The weeks are flying by very quickly and here we are at the end of August. Summer is fading fast for those of you who live in the northern part of the earth.
We can feel it getting a little bit warmer here, although the mornings and evenings are still a bit chilly. The wind continues to be strong, and so the dust doesn’t all stay outdoors but seems to seep into the house more than I’d like. I’m happy to see that as people build their houses, they also plant trees, so that should all help as the years go by.
We had a fun time after Mass yesterday morning. Last week the children were all asked to bring something that could be auctioned , and the proceeds would go toward the building of the church. I’ve mentioned before how the people of this outstation are building the church little by little. Since we arrived the visible progress shows up in that the grillwork for the windows is now in. That, of course, doesn’t prevent the wind from blowing in but anyway it’s a step. They’re now trying to raise money for the glass for the windows and for the door. After that will be the plaster, the floor, and who knows what else.
Anyway, the kids participated wholeheartedly, bringing notebooks, pencils, candy, boxes of juice, jars of jam, peanuts, and even one live duck! And everyone soon got into the activity, with the adults bidding on the items. As with these kinds of charity auctions, items are sold for more than they’re really worth. Everyone tried to raise as much money as possible, and so many who might get the winning bid would then donate it to be auctioned again. When the items were finally given to the highest bidder they were then donated to the children at the Village of Hope (orphans who are HIV+), so there was a lot of generosity exhibited. The fellow who bid highest for the duck gave it to Father for his dinner. The children who gave the items were thrilled with the response and with the considerable amount of money that they generated, the equivalent of nearly $300. They were promised that some thing (like certain windows or pews or … ) would be bought with this money so that they can always remember what they contributed. And the fellow who won the bag of candy distributed it to them after Mass, so that was a happy moment!
On Saturday we spent some hours at an outdoor market that sells mostly cloth things, both new and used. The used stuff comes from the US or Europe, many items that stores are getting rid of, and is bundled in big lots and shipped here, although other things were definitely previously used by someone. The vendors buy a bundle not knowing what quality of stuff they’ll find inside, so it’s kind of a gamble. I was looking for curtains for my bedroom, and not looking forward to sewing them so I had hoped to find some readymade ones that would be just perfect. Unfortunately that didn’t happen, but I did buy some cloth that I’ll try to sew up and hope they’ll look ok. We also bought some secondhand fitted sheets for the beds. The mattresses that we bought are foam, and they are covered with a very slippery cloth. So when you make your bed with a flat sheet, in the morning the sheet is all bunched up and all over the place because it slides on the cover whenever you move. I had finally sewed four pieces of elastic on each side of the bottom sheet and tied them together to keep the sheet on the mattress since fitted sheets are not to be found in the shops. We consider these sheets a really good purchase. And hey, we have a safe bed to sleep in so who needs to complain!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
23rd August 2009 - Activity Around Us
We had our meeting with the Diocesan heads of departments this past week, and the attendance wasn’t all that good, one reason being that there was some seminar or something that many of the priests were supposed to attend. We did, however, get the names and phone numbers of most of them, even those who couldn’t attend, and so we should be able to move forward from here. I don’t really have much of anything to do with most of them, and the parish priest from our parish was there, so that contact is a good one for me. He said that he has some classes going on at the parish for youngsters of 6th and 7th grade, to prepare them for secondary school, and it sounds like he’d be happy to have me involved in that program. I’d prefer to do this on the outstation level, but one has to start somewhere.
We’ve been having a noisy and dusty and busy week around here. The landlord decided to do the job of repainting the house and so that’s been going on since last weekend. Something wasn’t done right when it was painted the first time and there were spots where the paint was peeling, so another coat of primer was applied, then something they called “white cement” then that was all smoothed and sanded, and finally the paint went on. The trim was all done as well, and the garage door was painted for the first time. The window frames are all being varnished again, so the house is beginning to look really spiffy. Of course, the wall and gates are still being worked on at the same time, and that work is really going slowly. No matter – someday it will get done, and in the meantime the spaces around the house look like a disaster area. We just close our eyes as we walk in and out, and try not to fall over anything.
That reminds me of something that has struck me many times since returning – how one has to be very careful while walking everywhere in order not to trip or fall. In the U.S. it seems like places have to be kept pretty fall-proof; I suppose to avert being liable to litigation is one reason. Here it seems like everything is on different levels, including in the house. There’s a little one or two inch step up into every room so you have to be careful and remember that when going in and out. On the streets and paths there are open pits and man-hole type places, uneven sidewalks with holes, everything on a slightly different level. It keeps us alert!
Another thing I was reminded of is the extra time and effort it takes to do relatively simple things. The other day I made some granola type breakfast cereal. Some kinds of cold cereal are available here but it’s pretty expensive, and I always think it tastes a little bit not quite fresh (aka stale!). And so I bought some oatmeal in a package and raisins in a bag, went to the market and bought peanuts, sesame seeds, and sukari guru, which is a substitute for brown sugar. It’s the sugar that comes from one step of the process in refining sugar, and has a stronger, more molasses-like taste, and is sold in a hard square or ball. The next step was to clean the peanuts, e.g. to pick out the bad ones and the stones, then to wash them and dry them, then roast them in the oven. The same process was followed for the sesame seeds (and you know how small they are!!!), then melt some of the brown sugar, mix everything together and roast it all once again. That whole process is time consuming but the result was good. And at least we have an oven to roast it all in ….
We’ve been having a noisy and dusty and busy week around here. The landlord decided to do the job of repainting the house and so that’s been going on since last weekend. Something wasn’t done right when it was painted the first time and there were spots where the paint was peeling, so another coat of primer was applied, then something they called “white cement” then that was all smoothed and sanded, and finally the paint went on. The trim was all done as well, and the garage door was painted for the first time. The window frames are all being varnished again, so the house is beginning to look really spiffy. Of course, the wall and gates are still being worked on at the same time, and that work is really going slowly. No matter – someday it will get done, and in the meantime the spaces around the house look like a disaster area. We just close our eyes as we walk in and out, and try not to fall over anything.
That reminds me of something that has struck me many times since returning – how one has to be very careful while walking everywhere in order not to trip or fall. In the U.S. it seems like places have to be kept pretty fall-proof; I suppose to avert being liable to litigation is one reason. Here it seems like everything is on different levels, including in the house. There’s a little one or two inch step up into every room so you have to be careful and remember that when going in and out. On the streets and paths there are open pits and man-hole type places, uneven sidewalks with holes, everything on a slightly different level. It keeps us alert!
Another thing I was reminded of is the extra time and effort it takes to do relatively simple things. The other day I made some granola type breakfast cereal. Some kinds of cold cereal are available here but it’s pretty expensive, and I always think it tastes a little bit not quite fresh (aka stale!). And so I bought some oatmeal in a package and raisins in a bag, went to the market and bought peanuts, sesame seeds, and sukari guru, which is a substitute for brown sugar. It’s the sugar that comes from one step of the process in refining sugar, and has a stronger, more molasses-like taste, and is sold in a hard square or ball. The next step was to clean the peanuts, e.g. to pick out the bad ones and the stones, then to wash them and dry them, then roast them in the oven. The same process was followed for the sesame seeds (and you know how small they are!!!), then melt some of the brown sugar, mix everything together and roast it all once again. That whole process is time consuming but the result was good. And at least we have an oven to roast it all in ….
Sunday, August 16, 2009
16th August 2009 - Another week
It’s so good to be able to communicate with family and friends so easily now that we have internet connection. And thanks for all the positive comments about the blog, the photos, etc. I appreciate that, first of all, someone reads all that I write, and secondly, that you’re finding some of it interesting.
I’ve been looking at the syllabus for English (it’s a new one since 2005) and it looks like I’d be able to handle that. I do like teaching the younger secondary students, those who are just beginning their learning in English. It’s nice to be able to give them a good foundation since they need it in all of their subjects in secondary school. On Tuesday we have the meeting that has been arranged with the heads of Diocesan departments, so it will be good to hear what they have to say. I am especially interested in making some arrangements with either the parish or our outstation so that I can begin some tutoring for those who are finishing their primary school education next month. Those who go on to secondary school would benefit from some intensive English learning before January, when they begin secondary. I would hope that could go on even if I do the English at the Village of Hope secondary school. At that school there are seven English periods each week, and since they plan on having two classes of each Form (grade), then I would be doing 14 periods per week for the first year. That would give me time yet to do some tutoring, so I’d like to see how that works out.
I was taking note of and reflecting on all the different kinds of work people do here in order to make a living. Because there’s so much construction going on, that is the occupation of many. There are the real fundis, those who have studied a trade like carpentry or masonry and do the jobs needing those kinds of skills. And each fundi has at least one assistant who carries the cement or water or boards or whatever. Then there are the folks who water the cement as it sets – many of these are women. Others find large rocks or boulders and one sees them all over, pounding the rocks into smaller pieces so that they can be used for building. There are different sizes needed for different work, it seems, so in so many places you can see the different piles of rocks out, ready for sale. I understand these are sold by the bucket, and many folks, even the old and young, get their money from doing that. You see many young men doing the hard work of digging the foundations.
