It's day four of Dar's WATER CRISIS! Yes, the big news here is that on Monday the main water pipe in Dar broke! We have been without water for four days now and it's crazy here. On Wednesday the city finally brought Magi Safi trucks to campus. These are huge petro-looking trucks that carry water. People can go fill up there 5 gallon buckets and carry their water home on their head if they can fight through the bucket crowd to get water. I think the whole event is best described by Sam who called it the great migration. It literally is like the wilderbeast migration in the Serengeti as hundreds of students descend on these trucks in a desperate rush for what we all take for granted in the states: water. The crazy part is this water isn't even "safe" by our standards. It still needs to be boiled before drinking. So, I tried to document this colorful, plastic-filled migration for all to see. By the sound of it, it's likely there will not be water for sometime, so it looks like I'll be coming home on a 5 day showering, water hiatus. I bet my family will be excited to see me in the airport! Also troubling from the whole water problem is the backup in the toliet. You can't flush when there isn't water and after 5 days on a floor with about 20 guys, you can imagine how pleasant the stench is!



Enjoy these pics of the water and other university sites and drink some tap water for me!

Dar Water Crisis



I'll be putting a few more pics up when I return home too so check back. The other news here is that Bekah left today at 3.30pm. We had a great time together seeing the country and it was fun to show my new home to someone. Now she's off to play in the land of Lord of Rings...which we all went to last night!



We had a surprise birthday party for Anna that climaxed with the 9.30pm showing of LOR. It was hilarious because we got to see the AIDS public service announcement ads, which are comedy, we had a 10 min intermission while they changed the reels, and we were able to read the sign outside the theatre that said: "In the likely event of a power outage, the generator will turn on and the movie will continue within 2 minutes. Please be patient." Fortunately, there was no outages during the incredible movie. It was fun to think I was watching it at noon Central time in the US so I probably got to see it before most Luther folk! Ha ha! Benefits of living in the Eastern Hemisphere. Well, we're off to a friends house tonight for pasta before our last day in dar tomorrow. I'm just tired now and ready to finish tying up all the loose ends.

Time is fast slipping away and the past two weeks have been nuts! I returned from London for my last week of classes. Essentially I had to do two months of work in one week. So, four papers and three tests later I was officially done with my studies at the University of Dar Es Salaam! Hoorah! It's been a fun semster, but not because of school. I'm excited to get back to the challenging, questioning, critical education I get at Luther as opposed to the memorization, no question style of teaching and learning here.



Then, only hours after my last test, I went to the Dar International Airport (slight chuckle) to pick up Bekah! Yes, it's true, my girlfriend Rebekah flew in from Singapore to spend my last two weeks with me. The anticipation was maddening as Bekah was the last one to get a VISA. I actually walked through security because I was afraid something had happened, but she was fine and we soon entered the staggering heat of Dar.



Thrusday night we experience the cafeteria and then crashed. Friday was an amazing day. We got up and headed over to Mlimani Shule where I taught all semester. It was their last day of school so all the kids were outside playing games. We met my teacher and they showed Bekah around and then they took us into this classroom. There the kids had been preparing a show for the teachers. It was a story with song and dance that taught about UKIMWI, which is AIDS in Swahili. Then, for a gift for my last day, they put on the show for Bekah and I!! It was incredible. All the kids were singing, dancing, telling stories in swahili, and acting out the ways AIDS is spread and ways to prevent it. not exactly like the golden tamran skit I did in 5th grade with Kayla Flynn, but fun none the less. It's just incredible to think these kids at the 5th grade level have to learn about AIDS. The show was incredible and as I left the school I started bawling. I'm glad Bekah was there to dry my tears but it was very difficult to say goodbye to the kids, knowing that statistically, only 1 in 3 will finish school and very few will go on to University. They are all so amazing, it just hit me how unfair underdevelopment is to the most innocent: the children. I was very thankful for my time at Mlimani and I know that I learned much more than I taught. It seems that is how it usually works though.



Mlimani Shule Performance



That night the teacher I taught with invited Bekah and I over to his house. It was so much fun! We met his wife, his newborn baby, and his sister who is in high school and is planning on being a nun! We ate a great Tanzanian meal and enjoyed a long night of conversation. Professor Sipto's sister was in love with Bekah! They talked the whole night and at the end of the evening she gave Bekah a kanga that said "We'll love you always, in good times and bad times." She showed B how to wear it and we all hugged and said goodbye after a great evening. Professor Sipto and his wife escorted us all the way back to the university, about a half hour away, and we said goodbye and thank you.



Friends at Dar





Saturday Bekah and I woke up early and headed out on a bumpy slow bus to Lushoto. Lushoto is a small town in the Mountains about 5 hours from Dar. It was the old vacation spot for German colonizers and is beautiful! We spent three days in Lushoto hiking and enjoying the cool weather and fun times at Karibuni Lodge! While there we met some great people and they all told stories about their great safaris so we thought....hey, we're halfway to Arusha, we should go on safari! So, Bekah and I headed out from Lushoto to Arusha on an even slower, bumpier, hotter, and more plastic bus than before.



Lushoto



We arrived in Arusha three hours late, booked a small room and then started the search for a safari that left the next day. We went through a list of recommended companies but no one had anything leaving the next day. Finally we went to Bobby Safaris. They offered $100 a day for our own safari which was more than we wanted but at this point it was our only option. We busted out the credit card when they said we don't take credit cards...thus began our long, extended money ordeal. I paid what I had, which wasn't much and withdrew some money from the ATM, but the ATM had a withdrawl limited so I could only take about a third out of what I needed. They said they would still let us go if we paid when we got back. I called my parents who generously put more money in my account and we crossed our fingers that things would work out. That night at our hotel two Dutch girls stopped us and said, are you going on safari tomorrow with Bobby tours? We said yes reluctantly and they said they joined our group! That was great because not only did we have fun people to go with but it was also much cheaper with more people! They were two girls in their late 20's and both were fun and energetic. We headed out on safari and had an awesome time.



The first day we headed to Lake Manyara and saw lots of elephants and monkeys. The second day we took the long drive to Serengeti and saw an amazing landscape and lions, cheetahs, and giraffees oh my! We had a great time there and saw an amazing storm forming over the Serengeti Plains. I felt like I was in the Toto song "Africa." Sure as Kilimanjaro rising about the plains of the Serengeti...I bless the rains down in Africa...gonna take a lot to take me away from you...etc. It was great! We camped in the Seregeti and the last day was spent in Ngorogoro Crater. It's a huge volcanic mountain, larger than modern day Kilimanjaro, that collapsed about 2.5 million years ago leaving a huge crater where one of the older humans was found. We cruised around the crater seeing wilderbeasts, pumba (warthogs), lions playing with their kids, a black rhino, and Masaai hearding their cattle among zebras. Very surreal. We camped over looking the crater and enjoyed our final meal with our amazing cook Roger who indulged us with Spaghetti, Banana fritters, soups and foods that made us ready to go home to diverse, fulfilling food.



Safari with B



We made it back to Arusha with exactly 8,000 Tsh...which is what we thought the room would cost. Unfortunately we got there and they only had a double room so the Dutch girls gave us a loan. Then we went to the ATM and again the withdrawl limit prevented us from getting out enough money. We went to bobby tours about $60 dollars short. They said we could pay in the morning before we left and we thanked them for their generosity. The Dutch girls then gave us another loan of 70,000 shillings which would pay the 66,000 we were told we owned as well as giving us a little money to get home with. We went to the safari company early in the morning and instead of the son greeting us as he did the night before, it was the father. We sat down, excited to pay off our debt with the 70,000 tsh. when he told us his son had made a mistake. It was actually 100,000 Tsh. We informed him we did not have any money and that there wasn't anything we could do, they told us what we owned and that's what we had. Mr. Bobby went off in a rage. He said can't a man make a mistake and that this is how it always was, we (meaning whites) were always right and they (meaning Indians) were always wrong. I about lost it. I couldn't believe he was trying to place the race card, especially since he essentially did the same thing against the Tanzanians who historically have been mistreated by the Indians in Tanzania. We were so mad that he was so short and we felt bad, but we actually didn't have the money. But, I guess I didn't feel so bad considering that I think the exchange rate he was using for Tsh to dollars was inflated. I think he ended up just fine and that the explosion of pent up racial frustration should cost him 29,000 Tsh anyways.



So, Bekah and I limped home. We had to borrow 100 schilling on the bus (ten cents)so we could get a bus back. When we finally did make it back to dar, it felt great. At home, safe, comfortable, able to access money. Saturday we went out to eat at the Euro Pub with Bre, Josh, and Mike from ACM and then we all went dancing. Yesterday, Sunday, we went to two church services and had a great send off from both. Everyone is praying for our safe travel and it was kind of sad to think the churches I had been attending, although I did not always like or agree with, were now just part of history for me.



It's weird thinking everyday this is the last this or the last that. Our week is filled with last get togethers and it will be hard to leave. I have enjoyed my stay here thoroughly. There are so many good people that have been a part of my life, that it will be difficult to say more goodbyes. I know though that even more awesome people are awaiting me at home, and so I have mixed feelings. I leave Friday night here and get home on December 20th. I don't know if I'll get a chance to blog again, but if not, thank you so much for e-mails, letters, kind words, prayers, and your interest in my travels! Your support has helped me greatly during this intense semester. It's been a wild ride, and I hope that you've been able to share some of it with me!

Pics from the trip...



