WE HAVE A LIMITED WIFI CONNECTION. PHOTOS WILL BE ADDED LATER.
We haven’t mastered getting into the mosquito net, as my three bites in the morning evidence. We are on prophylaxis meds, so I’m not worried about malaria. We even have treatment meds along just in case, which we’ll bring back to the USA because of the incubation period.
After a breakfast, we walked the path to next door to meet our snorkeling group. Low and behold, it includes Susan and her daughter, Bethany. Susan is the daughter-in-law of the late Rev. David Simonson and his adorable wife, Eunie, (who just celebrated a birthday). Susan’s husband, Nathan, was at the retirement celebration for Pastor Nangole. I know Susan from our teaching days here, and I asked her to be the narrator for one of the video projects I did, because she has a rich but non-distinct international English accent (Canadian citizenship with various British Commonwealth influences). In other words, it is hard to tell where she came from, but clearly not American. Anya had played with Bethany, who is about 4 years older, when we were all at Tarangire Safari Lodge, which is also owned by a Simonson son (as this place is as well). So, again, we were not just tourists; we had relationships and were connected with significant people.
Their friends from the UK, a couple with two children about 8 and 5 were in the group too. Our German guide and two Tanzanian crew members rounded out our party. The German woman has been here 9 years and has helped save 30,000 turtles by relocating the nests to higher ground. National Geographic arrives next week to do some videoing of the story here!
At the beginning, the weather cooperated. We saw rain clouds in the area of Maziwa Island, but they passed by the time we arrived by motor boat. Maziwa is totally under water at high tide. The light aqua colored water surrounded the island. We gathered some shells to admire, but as this is a marine preserve, we can’t take any with us. We also picked up some garbage which floats in with the tide.
The snorkeling was even better than the last time I was here! There are over 500 distinctive fish species in these waters, not to mention the corals. The water was not cold, so I stayed in quite a while, discovering a kaleidoscope of colors. The British mom and kids were out of the water soon, and Anya followed later. When the rain came, they huddled under a mat to try to stay dry. I decided it was warmer in the water, so I continued to be amazed with the fish, clams, and coral.
The two who were taking their first scuba diving lesson and our German guide were the last in the boat. We returned to Maziwa Island for some samosas and watermelon. Anya did some sprinting on the beach for conditioning in preparation for the fall soccer season. Now I could email her coach and relay that she was doing running in the sand for conditioning, another training technique I’ve seen done.
Then the rain decided to come again. The joke was that when Susan is along, there usually is rain! So, the tarp—which usually is a sun shade—now was a rain cover! As the rain stopped, we ventured out again on the island to gather a few more beautiful shells.
On the boat ride back, we shared stories and just before land, the rains came again. Fortunately, this isn’t a miserable wet, as it isn’t too cold. I say that the third worst thing in life is being cold, and the second worst thing is being wet and cold. Then, I stop there. Inevitably someone asks, as Bethany did today, “What is the worst thing?” I reply, “Rejection.”
We helped unload the boat and then returned to our banda for a warm solar shower. I washed out the salty suits, shorts, T-shirts, and wraps. (Travel tip: I carry laundry soap leaves which are small and easy to use.) Then we hit the clubhouse for sodas and a bit of food from the snack bar—a chicken wrap in a chapatti—as sisimizi (tiny, tiny ants) run around. We also get to charge our gear in the clubhouse, as there are no electrical sockets in the banda.
The rest of the afternoon is relaxing in the clubhouse, writing up the missed blog posts, and hanging out for dinner at 7:30 pm. If the WIFI is capable, I may try to buy a plane ticket for a family wedding in August in Ann Arbor, Mich., and then start reading a novel from the little library of finished books. What a wonderful day!
WE HAVE A LIMITED WIFI CONNECTION. PHOTOS WILL BE ADDED LATER.
The morning came early at 5:00 am. When I learned how early the bus was, I suggested that we just stay at a hotel to get out the door early. Fortunately, Erik, one of our hosts, is an early riser and welcomed us to stay at their house. We were the first ones on the bus, and fortunately in a good place on the bus—not in the front and not in the back. We had a brief greeting and conversation with a young woman from Spain while she was waiting in the aisle to get back to her seat.
The bus left the bus stand about two-thirds full of customers with reserved seats. For the next 20 minutes, we picked up additional passengers alongside of the road. We eventually had three passengers sitting in the aisle on pillows. About a dozen of these folks got off after about an hour in Moshi.
We passed Mount Kilimanjaro, but only saw the base as it was shrouded in clouds. In Moshi, the Spanish woman asked if I knew if this was a break. I said I didn’t think so yet, just a change of passengers. She wanted to get some food, but didn’t want the bus to leave. I had an extra granola bar in my seat pocket, so I gave it to her, and she was grateful. We have been blessed so much by the kindness of others. It is good to be able to share with others, even relative strangers on the bus.
With ear plugs in, Anya and I tried to sleep a bit. The PA system was playing Kiswahili news with enough static to notice. As we drove along, the station’s signal would drop and then there would be a minute perhaps of white noise static, until they found a new station. After about an hour, Christian Kiswahili music videos were played. After that, the bloody Mel Gibson directed movie, Apocolypse, was shown. What a gruesome movie! Anya was squirming at the beginning, and stopped watching it. It was definitely not a family-friendly movie.
We were served two cookies and our choice of soda or water. We didn’t want to be too hydrated to avoid being uncomfortable before the lunch and toilet stop.
At the lunch stop, we addressed some biological urges. It was a better public toilet than I remember from my last stop 11 years ago. I did provide our own TP, but that is just expected in Tz. I always have a travel tissue pack in a pocket.
