We just got back from Zanzibar! It was alright, I mean I loved the architecture, there’s history embedded in the town. For example, there was a war (45 minutes long, it was the world’s shortest one haha) that included the british attacking the sultan’s palace with a canon, so many of the buildings still have this black smokey residue on the side from it. Side note- the sultan was not the hottest interior designer. We go a tour of his palace, and it was full of the stuffy traditional furniture, it probably cost a fortune but I was a little disappointed in him- the man should have invested in some bean bags or something, his chairs were going to give people back problems. Anyway- stone town was cool, there was this huge outdoor evening market across from the old fort full of different food venders, we had a field day. Dinner was fruit, Zanzibar pizza (which is more like a giant egg roll), sugar cane juice, ginger tea, and popcorn- good meal. And there was the Zanzibar international film festival going on while we were there (ZIFF) which was cool. It’s all inside the old fort, they had the world cup playing on a projector screen, live music, and more venders inside. The artist for the evening was pretty bad… everyone loved him but we got there and were a bit skeptical… it was one of those bands where you listen for a few songs and realize that you were definitely supposed to be high during the concert because the music is slow and the man is singing songs that consist of the same 4 lines. BUT the world cup is awesome- I don’t know why Americans aren’t into it, puts the superbowl to shame. We saw the Germany-Ghana game which was amazing, ended up being a tie 2-2 but everyone was so into it. The Tanzanians are really pumped about any of the African teams

We spent the first two days in Kendwa rocks, a beach resort, which was nice but I’m not really that pumped about lying on the beach all day. I’m definitely the kind of person that likes to be doing things- the relaxed vacation feeling is definitely going away so I was a little antsy without much to do I’ll be ready to be in the states at the end of the week. But the view was beautiful- white sand and clear water. We also made some good friends, Sam and Tim were my favorites, they were this couple from Toronto, Canada that we ran into the first day. They quit their jobs and were travelling around Africa for 4 months before going back to their lives. I would love to get to do that, take off a summer and go see all of Europe or something with a group of friends there’s so much to see and people should take advantage of it. However it’ll take me a while to go back to Africa I think- I’m quite tired of sticking out so much. It’s been an amazing trip, but I’m bringing a bat next time I come back. We got way more attention from all the passing guys than I would ever want. Not that they made comments about the way you look like US guys do, but they all come up to you and ask about where you’re from, how you are, etc. which is fine. But it’s a new person every 4 minutes. Cousin Carolyn told me to act like I was crazy so people wouldn’t bother me when abroad- I should have worked on that a bit more before getting here.

Also. I now don’t like ferries. 2.5 hour ride. I got seasick. In case anyone was keeping track, I now no longer eat curry.

Notes:

1. I found a whole wheat chapatti the other day, almost took a picture. Haven’t eaten whole wheat in the last 6 weeks so it was an exciting moment
2. We got henna done and it’s like sharpie dark. So mom, when you see me- it’s not a tattoo
3. mom I miss you too, but I’ll be home soon!

Location: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

It’s Sunday in Lushoto and the praying is extra loud today- it’s kind of comforting to hear the loud singing now (praying is 5 times a day- I remember reading about this is my religion class, I think it’s a Muslim practice) We just got back from our hike and we are exhausted. Lesson 1 from the weekend- when your Mom asks you if you need sneakers, you say yes and you bring them. Mom is always right. I just hiked like 30 something miles in what are now the saddest pair of knock-off keds I’ve ever seen. The second day I put a second pair of socks at the bottom to help cushion, but sneakers would have been pretty nice. I didn’t have a need for real shoes til now- so I guess it’s okay, but Mom gets a point there. The view was absolutely stunning though, we had 3 days and 2 nights. We hiked up to Mtae and then the Mkuzi waterfalls with some adventures thrown in there. Mtae is at the top of the world. Once we got up, you could look out over everything- I’ve never seen so much land. It was like I was looking at a dinosaur exhibit, before the humans came in and took over. We were going through the forest (regular and rainforest) all weekend, our guide Elvis found 21 Chameleons for us! he was hilarious, every time he found another (I think he was cheating… they look just like leaves you can’t see them from afar) he would tell us he found a gift for us in the bush. We stayed in a pretty nice convent the first weekend, in Rangu, which had delicious food. We ate so much because they made us veggies finally. And for lunhes we got homemade guacamole and chapatti (BEST meal I’ve had in Tanzania- I know how to make it now so everyone better get ready- I want to make it when I get back). The convent was about the same size as the town of Rangu, so in comparison it was really nice, but the mountains were so cold that we didn’t want to shower- the water coming off of me was brownish yellow today. I am a new person, I feel like I shed a layer of dirt. Mtae had a little hotel that was pretty sketchy- we woke up at 4 this morning to catch a bus to another town for more hiking.. so we all just took like a 2-hour nap (everyone is clean now! Our room has it’s own shower 😀 ). amazing weekend, we got to see everything. My joints and toes can prove it