Although I didn't catch the hip swinging of Bombay Dreams or the moment when my friend Eric and I (who is studying in London) found a dark alley in London to pee in after a night at the bar, I think these pics aren't bad. Check em out!



London, Bath, and Stonehedge



Nottingham



Dubai

And I'm back. I just returned about 4 hours ago from a whirlwind trip to Dubai, Nottingham, and London. It was great! I flew to Dubai and spent a day with Jyoti Grewal, a professor from Luther who is now teaching in Dubai. She was kind enough to share her apartment with Anna O (who spent 5 days in Dubai or so) and I and we had an awesome time in Dubai. The only way I can describe Dubai is the city of the future. They are extremely tolerant and it is the norm to see multi-ethnic couples. They are also filthy rich from trading and oil distribution so everything is universal there for citizens: education, health, and even housing. There are no taxes and they built a place that rivals Disney World in neatness and man-made beauty in the frickin desert! It was a very interesting place. Just unusual to see people dressed head to toe in traditional, conservative Muslim clothing while shopping for hundred dollar outfits in a four story mall. The time went quickly there and the next day I zoomed to Nottingham!



There I met up with Jacqueline Smith who goes to Luther and is spending the semester in Nottingham with about 10 other Luther kids. I hung out at their flat, went to the pub, toured the city and the college, and basically felt like I was at luther for awhile. It was very relaxing and the cool weather felt great under the black leather coat I borrowed from the flat!



I set out on Monday for London to meet up with my family, minus andrea and brian. I pulled up just as they were going out to eat and so started our vacation. We stayed in an awesome little hotel and basically spent the whole week doing mostly family stuff (chilling, eating, talking), some theatre (saw Bombay Dreams a spoof on Bollywood films, Blood Brothers dramatic musical, and Les Miserables the classic french revolution musical), and a few tourist things (the London eye, Tower of London, Bath, and Stonehedge). It's hard to encapsulate the week, but essentially it was good family time. It was an obvious shock to be surrounded by so many cars, things, and lights...but it was good. I was very ready to come back because I don't feel ready to leave TZ yet. It was a good break though and one that I think will help me appreciate TZ.



I returned without significant problems and am just trying to catch up with stuff. I'm working on pics now that will give you a better feel for the travels. I'm very excited because Bekah is coming on Thursday and will be here for two weeks. It should be awesome! I have a lot of work to do before she comes though so wish me luck!

I fought with a monkey last night. It was quite crazy. I was walking up the stairs and there on the first floor was the monkey rummaging through the trash. I tried to scare him away with a growling noise, and he just stood up and hissed back. Then I saw, attached upside down on his belly was the baby monkey! I can see what s/he wanted to fight! Well, I left it alone and it eventually left...just another day in Tanzania. I spent the rest of last night writing two papers. The most work I've done all semester I think. I had to cram it in because today I'm leaving for Dubai and then England! I'm very excited! I'll be seeing my friend and teacher Jyoti Grewal in Dubai, U.A.E. If you're wondering where that is, it's on the Southeast tip of the Arabian Peninsula, just south of Iran. It's quite aways but I figure it will be the only time in the near future I'll have a chance to go to the Middle East, so I thought I'd go! Don't worry though, Dubai is a very safe place and a very wealthy place. Apparently, 80% of the population is actually ex-Pats, meaning Europeans and Americans. Should be a very interesting place. I just hope I don't get too hungry since I'll be forced to fast for Ramadan while I'm there. After a day in Dubai I'll be heading to Nottingham to see Jacque at the University there and then will meet my family in London! Should be a crazy trip and a good way to celebrate the Eda Holiday. That's the end of Ramadan, the fasting time, so it's a big party like Mardi Gras! Well, I'll be in England so probably won't see such a big celebration but maybe I'll see something that will remind me of Thanksgiving. That's a funny thing to think about. Thanksgiving while having 90 degree weather. Well, I'm going to write a few e-mails and then head out on my Emirates flight. I'll be back next Sunday! Happy Holidays!

Last set of pics for now...A few shots of Anna and her fam while they were visiting. We had a great time eating and chatting, but the time flew by! Now they are on their way back to Ohio (not the midwest).

Anna and Fam

We had a great time at Zanzibar meeting 3 Americans on the Semester at Sea program! They came to Dar a few days later and we had a great time showing them around. I wrote more about it earlier (below) but here's the pics that go with the stories! A SASy Weekend

A belated but good look at Zanzibar, the island off the coast of Tanzania. It's such a different place, but beautiful as you can see from the people and the pics. Between a spice tour, a day in stone town, and a night eating at the fish market on the beach, we had a great time! Zanzibar

Back at it...



Anna's parents left last night and Lindsey has malaria! Kind of a depressing day today. The work is piling up and I'm trying to make it to Friday when I can head to Dubai and London. Lots of work before then though. Tonight is turkey dinner at the US embassy, an unusual gesture of compassion, so we'll see how heartfelt it is.



Things have been crazy here lately. Gerard and Josh's room was broken into on Friday and so there have been security people everywhere as we are getting frustrated it took 3 break ins for them to do anything. There was also a fire in the dorm next to ours! UDSM is going crazy.



For now, you can get a little taste of the college with these pics from dar...very random but representative. enjoy. Friends and Tanzania

Pictures are finally working! Check them out!



This is a big set! We had picture day at school and these are the pictures of all the kids I teach! They are great and so personable in front of the camera.

Mlimani Shule



Pics from our birthday party! I turned 21 and a half and Lindsey turned 20 and half, thus a 21st birthday!



Birthday Party



More coming tomorrow, out of time now. Enjoy!

It's been extremes ups and downs the past 24 hours but it is finally up again. It all started with my seminar presentation. For each class we have a seminar which is a smaller group that discusses an issue from the lectures. Everyone in the seminar is supposed to present once in the semester and since my semester is short, I've been trying to get them all done as soon as possible. So I joined the group for presentations in Democracy and Elections and had the ultimate Tanzanian culture experience. What should have taken 10 minutes to come to a position and then divide up work ended up taking 2 and a half hours and in traditional Tanzanian fashion we had to talk all around the issue. Just when I thought we'd reach a conclusion someone would say something and we would go off on a new tangent and come to a new position. It was so frustrating! Then to make matters worse, when everyone brought their research back they decided we should only have one presenter and they picked me! Thus, I had to learn everyone's material and try to slow my language down and speak British essentially so people in the class could understand me. It was very frustrating, but it turned out well as I presented today on how Africa is not going through a third reverse wave towards authoritarianism. I think I scared them though as I used a banana as a visual aid and squished it. Oh well, who cares about taboos!



Also frustrating was pictures. I have been trying to figure out pictures and how to get them online and yesterday spent about half the day trying different computers and methods. Finally, Gerard helped me out and between him, me, and his computer we got the pics ready to go online! So scroll down and you'll find them!



The reason for hte push to get the pictures on line was that today was School Picture Day at school! It was so much fun. I took my polaroid camera and my digital and every student received a polaroid picture of themselves. They were thrilled and the best part was how they all did little poses for the picture. Very funny. I haven't downloaded those pictures yet, but I think tomorrow I'll put up all the students' head shots if you want to see the kids I teach! They have an end of the year test next Friday so that is the big news from Mlimani Shule!



Now I am going to head out to Mwenge to get some pants made for me! We'll see how it goes. The internet's being slow so the pics will be up later. Get excited. There's a lot of them!

It's been 100 days, or so my mom says. That's an uber long time. I feel like we should have a party like in elementary school on the 100th day. I guess I'll go to church to celebrate. We're pretty crazy people here.



Last night we DID had a crazy experience though. We went to Bend it Like Beckham at the European Film Festival, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Then we all piled in the car to leave and we hadn't even gone one block when a policeman stood in front of our car and told us to pull over. We did (stupid mistake), and he told us we were going the wrong way down a one way and that they were going to take our car and take us to court. It was so frustrating! Ayubuh argued with them and we all stood around protesting for almost an hour. We knew exactly what he wanted and despite Swahili protest, we eventually paid the 10 dollar bribe and went on our way to Bilicans to go dancing. I was so mad though at Tanzanian legal practices, the fact that police on foot can just stop you and threated you with a corrupt legal system. It's either go to the corrupt legal system or pay the corrupt police. What do you do? Then to make matters worse, on the way to Bilicanas two more police tried to stop us. Our Tanzanian friend Ayubuh who was in the car said "DRIVE ON!" and we did, screeching past the protesting police. I guess that's how it works here. Run or pay. So that was our exciting night in Dar last night, a lesson in Tanzanian law I guess.



Today is chill with church and some homework. Anna's parents arrived on Thursday and they are on safari all week, but we'll see them again next weekend, perhaps in Zanzibar again!

I've faced the facts: I suck at laundry. Today I attempted to do laundry the tanzanian way. They have this bar of soap that Anna O swears makes your clothes the closest to white they can be in Tanzania. Well, I took out the soap and an hour and a half later went and got the woolite. All the Tanzanians were giving me tips and I think I basically sloshed water around without cleaning anything. Then to make matters worse, or more entertaining, I hung my clothes on the line and it started raining! It's probably better though b/c I'm sure i didn't rinse properly or something. Who knows. Needless to say I won't complain about walking down the stair to put my clothes in the washing machine at Luther again. Or at least not for a while.