I was eager to get nyama choma, roasted meat. Anya wanted some chipsi, French fries. So, for the equivalent of $2.50 we had a take away box. Another $.25 bought Anya a chapati (like a thick tortilla fried in oil). We ate these while we talked to the Spanish woman. She had just spent a month west of Monduli at a Maasai primary school. She was going to have a day at the beach in Dar es Salaam before flying back to Spain. She was impressed with Anya’s Spanish, commenting that she had a Mexican pronunciation. But she very engaging, and her blue eyes sparkled. We wished her well as we relayed that we’d be getting off before Dar.
The stewardess knew we needed to get off at Segera, and I wouldn’t know the stop, so I would need some help. As it turned out, we were the only ones who got off, literally dropped at the side of the road in a quintessential small African village. We were the only wazungu, white people, and some of the very few women, with African men all around. We brought our bags into the shade, and I called our contact, Mohamed, to let him know we had arrived. He said a green car would be there in 5 minutes. Some of the young men tried to greet me in English. I responded in Kiswahili. This seems to give some respect, as they know that I’m not just the typical tourist. They know that I know a bit of the culture and what is appropriate. We were then left alone, as we watched a young man make chips maiyai (fried egg on French fries) in an old tire rim for a deep fryer.
Abu and Daudi came at about 11:45 am and helped us with the bags. We did the greetings and introductions and drove off. The beautiful scenery and rhythm of passing small African villages brought us to the Pangani River. We cross on the ferry, as I greeted a Muslim woman in the hijab. The Swahili coast is mostly Muslim. Our travels continued until 1:45 pm, when we arrived at Emanyani Beach Lodge. We were greeting with sweet fruit juice, and after registration, we settled into our banda facing the Indian Ocean.
The banda has banana leaf outer walls and roof. There is a basic cement block wall inside, with a woven reed mat over the white sand. The hard wood furniture is solid and substantial. For a bit of security, I brought a Pack-Safe woven steel reinforced bag that I put our laptops and camera in while we are out, locking it with a stainless steel cable to the heavy furnishings. Passports and money are in the safe, but it isn’t big enough for all the tech gear.
After a bit of unpacking, we checked out the club house, and ordered cokes and an order of nice vegetable samosas (Indian snacks like a spring roll, but in triangle shape). I took a short nap at high tide, while Anya explored the beach.
Later, I explored the beach while Anya did her nails and put on some new polish on the porch of the banda. As some of you can imagine, the beach is a bit cleaner now. I walked back and forth in front of our banda picking up trash that had floated ashore. Anya thinks I’m crazy to do this on vacation, but I’m happier having made the world a little more beautiful.
I’m sitting now in the clubhouse, with an idyllic view of the ocean, as palm trees wave gently in the breeze. There is complimentary coffee, tea, and drinking chocolate throughout the day. We both partook of the latter. It is warm, but not unbearable, as the breeze keeps it nice as well as keeping the bugs away.
Anya remembered a corner of the clubhouse, where I read to her a Frog and Toad book and a puzzel. Wow! She was 4 years and 4 months old! She doesn’t remember the banda or the beach, but does remember the reading corner!
I was able to talk with the woman who coordinates the water activities. We will join another family going snorkeling tomorrow morning at 8:00 am, after slathering on the sun screen!
Dinner is at 7:30 pm, followed by an attempt to update this blog as there was no wifi possible earlier when the power was out. I’m tired. Off to sleep!
WE HAVE A LIMITED WIFI CONNECTION. PHOTOS WILL BE ADDED LATER.
We were treated to Swedish pancakes (like crepes) for breakfast, and then loaded up our bags. We are traveling a bit heavy, but I separated the beach and travel clothes from the stuff that we could leave behind. But where would we leave it behind? While we are going to stay with Nashesha’s family, it is not in the center of town. I hope to have a simple collection of it at the end of our beach trip. Fortunately, when we went to pick up our bus tickets for tomorrow, the Serengeti Select office was willing to stash our bag for the few days, as providentially, their office is open on Saturday morning, and we’ll be staying in the neighborhood and meeting friends for lunch next door to the office. Some of these logistics are working so well, I know that these are due to the kindness of friends and the prayers of my dad and others.
Bethany is an amazing woman. She has raised twin boys and a girl in the middle of the bush, off the grid, and sometimes without water in the pipes. I love talking with her, as we have similar hearts to help constructively. However, she faces never-ending request for help. Each request requires understanding of the culture and great wisdom. Each request is a discernment process to prioritize needs and figure out who to help, when to help, how to help, and sometimes when not to help. The resources are always limited, and the Friberg’s philosophy is generally not to give 100% handouts. For church projects, the community has to come up with 50% of the resources and partner with the mission teams for building. This creates ownership and relationships.
On the road trip to Arusha, we talked about the beading mama project, Napok, that she coordinates for 57 women. These Maasai women have just secured land from the community. This is HUGE! Maasai women are not allowed to own land or cows. The incremental steps toward empowerment is so exciting for me. Bethany relayed that some of her women now have little huts on market day and sell tea and a little food. This they have done on their own initiative after learning that they can make some money through their own efforts. These are small steps financially, but in terms of self-agency, they are dramatic!
We also talked about the children we have helped to get into school and sponsor. Bethany has some great connections with vocational programs, and I think that this may be a better option for some of the evangelist’s children. However, the management of the school fees and progress reports is still too complicated right now.
We had Mama Laiser and her grandson with us. She is a manager in the bead project and has been critical for its continued growth through faithful bookkeeping with Bethany. Even when the drought hit so badly in 2009, there was income from the beads that help sustain families.
We stopped at her daughter’s house in Longido to drop of the grandson with her mother, Elisipha. I helped Elisipha get into Catholic University of East Africa in Nairobi area to earn her bachelor’s degree. She continued on and earned a master’s degree in Uganda, but now is looking for work. We also met her 10-month-old son while we had chai in her home. It is wonderful to see these young women develop. Life still isn’t easy, such as limited employment, but they are managing to thrive.
