Slow down Mister!

I've been at Kayuki for 12 days and things are beginning to settle. I've spent much of the time preparing the house to be actually lived in: ordering furniture to be made, buying various kitchen items, food etc. The surround is spectacular! I am on the crown of a small rise just South of Mt. Rungwe. I'm perched high enough over the rolling hills of the Rungwe tea plantations that in the distant South (in the evening) I can just barely see Lake Nyasa through the haze. The 8-story water tower in the center of School grounds makes an excellent lookout/meditation-spot/owl-hideout. You should see all the pellets. I could assemble a small rodent skeleton every day of the week for the next 6 months. I'm gearing up for all sorts of projects, and in particular getting a compost pile going.

The night I arrived at school I attended the school closing assembly. The assistant headmaster (mkuu wa pili) gave a lively speech and allowed me to introduce myself. When I mentioned I would be teaching the girls physics, I was met with applause. Clearly, I've come to where I'm able to do a lot of work (there are only 5 science teachers at Kayuki and none were currently teaching physics).

The gated school grounds probably cover 20 acres or so of hilly but infrastructured land. The whole area used to be involved with a Chinese coal mining company. Concrete roadways, geometric drainage troughs, and long buildings used as housing speak to the industrial nature of the place, but there is a vibrant quality that reminds me of a sleep away camp in the Adirondacks. Maybe it's the evergreen trees or the thunderstorms or the fact that many of the teachers live on school grounds, forming what turns out to be a neat little community. Faraja, the girl pictured with me, is the house help of the headmistress who kindly fed me for the first 5 days at site, before I had an operable kitchen.

So far so good. I can't imagine how buzzing the school grounds will be when students return in the second week of January.

Going to Mbeya

Mbeya, where I will eat loads of ndizi (bananas) I'm told. It is a new site, so I get to move myself in and customize the set up. Excellent, can't wait to get started on my garden. I'm being installed during the rainy season too, which is the right time to plant fruit trees and other crops. My site is not too far from the norther tip of Lake Nyasa (others call it L Malawi) which is supposedly home to the most beautiful beach in Tanzania's mainland, Mtema. Everything is looking excellent, I'm very pleased to be going to the Southern highlands, although I'm told it rains 10 months out of the year. The cooler weather up there will calm my sweat apparatus some, and I may even miss the climate of Morogoro some.

Not very sure what to expect at an all girls boarding school. Some of my peers have been speculating that I've been placed at the site that was intended for a 62 year old woman who left the program before finishing training. She was an IT/computer teacher and it may be related to the fact that the school I'm going to just received a donation of 20 computers. Looks like I'll be brushing up on my techno babble.

Two Weeks to Go

I'm finished learning Kiswahili in the classroom but Peace Corps training will continue for another two weeks. The high-point of this wiki iliyopita was definitely the permaculture session where I learned much about trapping water and which fruits and veges to plant in my garden when I get to post. I can't wait, eight months from now I may be eating papaya from my own plot of land. Permaculture also seems like an excellent secondary project to become involved in. Providing a source of nutritious food and a means to grow more of it seems to be an excellent way to cross into the medical profession. The best way to treat disease is to prevent it altogether. I still haven't seen the conditions I will be facing for the two years I will be in Tanzania after training, however, I plan on implementing what I've learned thus far, and see where it takes us. I believe that the most important aspect of Peace Corps service is the basic human interaction that takes place between a PCV and the people they meet in country.

Kiswahili of the week:

hadi hapo --> until then
unakuwaje? --> how are things? (like mambo)

Mikumi National Park

Yeah we just got back from Mikumi national park where we saw all the big ones: Baboon, zebra, giraffe, elephant, impala, red buck, water buffalo, hippo, croc, and lions!! There was a mating pair in the park the first evening because the female was in heat. Amazing to see these animals only a couple of meters away. There were also these beautiful birds called lilac breasted rollers. One of the older women in our group is a real birder and she describes them by saying they have more colors than should be allowed on one bird. I'm putting some of the pics of the trip of Facebook so take a look see.

Words of the week: "Bila shaka" --> without a doubt

"umeulamba!" --> you're looking good

more later...

Familia Yangu Mtanzania

This is my Tanzanian host family who I live with while training in Morogoro. Familia ya Omari Dudu!

Safi Sana, Shwali kabisa

"Everything is clean/cool." It has been almost one month since my arrival in Tanzania, yet I have experienced only Morogoro and a smidge of Dar es Salaam. It will be three weeks until I find out where in Tanzania Peace Corps Tanzania will send me for the following two years. It may be the mountains inland from Tanga where the weather is cool and you can get "mzungu" vegetables like broccoli and zucchini. Or I might be sent to the coast near Lindi or Mtwara where it is constantly hot and humid, but you can swim in the ocean. Or there's the central regions like Dodoma, where water is scarce and gales frequently blow up desert dust storms that send people in doors and sometimes shut businesses down. I can make certain requests about where I'd like to be posted, but it is clear that the PCTs are not to expect to arrive at a region of their choosing.