Last week went well! I’m liking Lushoto a lot more now. We got to shadow a surgery Thursday- it was disgusting. But oh man did we learn a lot. It was meant to be just someone getting their appendix out- however once they got inside they realized that it wasn’t swollen and couldn’t have been the source of the pain (something I feel like you could figure out without surgery…) but then they saw the uterus (patient was a 15 year old female) it was up higher in the abdomen and pretty large (full of blood). They stitched her up and decided to go in from the vagina- but couldn’t because when they explored with their fingers they found a hard mass. Turns out her cervix didn’t have an opening for the menstrual blood, so it had all been stuck in the uterus. They had to cut the vaginal walls to dilate her and get it all out via aspiration- we will never be able to eat BBQ sauce again. There was about 2000 ml of fluid in there. So naturally it was pretty much the grossest thing I’ve ever seen, but much more interesting than a big appendix. She woke up a few times in the middle (of surgery and the vaginal exploring) and screamed like nothing I’d ever heard in my life- I wouldn’t want to ever hear that noise again. The anesthesiologist really took her time getting over to the patient and putting her down again, needless to say, there’s no malpractice insurance here. Maybe someone should consider it.

Shayo left- he’s one of the med students. They finished their assignment and I guess he didn’t care about shadowing in the hospital. We’re pretty happy to not have him here though- him and Daniel were frustrating, so this week will be better. It’s mostly just shadowing with Jacky since Daniel doesn’t get very involved. We leave Thursday to go back to Dar! The plan is a safari this next weekend, visiting NGOs next week for a few days, and then Zanzibar for a few days! I’m pumped.

Happy Father’s Day Dad! I love you and am so grateful that you were the Father I got- you did an amazing job raising Dan and I and I hope you did something fun today

going to Zanzibar for the weekend! we had a change of plans, but it looks like Marc, Sharmila, and I will leave for Zanzibar tomorrow morning and the nursing group will meet us on Friday- we’re pumped. It sounds like a ridiculous place, very touristy (and expensive) but there’s a film festival this weekend with live music and dancing and it’ll be great! after the 7 hour bus ride we need it.

Location: Lushoto, Tanzania

     In Lushoto! And it’s cold. (Lushoto is built into the side of a mountain) I mean the area is absolutely stunning, you cannot find mountains so green and waterfalls like this in the States; but maybe a little bit more sun would be okay. I’ve been wearing pants, sneakers, a long sleeve and a sweatshirt every day! So glad I bought some extra things in Europe. We’re with Jacky, Daniel, and Shayo for the next 2 weeks in the hospital. Jacky is awesome, she’s spunky, independent and funny and we love her. Daniel and Shayo are very masochistic, so while they are interesting to talk to and certainly good people in many ways, their views on women make me want to hit them with a bat. Much of Tanzania believes that men are superior and that a good wife is one who bears children, doesn’t question her husband, and stays with him despite any flaws he might have. “Women are weak” Shayo told us. They should take their husband’s name and religion, he owns her. After having to explain that domestic abuse IS real and that yes it’s mostly men who are the abuser I was reaching my limit. So I am certainly learning a lot about the rest of the world and their thoughts… I’ll be a more patient person because of this trip.

                The food is better here, avocado passion juice with breakfast and spinach in lunch! Exciting shit. Also, the place were staying in has toilet paper, a toilet with a seat, AND a shower that is not also a toilet. However I definitel liked Kibiti better, the people and the climate was so much nicer.

                But I’m learning a lot about the healthcare system here. We’ll get to see a few surgeries and maybe a delivery, and the students are good at explaining all the diseases and the factors that go into them.