Besides the building industry, there are lots of other ways folks make their livings. When we had a small table made for the kitchen at a carpentry shop down the road, in order to get it to the house we hired a young man to carry it on his head. When the bed, made at the same place but considerably heavier, was ready to be delivered a young man with a two wheeled trailer that he pulls brought it with that. Some folks have small stands along the road where they sell fruit or vegetables or cooking oil or charcoal – whatever needed as other people walk by. So these sellers go to the main market in town and bring these things back, add a few shillings to the price, and in that way make something to live on. I had my umbrella fixed by a man with a table under a tree, and Connie had her shoe fixed by someone under a different tree. You see bicycles on the road in the mornings, coming from outer areas with sacks of charcoal on the back. They have cut trees and made charcoal for use in the town. Other folks on bicycles are carrying containers of milk – all going into the city to sell them. The "informal sector" is alive and well here in Tanzania, and probably not given enough credit for its contributions to society.
Another wild life sighting: We had a large scorpion in our yard the other day. I had never seen such a large one, and this one was black. My experience of scorpions was of the reddish-brown ones, and much smaller. This one was at least 4 – 5 inches long, and he was ugly looking. I went to borrow a hoe from our neighbor in order to kill it, but the neighbor himself came to do the job. It reminds us to be careful when we’re caring for our plants because he had camouflaged himself pretty well in the shade of the plants.
I guess my "favorite" wildlife are our friends, the mosquitoes. But that's matter for another day....
I’ve been looking at the syllabus for English (it’s a new one since 2005) and it looks like I’d be able to handle that. I do like teaching the younger secondary students, those who are just beginning their learning in English. It’s nice to be able to give them a good foundation since they need it in all of their subjects in secondary school. On Tuesday we have the meeting that has been arranged with the heads of Diocesan departments, so it will be good to hear what they have to say. I am especially interested in making some arrangements with either the parish or our outstation so that I can begin some tutoring for those who are finishing their primary school education next month. Those who go on to secondary school would benefit from some intensive English learning before January, when they begin secondary. I would hope that could go on even if I do the English at the Village of Hope secondary school. At that school there are seven English periods each week, and since they plan on having two classes of each Form (grade), then I would be doing 14 periods per week for the first year. That would give me time yet to do some tutoring, so I’d like to see how that works out.
I was taking note of and reflecting on all the different kinds of work people do here in order to make a living. Because there’s so much construction going on, that is the occupation of many. There are the real fundis, those who have studied a trade like carpentry or masonry and do the jobs needing those kinds of skills. And each fundi has at least one assistant who carries the cement or water or boards or whatever. Then there are the folks who water the cement as it sets – many of these are women. Others find large rocks or boulders and one sees them all over, pounding the rocks into smaller pieces so that they can be used for building. There are different sizes needed for different work, it seems, so in so many places you can see the different piles of rocks out, ready for sale. I understand these are sold by the bucket, and many folks, even the old and young, get their money from doing that. You see many young men doing the hard work of digging the foundations.
Besides the building industry, there are lots of other ways folks make their livings. When we had a small table made for the kitchen at a carpentry shop down the road, in order to get it to the house we hired a young man to carry it on his head. When the bed, made at the same place but considerably heavier, was ready to be delivered a young man with a two wheeled trailer that he pulls brought it with that. Some folks have small stands along the road where they sell fruit or vegetables or cooking oil or charcoal – whatever needed as other people walk by. So these sellers go to the main market in town and bring these things back, add a few shillings to the price, and in that way make something to live on. I had my umbrella fixed by a man with a table under a tree, and Connie had her shoe fixed by someone under a different tree. You see bicycles on the road in the mornings, coming from outer areas with sacks of charcoal on the back. They have cut trees and made charcoal for use in the town. Other folks on bicycles are carrying containers of milk – all going into the city to sell them. The "informal sector" is alive and well here in Tanzania, and probably not given enough credit for its contributions to society.
Another wild life sighting: We had a large scorpion in our yard the other day. I had never seen such a large one, and this one was black. My experience of scorpions was of the reddish-brown ones, and much smaller. This one was at least 4 – 5 inches long, and he was ugly looking. I went to borrow a hoe from our neighbor in order to kill it, but the neighbor himself came to do the job. It reminds us to be careful when we’re caring for our plants because he had camouflaged himself pretty well in the shade of the plants.
I guess my "favorite" wildlife are our friends, the mosquitoes. But that's matter for another day....
Sunday, August 9, 2009
9th August 2009 - More photos
I Living room. Me on the front porch. I couldn't get more than five pictures on the first try so here are some more.
Kitchen - you can see only the cabinets
My bedroomDining Room
Connie nearing the front of the house, coming home with some oranges.
Connie nearing the front of the house, coming home with some oranges.
9th August 2009 - Photos
Left Dining Room, Below Kitchen
Left Back Door, Below Front with neighbor
Many of you are asking about photos of where we live. Well, let me try to share some with you. If I were a better photographer I probably could situate the house better in the neighborhood, but you will pretty much just see the house. There is a tremendous amount of construction going on, and as time passes we'll probably feel a bit cramped (most of the lots are quite small) but for now there is still a lot of open space. Our house is really lovely and very comfortable. As is usual when constuction and furniture making is done by hand and not in a factory, a lot of things are uneven and not quite straight. That only adds to the charm, don't you think? Anyway, I hope you get an idea of our living conditions, which are really great.
9th August 2009 - Village of Hope
On Thursday we went to visit the “Village of Hope”. This is a place only a couple miles away as the crow flies, adjacent to St. Gaspar’s Conference Centre. It is run by the Precious Blood Community, Sr. Rosalia and Fr. Vincent (both Italians) and four Tanzanian Sisters who are also of this community. They have a lovely and large compound where they offer a range of services, most connected with people infected by HIV Aids. In the middle of the compound are six duplexes, so twelve living communities, where orphaned children who are also HIV positive, reside with a married couple who act as “parents” to these children. These living spaces were built to house about 10 children in each unit, but there are at present over 150 children in residence there. There’s a large kitchen which provides food for all the residents and there is housing for the Sisters in addition to medical services offered. These services include an outpatient clinic where local mothers can come with their children for medical care, a state of the art laboratory where testing for the HIV virus is done, and a unit where those who need hospitalization can be helped. We visited this unit and there were four mothers with their children in one ward, including one who had just given birth the previous evening. In another ward were three babies who had been brought recently, orphans, and they were so sick. The staff hopes to save them with good nutrition and the right drugs, and hopefully they will. There’s also a church and a nursery school for the children right there on the compound, and they’ve also built a residence that houses the volunteers that come frequently from Italy to help out in various projects.
Adjoining this compound is a primary school which has about 500 students. This school was begun for the children residing in the Village of Hope, but all the children who attend are not HIV positive. The school is open to others in the area and so the children mix freely all together. Those with families go home each afternoon, and the children from the Village go to their home as well. The primary school was begun seven years ago and so the children who started in Standard I at that time are now finishing Standard VII and are preparing to take the national examination given at the end of primary school.
And so there is furious building going on in order to have a secondary school ready for occupancy in January of next year. This will offer education to the children from the Village of Hope, both boys and girls, and they will also open it to girls from outside, and so the building includes dormitories for the girls, classrooms, kitchen and dining facilities, library, science labs, offices, etc. There were about 20 Italian men working on these buildings alongside the Tanzanian contractor who is doing the building and his crew, and the construction is very nice.
As soon as Sr. Rosalia and Fr. Vincent found out that I’m an English teacher, I was immediately offered a job. They are anxious that these youngsters who are beginning secondary school have a good foundation in English, and we also talked about offering classes to them as soon as they finish their Standard VII exam, so that they can manage their other lessons as well when they begin their secondary education. I’m really tempted and am thinking seriously about taking this on. For at least the first year there would also be time to do some tutoring of young girls, another dream of mine, so we’ll see. They would also love to have Connie as their Biology teacher, but are open to the other things she has to offer, like values education, seminars on various topics, etc. And as I said above, it’s only a relatively short distance from our house. It would take about 45 minutes by foot, and 5 minutes by car.
The little children who we saw are so adorable. They ran up to us and gave a hug and chatter away about what they’re doing. We visited the classroom of those of about four years old, and they were singing and drumming and having a good time. Because of the good care they get and the drugs that are now available to them they look so healthy. I just can’t imagine their lives without this intervention. What do you think about throwing my hat in with them???
Adjoining this compound is a primary school which has about 500 students. This school was begun for the children residing in the Village of Hope, but all the children who attend are not HIV positive. The school is open to others in the area and so the children mix freely all together. Those with families go home each afternoon, and the children from the Village go to their home as well. The primary school was begun seven years ago and so the children who started in Standard I at that time are now finishing Standard VII and are preparing to take the national examination given at the end of primary school.
