The router issue was solved! Yes, Joseph reconfigured the router so that it could bypass the SIM that was required in the standard settings. I was not sure it was going to work, but he did it! Hallelujah!
He was grateful for the opportunity to do something interesting and solve a problem with his training and internship experience. I was thrilled to have WIFI, so now I can download photos from my phone for this blog! It was a mutual blessing as I thanked Joseph, honoring his time with an appropriate payment, and I have WIFI!
Joseph really has a great spirit and not only demonstrated his competence, but was kind and positive throughout the challenge. Please join me in praying for a job for Joseph in IT.
I was typing an email this morning, but I was interrupted by a “mammoth wasp” that flew by me in the house. However, I have not be able to find a fly swatter in the three “supermarkets” that I’ve visited in this area. But necessity is the mother of invention.
My DYI flyswatter!
This flyswatter is compiled from a Swedish plastic sink scoop, as sink garbage disposals are rather rare in Sweden. However, the slits should let some air through. And the stick is one of my “rods” that I use to play the drums, with half the small dowels on the back side and half on the front to secure the plastic scoop. It worked to swat the wasp!
I was able to Skype with my sister, Elenn’, last night. What a gift to connect via video chat. I talked about the fact that, surprising to me, I have not been able to readily find a flyswatter. She empathized from her 19 years in Pakistan. She said that once after a home assignment in the USA, she bought 40 flyswatters to bring back to the hospital!
I did a bit of rearranging after work–now that I have a WIFI router–and a 3 meter ethernet cable that I had purchased with the router. Now with a bookshelf to my left and a little deeper table for a desk, I’m creating a more functional workspace with what is in this house.
Saturday is grocery shopping, so off to bed to get up for 30-minute one-way walk around 7:30 (or so) to the ATM and store while the temperatures are cooler.
While I worked on getting things done, revisions, reading, networking, I had commissioned Joseph (See the post from 8.31 below, the younger brother of my teaching colleague, Daniel, with whom I taught at the MaaSae Girls Lutheran Secondary School) to go to Arusha and buy a WIFI router for me. He graduated this spring with a bachelor’s degree in ITC, and he was eager to help out. (He currently is looking for a job, so all pray for a job for Joseph! He is a hard working guy with a good, positive spirit!) I thought this would be mutually beneficial. I have an ethernet cable in my house, so I wanted a router that had an ethernet plug in, like I’ve had elsewhere. I learned online, that many routers work by SIM, which is a great way to get Internet access to people where there isn’t the wiring.
I did take a break when the colobus monkeys were grunting to each other! I discovered about 8 monkeys in the trees on the south side of my house.
This is taken with a smartphone from my front porch!
Their jumping from limb to limb is wonderful to see the long white fur catch the air. Yes, things are different here as monkey grunting distracts me from my work mode.
Back to the WIFI router. Joseph diligently returned. This WIFI router is different! It requires a SIM card! But I can plug in my ethernet cable to the router, then connect the router to my laptop, and I can access the set up website (so, there is connectivity), and while my laptop recognizes the connection, it says “no internet.” What?!? The router must have a SIM card! I did try it with my phone SIM card, and yes, then I had Internet. But, if I have an ethernet cable with my rent, why pay for WIFI just because the router needs a SIM card?
Joseph believes he can work on the configuration to bypass the SIM card, and he said he did this kind of thing when he was doing an internship (unpaid) here at TUMa. So, providentially, he is connected with the IT department folks here. He’ll come by tomorrow and confer with the IT head tomorrow. I hope it works. Yes, I will survive without WIFI, but it means eating up data on my phone for tasks that required phone activation (Swedish authentication, which doesn’t seem to work due to a low bandwidth), picture download from my iPhone, and just the convenience of having a Internet access in other parts of the house. I’m also thinking when friends come, it would be great to have WIFI for others without passing the 1 ethernet cable around–if they brought a laptop, as their smartphones can’t connect.
Now, if you happen to be a techie and have tips for me in how to increase my capacity with my devices, just let me know!
