soap!) We piled back into the buses, and I felt as satisfied as a crocodile with a guinea pig digesting in its belly. Maybe better.
A few hours later, we turned off of the main road (which had been deteriorating gradually as we left the city anyway) and started an off-road ramble down a mountain road. And when I say down, it felt kind of like we were driving over the side of a mountain, like a movie crash in slow motion. Except that when we reached the bottom, we were in a little slice of paradise called Riverside Camp. Driving through the camp, there were a few bandas scattered on either side of the lane, with tents under them, and several tents set up in a clearing right by the river. We had climbed several thousand feet in elevation (the camp is at 5500 feet), so mosquitos were not an issue due to the cooler weather.
We were unsure at first why we were there. The whole trip has been highlighted by being told where we are going about 15 minutes before we go. That has been a little challenging with two little ones to prepare for transitions, but we're rolling with it as best as we can.
We gathered around the campfire that night and sang songs to God and then Steve spoke about the mission we were on in Iringa - to serve teachers from all over southwestern Tanzania as they came to Ruaha University College to learn about Young Life. He was passionate and did a great job of sharing the vision of the weekend - cleaning for and serving food to teachers who are paid little to nothing (the average teacher salary in Tanzania is $80 per month) and have very few resources. We also had some volunteers doing breakout workshops on topics like making a lesson plan and other relevant issues.
As he spoke, the kids were getting rowdy, so I laid down on the grass with them snuggled into me, and as I looked up at the stars (which seemed to multiply by the minute hundreds of miles from light pollution) and listened to Steve, it really did seem like a moment of heaven. We dismissed to our tents, and we had our best night of sleep so far. I had no idea how lavish that night would seem as we packed up the next morning and headed up the mountainside to Iringa.
To be continued....
After lunch at the snake park (with nice toilets and sinks with soap!) We piled back into the buses, and I felt as satisfied as a crocodile with a guinea pig digesting in its belly. Maybe better.
A few hours later, we turned off of the main road (which had been deteriorating gradually as we left the city anyway) and started an off-road ramble down a mountain road. And when I say down, it felt kind of like we were driving over the side of a mountain, like a movie crash in slow motion. Except that when we reached the bottom, we were in a little slice of paradise called Riverside Camp. Driving through the camp, there were a few bandas scattered on either side of the lane, with tents under them, and several tents set up in a clearing right by the river. We had climbed several thousand feet in elevation (the camp is at 5500 feet), so mosquitos were not an issue due to the cooler weather.
We were unsure at first why we were there. The whole trip has been highlighted by being told where we are going about 15 minutes before we go. That has been a little challenging with two little ones to prepare for transitions, but we're rolling with it as best as we can.
We gathered around the campfire that night and sang songs to God and then Steve spoke about the mission we were on in Iringa - to serve teachers from all over southwestern Tanzania as they came to Ruaha University College to learn about Young Life. He was passionate and did a great job of sharing the vision of the weekend - cleaning for and serving food to teachers who are paid little to nothing (the average teacher salary in Tanzania is $80 per month) and have very few resources. We also had some volunteers doing breakout workshops on topics like making a lesson plan and other relevant issues.
As he spoke, the kids were getting rowdy, so I laid down on the grass with them snuggled into me, and as I looked up at the stars (which seemed to multiply by the minute hundreds of miles from light pollution) and listened to Steve, it really did seem like a moment of heaven. We dismissed to our tents, and we had our best night of sleep so far. I had no idea how lavish that night would seem as we packed up the next morning and headed up the mountainside to Iringa.
To be continued....
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Home From Iringa!
We were away from internet access the last few days and before I start filling you in, I want to say thanks to those who have been praying for Ruby. She is doing better today and it is only because of God's grace. But I will fill you in on that more later.
Thursday morning we were up at 4:15 and left Dar for Iringa on buses at 5:06. We had three coaster-style buses and it was pretty comfortable. We are getting very used to not having seat belts but the kids keep asking - I just love them! A couple of observations about Dar es Salaam at that time of the morning...the city was already awake and bustling with all sorts of traffic - buses, dala dalas (think VW Microbus with 30 people in it), auto rickshaws, motorcycles, taxis, foot traffic, etc.
