Elway on the Daladala

Things at school are keeping me busy enough, I am teaching three different classes so I have three different preps to keep up with, but I am happy to be busy at school it keeps me out of trouble. I have even been having Saturday and Sunday classes for my form four math students because they have regional mock exams at the end of this month. No I am not torturing my students with weekend classes; they asked to have classes on the weekends…not me. My students here at Mzumbe don’t fall into the common mold of Tanzanian students they are some of the best in the country and they know what it takes to do well on the national exams, and the truth is they are at a all boys boarding school and there just isn’t all too much to do around here.

I presented a challenge the other day for my form three students who are taking my Additional Math class. Since I will be teaching them for the next two years and be responsible for teaching them the entire syllabus before their form four exams, our challenge…best scores on the exams in all of Tanzania; I hope by putting this out there it motivates me to play my role.

The rainy season is slowing to an end and I am very thankful for it! I was falling into cabin fever and needing time outdoors, and a chance to walk to the market with out getting covered in mud. My bike here has been great to get out and see the country around me and the other small villages scattered around me. I stop now and then and talk with the villagers and they are always happy to get to talk to a foreigner who knows Swahili and I have even picked up a couple of greetings in the local tribal language Uluguru. I find it quiet calming when I ride through villages other than mine and I here people say “Luka, Luka,” if not much changes around here during my time here at least I know I have penetrated people’s lives.

I have established one truth in my experience so far here in Tanzania, neither I nor any other foreigner is going to be the catalyst for change here in Tanzania …

I want to set it straight that I didn’t have an idealistic notion that I would change the history of Tanzania while I am here. A wise man said to me once “The world doesn’t need more problems it needs more solutions.” It easy to point out problems but it is the solutions that are rear and valuable. I find my self sitting back to think about the problems that are holding back Tanzania from water shortage, food shortage, feeble schooling system, poor info structure, and the 7% prevalence nation wide AIDS pandemic (many argue it’s much greater) just to name a few. From the AIDS problem alone many other problems are fostered like a dieing work force, a huge population of orphans, and I huge financial drain to the economic resources. These problems are very transparent to any one who stays in Tanzania for a significant period. Many good nature Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Governments see the problems and offer support and money to those needy causes. The truth of the mater is that not all of the resources make it into the appropriate hands and corruption runs rampant in all areas of commerce, and it’s the Tanzanian leaders who are slowing progress for their country.

With the thought of so many problems lingering in my head I wonder what the solutions could be. I have come to believe that the best work here in Tanzania needs to be done by Tanzanian’s they have to own their situation and own the idea that the best resources already lie within their country. Tanzanians of all walks of life from government officials to the farmers in the fields need to own up to the ides that the solutions lie in the hands of the people, it’s not going to come by means of foreigners coming in and waving their magic wand and sprinkling it with money.

The people here love their country and their culture; and a great sense of unity exists here in Tanzania and a pride to be Tanzanian above all else. Tribalism has plagued many African countrys’ and it was the first president of Tanazania, Nyerere who was able to unite the people as a proud Swahili speaking East African country. They have growing markets in agriculture, mining, and tourism. The time has come for another great leader to come out of Tanzania and push it forward to a new Tanzania; one who believes that Tanzania has the resources to move forward and one who can persuade the masses to play their role of prosperity with out corruption.

There is a good amount of wealth in Tanzania and people are ready to invest in the future, but the money is distributed to a select few, and the rich keep getting richer. There was an article in one of the Tanzanian papers last week that was pointing out the need for Tanzania to move away from foreign aid and that many developed nations U.S. included where not helping out enough. Reading it made me think the writer to be a spoiled child that believes she is entitled to what ever she desire and if she can’t get it, it is at the fault of somebody else.

