Awkward vs. Awesome December 21, 2009

I’ve been home for about a week and have experienced many things about coming home that are awesome…but there are also quite a few things about coming home that are really awkward.  So, I thought it’d be fun to do a side-by-side Top 5.

The AWESOME List

Besides the obvious (like coming home to family, friends, and an American-English computer keyboard)

1. Doing laundry in a washer & dryer. I put in the first load, pushed the buttons, and walked away. And then I did a little happy dance because washer-dryers are AWESOME.
2. Cold weather and hot showers…and the fact that I finally stopped sweating.
3. Having a car. I went to about 7 places before lunch time the other day and I didn’t even break a sweat or have to turn down offers for taxis, spice tours, or marriage.
4. My church. I love that place and missed it a lot.
5. Dairy products. Oh how I missed you.

The AWKWARD List

1. Accidentally saying Asante, or ’Thank you”  in Swahili to people such as waiters in restaurants. It’s a habit that developed from saying this all the time when I was out an about in Tanzania.
2. Not remembering the American-English words for things. Such as “cash register”, which I referred to as “store check-out register machine”, or something. This has unfortunately happened more often than I’d like to admit.
3. Fighting the urge to eat with my hands.
4. Buying things. American dollars look like monopoly money to me right now, and paying with plastic feels awkward because I can’t remember what I’m supposed to do with the card: Do I swipe it? Do they swipe it? Do I have to sign something? I can’t remember the rules. And why do I keep wanting to barter down prices with the employee at the store check-out register machine?
5. A majority of people I have encountered since coming home seemed stressed out, and for whatever reason it makes me uncomfortable. If you decide to talk to me while you are stressed out…just go ahead and prepare yourself for some awkward conversation.

To Blog or Not to Blog…That is the Question December 17, 2009

Many of you have asked whether or not I will continue the blog now that I am home. I thought about taking a vote, but then I realized I should only do that if I was prepared to find out how many people  would vote “Not to Blog”.

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According to this tracker diddly thing on the right of the screen, there have been over 10,000 visits (woh!!) to the blog since it’s been open for business this summer …Thanks Mom! and I don’t know if I can leave you all hanging just yet, especially not at Christmas…nobody wants to be alone at Christmas.  So, much to your delight (or not) the blog will go on. At least for a little while longer.

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I’ve been home for almost 4 days now and have already experienced plenty of weird coming-home moments that are worth mentioning, so stay tuned as I blog my way through the reverse culture shock of returning to America.

Finals Week – Tanzania Style December 15, 2009

That’s right, I just finished Finals Week in Tanzania. And even though a lot of this three month venture to Africa evoked many similar emotions and experiences to my first semester of college (communal bathrooms, shower shoes, twin beds, new friends, feeling generally awkward and out of place, getting lost, homework, not understanding anything anyone around you is saying, etc, etc.), I’m not talking about finals in the sense of the semi-annual academic tradition of fate-determining tests, papers, and projects. Nope.

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Finals week for me was a time to wrap things up and say farewell, and although my Tanzanian Finals weren’t academically challenging, it has been a test of emotion and endurance. This is a bittersweet time because while I am so thankful and excited to be home to soak up all the glory and joy of Christmas with family and friends, I had to say goodbye to people, places, and experiences that I am sure have impacted my life in far greater ways than I am able to recognize from this present moment.

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A few of the Tanzanian Finals I had this week…

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Finals moments with new friends that became more like a family

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Final days with the women of Upendo Means Love

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Final sips of happycinos at my favorite cafe

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Final goodbyes to Stone Town & Zanzibar

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Final sunsets over the Indian Ocean

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Final wild animal adventures

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Final altercation/luggage rough-housing at the ferry port

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Final round of bucket laundry

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Final taste of Stoney Tangawize, chapati, and Zanzibar spices

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Final Rotary Club of Stone Town meeting

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Finals nights sleeping under a mosquito net

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Final dala-dala and bajaji rides

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Final days of the hakunah matata and hamna shida (no worries, no  problem) Tanzanian approach to life

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Final days of sun and heat from the longest summer ever…

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I can’t even begin to name all of the things I am thankful for about the past three months, but I can attest whole heartedly that I am more grateful than ever for God’s faithfulness through this time. He truly provides for every need; He even provides the things you don’t know you need until He’s already taken care of them for you.

