Arrival

Arrival – We arrived last Friday, August 27^th into the Kilimanjaro Airport in Arusha. Thankfully all five of our bags arrived. Our driver from MS-TCDC was waiting for us and so we went straight to the campus. Driving in we saw what looked like chaotic vegetation. I'm sure there was some order to crops and pastureland, but we couldn't make it out. In the background was Mount Meru. We spent the first few days just resting and getting settled in to our room on the TCDC campus.

Native dancers at TCDC

Hospital Encounter – Many of those who know me know that I have a love of poison ivy. Once again, I managed to find it in Ohio whilst hiking with my dear sister in law Laura. By the time we arrived in Arusha, it had made its presence known on my arm and leg. Since I have no defense to it, I knew we needed to go to the doctor. So, we took a taxi into Arusha last Saturday to the Luthern Hospital. After waiting nearly 4 hours, I finally was able to see the doctor. I told him my problem and what it typically took to cure it. The doctor wrote a prescription (albeit wrong) and we were out of there. I was actually quite impressed with the facility. It didn't seem as if anyone was in a hurry and I certainly didn't like the wait. But, it was clean and organized and had an in-house pharmacy. Plus, between seeing the doctor and buying the prescription, we paid only 9800 shillings which at an exchange rate of 1500:1, that comes out to only $6.50!

Classrooms at TCDC

Courses – We have been taking Kiswahili classes on the MS- Training Center for Development Cooperation. Let's just say that Lisa and I are slowly but surely making minor progress! We are in the "slower" group with a really nice couple from Germany and that is right where we belong. To date we can greet someone and say I want/like something. We also know important words like toilet, water, toilet water, and food. I am pretty sure I recognized "big headed white person" walking in town yesterday, but that's up for debate! Anyway, we'll finish courses in two weeks (September 17^th) and hopefully by then we'll be able to successfully say "I want to hunt monkeys with a blow dart and eat ice cream" and not have it come out all offensive.



Arusha – Yesterday we went in to Arusha. It's a little confusing what that means because technically the training center is in Arusha, but it's so spread out that it takes ½ hour to get in to the "downtown". So, people refer to it as Arusha Town. To us it felt like chaos. We were almost instantly pressed by street vendors to buy art work or newspapers. We did find that if we spoke to them in Swahili they would ask if we were a volunteer or a tourist. When we said volunteer, they would leave us alone. There were small shops along the streets selling anything from welding equipment to flat screen TV's. We walked from the city center to a "strip mall" near the outskirts of the town called the Shop Right Center. Shop Right is a chain of stores across Tanzania. Inside is just like any major grocery store in the states. It was a strange and welcome feeling to walk inside after the stress of the walk to get there! We found Red Bull and Snickers, so I think we'll be just fine.


Transportation – Yesterday we took our first daladala. This is Tanzania's public transport bus system. Basically we crammed as many people into a Toyota microbus as possible. At one point I had a baby on my lap, a tub of bananas under my legs and people touching me in ways I don't even want to describe. Overall, a pretty good experience!



Food – This has been a welcome surprise! Here at the center we have lived like kings. Each meal is set up in a buffet and there are lots of options. Primarily we have had a lot of starches and lintels. We have rice and some sort of beans at nearly every meal. But, there has also been salads, fruits, mutton, fish, beef, maize, ugale (this I understand is a staple pretty much everywhere – looks like mashed potatoes but has virtually no flavor!). I don't think this is a typical fare and we'll probably be very sad when we move to Moduli! But for now, we're carbo-loading!



Monkeys & Wildlife – This has to be my favorite part of being here so far! There have been at least three types of monkeys around our campus – grey ones, black ones and these black and white ones with crazy tails (they look like big skunks climbing in the trees!). I think the last ones are called colobus monkeys. There are also these enormous cranes that are in the trees near our room. They have a 5-6 foot wing span and when they fly their wings make a lot of noise! There are also lizards and spiders all over! I have a tough time focusing sometimes because there is a lot to attend to!



People we've met – Besides the wildlife, we've been blessed with some wonderful people! Our instructors, Mama Elda and Mama Frida have been very kind and patient. The other class participants in the beginner course are from Canada, Germany, USA ( Montana of all places) and Seattle. We have also met folks from World Vision and the Tanzanian government. Overall, there is a sense of purpose and passion with most of the people we've met and that has been really encouraging.

Ben, Lisa P., Seth, Scott

Meeting our Orkeeswa Colleagues – The capstone of the week was finally being able to meet the people we will be working with at Orkeeswa! We met for dinner in Arusha. I'm happy to report that we will be working with a Wyoming native and UW grad! Scott (Wyoming native), Lisa (New York native), Ben (Australian native and our soon to be roommate!), Quinn (Missouri native) and Peter (IEFT founder) were all there to welcome us and celebrate birthdays.