Anna's parents arrived safetly here and we've had a great time with them. We all went out for Indian food on Thursday night along with two Danish girls Erin met, Ayubuh our Tanzania friend, and Des our friend from South Africa. It was quite an international event and so tasty! The Osterbur's were extremely generous too and bought dinner for everyone! I was stunned. Very kind. Yesterday Anna gave them the shock and awe tour of Tanzania and we all went to Mama Mshigeni's house for a traditional Tanzanian meal. Mama Mshigeni is like the coordinator of study abroad here and is in charge of all us crazy internationals! We had a great meal though and a fun time. Now Anna and her folks left for safiri in the north and then a trip to Zanzibar, while the rest of us are here in the lab. Time is flying though and soon the time will be up.



I got more pictures from our trip coordinator from the beginning of the trip, so if you want to see me posing with some maasi warriors or painting the local school, check em out! A second look back



We've had a troubling occurances here at the University. Two American girls, both on a program from Brown University, have had their rooms broken into and had things stolen, from passports to envelopes. Needless to say we are a bit on edge, so that has been kind of an unfortunately occurance. Until now, I have felt so safe and secure here. Now though I'm looking my room everytime I go to the bathroom even. Too bad.



The rest of the day includes homework, watching English Premier League football, and watching Bend it Like Beckham at the British Council. Sounds like a fun day! Tomorrow might be a beach day. We'll see!

It's a scorcher today and I'm already dripping just from walking to the lab. I had an interesting experience this morning trying to call Rebekah in Australia. Normally, I go the cell phone route because it's my only option, and it's $2.20, so needless to say our calls are short and not very frequent. Today though I went to check out a new store that advertised international calls. At first glance it looked great! It was only $.90 a minute! I went though and this new business had there computer set up all wrong and they needed it to make the call, so I was there for an hour and a half essentially setting up their business and installing software and such. Then right when everything was ready, the network quit! I couldn't make the call and was only able to make the 4 minute call. Sad day...



Tonight Anna's parents come which should be great! We'll celebrate by going out to eat! Should be fun. Saturday, big plans...Bend it Like Beckham is playing at the Euro film festival so I think we'll head there. Otherwise, a quiet week in dar. Enjoy the snow!

Happy November! I had a great time for Halloween here! Thanks to candy sent by June Brown and some pictures sent from my mom, I got to celebrate by

teaching my 5th grade kids about Halloween. It was hilarious! I taught them how to

trick or treat and they all had to say who they were dressed like, the

pattern went like this: "I'm David Beckham, I'm Jennifer Lopez, I'm David

Beckham, I'm 50 Cent, I'm David Beckham, I'm George Bush (no joke), I'm

David Beckham, I'm Ashanti...etc." Pretty much name your favorite black R

and B/Rap artist and they were represented...and of course david beckham.

It was fun.



They cracked up too b/c my mom sent a letter with scanned

pics of different costumes we had worn in the past; they couldn't believe that i too had once been a kid. It was great fun. The day culminated by teaching them "trick

or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!" I could still hear them singing it when I was halfway back to the university. More corruption by their American teacher! It was great fun though, and surprising difficult to explain Halloween. My roommate even asked me what the difference between a witch and a wizard was...interesting question! So, Halloween was a blast and things have been going well.



We're all enjoying free European movies at the film festival in town and last night I went out dancing with three Swedes, two Tanzanians and a partridge in a pear tree. It was a great mental exercise as much of the conversation was in Swedish (which is very similar to Norwegian!) and Swahili. My head was slightly sore by the end of the night, but it felt great to be able to jump languages like that! Today is quiet, probably church at 4:30 and a movie at 7:30 at the British Council. I hope all is well in the States...enjoy the snow!

And Zanzibar...I'm going crazy tonight with 3 blogs, but hey, do it while I'm in the mood I guess.



Yeah, we left Friday for Zanzibar! Zanzibar is a small island off of mainland Tanzania and it is beautiful. Way back when it was the center for the Arabic slave trade and to this day is roughly 95% Muslim. It is a different world from Tanzania as we soon found out!



Well, Anna and I heard from our friends from Luther who lived in Tanzania last fall about the legendary "Flying Horse" boat to Zanzibar. There are three boats that leave almost every other hour to Zanzibar, two of them costing about 15 thousand Tsh. for a resident and taking 2 hours and the legendary Flying Horse, (bequithed the Dying Horse by Zack and Mike last year) costing half as much and taking twice as long. Of course Anna and I took the dying horse and it seemed nice at first. But then we started moving. It was so choppy and soon people all around us were throwing up in plastic grocery bags! I was getting there, so I took a dramimine and Anna and I abandoned our "first class" seats for the main deck for some fresh air. I fell asleep eventually and that made the trip pass rather quickly. We tried to play chess but our pieces started sliding from side to side as the boat rocked. Well, three and a half hours later we arrived and we were not swamped by cabs, mostly because we were on the crappy, cheap boat I think. But, we found the great little hotel that Erin and Lindsey had book earlier in the day when they arrived and settled in.



That night, we ate at someone's house! It was a "restaurant" but really was a families porch. They cooked us a traditional Zanzibarian meal which was awesome! We headed to bed early and got up to go on a spice tour! We were in a van that soon filled up with a Spainard couple, two belgian friends and us. It was fun! We headed out of Stone Town, the main city where we were staying into the countryside where spices are harvested. Zanzibar is famous for its spice production and we were able to see cinnamon, cloves, lemongrass, all spice, and so many other spices i can't remember! Mostly though, I don't remember because we spent most of the spice tour talking to these American kids our age on the Semester at Sea! They were in Tanzania for 5 days or something like that and were so great. Zack, Amy, and Rae were their names and they came from California, Wheaton College in Illinois, and near St. Louis. We had so much fun talking and despite rain on our tour we had fun and decided to meet later that day.



Well, we shopped a bit in Stone Town with them and went to the fish market where there are sellers everywhere and fresh fish and fried food. I had the greatest drink ever: sugar cane juice with a hint of lemon. wow! It was great. I had three of them along with my nan, meat, and chips! After much chat and hanging out back at the Semester at Sea kids' hotel, a few of us went out to go dancing...unfortunately it was the first night of Ramadan and there was no dancing to be had in Stone Town so we settled for a bar and and more sugar cane drinks! We parted later that evening and exchanged numbers because they were coming to Dar on Monday. Anna and I headed back Sunday morning on the fast boat and made it back in time to play guitar for church that afternoon.



Monday we met up with our S.A.S. friends again and were able to show off our home. We took them to all the markets, made them ride the dalas, and give them the real Tanzania. It was so exciting to feel like I could show off my home! We had a great weekend seeing a new part of Tanzania and even more fun returning "home."

I just realized looking at the history, that I haven't talked about my crazy marine experience...or zanzibar but first the marine story! Beers and brats is how it starts...that's right, Oktoberfest! The German Embassy sponsered an Oktoberfest in Dar that a bunch of us went to and it was great fun. Great meat, beer, and a great German band! I don't think my ancestors are from Bavaria, but for the night I pretended. The real craziness started after the evening though. Our cab didn't return to pick us up as planned and so we started hitching for rides and who would pick us up, but the US Marines. There are about 6 marines in dar who guard the embassy and they had also been at Oktoberfest. They picked us up in their brand new landroover and said they'd give us a ride, but first we had to go to the Marine House. We reluctantly agreed and as soon as the car door shut, the tires started squealing. We were flying around Dar...130 km/hr which is almost 80mph I think! It was bad. The worst part was the marines in the car were being absolute jerks to the Tanzania driver, talking down to him and saying things like "that's an order not a suggestion" and "you can go faster than that!" I realized then why so many people hate Americans! I would too if this is what I saw of America. Well, we arrived at the Marine house and it really should have been called the marine mansion. There was a pool, and pool table, two bars, a library, two computer, and beautiful wood furniture...all for 6 guys who seemed to care more about having enough shot glasses than experiencing any part of tanzania. Well, they said everyone who visited had to take an "independance shot" and they continued drinking the whole time we were there, before they left for the bar. It was kind of sad actually to talk to them and hear how much they hated living here and realizing they just hang out with each other and drink almost every night. Well, we left the peninsula where they lived and made it back to the university in 9 minutes...usually it's a 45 min trip! I was very excited to get out of the car in one piece!!

Long drops and music, the fun of today. That's right, I had my first long drop choo experience. A choo is the swahili word for toliet, and thus far I have avoided the dreaded "long drop" toliets. Now, it's important to note there are many types of long drops, the extremes being the hole in the ground with small cement blocks for your feet such as the bathrooms found at the shamba and the higher class long drop flushers that have the whole and a little porcelin area increasing the target. Well, the one near daruso is higher class, but that didn't stop me from feeling a bit awkward as i squatted down and did my best to keep my pants clean. I was walking by DARUSO after my 7am Swahili class and just had to go to the bathroom! Fortunately, I had my trusty toliet paper in my backpack and was able to relieve myself and keep the floor and my pants clean. I felt like an accomplished long dropper.



Tonight I had a great time at my music class. I'm in a fine and performing arts class that's basically like choir. They laughed so hard because we were singing the national anthem and one of the words started with an imploded "mu" sound. I couldn't do it for the life of me. It was such a foreign sound and not a verb sound I've ever made. I faked my way through it and had a great time singing the national anthem and "Tanzania Nakupenda," the Tanzanian version of "America the beautiful." I even taped it on a voice dictator so when I get home I'll be able to play for everyone the shrilling, bright sound of passionately untrained Tanzanian singers. It's quite an experience.

