Pasha – Warm it up

Sunday, November 10, 2013 Day 2

The rooster did his job this morning and beat Jill’s phone to the punch with a cocky wake up call. The first glimpse of a new place is always exciting, no matter where you are, and this morning was especially so. Jet lag gave way to curiosity and I was anxious to explore my surroundings by the light of day (as we had arrived in the dark, late in the evening.). I scrubbed my travel dust off with a very quick shower – wet then turn water off/lather/ turn water on to rinse. Water conservation is a must!

Camera in pocket, I strolled around the luscious grounds, kitchen garden and mango trees soaking up the moist, warm breezes of Karanga (Moshi). Breakfast was served by Primo, our chef (yes that’s his real name) and although I took a pass on the porridge, I was more than satisfied by the crepes, eggs, fruit and thick black coffee.  I got creative with the powdered milk offered for the coffee and borrowed the hot milk intended for the porridge – Tanzanian latte!

We spent the morning and afternoon getting fully acquainted with the customs and culture, sitting around in our open air dining hall and in amongst the mango trees in the garden. Lots to learn and absorb – don’t cross your legs, only use your right hand for greeting, eating and giving/receiving gifts. My brain is struggling to remember the all important Swahili greetings and handshakes. I swear they borrowed one from the Masonic Brotherhood.

Mama Fatuma and Mama Sarah are an animated pair, firmly dispersing important information while exchanging humourous, affectionate barbs on the side.  The staff are simply wonderful – friendly, gracious and kind – as were the complete strangers whose house I wandered up to (mistakenly thinking it was our home base) and who invited me to go on safari with them (they were just getting into their land rover). They smiled and pointed the way to the road we had missed.

Our group of 21 is diverse with 10 from various branches of the same large corporation; a mother/daughter team, mother/son team, a couple celebrating their 25^th anniversary, an Iraqi war veteran (US), and another pair of feisty older ladies who are great friends - just like Jill and I. Most of the group is from the U.S. however there is another Canadian in the group as well as people from Germany (hubby will be happy), Slovenia, Croatia, Brazil, and Costa Rica. We shared our goals and expectations and they prepared us for our work assignment (which we start Tuesday). People are all here to explore and experience and that is something to give us all common cause.

The air is humid and warm – neither hot nor cool – until the sun comes out and hits you. The climate and landscape appear tropical – not unlike any Caribbean country that I have visited. The sounds that abound – complaining goats, birds squawking and singing, the odd baby crying, and singing coming from somewhere in the distance. The aroma of wood burning mixes with the heavy perfume from tree blossoms… I wonder if I will remember that as the fragrance of Tanzania, that will linger in memories for years to come. 

Today's take away was a little clapping song they shared with us to keep in mind at our assignment:

Pasha (warm it up) - get oriented

Beresha (improve it)

Kanyaga (stomp it) – overcome obstacles

Busu (kiss) – enjoy the volunteer experience

Safari is booked with Pristine Trails for next weekend (half the rate quoted online), and we have already started to bond as a group.

Internet access is sketchy so I haven't been able to upload my beautiful pictures. Stay tuned.

Lyn

Arrived

Day 1 November 9, 2013

Sixteen hours in the air and 22 hours of travel and we finally arrived in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. The trace smoky aroma of wood burning and the warm humid breezes were our welcome as we stepped off the plane onto the tarmac. I watched Jill’s face and I could tell she shared my feelings of excitement, and that it was all a little surreal.

By the time we cleared Immigration (after a meeting with officials in their office regarding our volunteer CTA stamp  that we needed – but couldn’t get – and drove the forty minutes to our CCS home base, we were all travel weary. We had a warm welcome from Sarah, our Program Director and a brief orientation – reminder to not brush your teeth with the tap water – and then we were shown to our rooms. T

he home base is a large white adobe-like building with lush gardens. Our room has two bunk beds and a single but with there only being three of us sharing, we have the upper bunks for storage. They didn’t have Jill and I in the same room initially but we agreed we wanted to be together and one of our trip mates was kind enough to offer to switch. So day one – first night, we popped our malaria meds, brushed our teeth, climbed under our mosquito nets and fell into a ragged sleep.

Lyn

Bunk beds - just like camp!

Closet space

Our beautiful home base

The outdoor kitchen where Primo worked his magic

Assigned!

Photo courtesy of Good Hope Facebook page

Finally, the moment I have been waiting for -- getting an email from CCS telling me what my volunteer work assignment will be in Moshi Tanzania. I could barely control the adrenaline rush as I opened the attachment. The CCS team matches your skills and interests with the volunteer needs of the service organizations. I had hoped to work in the HIV/AIDS support group, and my wish was granted.

I am assigned to the Good Hope Support Organization in Moshi. They provide education, skills, knowledge, support, comfort, safety, and love to children infected or affected with HIV/AIDS, orphans, people suffering from illness, and the disadvantaged to help them create an empowering life of hope. There are young children and youth in the community who are not able to attend secondary school, and this group also helps provide them with Nursery education and English instruction respectively.

I am not sure if I will have much to offer but one thing I know for sure, I will take away more than I leave. I have so much to learn. I can't put into words how I am feeling -- my anticipation and excitement is larger than life right now.

