Last Week in Africa

Jambo,

We realize that we have not written a nice post in a few weeks and we apologize. It has been a very hectic and exciting past few weeks.

Our volunteer placements have been wonderful, but today was our last day which was a bit bittersweet. I have been able to give so much love and affection to the children at my orphanage, as well as teaching and playing games with them. Scott and I also decided to sponsor a 22-year-old girl that worked at my orphanage to go back to school this fall. I know sponsoring her education is one of the reasons that God brought me to this specific orphange in Tanzania. I am so excited to give her the wonderful gift of education and she was so thankful to accept it. In the classroom, Scott has continued to teach his first, second, and third grade angels English and Math. They love him and he is such a great teacher--the children are so eager to learn and he does such a wonderful job of teaching the material in an exciting manner.

Earlier this week, we visited a traditional Masai village. This was an AMAZING experience. The Masai are a tribe that has inhabited Tanzania for centuries. They are most commonly known for their preserved culture--they live in the cow dung huts with no or very little water in their village, and their dress, dance, way of life is very similar to the way it was hundreds of years ago. Here is a picture of some Masai of Tanzania (these are not my photos, I was not able to upload any today).

Tomorrow, we are picked up at 7:30 AM to head into the Serengeti. We will be spending the next five nights on a safari searching for the big five! I am hoping since we will be in REAL hotels with REAL showers and REAL beds (can you sense my excitement!?) that we may also have some internet where we can post pictures of our animal sightings!

Hope all is well and we will post soon!

Congrats to Mama Melissa and Ashley for their early delivery of two healthy baby boys!

A Few Pictures from Mt. Kilimanjaro and Arusha National Park

Baboons playing together.

Stealing a kiss on Mt. Kili (PDA is punishable by jail time in Tanzania, but we were far enough from civilization we figured it was worth the risk)

A couple giraffes we saw on our walking hike in Arusha.

And the Zebras too

Another photo from 10,000 ft up on Kilimanjaro

Before the hike.

Daily Life in Boma

We have escaped to the mountains this weekend and we have internet access, so I have decided to add a few pictures of our 'Daily Life in Boma'.

Kids playing outside our home base with their 'improvised' toys.
Scott playing soccer with the locals. He plays at least twice a week.

The main drag (seriously... this is one of the main roads in our village).
Where we do our laundry every few days. All by hand in buckets.

Where the cooks store all of the fresh food from the market. They have been taking very good care of us. We have been eating probably the healthiest we ever have in our lives -- everything is fresh from a local farm. We are definitely getting our daily fruit and vegetable intake.


Our bathroom. We are very excited that as a married couple we have our OWN!

Scott waving from inside his mosquito net. I lucked out and got the bottom bunk. It still makes for a very unpleasant bathroom trip in the middle of the night.

Our main gathering area. This is where we take Swahili lessons, have our culture lessons, eat, and hang out.

Good Morning Teacher!

Each morning, I am greeted by 50 smiling faces as I am dropped off at “Good Hope Primary School”. As I walk into the classroom, the students stand and I ask them “How are you today?” They respond in unison, “We are fine, thank you, and-a you too?” They are still standing at this point, so I tell them I happy to see them and that they can sit down. “Thank you, teacher, we are sitting now.”

I had expected to be working in micro-finance and helping locals with starting/expanding businesses, but the highest need was for teachers, so here I am! It has been a really fun and rewarding experience so far. The students are incredibly eager to learn, and so respectful and appreciative. I am teaching standards 1 and 2 for math and standard 3 English (which are roughly equivalent to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades). There are four classes of students and only three teachers at the school, so I fill the empty classroom so that all the students have a teacher for the full day. And teaching these youngsters is such a change from my 8th graders in S.F. that it still feels like a “break” from my normal work. I’m teaching addition and subtraction to the 1st graders, and they are starting to carry are getting really good at adding even three-digit numbers. The second graders are focusing on multiplication and will hopefully all have mastered their multiplication tables and some double digit multiplication by the end of next week. My 3rd grade English students are reading, learning possession and position, and writing descriptive and summary paragraphs.

The school is an “English-medium”, so all classes are taught in English with the exception of one period of Swahili each day. This has lessened the language barrier considerably and their immersion in English is clearly making a huge difference in how quickly they are picking up the language. About 40% of schools in Tanzania are private, and most private schools are English-medium, whereas the public primary schools are taught in Swahili. All secondary schools and college/universities are taught in English, though, so students who attended public primary school often struggle significantly in secondary school due to the language transition. During their last year of primary school (7th grade) all students take a national high-stakes exam. Students that pass are promoted to secondary school, but those that do not are prohibited from attending public secondary school. Because private secondary school is prohibitively expensive for most Tanzanians, failing this test general means the end of their formal education. Anyway, all that to say that these years in primary school are really essential to their future prospects.