This last Saturday I had a man from a neighboring village that I had never met before come to my house, he told me that he heard their was a Peace Corps Volunteer from America at Mzumbe so he wanted to pay me a visit… What he really wanted was money. His story was that his sister was in the hospital diagnosed with AIDS and he needed money for ARVs (Anti-Retroviral) because they ‘lost’ the last prescription and she wouldn’t be able to get a refill for another three weeks from the dispensary. I was first skeptical when he showed me her card for ARVs, the card is distributed to individuals who can benefit from ARVs it has the patient’s name on it the medication their taking, the dispensary they are getting them from and the dates they receive medication and the dates which they are eligible for a refill, I have had a chance to work with these cards before at our PEPFAR workshop. These ARVs are given out for free to people who have been diagnosed with HIV; this program is financed by the money from PEPFAR. The card seemed to be a forgery by all accounts, stats about the recipients CD4 T-cells was missing and it only had one date of doctor visits on it. And that he said they ‘lost’ the ARV’s was not adding up, and knowing that there is a black market for these ARV’s; people who get the ARV’s for free and turn around and sell them for money. After talking with this man for some time and being convinced that he was just looking for a hand out told him I couldn’t help him out. For the rest of the day this bothered me… Could he be telling the truth? He wasn’t asking for a lot of money, I could afford to? Could I start giving hand outs to every person who came to my door? I even thought about going to his village and tell him I changed my mind. But what I couldn’t understand was that he walked out of his village, through another village, through Mzumbe University campus with its health center, passed by my secondary school and all the other teachers home’s, and came straight to my house on top of the hill, and asked the white foreigner for money.

On my way home last week in the daladala which is the public transportation system here best described as clown cars, for the reason that the amount of people and chickens they manage to shove into a daladala is unbelievable. I saw John Elway on my daladala, I couldn’t see his face but he had his Broncos #7 Jersey on with Elway on the back. John Elway in Tanzania riding a daladala! John Elway is black right…?

My encounter with John Elway on the daladala had me thinking on the way home, about how small this world is becoming. With internet, cell phones, and transportation everything and everyone is playing a more integral role in the prosperity of man kind. The relations we have with our neighbors are just as valuable as the relations we have around the world. What many of us are willing to through out others around the world utilize with great pride and resourcefulness, the market has expanded across the globe. So the leaders of tomorrow need to see the value in keeping good relations and a concern of the welfare of all ‘market players.’

The aid coming into Tanzania is a great thing for this up and coming country with so much to offer the world, but Tanzanian’s need to realize this and find leadership with in to push forward through the corruption and own up to the idea that they are the solution for their issues. With out this leadership Tanzania will never get over the hurdle of entitlement, and forever be dependent on foreign aid.

Maasai and Turtles

The rainy season is in full swing and the good news is that there is going to be a good harvest this year if the rains continue on; bad news it rains everyday for most of the day and there is mud EVERYWHERE you go. Since the rains have started I have put a good dent into by collection of books and am running out of things of interest to read, the volunteer before me was a big science fiction reader… I am not.

A couple of weeks ago before the rainy season was in full swing I got a chance to go to a Maasai village on their market day. The village market is on Fridays and I heard about it from some teachers at school and mentioned to Haji I wanted to go on Friday to visit and he was excited because his family lived near by that same village. So I met him on a Friday morning with our bikes and we started the hour bike ride to the village. I went with my Tanzanian friend Haji who has been a great friend because he is always getting dragged a long on my adventures here at Mzumbe. I like to have my Tanzanian escort because he knows everybody and can bull shit with the best of them… he’s the Zach Smith of Tanzania (inside joke). The down side, Haji likes to hold my hand… here you have to understand that it’s the way friends roll in Tanzania, homosexuality is illegal here so people of the same sex here hold hands and it doesn’t imply they’re gay like it does in many other cultures… I still feel really uncomfortable about it to be honest and always find myself pulling my hand away like a kindergarten student when they have to hold hands with the opposite sex for the first time in dance class.

The Maasai is one of the largest tribes in Eastern Africa and semi-nomadic, they are one of the few tribes whom are not farmers but herders. Much of Tanzania has been left as an open rage for the Maasai to run their cattle and goats, which is the primary source of meat in Tanzania. The Maasai are one of the few tribes whom for the most part still wear their traditional garments of blue/red material worn like a toga called a shuka or konga. They are a tall people that usually carry a sword in their belts, a long stick to keep the livestock in line, wear lots of beaded jewelry and have the stretched out holes in their earlobe; they are easy to pick out of a crowd. I like to think of them as the cowboys of the Serengeti; taking care of business, dressed to party, but they always remember to wear their peace maker.

So on Fridays the Maasai village has their market and all the herders will come into village with their livestock. In a field adjacent to the market all the animals which are for sale are kept. So local butchers come with their trucks and buy livestock and the Maasai can get new sandals, sword, beads, clothing, cooking material, and ex...