And so there is furious building going on in order to have a secondary school ready for occupancy in January of next year. This will offer education to the children from the Village of Hope, both boys and girls, and they will also open it to girls from outside, and so the building includes dormitories for the girls, classrooms, kitchen and dining facilities, library, science labs, offices, etc. There were about 20 Italian men working on these buildings alongside the Tanzanian contractor who is doing the building and his crew, and the construction is very nice.
As soon as Sr. Rosalia and Fr. Vincent found out that I’m an English teacher, I was immediately offered a job. They are anxious that these youngsters who are beginning secondary school have a good foundation in English, and we also talked about offering classes to them as soon as they finish their Standard VII exam, so that they can manage their other lessons as well when they begin their secondary education. I’m really tempted and am thinking seriously about taking this on. For at least the first year there would also be time to do some tutoring of young girls, another dream of mine, so we’ll see. They would also love to have Connie as their Biology teacher, but are open to the other things she has to offer, like values education, seminars on various topics, etc. And as I said above, it’s only a relatively short distance from our house. It would take about 45 minutes by foot, and 5 minutes by car.
The little children who we saw are so adorable. They ran up to us and gave a hug and chatter away about what they’re doing. We visited the classroom of those of about four years old, and they were singing and drumming and having a good time. Because of the good care they get and the drugs that are now available to them they look so healthy. I just can’t imagine their lives without this intervention. What do you think about throwing my hat in with them???
Thursday, August 6, 2009
6th August 2009 – Caught Up To Date
30th July 2009
My thoughts and prayers have been rather preoccupied with the final illness and death of my sister-in-law, Kathy. May she rest in peace. It’s always difficult to be away from family at times like these, when the remembering of our loved one together and the support of each other means so much. It’s a consolation to know that the good that a person does never disappears, and Kathy has left a large legacy.
I’m certainly getting back into the mindset of everything taking lots and lots and lots longer than anticipated. We still haven’t got our internet connection, still haven’t got out check book for our bank account, still haven’t gotten the rest of our furniture. I think one of the reasons is that people have a certain desire to please and so they tell you what you want to hear. “Oh, yes, the furniture will be delivered on Monday” because of course that’s what I’d like to have happen. However, when Monday comes there’s a problem with the hinges not being available, or the varnish not yet being dry, or the person working on it has had to travel somewhere, etc. etc.
We had a meeting with the Bishop the other day and once again he was warm and welcoming. He will facilitate a meeting of the heads of the various departments in the Diocese, our parish priest, the chancellor of the Diocese, and us. That should be a good learning experience for us and a chance to know the things that are happening in the Diocese. And a chance for those folks to know us as well. I hope it doesn’t take too long to come to pass.
And very good news: The funding for a car has been approved!! The request was made to Mission Projects Funding of the Maryknoll Sisters, and the actual funds will come from the fund raising initiative in the Netherlands. Now we need to place the order and, what will probably be the most daunting task, follow all the procedures in order to get exemption from the taxes connected with such a big purchase. As a religious group we are eligible for tax exemption but I hear that the procedure is rather long and arduous. It will be worth it, however, so we’ll do it.
31st July 2009
The rest of our furniture arrived yesterday afternoon – yippee! I had tried to phone several times during the last few days but hadn’t managed to have anyone answer a phone. I was beginning to think that they were avoiding my phone calls …. However, when we least expected it the phone rang and we were told that the furniture would be delivered that afternoon. And so it was – What a nice surprise and how happy we are to finally put away our suitcases. For me, this has been since 12th February, when I was packing to come to Tanzania. Living so long out of a suitcase can get old, so putting them away and out of sight feels like a real accomplishment. By the way, the furniture is worth waiting for. These guys do a really good job and everything looks great. The explanation of the problem was that the hinges that came weren’t the right kind, and so the doors weren’t up to standard and they waited to get the right kind so that everything looks good.
1st August 2009
A new month means that we have been in this house one complete month. We had expected that the completion of the walls and gates as well as the landscaping would have been accomplished by the end of July but that hasn’t happened. We did a bit of prodding of our landlord via text messages on the phone, and he promises to come next weekend. Hopefully a lot of things will be done when he arrives. I especially feel bad about the trees and shrubs he planted but which are beginning to look really desperate for water. We could water them but there’s a trench along one side so most of the water just disappears into the trench. And for security reasons we will certainly need the garage and the gates before bringing a car.
Our Small Christian Community continues to meet early every Saturday morning. Our turn for hosting the group will be coming up before too long. I don’t know where we’re going to borrow the chairs from, but maybe more mats will do the trick.
5th August 2009
Sunday after Mass we went to the Nane Nane grounds that are a few kilometers further down the road out of town. Nane Nane (eighth day of the eighth month) is celebrated as Farmer’s Day, or a day to celebrate agriculture, and the celebration is always held at the large fair-ground here outside Dodoma. There are booths and tents and some permanent buildings in which government departments, companies, community groups, etc. educate and exhibit their work. We only managed to walk in one area (it’s a large area and the sun was hot) and there were lots of interesting things to see. We saw some domesticated animals shown by the department of agriculture and livestock and some wild animals shown by the department of wildlife and tourism. The latter had a lot of visitors and so many Tanzanians got the chance to see one of Tanzania’s great resources up close. Most have never been able to travel to a national park because of the distance or fees or travel costs, etc. so having a chance to see up close a lion, a leopard, hyenas, python, wild cats, parrots, tortoise, etc. was a great thrill. We visited some of the tents showing local crafts and bought a lovely mat for the living room, table mats for the dining table, a couple candles that are supposed to repel mosquitoes. Lots of people were enjoying the festivities, and it was nice to see entire families out together.
We have finally been connected to the internet, thanks to a very competent and caring sales person – her name is Peace (what a nice name!). We had been promised the connection last week but it seems that the modems are out of stock in the country so have had to be ordered from abroad. I don’t know if they come from South Africa or Europe but apparently it will take some time for them to arrive. In order to help us, Peace was ready to lend us her modem, and so on Friday I brought it home. I couldn’t get it to work, so contacted her, and she said she’d try to come. Well, she was busy at the Vodacom booth at Nane Nane so hadn’t managed to come. Finally she did find time, and spent the whole afternoon here, much of the time on the phone with a technician in Dar es Salaam, until she got it to work. Those two young people were so patient and just would not give up. Peace even had to go back to town to her office to get some different software, and finally things work. Hopefully when the new modems come in we’ll have no problems connecting as well. The technician says that some of the Windows programmes work differently, and apparently that’s what he had to work with. Anyway, thanks be to God for their perseverance.
My thoughts and prayers have been rather preoccupied with the final illness and death of my sister-in-law, Kathy. May she rest in peace. It’s always difficult to be away from family at times like these, when the remembering of our loved one together and the support of each other means so much. It’s a consolation to know that the good that a person does never disappears, and Kathy has left a large legacy.
I’m certainly getting back into the mindset of everything taking lots and lots and lots longer than anticipated. We still haven’t got our internet connection, still haven’t got out check book for our bank account, still haven’t gotten the rest of our furniture. I think one of the reasons is that people have a certain desire to please and so they tell you what you want to hear. “Oh, yes, the furniture will be delivered on Monday” because of course that’s what I’d like to have happen. However, when Monday comes there’s a problem with the hinges not being available, or the varnish not yet being dry, or the person working on it has had to travel somewhere, etc. etc.
We had a meeting with the Bishop the other day and once again he was warm and welcoming. He will facilitate a meeting of the heads of the various departments in the Diocese, our parish priest, the chancellor of the Diocese, and us. That should be a good learning experience for us and a chance to know the things that are happening in the Diocese. And a chance for those folks to know us as well. I hope it doesn’t take too long to come to pass.
And very good news: The funding for a car has been approved!! The request was made to Mission Projects Funding of the Maryknoll Sisters, and the actual funds will come from the fund raising initiative in the Netherlands. Now we need to place the order and, what will probably be the most daunting task, follow all the procedures in order to get exemption from the taxes connected with such a big purchase. As a religious group we are eligible for tax exemption but I hear that the procedure is rather long and arduous. It will be worth it, however, so we’ll do it.
31st July 2009
The rest of our furniture arrived yesterday afternoon – yippee! I had tried to phone several times during the last few days but hadn’t managed to have anyone answer a phone. I was beginning to think that they were avoiding my phone calls …. However, when we least expected it the phone rang and we were told that the furniture would be delivered that afternoon. And so it was – What a nice surprise and how happy we are to finally put away our suitcases. For me, this has been since 12th February, when I was packing to come to Tanzania. Living so long out of a suitcase can get old, so putting them away and out of sight feels like a real accomplishment. By the way, the furniture is worth waiting for. These guys do a really good job and everything looks great. The explanation of the problem was that the hinges that came weren’t the right kind, and so the doors weren’t up to standard and they waited to get the right kind so that everything looks good.