                Today we got a tour of the hospital and I was a bit surprised with what I found. I had expected to see conditions that weren’t as clean as I expected and to see a lack of resources and education but the way these things were displayed was different than what I pictured. For example, the hospital closes at 3:30 pm. At first I was just appalled. I’m sorry, but you cannot just close a hospital! It’s not a CVS- there are sick people in there and sick people outside. Apparently there’s a nurse who stays to check on patients and calls the doctor(s) back in if there’s a problem. After talking to the medical students about it, it made more sense. We began talking about lack of resources as the cause, so I thought that they meant a lack of money. Maybe as an American I tend to assume this is the problem. The students were saying that 40% of the medical students don’t go on to become medical doctors so there’s a lack of trained professionals to work in the area and that this is actually the main problem. Doctors work hard and while they’re respected and seen as prestigious, they’re not paid well for the amount of work they must do and that the primary education is so bad that not enough students are smart enough to even go to medical school. That seemed to confirm my earlier idea about everything stemming from education. It seems like a country’s education system is directly correlated with their success; an idea I had always understood and known but didn’t realize the extent until travelling to Tanzania.

                Something else that was cool to learn about was how the environment plays into the healthcare system. Daniel was telling me how a majority of the Kibiti population is Muslim. This means that they tend to want (and have) more children so family planning in that area is much more of a challenge than Christian areas. In Lushoto it’s usually muddy and since it’s on a hill the roads are steep, so one of the major problems seen in the male wards was fractures. Malaria was still a major concern in Lushoto even though there are less mosquitoes here since its cooler.

                Also- all of the students stress the importance of preventative medicine when you sit down and talk to them (something every nation could do a better job with). However, the students don’t follow these themselves! They were telling us how they rarely go see the dentist it’s only if there is a problem; and we watched them pile on the sugar and salt at meals. On top of this, I again assumed that there were not funds to support these efforts and that that is why it’s a problem, but again I was wrong. There are these programs in place, but people either don’t know about them or don’t think that they will be a target so they don’t have to partake in screenings and other preventative measures. Stemming from this; Jacky was telling me that a lack of motivation is a major issue. People are happy and easily satisfied with what they have here, both a blessing and a curse. This means that they are happier in their lives, but that making a change is hard. People seem to just accept their problems without trying to change the system for the better. For example, the women at the RCH clinic wait for hours to see a clinician but are not bothered by the wait so it’s not seen as an issue. This long waiting time results in less women and children being seen for treatment.

Notes:

1. Hiking this weekend! We’re doing a 3 day trip through rainforests and waterfalls, will take pictures.
2. Internet is awesome here, I loaded regular gmail in less than 60 seconds.

Location: Lushoto, Tanzania

    This week is already substantially better than our start to the last. We know our way around and how things work so it’s a lot more comfortable. The food, as I’ve ranted, is really monotonous, so we’ve been buying produce to add to the rice and beans diet (avocado, beans, noodles, and cabbage is our favorite). The next one to try is mango in the rice and beans (inspired by a meal my Mom used to cook all the time). Also, we brought our own soap and extra toilet paper so the bathroom thing is conquered (we also found the shower that doesn’t also have a toilet- I’m pretty pumped).

                For the first two days this week we’ll go to the clinic and the final days we’ll spend at the villages. We bought mosquito nets that we didn’t end up needing, (next week is Lushoto and it’s too cold for mosquitos) so we gave them to the medical students to bring to the villages. The families get tired of answering surveys and not seeing a result that benefits them. They hear empty promises of change and give information to people who give nothing back (to them directly) so we will bring the nets to the villages this time as a peace offering of sorts. The clinic yesterday was interesting. I’ve realized that extent of the unbalanced diet here. There is a substantial lack in education as well as resources. For example, a woman was starting to wean her child off breast milk at 2 months, another was giving her newborn tea in addition to breast milk. People eat meat about 2-4 times a month, and fish 4-5 times a month. Fruit is more common, many people eating it 5 times a week (because so many are farmers) but during the dry season these numbers will drop. I am much more grateful now that we get such luxuries at each meal, I get a vegetable on the side of my rice and beans each time, and have the money to buy fruit whenever I like. Marc gets meat at both lunch and dinner.