Soon we were moving west into the countryside, flat at first but soon rising with hills and then purple-brown mountains as the day went on. There were many cinderblock houses, some mud/thatch buildings, and a few brick houses. The brick structures were mostly in areas where there were huge brick baking ovens. Once, in between a few mud and thatch houses, there was a woman sitting at a pedal-powered sewing machine, working hard at daybreak. Everywhere we passed there were people out at wells getting water and working in fields, even before daylight. Lots of smoke from small fires set to burn trash piles. I see our green efforts improving when we move!
Schoolchildren in bright uniforms walked along the roads in many areas. They all have bright uniforms and look sharp. There are fields of sisal plants and corn, cows and goats. Chickens pretty much seem to live everywhere.
Last night (Wednesday of last week), we ate dinner at White Sands, which is to become our new hotel when we return. There were dancers and drummers, and the main dancer had two large pythons in a box that he wrapped around himself in suggestive ways ;) Henry got very upset when the snakes were put away and the dancer got one out again so Henry could pet it. I was happy to find us seated by Maurice from Sierra Leone, one of the volunteer staff there. He's a teacher and like every African I've met with Young Life, in love with God and so proud of his country and continent.
Back to the bus, we were passing cars and trucks like crazy - going up hills, around curves, over speed bumps while doing so. Yet I never felt unsafe. At one point early on, I thought I was going crazy when I saw three baboons sitting on the side of the road. Everyone was asleep and I was sure they were just figments of my imagination. But several times in the trip we saw the same thing. Kind of like the local squirrel.
We passed Bwawari - a mountain prison ranch - and on the roads everywhere there were bicycles with huge loads of sticks, rocks, water jugs, etc strapped to them, with the riders powering them up hills.
We stopped at a gas station to refuel and use the choo (pit toilet you stand over and pee into) which was not my favorite experience.
Driving on through a game reserve near Doma (just following the path of the only main road that goes to Iringa) we were told that we might see a zebra if we're lucky. I guess it was our lucky day as we saw several herds of zebras, thousands of impalas, more baboons, dozens of giraffes, a family of elephants that crossed the road in front of our bus, requiring us to stop!, two water buffalo, some warthogs, little prairie dog-type creatures, and - cooler than cool - two lions eating a dead water buffalo about 20 yards from the bus. All of these animals were within 100 yards or so of the bus and we stopped several times to watch and take photos. And it was good, because we didn't know it yet, but we weren't going to be going on our safari....
We stopped for lunch at a snake park and after a delicious three-course meal, toured the snake dens and watched a crocodile have his noontime snack of a guinea pig. For several minutes it seemed like the croc didn't know it was running around in the enclosure, but at one point when the rodent was running behind the reptile, the crocodile snapped its tail, flinging the little guy up in the air, and caught it in his mouth. Then we got to hear it squeaking for several minutes as the croc suffocated it (what are all those teeth FOR anyway? Just eat the thing already!). I didn't let the kids watch but couldn't not watch myself.
Getting tired - more later. :)
Thursday morning we were up at 4:15 and left Dar for Iringa on buses at 5:06. We had three coaster-style buses and it was pretty comfortable. We are getting very used to not having seat belts but the kids keep asking - I just love them! A couple of observations about Dar es Salaam at that time of the morning...the city was already awake and bustling with all sorts of traffic - buses, dala dalas (think VW Microbus with 30 people in it), auto rickshaws, motorcycles, taxis, foot traffic, etc.
Soon we were moving west into the countryside, flat at first but soon rising with hills and then purple-brown mountains as the day went on. There were many cinderblock houses, some mud/thatch buildings, and a few brick houses. The brick structures were mostly in areas where there were huge brick baking ovens. Once, in between a few mud and thatch houses, there was a woman sitting at a pedal-powered sewing machine, working hard at daybreak. Everywhere we passed there were people out at wells getting water and working in fields, even before daylight. Lots of smoke from small fires set to burn trash piles. I see our green efforts improving when we move!
Schoolchildren in bright uniforms walked along the roads in many areas. They all have bright uniforms and look sharp. There are fields of sisal plants and corn, cows and goats. Chickens pretty much seem to live everywhere.