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I am thankful for a safe return home after spending my last week in Zanzibar/Tanzania fighting what may or may not have been malaria, as well as fighting off the fear instilled in me by a housemate whose future-seeing friend in Ethiopia (that does not know me) foretold my death in a dream she had in which I never made it home. Lydia reinterpreted this dream for me: as Christians we believe our true home is in Heaven, so according to the dream that foretold that I wouldn’t be making it home from Africa, I just wouldn’t be going to heaven (my true home) yet. And since I ended up in Atlanta, which I know can easily be mistaken for heaven sometimes  I’m going to say that this interpretation was a little more accurate. Two thumbs up!

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Also, this amazing adventure would not have been possible without The Rotary Foundation, The Rotary Club of North Atlanta, or The Rotary Club of Stone Town, Zanzibar. Thank you all for your support, enthusiasm, and for welcoming me into your clubs and providing friendship and guidance at home and abroad.

Last but not least, I’d like to recognize all of you blog-commenters, friends, and family that made an effort to keep in touch via email, voicemails, snail mail, etc. I can’t tell you enough how much each and every message meant to me. Thank you, and I can’t wait to catch up in person!

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A Noteworthy Re-cap December 9, 2009

Click here

Makutano Madness December 2, 2009

Not only did I make the trek to the big city on the mainland to celebrate Thanksgiving with the only Americans I know in Tanzania, I went to participate in the bi-annual Makutano festival with a crew of six Upendo volunteers/workers (unfortunately many of the women that are part of the project could not attend because of the Muslim holiday Eid Al Haj that fell on the same weekend). Upendo had two very successful days at Makutano and we’re all very grateful that so many people supported the project by purchasing Upendo designs

Me, Koman, Moria, Sofie, and Dorothe...ready to sell!

Here is some info about the event from the Makutano website:

MAKUTANO, meaning “gathering”, in Kiswahili, is dedicated to the promotion of high quality Arts and Crafts from Tanzania.

MAKUTANO aims to :

• Improve the economic and social well-being of Tanzanian artists by publicizing their products
• Provide the artists with marketing opportunities
• Support Fair Trade
• Give equal opportunities for woman and disabled people
• Provide a market place for remote artisans
• Create a sustainable future for the craftsman
• Develop art professionalism among the artisans and to raise standards

Read more about Makutano here

Anand and Lydia were there as Rotary volunteers, and Anand wrote a good post about Makutano that you can read here.

Me, Koman, Moria, Sofie, and Dorothe…ready to sell!

Kula! Kunywa! Kufurahi! (Eat! Drink! Be Merry!) December 2, 2009

And so we did. On Thanksgiving day I took the 7am ferry to Dar es Salaam, and I was very thankful that it was a much more enjoyable experience than the last time I was on the ferry and that guy tried to steal my bags. This time I was  offered coffee or tea, some biscuits, a barf-bag (grateful nobody needed to make use of this), and I even saw some dolphins!! Woo!

Our cornucopia (minus the corn)

Lydia met me at the ferry port and we went straight to the local market to buy food for a Thanksgiving feast. And when I say feast, I mean it. We also went to the Dar es Salaam mall where they have a Shop-Rite, which turned out to be like Kroger or Super Wal-mart. The only way to describe how I felt walking into that grocery store was to ask you to imagine running the Peachtree Road Race on the 4th of July in long pants and a nice shirt, then at the end of the race when you’re all sweaty, roll around in some dusty dirt/sand…and then go shopping at Lenox Mall just as you are.

Being in that Shop Rite was like walking through someone’s dream, I felt so out of place and it made me realize how removed I  have been from “Western” culture.  I also saw the only sign of Christmas I’ve seen yet, a Christmas tree in the mall.  In Zanzibar, it’s as if  Christmas doesn’t exist because there aren’t really many Christians here. I haven’t even heard one Christmas song yet…I think I’m going to be in for a shock when I get home in two weeks.