When Haji and I arrived on bikes of course I was getting the usual stares which I have come to like to think it’s because I am so dam good looking and not just because I am white, and it was a one of those ‘wow I am in Africa’ moments. A hundred or so Maasai all walking around catching up on the news with each other selling hides and other things, taking advantage of buying a cold Coka -Cola, and eating some roasted meat with livestock walking around. Haji knew one of the girls working a booth at the market so we left are bikes there and were able to walk around and look at the goodies, I purposely left my wallet at home because I knew I would have bought a couple of ‘impulse swords’, what could I do with a sword… As we were walking around I was wondering out load if one of my fellow teachers was there because he runs one of the butchery’s at Mzumbe. Before I could finish my sentence he was standing in front of me introducing me to his friends, it is nice to stick out of the crowd sometimes people find you. After talking with my teacher and sharing a drink I continued walking around and dreaming of Halloween costumes to be, we decided to embark to go visit Haji’s family.

Mind you that every time I go somewhere with Haji we have to meet his family, Tanzanian’s families are huge all cousins are brothers and sisters and all aunts and uncles are mothers and fathers so I have met a lot of his ‘family’. This time we were going to meet his 100% biological real parents whom lived ‘near by’ the market, ‘near by’… another 45 minute bike ride in the opposite direction from home. It was really nice to meet his parents and show my Swahili skills off (limited still but getting better) and to get out of the rain storm that had started. They were disappointed we couldn’t stay for dinner because they were going to kill a chicken for us. Haji’s mother said that I could get a wife for some goats if I wanted. I told here I was only in Tanzania for two years and she said that would be ok my wife could have other husbands. I am opting for the single life for now…

A phenomenon that occurs during the rainy season is that snakes, turtles and frogs come out from hiding. I thank got I haven’t seen any snakes and always walk with a flashlight at night because I am afraid to death of snakes and I joke with my teacher friend that if I ever see one around my house I m coming to his house and will make him come over and kill it. The other day one of the students killed a black mamba and a staff member killed a viper… YA I watch where I am going when I am walking around. As far as the turtles go I haven’t seen any walking around but I have had two different people come from the near by villages in the mountains and ask me to buy turtles they have found. I just don’t see why they thing because I am white I will want to buy a turtle… their must be a rumor floating around that the Whiteman wants to buy turtles. To put I stop to the rumors, I DON”T NEED A TURTLE.

Coincidence…HIV/AIDS at the Home Front, Two Weeks After My Return From the PEPFAR Conference

This weekend I went and had my weekly Sunday lunch with my Tanzanian Family, the food was delicious as always (beans and rice) and small changes of had been made around the home. New screens on the windows, two new plates, two new GLASS drinking cups, and a new pair of shoes for Mama Rachel; most women after having their first daughter change their name to Mama ‘first daughter’s name’ because of the pride in being a fertile women, so hence my sisters name is Rachel. The new things around the home sound very minimal to our culture in the States but are a big deal for my family here. My Tanzanian father had started his new job with the city of Morogoro in the pay role department in January, and now the reality of what it means for the family is materializing. The excitement on my fathers face when he served me lunch with the new dishes it was like a average student coming home from school with his report card and showing his parents his first ‘A’ on his report card, he couldn’t wait to see my expression. After I commented on the two new sets of dishes we were using, he eagerly got up and with great pride showed me the new shoes he had bought for Mama Rachel. My family is the new “Robinsons” on the block, not many house holds in my family’s village drink with real glasses.

After dinner while looking through the new calendar with my father and telling him of my excitement on getting a new bed made this week for my home he informed me that my mother’s brother was ill. He had been ill off and on for some time and he was now in the hospital very ill. The family had been urging him to go see a doctor for some time now because many believed that he had AIDS, because of his frequent and numerous illnesses. This time he had fallen ill to Malaria and his immune system was so weak the typical medications weren’t working. I asked how the family was dealing with it and he told me it was really hard because he is still young at 30 and the family had to keep at his bed side at the hospital to take care of him. The constant travel from their village in the Uluguru Mountains and the time away from their farms’ during this crucial time of the year before the rains was going to take a hard toll on the family emotionally and financially. After talking with the family some more and giving my condolences to Mama Rachel I knew I should help, my time is consumed at school so I gave them a little money. Tanzanians don’t have health insurance here and the only type of insurance comes by means of family and community support, so as part of the family I felt it was my place to help.