Last night (Wednesday of last week), we ate dinner at White Sands, which is to become our new hotel when we return. There were dancers and drummers, and the main dancer had two large pythons in a box that he wrapped around himself in suggestive ways ;) Henry got very upset when the snakes were put away and the dancer got one out again so Henry could pet it. I was happy to find us seated by Maurice from Sierra Leone, one of the volunteer staff there. He's a teacher and like every African I've met with Young Life, in love with God and so proud of his country and continent.
Back to the bus, we were passing cars and trucks like crazy - going up hills, around curves, over speed bumps while doing so. Yet I never felt unsafe. At one point early on, I thought I was going crazy when I saw three baboons sitting on the side of the road. Everyone was asleep and I was sure they were just figments of my imagination. But several times in the trip we saw the same thing. Kind of like the local squirrel.
We passed Bwawari - a mountain prison ranch - and on the roads everywhere there were bicycles with huge loads of sticks, rocks, water jugs, etc strapped to them, with the riders powering them up hills.
We stopped at a gas station to refuel and use the choo (pit toilet you stand over and pee into) which was not my favorite experience.
Driving on through a game reserve near Doma (just following the path of the only main road that goes to Iringa) we were told that we might see a zebra if we're lucky. I guess it was our lucky day as we saw several herds of zebras, thousands of impalas, more baboons, dozens of giraffes, a family of elephants that crossed the road in front of our bus, requiring us to stop!, two water buffalo, some warthogs, little prairie dog-type creatures, and - cooler than cool - two lions eating a dead water buffalo about 20 yards from the bus. All of these animals were within 100 yards or so of the bus and we stopped several times to watch and take photos. And it was good, because we didn't know it yet, but we weren't going to be going on our safari....
We stopped for lunch at a snake park and after a delicious three-course meal, toured the snake dens and watched a crocodile have his noontime snack of a guinea pig. For several minutes it seemed like the croc didn't know it was running around in the enclosure, but at one point when the rodent was running behind the reptile, the crocodile snapped its tail, flinging the little guy up in the air, and caught it in his mouth. Then we got to hear it squeaking for several minutes as the croc suffocated it (what are all those teeth FOR anyway? Just eat the thing already!). I didn't let the kids watch but couldn't not watch myself.
Getting tired - more later. :)
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Jan Rutkowski Would Be Proud
It turns out that the six years of French language study I took back in the day was not completely in vain. There are two women here from Mali whom I have had a bit of difficulty connecting with. They are always dressed beautifully, hair done, and maybe I feel a little inferior from the start with them. They seem so in their element here and I can barely remember how to say hello (hujambo), thank you (asante), and no worries (hakuna matada). I hope smiles are taken well here.
Anyway, it turns out that the ladies from Mali were also feeling a bit out of their element too. It was a communication issue between us. Fortunately, they speak French, and I am able to remember quite a bit, so we have had several good conversations the last couple of days.
Jan Rutkowski was my French teacher in high school, and I am extra thankful to her for her years of devotion to patiently teaching silly-acting students like me and giving us a love for another language. Teachers of all subjects - take heart! Your students are paying better attention than you think. :)
We left early last night, as there was a somewhat serious time of sharing what God has done in lives, and although we wanted to stay, it was best to leave with the tired kiddos and try to get them to bed more peacefully than the night before. It went beautifully, except after they were in bed, the rest of our group returned and there were a couple of very loud points where our kids woke up very disoriented and upset. Not a restful night for anyone.
Len and I both woke up sick this morning with some digestive/stomach problem, and Len spent the morning resting in the room while I took the kids to eat and to our friends' house. Some friends gave us cipro and Len took some and with the rest feels better. Jackie Kwamy was very kind to play with the kids while I experience the prayer mosaic, with several stations and exercises involving praying for each African country, our staff, praying for their challenges and praising God for His goodness. These African YL staff want so much to be leaders of leaders - to develop leadership within Africa that will continue for generations and allow their respective countries to move past old troubles.
I was talking to a Kenyan staff leader whose house was marked for violence during the last election there. He told me how he fled to a friend's house, someone who was from the tribe his tribe was warring with. His friends warned him of ambush but his trust in the friend turned out to be well founded, and he was safe. After the danger had passed, he returned home and continues his work there. He was telling me that he gets frustrated that Americans seem to think all of Africa is primitive - and acknowledged that there is much poverty in Africa - but there is a middle and upper class in Africa as well, and they are very much like us except for their physical location. I can assure you from meeting these friends from all over Africa this week that they are in many ways far beyond us in faith and wisdom and perseverance.