1st August 2009
A new month means that we have been in this house one complete month. We had expected that the completion of the walls and gates as well as the landscaping would have been accomplished by the end of July but that hasn’t happened. We did a bit of prodding of our landlord via text messages on the phone, and he promises to come next weekend. Hopefully a lot of things will be done when he arrives. I especially feel bad about the trees and shrubs he planted but which are beginning to look really desperate for water. We could water them but there’s a trench along one side so most of the water just disappears into the trench. And for security reasons we will certainly need the garage and the gates before bringing a car.
Our Small Christian Community continues to meet early every Saturday morning. Our turn for hosting the group will be coming up before too long. I don’t know where we’re going to borrow the chairs from, but maybe more mats will do the trick.
5th August 2009
Sunday after Mass we went to the Nane Nane grounds that are a few kilometers further down the road out of town. Nane Nane (eighth day of the eighth month) is celebrated as Farmer’s Day, or a day to celebrate agriculture, and the celebration is always held at the large fair-ground here outside Dodoma. There are booths and tents and some permanent buildings in which government departments, companies, community groups, etc. educate and exhibit their work. We only managed to walk in one area (it’s a large area and the sun was hot) and there were lots of interesting things to see. We saw some domesticated animals shown by the department of agriculture and livestock and some wild animals shown by the department of wildlife and tourism. The latter had a lot of visitors and so many Tanzanians got the chance to see one of Tanzania’s great resources up close. Most have never been able to travel to a national park because of the distance or fees or travel costs, etc. so having a chance to see up close a lion, a leopard, hyenas, python, wild cats, parrots, tortoise, etc. was a great thrill. We visited some of the tents showing local crafts and bought a lovely mat for the living room, table mats for the dining table, a couple candles that are supposed to repel mosquitoes. Lots of people were enjoying the festivities, and it was nice to see entire families out together.
We have finally been connected to the internet, thanks to a very competent and caring sales person – her name is Peace (what a nice name!). We had been promised the connection last week but it seems that the modems are out of stock in the country so have had to be ordered from abroad. I don’t know if they come from South Africa or Europe but apparently it will take some time for them to arrive. In order to help us, Peace was ready to lend us her modem, and so on Friday I brought it home. I couldn’t get it to work, so contacted her, and she said she’d try to come. Well, she was busy at the Vodacom booth at Nane Nane so hadn’t managed to come. Finally she did find time, and spent the whole afternoon here, much of the time on the phone with a technician in Dar es Salaam, until she got it to work. Those two young people were so patient and just would not give up. Peace even had to go back to town to her office to get some different software, and finally things work. Hopefully when the new modems come in we’ll have no problems connecting as well. The technician says that some of the Windows programmes work differently, and apparently that’s what he had to work with. Anyway, thanks be to God for their perseverance.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
5th August 2009 – 2nd Installment
Yesterday we did BIG shopping – stove (made in Turkey), refrigerator (made in Japan), sewing machine (China), kettle to boil water (Kenya), buckets (Tanzania), water filter (India), veranda chairs (Malaysia) dishes, glasses, cutlery, iron and ironing board, etc. etc. We gathered everything, including a gas cylinder for our new gas stove, hired a small truck, and brought all our purchases home. We decided that we had spent enough time looking and pricing and that the time was ready to just get this part of settling in over with. We are happy with our purchases and, after one more trip to the main market to buy baskets in order to store things, then we’ll be more nearly ready. About time, I’d say. We still need to make curtains and cushion covers as well.
Today we’re putting things in proper places and Connie is measuring and cutting mattresses in order to make cushions for the couch/chairs. The style here these days seems to be large and overstuffed furniture but we opted for a “simple set”. It consists of five pieces, one a corner piece and the others just four legs with a bottom and a back. They are comfortable ( or they will be when there are cushions on them), nice looking, and relatively inexpensive. By the way, they were delivered on Sunday alright, as promised, only at 5.30 p.m. instead of “between 7 and 8 a.m.”. The problem: the truck needed repair from its work the previous day ……. We were also supposed to get two bookshelves and two bedside tables, but only one bookshelf came out of that lot. Who know when we’ll get the rest!
One of the things that I’ve learned about wood which is different from years ago is that the beautiful hard wood which was used for so much furniture and building is now really prohibitive in price because it has become so scarce (deforestation). This wood, called Mninga (in what language I don’t know), was what we used for all the furniture and even for the supports for the roofing tiles when building the school in Singida because it was readily available at a reasonable price and it can’t be touched by insects so it lasts for a very long time. All of the furniture we have purchased now is made of Cypress, and it’s also nice looking but very different because it is so much lighter, both in color and in weight. We will need to be on the alert to make sure no insects begin to make their homes with us.
It’s nice to cook with more than one burner, and now with a refrigerator we can get milk and a few more things at one time, rather than buying only on a daily basis. There’s a woman not far from here who has onions and tomatoes and who brings fresh green vegetables (spinach, Swiss chard, Chinese cabbage) and maybe oranges to sell. But for a bit of a variety we walk to the main road, cross it and go to a small market there, altogether about a 30 minute walk from here. There we can add some papaya, lemons, tangerines, potatoes (both sweet and Irish), bread, beef, bananas. We have only so much strength in our arms so there’s a limit on what we can carry but with an equally distributed weight on both sides it works out alright. I actually need a third arm to carry my umbrella but so far haven’t evolved one yet!
18th July 2009
This morning we went at 6.45 a.m. to pray with our Small Christian Community, and although a bit early, it was nice. There were about 25 adults and probably about the same number of children there. We met at the home of one of the members of the Community, with the older adults and the men sitting on chairs while many of the women and all the children sat on mats on the floor. First we heard a reading from the New Testament, then everyone was welcomed to share their reflections on the reading. There was some good sharing, mostly by the men, and since the Catechist was there, of course he had to offer a rather long reflection. After that there was a time for prayers of petition from the group when we prayed for the needs of the Community. Finally there was a time for announcements and planning on how to take care of the responsibilities that this Community has in the Outstation. For example, tomorrow is the turn of our Community to provide readers and people to offer the gifts for Mass. There was a collection of money so that there is an amount in the kitty in case of need. And we were reminded that the Community had agreed to provide two windows for the church, one from the women and one from the men and so those who hadn’t contributed were asked to do so. Guests were introduced, including ourselves, and finally, there was a closing prayer and people dispersed. Most went to the church to clean it for tomorrow but we were excused from that task and came home. The whole process lasts only about one hour, but it was a nice time to get together with the neighbors who are Catholic.
Yesterday we spent the morning in town, mostly in the market, buying baskets and those small things we still needed for the kitchen. After an enjoyable time in the big town market we started looking for material for covers for the couch cushions, and amazingly enough, found some that both of us like. I had anticipated that it would take awhile to find something but we managed to do it rather quickly. We still don’t have the rest of the furniture, however ……………….
20th July 2009
Yesterday evening we took a walk that we had wanted to take for some time now, to St. Gaspar’s Conference Centre, where we stayed for the first five days after arriving here in Dodoma. As we walk around it’s so interesting to see the relationships between places we know. For example from here to St. Gaspar’s, if one would go by car it would be quite a distance, but by foot it took us only 45 minutes, and since we weren’t walking very fast it was probably only about two miles. We greeted some of the staff there who were on duty and then walked back, ready to cook supper, eat it, try for a shower, and go to bed at our usual early hour.
We have had trouble getting any water to come out of the shower ever since we arrived. We don’t really understand the water system, because there are two 500 lt. water tanks sitting on top of the back porch, and so one would think that there would always be water in order to fill the water heater, even if the water pressure is very low. There’s so much building going on around so I suppose the water needs in the area are huge, and sometimes the pressure is quite low. I don’t think we’ve ever had none at all, but most times there isn’t any coming out of the shower. Oh well, most of my Tanzanian life I’ve used water in buckets for showers, so why should now be any different? The landlord knows of the problem, however, and has something in mind in order to rectify the situation.
This morning I went to town because our bank account now has a number and it needed something put into it. In order to open an account, after all the other paperwork needed, one needs to have a starting balance of 250,000/=, a little less than $200. Of course we still don’t have a check book so the account is unusable until that comes. Little by little . . .
25th July 2009
We have been hoping and waiting for our internet connection and expecting that we would get it this week but this week is finishing and still none. Hopefully next week will find us with that much anticipated communication tool as well as the rest of our furniture.
Connie has finished sewing all the cushion covers and we are hand-stitching them closed now. They look very nice, and we also managed to find some curtain material for the windows in the living room so that’s her next project.
We have been talking to a few people about our work and we have tentative plans to meet with a neighbor who is a teacher at a local secondary school and who is also a member of our local Christian community. We haven’t had our meeting with the Bishop yet but it seems like we had the green light to go ahead so I don’t think that matters. Next week I hope to buy some books and begin preparing some classes so that when the time comes I’ll be ready.