Notes:

1. The babies were adorable, I almost died. They all have the plumpest cheeks I’ve ever seen and they kind of stare off at the corner when they’re really little. I considered throwing all my clothes away and putting one in my carry-on.
2. MOM: I’ve heard that it charges us less if we get calls from the US instead of us calling you so I could then talk on the phone longer (I think, it’s just a rumor right now) so we should test it out and compare. However I think it might charge you… so maybe check after you call the first time and see how much it was. And don’t call me until I call you and say that I have more minutes! I was at like 9000 shillings and then called Wilson.. so we’ll have to try it this weekend or next week.
3. Doxy (malaria drug) definitely gives you weird dreams, I have a ton of them each night. (Dad- I had a dream you crashed your motorcycle so be extra careful with it until I get back?)

We started our final project! We’re interviewing each of the students about their opinions of public health in Tanzania, how it compares to the US, and a few questions about us working together. It’s been interesting, we’ve gotten some good responses, and the guys talk a lot more than the girls which was unexpected.

Something that has really started to stand out to us is the education system here. The students (in our eyes) are very underprepared in terms of being a doctor. They’re in their 4^th year of med school and we keep noticing a lack of motivation, sense of responsibility, and just lack of knowledge; all kind of scary. For example, we took one of their exams and answered all the questions in half the time, or that when they’re asked basic questions about healthcare by their professor, they struggle greatly. I’m not sure what they’ve spent the last 4 years on, but they need skills! Dr. Kessey was here and was talking to them about what they’ve done and seen, but they would barely answer- it was like pulling teeth. The students wouldn’t make eye contact with her (something I thought was rude) and when she would call on people for a response, they could barely be heard and would say very little (something that seemed childish and immature). A few times she ended up asking us the questions, which we answered correctly-  I know that the culture is difference, but I fear for the patients they’re about to treat. The med students are all lovely, and in certain respects they are very smart (like about world news) but they just are not ready to be doctors.

notes:

1. being vegetarian is super weird here, Richard asked me if I had registered as a vegetarian in the US.. and asked me if I owned animals? like I love them so much that I must have a pet cow? (Dad- if you had bought me that pig I wanted this could have been true) A few of the questions are a little offensive, they just don’t understand, which is understandable, but it’s getting old to explain it to someone who’s never heard of such a thing. it’s like if I met someone who refused to eat cereal because the toys in the box would lose a home

2. Marriage is weird here- the men essentially buy their bride from the family, took me a while to explain that I want someone who will make me happy, not someone with a huge wallet, and that they didn’t have to ask my parents first because I’m the one getting married

Location: Kibiti, Tanzania

Today was the first day of our fieldwork! We were picked up around lunchtime yesterday and had a very bumpy 3 hour car ride over to Kibiti. It was actually a great ride, the three of us are getting along great- we haven’t run into any problems yet which is a relief, just became closer as the trip has gone by (I was a little worried because they were much closer friends initially).

The ride was bumpy to say the least, but the view was spectacular. We weren’t sure which area was the one we were stopping in, so after passing many mud huts with straw tops I was pretty sure that that’s what I was getting for 2 weeks. I decided that as long as I had bottled water, toilet paper, and a roof that I’d be okay, (showering has become very optional) so I was pretty happy when we ended up in a bigger town that had running water and a few places with tile floors! There are about 16 medical students working with us, they all speak English (like 80% fluent) and we’re all staying in the same hostel so that means we get to spend most of the day with them (and it’s really cheap because they’re broke too haha) It’s about 2 USD a night and about 1.5 USD for meals, which consists mostly of rice, beans, and some sort of vegetable, usually cabbage with fruit on the side. Breakfast is tea and chapatti (not sure what the English word is, it’s like a buttery, flaky tortilla- love them) and lunch and dinner are beans, a steamed vegetable side (spinach or cabbage) and then rice or ugali (ugali is like a super dense bun, ungodly bland and uite dense, I need a lot of chili sauce to eat them). I’m definitely missing vegetables but you kind of get used to all the rice and beans- the yummy fruit makes it work.