On Saturday, we went on a one-day hike up Mount Kilimanjaro. It takes 5-7 days to reach the summit of 19,000 ft because it takes time to acclimatize at the high altitudes (although someone just set a new world record, running the entire way to finish in 8 hours!), but we were able to do a one-day hike up to about 10,000ft. It felt like walking through a rainforest and we saw tons of monkeys and other wildlife along the way. On Sunday we went to Arusha National Park for a short game-drive and walking safari. Within 5 minutes of driving into the park, we came upon 8 giraffes in the middle of the forest, and a few minutes later, a field full of zebras, giraffes, buffalo, and wart hogs. Later in the day we saw monkeys, baboons, tropical birds, and half a dozen other animals I’d only ever seen in the zoo before. We have some AMAZING pictures that we’ll try to upload, but the internet is so slow in town that it may be awhile before we can. Then we went on a 3-hour walking safari, where we walked within 20 yards of a dozen giraffes and other wildlife. Then we drove to a lake for lunch where more than a thousand pink flamingos were swimming. No lions, leopards, elephants, hippos, or rhinos yet, but it was an amazing first glimpse of the incredible wildlife here.

We stopped at a local shop on the way back where I bartered for an African chess board. The board is in the shape of Africa and it and the pieces are hand-carved from local ebony wood. So if anyone wants to play chess when we get back, I’ve got a sweet new board.

Farm Girl

Hello Hello!!

I am currently on a dala-dala (mini bus) on my way to the Internet Café in Moshi. The nearest internet access is 45 minutes away, so we apologize for not keeping you all better updated on our adventures. We have some unbelievable pictures of the children we work with and the country but the connection is SO slow, it would take over an hour to upload one picture.

Although I came to Tanzania thinking I was working with a women’s rights organization, then I was told I would be working with an HIV and AIDS club, and the day before my work started I was told there was extreme need at a local orphanage. I had mixed emotions about working at an orphanage but I know this is exactly where God wanted me to experience the people and children of Tanzania. I am at the Kichijo Orphanage in Boma – there are over 120 kids run by one amazing woman named Mama Lucy. The first day I and the five others that I am volunteering with showed up and Mama Lucy kissed all of our cheeks and told us that God told her that angels were coming to help her. She and the other volunteers (locals that help out) are so appreciative and welcoming. After being at the orphanage for less than two minutes I found myself tearing up at the children in such dire need of love. I soon realized I had to turn off my emotions and just do my job for the next three weeks. I have worked with abused and homeless children before, but none of them have ever been at the condition of these kids. They do not have diapers for them and if they are not potty trained they just have to wear their soiled clothes for the rest of the day. They get their clothes changed every two days. They are covered in dirt, snot, and their own feces. Their toys are the garbage that they find in their village – pieces of broken sunglasses, an old thong of a rubber flip-flop, a shard of a mirror, etc. I constantly find them chewing on pieces of plastic, rubber, glass, or worse an old razor blade. While I and the other volunteers are working the kids receive a cup of tea and a small cup of porridge. In the evenings we have been told that they do not receive much more, but we have not been there during dinner time. The kids sleep three or more to a twin bed and are raised by the older orphans. There are no kitchens either, food is made on a make-shift stove by the preteen girls – a large pot raised by three rocks with logs underneath. The kids are clearly very hungry, they wipe every ounce of porridge or tea with their finger and do not dare let a drop fall onto the ground.

These kids are a family to each other. The older kids take care and discipline the younger ones, and the ten year olds take care of the toddlers. The kids share food to those who are hungriest. It is heart wrenching to watch. We have been told that most children have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS, malaria, drugs, or by just being unwanted.

I work with a group of about thirty kids under five years old. I help serve them ‘chai’ around nine o’clock in the morning, then I take them to play organized games for about an hour (ring around the rosie, soccer, color games, sing English songs, etc.) then I either assist an English teacher or I have been working on the farm. Working on the farm has been an amazing experience. The day I arrived they showed us this rocky dry small piece of land that they were so proud of. Since then we have plotted the land, dug irrigation areas, plowed the dirt, and today we fertilized with manure from their cows (two American volunteers just purchased them two cows this summer!) I am so excited to be able to work on the farm because I know I am truly leaving something sustainable that will feed these children all throughout the upcoming year.