Some days I am reminded about the kindness and thoughtfulness of people and yesterday was one of them. We had been in town, doing things that needed to be done and picking up some other things, like the curtain material. We both had our hands full of bags, and when we got off the dala dala at the end of the road it was about 1.00, with a hot sun and the wind blowing against us. The head wind seems to need a lot of extra effort when walking, especially with my umbrella open and beating against it. Anyway, after a short distance a car stopped to offer us a ride, and how grateful we were. This was a woman who is a manager at St. Gaspar’s Conference Centre which I’ve talked about before, and she lives in the neighborhood so was kind enough to bring us home. Most days I don’t mind that walk but yesterday it seemed like a hard task, and Meela made getting home easy for us. God bless her!
We have a lot of wind here during these months. I don’t know how long it will continue to be so windy but if the weather is like Singida’s, then it will calm down just before the rains start near the end of the year. It makes the windows and doors rattle at night sometimes, but it’s also good for drying clothes quickly and leaving them with little need for ironing!
The other night I heard a hyena howling outside, seemingly not too far away. The dogs were barking crazily at it, of course, but I’m sure he was in the neighborhood. So you see although we’re living in the capital city there’s still a lot of country around.
Today we’re putting things in proper places and Connie is measuring and cutting mattresses in order to make cushions for the couch/chairs. The style here these days seems to be large and overstuffed furniture but we opted for a “simple set”. It consists of five pieces, one a corner piece and the others just four legs with a bottom and a back. They are comfortable ( or they will be when there are cushions on them), nice looking, and relatively inexpensive. By the way, they were delivered on Sunday alright, as promised, only at 5.30 p.m. instead of “between 7 and 8 a.m.”. The problem: the truck needed repair from its work the previous day ……. We were also supposed to get two bookshelves and two bedside tables, but only one bookshelf came out of that lot. Who know when we’ll get the rest!
One of the things that I’ve learned about wood which is different from years ago is that the beautiful hard wood which was used for so much furniture and building is now really prohibitive in price because it has become so scarce (deforestation). This wood, called Mninga (in what language I don’t know), was what we used for all the furniture and even for the supports for the roofing tiles when building the school in Singida because it was readily available at a reasonable price and it can’t be touched by insects so it lasts for a very long time. All of the furniture we have purchased now is made of Cypress, and it’s also nice looking but very different because it is so much lighter, both in color and in weight. We will need to be on the alert to make sure no insects begin to make their homes with us.
It’s nice to cook with more than one burner, and now with a refrigerator we can get milk and a few more things at one time, rather than buying only on a daily basis. There’s a woman not far from here who has onions and tomatoes and who brings fresh green vegetables (spinach, Swiss chard, Chinese cabbage) and maybe oranges to sell. But for a bit of a variety we walk to the main road, cross it and go to a small market there, altogether about a 30 minute walk from here. There we can add some papaya, lemons, tangerines, potatoes (both sweet and Irish), bread, beef, bananas. We have only so much strength in our arms so there’s a limit on what we can carry but with an equally distributed weight on both sides it works out alright. I actually need a third arm to carry my umbrella but so far haven’t evolved one yet!
18th July 2009
This morning we went at 6.45 a.m. to pray with our Small Christian Community, and although a bit early, it was nice. There were about 25 adults and probably about the same number of children there. We met at the home of one of the members of the Community, with the older adults and the men sitting on chairs while many of the women and all the children sat on mats on the floor. First we heard a reading from the New Testament, then everyone was welcomed to share their reflections on the reading. There was some good sharing, mostly by the men, and since the Catechist was there, of course he had to offer a rather long reflection. After that there was a time for prayers of petition from the group when we prayed for the needs of the Community. Finally there was a time for announcements and planning on how to take care of the responsibilities that this Community has in the Outstation. For example, tomorrow is the turn of our Community to provide readers and people to offer the gifts for Mass. There was a collection of money so that there is an amount in the kitty in case of need. And we were reminded that the Community had agreed to provide two windows for the church, one from the women and one from the men and so those who hadn’t contributed were asked to do so. Guests were introduced, including ourselves, and finally, there was a closing prayer and people dispersed. Most went to the church to clean it for tomorrow but we were excused from that task and came home. The whole process lasts only about one hour, but it was a nice time to get together with the neighbors who are Catholic.
Yesterday we spent the morning in town, mostly in the market, buying baskets and those small things we still needed for the kitchen. After an enjoyable time in the big town market we started looking for material for covers for the couch cushions, and amazingly enough, found some that both of us like. I had anticipated that it would take awhile to find something but we managed to do it rather quickly. We still don’t have the rest of the furniture, however ……………….
20th July 2009
Yesterday evening we took a walk that we had wanted to take for some time now, to St. Gaspar’s Conference Centre, where we stayed for the first five days after arriving here in Dodoma. As we walk around it’s so interesting to see the relationships between places we know. For example from here to St. Gaspar’s, if one would go by car it would be quite a distance, but by foot it took us only 45 minutes, and since we weren’t walking very fast it was probably only about two miles. We greeted some of the staff there who were on duty and then walked back, ready to cook supper, eat it, try for a shower, and go to bed at our usual early hour.
We have had trouble getting any water to come out of the shower ever since we arrived. We don’t really understand the water system, because there are two 500 lt. water tanks sitting on top of the back porch, and so one would think that there would always be water in order to fill the water heater, even if the water pressure is very low. There’s so much building going on around so I suppose the water needs in the area are huge, and sometimes the pressure is quite low. I don’t think we’ve ever had none at all, but most times there isn’t any coming out of the shower. Oh well, most of my Tanzanian life I’ve used water in buckets for showers, so why should now be any different? The landlord knows of the problem, however, and has something in mind in order to rectify the situation.
This morning I went to town because our bank account now has a number and it needed something put into it. In order to open an account, after all the other paperwork needed, one needs to have a starting balance of 250,000/=, a little less than $200. Of course we still don’t have a check book so the account is unusable until that comes. Little by little . . .
25th July 2009
We have been hoping and waiting for our internet connection and expecting that we would get it this week but this week is finishing and still none. Hopefully next week will find us with that much anticipated communication tool as well as the rest of our furniture.
Connie has finished sewing all the cushion covers and we are hand-stitching them closed now. They look very nice, and we also managed to find some curtain material for the windows in the living room so that’s her next project.
We have been talking to a few people about our work and we have tentative plans to meet with a neighbor who is a teacher at a local secondary school and who is also a member of our local Christian community. We haven’t had our meeting with the Bishop yet but it seems like we had the green light to go ahead so I don’t think that matters. Next week I hope to buy some books and begin preparing some classes so that when the time comes I’ll be ready.
Some days I am reminded about the kindness and thoughtfulness of people and yesterday was one of them. We had been in town, doing things that needed to be done and picking up some other things, like the curtain material. We both had our hands full of bags, and when we got off the dala dala at the end of the road it was about 1.00, with a hot sun and the wind blowing against us. The head wind seems to need a lot of extra effort when walking, especially with my umbrella open and beating against it. Anyway, after a short distance a car stopped to offer us a ride, and how grateful we were. This was a woman who is a manager at St. Gaspar’s Conference Centre which I’ve talked about before, and she lives in the neighborhood so was kind enough to bring us home. Most days I don’t mind that walk but yesterday it seemed like a hard task, and Meela made getting home easy for us. God bless her!
We have a lot of wind here during these months. I don’t know how long it will continue to be so windy but if the weather is like Singida’s, then it will calm down just before the rains start near the end of the year. It makes the windows and doors rattle at night sometimes, but it’s also good for drying clothes quickly and leaving them with little need for ironing!
The other night I heard a hyena howling outside, seemingly not too far away. The dogs were barking crazily at it, of course, but I’m sure he was in the neighborhood. So you see although we’re living in the capital city there’s still a lot of country around.
4th August 2009 - Finally
You may have wondered why I haven’t posted anything on this blog for a LONG time. Well, only yesterday were we connected to the internet, and so I can finally get some news out. I’ve been writing fairly often and so this may be much more news than you want to know. Anyway, here goes. I'll do this in at least two installments.
Going backwards in time, here are some events from the time I left Arusha on 10th June. That seems like a long time ago, and I guess it is. Over one month already . . .
I had an uneventful trip by bus to Dar es Salaam, and the next morning early was at the airport to welcome Connie as she arrived from the U.S. My companion arriving in the country made it seem like the actual move and settling into home and ministry was actually going to be a reality. I let her have a couple days of rest, and then we were off to Dodoma. We arrived on Sunday evening and on Monday we went to look at the house that I thought would suit us well and in the meantime another house had become available and so we went to see that also. Connie agreed with me that the house in Kisasa area was very nice, and we met and talked rent with the owner. We couldn’t agree right away, and so agreed to meet the next day before we left Dodoma again. There was still no final agreement but he promised to get back to us by phone later that day. We went off to Morogoro to stay with the Sisters there, and to get a ride with them to Dar es Salaam on Thursday. While we were sitting and talking that evening in Morogoro, the text message came that he had agreed to our offer and so we had a house to rent! What a relief, because we really didn’t want to start all over again to look for housing.