I think the power went out 3 times today. Fortunately, not when I was presenting a draft of a paper in my Norwegian-African research group. I’m getting the hang of having a flashlight on my when the power goes down. I try to keep my phone plugged in when I’m at my desk, to keep it fully charged. But tonight, the power went out, and I realized that my phone would not work. I bought some vouchers to upload to my phone, but there is a new bundle thing that needs to either uploaded with more money (for Internet/data with half a dozen options in addition to some customizing plans) or turned off. However, the text that told me how to turn the bundle off was not accurate to the options on the screen I was to access. And I can’t buy a new bundle, because there is no credit card option. I have to get a Mpesa account–like Venmo/Zelle (for the Americans), Vipps (for the Norwegians), and Swish (for the Swedes). So, I was able to respond to an SMS from my answer-to-prayer-former-colleague Daniel only when the power came back on and I could WhatsApp message him online. Thus, for a while there, I was left incommunicado. In case of emergency, I would have to take my flashlight and walk to a neighbor and ask for help. I know one of the teachers here who is a neighbor, but I just don’t know which house yet.
So, I’m re-centering on a peace that passes all understanding through listening to some instrumental hymns and praise songs–since I have Internet access when the power is on. I also made sure I did my daily Duolingo language lesson and washed the dishes (to boil water, as I only have cold water in the kitchen sink).
I’ll probably head to bed early. Last night, there were dogs fighting outside. The barking–and some horrible whimpering–went on for a long time. I don’t know the neighborhood yet (not even which house is the one for the guy I know), but I sense there are some non-pet dogs that wander the community. I’m guessing people put up with them, because they eat up any scraps that get tossed out and help keep the rodent population down. I’m just guessing.
Sorry, no pictures today, as I didn’t go to the library to download pictures from my phone. I worked on the paper for the presentation.
The sun rises every day at 6:30 am and sets every day at 6:30 pm, as I’m located just 3 degrees south of the equator. This Sunday, I was awaken at 6:30 am by monkeys chasing each other on the corrugated tin roof. Getting up, I heard and saw them run around, checking out my new clothesline I put up the day before. I wonder what this means for my laundry?!? Will monkeys decide to grab items that are close to the tree? I’d better leave some space. (For those concerned about the tree branch, I have half a dozen sticks between the rope and the tree’s bark to not impede the work of the xylem and phloem. The xylem distributes water and dissolved minerals from the roots to the leaves upward throughout the tree. The phloem carries food downward from the leaves to the roots.)
These are blue monkey, the third species of monkeys on campus that I’ve seen since arrival.
Blue monkey on the pink clothesline
Later, one monkey was checking me out through the window. (Cleaning windows comes after cleaning out the kitchen and room cupboards. I bought vinegar for this very purpose, using a home recipe with vinegar and a smidge of dish soap in water.)
After the morning’s monkeys, I was able to catch a ride to the Arusha Community Church, the English language worship. My driver/host was Randy Stubbs, a former ELCA missionary that has continued on here since 2006 and has done an amazing job of building up a next to nothing music program into a flourishing Cultural Arts Center, with a performance center, 19 employees, and a small museum. The musicians and dancers are now providing cultural arts at special events, like the recent visit of the President of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan, who was on campus just days before I arrived for the opening of the new science buildings at Tumaini University Makumira (TUMa).
Tumaini University Makumira (TUMa), my home now.
It was lovely to worship with Randy’s wonderful piano playing and his oldest daughter that I first met in 2011 when she was a teenager, now is a gifted worship leader (with two adorable twin daughters). There were some people who remembered me: the woman who taught the preschool where Anya attended twice a week and stayed with her daughters at their home until Eric was done working at Heifer International; and his former colleague at Heifer, who remembered Eric’s friendship and rich Bible studies together; and some I knew from the extended missionary community, and some who were names or networks I knew about but hadn’t known personally.
One providential conversation was with one of the local Roman Catholic priests from the Spiritan Brother order. All the Spiritan brothers that I’ve met are amazing! He introduced me to a recent Maasai civil society organization, the Maasai International Solidarity Alliance and connected me with a recent newsletter.
This newsletter is connected to my project in a tangential way, but it would take too long to describe tonight. So, it helps to identify the bigger picture of where I am.
I would feel a bit more settled with a good cleaning, with hopes that it may have a reduction of some of the wadudu (insects).