Life in Tanzania is great of late. We've been having a lot of fun and some surprises! On Thursday I was floored when Anna, Erin, Bre, Gerard, and company surprised Lindsey and I with a birthday party! My half birthday was in September and hers was October and so they figured that her being 20 and 1/2 and me being 21 and 1/2 they could have a 21st birthday celebration! I was so unexpected and fun! They had cake, which is about the hardest thing to find in Tanzania and wine, and Lindsey and I both received tapes of our favorite Tanzanian music, mine being "Hakuna Muguu kama wewe" (There is no God like you). On top of that, Anna saw a Chelsea football jersey that had the logo "Fly Emirates" on the front and in honor of my flight to England on Emirates Airlines she bought it for me! We had a great time chatting and spending time with our great LCCT group!



The fun continued Friday when I went out to eat planning to meet our South African friend Des. Unfortunately one of the kids in her youth group injured himself so she had to nurse him back to health, so I was sitting at Addis in Dar, a great Ethiopian restaurant by myself just listening to English-Swahili-and...Norwegian?! I couldn't believe it! I thought I heard Norwegian. I finished my great meal and honey wine and walked over to these two girls and asked if they were from Norway. They were actually from Sweden (close enough that I could understand some of their words) and so I sat with them and had a great chat, not to mention a ride halfway home...it's all about hitchhiking here in Tanzania.



Saturday was crazy! At first I went to DARUSO, the local bar type place on campus to watch the Arsenal-Chelsea football match (football being soccer of course.) I was blown away! There were about 300 Tanzanians squeezed around one TV, all sitting in the cheap plastic coca-cola chairs and yelling at every move or "tsking" at bad plays. When one team would score the place erupted with plastic chairs and tables being flung airborn. It was great fun...but one odd part was not a single woman! It was a testostorne filled room and the only reason I could walk to find a chair was because a ray of sunlight keep a small space open. Monkeys were jumping off the roof on to nearby trees and the whole scene was quite a memory. After the game, I worked on a project with a Tanzania friend named Ally and went to the opening party to celebrate the formation of an Anti-AIDS club on campus. There were the hottest Tanzania groups, like the Unique Sisters, and guess who I would run into at the concert, but the Swedish girl I met the night before! It is a small world even in Dar. A group of us went out dancing after the Anti-AIDS club concert and one of the Swedish girl's friends knew some great salsa moves so I tried to pick those up. We stretched our limited amount of money just far enough to get us home.



Sunday was of course church and IDOLS! Yes, South Africa has a version of American Idol and we had to watch the last one...I was thinking how much Adam St. John would have loved it! There were two girls left and both were incredible, but the worse singer, (but white one) of the two one...personally I think it reflects racial tensions in S. Africa but the others tried to assure me it was because her voice was more pop where as the other girls was more gospel.



This week has been quiet with classes running and actually a day of clouds and rain! It was heavenly. We all put on our pants and felt like we were at home. now though it is back to its hot self. I'm having a great time though because i've really rediscovered the enjoyment of reading...analyzing the bible, reading novels and playing guitar. It will be quite a change to go back to Luther and have to work again! Also, Anna and I have started up quite a chess rivalry. We bring the pieces that anna bought and the paper board we made (because we were too cheap at the time to buy a real board) with us everywhere we go. Hopefully I'll be able to match up with the Bergans when I come home!



Today I'm going to try to throw the disc a little bit and go to a choir rehearsal...otherwise, another chill day in Africa!

We just got a few e-mails from Bill with old pictures. It seems so long ago that we were in the Arusha area, as my white skin, clean looking clothes, and fresh hair cut hair can attest to. Check out the pictures taken at the start of our journey almost 3 months ago! We're half way done now.A look back...

While many of you celebrated Native American Day this week, we also had a holiday here! Nyerere's Death Day. that sounds morbid, but it was a holiday yesterday on Tuesday to commenerate the day that Tanzania's first president Julius Nyerere died. We celebrated by going to our South African friends' house Monday night and cooking up a feast. It was a big deal because we haven't had access to a kitchen since we arrived! We all cooked something and I did milk shakes which were horrible b/c the milk in Tanzania so sour and lumpy. Not so good. But Anna made a great chicken cassarole and jello so I felt like I was at home at a church potluck. Gerard being

from right outside New York made a posh, fancy pasta called pasta a la vodka or something like that. It was penne pasta with

fresh tomato sauce cooked in vodka. It was very tasty! We also had a

huge salad and garlic bread. yum! Anna and I spent the night and we

watched three movies and played chess until 3:30am. Then we slept in and

spent the rest of tuesday at the beach catching up on sleep and sun.

Also, I cut my hair! It's so short. I think the shortest it's ever been.

I had to cut it real short because of all the wax in my hair from the

dreads. Anna affectionately called in the Holocaust survivor look. I

prefer the swimmer's look. Anyways, it is so blonde when I cut it short.

I hope it grows back! Today only two classes.



The big news in town is that a movie theatre is opening today! The first in Dar. Supposedly it

is going to get all the latest movies so we are hoping that we will be

able to see the long await Lord of the Rings and Matrix movies. The best

part is it is only a 15 minute dala ride away. I'm so excited, I've been missing movies so much here!



The other news is that the daladala bus service, (ie- cramming as many people as you can in a fast movie minibus that ignores traffic laws), is going to be replaced

starting in december with an actual city bus service. The minister of

transportation said they hope to only have daladalas on minor roads by

2005. Kind of sad, but probably good for the city considering the big

growth and crowdedness.



That's the latest from Dar. It's getting hotter as the days pass and I think I have a permanent farmer's tan...or should I say shamba tan. Now, I'm off to research on democracy in Zambia. Fun stuff!

Music in Tanzania is crazy. There are four types that are heard constantly. First and most popular is of course the rap/RB, mostly American, but a few Tanzanians trying to be American. This music blasts from the open air dorms from 6am until midnight and I think that I have "In Da Club" by 50 cent permanently engrained in my brain. The second type of music is celion dion. Seriously. Tanzanians have some obsession with love songs and I hear Celion Dion, Michael Bolton (a throw back to my Central days), Mariah Carrey, and people like Rod Stewart constantly. It is quite disturbing actually. It's light radio in Dar. The third type is my favorite: the church choir type music. There is one song we love called "Hakuna Munguu Bwana Wewe" meaning "there is no god like you." this music is what you would think of stereotypically of an African Choir...like the backround of Paul Simon's "Graceland" album. The last type is also very fun: Bongoflava. This is heavy drums and big rhythm and is very popular in clubs and late at night when rap is not playing. It is very Zanzibarian and East Coast tanzania and is great to dance to. So now, as I close, Michael is singing full blast in the computer lab and I just have to smile. That's what love is all about, when a man loves a woman, I said I loved you but I lied. Oh the memories...

I'm the class representative! Funny story. So I was in my Democracy and Elections class yesterday for the first real lecture and the teacher started the class by asking, "What is Democracy?" Of course no one answer and she asked the students if they had a class representative, which is the person in charge of answering when no one else does and the person in charge of talking to the teacher if the class has a problem. The class said, no we don't have one and some one in the back shouted in swahili, "Mzungo pamoja nywele!" Essentially, the white guy with the hair! Everyone yelled in agreement and so I was elected class representative and had to answer the question. Then today, my second day in office, the microphone wouldn't work...actually the teacher and the students didn't know how to use it, so once again I was called to action to fix the problem. It's rough with so much responsibility, but hey, there's only one white guy with the hair.

Leaves and boogers...my latest thoughts in Tanzania. Apparently, leaves also change colors here, although they don't necessarily have a fall. The leaves change during our winter because it gets so hot here! The Tanzanias that were looking at Anna's autumn pictures at Luther couldn't believe that leaves changed colors when it was cold. Very different. Also, another phenomena here that is quite extrodinary is nose picking. People do it, proudly, out in the open. It is not taboo at all and we've decided it's because of all the dust here. You just can't get by without picking your nose. I have noticed since arrival in Dar how my eyes, nose and throat all seem to collect this thin layer of dust and dirt. I not only have dirty nose boogers, but also eye boogers. It is refreshing though to know I can proudly clear myself of this dust at anytime, and anyplace. Now if only I could draw less attention to my hair and my skin color....

We went to the beach this weekend and were severely disappointed! We arrived and settled in to our bungalows only to find a rat! We moved bungalows in hopes of leaving the rat, but after a fun evening sitting out under the stars by a beach fire, the rat returned! No one slept well, but at least we were all up for the sunrise. We were also disappointed because we were supposed to get chipati for breakfast but they were out. Chipati is the Tanzania version of lefsa. It's a fried tortilla type bread that most tanzanians eat plain, but i like to add butter and sugar to make it a bit more norwegian!



We also had a smelly surprised when we returned to campus...no water or electricity! IT has been going on and off for the past week, but it's been off about 24 hours now. And to think of all the problems it caused in the US. It's typical here. Fortunately, I had a 5 gallon "back up jug" of water and I used that to take a much need shower, but I hope we get it back because now I'm out. I put up some pics so everyone can see the water situation. First we collect the water in our big 5 gallon jugs, then I boil with the water boiler, then I filter to get out the chunks, and then I put in my nalgene bladder for storage! The big black tanks are the "simtanks" that are all over Dar. They are supposed to be our back up sourse of water, but people from all over town come and steal our back up supply so there is none for us. electricity just got cut again, fortunately there's a stopper on the computers so they don't crash.... no connection though.



The other pics are of the fisherman out on lake Malawi...this fish with lanterns at night because it attracts the fish. And of course the picture with the computer is me trying to "watch" the twins game. The picture of the dala-dala minibus is at our "favorite" corner in dar where cars go every which way with no rhyme or reason...or light. Finally the pics of the girls are the South African friends we have and I at a jazz concert in Dar. Enjoy! .Where's the Water?