Bethany suggested that we call the sister-in-law, Maria, who was the Head of School at MGLSS when we were there. She is now also a widow and living in Ketumbeini. If I didn’t bring a greeting to Maria, then it would not be good for Bethany who didn’t make it happen when we were in the area. It was good to greet her and give her a blessing.
After dropping off Mama Laiser, we continued to our host family. Nashesha is a friend of Anya’s. She spent one year close to us with a cousin’s family when she was 13 years old! We did several things together, which was great fun for both of them. She is a fine young woman, who is eager to start the International Baccalaureate at the International School this fall.
After some lunch, Bethany took me to town to get my bus tickets (and drop my big duffel bag). I road along as she did her errands, which is always easier to do with two people in Arusha. I watched the left side of the car for left hand turns. Crazy motorcycle drivers are hard to see as they try to pass on the left. Having me in the car keeps things safer while Bethany ran into offices and did various tasks. Doing errands in Arusha is always exhausting, and it is nice to have company. I’m glad I could help, as Bethany has been so helpful for us during our stay.
We did some creative things with embroidery thread with Nashesha and her neighbor friend. We also saw her dad’s rammed earth walls that he’s making. Her dad, Erik, owns an Internet Service Provider, whose largest client is the UN in Arusha, but he is an innovative builder. During our last visit, we saw a house he was building from bricks made on his property that had a vaulted ceiling. The engineering was fascinating and the aesthetic was beautiful.
Erik is also a bicycler (and Nashesha is too, as she bikes to and from school). So, his family also hosts traveling bicyclists through the “Warm Showers” network. During our stay, Peter from London, was being hosted. Peter also has hosted Warm Showers travelers when he was in Mwanza for 3 years on a British development project in education. They told stories about the people they hosted. Erik’s family has hosted 22 families from all over the world, including a family (French?) with a 10-year-old daughter who biked up from South Africa!
We sat around listening and telling stories and talking the whole night. This was aided by the fact that the Internet router was down, so we couldn’t send emails or post on the blog. What a pleasant evening with new friends.
WE HAVE LIMITED WIFI. PICTURES WILL BE ADDED LATER.
The second night was worse for me. My left hip was tender from the previous night without a sleep pad, so I had limited positions, especially as Anya and I were somewhat sharing her rectangular but lighter sleeping bag while we put our feet in my heavier mummy bag, covering us both with it. However, it was another glorious morning as the sun rose, shining into our tent with a view of the valley 5000 feet below.
We had a later start, as Steve didn’t plan any more buffalo viewing and we shared a Sabbath time of reflection and prayer. He did have a “short” hike planned, and amazingly Anya was game to go along. I thought she would prefer to stay, but she repeated Steve’s plan of half hour out and back without any stinging nettles. And that is what we did, hiking along buffalo trails on the top of a narrow ridge at the highest point of the mountain. We could see over the valley and toward Gelai mountain, also at about 9,000 feet. It was a bit longer than the half hour, and the nettles were minimal, but still, it was not Anya’s preferred morning. Again, she did it and made it work.
We returned to get our gear hidden in the bushes and hiked through the waist-high grass to the top of the descent trail. It seemed steeper going down, but we made it to the village where the pipe from the mountain spring feeds a spigot and a livestock watering trough. We filled our water bottles and drove off.
Because we left the house without water, we figured that we should at least wash our feet and lower legs at one of the water spigots. So, down the mountain, we stopped by where all the young women were filling buckets with water. They were kind to share a bucket with us. I dunked my head in the bucket and then proceeded to cup water out of it to wash my filthy legs.
Steve helped a few people out with a ride for an old Maasai man and hauling bags of maize (corn) for a couple people. Having a vehicle in a rural area can be a huge blessing, but it also is a challenge to know how to help. We also gave cups of water to shepherd boys out in the dry, dusty land.
When we returned home, we were glad to see that there was water in the pipes, so we each showered, but with one layer of dirt removed from our hair and legs.
Bethany suggested that I wash anything that we need for the next few days, but I said let’s first get people through the showers to make sure there is enough water, and there was. So, I washed a few things, and Bethany showed me how she washes shoes to get the layers of grime and buffalo poop off. I think she was concerned that we’d look like vagabonds on the bus the day after tomorrow.
We had a tasty dinner of rice and lentils with a tomato and avocado salad, before I worked to repack things into two groups: 1) needed for beach and travel and 2) not needed.
I fell asleep after realizing that I needed to make a couple adjustments on the packing. I’ll need my PacSafe security bag for Pangani (a bag that has embedded steel wire and lockable to an object with a stainless steel cable, which isn’t totally secure, but will deter opportunistic thieves).
(Wageni means strangers or guests. The dual meaning always says to me that a stranger is a guest you haven’t had the chance to get to know yet.)
In Africa, the best laid plans rarely come to fruition. Today, things went amazingly well. Everything that I hoped to do happened and there were three additional meaningful visits.
I joined the students for morning prayer. There has been some disobedience, so there was some punishment. I don’t know what went on, but I trust the leadership to respond wisely. I talked a bit with Dr. Msinjili and we arranged to meet the math teacher that has been supported by Cross of Christ at chai time. However, I relayed that I’m expecting a visit from Pastor Nangole, so if he comes at chai time, I won’t be there. Indeed, Pastor Nangole arrived just before chai time. I sent Anya up to the administration building with a message letting them know of my delay. I had a nice visit with Nangole, who invited me for dinner. I regretted to inform him that I had plans to meet for dinner, but I could come afterwards for some chai. He would send his car to pick me up from Monduli town.
After he left, I went to the administration building and met the teacher. He is an enthusiastic young man with a love of teaching. He shared his philosophy of teaching math, and I was very encouraged. He is highly committed to the students and puts in additional time after class to help the students. I am eager to hear of the national exam scores in the future, as it sounds like they will dramatically increase.
