Back to Business

It's Monday, 8:53am and in a few hours I'm headed back to the vil. I plan to stay at site for 2 weeks and reconvene in town for a wild Halloween party! Saturday was a ridiculous going away party for just finishing education volunteers. About 25 PCVs hired a lorrie and hopped in the back. We cracked open our crates of beer and belted out an enthusiastic medley of Disney, 80s, and classic pop music en route to the Flower Farm.

The Flower Farm is an absolutey gorgeous farm about an hour from town where roses are grown and sold to European markets. The owners are a young, married couple who have always had a good rapport with PCVs. It was a wild party-to say the very least. Imagine about 40 people, generally unkempt and a little strange after months to years living in a rural village. Lots of beverages, great music, and wide open spaces. I think I'm still recovering.

As for the series of random events that punctuates my new life, this week included a wood chopping session. I was greeting some farmers on the road and having seen them 2 days in a row chopping trees apart with axes, decided what better opportunity than to integrate with new people? I began chopping (sometimes missing the tree altogether) and soon had a crowd of people cheering me on as the sweat began to pour and my hands quickly lost feeling. Eventually a bibi (grandmother) took the axe from my hand and showed me how to really cut timber. Ha, she was probably 60+ and showing ME correct wood-chopping form. Oy. Suffice it to say, after my brief forray into farm labor, my right hand (my TEXTING hand!!) was completely frozen in a most unsettling, claw-like manner. My body was so sore that night that it was hard to sleep. Take home story: Go me, I chopped wood! It was extremely empowering and I look forward to investigating more opportunties to play farm hand.

This week was really busy. I hesitate to use the word productive because, well, that word has a very different meaning in Tanzania. I did, however, conduct a village meeting! Only about 25 people showed up but I was content. Speaking to really large groups in KiSwahili isn't quite a feasible option just yet. The meeting was a needs assessment program in which men and women sat in separate groups and anaylzed their entire day from morning to night. Dear lord, a woman's job is never done!

Sample schedule for a Tanzanian woman:
6:00am: Wake up
6:00am-7:00am: Light jiko, boil water for chai, sweep house, sweep dirt outside house
7:00am: Drink chai
7:30am-8:30am: Walk to the spring or water pump (if it's working), fill up bucks of water, carry them back in hands and on head
8:30-10:00am: Mop floor, wash clothes by hand (obviously), tend to children, and any livestock or chickens
10:00-1:00pm: Walk to the shamba (field) and tend to farm
1:00-2:00pm: Cook and eat lunch (ugali and maybe, MAYBE some leafy greens)
2:00-3:00pm: Rest
3:00-6:00pm: Back to the shamba or walk around selling tomatoes/eggs/etc
6:00-7:00pm: More household chores, bringing in goats from grazing, beating corn, etc
7:00-9:00pm: Cook and eat dinner
9:30pm-10pm: SLEEP

Rinse and repeat. EVERY SINGLE DAY. Except Sunday, then you pray too.

This rigorous schedule gets me back to the most interesting topic of all in a place like the village: Time. The people of Mhaji aren't working for the weekend. They're not saving for a Disney Cruise with the kiddies or for their annual summer trip to San Diego. In fact, most are only growing enough food to feed their children. In Tanzania, a meeting may start 3 hours late and no one bats an eyelash. I'm beginning to understand why. I've mentioned this concept before. People are the constant in Tanzania and time merely the variable. If you see your neighbor in need of help on the way to a meeting, you help your neighbor. If you are late for a meeting and you are invited to chai, you're going to be very late for your meeting. It sounds completely inefficient and in fact, it is! But when everyday is the same and emotion only really heightened for weddings and funerals, what's the point of planning for the future, right?

I now see clearly the 'logic' behind the difference of time in America and Africa. In hte hustle bustle of the American work place time is quite truthfully, money. But in Tanzania, no one has money! Time is people. Truthfully, I think both concepts of time are flawed. I'm obviously not here to help people start a 401K or invest in mutual funds, but I am hoping to broaden the world perspective of my villagers. I have only started thinking this through, but I want to shape a curriculum of sorts to get my community seeing beyond the day to day.

First and foremost, I must begin teaching geography! I am asked daily if I can get to America by car, how far away it is, and where in Europe America is. Ahhh. There is something to be said about being able to visualize the entire world, if only vaguely and marked by continents. Even that smallest exercise can push the mind to wonder what's out there beyond corn fields and poverty. I'm often asked what's the English word for said object. I giggle and say, Marekani, hamna! (In America, there isn't any). I tell them, no, we don't eat ugali, and they gasp. What do you farm in America, they wonder. Tanzanians also happen to think Americans are extremely wealthy (generally true in comparison) and also lazy because machines do every thing for us. They can't really imagine what these machines look like or how they work, but they know we must not be able to handle any labor. They also refuse to believe there are homeless or poor people who are white. Sometimes when I'm going for theatrics, I tell them I drive a car, ALL BY MYSELF. Now that is just madness, right!

