Siku tatu/siku nne.

These days were mostly filled with orientation and our visit to Rau village. Orientation wasn’t too exciting; we went over the rules and the way our CCS program works. This was good to do, and informative. It was good to finally clear up lingering questions about the way the program works and talk to the staff in person. Our leaders include Moses Polepole, Mama Sarah and Deo. Mama Sarah won’t be with us anymore because she is going to have a baby, so Mama Fatuma has taken her place for the time being. Mama Fatuma is also going to be a leader and accountant for the CCS program in Karanga that is going to open up soon. My program – Moshi, Tanzania – is one of many programs that CCS offers. Not only do they have many others all over the world, they have quite a few in Africa alone. The Moshi program has been established and running for a few years, and they also have Bagamoyo (near Dar Es Salaam). The Karanga Home Base is exciting because it had been available for a while, shut down, and is now about to re-open! It’s really cool to be a part of a group that continues to grow and find new places to send volunteers from all over the world. On the note of volunteers, there are also many other volunteer groups that come to Africa (and I’m sure many other places). Since arriving I have met people from at least five different groups that have gone to Arusha and Dar, and some that are also here in Moshi.

It is has been cool to meet other volunteers from Amsterdam, Finland and Sweden while I’ve been here. It is also somewhat interesting to be a volunteer in Africa because it is both a popular place to volunteer and volunteering is different than just going to a country. A lot of volunteers are majoring in International Relations or are planning on going into the Peace Corps. This makes volunteering a lot more than just volunteering; it is getting to new places and making connections. It is really cool to be surrounded by people who are very passionate about making lasting changes in impoverished communities. Since I’ve arrived I have really been able to hone in on my love of serving children and been able to restructure my dream of working with children in India. I hope to go there soon, see the reality of the situation there and then work toward owning an orphanage and school there. I don’t know how soon all of this will happen, but being in Africa has made me understand that I can actually realize that dream. J So that’s exciting.

First, let me explain how my Home Base is set up. The environment here is drastically different from that of Utah. Here the plants are plentiful and everything is colorful. The types of plants make the place look like a tropical forest, and there are a lot of bugs. Mosquitoes, flying termites, mango flies, regular flies, big ants, you name it – Africa probably has it. My home base has a two main buildings/dorms to live in. Each have a living area and rooms with mosquito net equipped bunk beds and closets. There are main bathrooms in each house, and some rooms have their own bathrooms. Each house is also equipped with a computer that runs like molasses and an ironing board and iron. The house I live in is Kibo, and it also contains the office for the CCS leaders. The other house has a living room with a television and DVD player in it, so it’s nice to chill in there and watch movies. Outside there is a main veranda area with tables, garbage cans and a table with a continual supply of popcorn, a hot water carafe and a toaster. There is also a table covered with netting that has our silverware and a tray of teas and different condiments on it. We eat, and have classes and meetings here. There is also a place to wash your dishes next to the kitchen, two open areas behind each house with clotheslines for hanging your washed clothes and an open area in front and in-between the houses. The one in front is a smoking area, and the one in-between can be used for sitting and hanging out, but no one really does that. We have two large vans that are used to take us to and from our placements in the weekdays, to our group activities and can be used by the volunteers if they want to go somewhere. Most places are driving distance, except Moshi town can be reach by going across the large main road (the one that runs from South Africa to Cairo). However, even when you walk to town you have to allot a significant amount of time to get around – it’s a big place!

Many Tanzanians will often say that a place is a mere five or fifteen minute walk, however once you try to take this walk you find out that it’s around an hour walk to actually get there. This is part of a funny phenomenon called Tanzanian time. Learning Tanzanian time can seem confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, it’s not too difficult. First, Tanzanians do not run by a clock, they run by the sun. When the sun comes up between six and seven, the day begins. From this time forward we count the hours. For an example, if someone wants to meet you at three, they can be talking about 3 hours after the sun has risen, not three o’clock. This is very interesting and can cause for miscommunication so it’s important to clarify when meeting someone where you are talking about mzungu time (foreigner time – run by the clock) or Tanzanian time. Another interesting time comment is that Tanzanians are rarely on time. Here time is flexible and relationships are more important than time commitments. If something cannot get done in the day, there is always tomorrow. I find this element of the time system really wonderful because it is part of what makes the people here so relaxed and happy. They are not worried, because things will get done and everything will work out. This is a refreshing shift from the stressful time-oriented culture I’m used to living in, but it can be hard as well. Going out to eat takes a very long time, and getting things done can be hard because time can be unreliable. A store may close early, your friend may forget to get the lesson plan done etc. All in all, though, I love that people here value the people they are with and really live in the present – Hakuna Matata and Salama J.
Anyway, back to my third and fourth days here in Moshi, Tanzania. Our orientations went well, we got to meet the staff and program leaders and got to know our group of volunteers better. We also got to visit Rau where were given a tour by the wonderful Mama Changa.
Rau is a beautiful village with a lot of maize and beans, small homes and the home of chief. It also contains Watoto Rau and Upendo schools and Tuleeni Orphanage. It has a marketplace and a centre with stores as well. When we went we immediately met up with Mama Changa and she told us about the history of chiefs and their purpose in society as liaisons with the government. We went through the village, tried homemade banana-based beer, and met many people. It was fun to see Mama Changa interact with the people of the village. Greetings in Tanzania are the most important part of a conversation, and they can last a very long time. They may start with shikamoo, habari, mambo, mambo vipi, hujambo, jambo or just hello. After the response to the greeting, they continue with asking about the person’s day (habari za leo?), or their work (habari za kazi?), or how their families and animals are. When we were walking through Rau we got a chance to observe Mama Changa greeting each person we walked by and also gained a sense of the community she is a part of. If you live in the community you are a part of a family, and this sentiment stuck with me while we observed Mama Changa interacting. The market in Rau is pretty primitive. There are stalls and people selling things on the ground, and there are many children running around. I loved meeting some of the kids and taking pictures of them, the children here are very beautiful.

We also passed Upendo school while we were in Rau. This is Becca’s placement and I enjoyed seeing the clothes and bags and where she will be teaching. While walking toward the market we passed some homes where children would run out and yell “Teacher! Teacher!”. This got me very excited to go to my placement and to have a classroom that I could call my very own J. I took some pictures in Rau and will upload them asap! For now I am off to watch The Holiday. Tutaonana!