Dr. Msinjili, Albert, and me
Math here is very tough. As there are few government university scholarships, the exams are made to weed people out. One visitor when I was here, Carl Bennett (now with Jesus), was the statistician for the Manhatten Project, and he taught at Princeton. He looked at the Form 6 National Exam and said that he thought that only 50% of his math major students would get better than 50% on the exam—the 13th year of formal education, as our senior in high school is the 13th year of formal education including kindergarten. However, math is a gatekeeping subject. If students do not get a satisfactory mark in math, they can’t earn a “division 1” in their national exams, even if they ace their other subjects. So, math is important for all students.
Next, one of my former students greeted me. She is using her education in a pretty good job, however, she is a single mother and the father is not helping with any support for the child. The father has a very good job, but there is no teeth to the laws on the books that require paternal support. Single mothers are very often abandoned to scratch together a life for themselves and their children. I prayed for her, and encouraged her to seek help for the laws to be enforced.
I was then able to find Ciwila who took me to see the cows that my church had purchased for the school in order to provide milk for the chai. Milk is very important for the Maasai. It is the main staple of their diet. They have 9 cows total, but some are calves. Dr. Msinjili said that they will have a visitor tomorrow who will discuss the options for bio gas for the school. However, the cows are a bit far from the kitchen (which makes sense), so they have to see what is possible.
The traditional Maasai believe that all cows are given to them by divine right, but this one belongs to MGLSS!
The coffee beans were also drying in the sun. The harvest isn’t very good this year, and the prices aren’t very high I hear. Still, there will be some income.
Drying beans in the foreground. The bushes are in the background.
I returned to some packing for tomorrow’s departure, when Rebecca came with lunch. Rebecca is a joy to have around. She had help along, and we shared a Kvikk Lunsj, Norwegian chocolate that Marta gave us as a going away present.
I asked Rebecca about the prices for the dala dala (the “public” transportation, where 21 people are crammed into a 15 passenger van) to Messerani. The price is 700 shillings. However, she encouraged us to use her taxi driver and negotiated a price for him to drive us 14 km, hang out for 2 hours, and drive us back. The cost was about one-third of the price of the taxi in Norway, where we went 14 km in about 14 minutes.
Prior to Rebecca’s taxi pick up, we were saying goodbye to her with a big hug and a gift to support her new bakery, just as Diana and Nelson showed up to greet us. Just then, Evangelist Marko called to ask us where we lived. We arranged for Rebecca’s taxi to bring Marko here, which was perfect serendipitous timing!
Diana was our helper while we were here. She has the closest story to Cinderella that I know in real life, up to the point of the fairy godmother. She is an orphan who went to live with her aunt, but while her cousins were funded to go to secondary school, she wasn’t. Now, we support her son in an English medium primary school here, as this seemed to be a way to support an orphan and single mother. With an educated son, she will have a better future. Diana brought gifts of African fabric (khangas) for both Anya and me. They are both doing well. This is wonderful news. The son, Nelson, was translator for us today, and did a very fine job. Diana and Marko know just a bit of English, I know a bit of Kiswahili, so Nelson was a blessing for the afternoon. We had fun with memories of when Anya was little. I had ordered some of Rebecca’s cookies, which we ate, and I sent the rest home with Nelson and Marko.
Marko’s son, Richie, is a 9-year-old with special needs. I’m not sure exactly, but a friend guessed that it is a cerebral palsy from a very high fever. I don’t know, but I know that the care for people with special needs is important. So, Richie is in a special needs school. Marko relayed that he is gaining capacity in self-care, and they are so pleased that he is able to attend this school. Marko was also a friend of Eric’s, so I am so pleased that Richie is supported with Eric’s memorial scholarship.
Nelson, me, Diana, and Marko are all grateful for education.
After they went off, we had just enough time to get ready for our taxi pick up. Musa is a safe driver, in a nice car; it even has seat belts! Our destination is the Snake Park. Think of a campground, an 18 wheeler repair shop, a highway bar, and the Reptile Gardens in a Giligan’s Island meets Africa motif! The South African owners, BJ and Lynn, are worthy of a book!
We arrived at the Snake Park just a couple minutes before Sarah arrived with her three girls (aged about 3 to 7) and Elizabeth (from our airport pick up).
Elizabeth showing the girls pictures of her 10 puppies!
Each of Sarah’s girls ran up to Anya and greeted her by name and with a big hug. They are adorable! The youngest took to Anya right away, and they rode the camel together, while the oldest two rode the other camel together. (Unfortunately, the pictures are on Anya’s phone that isn’t easily accessible.)
Sarah and Elizabeth
Sarah is one of the most amazingly gifted people with inter-personal communication skills that I have ever met. She is a dual citizen of Australia and New Zealand. When we lived in Tz, we would regularly go to the Snake Park on Friday evenings for burgers and pseudo group therapy. Sarah also worked in Monduli at the center for physical rehabilitation that specialized with children with skeletal fluorosis, where the naturally-occurring fluoride in volcanic soils supplants the calcium in bones and causes multiple mini-fractures in the legs of toddlers. It is corrected by surgery, plaster casts, and lots of tender loving care. Her work continues with the Plaster House in Arusha. Her husband, is in South Africa trying to buy an airplane, so he wasn’t with us tonight.
We also missed Jean and Marv this night. This group was our core community during our Monduli days. Sarah said tonight that she couldn’t have survived without it. She added, “This is Africa,” with an entirely different meaning than when the power and water go out and the plans never work right. In this sense, it is an interdependency that holds us; beauty and goodness in the midst of what often seemed to be chaos and frustration. Tonight we commemorated our community and celebrated our friendships.
Musa’s taxi then took us to the Monduli Lutheran Church, where we met Nangole’s son, who drove us up the mountain to Nangole’s home. It was a casual time of chai and fruit as we talked about his wonderful retirement celebration, the church in the North Maasai District, our Cross of Christ Lutheran mission team, the new Lutheran university branch coming to Monduli this September, and the Maasai Research Group this past semester in Norway, as well as other things. Pastor Nangole prayed for us, and then his son drove us home.