On another exciting note, I celebrated my big 2-4 in Tanzania last Friday where Scott requested with the cooks to make my favorite mac and cheese (not anything like the famous Burrell recipe though). Then they had a great cake for me too. I also attempted to milk a goat on Friday which was neat, but I didn't do too well, the goat started groaning so I backed off. We also went to a African restaurant last weekend with African dancing. They had us all on the floor jumping around doing crazy moves -- it was crazy and so fun. We also hiked a third of Mt. Kilimanjaro on Saturday... I am still sore three days later. We did as much as we could for one day and it was plentyyyy for me. It was amazing though, great views, neat craters, crazy mad-bulls, and beautiful waterfalls in the rainforest. On Sunday, we did a walking safari through Arusha National Park. We were 30 yards from dozens of giraffes, zebras, babboons, and buffaloes. It was crazzzzyy! Then we spent the rest of the day in a safari vehicle tracking down other animals and enjoying the views.

I am off to go search for a 'safe' milkshake on the street of Moshi. I am sure Scott will probably order at least three. Love you all and thanks for the many supportive and encouraging emails and texts.

Hello from Boma!

Mambo Jambo!

Scott and I have safely arrived to the Hai district of Kilmanjaro, Tanzania. Our village is very small with all dirt paths and a large market two days a week. We have very modest accommodations at our Cross Cultural Solutions site – a bunk bed with mosquito nets, an open bathroom with a drain and some hot water, and a small closet for our clothes. There are about 15 other volunteers on site with us, most from the US with many in our recently graduate college, and about six others in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. We receive three meals a day with food from the local market prepared by local chefs, so far the food has been great.

The village is great. Our group is also the only michanze – white people in the village -- so our language, clothing, cameras are quite the hit. The people are very kind and always smiling. Trash is burnt on the street and it is not uncommon to see 30 people on a mini-bus.

Although I thought I would be working with women’s rights and Scott expected to be working with a micro-finance organization, we discovered once we got overseas that I would be working with at an orphanage and Scott would be working as a teacher in a primary school. Although we were expecting different placements, it seems that is where the immediate need is in our village so we are keeping a very open mind.

Yesterday was our orientation so we finished up all of our immigration and working permit paper work, took a tour of our village, and took an intro course on Swahili. Our program leaders seem great and that they are going to take great care of us.

Scott has become a very big hit with all of the local boys at a nearby soccer field. They have been playing almost daily and he returns covered with dust and a huge smile. The field is very rocky so it adds a whole new level of difficulty to the game. The goals are also two sticks with a string across the top.

Our first day at our placement sites is tomorrow, so we'll hopefully be able to post again soon with more details and first impressions!

PS I would like to report (thank God) that I do not have a paisley and flower scar on my right hand.

Jambo Jambo! (that means hello hello in Swahili)

I have to say, I LOVE the Swahili language. I am picking it up faster than my high school Spanish. It is such a fun language and there is so much happiness in people’s voices. On Monday morning we arrived from Cairo into Dar es Salam, Tanzania and took a ferry boat ride over to the island of Zanzibar, which is known for its amazing spices, island people, and beautiful beaches. We love it! Zanzibar has some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. The people are wonderful as well – everywhere we go, we seem to experience magic.

We are currently in Stonetown, which has been amazing. The town is an eclectic mix of Arabic, Indian, Asian, and African cultures -- the history, architecture, food, music, and people all reflect this. Today we just wondered and let ourselves get lost in the alleys of Old Stonetown. It was amazing – we discovered the local markets with fresh meats (aka a cow hanging by a coat hanger), spices (spice capital of Africa),traditional meals, and lots of fresh vegetables and fruits including MANGOES (I LOVE mangoes!).

We also toured a a former slave market chamber in what is now a Christian church, which was where most slaves were kept before they were sold during the Slave Trade. It was a very horrific and moving walk through their chambers with five foot ceilings, uneven floors, all concrete and no windows. This was the world's last open slave market where slaves from East and Central Africa regions were bought and sold. Then we went into a Cathedral which was built a few months after slavery was abolished in 1873. The high alter was erected in the same place as the old slave whipping post.