The medical students are great though! The first night we played a game called last card, it’s played with 2 decks and is very similar to UNO. They’re pretty much like regular college kids- they tease each other, the girls are interested in clothes and take too long to get ready, etc. They’re also very good about speaking English and explaining things to us, making sure we’re happy and not tired or bored; it look like it’ll be a good 2 weeks. My favorites are Rama and Richard because they’re eager to answer and ask questions and have been great about including me in conversation (EVERYONE speaks Swahili. Like besides the medical students, it’s Swahili). The hostel is definitely worth the 2 bucks a night… the bed is comfortable (the 3 of us have to share a big one- we sleep the wrong direction so we fit but our feet stick out the end, kind of nice to have the breeze on your toes) but the toilet situation is not ideal. I mean I’m getting god at aiming into the squat toilet, but the shower is in the same room as the squat toilet… so we’re trying to see if we can last the 2 weeks without showering… we’ll see.

Today we took our survey (one the med students wrote) about vaccinations for children under the age of 2 years, out to the rural villages to talk to people. I can greet the people and read the questions but usually have no idea what their reply is- so the med students do most of the communicating. It’s just 23 questions, pretty basic stuff, they get their demographics, which vaccines the kids have had, and what the barriers have been preventing them from completing them all. The children are either afraid of me or think I look so weird that they can’t stop staring. But every hut we got to, the kids would just look at me with wide eyes and ignore my attempts to get their name or say hi, Richard helped me talk to one today which I appreciated; but he had to tell them first that it’s okay and I was just white haha. It’s getting pretty weird to stand out so much. He explained that they have just never seen a white person before, so maybe it’s like if a small child saw a blue man? Today Richard asked me if I had a skin condition when pointing to my freckles. It’s different here. BUT. Many of the older women were really nice, and because I’m white people get really excited when I know any amount of Swahili which makes me feel good.

Notes:

1. It’s their winter here, and it’s like 80. They’re all worried about being cold as we sweat, kind of funny
2. If any of us gets diarrhea we’re fucked, only one roll of toilet paper for the next 2 weeks
3. After travelling, I’m liking America less and less and admiring the systems people have in other parts of the world better. Tanzanians know American politics better than we do, AND they know their own. They study world history but we study American history. We make people speak English and other countries focus on learning as many as they can

May 28

Today we showered. I feel like I’m human again- the fact that the toilet is in the same room was actually not that bad- but I wouldn’t choose it. It’s amazing what four days without showering will do to your body, everything gets greasy. This weekend we’ll go back to Dar so we’ll be able to recharge a little bit- they have showers and toilet paper and we’ll get our own beds- so we’ll be ready to come back to fieldwork!

                We’ve been having some really cool discussions with the students. We talked about religion, and to my relief, I told Richard that I’m still deciding on a religion (which is unheard of over here) and he told me I wasn’t a bad person when I asked. I trust him so I didn’t feel like I could lie and say I’m Christian when I’m not, but I didn’t want to lose a friend in the process so I was happy that it worked out.

                However, I was upset when we were asked about gay marriage in the United States. I understand why people have the opinions they do, so I didn’t dislike anyone for expressing their ideas and thoughts, however I was surprised and disappointed. They seemed to use the term “gay” to cover anyone who isn’t transgender, and thought that it was a learned behavior that is disgusting, unholy, and went against science. After explaining the differences between gay, transgender, lesbian, etc. and that these people are completely normal and as kind as heterosexual people, we got into talking about the science behind it. I talked about how they’ve noted differences in brain scans between gay men and straight men, which surprised them and I hope they look more into it. There was one question that as hard to answer- the one, Rama, asked me what I thought about the fact that the bible didn’t agree with anything besides a man lying with a woman, I was worried because I have no clue where to start with the bible- so I kind of used that and said that since a minority of the American population reads the bible, that it’s not politically correct to use it in determining laws. Anyway- I hope I helped open up some minds.

                The other talk we had that was kind of cool was about cheating. The girls were telling me that it’s something that happens in about 80% (or more) of the population, I was shocked. Th government has begun a campaign against it since it’s leading to the spread of HIV. The girls have to check their boyfriends’ phone for texts and photos of other girls all the time, and were surprised at how surprised we were by this. I mean I think if I came to that point in a relationship that the lack of trust would say enough, but many people stay together after they find out their partner is cheating. When I get back to the states I’d like to look into why exactly it’s such a problem- like why the guys are unable to stay loyal? Maybe it’s a cultural thing, or serves some practical purpose that I don’t understand yet.