Today was Africa, in the best sense.
Tomorrow, we go to Maasaini, and we don’t expect to have Internet access until the 27th. So, keep us in your prayers, as we hope to be a blessing as we stay with Dr. Steve and Bethany Friberg and their daughter, who is a friend of Anya. They plan to take us hiking and camping on Mt. Ketumbeini.
I joined the students for morning prayer at 7:00 am, while Anya caught up on some sleep.
After morning prayer, the students line up for announcements.After morning prayer, I walked past the new administration building that is under construction.
I walked to the North Maasai District office, which I had visited before in 2008, but without a sign, I wasn’t sure about the entrance. Fortunately, I was close to Rebecca’s bakery and home, so I stopped and asked Rebecca. I was right, despite the lack of a sign. I bought some of her wonderful rolls to bring to anyone at the district office, partially as a gift, but really to advertise Rebecca’s new bakery right across the street.
I talked for 1.5 hours with Pastor Saning’o Laison.
District Pastor, Saning’o Laison. In the background is a banner given by Cross of Christ to Pastor Nangole in 2008!
We knew of each other and had emailed, but we had never talked before. His oldest child, was a student of mine. She was a very good student too! She has now graduated with a bachelor’s degree in law and has a new job as an advocate in Dar es Salaam. She would need at least 1 more year of schooling to be a lawyer.
My home church, Cross of Christ Lutheran in Bellevue, has partnered with the North Maasai District since 2008, and we have been mutually blessed. This is why I was so honored on Sunday (see July 19th’s post). As Pastor Laison is new, taking over for Pastor Nangole, it was so good to get to know each other and talk about our partnership. My church group will be coming next July to share in celebration of the work that will be done this next year, with some financial assistance from my church. I left very encouraged that we have another fine leader who will faithfully steward the relationship and gifts.
Rebecca and her friend were at home when I got home. They had done some laundry for us, as we are not very good at washing clothes by hand, and it provides some income for these women. Lunch was tasty with some very sweet mangos at the end.
I spent some of the afternoon writing up my report of the visit with Pastor Laison for the mission team leaders. I wanted to give plenty of detail of the conversation to help with our future planning.
The water came on in the late afternoon, and for a while, we had both water and power! The power is out now for the second time as I write this.
In early evening, we went to the chapel for the evening devotions. A handful of students brought song books and sat right next to us to welcome us and help with finding the songs. This is one aspect of the legacy of Jean Wahlstrom, who taught the girls this hospitality. It is really helpful when the hymn and page numbers are announced in Kiswahili for guest who don’t know the numbers. However, this is English day, so the singing was in English. The scripture reading was in Kiswahili, as was the homily. The message given by the student was longer than most Lutheran sermons in the USA, and while I can get the just of what she was talking about, for Anya it is a bit boring.
But afterwards these girls and a few others stayed to talk with us. We met the younger sisters of my former students Kipuye and Selina. Selina was a good friend of Anya. We have continued our contacts over the years, but this time we won’t be able to see Selina, as she is head of a school in Mto wa Mbu (literally, mosquito river). There was also one Hadza girl, and I finally remember the name of my Hadza student, and yes, she knew her. The 15-year-old mortality rate is something like 46%, so almost half don’t make it to their 15th birthday. One of the Hadza students wants to be a doctor, and then, she will be a huge blessing to her people group.
This is Africa. The power went out before 10 am. It came back on about 6:00 pm, just about the time the water ran out. Fortunately, we had a barrel cleaned out and filled with water earlier in the day, so Anya could wash her hair. I actually helped, for a really mother-daughter bonding experience.
I got up early for morning prayer and was introduced to the students. Dr. Msinjili relayed that I was a former teacher here and my name was Beth Elness, but I’m known as Mama Anya. Ok, I must say that it was encouraging that when they heard “Mama Anya,” there was an audible “Ahh!” from several of the students. They either heard a bit from the past and previous visits, the last being 2013, or the Maasai students thought, “What an auspicious name!” because Anya means “I eat” in Kimaasai.
Anya was awakened by Ciwila bringing another thermos of chai. I found out that this chai is made with the milk produced by the cows which were purchased from money raised by the Cross of Christ Lutheran (my home church) benefit auction. Milk is a staple of the Maasai diet, so now there is more sustainable milk for the students.
Anya went back to sleep, while I did some emails on battery power. It was a morning of putzing around after a long day yesterday: some Kiswahili, some reflections with Anya about yesterday, some tasks like refilling water bottles from our water filter. Rebecca came later with lunch. I think she is planning on feeding Marvin, as we are having quite a bit of left overs. (Rebecca cooked for 12 years for Jean and Marvin.) I tell her this and she laughs. She has a command of English that can joke and understand nuances that most wouldn’t. When I told her that Anya tells me to “chill” sometimes, she replied, “Take a chill pill.” We laughed again. We aren’t making much dent in the left overs either!
I talked with Rebecca about the Pastoralist Women’s Cooperative up by the Kenyan border in Loliondo. It was great to hear her comments about how these women, who are often excluded from decision making and education, while they are forced to be married at young ages and often experience domestic violence. Someday, I want to visit these women, but for this trip, it won’t happen. Check out their website at http://www.pastoralwomenscouncil.org/.
After lunch, we took a walk into Monduli. It takes about half and hour. We went on the southern path through farm fields. I like this path with a great view of the volcanic Monduli mountains and the expansive great rift valley.
Panorama view of the southern road to MonduliThis Lion’s Paw flower has always intrigued me.
However, there is no shade along the way, so it is a bit warmer in mid-day, probably about 76 degrees.