We went to Dar es Salaam and on Friday, Saturday and Sunday had our Maryknoll Sisters area meeting. Friday was a day of reflection and I had prepared it on the theme “Mission and Ministry”. We used the Directions from our General Assembly which was held last October, and so those formed the basis of the day. The Direction we reflected on was: “We continually evaluate the quality and depth of our presence in mission. We include areas such as culture, interfaith dialogue, and worldviews that differ from our own.” Some of the conversations we had around this topic included the changing roles that we see of ourselves as we age and as Tanzania changes. On Saturday we discussed the business on the agenda, and one of the items was to discuss the research that we had done regarding establishing a presence in Dodoma. After hearing more from us, everyone agreed that this was a good place to be and so we were assigned. May our lives and the lives of all we touch in Dodoma be blessed.
Sunday we spent at the ocean. Dar es Salaam has some beautiful beaches and we went to an exceptionally gorgeous one, Kipepeo Beach at Mji Mwema. To get there we took a very short ferry ride and then drove about 10 minutes to a white and sandy beach. There were some thatched shelters there on the beach so that’s where I spent most of the time, while others enjoyed the ocean. Since the sun and I have great respect for each other, I prefer to stay in the shade as much as possible. Of course I did have a walk along the ocean and waded a little.
On Monday we met with our landlord and signed the contract, and also went to see about the possibilities for buying a car. I had written a funding proposal for the money, so if it’s accepted then we need to choose from what may be available. Tuesday morning we put all our earthly possessions on a bus with ourselves and took the journey to our new city. We had made arrangements to stay for five days at St. Gaspar’s Conference Centre, and so we got off the bus near there, a few kilometers before arriving in the city itself. They sent some young people to carry our bags, and welcomed us very warmly. It is a large (about 100 rooms) centre and very comfortable and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. Every morning we walked to the main road and got on one of the small buses that go around the city, got to the main station, and started our walk around to discover what Dodoma has to offer. The first day was to make application for a post office box, and to begin the process of opening a bank account. The bank account takes some time to open, so although we had all the documents required, still we haven’t been approved yet. That has curtailed our purchases somewhat since we don’t have much money to work with until we have an account and our Maryknoll Sister Treasurer can deposit something for us to use . . . . But we have learned quite a bit about the areas of the city, which bus goes where, what shops are where and what is available and at what price, and we even got the phone number of a woman who can cut the hair of non-Africans! All of these were great achievements, don’t you agree?
4 July 2009
Happy Independence Day!
We actually moved into our house in Dodoma on the day agreed upon, which was July 1st. We had been staying at the Diocesesan Hostel for the previous three days while slowly gathering some few essential first needs. And so on that day, immediately after breakfast, Connie went off by small bus to St. Gaspar’s Conference Centre to collect our personal belongings, which consisted of four large suitcases. I hired a taxi and put in the things we had bought so far: a bucket, two plates, two cups, an electric hot plate, a knife, two spoons, a kilo of rice, four onions, two tomatoes, a cabbage, a packet of salt, bottled water, some bread and peanut butter. Then I went to a shop and bought two mattresses and four pillows and off I went to “our” house. After off-loading the things from the taxi, I immediately went to the technical training centre where we had ordered some furniture the previous Friday. We had ordered two beds with poles to secure mosquito nets, a set of five seats with which to form a couch, two wardrobes, two bedside tables and two bookshelves with the assurance that they would be ready by Wednesday. Of course that was living in a dream world to really believe all that would happen in such a short time ….. When I went at the time agreed upon (10.00 a.m.) I was shown the one complete bed and the other getting ready for varnishing ! Nothing else was done, most not having even been started yet. Anyway, I was promised that the beds would arrive before nightfall, and with that I went back and helped start putting things in order. We ate out first meal at noon, consisting of peanut butter on bread and peanuts, standing in the kitchen while a young man was trying to clean some of the dust and cobwebs from the windows. He was commissioned by the landlord to clean the house before we moved in so he was doing his best. We continued to unpack a bit but since we didn’t have any place to put anything, that was almost a useless task. By 4.00 we were thankful to see the beds arriving. Four men quickly put them together but when we asked about the mosquito net poles, lo and behold they had been forgotten. Anyway, the bed was the main part of the equation and we were grateful to have them. Of course when I tried to put on my sheets they weren’t the right size, so I made my bed with khangas (pieces of material) and tied the mosquito net to the curtain rods. I cooked a supper of spaghetti and reconstituted dry fish and it tasted really good. There is a bit of a problem though with eating spaghetti with only a spoon. Since the fish was eaten best by using fingers, that became the best way to eat the spaghetti also. Since we had no chairs, dinner was served while sitting on the living room floor, and soon after we had showers, blessed the house by walking through all the rooms and praying for good things to happen here, and went to bed. The first night’s sleep was good but I was cold! The nights get quite chilly here, and there’s a good wind what whips around so I finally got up and put on my sweater, some socks and found some more khangas to put over me. And so ended the first day.
5th July 2009 – Sunday
Today we went to pray at our local church, a walk of about 15 minutes from our house. Yesterday we had asked the man who is building his house just opposite ours where the church is, and he said that he’d show us this morning, at 9.00 a.m. He himself is an Anglican but said he knows the Catholic Church. When 9.00 came and there was no sign of him, we asked the woman who is hired by our landlord to water the new cement, etc., if she knew where the church is. She said that she did, and proceeded to lead us to it. She herself is Moslem. As usual, I am amazed at how everyone respects each other’s beliefs and helps the other in their faith life.
We arrived at about 9.15, just as the final announcements were being made! We learned that Mass starts at 8.00 a.m., not 9.00. But at the door of the church we were met by a woman who welcomed us warmly, and asked us to sit and meet the parishioners. We were introduced by the fellow who was making the announcements, who I believe is the chairperson of the Parish Council, and were received with applause by all. We introduced ourselves and everyone loves it when we speak Swahili. The woman who welcomed us asked to see where we live so that we can be informed of things that happen in the church community and to ascertain which Small Christian Community we would belong to. So we had a small procession of children who followed us as we made our way back. It became apparent that we live very close to the woman who first welcomed us, Mama Macha, and when we arrived at her house she invited us in for tea. It seems that we will be members of the St. Clara Small Christian Community.
Let me explain about the usual parish set-up here in Tanzania. The larger entity is the parish (parokia) and each parish usually has many outstations (vigango) and each outstation is divided into small Christian communities (jumuiya ndogo ndogo). The church we went to today is St. Anna’s outstation and has several small Christian communities, one of which is St. Clara’s. Each community meets once per week for praying together and for taking care of other community concerns. For example, if a child is to be baptized, that passes through the community, and other things as well. The people were saying that our outstation is to become a parish within the next couple of years. The church has walls made of cement blocks, but no windows have been installed yet nor have the blocks been plastered or the floor finished, etc. All of the building is the work of their hands, they proudly announced, although the roofing sheets were a gift. Today the Catechist led the service because there was no priest available; usually they do have a priest and Mass.
10th July 2009
Today is a recovery day after a whole bunch of walking yesterday. We had set as our task to finish the paperwork at the bank and to do some more shopping for essential items. The walk from our house is probably about one mile and takes us 20 minutes. When we reach the main road we wait for a dala dala (mini-bus) and then have a short – 15 minutes is normal but that depends on how many stops it makes and how long it has to wait for passengers – trip into the main dala dala station in town. Then we walked to the post office to pick up a letter with some checks so that we have some money to live on. Then on to the police station where Inspector Haji, who is married to my former student, was to fill in the second referee form needed so that we can open a bank account. What we thought had been a complete set of papers for opening the account wasn’t actually quite right. A second referee was one piece that needed to be added. Anyway, I had a very nice visit with that family and after filling in the form he took me to the bank in his car, which saved a rather long walk. When I got to the bank I found out that Inspector Haji ‘s account in the bank was a savings account, not a current account and so his recommendation wouldn’t do the trick. While trying to figure out who else might act as referee I stopped at the Vodacom office, trying to make plans to get a modem in order to hook us up to internet, email, etc. And there I found that it isn’t as easy as I had assumed, and one piece of paper needed in order to contract with them as our server is proof of a bank account! Back to square one. In the meantime I was able to contact the secretary of the Bishop and she put me into contact with the treasurer of the Diocese. The Diocese has a current account with the bank so he said he’d act as a referee and told me to come at 11.30 a.m. And so there was another long walk back to the Diocesan Offices, and there I waited for 1-1/2 hours for the treasurer to show up. He happily filled the form, and was welcoming and charming, with no mention of having kept me waiting for that time ….. And then the long walk back to the bank. It seems like we may have completed all the forms necessary now for that task, and so I walked back to the dala dala station and started my journey home. It took more than 45 minutes on the bus this time, because there weren’t many passengers and so the driver and conductor were waiting to pick up a few more fares. When I got off the bus it was after 2.00 p.m. and the sun was hot and strong so I took a very leisurely walk back to our house, under my umbrella, and was more than happy to arrive, albeit hot and dusty. I keep telling myself that it’s good exercise …… We are beginning to be known in the neighborhood and children shout out their greetings to us. We are the only non-Africans I have seen in the vicinity, and with Connie wearing her hat and me carrying an umbrella, we do manage to stand out!