He also told me about his two trips to the United States, how his family and friends begged him to not return. Their perception of the United States is colored by American television shows and they believe that being here automatically means great prosperity.
I spent the last two hours packing for the next leg of our trip, to Iringa and then on to our safari. Len took the kids to the hammock to swing them for a nap - I hope he's having success! Today we have been fasting and praying for Africa and Young Life, for our leaders and future leaders, for kids and families to know God's peace that passes understanding. For God's wisdom and grace and strength that is so much bigger than us.
Off to check on the kids and get ready for the formal banquet tonight. It is our last day with the volunteer African staff and I am so sad to see them go - I would need weeks to talk to each of them and it is challenging to balance time with the kids and time with our new friends. Hakuna matada!
Anyway, it turns out that the ladies from Mali were also feeling a bit out of their element too. It was a communication issue between us. Fortunately, they speak French, and I am able to remember quite a bit, so we have had several good conversations the last couple of days.
Jan Rutkowski was my French teacher in high school, and I am extra thankful to her for her years of devotion to patiently teaching silly-acting students like me and giving us a love for another language. Teachers of all subjects - take heart! Your students are paying better attention than you think. :)
We left early last night, as there was a somewhat serious time of sharing what God has done in lives, and although we wanted to stay, it was best to leave with the tired kiddos and try to get them to bed more peacefully than the night before. It went beautifully, except after they were in bed, the rest of our group returned and there were a couple of very loud points where our kids woke up very disoriented and upset. Not a restful night for anyone.
Len and I both woke up sick this morning with some digestive/stomach problem, and Len spent the morning resting in the room while I took the kids to eat and to our friends' house. Some friends gave us cipro and Len took some and with the rest feels better. Jackie Kwamy was very kind to play with the kids while I experience the prayer mosaic, with several stations and exercises involving praying for each African country, our staff, praying for their challenges and praising God for His goodness. These African YL staff want so much to be leaders of leaders - to develop leadership within Africa that will continue for generations and allow their respective countries to move past old troubles.
I was talking to a Kenyan staff leader whose house was marked for violence during the last election there. He told me how he fled to a friend's house, someone who was from the tribe his tribe was warring with. His friends warned him of ambush but his trust in the friend turned out to be well founded, and he was safe. After the danger had passed, he returned home and continues his work there. He was telling me that he gets frustrated that Americans seem to think all of Africa is primitive - and acknowledged that there is much poverty in Africa - but there is a middle and upper class in Africa as well, and they are very much like us except for their physical location. I can assure you from meeting these friends from all over Africa this week that they are in many ways far beyond us in faith and wisdom and perseverance.
He also told me about his two trips to the United States, how his family and friends begged him to not return. Their perception of the United States is colored by American television shows and they believe that being here automatically means great prosperity.
I spent the last two hours packing for the next leg of our trip, to Iringa and then on to our safari. Len took the kids to the hammock to swing them for a nap - I hope he's having success! Today we have been fasting and praying for Africa and Young Life, for our leaders and future leaders, for kids and families to know God's peace that passes understanding. For God's wisdom and grace and strength that is so much bigger than us.
Off to check on the kids and get ready for the formal banquet tonight. It is our last day with the volunteer African staff and I am so sad to see them go - I would need weeks to talk to each of them and it is challenging to balance time with the kids and time with our new friends. Hakuna matada!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Toenails in Her Teeth
A quick parenting tidbit from last night...after the amazing worship time, highlighted by a spontaneously formed choir of nine men from seven countries singing flawless four part harmony, we walked our very tired children back to the room. Baby did not want to get dressed for bed, and I finally got her to tell me that she had toenails in her teeth. Thinking she was kidding, I told her to show me, and sure enough...there was a toenail she had peeled a sliver off of and it was somehow stuck between her top teeth. It took us quite a bit of pulling and wiggling to remove it. I didn't have the energy to ask how it got there.
Wildman was today's parenting moment, with a blowout diaper in the pool while swimming, which could have been much worse in the States. Here, nobody seemed to care, and I hustled him to the poolhouse (which has three showers but no running water) and changed him as best as possible, then rinsed him off in the shower by the beach. I'm not sure if the other families' lack of concern over this happening in the pool made me feel better or worse.
