A Few of my Least Favorite Things

I want to say at the beginning of this blog that this is not a complaint session! Especially after the tone of the last blog, you could easily think I was a disgruntled volunteer begging for relief. That is not the case at all! There are so many positive things that have happened this past week I couldn't begin to count them. However, I've been thinking of this blog for some time and wanted to share some of the areas I feel I have struggled with the most since I've been here. I think these struggles are mostly me trying to maintain my own comfort. But, some I think are God saying "pay attention here buddy because this isn't OK with me either." So, here goes. A few of the things that have caused me struggles since arriving.

No water! - I think this is easily the biggest factor on my mind now. It affects everything - showers, cooking, flushing the toilet, etc... Now, keep in mind I live in a house with plumbing which leads to sinks and flush toilets in the first place! And to be perfectly clear, all we have to do is wait for the water to come on and it fills a cistern and boom, we have water. We don't have to go fetch it or anything like that. I also see people driving their cattle and goats looking for water every day. I see people with donkeys with plastic jugs strapped to the donkey's back to go get water. It is just such a basic thing and yet its just a constant struggle.

Housing - our house is great. Many other houses here trash. The walls are mud and dung. And I thought coming in to this, "oh just keep an open mind and maybe it's not so bad." No. They are not good. Now, if you are a 50 year old man who drank away your life, I might think "OK, maybe that guy has earned his way into a mud hut." But, what I see more often are kids living there. I'm not sure why this bothers me so much. People have lived in similar structures, or less, for lots of years. But it gets to me.

Language - This is not a huge thing because most people here speak English. But, its a constant factor to consider. Plus, there are like 57 different greetings here and you have to know which one is the right one. Cripes!

Getting ripped off - You have to bargain for everything here. There are virtually no price tags on anything. So, you always have to ask "how much". Then, since we are white (or mzungu as they would call it), most people assume you don't know what the price should be and jack it way up. Fine. Fair play. However, when I know what the price should be and know they do this, it is frustrating. For instance, last week we were coming home from Arusha after going to church and had to take public transportation (dolla dolla). I knew the price should be 1200 Tanzania shillings (TSH). We paid. But, about 1/4 of the way through the ride, there weren't enough passengers. So, the driver pulled over, we got out, and we all had to hop on another dolla (which was more full). The first driver refunded us 500 TSH, which I later gave to the second driver. Of course, the second driver said this was not enough...I needed to pay 800 TSH. I argued with him for a while in Swahili. Unfortunately, I kept saying "I will pay" instead of "I did pay". In the end, I just gave him the money and sat there mad. Now, if you think about it, it's about 60 cents USD that I got all worked up about! I just don't like feeling taken advantage of.

Slow - Everything feels like it happens slowly. I want some wood for woodworking club. Just 13 boards. I want science equipment. I want a printer. I want scissors, glue, tape, rulers, paper, print cartridges and a nice steamy cup of luke warm mediocre coffee waiting for me in the morning. Come on, is that so much to ask? At home, if I had to wait a week, it was too long. I could run down to the store and buy it. Boom. Done. Plus, if I didn't like the price, quality or any other petty thing, I just went to a different store. Doesn't happen that way here bud!

I was/am so used to things being a certain way. Things I just took for granted that, by my estimation, everyone had or should have. It's probably good that this poor American gets to struggle just a bit with a big healthy dose of reality for how some of the rest of the world operates. As the mural on the side of one of our classrooms reads "Welcome to the world." I do pray for acceptance of the things I cannot change and courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference. And, an occasional hot shower.