12th July 2009
Some more days have gone by and it seems like we’re not all that much further ahead in our purchases and settling in. We have been waiting for the furniture to arrive for several days now, and the waiting hasn’t produced many results. On Friday we had a call that the couch and bookshelves would be ready to bring that afternoon but since we hadn’t paid any money for a down payment nor paid for the beds that had already been delivered, it would be good to pay something. So I walked to the road, got a dala dala, walked to the workshop, and paid a hefty down payment. Then I was invited to look at the progress of our furniture: the couch set only needed varnishing, the bookshelves needed the back put on them as well as sanding and varnishing. I knew we wouldn’t be getting the wardrobes, and was told that it might be a few days yet for them because the hinges weren’t available in Dodoma and they needed to be ordered from Dar es Salaam. But as I was shown the other things that had been promised for today, I realized that that wouldn’t happen either. After some complaining about how we are sitting on the floor with our old bones, etc., and receiving all sorts of apologies, it was promised that these things would be brought “tomorrow” , and off I went by foot again after being disappointed that I didn’t have a ride in the truck that was bringing the furniture.
Yesterday afternoon came the call we were expecting – only we were expecting the call to say they were on their way and the call that came was that no driver was available and so the furniture couldn’t be brought after all. The next promise was for Monday morning but in the late afternoon another call came that it could be brought this morning, between 7.00 and 8.00 a.m. It’s now 11.00 and there is no sign of the furniture nor any word. We’ll see what happens next.
We have agreed that the looking around for stuff has to quit now, and we just get on with it. The hardest part is not having transport, so carrying heavy stuff around town is not a pleasant prospect. We will try to do a lot tomorrow (Monday) and hire transport to bring it out here.
We are learning a little more about our neighborhood and are finding that it’s an interesting combination of modern and traditional. This area on the outskirts of the city used to be pretty much open space with a few traditional households, with some farming and grazing going on. When the Capital Development Authority started developing this area, each person/family already living here was given a certain number of plots depending on the land they were using. It was up to them to either build a permanent house or they could sell the plots if they wanted to. Many of the plots were sold, like the one we’re on, and anyone with money to invest could buy the plot and build a house on it; that’s what our landlord did. But right next door is a traditional house, made of mud brick and flat earthen roof. The development of the area looks rather haphazard right now but at some point there will be streets, etc. On our walk to the main road we pass lovely modern houses, and then a traditional house with a large enclosure for cows that are kept there. The folks at that place sell fresh milk, and also next door to that they sell pork nearly every day. The hunks of meat are hung from the tree and they have a scale to weigh the pieces when sold. Guess what we’re having for our Sunday dinner ….
Another of the traditional and village life activities that we are experiencing is the celebration of coming of age of some of the youngsters. At a house near us is a boy who has just been circumcised and so there are traditional dances, songs, and drumming going on much of the day and night. I don’t know much about these traditions as practiced by the people from here, the Wagogo, but I suppose we’ll find out as time goes on.
A couple days ago we took a walk and found the railroad tracks. We hear the train sometimes during the day and night so knew that the tracks couldn’t be far. And they aren’t – maybe about a 10-15 minute walk. The well-maintained gravel road ends before reaching there, so I guess that’s as far as the formal development has gone up to now. This road has several bridges because there’s a gully that winds its way through this area. It will be interesting to see what happens in the rainy season. Now we’re in the middle of the dry season, so it’s chilly and windy.
Going backwards in time, here are some events from the time I left Arusha on 10th June. That seems like a long time ago, and I guess it is. Over one month already . . .
I had an uneventful trip by bus to Dar es Salaam, and the next morning early was at the airport to welcome Connie as she arrived from the U.S. My companion arriving in the country made it seem like the actual move and settling into home and ministry was actually going to be a reality. I let her have a couple days of rest, and then we were off to Dodoma. We arrived on Sunday evening and on Monday we went to look at the house that I thought would suit us well and in the meantime another house had become available and so we went to see that also. Connie agreed with me that the house in Kisasa area was very nice, and we met and talked rent with the owner. We couldn’t agree right away, and so agreed to meet the next day before we left Dodoma again. There was still no final agreement but he promised to get back to us by phone later that day. We went off to Morogoro to stay with the Sisters there, and to get a ride with them to Dar es Salaam on Thursday. While we were sitting and talking that evening in Morogoro, the text message came that he had agreed to our offer and so we had a house to rent! What a relief, because we really didn’t want to start all over again to look for housing.
We went to Dar es Salaam and on Friday, Saturday and Sunday had our Maryknoll Sisters area meeting. Friday was a day of reflection and I had prepared it on the theme “Mission and Ministry”. We used the Directions from our General Assembly which was held last October, and so those formed the basis of the day. The Direction we reflected on was: “We continually evaluate the quality and depth of our presence in mission. We include areas such as culture, interfaith dialogue, and worldviews that differ from our own.” Some of the conversations we had around this topic included the changing roles that we see of ourselves as we age and as Tanzania changes. On Saturday we discussed the business on the agenda, and one of the items was to discuss the research that we had done regarding establishing a presence in Dodoma. After hearing more from us, everyone agreed that this was a good place to be and so we were assigned. May our lives and the lives of all we touch in Dodoma be blessed.
Sunday we spent at the ocean. Dar es Salaam has some beautiful beaches and we went to an exceptionally gorgeous one, Kipepeo Beach at Mji Mwema. To get there we took a very short ferry ride and then drove about 10 minutes to a white and sandy beach. There were some thatched shelters there on the beach so that’s where I spent most of the time, while others enjoyed the ocean. Since the sun and I have great respect for each other, I prefer to stay in the shade as much as possible. Of course I did have a walk along the ocean and waded a little.
On Monday we met with our landlord and signed the contract, and also went to see about the possibilities for buying a car. I had written a funding proposal for the money, so if it’s accepted then we need to choose from what may be available. Tuesday morning we put all our earthly possessions on a bus with ourselves and took the journey to our new city. We had made arrangements to stay for five days at St. Gaspar’s Conference Centre, and so we got off the bus near there, a few kilometers before arriving in the city itself. They sent some young people to carry our bags, and welcomed us very warmly. It is a large (about 100 rooms) centre and very comfortable and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. Every morning we walked to the main road and got on one of the small buses that go around the city, got to the main station, and started our walk around to discover what Dodoma has to offer. The first day was to make application for a post office box, and to begin the process of opening a bank account. The bank account takes some time to open, so although we had all the documents required, still we haven’t been approved yet. That has curtailed our purchases somewhat since we don’t have much money to work with until we have an account and our Maryknoll Sister Treasurer can deposit something for us to use . . . . But we have learned quite a bit about the areas of the city, which bus goes where, what shops are where and what is available and at what price, and we even got the phone number of a woman who can cut the hair of non-Africans! All of these were great achievements, don’t you agree?
4 July 2009
Happy Independence Day!
We actually moved into our house in Dodoma on the day agreed upon, which was July 1st. We had been staying at the Diocesesan Hostel for the previous three days while slowly gathering some few essential first needs. And so on that day, immediately after breakfast, Connie went off by small bus to St. Gaspar’s Conference Centre to collect our personal belongings, which consisted of four large suitcases. I hired a taxi and put in the things we had bought so far: a bucket, two plates, two cups, an electric hot plate, a knife, two spoons, a kilo of rice, four onions, two tomatoes, a cabbage, a packet of salt, bottled water, some bread and peanut butter. Then I went to a shop and bought two mattresses and four pillows and off I went to “our” house. After off-loading the things from the taxi, I immediately went to the technical training centre where we had ordered some furniture the previous Friday. We had ordered two beds with poles to secure mosquito nets, a set of five seats with which to form a couch, two wardrobes, two bedside tables and two bookshelves with the assurance that they would be ready by Wednesday. Of course that was living in a dream world to really believe all that would happen in such a short time ….. When I went at the time agreed upon (10.00 a.m.) I was shown the one complete bed and the other getting ready for varnishing ! Nothing else was done, most not having even been started yet. Anyway, I was promised that the beds would arrive before nightfall, and with that I went back and helped start putting things in order. We ate out first meal at noon, consisting of peanut butter on bread and peanuts, standing in the kitchen while a young man was trying to clean some of the dust and cobwebs from the windows. He was commissioned by the landlord to clean the house before we moved in so he was doing his best. We continued to unpack a bit but since we didn’t have any place to put anything, that was almost a useless task. By 4.00 we were thankful to see the beds arriving. Four men quickly put them together but when we asked about the mosquito net poles, lo and behold they had been forgotten. Anyway, the bed was the main part of the equation and we were grateful to have them. Of course when I tried to put on my sheets they weren’t the right size, so I made my bed with khangas (pieces of material) and tied the mosquito net to the curtain rods. I cooked a supper of spaghetti and reconstituted dry fish and it tasted really good. There is a bit of a problem though with eating spaghetti with only a spoon. Since the fish was eaten best by using fingers, that became the best way to eat the spaghetti also. Since we had no chairs, dinner was served while sitting on the living room floor, and soon after we had showers, blessed the house by walking through all the rooms and praying for good things to happen here, and went to bed. The first night’s sleep was good but I was cold! The nights get quite chilly here, and there’s a good wind what whips around so I finally got up and put on my sweater, some socks and found some more khangas to put over me. And so ended the first day.
