Howdy everyone. Sorry for the errors in the last post, the Morogoro network is a bit unreliable. Fortunately I am now in the bustling metropolis of Dar es Salaam, which I'm really enjoying. It is much nicer and seems a lot safer than I expected. Tomorrow I will leave for three days of shadowing a volunteer in Njombe, which is in the southern highlands not to far from Lake Nyasa. I'm very excited because I love mountains and I hear there are two patches of rain forest and several waterfalls within walking distance of town. Also it is actually very cool there and there are almost no mosquitos. From what I know about it I'd think I'd really like it if that is where I am placed. The only drawback is that it's almost 12 hours from DSM. Monday we will find out where our site actually is. I am very excited and hope that I'm in the highlands, either north or south.
The other big news is that I now have a phone. Anyone who wants to call can because it's free to receive, but keep in mind that I'm 8 hours ahead of EST. The Tz country code is 255 and my number is 787 212 257. I really would love to hear from everyone, so please feel free. Also you can try to send text messages because I can receive them, but I'm not sure how well they work with international calls. Also keep in mind that there are many places in country where service is not very good, so sometimes you may not be able to get through.
In other news I have been having a great time the last few days. Dar has been a lot of fun and it has been so nice to be out of Morogoro and see some more of this country. I also had quite an experience last week because my buddy Wes's host sister had a send-off. This is a big party a bride's family throws a few days before the wedding. My host mama was the "matron" which means she is the maid of honor but in the send-off it is even more involved. She is almost as much a part of things as the bride. It had quite a lot of interesting ritual and was quite a party. Wes, Michael (another trainee) and I even participated by opening and spraying champagne and then running around the room giving everyone a little in their glasses for the toast. It was a lot of fun and incredibly hard to describe. If you ever have a chance to attend an East African send-off, I highly recommend it. I imagine I'll see quite a few before I leave. It was also a very late night. We didn't get back home until 2:30, which was quite late considering we're up with the sun pretty much every day.
I hope the post goes through this time. Thanks for the comments and keep them coming. Hopefully I can post soon after Monday to tell you where I will live for the next two years.
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4 comments:
Great to hear from you! We'll call soon.
Love, Dad
Update: I called Andrew at 10 last night, 6 a.m. his time. He was on a bus just getting ready to pull out of Dar to start that 12-hour trip to Njombe. He was with a group of six PCTs all heading in the same direction and was in good spirits. The conversation was difficult because of so much background noise -- it sounded totally chaotic. He didn't seem fazed by it, though.
He'll return to Morogoro Sunday, get his assignment Monday. On Thanksgiving they'll all travel to Dar for dinner at the U.S. ambassador's residence. They'll have their swearing in about that time and then head out to ... wherever.
Y'all give him a call. It seems to me a good time to catch him would be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. EST, or 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tanzanian time.
I can tell you, it's good to hear his voice. He sounds healthy and happy.
Doug Clark
You gonna have a couch over there in Tanzamania?
Yeah, Heiffer Project International is friggin' cool. Maybe I'll end up working for them and I could come to Africa!
Went to the Saucer last night here in Little Rock. It was Trivia night, drank some cider, thought of old time. I miss you man.
--DAlen
Dalen, I miss the Saucer myself. I remember those magical faucets that put out beer instead of water. I will almost certainly have a guest bedroom, so karibu (that means you are welcome). Keep up the good work in Americorps. Thanks for the update, dad. Saves me some time.
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