We went to the Tumanini shop to buy a few things. This side of the guest house isn’t very well equipped, so we bought a few things. Here’s the shopping list: TP, paper serviettes (napkins), dish soap, dishwashing brush, dish towel, Cadbury drinking chocolate, and tea bags. We didn’t find the dish brush, so we bought a scrubby thing. We didn’t find dish towels either. With Anya along, it meant we picked up a couple extra things, Fanta Passion in a plastic bottle instead of paying the deposit for the refillable glass bottle, and Eat-Sum-Mor shortbread cookies, imported from South Africa. I should have picked up some ultrapasturized milk pouches for the drinking chocolate. Maybe tomorrow, as I have to go to town again.
Here are some views from our walk
A typical house in MonduliNew construction in Monduli!
Almost back to MGLSS with a view of the small mountain, Lashine, over Mlimani Primary SchoolNow I have to pick off a couple hundred pickers from my skirt!
On the way back I met the secretaries leaving the school. One is a friend. (She follows me on Twitter, though I don’t post anything; I just explore what Pope Francis tweets.) I didn’t see her in the morning, but I told her I’ll come tomorrow to greet her.
We got back home, and Anya did some of her algebra 2 homework. Ciwila stopped by to pick up the empty thermos, and we sat on the step and talked for about an hour as the sun started to set. We talked about the Tanzanian Military Academy, as their soldiers were running by us up the mountain for their training. We talked about the university placement system. In this socialistic country, all students are placed by the government into universities. The Tanzania Council of Universities *** system has each university register how many seats they have in each program. Then students indicating three preferences of program and university. Finally, the TCU places students in the open seats according to their National Exam scores. The top students get their top preferences until the seats are filled. Then the subsequent preferences are considered. If the seats are filled, students may end up being placed in programs that they do not want or know anything about. Perhaps they note their preferences for universities with lower tuition rates, but they are place in a more expensive institution. Disturbingly, there is little opportunity to be placed elsewhere. And if one starts the program and doesn’t like it, tough; there is no switching. You only get one chance.
Unfortunately, universities can become lazy under this system. They don’t have to work hard to attract students, as they are guaranteed students as there are more graduates than university places. The students can’t vote with their feet, as they lose their chance for a university education. There is little incentive to improve.
Somehow within this system, the Lutheran church is trying to find partners for a university branch in Monduli. I can’t think of any potential partner who would knowingly donate to a faith-based university where the university can’t select its students. In theory, the government could place a high percentage of Muslims into a Christian institution. While this opens up different opportunities for ministry, it is not the original mission of the university. Crazy!
Ciwila and I also talked about former students and how they are thriving, such as Elizabeth. She told me that one had died last year from burns from cooking. She was the first Hadza (a foraging people group [formerly hunter-gatherer tribe]) to earn a bachelor’s degree, and she was working in community development. What a sad loss. There’s only about 1,000 Hadza remaining, so this is a great loss for the people group. There are about 8 Hadza students at MGLSS. In 2013, Anya and I went on a walking safari with a Hadza guide. If you’ve seen the movie, The Gods Must be Crazy, you have a glimpse of a similar but distinct tribe with the click language. This is an inherently egalitarian society, as foraging women bring more food than the hunting men. They rank a zero on the anthropological technology scale, but they have no history of famine. They don’t even have to carry a water bottle!
We’ve been charging phones. I just talked with Anya, saying, “Isn’t it a bit crazy that we are here in Africa, and we have 5 phones between the 2 of us!” So, this seems crazy, but let me explain. We had our USA phones, but they are locked to service with AT&T, even though they are GSM system that can work in Europe and Africa. It is very expensive to use AT&T in Europe, so, we bought 2 unlocked GSM phones to work in Norway with a Norwegian phone company. Here in Tanzania, again it would be expensive to used our AT&T system, and especially difficult for Tanzanians to call us. So, we bought an older model Nokia phone with a pay-as-you-go system to contact friends in Tanzania. Texting on the keypad is now frustrating, though I used to be pretty good at it in 2002-2004. So, crazy but needed for basic communication with our host country contacts.
Here’s the mystery photo. This thing is on our kitchen wall. What is it?
I was awakened by Ciwila bringing a thermos of chai and some bread, peanut butter, and jam for breakfast. I’m not quite in the early morning rhythm yet, but these folks know how to maximize the 12 hours of sunlight. I had a nice cup of chai with my breakfast, but I didn’t take a second cup. For days with big celebrations, it is good not to be well hydrated. Then, I had a nice dipper shower with water heated in the electric kettle. I prefer that to the shower in the guest house, as I can conserve water, and I know that the temperature will be constant.
Anya and I walked to church, arriving at about 9:30. I wore her Birkenstock sandals and had dress shoes in my backpack. There first service for students was close to the end. There was tea and bites (some food) for the wageni (guests), but I found a way to avoid the tea, because I knew a long service was ahead. I greeted many people, including Dr. Parsalaw, who Knut brought to Norway for the Maasai research group. He is the Vice Chancellor of Tumaini University Makumira. I also met him during my two weeks of research there in 2012. There would be several points of contact with Dr. Parsalaw during the day.
I also met Elizabeth, one of my former students.
Elizabeth was a very good student. She asked excellent questions, which is always a sign of a good student. She thanked me for my teaching as she did well in biology. She is now a CPA working for a NGO (non-profit) that works with microloans. She is doing well. We had a good talk later in the day, where I found out about her husband and two-year-old daughter. I asked her about being a Maasai young woman who comes from a tradition of arranged marriages where they have no say in the matter. Sometimes, they are promised when they are in utero! I’ve often wondered how they deal with finding a spouse when they don’t come from a dating culture. She was fine to share her story of meeting in a Maasai association in Arusha to help each other. They knew of each other for three years before they started a serious relationship. When she told her family there was a man in her life, they asked if he was Maasai. When she said he was, they were relieved and said OK.