In other news, My family celebrated the end of Ramadon with the day of Idd this Saturday. A nephew and a sister in law as well as some friends of Salumu, the oldest son of my family all came by to eat chakula cha mchana (lunch). My kiswahili teacher, Chacha stopped by also and I struggled to keep up with his conversation with my host father about the practicality of faith and various religions, and whether or not a person must suffer for another to gain. I tried to explain my essentially buddhist philosphy of understanding that my being isn't at all seperate from the universe around me. Therefore, it is in my interst to see others around me succeed in life and be happy.

Training

For the next 8 weeks I will be training in for going to post somewhere (yet unknown) in Tanzania. There are several components to the training regime. Most important is community integration. I am staying with a Tanzanian host family and every day we interact together and within the community. We are studying kiswahili 5 days a week from 8am to 4pm and I'm improving fast. Sasa ninaweza kuzumgumza kidogo na watu wa Morogoro. Baada ya kozi ya kiswahili kusema vizuri sana.

My host family is very warm and kind. They have the surname Dudu and they are currently observing the 25 days of Ramadon. Every day, they break the fast at 6:35pm.

It is surprising how quickly I can feel at home in the household, and It is excellent practicing kiswahili with them. Already I can feel myself integrating into the community and it feels great. I have always hated being simply a tourist. Each time I hear the word, muzungu (foreigner), I can stop and say, "I am not foreigner, I am called Sky." This and common greetings in kiswahili sets me far apart from westerners traveling through the area, and it helps me to stay safe. When the community knows and likes me, I will have as strong a support network as anywhere in the world.

I am enjoying the cultural differences such as eating with my hands (though not every family does this), personal contact, and extended greeting. Everything is wonderful and I have had no problems.

How to pack for Africa

So, I've got my slacks all together, 10 pairs of underwear, 12 pairs of sturdy socks, 7 button down shirts, fleeces, sandals, text books etc. I'll be packing most of it into my trusty Kelty frame pack (model unknown) that I've had since Boy Scouts. My strategy is to roll or fold the clothes into a rectangular mound. Then use a lightweight sheet to tie it into a neat bundle.



This works well for a couple of reasons; you get to pack a sheet (extremely useful for any trip), the closing mechanism of my pack seems to work better the more stuffed it is. It has two black catches that a drawstring cord hooks under while the upward-bulging load provides tension to keep the string hooked. Simple and ingenious really.


The one unfortunate downside of my kelty pack is it's rather limited compartment space. I would guess 2400 cubic inches. The great thing about an external frame, however is the expandability it offers by way of lashing extra gear wherever it comfortably fits. I used my two clasp buckled belts (which I planned to pack anyway) and an elastic band I salvaged from a flood-damaged photo album to secure my sleeping bag to the outside of the lumbar cradle.


This arrangement works great, I've got room to spare in my pack. A word about air travel. Even though I've checked this bag to Guatemala and China, and never lost any items, I've decided to put the whole thing in a duffel. Not only are the packs extremities protected, but I get to bring an extra bag which may come in handy while I'm in Tanzania and for the return trip. Also, I've packed most metallic items (knives, sharp tweezers, etc.) to the outer pockets. On an X-ray, the inner core should look blank and if security wants to check anything out, they hopefully will skip rooting through the clothes.

Well, that's all for now, I still have to get some gifts for a prospective host family. Ciao.

No Money!

I spent my last large chunk of change on American soil today. What did I buy you ask? Clothes mostly for my journey to Tanzania, where the people apparently expect you to wear "slacks". I'm not sure exactly what constitutes a pair of slacks, but I bought some comfy dark-khaki-casual dress pants. Next on the list was a pair of light "quick dry" pants. These turned out to be my big ticket item in fact. Thanks Dicks. I'm also trying out skype for the first time, though I'm not sure how well it will go over in my African post yet.

Well, the flood damage is mostly taken care of (yes my basement flooded recently) and I think my Peace Corps Volunteer Registration form is still acceptable, even if it has that ripply, obviously-soaked-at-one-point look. Write this one down: Carbon paper + water = mess. With the carpet all pulled out, I'm reminded of the hours during my childhood spent playing on roller racers.

Anyway, this was the first ever blog posting by Schuyler James Wood, so mark your history books or whatever you do when an egghead goes on an ego trip.

peace