That week my friend who is from the same tribe as Mama Rachel, Luguru (the people of the mountains) we decided to try and make it to the top of the peaks near my home of Mzumbe. The peaks have sat and taunted me since the day I had arrived in Morogoro much like Long’s Peak back home on the front range in Northern Colorado. So this was the day we would make our attempt, he nor I didn’t know if there is a trail to the top or not but we would go as far as we could to find out. We started early in the morning and rode our bikes as far as they could take us and left them at a friends hut to watch until we would return in the afternoon. On our way up I wanted to stop and give my condolences to Grandmother Rachel, I was able to find her waiting for the daladala (public transportation: vans stuffed like sardines with people) to go and care for her son at the hospital. She was very happy to see me there and after talking to here for some time and expressing my grief for their situation we were off.

I have gotten a sense of what a celebrity might face going out in public in the States. Being white and walking through small mountain villages in Tanzania where they only see white people in town we didn’t walk by anyone with out the double or triple glance. Little school children running after us and following us up the mountain, with many people wanting to talk/ask for money and wondering why I want to walk to the top if I don’t have a purpose. You just want to walk? Yep, just want to see how far we can go! A culture that spends long hours on the farm and only walking the mountains when they have to bring fruits and vegetables to town for the market and return with supplies for the village they couldn’t understand I wanted to go for fun. It was hard to try and describe ‘fun’ because Swahili lacks the vocabulary for ‘fun,’ this helps to give a deeper understanding of the forthright culture the Tanzanians have. By early afternoon we had now gotten passed the many homes and farms that scattered the mountain side and were getting closer to the top and the pitch of the land was getting much steeper. I started to realize that the water I had brought was not enough and would have died to have a Powerbar… my prayer was answered by a local porter coming down the mountain from the village on the other side of the mountain. He was doing the hike with a large basket of cassava roots, these of which were carried balanced on his head which is the customary way. We stopped and talked to him for a bit and he offered us some cassava root; delicious when eaten raw once you get passed the ‘woody’ flavor and packed full of nutrients much like a Powerbar, and spoke of a cold water spring inside the forest on the other side of the mountain. He said he didn’t know of a trail to the very top and said it was impossible because of the land. I was momentarily disappointed accepting that we might not make the summit, but now that my 1.5 liters of water was down to drops the mere mention of COLD WATER was ringing in my ears. So we continued on making our way higher and higher at points using my hands to help up the trail the whole time thinking to my self that the villagers on the other side do this a couple times a week and with huge baskets on their heads… I was impressed to say the least. At the top of a small pass adjacent to the summit the rain forest had started to thicken up and only momentary glances of the summit or at least what I thought was the summit, were only possible when the thick forest offered a window and the pitch of the land was just right. I was starting to understand why without a trail to the top the summit was a fantasy and would involve better planning, large machetes, and ropes and tackle.

At last we reached the legendary COLD WATER spring on top of the ridge. Now the question at hand: Do I drink un-boiled water in a land of some of the worst parasites known to man? or go thirsty? …The water was brisk, COLD, and refreshing! When we arrived at the spring some of the porters where there eating sugar cane and drinking water on their way back to their village, they were very friendly and begged for us to continue on and come and visit, with promises of a wife for me and many other gifts. They said that their village never gets guest because there is no road and it is very difficult to get to. They informed us that it was about another two hours, and when we asked if we would make it back to our bikes before dark they just laughed… We continued on our way to get some more pictures of the forest and the beautiful landscape and a hope to get a window past the trees and a panoramic look of my school down below, but decided to return after the trail started dropping down the other side of the mountain and fear we wouldn’t make it back before dark. I was able to make it back right at dusk dead tired, sunburned, thirsty, and feeling thankful for the day in the Uluguru Mountains.

The following week I got news that Mama Rachel’s brother had passed away and I brought the family an assortment of fruits and my sympathy for their loss. My feeling of bewilderment and invisibility that I hadn’t fallen ill from my game of Russian roulette with the COLD WATER was disparaged by the gratitude of the life I live, when others aren’t as fortunate.