Tonight we're off to a drum/jazz concert at the French Embassy. Should be entertaining! That's all for now. Pray for water

School has begun... sort of. I went to class yesterday for the first time and had one lecture in my Development perspectives course. It was good and big! Probably 200 students. I'm not used to that at Luther. I also found out yesterday that I passed the Swahili test so I am able to take the intermediate class. Lindsey and Anna also passed it and so we'll all be trying to speak a bit more this semester. No roommate yet, but I did receive an early morning call from June Brown which was great to hear. She;s sharing her teaching expertise and giving me some supplies for Halloween so I can teach the kids here about halloween. I start teaching again next week but will be more supportative going once or twice a week instead of everyday. This weekend we're going to the beach to celebrate Meredith's b-day; she's another student from the US, so I'm sure we'll have fun. Today I MAY have my Political Perspective on Development and my population geography class, but no one knows for sure. I'm not sure what my classes actually are yet, but i'll put them up when i know. Pole sana twins, hopefully they'll come back in the dome. Getting one out of two in NY is pretty good. now, off to read and see if i have class!

Well, not much in terms of class here. Everyone is just kind of wandering around waiting for classes to actually start, but they never seem to. We are excited though because tonight we're going to the house of a couple we met at church and they told us they were going to make us Mexican! My favorite. I can't wait. I also had exciting news that my brother in law, Brian, was awarded the best composition in an ACDA competition- a huge award! His piece will be performed in Sioux Falls in March, and who knows, maybe my choir will be able to perform it because we will be there already performing. Fun news in SoDak.



Well, the news about our trip continues...and it gets crazy. We tried to leave Zambia and had some problems. When we entered the country they stamped our passports and asked how long we were going to stay. We were not all together at the time so Bre and I said two weeks to be on the safe side, but Anna and Lindsey said one week. Well, we had been there 8 days because of the slow buses and the border guard said we had to pay money to get out of the country. Bre kind of took over and was arguing with him and bartering and finally we gave him 10,000 Tsh, about 10 dollars, to give us the exit stamp. The funny part though is that he probably won't be able to use it because the schilling is a closed currency which means bureaus and banks cannot exchange for it outside of Tanzania. We were happy to leave Zambia though and enter Malawi, where more adventures law ahead.



We took a bus to Lilongwe where we quickly found the bus going to Mzuzu, near Nkhata Bay, our destination. Unfortunately, the bus to Mzuzu would not leave until it was full...and we sat, and sat...and sat. It was joto sana (very hot) and despite the bus being quite crowded, it was not all the way full so we just sat there frying, as our anger boiled with the temperature. After 2 and a half hours, and seller was leaning in the windown, and reached into my shirt pocket and grabbed 100 Malawian Kwacha. I freaked out. I swung my arm around to try to grab him, but I hit the window which slid back, picking the lady's arm behind me. I was mad I was pickpocketed! For the first time in my life, I think I actually wanted to deck someone. I just wanted to chase after him but I was pinned in the bus, roasting. We finally left after about 3 and a half hours and had a six hour bus ride in a minibus carrying roughly 30 people.



Because of the long wait we arrived in Mzuzu at dark and the buses to our destination, Nkhata Bay where no longer running. We got a cab and finally confinced him to accept US dollars because we didn't have enough Kwacha...but it was the ride from hell. We realized about half way there that this guy didn't have any breaks. He was using his parking break to stop and was going about 30 mph the whole way. As we finally reached Nkhata Bay, he didn't know where to go and was trying to turn around when his parking break failed and we backed right into a cement pillar. His car was dented in and at the same moment as he was in the middle of the intersection trying to start his car with the help of 10 people pushing, the Malawian police drove up, swerving at the last minute to avoid us. Everyone told him to just drive away and he floored it, but soon told us he couldn't take us to the Backpacker's Lodge because he couldn't make it up the hill. We just got out and walked about 2km with the help of two guys (one of them named Smart!) who walked us to the Lodge. It felt great to get there and when we arrived there was a party going on with a circus type guy doing tricks. We sat down and enjoyed and actually ran into a Swede and Norwegian we had met a week before in Zambia. I chatted a bit with them in Norwegian and then headed to bed.



We woke up the next morning to finally see our surroundings in the day light and they were amazing. We were right on Lake Malawi which is huge and looks like an ocean. The water was clear with neon blue fish swimming around and the place we were staying: heavenly. Amazing food, including pancakes in the morning, and hammocks and chairs everywhere for reading and napping. The next 3 days or so were pretty much lazy. Reading, sleeping, and playing chess with Anna. Even at night we could look out on the lake and see the fishermen who put lanterns in their boats to attract the fish...it looked like stars on the water.



Bre and I did try to change money in Mzuzu unsuccessfully. Traveller's Checks should be called stay at home checks because they don't take them anywhere! We had lots of fun at Nkhata Bay and met a crazy group of South Africans who were on holiday in Malawi. These stereotypical cocky, buff, south africans definitely made our time at the lodge funny. The last day in Nkhata Bay was also entertaining because I decided to get my hair dredded! It was the most painful thing I think I've ever done. One hour of constant pulling, knotting, and applying hot wax. What do you think? You'll have to check out the picture! Malawi Pictures



Bre, Lindsey, and I were getting excited to come back so we packed up the next day and went as far as Mbeya in one day. We had more problems at the border because they didn't want to let Bre in because she didn't have her residency permit stamped in her passport, but once again her diplomatic skills got us in, this time without money. I rode all the way to Mbeya next to a chicken too! Yeah, just on the bus, the lady next to me had her chicken wrapped up like a baby, and it slept like a baby. Occasionally given a gobble when we would hit a bump...just a regular sight in TZ. Mbeya was not the best. A guy attempted to pickpocket me but Lindsey and Bre were there to give the guy and shove and get him out of my pockets...needless to say we were ready the next morning at 5:30am to leave, although Lindsey got sick before the trip making us wish we could teleport back. I got off before the girls in Morogoro, a town about 2 hours from Dar, and stayed with a friend named Ayubuh who I met at the University. I had a great time at his house meeting his family and making sandwiches for them! They didn't know what sandwiches were so I made they a wide variety with goods from the market. I think they liked PB and J best. Then I traveled back to Dar and arrived Saturday afternoon about 4pm. It felt great to see the familiar Dala Dala's and to know what the price should be for everything. Back to Tanzania Pictures



Well, that's the travel adventures...kind of long winded, but entertaining. It's hard to describe everything but hopefully the combination of words and pictures will help. Enjoy the pics and the beginning of October tomorrow! Cheers!

We're back! We survived our journey to Victoria Falls and Malawi, and despite hours of travel, bribing border guards, and pickpocketing, we had a great time.



The trip started on the Tazara train: a very slow passenger train that took us from Dar all the way to Kapiri Moshi, Zambia. Bre, Anna, Lindsey and I from our program and Gerard, Stacey, and Meredith (Americans on a different program) also joined us. Along the way we were able to see the changing Tanzanian landscape from dry grassland to hilly green areas in the west. We had quite an experience with Tse-Tse flies. These flies have a vicious bite and a small number carry african sleeping sickness: a serious illness that makes you, well, sleep forever as the train attendant informed us when we asked what the insect was. Bre got one in her skirt and was bit numerous times while Lindsey and I both had a few random bites. We watched for symptoms though and all of us are still awake. You can check out the pics of our train travels and our first class apartment that we were in for about 40 hours, including two nights. We became quite attached to our vinyl beds I think! Tazara Train Pics



After our arrival in Kapiri Moshi we started our bus adventures. We took a small mini-bus about 2 hours to the capital of Zambia, Lusaka where we spent the night at a great backpacker's hostel called Chachacha's. When we arrived there though, they were full so we stayed in tents on their lawn. Worth both dollars we paid I'd say! We were rejuvenated with their great food and the next morning at 6am took a 10 hour bus to Livingstone, Zambia which is next to Victoria Falls.



We had a great time in Livingstone. We stayed at another cheap, fun backpacker's place called Fawlty Towers. We had so much fun at these places because you stay in bunk beds in a room with people from all over the world. We met a cool Australia, a Dutchman, and a group of British kayakers. It was so fun sharing travel stories, tips, and places to go with people who like us, loved to travel! We visited the Falls which were incredible. On the way, we had to wait about 20 minutes while elephants crossed the road! Then we arrived at the falls and there was spray everywhere, definitely living up to the local name that translates to "the water that smokes" or something like that. It was very humbling to see this amazing site and to think that we were in Africa, a weird realization of the obvious. It was also hilarious because at the same time, there was the world's strongest man competition in Zambia, so all these "world's strongest men" were at the falls. The strongest men looking at the strongest waterfall...an ironic site for sure. You can check out the pics and see how amazing the falls, they do little to justify the beautiful, but can say what I cannot describe: God's awesome creation. Victoria Falls