Jill has her own assignment (I'll let her tell you about it) so I can only imagine the exchange we will have in the afternoons. Double the pleasure!

Hard to believe that in a few short days we will board the plane for Tanzania - and return a few weeks later, changed forever, with the imprint of Africa on our hearts.

Everything is possible.

Lyn

Test Run

With little over a week until we depart for Kilimanjaro, we're down to the short strokes. Preparation is kicking into high gear. Tonight I laid my first "draft" packing list out on  my bed to scrutinize the collection. I may whittle it down a little more when it comes time to actually pack it into the suitcase. I went heavy on the tee shirts as it will be hot and humid and with the volunteer placement for the first half and the cultural experiences in the afternoon, I may burn through two a day!

I picked up my anti malarial meds as well as a back up antibiotic just in case my nasty tooth acts up. I withdrew my American money and scoured each bill to ensure that none were dated prior to 2006. Apparently they aren't widely accepted in Tanzania. I am going to bring the equivalent of $100 dollars in Tanzanian schillings to spend in the village and roadside stalls. And I am considering unlocking my phone so I can buy a SIM card there and use my phone to tether. Have to keep the blog updated!

Final webinar this week with CCS and the rest of the group who will be volunteering in Tanzania at the same time. Jill and I agreed to learn our key Swahili phrases on the plane over. (I pity the people who sit in front of us). Hopefully then I will actually remember it.

Note to self: remember to pack some nuts, trail mix and other snacks that won't melt.

Lyn

Friendship Safari

Jill

Let me introduce you to Jill, the other half of the Tanzanian adventure. We will both be posting to this blog so you will get all sorts of perspectives! Lyn

There are certain people who seem to come into our lives for a reason, and my friend Lynda is one of them. We met in Grade 6 when I was the shy kid who had just moved from the big city to a small town, and Lynda was the outgoing kid who decided we were going to be friends. Turns out, I hit the friendship jackpot. For more than 40 years Lyn has been my confidante and my guide, blazing a trail that has helped me navigate almost every one of life’s turning points – from driving cars to dating boys, from becoming a mother to losing a mother.

When Lynda returned from her trip to Kenya a few years ago, I could see that it had a profound impact. She said she would be going back to Africa, and planted the dream that we would make the journey together.

There’s something about turning 50 that leads you to stop putting things off, and start saying “yes” to the things that really matter. So that was my answer when Lynda decided it was time to make the dream of her return trip to Africa come true, and asked me to be a part of it. (Or maybe it was more like “Yes, but I should tell Walter first, since this will pretty much wipe out the family vacation fund.”)

Thanks to an incredibly supportive husband and family, I’m now about two weeks away from the journey of a lifetime – a journey I never imagined I’d be making at all, let alone with my treasured friend. I’m nervous, excited, open to possibility. I’m wishing I could remember more words in Swahili. Good thing we have the long flight to Tanzania to brush up on our vocabulary. Perhaps we’ll discover a word to describe a friendship that’s taken us from goofy Grade sixers to where we are today. That is, if we can stop giggling at my hoodie pillow.

Jill

To Do

My "to do" list is paying off. I finally had my travel clinic appointment last week and got the hazards lecture and the shots I needed -  typhoid  and a Twinrix booster for Hep A/B. Although the yellow fever vaccination is not required, the shot I got for Kenya three years ago is a little extra insurance. A prescription for the anti-malarials  and served up with a reminder to take the meds with lots of food along with a script for Cipro to treat any infections I may get. I am just debating whether or not to bring my own mosquito net.

And today, to my relief, I received my passport back in the mail with a Tanzanian visa on page 6.

Things left still "to do" include:

• get a root canal (no joke)
• work on my Swahili!

Unataka mimi bahati.

Lyn

Busy Time

As part of the orientation for volunteers, CCS requires us to participate in a series of three online video conferences.  I just completed two of the three with Emma from CCS. There were about eight of us on the video call as she walked us through important information and steps to take to prepare for our volunteer experience. I booked my trip months ago and it has seemed so far off but during the last call, it hit home just how close departure time is and that I basically have about eight or nine weeks to get working on my Swahili.

Emma emphasized that knowing some basic Swahili phrases would make our experience that much more enjoyable and valuable. As she put it, "it gets exhausting after a day of playing charades". I am going to order some Swahili kids' books to help me with the language.

My immunizations from Kenya are still valid so I think I'll just need a tetanus shot and some malaria medication.

Some points she covered in the call:

• long skirts and covered shoulders for women while at the volunteer assignments
• we'll be handwashing our clothes and ironing everything (even undergarments) to kill any mango mealybug eggs (sounds yummy!)
• all meals will be authentic Tanzanian cuisine
• don't bother with credit cards - cash society so bring US dollars for extra curricular activities (safari) and Tanzanian shillings for local purchases
• no alcohol on the home base - zero drug tolerance (duh!)

So it's "busy-time" -- time to get focused on what needs to be done in the next few months to ensure that I am prepared to wring every ounce out of this adventure. In other words, it's getting very real.

Lyn