HIV/AIDS "If You Focus On the Problem You Can't See the Solution"

I have just returned from the PEPFAR (President’s emergency plan for AIDS Relief) conference in the Mbeya region of Africa, mandatory for all volunteers and our Tanzanian counterparts. The trip over all was a lot of fun to meet up with fellow volunteers and hear how their experience has been going. PEPFAR is using its resources in education and supplying care to those living with HIV/AIDS with counseling and medication for free to those that have tested positive. As far as the conference dealing with PEPFAR it was great to have a forum of discussion with Tanzanian counterparts but it was hard to feel big responsibilities to help with such a wearisome problem, mixed emotions, and many unanswered questions.

For starters the HIV/AIDS epidemic is very trying matter for Tanzania with a country as a whole at about 7% with 1.3 million estimated Tanzanians affected, and this is data from 2005 which to date is expected to be much more prevalent. I had a chance to visit another volunteer’s site where his village had a 30% prevalence of HIV/AIDS. So I am 100% on board with doing what I can while I am here to help out. Many of the funds are being dumped into education. 99% of the population knows about HIV/AIDS, but only about 22% of the at risk population is using condoms, and the vast majority is contracting HIV from sex. Then once they have tested positive for HIV they get free medical attention that would not be available without PEPFAR funds. We had a chance to sit and talk with some Tanzanians that are living with the disease and that was a priceless experience, so very grateful for the medication and a chance to share their experience. So a long story short, Tanzanians are very aware of the disease and how it can be prevented but are not changing their behaviors. So the question I couldn’t keep asking is how can you make the next step and change their behaviors? That’s the billion dollar question…

I have been living in country for 5 months now and have witnessed a country engulfed with poverty, but understand I am still not fully aware of the complexity of the situation. What I do know is 90% of the population are farmers and rely on the weather and God’s will to survive and see the next day. Many go uneducated and get dropped out of the education systems just to return back to being farmers. In a world where water is a luxury; free instant pleasures are priceless! Trying to stop that and tell them they need to wear a condom so they don’t contract a disease that with kill them in a couple of years if untreated and treated for FREE can give you another 10 years, the problem doesn’t conceptualize them to change their behaviors. The answer I see more beneficial is giving more people a positive future to invest their behaviors in. So is dumping all this money $15 million into education and being a broken recorded best directed or better directed in development projects? Could Bush’s PEPFAR and his visiting Africa a big publicity stunt for him and the U.S.? Could they believe that development is the solution but know if resources are directed there it would create a country/continent that would require more precious natural resources and be a threat? I don’t want to imply any of this as facts or even my own opinion but these are the questions that I couldn’t get out of my mind and stressed over. What I know is that I am a teacher and I believe in education so, while here I will continue to be the broken record until a better solution is presented (please feel free to comment I would love to hear opinions/facts/stories).

I am still really enjoying my students and have been impressed with what they come to the classroom with, meager means but a lot of motivation and brilliance. I wish there was more that I could give them, I find my self asking many questions in a Socratic way unrelated to mathematics to get them to talk more about their country and culture. At the end of the day they are the future and the ones who have to make the changes and own the responsibilities of this country.

Duck In Water

It is very comforting to be back in the classroom and be back somewhere I am familiar with and comfortable. Granted there are only screen windows, painted chalk boards, and a beautiful view of the Uluguru mountains from my classroom; I feel like a duck who has finally found some water. The challenges are starting to become more actualized now that the classes have started. For starters the Tanzania school system has a much regimented syllabus for the teachers and tells you how many periods should be taught for each subject, so my joy of authentic hands on learning is being handcuffed to their syllabus. Part of me says to stick to the material and the format but…it sucks and I don’t think I am going to be able to stick to this format of regurgitating material as fast as possible and just so that we can get through the entire syllabus. I am not here to try and mirror the teaching style of Tanzanian teachers but to show them the advantages of alternative pedagogic techniques, but will present a lot of challenges when all I have is chalk board, chalk, and a single text book, and the only reason we have a text book is because we are the “special” school in Tanzania with the top students so our budget allows us to buy some text books. Since the teacher is the only one with a text book ( a few of the students from better means have there own books; two) a teachers perceived job is to right the text book down on the chalk board and the students are then to copy them down in their notes……sorry just had to get that out.

