14 February 2009 - Arriving

It seems to be fitting that the first posting to my new blog should be from Tanzania. I arrived yesterday, Friday the 13th, at the scheduled time of 8.20 p.m., and it just seemed as though little had changed in five years.

But to start from the beginning of the trip: The flight from JFK to Amsterdam was uneventful. We left about an hour late but seemed to make up time on the way. The plane was crowded but after we were served dinner, I laid my head against the window and slept until we were awakened to have breakfast before landing. There wasn't much time in Amsterdam because of security clearances so we were soon on our way again. This time I didn't get my favorite window seat but instead was sandwiched between two others in the middle row of seats. Each and every seat in the plane was occupied, and I think the seats get smaller with each trip (am I getting bigger?? -- don't answer that) so the feeling of being crowded and herded was very present. Anyway that leg of the journey I didn't get any sleep.

I was following the flight tracking on the video screen and started to get excited when I could see that we had crossed the equator. And then when we crossed the border over Tanzania I really could feel the flutter in my stomach. I was feeling that this is another new beginning, another adventure, not knowing exactly what the future holds but happy and confident that it will be good. I remember how I marveled many years ago to think that I was actually in AFRICA! And here I am back again.

As we were descending I noted that at an altitude of 24,500 feet the temperature was 3 degrees F., lots warmer than it was many days while I was in North Dakota. And the ground temperature when we landed was 84 F. That's a lot warmer too! There was a good breeze as we got off the plane, and it felt very pleasant.

It was nice to be able to skip the long lines of tourists who were waiting to go through Passport Control, and to go to the short line for Tanzanian Citizens and Residents. But then I had to wait for the luggage until nearly the end. I guess my bags were put on first and so got out last or ...? When going through Customs, the officer asked me what I had in my bags. I answered him in Swahili, and so he asked me if I was a returning resident. When I answered in the affirmative, he asked me when I was here before,and I told him that I first arrived when he was probably not yet born. When I told him that I first came in 1969, he said that truly he hadn't been born yet! That happens a lot here - the population is so young. At Maryknoll I'm usually considered relatively young; here I'm a respected elder.

Sr. Maureen was there to greet me, along with Letitia, a young Tanzania woman who is in the process to become a Maryknoll Sister, and the driver of Emusoi Centre (Maryknoll Sisters' project) who is called Deo. It was good to see familiar faces. I have known Maureen for many years and Deo was driving for the Centre even before I left. Srs. Mary and Geri awaited me here at the Maryknoll house in Arusha to say hello when we arrived, and before too long it was time for bed and for getting off some very swollen feet.

This morning I awoke after 8.00 a.m. so had a good 9 hours of sleep, basically uninterrupted. It was lovely to see Mt. Meru clearly out the living room window, and to see the growth of the trees and bushes on the property. Everything has grown a lot in the five years, noticeable to me because the grounds were just being developed when I left. I was asking myself why I seemed to notice the sky so much today. I don't remember looking at the sky in the same way in New York or North Dakota, but I can't put my finger on what the difference might be. That's a mystery I'll try to solve.

As I was drinking my coffee I was looking at the newspaper of a couple days ago and noting some headlines: "Elephants Destroy Crops" (that was in Mara Region, northwestern Tanzania) and "Global Financial Crisis Bites Zanzibar" (because tourism is down, although you could have fooled me seeing all those folks on the plane last night). Some news is peculiar to here while others are part of the world scene.

Today I was struck by the way the sounds are different. There is an evangelical Christian church down the block that played music most of the day, loudly enough to hear clearly, and this evening a preacher shouted his message from there. He was given some competition at sunset when the local Mosque broadcast the call to prayer. There are different sounds here in the city than I was used to in the village but the feeling of living closely with the outdoors is clearly the same.

I wanted so send emails to let near and dear ones know that I had arrived safely but by 10.00 a.m. the electricity was cut and it only returned at 7.30 p.m. I'll get used to not depending on uninterrupted electricity, I'm sure.

This is a long first post. I hope it's interesting to readers, or let me know what you would like to hear about.