This morning's meetings were good, especially the time where senior African leaders shared about their areas, telling amazing stories of lives changed. I was looking at these wise men and women and realized I'm in way over my head here. These are people who have not lost their faith despite trials beyond my ability to imagine...some have literally ran for their lives, one man is a teacher in a country where most teachers have fled, and he has withstood great persecution, remained at his teaching post despite not getting paid for months on end, and loves kids and walks beside them as they grow in faith. Hirute, an Ethiopian leader, shared her heart about reaching kids in schools there, working with other faiths to give kids what they need. Others shared about God's goodness in providing better training for growing crops and sustaining spiritual growth...I will try to share more of these specific stories here as I have time. These are amazing people and I am humbled to get to serve alongside them.
The Wests, a young couple from the States who are currently serving in TZ, are helping with the kids this week until we leave Thursday for the safari. They have been a gift from God and the kids are with them right now at the beach.
Just finished a wonderful lunch of barbeque on the beach and watched Baby and Wildman drawing in the sand with their skewer sticks. Baby is becoming quite the artist - I look forward to what God has in store for her creatively. :)
Off to more meeting time and hopefully some more fun - there is always another surprise waiting in Africa!
Wildman was today's parenting moment, with a blowout diaper in the pool while swimming, which could have been much worse in the States. Here, nobody seemed to care, and I hustled him to the poolhouse (which has three showers but no running water) and changed him as best as possible, then rinsed him off in the shower by the beach. I'm not sure if the other families' lack of concern over this happening in the pool made me feel better or worse.
This morning's meetings were good, especially the time where senior African leaders shared about their areas, telling amazing stories of lives changed. I was looking at these wise men and women and realized I'm in way over my head here. These are people who have not lost their faith despite trials beyond my ability to imagine...some have literally ran for their lives, one man is a teacher in a country where most teachers have fled, and he has withstood great persecution, remained at his teaching post despite not getting paid for months on end, and loves kids and walks beside them as they grow in faith. Hirute, an Ethiopian leader, shared her heart about reaching kids in schools there, working with other faiths to give kids what they need. Others shared about God's goodness in providing better training for growing crops and sustaining spiritual growth...I will try to share more of these specific stories here as I have time. These are amazing people and I am humbled to get to serve alongside them.
The Wests, a young couple from the States who are currently serving in TZ, are helping with the kids this week until we leave Thursday for the safari. They have been a gift from God and the kids are with them right now at the beach.
Just finished a wonderful lunch of barbeque on the beach and watched Baby and Wildman drawing in the sand with their skewer sticks. Baby is becoming quite the artist - I look forward to what God has in store for her creatively. :)
Off to more meeting time and hopefully some more fun - there is always another surprise waiting in Africa!
Henry Meets Duma
I apologize if I am misspelling the cat's name; it may be Doma, but for the purpose of this post, we will call the cute kitten Duma. He is one of our friends' many pets (they also have a small brown goat, two guinea fowl, a large tortoise, two large dogs and assorted lizards) and is right at that cute small kitten stage where he's still big enough to play. If he lives through our visit it will surprise me. Henry loves playing with him and squeezes the kitten quite violently, but the cat keeps coming back for more.
Yesterday afternoon was full of a bus ride (not a dala dala but they're probably working us up to that) to the YL house a little south of here in Dar. It is in a neighborhood more typical of the city, where many residents share a very small space. I am thus far unable to figure out how they draw boundaries, but there are definitely set boundaries for 'this is my space to live in, this is yours'. The staff meets in the house to pray, sing, provide study space and education for youth, and they do clubs for the youth here too. It is a very small house by our standards, but was quite nice within the neighborhood. Baby and Wildman had fun with the ever-present array of drums and percussive equipment and enjoyed the chalkboard and erasers.
After our visit, we boarded our bus to return to the training center (also known as our friends' house) when we suddenly veered off of our path and stopped. It was a little concerning until I realized that we had met up with the rest of our group arriving from the U.S. and in a carefully orchestrated scheme, we were becoming part of their grand welcome to Tanzania. There was a hired African brass wedding band playing worn instruments very well and very quickly and loud, and we all left the buses to ride auto rickshaws (like an enclosed moped with 3 wheels and a backseat) and many rode on the backs of bicycles (think of a small luggage rack with a cushion that you ride on) back to the training center. The wedding band played fervently all the way there, standing in the open back of a pickup truck and never missing a beat. The kids loved speeding down the road with the wind in their hair!