Naked Chicken

So anyway, back to Thanksgiving…

Lydia and I cooked enough food for an army, because we were feeding 20 American students at the University of Dar es Salaam. We cooked 2 chickens (that Lydia and her brother killed and plucked the day before) and home made stuffing,  green beans, egg plant, carrotts, guacamole, bread, devilled eggs, mashed potatoes, and some cheesy meaty pasta.  I was really proud of us, especially considering cooking is not necessarily my forte (thank goodness for Top Chef Lydia who kept things under control in the kitchen). Anand and Lydia decided that I earned my “girl badge” for cooking this year.

My first attempt at devilled eggs...my grandma would be proud.

We piled up all the food and road on a pajaje (tuk tuk) over to the University where we spent the rest of the holiday eating way too much food with some fellow Americans…a few of us even chanted U-S-A! U-S-A! a couple times, just for kicks.

The feast!

Happy happy

This is Why I’m Hot: Zanzibar Remix December 1, 2009

While you all in the Northern Hemisphere are approaching the start of winter…those of us down here in the Southern half are most definitely approaching a hot hot summer.  It’s December 1st (World AIDS Day), and the heat has inspired the following remix of a song that was popular a few years ago… “This is Why I’m Hot”

This is Why I’m Hot: Zanzibar Re-re-re-reeeeeeemix

This is Why I’m hot, this is why I’m hot

This is why, this is why, this is why I’m hot.

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I’m hot on this isle

You ain’t cause you’re not

This is why, this is why

This is why I’m hot

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This is why I’m hot

I try to run a lap

I can’t run a mile because I can’t find the track

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I represent Z-bar

Where the sun’s on the attack

Hotlanta says there’s no heat

Well you can have it back

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I love Stone Town, Zanzibar

And “Upendo Means Love”

The people speak Swahili

And I try to join the club

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But in the T-Z

They love to take it slow

So when I eat dinner

I eat sitting on the flo’

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And if you need to cool off

We take it to the bay

Mbweni to Mtoni

We do it every day

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Decision to decision

I think of RotarAY

Pole means slow, slow

Always test it four-way

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And when I drink chai

People say that I’m fly

They like the way I dress

My kanga moves crowds from side to side

They ask me how I do it and I simply reply….

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This is Why I’m hot, this is why I’m hot

This is why, this is why, this is why I’m hot.

A Tanzanian Thanksgiving – New Perspectives on being Thankful November 26, 2009

Gobble Gobble

I’ve seen quite a few things here that really put life in perspective…and even though I can’t be where I would like to be on Thanksgiving (with my family) here are some things I’m still extra thankful for this year:

I wish I could be at home for Thanksgiving,

But am now more grateful to have never known homelessness.

I wish I could see with my loving friends & family,

But am now more thankful I’ve never known loneliness.

I wish I could have Mom’s cranberry bread and Grandma’s devilled eggs,

But am now more grateful I’ve never known hunger.

I wish I could watch college football with Dad,

But am now more thankful I’ve never known illiteracy.

I wish I could play family football or go on a long walk with my Grandpa,

But am now more grateful that I’ve never known disability.

I wish my toothpaste didn’t have ants in it,

But am now more thankful that I have all my teeth (sounds silly, but true!)

I wish I wasn’t always covered in bug bites,

But am now more grateful I’ve never known poor health.

I wish I could have some egg nog or hot apple cider,

But am now more thankful I’ve never gone thirsty.

I wish we always had running water,

But am now more grateful I’ve never had to go without water at all.

I wish I could be there as my family holds hands and gives Thanks to the Lord,

But am now more thankful that I’ve never known hopelessness.

And finally, I wish I could sing you all the turkey song and wish you a Happy Thanksgiving myself,

But you’ll be grateful that I can’t (if you’ve ever heard me sing)!

I heard Mister Turkey say,

“Gobble, gobble gobble…

Soon will be Thanksgiving Day,

Gobble, gobble, gobble.

