A night of rest...

I'm back. We arrived back in the States last night after a 48 hour journey. There were a number of close calls in terms of people nearly missing flights, but in the end it all worked out.

When we were on safari in Arusha there were three of us who went to a track meet at a nearby stadium. It was a real treat to see the TZ runners in action. While we were there I struck up a conversation with the guy sitting next to me. With my broken Kiswahili and some gesturing here and there we were able to have a half-hour conversation. I bring that up now because I still find myself responding to people in Kiswahili. I imagine it'll take a few weeks before I stop responding to people with "habari" or "asante sana".

Glad to be back, but already missing it.

And to my rafiki sokoni (market friend)...thanks again for the Swiss chocolate. You will be missed. Bwanna asifiwe. Obari kiwe.

"Maine"...

Today's the day we leave this distant land. As it is when one travels, the friends you make on your journey are difficult to say goodbye to. There are a number of the students whose company I will miss. There are scores of things that I will miss, but there are also a few things that I won't.

One of the few things that I will NOT miss is the 5:00 AM Muslim call to prayer. After a month of living here I have concluded that the speaker on the minerate is aimed directly at my bedroom window. Some of the "callers" (not sure what to refer to them as) have nice voices, must however do not. I've been temped to climb it and snip the wires to the speaker. Given another week or two, I likely would have.

I've become quite close to the group here and will miss spending time with them. I will espcially miss Liza, Lee, and Shalece (all from K-State). Liza and I had organized a group to go see a Bollywood film (Indian film) last night and had offered to treat several of our closest TZ friends. Unfortuneately traffic was bad and only one of our TZ friends, Clifford, was able to make it on time.

The movie, "Maine", was a riot! We really had a great time! Clifford was in awe. He loved the movie and was really grateful. He's a fourth year architecture student (27-38 yrs old) and during his third year one of their assignments was to design a movie theatre. This was the first one he had ever been to.

It's the experiences such as this, whether they be a TZ or an American in awe, that I will miss.

I'll hope to see you all again soon. Many blessings.

Kilimanjaro and the plains of the Serengeti

Kilimanjaro is 19,000' giant on the Tanzanian landscape and is the tallest peak on the African continent. This past Saturday we returned from a three day safari adventure in that area which included a visit to base camp (Kilimanjaro) and two other national parks.

While we were there we also took in a couple of wildlife tours including one to Ngorongoro Crater which is on the edge of the Serengeti. Watching the wildebeast as they march back-and-forth from one watering hole to another really is an experience. They seem oblivious to anything and everything around them when they are on the move, but I know that is not the case as there are a number of simba (lions) in the area.

Other highlights included seeing chui (cheetah), timbo (elephants--of which we saw many), and my personal favorite, twiga (giraffe). The chui were a real treat as they are very rare and we were able to spot two of them basking in the sun.

Dr. Livingstone I presume...
Two weeks ago we visited Bagamoya which is the place where Livingstone began his last crusade and also where he was shipped back after his passing. Bagamoya is the former capital and an interesting visit as there are several layers of history in this town.

The Muslims had established a slave trade there over 500 years ago and there are ruins of mosques that they built at that time still standing. The Germans were next taking over a fort the Arabs had built and remaining there until the British kicked them out in the early 1900s. Finally, you have the missionary impression on the landscape that began sometime between the Germans arriving and the British taking over. Interesting place.

"You look like Jesus"
Yesterday a group of us went to a Kiswahili church service with four of the Tanzanian students from the university. IT WAS AMAZING! The music and dancing was something I don't think could ever be described with any justice. At one point one of the choir members grabbed a chair and began to dance all over the place with the chair held high above her head. The Spirit was moving.

It's interesting being a mzungu (white person--specifically European) in these parts. Many of the kids we see have never seen a mzungu in real life before and are not quite sure what to think upon meeting one. After church yesterday I was playing with a couple of boys who I think were initially a bit frightened of seeing a mzungu in their neighborhood. After exchanging some greetings they began to speak in Kiswahili to me as if I should understand everything they were saying.

At one point the youngest kid who was maybe 4 or 5 was saying something about Yesu (Jesus) but I couldn't make out what he was saying. I asked one of my Tanzanian friends to translate for me and discovered that the kid was saying that I looked like Jesus.

I simply replied "Asante sana. Obari kiwe." ("Thank you very much. Be blessed.")

Leo ni tarehe kumi na nne mwezi wa saba mwaka elfu mbili na tano.

There are a number of similarities between Kenya and Tanzania such as the dala dalas (matatu in Kenya--15 passenger van), dress, and food. But there are also a number of differences between the two countries, language being one of the largest. Although English and Swahili are widely spoken in both countries, there is a noticable difference. Whereas nearly everyone speaks English and only a handful speak Kiswahili in Nairobi, the opposite is true here in Dar es Salaam.

Finding an English speaker is not a problem, finding one who can understand everything you hope to communicate can be. Communicating time, oddly enough, can be one of the most challenging aspects. Kiswahili speakers use a clock that is 6 hours behind the clock the rest of the world uses. For example, when we say 10 o'clock in the morning it is only 4 o-clock in the morning to a Kiswahili speaker. Let's just say that not knowing that can make for a l-o-n-g wait at a bus stop.

We are in language class all this week. The basics in Kiswahili are easy enough, but someone, somewhere, decided it would be fun to tack on as many syllables to everything as possible. Case in point: the title of this posting. The title translates as "Today is 14 July, 2005." Nothing more, nothing less. Even something as simple as saying "no" is a 3-syllable mouthful ("hapana"). Even so, I am enjoying it and will miss it when we wrap up the class this coming Tuesday.

This Saturday (16th) we are off to Bagamoya for a day trip to the beach. Rough life.

Zanzibar!

Last night (Wednesday) we returned from Zanzibar. We had gone there for a three-day holiday to study the historic Stone Town. While there we went on a spice tour and spent some time on the beach.

First Night
Zanzibar is amazing to say the least. The town is nearly dead during the day but comes to life as soon as the sun goes down. Everyone gathers at a park along the ocean to trade, shop, and eat! Absolutely amazing! Factor in a film and music festival that happened to be taking place, and you have one incredible experience.

Working the bazaar!
I have developed a bit of a reputation for working the shopkeepers. The team gets a kick out of it as I get rather fired up! For those of you who know me think football or Avalanche hockey.

I’ve learned how to insult (mildly) the shopkeeper when they won’t give me the local price much to the amusement of those who shop with me! Yesterday (Wednesday) one of the shopkeepers who I had been frustrated with on Monday for not coming down to my price finally gave in. As I was leaving he made the remark “Asante Mjanjan.” “Asante” means “thanks” but I had to ask him what “mjanjan” meant. He simply replied, “Ask your friend.” When we turned the corner I asked the Tanzanian I was with what it meant. Turns out it means “brave” or “brave one”. The shopkeeper had been impressed with my bargaining.

The Tanzanian students now refer to me as “Mjanjan” which cracks me up.

We have a couple of weeks here in Dar before going on safari. We will have more access to computers than we have had and I will do my best to keep this site updated as events unfold.

Many blessings.