Anyway, to build on this curriculum of sorts, I am beginning English for adults next week. It's going to be a really big challenge, but I figure after the first few weeks only the really dedicated people will stay. I even promised to buy anyone who stays in the club for 2 months their very own notebook! Trust me, that is a huge incentive here.

I taught 6th grade English last Wednesday. Whew, teaching is hard. Especially with Tanzanian primary students. I swear they're like obedient robots. They speak in unison, say they understand everything, and refuse to ask questions. I have absolutely no clue how much they retained or even understood from my lesson. I tried to be a cool mwalimu (teacher) and play a game. They said they understood the rules but when I asked for the answers I got blank stares. Not one student had done it correctly.

I begin teaching 5th and 6th grade lifeskills this week. I haven't prepared my lesson yet, but I'm really looking forward to it.

This blog is getting REALLY out of hand in length, pole (sorry/I pity you).

I have 2 more thoughts rolling around in my increasingly scattered mind. First, I am in Tanzania to be a health teacher. What does that even mean? I don't know if I'm actually capable of making health education a full time job. Right now I don't even know if that's the most productive way I can spend 2 years in the bush. I'm realizing education period is where all of the shagala bagala (chaos) starts and ends. Most students can't progress to secondary school because there is no money to send them. They become substistance farmers. They are forced into a life of poverty and food/livelihood insecurity. They then have children and the cycle continues. Let's not even get started on the type of trouble a 13 year-old can find once they've finished their academic career. That's where unprotected sex, AIDS, alcoholism, and abuse thrive.

Quick side note: gas is expensive in America, right? Right. Well, in Tanzania too. That shouldn't matter because who in a village drives a car let alone sits in one? Almost no one. We should be safe from the uncertain economy in our little niche of forest. Not so. The cost of fuel has increased the cost of fertilizer to about $100/acre for potatoes and about $70/acre for corn. People do not have this money. How are they going to eat when they can't plant their crops? Honestly, I don't know and I'm really worried. This means that even less children will be going to school in the coming year and it also means a looming food crisis.

I'm 22, with 2 debatably useless college degrees, and not even a single economics class under my belt. On the flip side, I know that drinking liquor and breastfeeding is a VERY bad idea, brushing your teeth is important, and AIDS is not a curse. I also know that with a little duct tape and a few twigs, anything is possible in the village. This is why I'm starting a "Women's Business Association." :) I'm working on getting a group of mamas together to produce items that are easily and cheaply made and can be sold for modest sums. My goal is to find a niche product that can be sold in towns and in America to friends and family. I use really great purses and coin pouches made from vibrant African fabrics and want my mamas to replicate them. The labor will all be logged and the money will be distributed by hours worked. $1 can go a very long way here. (For instance: I bought a kilo of rice for about $1 (which is expensive and considered rich people's food generally). That 1 kilo will last me several weeks.)

By having a supplemental income, I'm hoping more children will be able to progress to secondary school. I also want women to have more options. By giving them the opportunity to be self-reliant income generators, they can potentially be empowered to consider things like family planning, not cowering to abuse, and pursuing their own further education.

And FINALLY, last order of business. Our health clinic is currently a foundation of bricks. The village simply ran out of money. The bricks are only plastered about 6 feet high and what will be the floor is weeds and dirt. The current health clinic is a joke with no furntiture and about 2 rooms. I asked a village leader how much money it would take to finish the dispensary and he said about $2000. That would provide a roof, windows, floor, labor, and furniture. To a village like Mhaji, $2000 may never come. While I am a health EDUCATION volunteer and therefore my job is to provide information, not money, I simply cannot find a reason why my village would be better off not having a functioning health clinic! Unfortunately I won't be learning to write a grant until January and even then it's an uncertain and slow process. Nonetheless, I am determined to get this thing built.

Okay, I really have to stop writing. In a future entry: why medicine is free but no one has access to it.

Thanks for hangin in there to the end. Have a wonderful week and I strongly encourage you to skype me!

Lots of love,
Katie

So I Got Punched in the Face...

I'm just in town for a day trip so this will be short and incoherent! Surfed to town again, this time on one leg. I had to have been in some very impressive yoga form because my body was contorted to entirely new bus riding proportions. Unfortunately, I am the least zen person on this universe and yoga is something I proudly claim to know nothing about.

Regardless, here I am. Okay, I lied. I am pretty zen right now. The second my fingers can clip clip across the keys I slip into this crazy trance where the world falls away and I could be anywhere. It's fantastic.