The days get into the mid 80s and the UV ratings get to “extreme” on Accuweather. So, I planned to walk to the “supermarket” on Saturday morning before things got too hot. I also hoped that a weekend morning would be less traffic on the Arusha-Moshi road that I walk along on a footpath sometimes what seems to be only 2 meters (6 feet) away from the motorcycles, cars, buses, and trucks. That was a good plan.
My goal was to get cleaning supplies. As I’m also walking the 25-minutes back, I buy what I can carry. I’m sure I looked strange with a mop, a plunger, and a broomstick ascending from my backpack. With a big, blue bag, I wonder how many tourists driving buy identified the IKEA trademark!
What a sight to behold!
This place is like a cross between a cabin and a rental home that has not been loved for a few years. I wanted to scrub the kitchen (at least start), get the cobwebs, spider cocoons, and bat/mouse droppings swept and mopped up, and set up my clothes washing system. Yes, not only am I doing dishes by hand (which reminds me to pray for the ELCA missionaries, the Fribergs, who are deep in the middle of Maasailand), but I also have to do laundry by hand. If I can manage it, then I don’t need to seek out someone to do my laundry. It does provide a job for someone, but with just me, my new system that I learned from YouTube could keep me from the effort to find a trusted person right now while I’m putting emotional energy into getting me settled.
So, this laundry system is pretty slick. I bought two new cleat mop buckets that telescope inside each other and have sturdy metal handles. I hand drilled (yes, I bought and brought a small hand drill just for this purpose) many holes in one of the buckets.
I have a laundry room with a large cement sink (that didn’t drain well, until I picked out a lot of gunk) with counters on either side. I put the “sieve” bucket inside the normal bucket and add laundry soap, water, and then some of my cleanest dirty clothes. With a new—clean—plunger, I agitate the clothes for a good 5 minutes. (I’m figuring out the optimal agitation time, but 5 minutes seemed to work fine with half a bucket of clothes.)
After agitation/plunging, I lift out the sieve bucket, and most of the water drains out. A few presses with the plunger while resting on top of the bottom bucket pushes out some more water. These clothes get dumped into bucket number 3 with some water to start rinsing. Replace the sieve bucket into the normal bucket with the soapy water. Repeat with more clothes, putting the dirtiest clothes in last. The rinsing process is similar, but all my 3 small loads fit nicely in the buckets for rinsing a few times.
Then, I take the sieve out of the laundry room door to the cement steps. Now I put the normal bucket inside the sieve bucket and sit on the top of the bucket stack, pressing more water out of the sieve holes!
The final step is tying the sturdy handle to a rope I threw over a tree branch in the back yard and twisted the bucket many, many times. Then the unwinding causes centrifugal force for a spin cycle, as water sprays out of the sieve bucket. A few times twisting and spinning gets most of the water out and saves the handwringing of each article of clothing! Now, hang up the clothes to dry.
For the socks and small things, I have a travel clothesline of braided think latex rubber tubing. So, no clothes pins needed. Just put a small corner in between the braided chord. As I did my laundry after my shopping, walking, and drilling holes, things were still a bit damp before the sun set at 6:30 (every day, all year round). So, I could just take the latex tubing inside with all the socks and small things still attached and affix it inside my house.
Overall, I’m pleased with the system, especially compared to the chore of hand scrubbing and hand wringing. I did add more holes on the sieve, so I should have even better results from my spin cycle next time.
This first Tanzanian blog post is a little long. It took a while to get access to the Internet, and there is no Internet when the power is out (which it has been 4 times in 3 days).
I departed Sweden on Monday, with the help of Anya and my dear friend with a big car, Johanna, I got my 4 large checked bags checked and delivered to Tanzania. (Traveler’s tip #1, take a picture of your bags you will check.) Fortunately, I had 2 of the plastic trunks from when we moved to Tanzania, so they are good for shipping as well as storage (duct taping over some vent holes to try to keep the vermin out of my dry food storage and other items).
With all the hassle of a lot of luggage, international travel, security checks (a bit of a formality for arriving passengers in Addis Ababa), I experienced a lower state of unsettledness than usual with all the hassles of travel–and this is a big move! Then, I received a text message from Marta in Norway who said she was praying for me. I know that others were aware of travel and praying too. What a blessing! (Travel tip #2, if you are traveling heavy to Africa, Ethiopian Airlines has 32 kg bag options at a bit of a higher cost, does not weigh carry-on bags, nor seem to mind if you [other travelers, not me] have 3 large carry-ons, yet be prepared for a crowed airport and an introduction to “This is Africa” in Addis.)