After a time to visit and refresh for those who had just flown in, we all (over 100 now!) sat down for an amazing catered meal of fresh seafood, various curry dishes and delicious sides of every kind. Afterward, everyone spilled into the living room for wonderful worship and fellowship. I smiled seeing Ruby in the middle of it all, and she did a great job following the Swahili singing while playing a bell.
We had a good night of sleep and are now getting ready for breakfast and another day of adventure!
Yesterday afternoon was full of a bus ride (not a dala dala but they're probably working us up to that) to the YL house a little south of here in Dar. It is in a neighborhood more typical of the city, where many residents share a very small space. I am thus far unable to figure out how they draw boundaries, but there are definitely set boundaries for 'this is my space to live in, this is yours'. The staff meets in the house to pray, sing, provide study space and education for youth, and they do clubs for the youth here too. It is a very small house by our standards, but was quite nice within the neighborhood. Baby and Wildman had fun with the ever-present array of drums and percussive equipment and enjoyed the chalkboard and erasers.
After our visit, we boarded our bus to return to the training center (also known as our friends' house) when we suddenly veered off of our path and stopped. It was a little concerning until I realized that we had met up with the rest of our group arriving from the U.S. and in a carefully orchestrated scheme, we were becoming part of their grand welcome to Tanzania. There was a hired African brass wedding band playing worn instruments very well and very quickly and loud, and we all left the buses to ride auto rickshaws (like an enclosed moped with 3 wheels and a backseat) and many rode on the backs of bicycles (think of a small luggage rack with a cushion that you ride on) back to the training center. The wedding band played fervently all the way there, standing in the open back of a pickup truck and never missing a beat. The kids loved speeding down the road with the wind in their hair!
After a time to visit and refresh for those who had just flown in, we all (over 100 now!) sat down for an amazing catered meal of fresh seafood, various curry dishes and delicious sides of every kind. Afterward, everyone spilled into the living room for wonderful worship and fellowship. I smiled seeing Ruby in the middle of it all, and she did a great job following the Swahili singing while playing a bell.
We had a good night of sleep and are now getting ready for breakfast and another day of adventure!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Jambo!
The journey and backstory of this trip will have to wait a little longer; this serves as a partial journal for our current trip to Tanzania and to keep you updated if you're interested. :)
I will offer apologies to the employees of the airline that brought us here. Both of my children threw up violently in on the plane and immediately after arrival in Addis Ababa, and we would have missed our connecting flight had we stopped to clean up.
When we arrived and recognized our driver, I cried. I probably would have cried if he had not been there too, but it was such a relief to see him and know that the airport portion of our journey was over for awhile. He lashed our baggage to the roof, loaded us in the truck, and patiently drove the hour or so (in very heavy traffic) to our lodging in Mbezi Beach. Dar is a beautiful, vibrant city. The people here are very proud of their haven of peace and take good care of it.
After a couple of hours to refresh and settle in, we walked down the road to our friends' house and enjoyed watching the YL staff play soccer - East Africa versus West Africa. Nobody is sure who won, but they were very competitive! One striking trait of the staff is that regardless of their cultural differences (they are from all over Africa), they love each other deeply and after the game we enjoyed a wealth of home-cooked Ugandan food prepared by Harriet, Simon and Lawrence. There are about 50 of us here; many have been here for a month of training that is just winding down, more are coming in every day, and it is like the best family reunion you've ever imagined. Great fellowship, food, love, wisdom.
Our kids, Baby and Wild Man, are quite an attraction everywhere we go. Africans don't know what to do with white children and curly hair! Lots and lots of loving on them.
After dinner on Saturday, the group gathered in the big house for singing and worship, and we left due to the extreme fatigue we were reeling from after over 24 hours without sleep. (more on the flights later) It was a good choice; we woke refreshed and the children were in much better spirits on Sunday morning.