Our best adventure in Livingstone was whitewater rafting. We left our place at 8am, ate a good African breakfast of beans, bread, and tea and then headed to the water. The river was the Zambezi and is rated 5 out of 6, with 6 being impassable, so this was a serious river to raft! In fact, on the first rapid, we couldn't get over it and finally we paddled hard and our raft hit the rock and flipped! I was flung from the raft into the water and was probably under for about 5 secs which felt like a life time. I seriously thought I was good. I was panting when I finally found the surface and thought, 22 more of these! Well, I recovered and had a good time. We had a great guide who wasn't afraid to hit the rapids full speed. We all fell out 4 times our of 23 and our arms, lungs, and hearts were quite tired when we finally reached the end. We had a great time, saw great scenary, and even stopped in Zimbabwe for lunch (on the other side of the river). After living through whitewater rafting, we took a safer adventure the next day on a bike tour. It was amazing. A local guy who called himself the "local cowboy" because of his specially made straw cowboy hat biked us around the Zambezi. Along the way we had to stop because elephants were once again in our path. we also saw giraffees, crocodilles, and huge spiders before heading to the best part of the trip, a local village. He took us to a village where he had friends and we came in the midst of a traditional dance/song/game where someone dressed as a ghost type person chases kids and collects money that is then given to someone in the village. The only way the kids can keep him away is to sing to make him dance. We saw this awesome site as a oddly dressed character grooved to about 20 Zambian kids singing at the top of their lungs. Then, we went to a school in the town that the "local cowboy" supports with a portion of the money he makes. The school is for vulnerable children and orphans and it was very humbling. There was one lady essentially volunteering her time to teach maybe 60-80 kids in a room the size of a dorm room. They sang a bunch of songs for us like "One, two three four five, once I caught a fish alive," "If you're happy and you know it," and other songs. It was very emotional to see all these kids: on one hand b/c they had such a hard life, but on the other hand because they were having the opportunity to get an education. It definitely put a human face to the work I did this summer researching HIV/AIDS orphans in Africa. That was them. Zambia Pics



The rest of our time in Zambia was spent relaxing at Fawlty Towers where good food and company surrounded us. We stayed I think 4 nights before heading back to Lusaka on bus. From Lusaka we caught another 6am bus to Chipata, Zambia which is close to the border of Malawi and Zambia. We had to stay there and had fun trying to save money by having all four of us (Lindsey, Anna, Bre, and I) in a double. Very tight, but we were only there for maybe 12 hours anyways.



The story will have to continue tomorrow as I am out of time, but halfway through the journey...fun huh?! It is great to be back in Dar though and feel a little bit like we're home. We are supposed to start class tomorrow, but it is really random...we'll see if we actually find classes to attend, most people are not even here yet! It's Africa time I guess. Go Twins! Hope all are well, hope to hear from you all soon!

Alright, back in the lab with a little time. If you haven't read the blog from Mon sept 8th read that first b/c i'm going to try to finish the story now....



so we were walking down the beach looking for another trail and we finally found what we thought was one, but it just took us across the island to another secluded beach. We then were very intelligent and though for sure the main beach was just around the corner, so we thought we'd just follow the beach back. Soon however, the sand again turned to coral and so we walked through the shallow water, but the water got deeper and deeper. Soon we were wading with water up to my shoulders with hard, sharp coral on our right and the ocean surf hitting us from the left. we were walking on seaweed coated coral and were trying to balance our bags on our heads while maintain our balance. it was a difficult task. The wade was a long one...maybe a mile or two, but it was great b/c we saw all these awesome caves everywhere with crabs lining the walls. I felt like a pirate or a kid from the Lord of the Flies. We continued going on, always hopeful that our destination was just around the corner. Finally, after 45 min it was around the corner and we made it back with only a few cuts and bruises (and very wet shoes!) It was fun adventure around Bongoyo Island, but one that as Mike described, was a case of the dumb things smart people do.



Well, today I found a cheap restaurant in town and had fun visiting the immigration office in Dar to get my passport stamped for residency. It was crazy, packed full of people with passports just in piles behind the desks. I thought for sure I would lose my passport and be in Tanzanian indefinitely, but they did manage to stamp it and I escaped with passport in hand. Tomorrow we have a meal at our Swahili professor's house and on Friday we head out to Zambia to see Victoria Falls. We'll board the train Friday afternoon at 3:50pm and arrive in Zambia early morning Sunday. After a few bus rides we'll end up at the Falls and probably stay there a week or so before slowly heading back via bus through Malawi. It should be another adventure. then classes start and I guess I'll have to go back to the reality of being a student, but until then I'll just be working on my swahili and enjoying the laid back, fun Tanzanian culture. That's all for now folks. I hope everyone is doing well starting school and activities. Thank you for your e-mails and letters! I will try to respond to them as soon as I can. Tutoanana.

Oh yeah, and I figured out how to do links thanks to anna. You should be able to click on the blue title now and go straight to the pics. enjoy.

A crazy fun weekend in Dar! On Saturday Bre, Erin, Anna, a guy named Mike, and I headed to a small island off the tip of the Msasani Penisula in Dar. The best way to explain it is that Dar es Salaam is like a backwards J and at the very tip of the bottom of the J is the Slipway. This I think comes from the British term for slip-away b/c it literally is: it's like a mini-America in Dar. We wen to the Slipway and caught a 30 min boat ride to Bongoyo Island. It was beautiful! Blue green water, a nice ocean surf, sail boats and dhows (Tanzanian sailboats in the Bay) and of course sun and sand. Well, the five of us lathered on the sunblock and hit the water. After about an hour Anna, Mike, and I decided to go exploring on the island. Most of the island is forest with a few trails so we started on the trail and walked over dead sharp coral that formed the island and eventually found a great secluded beach on the other side. We sat down and ate our lunch of bread and cheese that we bought at the Americanish grocery store (and I farted the whole day from the cheese which I haven't had since I left home!) and chatted politics. After awhile we left and decided to walk down the beach adn try to find another trail...well, things got hairy....unfortunately, I'm being kicked out of the lab! OK, I'm going to leave you on the edge of your seats. You can see a little preview though. I put some new pics on the web. They're from a swim meet on campus and a trip last weekend to jinogwoni and the trip to bongoyo. enjoy!



http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b32e0154a48d



Beach Pics in TZ

A beautifully cool day in Dar today and it has been a great past couple days here. Saturday I had a rough day after an all day unsuccessful visit to town. I went to exchange traveller's cheques, but hit a brick wall in terms of service. the banks here close at noon, which I knew, so I got to the bank at 11:30am to get my money, but the Tanzanians said cashing checks took too long and they were already closing. I tried to argue in Swahili tonly to hit blanks. To compensate for the bad experience a few of the girls and I found an italian restaurant. It's been our mission in dar, to seek out and find the best restaurants. They are all generally cheap and always a relief from rice and beans. Sunday was great fun because we went to the beach! It was a beautiful blue with a warm sun and security guards so we could feel safe on the beach. We all chilled on chairs and I read "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" which was kind of fun 10 years later. That evening we went to church and of course stuffed our faces with the free potluck style food after the service. I think Anna and I ate a half loaf of banana bread after the service. Yesterday was also a great day. I finally got money in town and also found an ATM that accepts my card! It only took one month. It was great too because on the way I found the only Subway in Tanzania and found the prices quite reasonable, only 2200 shillings for a 6inch meatball. I know where our next getaway is! Also, we are finalizing trip plans for our vacation. Our plan right now is to take the train two days west to Zambia and visit Victoria Falls! So if anyone has any hotel tips or things to do let me know! I met a German in Dar yesterday who told me bungee jumping is only $50...I might just have to do it to put the pressure on bekah to bungee while she is in New Zealand!



Today we started teaching again and we taught writing a letter. Bre who teaches with me has some kids in America to do the penpal thing with our class so we tried to write a letter which went quite. It was fun because we told them Pat Meyer's theory of writing 3 ideas and then we wanted to reinforce question words which they just learned. So they would write, I have three brothers and four sisters. Do you have three brothers and four sisters? They probably should be penpals with 1st graders and not 6th graders but it was fun.



Nothing big planned this week, but Friday we are going to a party/dinner put on by this guy named Zano who hangs out at campus. He works at the French Embassy as a chef and is cooking the meal for us! I'm excited! We take Swahili until the 12th of September and then have two weeks off before we start class at the end of September. We'll see how entering the real classroom goes. I'm a bit apprehensive.



I'm off now to see how the twins are doing and to reply to fun e-mail from Bekah. I received a package today from my mom with supplies which should get me through the rest of the trip! The funniest thing was holding the newspaper. I didn't realize the papers here were so oversized until I held up the argus leader and felt like I wasn't holding anything! But more news later. In the meantime check Anna's site which has more details on the trip:

annaosterbur.blogspot.com

Another day of Swahili and chilling in Dar. I visited with a few Tanzania friends today and now am finally able to quickly upload pictures so it's catch up time. The first link is from a trip to Bagamoyo we took. Beach town about an hour away that used to be a trading post during the slave trade. Very fascinating and beautiful.



http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b328cee92566



Secondly, I heard there were problems with the Simba pictures so here is the link, fixed I believe!



http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b328fac72552



Finally, a few pics from Dar. The last one of all the people watching TV are the Tanzanians watching Big Brother Africa. Not many people have televisions so they all watch at Daruso, the bar where we hang out. It's really fun! It's a great show too, a reality show for Africa.



http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b328cfe765f0



I had fun today receiving my first letters from June and Earle Brown, and my Mom and Dad. So, the mail works! I also had fun explaining to my mom a big about swahili. We learned one of the final components yesterday of the language. It's fascinating because it is a building block kind of language. You start with the root verb, say "kulala" to sleep. (the ku is the "to" in the infinitive.) To say I sleep, you had the subject prefix ni and the tense prefix na, so you get ninalala, I sleep. to make it you sleep, you just change the subject prefix from ni, to u...so you get unalala. It's similar to make past tense. Change the tense prefix from na to li and you get ulilala, you slept. You can also add the object infix to get a direct or indirect object. It doesn't work with kulala, but say pa, which means get. You have the subject prefix ni, tense prefix na, direct object infix say ku which means you as a direct object and the verb pa. So you have ninakupa- I get him. It's very fascinating and seems to make much more grammatical sense than english! So, I expect you all to be fluent when I get back.