The procession (with me among the honored guests, then the pastors, then the bishops and Pastor Nangole) started for the 10:00 am service. The service ended at 2:44! Yes, 4 hours and 44 minutes! I’m glad I didn’t have the second cup of tea. People did walk out on occasion for a bathroom break, but I was in my Maasai dress that jingles when one walks, and I was squished in the center of the pews with about 7 people to squeeze by. The guy next to me was a gentleman, and sat forward for much of the service, as there was not room for all of us to lean on the backrest. We alternated shoulder position. But he also shared his hymnbook and the found the right pages in the liturgy for me. Also, he had the Kiswahili Bible on his Chinese smart phone, so we could read the Psalm responsively. He was from the Diocese office.
I knew I was going to be asked to bring a greeting, which would probably be translated (it was, by Mr. Kwayu, a friend who is the Head of School of the neighboring secondary school). There is a clear hierarchical system, and I was just below Dr. Parsalaw. Whenever he was invited to do something, I had the position that was just next in the pecking order. Indeed, I didn’t expect that there would be such an honoring of me too. At a separate occasion, I was invited to come up with Anya and receive gifts for us and for my church, because of the partnership we’ve had since 2008.
The honoring of the partnership with Cross of Christ Lutheran (photo: Elizabeth Loiruck)
After the service, people I didn’t know were just coming up to greet me and thank me. But also, all who I knew came up to me. (Jean and Marv, greetings from Nakaji, Janet, Elizabeth L., and others!).
When it was time for food, the manager of the church grabbed my hand, took me out of the lineup for food, and brought me to the hand washing station to be next at the food tables. This is very uncomfortable for me, but fortunately, I was being dragged along. I apologized to the people that I just cut in line in front of. This cutting in the food line actually happened twice in the food line, because after this meal at church, we were invited to Pastor Nangole’s house for another shorter service and a meal. Again, I was dragged into the line ahead of the wonderful choir. I had an opportunity to again apologize and also share my deep appreciation for their wonderful music. This is the best church choir I have heard in Tz.
Before he left, Bishop Masangwa came to greet me. While he was assistant bishop, he traveled with us for 5 days in north Maasailand, as the Bishop was ill. So, we got to know him a bit and his diplomacy and his humor. He is a faithful leader, and again I’m honored to have this greeting.
As you can imagine, Anya was bored silly in 4 hours and 44 minutes of a Kiswahili service. After lunch, would it be culturally appropriate to send her home and not show up at Pastor Nangole’s house? We asked David (our friend who drove us from the airport on Friday night). He said that Nangole would expect us as a pair.
David in his 1956 Land Rover, the Tanzanian version of a knight in shining armor
So, we decided that David would take us to Nangole’s, and after Nangole had seen Anya, then Anya would go with David to our guest house to get one more bag for David to store for us. After the “kaky kaky” (which is a roasted goat that is served like a wedding cake, as there are few ovens, wedding cakes are rare and these special roasted goats reinforced by wire take the place of cakes), where we were called up with Dr. Parsalaw, Anya went off. I did get a Fanta passion with my meal. Yum!
Bishop Masangwa giving gift pieces of kaky kaky
Here’s a note about the food, the meat in particular. I’m pretty much an omnivore, though I do have things I don’t prefer, but generally it makes it easier to be a good guest. Anya is pretty picky about her meat, and prefers mostly poultry and good bits of meat without skin, gristle, or fat. There are very few pieces of meat in Maasailand that fit this description. I’m less picky, but there are things that I just can’t manage. I don’t mind goat, but my kaky kaky piece was half fat. Anya’s looked like a piece of gristle. It is good that I keep plastic bags in my backpack, as we tried to find the most delicate way to receive this piece of meat that would be very difficult to get down.
I stayed longer and talked with friends. I ended up with hopes for two times to meet in Arusha with friends and former students.
I walked home, removing my Maasai dress after leaving the gates as it was really, very dusty along the road. Some places had 6 inch dust banks! (I’m thankful for nose hairs in Africa!)
The view from Nangole’s road overlooking the Great Rift Valley
I met the Deputy Head of the neighboring school, where Eric’s memorial scholarship has sponsored students. We had a meaningful chat. I remembered most of the names I need to today! I got a bit of help with a couple. One is the evangelist who is the father of a special needs boy that we sponsor in school. How good to see them. Richie is increasing in capability, and they are so grateful for the sponsorship. The father is going to try to visit me on Wednesday.
The road to MaaSAE Girls School
Then I walked back with two of the Form 4 (10th grade equivalent) girls from MGLSS, coming back to school from the market. I’m unknown to most of these students, so it was nice to just chat with them. I did say I used to teach there and that the matron of the school was my former student.
The day isn’t over yet. Ciwila invited us over for dinner with her family. We had a nice meal, but I had to warn her that I wouldn’t be able to each much as we had two meals in the afternoon. She was so gracious. We watched a bit of the Tanzanian news with them, and I was able to get a pulse of the upcoming elections, some land disputes, and other national current events.
I was wakened by roosters before the sun rose. Every day of the year, the sun rises at about 6:30 am and sets around 6:30 pm because we are just 3 degrees south of the equator. Also, there is very little twilight in the dawn and dusk times. It is dark when the sun is down and the moon is new, like last night.
I started sorting through all our stuff to see what we can streamline for travels in country. I’m hoping that I can send one more duffel bag with David tomorrow. We have to plan on nice dress clothes for a celebration, casual skirts for Monduli town, warm layers for hiking and camping, and then clothes for the beach.
At about 9:00 am, Ciwilia brought over a thermos of black chai tea with lemongrass, sugar, some eggs from her chickens, and some sweet potatoes for breakfast. I had already had some instant oatmeal we brought, knowing that we would have a few mornings like this.
Rebecca brought lunch, with her niece, Faraja, helping her. Faraja is home for the weekend from nursing school at the Arusha Lutheran Nursing School. We had a nice meal of chicken with rice, cucumber salad, with sliced pineapple. Oh the pineapple here is so sweet!