Things are going good starting to get to know more of my neighbors around my school and been getting invited over for dinner and what not…ya I am kind of a big deal around here. I had a young couple who where just married in August over for some American food so I made them spaghetti (I know it’s not “American” but popular in America), they said they really liked it but…they could have been just being good guest. I will see how eager they are to come next time a ask them to come over for dinner.

Next week the new Peace corps education volunteers we are going to an Aids conference in Mbeya which is in the south western region of Tanzania. I am really excited to be doing some traveling around and seeing more of Tanzania and to reunite with some of my fellow peace corps volunteers from my training group, I am sure it will be a good time. Since I am the only one from our training group who hasn’t left our training region Morogoro, I believe I am anticipating it the most.

Well I need to get back to school I have class to get ready for, one last thing before I sign off I am calling Jeff K. out… I got a letter from your Mom yesterday (Thanks a lot Susan it was very nice!), but haven’t heard from you since Christmas! It nice to hear how you all are doing, keep in touch!

School Starts

Vacation IS OVER!

I am starting to get use to the African way, every thing falls in the “gray area”. By gray area I mean if you say “I will be there!” translation “If the planets a-line and if God wants me there I will do my best to be there.” One of my teachers I think put it best the other day, “Everything in Africa will happen soon…but soon rarely comes.” “Mungu akipenda,” if God likes (God must like to be late in Tanzania). It definitely has its down sides with trying to be ambitions here and get things down and organizes things, but when in Rome; do as the Romans. I have a felling that I might have to use this for my benefit.

Well all the students are back from holiday and are reporting this week to school. The school doesn’t feel like a ghost town anymore and it’s starting to feel like a school around here. Students are just reporting this week, which my understanding is mandatory for them to be here but is not enforced…so classes in theory will start next Monday, we will see. While students are reporting this week we teachers are grading exams for the A-Level practice exams. The Math department has the most number of tests because every student has math, and it has been a tedious process. After three days of four of us grading we should wrap things up in the morning. When I say four I mean me and the other teachers if God wants them there. I spent the first day by my self grading for the first four hours, and was the last one there too. It’s been a good experience getting to know some of my teaching staff, and I am getting familiar with the material. The teachers and I had a good laugh about them getting paid for grading and me “volunteering” to do it. The teachers are actually getting paid extra above their salaries to grade these exams and me free labor from America (The irony just occurred to me). Don’t get me wrong, I came to do what ever I can to help there educational system I happy to be doing my part.

I have started opening the computer lab for students two nights a week and it seams to be going well (it gives me time to type my blog) and make my self available for A-level students before their exams. So far the students I think have just come to try and test the new teacher, a student came with a integration problem that took me a couple of hours at home to get worked out and one sleepless night, reminded me of college. Some times the best way to solve a problem is to go to bed and try it in the morning, but it always seams follows me to bed. The computer lab is great because it’s the only air-conditioned building at our school. Right now we have eight working computers and I am hoping to try and get some more working, my knowledge of computers is being challenged. There is another IT specialist at the teachers college in my region I am hoping can help me out with my knowledge gaps.

It is a bit challenging for me because the volunteer before me was a computer teacher and his knowledge of computers was a lot more than I. So teachers are coming to me with problems with their own computers and the lab computers aren’t all working and I am expected to fix them with my magic computer wand. It has been hard to try and replace a volunteer. People expect the same from you good things or bad things and I have to remind them even though we are both Americans we are very different people. But easier said then done, a lot of people have known a lot about America and won’t change their minds. First: All Americans are rich and money is not an issue, All Americans are white, All Americans own a gun, and my favorite All Americans have a magic computer wand I keep mine in my back pocket. For the most part I try and educate them about our culture but I have had conversations with people who had intense denial that there are Muslims living in America.

In short I have gained a lot of respect for foreigners in new and different cultures. When coming to Tanzania it was obvious I was going to have to adjust to cultural differences like the big three: language, religion, and food. But have realize just how deep culture runs!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I don’t know where to begin it has been almost a month since my last entry… Well I am moved into my new house, and it’s starting to feel like home. I got a fresh coat of paint on the walls and my hammock stretched out in my living room, very nice for an afternoon nap or a quiet place to read a book. I just finished reading Green Hills of Africa by Ernest Hemingway, Dad you have to read this book its about big game hunting in Africa (Tanzania and Kenya) and he talks about Elk hunting in the Rocky Mountains it made me home sick but just about anything makes me homesick now a days especially around the holidays.