At the end of our afternoon, I decided to get a henna tattoo on my hand. I thought it would be a nice hippie addition to my new cute nose ring. When they lady pulled out her ‘henna ink’ I noticed it was in a black bottle, which made me a bit concerned because I slightly remembered reading that natural henna was only supposed to be brown or red. After discussing my concern in Swahi-glish about black henna being dangerous the artist calmed my fears telling me black henna was very safe. So I finally gave in and let her draw a super cute flower and paisley design down my left pinky and past my wrist. When we got back to our room, I decided to go with my gut and google ‘dangers of black henna’. I was right!! She put poisons on my skin! I felt so dumb for not trusting my gut instinct that it had been very dangerous. Black henna is made with a hair dye that burns the skin chemically—whaaa!! (that is why it is illegal to use in most countries and I now have black hair in various spots on my arm…) So I immediately started scrubbing my skin practically raw to hopefully remove these chemicals from scarring my skin permanently or giving me more skin allergies than I already have. I was very worried because I already have very bad skin and food allergies so I have to carry an epi-pen. Please say an extra prayer that I do not wake up with a flower and paisley rash or scar on my right hand tomorrow.
Anyway on to a more positive subject, tonight we sat on the roof of our hotel playing cards and enjoying delicious fruity cocktails while watching the sunset over the ocean. Then we noticed some festive music and lights coming from a garden next to our hotel, so we decided to go explore. It was a huge festival of local cuisine! We enjoyed numerous meat skewers, fresh sugar cane juice, and a chocolate-banana pizza to finish it all off. Scott loved this because all of the skewers of meat were less than 20 cents.

Tomorrow morning we are planning to take a taxi across the island to a more ‘beachy’ area where we will be able to swim with the dolphins, snorkel, and enjoy the beaches before we head to our volunteer site.

Thank you for all of your many comments and emails. We have greatly enjoyed receiving updates on everyone’s lives!!

At a fort in Alexandria along the Mediterranean Sea. Alexandria was beautiful! And the breeze across the water felt wondeful.

Audrey is really happy that she found an iced tea! Its pretty darn hot and ice-cold drinks can be hard to come by...

Audrey with one of the statues of Pharoah at the Luxor Temple

At the last temple we visited in Luxor at the end of the Nile Cruise

At the "Valley of the Kings"

A whole row of miniature sphinxes outside one of the temples.

Coptic Christians plastered over some of the Egyptian hyroglyphics in this temple and painted what is believed to be a scene from "The Last Supper"

Another temple in Luxor

cruising down the Nile. The contrast between the land along the Nile and the desert was pretty amazing

The first temple we visited in Aswan.

June 18th, Scott

We’re on a plane now, headed back to Cairo from a fantastic three nights on the Nile. The stark contrast between the plush, green, fertile land along the Nile and the barren desert just a few hundred yards away is really amazing. The coolest thing about a “cruise” on the Nile is that, in Egypt, everything really is built along the river so you can basically see everything relevant in the whole country in just a few short days along the river. On a typical day, we’d get up around 6am for breakfast and leave by 7am to head to our morning site (a temple, tomb, the High Dam, etc.). We always left early to try to avoid the mid-day heat. Then we’d return to the boat by lunchtime, when it would launch for a few hours—we’d usually hang out on the upper deck while the boat was moving; reading a book and taking in the site. I just finished Malcolm Gladwell’s new book, Outliers. I’d read Tipping Point and Blink and this was the most recent in the “series”. I really liked his other books and I found Outliers to be equally thought-provoking. There is a really interesting chapter on KIPP—a network of really successful charter schools founded by a couple TFA alums—that was worth the whole read by itself. I’m starting “Blue Like Jazz” next which was recommended by Jon Weece and a few other friends so I’m really looking forward to that as well. Back to the schedule—the boat would usually dock again around 4pm and we’d head out to see another site at the next city before dinner. Then the boat would travel a bit further after dinner and dock for the evening. The pace of everything has been great—I feel like we’ve seen a ton, but there has also been plenty of time of downtime so I’ve always felt rested enough that I could really enjoy and appreciate the various sites.