This was a busy week! Busy by village standards of course. On Tuesday I taught an English class. It was hilarious because I received the lesson upon walking in the door and actually had the concept all wrong. I was going to teach the meaning of which. Who really remembers that which ONLY modifies subjects and who modifies people? I sure didn't. The principal who was in the classroom with me seemed really worried. I somehow played it off like it was a lost in translation problem, but OOPS! I teach English again next Wednesday and will get the lesson on Monday.

On Thursday, my new Dutch friends came to Mhaji! I woke up very early like a good Tanzanian hostess and started cooking chai. I made food from basic ingredients! Woohoo. No more just add water and stir, I'm an mpishi (cook)-in-training now. They arrived, had chai, and the guys went off to do some interviews for a water filter their designing, and the girl, Marie, stayed with me. We went to a meeting in which I arranged quite a bit for next week, and then returned home to cook a meal for 6 people! Ahh, KAZI! (Work!) They headed back to town around 4, but are actually coming back today (the reason for me coming to town). We're going to have a little party at my house and make Mexican food and brownies.

Oh this is a little gem. On Wednesday, one of my girlfriends (12yrs) asked if I'd come on a walk with her in the evening to the next village. Ok, what else have I got to do right? Well, we leave around 5:30, walk a few km, and then I find out it's not a pleasant sunset stroll. No no. We approach a house and are given 2 massive watering cans. We proceed down a mountain, fill up our cans in a spring and start watering a field of avocado trees! KAZIIIII. We arrive back and it's pitch black.

Yesterday, I was invited to a wedding. I was told don't worry, it's not too far. It was about 5km walking, no biggie. I'm not THAT outta shape. We get there, and I immidiately become a spectacle. I knew that would happen, so no biggie. I sat on benches with all the parents and old people and was generally gawked at for a few hours. Well, just before it was my turn to dance/walk up to the wedding party and give them my gift (a big bar of soap wrapped in newspaper), a little girl I was with started falling off a bench. As I reached to grab here, her big sister noticed and reacted in such a way that HER ELBOW SLAMMED FULL SPEED INTO MY NOSE. Holy lord it hurt. I refused to cry but the tears were still pouring out. I started swallowing some blood but thankfully none dripped on the bride's pretty dress! No one actually saw what happened and I knew if I said anything they'd probably beat the girl that hit me. So, when people asked why I was sad I just pretended like I didn't understand Kiswa for a few minutes and the issue was dropped in the chaos of our dance/walk to the head table.

I wish I could elaborate more but I only have a few minutes left on the internet and lots of errands! I'm headed to the post office now with fingers crossed for fabulous letters.

Next week is crazy busy and next weekend there is a big party just outside of town with expats and Peace Corps volunteers. It will be nuts. In two weeks I begin teaching life skills to 5th and 6th graders! In Kiswahili. Ah! Technically we're not supposed to start work for another 2 months, but I just feel to guilty sitting around being useless.

Alright, I'm outta here! Have a fantastic week everyone and send me lettttters!

Lots of love,

Kate

Back to the Vil!

I have been in town WAY too long. I actually feel extremely guilty and am eager to head back in a few hours. I ended up staying an extra day because the local expat 'country club' was having an annual bbq. How very colonialist, I know. It was really fun. A good mix of Peace Corps and international expats.

So today I head back to the vil for 2 weeks! It will be my longest stretch so far and I'm ready for it. I'm hoping to start my Village Situational Analysis survey this week. It is a compilation of 60 questions that I've translated into Kiswa. After getting a sample of about 50 households, I'll know the needs and issues of Mhaji and then set to work finding a cure for AIDS and establishing world peace...naturally. It's going to be quite the uphill battle, but I'm so excited. This optimism is coming before the actual work, so you may see a 180 in the coming months. Let's hope not!

I'm also expecting visitors! I met a group of Dutch students doing research on water filters. They're coming to my village on Thursday to talk to people and stay the night! I can't wait to be the hostess with the mostess. I'm thinking fudge brownies are in order!

Alright, I'm being a bad blogger and am completely distracted at the moment.

Hope everyone is happy and healthy. Eat a hamburger for me please. And maybe some chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. And if you're feeling generous, I would REALLY love some candy corn!

As of now, I'm headed off to my fave little rice and beans restaurant hidden away in an alley. Rice, beans, and veggies cost 60 cents. Today I'm splurging on chapati (TZ tortilla, but BETTER) and will roll it into a burrito. If I close my eyes really tight, it may just be the same as a spicy chicken enchillada. Ha, ya right.

XOXO

K

PS-Since I'm going to be out of internet contact for quite awhile, now is the perfect time to Skype me! Just to clear up any confusion, I can't Skype back with a computer. You'll have to call my cell via your computer. It's about 25 cents a minute, but if you search the internet you may be able to find phone cards cheaper. Everyone that's called seems to have a good experience with Skype and the connection is generally really good.