Hello All!



With a slightly improved connection I was able to add pictures from the Simba football (soccer) match. Check em out!



http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b328fac72552¬ag=1

http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b328fac72552¬ag=1



just to make sure.

10 monkeys stared at me much like some Tanzanians do as I walked to the computer lab this afternoon. They must have been asking themselves why I was on their campus. Life here is going very well, with many crazy events everyday. It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to write with frequent internet problems here and a busy schedule. The newest edition to our schedule here in Tanzania is teaching. We started teaching 5th graders English at a nearby primary school and I now have a new respect for teachers! It is so difficult! I doesn’t help that most of the kids barely understand English and the teacher herself really can’t carry on a conversation outside of lesson. We attended a linguistics conference on campus this weekend and it gave me a new outlook on the whole English language in Tanzania. I think it’s really unfortunate because secondary school and the University are taught in English so only students who are adept at languages can advance in their education while others who might not learn languages well but who may be bright in mathematics or art or engineering or what have you cannot seek higher education. With that in mind I’m trying to help the kids, mostly through educational raps (like my 4th grade Central days) and interaction. It is a very weird situation because they follow the British education system and are so disciplined. It’s slightly frightening. We walk in and they all stand up and say “Education is a good foundation, good morning teacher.” They all are supposed to raise their hands when they speak but they get lazy and so their arms kind of fall into a hail Hitler sign…very strange. There are about 55 students in the classroom which is very small by Tanzanian standards. There are no books in the class. The teacher just has a handwritten bluebook essentially with exercises that she writes on the board and students copy. It’s obviously very hard to make sure they are all following because English is only 35min and there are so many kids. Also, their desks are long benches that sit 3-4 kids so it is virtual impossible to prevent cheating. But, through these challenges I did manage to make up a rap to try to teach does not and do not. “He, she, it, does not…(beat box)… I, you, we, they do not.” They liked it and now everytime class is close to done they start the rap. Also, I’m teaching them one colloquial American word a day. So far they know cool, what’s up, and nothing. Fun times. It is physically exhausting though when I get done with my class and my head always hurts from trying to translate into Swahili so they understand. A very new challenge for me. Hopefully it will get better as the semester progresses.



This weekend we had a fun trip to a Tanzanian football (soccer) game. Tanzania is trying to qualify for the African Cup and is playing international matches to try to qualify. They played against a team from the Ivory Coast and it was an amazing spectacle. Kids climbing on the lights to get a good seat, kids selling peanuts wrapped up in old papers or invoices, and a sea of red, the team’s color. The name of the team is Simba which means lion in Swahili and even the Prime Minister of Tanzania was on hand to watch. Simba won 1-0 and plays Egypt in two weeks. If they win they are in the semi-finals. Fun stuff! It was great to go somewhere where language was not a barrier. We all knew football and was something we could share. I had another football experience on Saturday. I met a guy on campus name Ayubu who invited me to play football on Saturday so I went and had fun playing with a group of somewhat older Tanzanian guys. No one really spoke English but fortunately many of the words are borrowed English words like wingi (my position), goalkicki, corneri, and cardi. It’s funny because all Swahili words end in vowels so when they borrow words they usually just add an I, like daktari, hospitali, etc. It’s funny b/c we find ourselves adding I’s randomly when we speak English to one another.



The other highlight I can think of is a dala-dala drag race we were in a few nights ago. The dala-dala’s are the old rickety buses that you ride for 100-150 Tsh. We were on one of the last ones back to the university and we leapfrogging with another bus just ahead of us. We got to the university and the other tried to pass us, so our driver stepped on it. They started drag racing and I was yelling “Twende, Twende!” which means go, go, and of course all the Tanzanians laughed at me. We probably got up to about 50 kmh before we left the other dala-dala in the dust. Fun times.



Well, it has been a long update and I’ll do my best to update more regularly, but mostly life is slipping into routine here. About every night we go to DARUSO, the local hangout, where we talk with local students and play pool. Last night was a special night at DARUSO because Big Brother Africa was on. It’s a reality show like Big Brother in the US, but every member on the show is from a different country. One is eliminated each night and the Tanzanian is in the final 5. It is huge here and some commentary has claimed it to be the first thing to truly unite Africa. Very entertaing though. I’m going to meet with a man who works with HIV/AIDS orphans this week to start work on my project and Swahili is keeping me busy. I am missing home amenities like being able to drink from the tap and drive where I want to go, but Tanzania is becoming home a little bit more everyday. I hope all are well in the states. I’m missing luther as I think of people moving in but am sure all will be in order when I return. Hope to hear from you all soon. Baadye.

Hi All!



Info update. I realized looking at my address that I typed it a bit wrong. The correct address is:



Scott Meyer

C/O Grace Mshigeni

Director Links Office

Box 35091

University of Dar Es Salaam

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

East Africa



I'm sure anything sent with the previous address will still get here. Also, I have a cell phone! My parents tried it out last night and it works. I can receive calls for free so feel free to call! Also, I have text messaging for free so you can always text me and I can text back if you would like. My phone number is: 255.744.091.832. You need to type the international prefix to get out of the country first, which in the US is 011 I believe. I hope to hear from everyone soon and will do my best to write real mail!

An exciting and crazy weekend in Tanzania! Friday night we ventured out to find a restaurant and after about an hour of walking in the dark (because there are few if any street lights anywhere) we came upon a pizza place in DAR which is unheard of! We settled for the pizza which tasted great. We ate 4 between the 5 of us. While there we met a crazy American who works at the embassy as a computer technician and who has lived all over the world and a pastor from Britain who's wife is a development worker. They just had twins so I think we scored a babysitting job which would mean hot shower and couch! It was really fun though talking to them. The crazy American told us about this bar called the Q bar which was the place to be. We went to check it out only to discover a room full of white 40 year old men and Tanzanian women who looked frighteningly like prostitutes. It was a weird experience. After listening to a little bit of music we headed out only to find the public buses (dala dalas) no longer running. About 4 cabs surrouned us asking if we needed a ride and we bartered a bit with them and finally got a 2,500 Tsh. ride back. (about $2.50). The following day we went to Bagamoyo which is a quiet town on the Indian Ocean about an hour north of us. It was great! We hung out on the beach and checked out a museum there dedicated to the slave trade because the town was a hub for the slave trade in the 1800's. It was very fascinating. The other amazing thing was the water. It was so warm! We lounged in the Indian Ocean before heading back for a night at D'rusos, which is the local bar/hang out, kind of like Marty's at luther. There we met some cool tanzanians who we taught the card game bullshit. It was very funny watching them try to lie and try to swear in English. I guess Americans are the only naturally talented liars. Today is a quiet day. Went for a run and enjoy a nice meal of rice and chipsi. I'm off to a church service this afternoon that the British guy is in charge of. I'm sure it will be another experience...

Hello Again!



I'm back in the computer lab working on pictures and I think I have them working. We're getting into the swing now. We found some great wood sculptures to buy at Mwenge and tonight are going to try to find the night life in Dar. We'll see how it goes. Check out these pics. they are all from the roof of my dorm except for the one of the dorm. I'm living by myself currently and will get a Tanzanian roommate when school starts at the beginning of October. More hopefully next week. Enjoy.



http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b32a88006534

It's a hot day today in Dar...welcome to the middle of winter! It's been going well here, just trying to meet students and beginning our swahili lessons. We had an amazing day two days ago as we went to downtown dar to a restaurant called Addis at Dar. It was an ethiopian restaurant and you sit around a basket table that is covered in this very thin bread. Everything that everyone orders is placed on the breadtable so you just rip of the bread and eat everything with your hands. Easy to share and it tastes great! It was a very fun evening. I am also trying to master the dala dalas here. They are the public transit system here and are basically just 10 person vans modified to hold 20 some people. It's a crazy experience as people hop on and off and the conductor hangs out the door trying to convince people to get on. For my project for Luther I might undertake the attempt at mapping the dala dala system which could be quite interesting. The daily happenings are finally settling in. I'm learning where everything is on campus and am just trying to find a place near by that doesn't serve rice and beans! We'll see if I can be successful. Tomorrow we are going to a local cloth market where bunches and bunches of second hand clothes are sold usually between .25-.50 cents. I might come home with more interesting suit coats. Watch out Bekah! Well, I'm off to send a few letters and play some guitar. Tonight we are going out to eat at an Indian Restaurant which should be tasty! Enjoy summer and let me know what's up in the states! Tutuonana.

Hello!

I arrived safetly in DAR and am getting settled in my dorm room. It is actually nicer than expected with flush toliets and all, but the water is pretty bleak. I'll be boiling water every night. Today we went to a church service near campus which was interesting and long. Everything here is laid back so there is no real time constraints. After about 2 hours of awesome acapella music and preaching, everyone walked outside and stood in a circle singing the closing hymn. then the pastor gave the final blessing and everyone shook hands and headed out. I thought that was cool!



Well, I got numerous comments about my failure to put the actual picture links, so I hope it works this time! Check them out. (remember, you don't have to type the whole thing, just highlight it all, right click and select copy, then click on the address bar, right click and hit paste).