People say it is great fun,

But I think that I shall run,

And hide until the day is done…

Gobble, gobble, gobble.”

This goes out to my family…consider this my contribution to the “Thankful Bowl”…and just because I’m not there doesn’t mean you can skip the tradition…I will find out about it!

Top 5 Things I Saw Last Week November 25, 2009

Unfortunately I only have pictures for 2 out of 5…

1. The World Cup Trophy tour (it passed through Zanzibar for a day)
2. About 7 children dragging a 400 pound shark through the woods
3. A fisherman parked his boat on the sand near me, jumped out with an octopus and sword fish in hand, and gut and cleaned the swordfish right there on the sand in less than a minute.
4. A motor bike colliding with a bicycle and a dalla-dalla…followed by a massive wipe out. Our dalla-dalla driver laughed hysterically…I looked for my seat belt. But then I had to laugh when I realized I was looking for a seatbelt on a dalla-dalla in Tanzania.
5. The note from the messenger pigeon, of course.

At Forodhoni Gardens, the cup is behind those drapes!

The House of Wonders

The Old Fort

Apparently Coca Cola owns the trophy or something…?

Forodhoni by Day

Advertising – Africa Style

Everyone is so excited!

The anticipation is killing them…

African version of a pick-up truck

Sofie is just about excited as I was to stand around in the heat…

A (not so) new kind of Air Mail November 24, 2009

Saturday was a normal kind of day. Sofie went to Mama Noa’s house (Upendo Founder/Director) to spend some time with her and the kids who had just returned from a trip to Nairobi. They went for an afternoon walk on the beach. As they strolled along, Mama Noa’s son noticed something stuck in the wet sand of a tide pool. The group moved in to have a closer look, and there they found a white pigeon. After a few minutes of slowly approaching the struggling bird, they were able to pick it up and save it from certain death in the sinking sand.

The end.

Just kidding, this story is only getting started! This wasn’t just any old white pigeon…after a closer examination, they discovered that this was a MESSENGER PIGEON.

messenger pigeon

What!? Yes! You read that right, a messenger pigeon. Really?! What is this, the 17th century!?

The stuck-in-the-mud pigeon had a tiny thread around its neck with a note attached. Sofie, Mama Noa, and the kids took the bird back to the house to clean it off and let the note dry out, as it had gotten a little bit water logged on its journey. A few hours later the note was dry and they could see that it was written in Arabic. Knowing that two of my house mates are native Arabic speakers, Sofie brought me a copy of the letter to take home for interpretation.

After spending 85% of my childhood pretending I was a spy, detective, or speaking in secret code with my cousin Clare, I was jumping out of my seat with excitement when I heard this story, naturally…a real life mystery! I couldn’t wait to get the letter home to Fahaad and Mohammed. My mind was racing with ideas about what kind of message could possibly be sent my messenger pigeon with the dawn of the year 2010 on the horizon?

Just the other day I was encouraging someone to invest in teleportation, and now here I am delivering a note from a messenger pigeon. Wow, I can hardly get my mind around this. There are so many questions…is it a love note? a secret plan? a cry for help? a wish? who wrote it? So many possibilities…!

The note!

And the verdict is…
After a close inspection by resident Arabic-speaking, Koran-reading Mohammed, the conclusion is that the note is 5 verses from the Koran. He also casually mentioned that “usually if you hold onto something like this for more than a day, you will get dead.” [Insert one of those movie scenes where the music suddenly comes to a screeching halt and silence falls on the room]

Well, I was hoping for some kind of Nicholas Sparks sappy romance novel ending to this story, but instead we “get dead”. Too bad we just missed Halloween and Friday the 13th. Apparently it’s not so uncommon to send verses of the Koran out into the sky on the wings of a pigeon as a way to get rid of evil spirits and/or send them to someone else. And so the story goes, and we have yet another case of witch crafty black magic type stuff going on in Zanzibar, which is unfortunate for whoever got cursed, but I’m still pretty excited about the whole first half of the saga…

Who’s with me!?