5th July 2009 – Sunday
Today we went to pray at our local church, a walk of about 15 minutes from our house. Yesterday we had asked the man who is building his house just opposite ours where the church is, and he said that he’d show us this morning, at 9.00 a.m. He himself is an Anglican but said he knows the Catholic Church. When 9.00 came and there was no sign of him, we asked the woman who is hired by our landlord to water the new cement, etc., if she knew where the church is. She said that she did, and proceeded to lead us to it. She herself is Moslem. As usual, I am amazed at how everyone respects each other’s beliefs and helps the other in their faith life.
We arrived at about 9.15, just as the final announcements were being made! We learned that Mass starts at 8.00 a.m., not 9.00. But at the door of the church we were met by a woman who welcomed us warmly, and asked us to sit and meet the parishioners. We were introduced by the fellow who was making the announcements, who I believe is the chairperson of the Parish Council, and were received with applause by all. We introduced ourselves and everyone loves it when we speak Swahili. The woman who welcomed us asked to see where we live so that we can be informed of things that happen in the church community and to ascertain which Small Christian Community we would belong to. So we had a small procession of children who followed us as we made our way back. It became apparent that we live very close to the woman who first welcomed us, Mama Macha, and when we arrived at her house she invited us in for tea. It seems that we will be members of the St. Clara Small Christian Community.
Let me explain about the usual parish set-up here in Tanzania. The larger entity is the parish (parokia) and each parish usually has many outstations (vigango) and each outstation is divided into small Christian communities (jumuiya ndogo ndogo). The church we went to today is St. Anna’s outstation and has several small Christian communities, one of which is St. Clara’s. Each community meets once per week for praying together and for taking care of other community concerns. For example, if a child is to be baptized, that passes through the community, and other things as well. The people were saying that our outstation is to become a parish within the next couple of years. The church has walls made of cement blocks, but no windows have been installed yet nor have the blocks been plastered or the floor finished, etc. All of the building is the work of their hands, they proudly announced, although the roofing sheets were a gift. Today the Catechist led the service because there was no priest available; usually they do have a priest and Mass.
10th July 2009
Today is a recovery day after a whole bunch of walking yesterday. We had set as our task to finish the paperwork at the bank and to do some more shopping for essential items. The walk from our house is probably about one mile and takes us 20 minutes. When we reach the main road we wait for a dala dala (mini-bus) and then have a short – 15 minutes is normal but that depends on how many stops it makes and how long it has to wait for passengers – trip into the main dala dala station in town. Then we walked to the post office to pick up a letter with some checks so that we have some money to live on. Then on to the police station where Inspector Haji, who is married to my former student, was to fill in the second referee form needed so that we can open a bank account. What we thought had been a complete set of papers for opening the account wasn’t actually quite right. A second referee was one piece that needed to be added. Anyway, I had a very nice visit with that family and after filling in the form he took me to the bank in his car, which saved a rather long walk. When I got to the bank I found out that Inspector Haji ‘s account in the bank was a savings account, not a current account and so his recommendation wouldn’t do the trick. While trying to figure out who else might act as referee I stopped at the Vodacom office, trying to make plans to get a modem in order to hook us up to internet, email, etc. And there I found that it isn’t as easy as I had assumed, and one piece of paper needed in order to contract with them as our server is proof of a bank account! Back to square one. In the meantime I was able to contact the secretary of the Bishop and she put me into contact with the treasurer of the Diocese. The Diocese has a current account with the bank so he said he’d act as a referee and told me to come at 11.30 a.m. And so there was another long walk back to the Diocesan Offices, and there I waited for 1-1/2 hours for the treasurer to show up. He happily filled the form, and was welcoming and charming, with no mention of having kept me waiting for that time ….. And then the long walk back to the bank. It seems like we may have completed all the forms necessary now for that task, and so I walked back to the dala dala station and started my journey home. It took more than 45 minutes on the bus this time, because there weren’t many passengers and so the driver and conductor were waiting to pick up a few more fares. When I got off the bus it was after 2.00 p.m. and the sun was hot and strong so I took a very leisurely walk back to our house, under my umbrella, and was more than happy to arrive, albeit hot and dusty. I keep telling myself that it’s good exercise …… We are beginning to be known in the neighborhood and children shout out their greetings to us. We are the only non-Africans I have seen in the vicinity, and with Connie wearing her hat and me carrying an umbrella, we do manage to stand out!
12th July 2009
Some more days have gone by and it seems like we’re not all that much further ahead in our purchases and settling in. We have been waiting for the furniture to arrive for several days now, and the waiting hasn’t produced many results. On Friday we had a call that the couch and bookshelves would be ready to bring that afternoon but since we hadn’t paid any money for a down payment nor paid for the beds that had already been delivered, it would be good to pay something. So I walked to the road, got a dala dala, walked to the workshop, and paid a hefty down payment. Then I was invited to look at the progress of our furniture: the couch set only needed varnishing, the bookshelves needed the back put on them as well as sanding and varnishing. I knew we wouldn’t be getting the wardrobes, and was told that it might be a few days yet for them because the hinges weren’t available in Dodoma and they needed to be ordered from Dar es Salaam. But as I was shown the other things that had been promised for today, I realized that that wouldn’t happen either. After some complaining about how we are sitting on the floor with our old bones, etc., and receiving all sorts of apologies, it was promised that these things would be brought “tomorrow” , and off I went by foot again after being disappointed that I didn’t have a ride in the truck that was bringing the furniture.
Yesterday afternoon came the call we were expecting – only we were expecting the call to say they were on their way and the call that came was that no driver was available and so the furniture couldn’t be brought after all. The next promise was for Monday morning but in the late afternoon another call came that it could be brought this morning, between 7.00 and 8.00 a.m. It’s now 11.00 and there is no sign of the furniture nor any word. We’ll see what happens next.
We have agreed that the looking around for stuff has to quit now, and we just get on with it. The hardest part is not having transport, so carrying heavy stuff around town is not a pleasant prospect. We will try to do a lot tomorrow (Monday) and hire transport to bring it out here.
We are learning a little more about our neighborhood and are finding that it’s an interesting combination of modern and traditional. This area on the outskirts of the city used to be pretty much open space with a few traditional households, with some farming and grazing going on. When the Capital Development Authority started developing this area, each person/family already living here was given a certain number of plots depending on the land they were using. It was up to them to either build a permanent house or they could sell the plots if they wanted to. Many of the plots were sold, like the one we’re on, and anyone with money to invest could buy the plot and build a house on it; that’s what our landlord did. But right next door is a traditional house, made of mud brick and flat earthen roof. The development of the area looks rather haphazard right now but at some point there will be streets, etc. On our walk to the main road we pass lovely modern houses, and then a traditional house with a large enclosure for cows that are kept there. The folks at that place sell fresh milk, and also next door to that they sell pork nearly every day. The hunks of meat are hung from the tree and they have a scale to weigh the pieces when sold. Guess what we’re having for our Sunday dinner ….
Another of the traditional and village life activities that we are experiencing is the celebration of coming of age of some of the youngsters. At a house near us is a boy who has just been circumcised and so there are traditional dances, songs, and drumming going on much of the day and night. I don’t know much about these traditions as practiced by the people from here, the Wagogo, but I suppose we’ll find out as time goes on.
A couple days ago we took a walk and found the railroad tracks. We hear the train sometimes during the day and night so knew that the tracks couldn’t be far. And they aren’t – maybe about a 10-15 minute walk. The well-maintained gravel road ends before reaching there, so I guess that’s as far as the formal development has gone up to now. This road has several bridges because there’s a gully that winds its way through this area. It will be interesting to see what happens in the rainy season. Now we’re in the middle of the dry season, so it’s chilly and windy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)