I have been spending my time doing everything but teaching. Most the students have been on break since I have got here so I don’t start teaching until the second week in January; I am really looking forward to start teaching. It’s still unclear what classes I am teaching it seems that every time I talk to the head of the math department his story changes, the lack/miss communication has been a bit frustrating but from what I have heard from other volunteers that have been in country they say “get use to it.” I got my bike running really good and have been riding that every day around my village and up in the mountains. I busted up the rim the other day and it took me half a day to get it fixed (Dad the vice grips were great advice), a reminder that everything is a little harder hear with lack of resources and that the bike has to last me two years. I have been enjoying cooking a lot at my house everything from pizza to beef stock. I have been getting my bread recipe down and find the hardest part is keeping the ants away while the dough rises.

For Christmas I had another Peace Corps volunteer Nora, a Korean volunteer, and two students from the Netherlands over to my house for beef stroganoff, the power went out that night so we cooked with charcoal and celebrated by candle light, A Christmas I will never forget. We did a white elephant gift exchange and sat around and played liars dice. For my white elephant gift Nora and I went to sabasaba for our gifts. Sabasaba is a huge out door market on Sundays it’s like a giant flea market. The biggest thing people go for is clothing and the majority of it is used clothes from the states. Some of the shirts that you see people wearing are pretty funny considering they probably do understand what they say, like “Dip me in honey and through me to the lesbians” or “Americas Next Miss America” I found some pretty cool shirts for my self. When you ask them the price it is ridiculous so you have to bargain with them, it’s a lot of fun to practice my Swahili and bargain with these guys if you can make them laugh your in, but it is hard being white they perceive you as having a lot of money and always try and rip you off. While we were walking around the auction part of the market a guy came up and was telling me to come see his shirts, which is not that unusual. But what was unusual was he was touching me and grabbing my shirt to follow him, which was annoying. While telling him off and trying to get him to stop with out being physical; his friend came up and bumped into to me and I grabbed his hand as it was already half-way down my front pants pocket going for my money. Both the guys ran away before I could think twice, if I would have cried “THEIF” the men would probably been beaten to death, the Tanzania believe that mob brutality against thieves is more affective then police and the court system. It’s a catch 22 because you want them men to be punished but at what cost, it would be hard to have someone’s death on your shoulders…but no harm they didn’t get anything and got away. I was flustered for a while about the incident and was shook up more than I thought I would be I expected that it would probably happen sometime while I was here and thought I would just be considered with the material loss. Having another guys hand in your pocket feels very evasive.

Now is Tanzania’s short rainy season and the hottest part of the year. So ya I sweat, I sweat a lot here. The good thing about this time of year is that its mango and pineapple season and they are delicious to say the least. I had never eaten fresh mangos like I have here in Tanzania; I try and eat one everyday so good. With most good things there are consequences…possible death. My house is surrounded by mango trees which is great most of the time because they provide great shade and keep my house cool. My neighbor has this HUGE mango tree that is bigger then the cotton would trees in my back yard in the states. This mango tree drops about 200 delicious but deadly mangos from it every day. The mangos are the size of softballs and are pretty heavy and walking out of my house I now keep my eyes up at its branches because I have had a couple of very close calls and there is no way to avoid passing under this massive tree, I have to walk under it every time I leave my house. The second I hear one dropping through the leaves I pull my head in like a frighten turtle and walk a little faster. The only time I feel safe is when I am on my bike and have my helmet on, thinking about wearing it as a permanent fixture but I am sure I would be referred to as the crazy white person on top of the hill, for now I keep my eyes to the heavens(literally).

Some people have been asking about cheap ways to call me and through the volunteer grapevine one of the best ways is through Nobelcom.com which is a calling card that is cheap. Love reading your messages on the leave a little love section! Congratulations to Jeff and Corey on graduating, keep me in touch on your plans. Well my meat loaf and peas and carrots smells about done so I should go, ya I am eating good hear maybe better than at home because I have the time to cook and lots of fresh vegetable(so you don’t have to worry Mom).