Tuesday, July 20

6:30 a.m.

This morning is gray and damp, but my stomach is calm. 11 hours of sleep cures anything. I heard the Muslim call to prayer from a distant mosque at 5:00 a.m. It is normal, in Tanzania, to have Christians and Muslims living together, marrying each other, and worshipping next door to each other--and there seems to be no conflict. But that is the essence of the Tanzanian perspective: to welcome you, whoever you are, no matter where you're from or what you believe. Refreshing.

This morning, I go to my placement for the first time. Kiwodea is within walking distance, so I will walk over with Katie, Spencer and Regina (the CCS veterans who are also placed at Kiwodea). There is only anticipation in my stomach now.

1:30 p.m.

What a day...

Walking to my placement was its own brand of adventure. I hadn't walked 50 feet in my black flats when I decided this was the first and last day I'd wear those shoes on African roads. Along the way, calls of "Mzungu! Mzungu!" were interlaced with "Teacher! Teacher!" In Tanzania, all white women in skirts are 'Teacher.'

Kiwodea is a long, low structure in the middle of a fenced-in complex, about 30 minutes' walk along the highway from CCS Karanga. Tin roofs, open-air windows and doorways, crumbling plaster over cinderblock walls, and limited plumbing. Using the staff toilet was an adventure involving squatting and filling a bucket with water for the flush. Limitations, but there is a woman here with a dream of so much more.

Mama Nancy Tesha started Kiwodea with the desire to reach out to the vulnerable families living around her, and help them achieve economic self-reliance. Originally receiving nearly 3 million Tanzanian shillings from the government to provide micro-loans to women entrepreneurs, Mama Nancy's project seemed at first to be a resounding success. But time passed, and the loans weren't paid back (partly because of the extreme difficulty for people in making enough money to replace the large loan amounts, and mostly because of Mama's kind soul)... and now there are no money reserves left. Mama also lost her husband in February and has no personal income to contribute to speak of, although she continues to donate what she can.

I need to paint a picture of my first day, if I can. I desperately don't want to forget it. Walking up to the schoolroom doorway: twenty little faces, cries of "Teachah! Teachah! Jambo Teachah! Shikamoo!" Instantly I had four little hands wrestling to hold each of mine. My stranger's face was the news, the exciting topic of the morning. Around 30 students, and the oldest is probably 5 years old. I think we might have some two-year-olds. They are all adorable in their maroon-and-white checked uniforms, many with close-shaven haircuts, and tiny voices echoing in the tiny schoolroom. With two teachers and three other volunteers from CCS (with me, four total), we are only just able to control this group. For a school built on severely limited resources, it has touches of playfulness in otherwise less-than-ideal surroundings: a bright mural of Kilimanjaro painted on one wall, playground equipment in the dusty yard, posters of the alphabet and colors and numbers, the beginnings of a library, with large polka-dots painted in primary colors on the walls and an as-yet sparse collection of children's books.

Simple and modest, but so much potential. Mama Nancy, with the right set of financial resources, expertise, and time, will be able to do great things with Kiwodea. And if I am a small part of her vision, I will do the very best I can here.

8:00 p.m.

A word about the food.

Tanzanian cooking has joined up with Ethiopian and Somali cooking to form the East African Trifecta on Jen's Favorite Cuisines List. Everything I've eaten so far has: a) been tasty, and b) stayed where it should. Bananas are incorporated into almost every dish, as the Kilimanjaro region is known for banana farming (over 100 species of nanners!). There are also known for their coffee here (...aaaaaaand Jen's in heaven).

So far, my favorites are banana stew (yes, you can make a hearty and delicious stew from nanners!), chapati (a flatbread served with different types of sauces), and the Tanzanian diet staple, ugali (a pasty conglomeration of water and ground corn or wheat flour, with the consistency of heavily starchy mashed potatoes, and served with soup or sauces--usually made with meat or lentils).

Oh, and there are avocado salads aplenty, being that the source is growing in our backyard. :-)