Best Times To Call:
Between 730-10am or 6-9:30pm Tanzania time
From the west coast we have a 10 hr time difference so you'll probably want to call in the morning or before you go to bed
East coast is an 8 hour difference unless I'm confused about daylight savings
When in doubt...just google it!

The Day I Surfed Into Town...

Pictures:

1. My lil girlfriend Agape. She is the daughter of my best friend in the village. She is the daughter of the principal and teacher at the primary school. I am at their house prob 5/7 days of the week.

2-4. Primary school graduation!

5. My "library room". Notice I haven't painted BEHIND the bookshelf yet! It's so heavy, so it's going to take some initiative to finish. I painted the library this week, and you may not be able to tell but it's green. The bookshelf is the color of my living room.

Okay, let's get this started. There's no time like the present so I'll begin with a recap of my morning adventure. I woke up around 6:30 to screaming goats...or children (kids or kids, get it hahah). Regardless, it was loud. I completed my morning ritual (empty the 'chamber pot' :) ), drink chai, brush teeth, etc, and headed off to the bus stop. I'm in town a day early because two of my friends have decided Peace Corps is not the life for them and are returning to America. A bunch of my training class is coming in and we'll have a nice little send off tonight. I'm really disappointed but they will move on to new and exciting things and life will continue.

Here I am getting side tracked. As I walked to the bus standi (I can't count how many English words have an i thrown on the end and become Kiswahili!) I was actually almost charged by a full herd of bulls. The last near-charging incident was only one bull. Today, it was about 7 and just to prove I'm not over-exaggerating, a villager ran with me to hide! Shagala bagala (chaos)!!

To describe the bus portion of the morning, I have prepared a few jokes.

Q: How does one get to town on a bus without sitting or standing?

A: They surf!

It was standing room only on the cramped bus/van and I say standing room in the vaguest sense. The aisle was piled with massive sacks of maize. Having no option I hopped onto a big sack and held onto various things throughout the trip: a seat, a pole, a head. The whole while I was navigating the 'waves' of the road, bobbing and weaving so as not to split my skull open on the ceiling that was about 2 inches above me. Having never surfed before, I am now patting myself on the back for lasting over an hour with knees bended and arms balanced. I even managed to send a few texts in route (but I'm sure that won't surprise anyone).

2nd joke!

Q: What does a burlap sack say when you punch it?

A: Sqwuuuaackkkk. Didn't know it til the last leg of the trip but the bag next to me had a family of chickens in it. Hehe!

This week was both fast and slow as the African days can play so many tricks. The beginning of the week is pretty hazy now but I remember going to school, taking some walks, the usual. I had a great meeting with the PLWHA (People Living With HIV/AIDS) group on Sunday. They're so motivated to spread AIDS education and I can't wait to work with them!

The highlight of my week would have to be Wednesday: primary school graduation. The teachers and myself started cooking at 8am. Imagine massive cauldrons of rice, beans, veggies. I wish I had taken a picture, because I guarantee you can't imagine it. To create a big stove, we use three rocks and then burn a bunch of sticks in the middle. The pot goes on top of the rocks with the fire from the sticks below it.

Graduation was set to start at 12. We arrived sometime after 2 and waited a bit for the festivities to begin. After about 4 HOURS of sitting, tuning out, clapping, being stared at, I left with the teachers to set up for the meal. Something big happened. Usually, because I'm white, I'd be served at the same table as the government officials and other important guests. Not anymore! I was slinging food with the rest of the teachers. In fact, I even served the students! I was cranky and hungry after working and sitting all day in the sun.

However, I somehow got dragged into the 'disco room' with the students. I thought what the hell, let them at least think I'm funny. I started dancing. I could barely hear the music over the hooting and howls of laughter. It was so much fun! I went nuts. A little later, a few teachers and I slipped away into a pitch black classroom and drank beer!!! I felt so naughty. Do you think chaperones at high school dances are doing the same thing? When the principal came in I thought I'd get in trouble for some reason, but he didn't even mention the fact that all the staff were boozing on school grounds.

The night couldn't get any better...or so I thought. As I was headed home, my besti told me to come over for a bit. What happens next? Wait for it...We started dancing to gospel music videos with the whole family and house girl. It was probably my favorite moment in Africa so far. For at least an hour I was rocking out Tanzanian style and praisin the lord in Kiswa!

And on a final note: I'm FAT. And while you're thinking shut up, no you're not, get this: Last week I SPLIT MY PANTS!!!!! My house girl patched them for 10 cents, but I'm still mortified. You will not be seeing any body pictures until the situation is remedied.

Beyond the need for an African Weight Watchers program, life is good! I'm happy, healthy, and getting pumped to start work.

Lots of love,

Kate