Egypt is the first “emerging” country I’ve spent much time in and it’s been really fascinating for me to learn about the recent history of the country (along with the obvious B.C. years of pharaohs and pyramids that everyone comes for). They were a monarchy until the 1950’s, when the king was overthrown by a military coup and a republic was established. Since then, they’ve taken a lot of well-intentioned steps toward developing as an industrialized nation. They started a stock-market soon after the founding of the republic, but then it folded after a couple decades. It was re-opened about a dozen years ago but is still not widely utilized. Their infrastructure has expanded well past travel up and down the Nile, and they have a relatively efficient network of airports and even a cross-country railway system (which was developed under British influence, but has been maintained by the Egyptians). At the same time, though, they have no lanes on the roads, few traffic lights (and those that are in place are ignored), and crossing the street feels an awfully lot like a real-life game of the old Atari classic “Frogger”. Interestingly, they are surprisingly few wrecks, which our cab driver attributed to fact that no one has auto insurance. Drink the water, and you’ll enjoy the infamous “Niles Piles” for a week or so… They have a progressive tax system with tax rates that vary between 10-30% based upon income. Interestingly, they publish a list each year of “Egypt’s Highest Tax Payers”, and it’s actually an honor to be listed on it—for them it speaks to their honesty in abiding by the rules of country. They have had a property tax in place for years, but no one ever paid and it was never enforced so they reauthorized it last year and it seems to be off to a good start. There is no welfare system, but everyone has healthcare; either through their employer or the government. Rent controls have kept rents in the city very low ($20-30 per month for a family home), but they reset after a generation so there are concerns about what the current generation will do when their grandparents pass away and their rent resets to current rates which are about ten times higher. The Egyptian Pound was artificially deflated to maintain a set 3-1 conversion to the Dollar, but was allowed to “float” a few years ago and has hovered around 5.5 to 1 since then—definitely a positive step for them. Libraries are being built, education is improving, and national security is a high priority. Women still aren’t allowed to leave the country without written permission from their husbands, but the younger generation wants to strike down that and other oppressive regulations and the parliament is even designating specific seats for women to try to achieve a more diverse representation. Audrey is laughing at me for writing all this and our tour guide probably thinks I’m crazy for asking so many questions about modern Egypt, but I have just found it fascinating to see/hear what it looks like in modern days for a country to transition to Democracy. I can imagine that America had some similar “guffaws” in its early years (and still plenty now) and seeing Egypt has given me a more realistic perspective of the patience and appropriate expectations that we should have for countries as they make that kind of transition.
Happy Birthday Mom!

Cruisin' the Nile

First off, I need to take back my judgmental comment about the Nile looking a bit like the Ohio River. When I saw it in Cairo it really wasn’t the most beautiful body of water I have ever seen, but then we boarded our Nile Cruise. We ‘cruised’ from Aswan (southern Egypt) north to Luxor for four days and three nights. The Nile is absolutely beautiful!! It is very interesting because you are surrounded by desert except this beautiful river and maybe 200 yards of fertile land around the river which is used for crops. We were also able to sit on the top deck and watch the various towns come and go. We saw many fishermen in their boats, men on camel back climbing the desert hills, young boys herding their goats, and little kids playing in the water.

During these few days aboard the M/S Giselle (nothing like an American cruise ship but it by far exceeded our expectations—clean and safe, all you can ask for over here), we made stops in Aswan, Edfu, and Luxor.

When our boat was docked in Aswan we took a traditional Nile felucca (sailboat) around Aswan’s Botanical Gardens. Then throughout the next few days we visited four temples which were each distinctly different. It was also about an average of 105 degrees in mid-day. Egypt has the driest heat I have ever experienced, yet luckily no one has passed out yet (I am referring to myself, the avid passer-outer). Today we visited the Valley of the Kings which was extraordinary. We saw three tombs—Ramses IV and Ranses IX, and another whose name was harder to remember. They were unbelievable and in the middle of nowhere. The kings started planning their burials as soon as they took office and the tombs many times had 7-9 chambers inside all with hand painted walls and ceilings telling stories about their lives so they had no trouble finding themselves again in their afterlife.

We are currently in the airport flying from Luxor back to Cairo where we will stay tonight. Tomorrow morning we drive north through the desert to Alexandria, which I have been really looking forward to. Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great in 322 BC, it is where the Nile meets the Mediterranean and it is supposed to be breathtakingly beautiful. It is also where Cleopatra is said to have been born (I have been studying my Fodor’s). After a night in Alexandria we head back to Cairo and then fly south to Dar Es Salam to start our journey in Tanzania. I believe Scott is going to try to post soon as well, he will probably remember much more of the ‘important’ historical facts that I didn’t seem to soak in. I do hope to have time later to post about our discussion about the clothing and women’s rights in Egypt… very interesting topic.

Oh yeah, and all the Egyptians want us to tell all the Americans who voted for Obama that it was a great decision. They love him. They even ask us if we liked Bush when haggling -- if you say no, they give you a better price… priceless.

Oh yeah and did I mention that there are four school teachers from Ashland, Kentucky on our tour… random.

A Few Quick Pictures

Scott at the Spinx. This is one of the crazy pictures that the young girls showed us how to take. (or more so, forcefully put us in the positions and took our pictures)

Audrey at the medium pyramid. This is also the one that Scott crawled through inside.

Cairo at Sunrise -- population 20 million

Picture of another market on a Saturday afternoon. Our cabby said this wasn't even busy.

Some neat finds at the market. Beautiful handmade goods. We are still trying to figure out how to carry some exciting things home.

Obama Obama Obama... everyone loves Obama :)

Scott at the market

Some of the local 'ahwas' -- coffeehouses. This was near the "Khan a Kali" market