We joined Rebecca in the taxi home. Rebecca has a prosthetic leg after her leg amputation from a wound that would not heal. Rebecca and Faraja helped us get a Nokia phone and pay-as-you-go vouchers to have access to the rest of the world here. It is an older Nokia phone for about $22. Texting is done on the number keypad. But it will serve us for now with the basics.
Then we went to Rebecca’s new bakery that just opened on July 11. We took pictures on Anya’s phone, but I’m having difficulty to get them to my computer without wifi, as her phone doesn’t show up on my laptop as an external drive like mine does. Huh! So, watch for pictures to come.
We walked back to our guest house. Unlike Norway, we were greeting most people along the way. Even half a block away, people would yell a greeting. We are some of the very few white people around here, so we do not blend in very well. On the walk, three boys about 10 years old ran up to us. Often, I expect a request of a hand out. Instead, one held up a coin and asked how much it was. It was a US quarter. He asked if we could exchange it for him. As there is no place he could spend a quarter, I opened my coin purse and exchanged it for three 200 shilling coins. It was a bit of a good rate for him, but not by much with the strong dollar right now, where $1 = Tsh 2,100+.
We met Ciwila coming from the market on the way home and helped her carry her bags as we talked more. Then she took us to greet the wonderful Head of School, Dr. Msinjili, one of my heroes of life. He was working a long Saturday. He is in a very difficult role. He told me about the decrease in funding from the USA over the next four years. He is so passionate about keeping the mission of the school to make it possible for girls whose parents were not going to invest in secondary education for their girls to still have the life-changing opportunity for an education. It would be fairly easy to make the school sustainable with paying students, but they come from families who are able to afford school and want to invest in their daughter. The mission of the school would be lost. Pray for this one.
We are repacking our gear, combining the supplies that came from the USA with Elizabeth. I’m trying to send one duffel bag and one rolling carryon bag back with David tomorrow, so we will travel lighter for the next 2 weeks. The risk is that I send too many bags before I know what can fit in our remaining bags. Oh my. I hope I plan and pack wisely!
While packing, we heard the evening prayer singing, so we went to the chapel and heard the singing. The Pentecostal movement has influenced the spirituality in Tanzania, so there is a bit of that flavor to the worship in the evenings when there isn’t a liturgy. It also reminds me a bit of campfire songs at Bible camp. So there was a lot of “heart” in the worship. This is one aspect of mature discipleship, but it also needs to be balanced with “head” and “hands” and also “lips” or sharing the good news in word, for how shall they know unless they hear, as faith comes from hearing.
While in worship, Pastor Nangole arrived, walking down the main walkway to the chapel. I saw him and greeted him. We walked to his Land Cruiser, where he gave me a gift; he gave me an absolutely stunning Maasai dress which is dripping with oromboi (small shiny decorative metal disks) and beautiful beading. I won’t be able to blend in tomorrow! I had planned to wear subdued but sophisticated grey and black tones, but I’m going to be like a Christmas tree! This is a great honor, but it is on the verge of overwhelming.
Pastor Nangole’s gift to me is the cloth pieces under the collars and long dangling beads. These are MGLSS girls at a graduation, which affirms the indigenous culture!
I finished writing my words to share tomorrow, as I’ve been asked to speak. I had to hand write out my notes as I’m here in low-tech-land and reading notes on my iPhone is not the message I want to send.
Ciwila brought over another bag of groceries for us to tide us over. What hospitality.
More repacking stuff tonight with a head lamp, as the spare room has no lights. This is Africa. Yes, I’m keeping the head lamps handy!
Off to sleep. The pictures tomorrow should be fascinating!
It was an early morning departure on July 17, as the taxi picked us up at 3:30 am. My scale was accurate to max out our allotted weight for our 4 rolling duffel bags. We both tried to nap on the flight to Amsterdam, though Anya was more successful. Though, she was highly motivated to be rested enough to get 4 movies in on the flight to Kilimanjaro International Airport. I also got 4 movies in, as I didn’t see any movies in the theatre in Norway. At $20 a movie, I passed.
As a returning traveler, I knew that the airplane also unloaded from the back door at the airport, walking down the moveable stairs onto the tarmac and then walking into the terminal. So, I chose two seats in the back (not the last row that sometimes doesn’t recline fully or too close to the line for the bathroom) so we could be one of the first ones in the line to purchase a visa in the airport for the same price of $100. This was great, as it already is an ordeal of going through 3 lines, one to buy the visa, one to put the stamp in the passport, and the last to have a picture taken and a digital fingerprint reading. It still took us about 15 minutes, and we were some of the first people in the line!
Elizabeth and David met us at the airport with warm hugs, malaria meds, and a modem. The trip is at least 2 hours, with about 100 speed bumps (also known as sleeping policemen and what you need when you don’t have cops in cars to chase speeders), and one road stop. The police, on foot, chided David for having wazungu (white people) out at night, as it isn’t safe. David thought that this was not a good way to welcome guests, by telling them that things are dangerous at night. David did pick up a friend, George, to do with him to Monduli after dropping off Elizabeth in Arusha.
So, the four of us went to the Girls School guesthouse where we were greeted by my former teacher colleague, Ciwila. She is excellent, and one of the most hard working teachers at MGLSS. If there is an event, Ciwila is the busy beaver and leading up the women (there are few men around, and none in service roles). The women make it work.
David had a duffel bag of our Tanzanian clothes and gear (water filter, binoculars, sun screen, sandals, etc.) that Elizabeth brought with her from the USA. Even though we had a water filter, Elizabeth picked up a couple bottles of water to have. Then we could brush our teeth without having to dig out and set up the water filter. It was a long day, so we said goodbye to David and George, and we were able to get to bed right away and rest well for the night.