Helpful information in the Addis Ababa bathrooms!
The challenge was getting through visa processing and then customs at Kilimanjaro International Airport. I didn’t say I was here for tourism, but I can’t say I’m here for research yet, because my research visa hasn’t been approved (a process I started literally at the end of April). So, I said I’m here for cultural exchange and learning Swahili. When I mentioned doing language learning, the visa official wanted me to pay for a business visa. But I said, I’m not doing business. I’m doing cultural exchange and that includes learning language. So, a supervisor agreed that I didn’t need a business visa, and I ended up with a “leisure and holiday” visa, as I leave on 13 November, 77 days from my arrival (as I’m going to present a paper at a conference in the USA) as part of this project.
Three lines and $100 later, I picked up my luggage. But the trunks are suspicious, as they are not typical tourist baggage. However, everyone’s luggage goes through a luggage scanner upon arrival, including carry-on backpacks. So, 4 of my bags were required to be open. Strategically, I had put clothes and my Swahili dictionary, and ordinary things on top. A customs official, a courteous women, asked me how long I am staying when she saw kitchen utinsels. I said I leave in 77 days. She asked why I’m bringing kitchen things? I said, I have a place on the Tumaini University Makumira (TUMa) campus, but it has no kitchen things, no bedding, etc. She also noted that I had a steel box in a suitcase (packed in tourist-looking luggage), which I explained is a way to keep things safe, when it is chained down. That made sense to her. So, she seemed satisfied, but noted that I had 2 laptops to her supervisor. Yet, with some chatting in my basic Kiswahili and telling her that I used to teach in Monduli, she was kind, and I ended up without any additional custom’s fees, which I’ve heard can be about 40% of the perceived value.
Dr. Daniel Kosia and his younger brother were my wonderful welcome crew and luggage wrestlers! (And that’s my front door! Another picture will come when I get WIFI.)
My former colleague at the Maasai Girls Lutheran Secondary School in Monduli, Dr. Daniel Kosia, is now the head of the science department at TUMa. He has been a HUGE help to facilitate communication. He and his younger brother (half-brother?) Joseph, wrestled the luggage into Daniel’s small SUV. Daniel took me to my house on the TUMa campus, where I actually visited on Easter, probably 2023 or 2024! It is where the ELCA missionary, Nancy Stevenson, lived. She had a day for the children from the TUMa community on Easter, and invited Anya to join in. I learned how to harvest papaya that day. The tree is still there, and hopefully, I will have some sweet paypays later.
I’m so far glad that I brought a bunch of stuff that I knew I would need, or would make things easier to get going and dealing with some of the quirks of this old house. It will take a considerable amount of processing and methodically plodding through the set up. I still will need some things here, like hangars, a mop, a fly swatter, etc. I’ll have more details later, especially about my planned system for doing laundry by hand. It is about 25 minutes of walking along a busy road to where I can find an ATM (no longer one at the TUMa gate) and go to a “supermarket” that is about the size of a tennis court. Tonight, Daniel re-introduced me to dala-dala travel (privately owned vans that serve as public transportation) with the current prices (a trip to the grocery store is 500 Tanzanian shillings or 2.5 sugar bananas).
(Travel tip #3, keep flashlights handy. The first evening, I kept wearing a headlamp, just in case, as it is pitch black when the power is out. Tonight, I had unpacked my hand crank flashlight, which is on an lanyard around my neck–no batteries so cheaper and better for the environment. And remember to flip off the lights you turned on, so if you go to sleep in the dark and the power comes on in the middle of the night, there won’t be lights on. When there is power, the refrigerator hum is constant, so it is my clue that I have lights again!)
After a day in my house, I was told that I had an Ethernet cable (no WIFI, so I had to go to the library to download pictures from my phone for this blog). So, I have internet access, but sometimes there is a ruckus on the roof with the monkeys chasing each other! What an interesting world.
Animal watch: Lizards, greater hornbill birds, vervet monkeys, Colobus monkeys, a 3 inch (7.5 cm) cockroach, and 2 dead dogs on the road walking back from the grocery store.