Terengire pics.

http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b325805505b2



Shamba, hospital, etc.

http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b3258142c40d



Thanks for your interest and thoughts and prayers. Off to lunch and my introduction to Dar es Salaam.

one final thought- i have a mailing address. if anyone wants to send mail, address it:



Grace Mshigeni

Director links office

c/o Scott meyer

Box 35091

University of Dar es salaam

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

East Africa

http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b3258142c40d

hospital, shamba, school pics



http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b325805505b2

ternegire game park pics

New adventures from tz!



We just returned from a shamba- a tanzanian farm. it was an amazing experience. we harvested the beans between mt. meru and mt. kilimanjaro as the tanzanian farmers do it: we picked the plants by hand, carried them back to the farm on a mule-drawn carriage, let them dry in the sun, hit them with sticks to get the beans out, then sifted the shucks from the bean by dropping in the wind. it was so different than the us and they couldn't believe it when we told them how machines did everything in the us. we spent three days there and one day also went to a nearby primary school where there are 60-80 kids in each class with one teacher. we played soccer with a ball made from twine tied tightly together. very unreal experience. the family was great, welcoming us to their home and engaging in questions and debate about everything under the stars. the family also had many children and took care of many other children as most families do. the kids were great. we taught each other songs and iwas able to impress them with my guitar and polaroid picture taking abilities. The return to the danish center and specifically showers and running water is very welcomed.



We also visited selian hospital before the shamba excursion. it looked very nice after our previous hospital visit. they started the first ever hospice program in tanzanian and are engaged in helping families to take in orphans- just what i recommended in my paper! the best part though was teh free prenatal area- they have an open air spot where mothers can come with their children to weigh them and make sure they don't have any growth defects from bad water. they just hang the kids up by their blankets on a vegetable scale and they hang there like a sack of potatoes as the nurse looks at the recommended growth chart. it is a sight to see- all these maasi women with jewlery and enormous holes in the ears in bright kangas handing their kids on a scale. on top of that, we went to a secondary school and helped the kids paint their school a bright blue and yellow color. it was crazy to see the extreme order they had there with kids lining up in rows and answering the teacher in perfect unison. the kids were so much fun there and whether it was singing j-lo or playing basket ball with the false ceiling, a good time was had by all.



Today is farmer's day in tanzania- a national holiday! So i definitely feel between today and the shamba that i am getting back to my "roots." tomorrow we leave for dar es salaam where we will be spending the remainder of the semester. i have many more stories, like our visit to terengire, but i'll let the pictures do the talking. check them out. also, if anyone wants another version of our trip, my friend anna osterbur is also keeping a web blog. her website is annaosterbur.blogspot.com. We'll probably be talking about different things so visit there to read more. take care.

kwaheri.



Terengire Pics





hospital, shamba, school pics

Wedding Pics:



http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b325484e84fd









Coffee Farm and Other Pics:



http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b325484884fb

Wedding Pics:







Coffee Farm and Other Pics:

A day of highs and lows today. Well, first, last night.



We went to a wedding send-off party which essentially is the bachelor, bachelorette, and bridal shower all wrapped into one. It is so different here because time doesn't exist. The first thing the MC of the send-off party said was where the bathrooms were, and that was a good idea because the party lasted from 6pm until well after midnight! The funny part about this send off was that it an Englishman and a Tanzanian woman were getting married. It was a bit odd to think that because we were white we were automatically associated with the groom, but that is what happened. The party itself was crazy. There was a pep band basically that marched in with the couple and throughout the night they would just randomly play loud notes whenever someone would get done saying something or when a present was given. There was also a choir that sang in Swahili. The highlight was definitely the Swahili Halleilujah's Choirs. It was so funny to hear and was especially funny because at the time they started I was going to the bathroom in the long drop toliet, which is exactly as it sounds, a long drop to a hole in the ground. Instead of a wedding cake they had a goat that was cook whole and they also had an enormous gift presenting ceremony in which everyone danced up the aisles singing and kissing the cheeks of the couple before setting the gifts down on the table. It was a high energy night that was incredible!



The energy continued into this morning as we went to a Tanzanian church service. There, everyone sang their lungs out in Swahili, even though most of the time they were out of key. They had a little pump organ in the corner to play the music and had a 20 minute offering. It was crazy. This little church that collects 151,000 Tanzanian Schillings a Sunday (equivalent to about $151) is building a new Lutheran University with a few neighboring congregations. The cost of the new university is 75 million T Schillings! They are very ambitious and had a huge ceremony for offering. Everyone brought their 5-10 cents and contributed. They had anyone who had been blessed give a special offering and people give offerings after the general and blessing offering for specific funds. It was great to see the generosity out of these people who have so little. Very unlike America. Also, unlike America was the alter- there were two chickens on it! IT was really funny because after the service they were holding an auction, so two people donated chickens and put them up by the alter with all the other offerings, and randomly throughout the service, the chickens would start to squawk and try to fly away! It was a sight to behold. So after church the auction was held. I had brought fabric that we bought at wal-mart for $10 for 10 yds. AT the auction it was bought for 21,000 T sch. Almost $21! It was a hit! Also a hit was my polaroid camera. Everyone wanted to get their picture taken because most of them don't have any pictures. It was a bit overwhelming as all the kids shouted "mi mi" which means me. I had to tell them I was out of film so I could leave.



The need for attention was also seen at the hospital we visited today. It was kind of a bleak site. A nicely kept area, but there were 4-6 people per hospital room. They treated everything from births to burns to malaria to broken bones, but their lab and facilities were frighteningly basic. The other portion of the trip that spooked me was the orphanage. There is a small orphanage associated with the hospital and it houses about 30 0-6 year olds. We walked towards it and when we got near we heard them shouting "wagazi" which means visitors. Before we even got to the door they were running out and trying to hold our hands and get us to hold them. We all had a kid in each arm, but they were so attnetion deprived they didn't want to get put down and just followed us around. Kids were screaming and a 5 year old was carrying an infant tied around his back. It was a sad sight. A little boy stuck his shoe out indicating he wanted me to tie it. The whole time all I could think about was the research paper I did this summer and how I know that orphans in Africa especially have a hard, almost doomed life. With only 2 supervisors for all these kids, it obviously is hard for them to receive the care they need. When we had to go, they wouldn't let us put them down and followed us to the door. It was a sad afternoon to think that we just come in and look at this kids and think, oh, they're cute, but don't take enough time to help. I sincerely hope to get back to the hospital, perhaps on vacation time to help. There just isn't enough hands here to help everyone.



So that's today I guess. I put some new pics on the web, so check them out! They are very exciting.

Habari Gani?!



I have safetly arrived in Tanzania and hit the ground running! It has been a great last few days, but it seems like it has already been a month! I am spending this week at the Danish Center near Arusha. It is kind of a safe bubble with a bunch of blonde hair Scandinavian development workers running around with their kids, but it is very nice, and it's probably best to have a transition from the US to Tanzania. Today we got up and left the center at 8:30am for the sokoni- market. It was an orgy of color and people- tons of fruits, vegetables, used clothing, and people. We walked amongst the crowds, always followed by an entourage of little kids who were fascinated by us. After the market we went to a potter's association where a group of women formed a type of co-op where they make pottery, farm, and keep cattle. They all work a few days and split the profits. The highlight however was the coffee farm. We visit this small farm where coffee beans are grown. We picked, shucked, dried, grinded, and roasted the beans and then were able to drink our labors! It was amazing how much work goes into a cup of coffee and how most of the money we would spend on a kilo of coffee beans does not go back to the grower. They make about a dollar on one kilo of coffee beans. We enjoyed having a cup of coffee with the farmer, who also had 5 very shy daughters. We convinced them to take their picture with us, and as soon as I figure out how to install a USB driver for my camera I will post them. Tonight we get to go to a wedding send-off party which will be a blast.



In terms of unusual sights, I think that just the massive number of people outside has been the biggest. There are virtually no private cars, and everyone walks with broken flip-flops and harvested crops balanced on their heads. The people are extremely friendly and I am very happy I learned the little Swahili I did because English is rare, which is slightly refreshing.



Yesterday we saw an entertaining performance by the Maasi warriors who are a tribe in Northern Tanzania and Southern Kenya. They wear bright red kangas and some of them pierce their ears and incrementally make the hole bigger so they have a large circle flap of skin on their earlobe. It was amazing to see their culture, but it also frustrated me that here this amazing culture had to perform for the white people who only then would validate the culture as "cute" or "entertaining." I guess I've just discovered how rich Tanzania is in talents, skills, and friendly people. Sometimes the whole idea of development is frustrating because it seems that Tanzanians are better off without use interfering in their lives. Granted their hygene and living conditions are poor, but they are happy and work hard in the fields and enjoy their large families and community.



Besides the people, I have also had an interesting experience with animals here. I got back from the travels today and as I walked to my room, four monkeys ran away from my door. They had been nibbling on a little bit of trash someone had dropped. They are just like squirrels, except faster and better in the trees. Also, there are these animals here called "bush babies" that have this cry at night that sounds like a crying baby doll, sort of muffled and artificial, but very loud. It might take bit to get used to.



Last night we also enjoyed a dance with a Tanzanian band. They played a lot of reggae type music even playing a few familiar tunes like La Bamba. Then the 4 other girls in our group and I went back to my room where we had what I have to get used to: girl talk. Actually it was fun, we just got to know each other and we all get along very well. It seems already like we've been through so much together. It's like a little family. Hand to it the Lutheran Colleges to get that to work out.



I will hopefully get my amazing pictures up within the next 24 hours so check back to see them! Tanzania is an amazing place and the journey has just begun. The beautiful weather and exciting people beckon now. I will post again as soon as I can. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers and remember the Tanzanian motto: Hakuna Matata!