Baby and Wild Man loved the ocean yesterday. We are right across from it and all of our meals are overlooking the calm sea. Kids made sand castles and played in the surf, we ate well, and have moved from knowing nothing about anything to knowing very little about anything. It is quite intimidating to be so NOT in the know. We're planning a couple of little excursions this week to see if we can get around competently. I'll let you know how that goes.
Yesterday (Sunday) was truly a day of rest. It is hot here before you get up, and things are very slow until later in the afternoon. We do find that the ocean breeze is a refreshing place to hang out, whether eating, meeting or playing.
Feeling ambitious this morning, I took the time to wash my hair in the sink. All the water in our room is cold, and the water pressure is a trickle, so I needed to get up early to accomplish this. My hair is so happy! Then, I got greedy and took a shower. It felt so good to be clean, even if only for a moment before I started sweating again.
After we were ready, Len and I took the children to our friends' house and left them with a wonderful friend who watched them while Len was in meetings and I went with the other ladies to an orphanage where deaf women make paper bead jewelry. It is beautiful! You would never guess that the beads are made from colorful magazines. We then went for a special treat of cappucino and juice at a little restaurant overlooking the Indian Ocean. The place was down a long path of lush foilage and wonderful little seating areas made from old wooden fishing boats.
There is one computer available here and it is almost always busy (I am missing lunch to type this!) so I will post when I can. This is a beautiful place and I'm so glad we're here!
I will offer apologies to the employees of the airline that brought us here. Both of my children threw up violently in on the plane and immediately after arrival in Addis Ababa, and we would have missed our connecting flight had we stopped to clean up.
When we arrived and recognized our driver, I cried. I probably would have cried if he had not been there too, but it was such a relief to see him and know that the airport portion of our journey was over for awhile. He lashed our baggage to the roof, loaded us in the truck, and patiently drove the hour or so (in very heavy traffic) to our lodging in Mbezi Beach. Dar is a beautiful, vibrant city. The people here are very proud of their haven of peace and take good care of it.
After a couple of hours to refresh and settle in, we walked down the road to our friends' house and enjoyed watching the YL staff play soccer - East Africa versus West Africa. Nobody is sure who won, but they were very competitive! One striking trait of the staff is that regardless of their cultural differences (they are from all over Africa), they love each other deeply and after the game we enjoyed a wealth of home-cooked Ugandan food prepared by Harriet, Simon and Lawrence. There are about 50 of us here; many have been here for a month of training that is just winding down, more are coming in every day, and it is like the best family reunion you've ever imagined. Great fellowship, food, love, wisdom.
Our kids, Baby and Wild Man, are quite an attraction everywhere we go. Africans don't know what to do with white children and curly hair! Lots and lots of loving on them.
After dinner on Saturday, the group gathered in the big house for singing and worship, and we left due to the extreme fatigue we were reeling from after over 24 hours without sleep. (more on the flights later) It was a good choice; we woke refreshed and the children were in much better spirits on Sunday morning.
Baby and Wild Man loved the ocean yesterday. We are right across from it and all of our meals are overlooking the calm sea. Kids made sand castles and played in the surf, we ate well, and have moved from knowing nothing about anything to knowing very little about anything. It is quite intimidating to be so NOT in the know. We're planning a couple of little excursions this week to see if we can get around competently. I'll let you know how that goes.
Yesterday (Sunday) was truly a day of rest. It is hot here before you get up, and things are very slow until later in the afternoon. We do find that the ocean breeze is a refreshing place to hang out, whether eating, meeting or playing.
Feeling ambitious this morning, I took the time to wash my hair in the sink. All the water in our room is cold, and the water pressure is a trickle, so I needed to get up early to accomplish this. My hair is so happy! Then, I got greedy and took a shower. It felt so good to be clean, even if only for a moment before I started sweating again.
After we were ready, Len and I took the children to our friends' house and left them with a wonderful friend who watched them while Len was in meetings and I went with the other ladies to an orphanage where deaf women make paper bead jewelry. It is beautiful! You would never guess that the beads are made from colorful magazines. We then went for a special treat of cappucino and juice at a little restaurant overlooking the Indian Ocean. The place was down a long path of lush foilage and wonderful little seating areas made from old wooden fishing boats.
There is one computer available here and it is almost always busy (I am missing lunch to type this!) so I will post when I can. This is a beautiful place and I'm so glad we're here!
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