May 29

                Today was good and bad, I definitely feel like I’m really good friends with  few of the guys now, like I can be myself and we have fun conversations and I realized that I’m actually really happy here and will miss them a bunch next week when we leave. Like Gabriel is quiet but he always pulls me out of the road when bikes are coming (motorccles- the Swahili word is pikipiki, one of my favorites) and gives me half of his orange whenever he’s eating one. Richard always translates everything for me and is probably my best friend here since we always talk on the way to meals and throughout the day, I wish he was coming to Lushoto next week because he’s always comforting to have around and he asks a lot of interesting questions. Anderson is hilarious, he’s much more liberal minded than the rest and I can tease him without him getting mad, he’ll just laugh and keep going. Ipiana is really into music and we have a lot to talk about, I think the guys are friendlier than the girls. Like the girls just talk Swahili to each other but the guys don’t have cliques so they will sit there for an hour or two to get to know you, and they don’t get offended when you ask them questions.

                However, their report is due tomorrow and they really don’t know much about spss, so I ended up spend 5 or 6 hours helping them with their analysis. It kind of made me upset near the end, initially I understood that their culture is different and what I see as poor time management skills is just their way of doing things and that they’re not trying to be lazy or disrespectful. But after working on a project that isn’t mine for half a day while most of the others played video games or watched movies definitely got to me. Alisha worked with me, and everyone was grateful, but I was a little disgusted by the work ethic of a few I found to be really rude. Raih was supposed to be writing the introduction and when the document got deleted by a virus, she started watching a movie instead. They could have finished this paper in a day, but everyone stretched it out by complaining about the project, but nobody did any work. I know their pace is slow here, but they’re medical students. If 16 can’t find motivation to write a paper then what kind of doctors will they make? It’s disrespectful to the supervisors who worked hard for you to get there, to their parents supporting them, and to us because we can’t leave for the weekend unless it’s done.

                I also definitely cannot eat any more rice and beans. We need to go back to Dar for the weekend so I can find some more diverse food before coming back to the same meals every day. I think I would pay someone 5 dollars for a block of cheese right now. Or a salad. We ate peanut butter out of the jar yesterday, it was amazing. The Nutella is now 1/3 of the way gone too. We have acquired a spoon now and it’s more efficient than fingers.

Notes:

1. Almost caught a chicken yesterday, will keep trying next week. I’ve had my eyes on a multicolored one for a few days now
2. The goats have floppy ears that flap when they run and it’s one of my favorite things about Tanzania
3. I ate some tomato today and have not gotten sick- decided I am immune to food poisoning
4. We found tiny mangoes yesterday- pretty excited. They taste the same, maybe a little more sour

May 30

back in Dar! it’s going to be a fantastic weekend, we’re going to the beach tomorrow at a resort (white sands) which means I can go swimming in a bathing suit! and Mike is still here so we’re going out with him after the beach. we also have 2 days of staying at CEFA- I’m pumped

Location: Kibiti, Tanzania

I’m in Tanzania now, we checkedinto the hotel just fine, it’s actually pretty nice.there are beds withclean sheets, mosquito nets that are white so it’s almost like they justput lace over them all) and our own bathroom! there are women who cookbreakfast, lunch and dinner for everyone. you just have to tell them if you’ll be home in time so they know how many people to cook for. unfortunately, there’s no internet at the hotel (I’m at the local
university right now) so I don’t know how often I’ll actually be able to
write.. but we’ll see. a little worried about handing in assignments since
I think I’ll have to type them up on my tablet and then re-type them on a
computer with internet

people mostly speak Swahili here, but they’re very welcoming and happy to
teach so communicating isn’t too bad. yesterday we had a tour with a guide
who knew some basic things and could talk to the museum directors and
whatnot. the school paid for us to see their national museum, a botanical
garden, art gallery, village museum, get lunch (which was at 4:30.. I
almost died.) and then see a market- but we had a big van to take us
everywhere. it’s super relaxed here. like everything is slow, but since
everyone is slow it’s not that hard. however the slow computer thing was
not cool. it took about 3 minutes to load gmail. and their toilets are like
holes in the ground so you have to squat… but otherwise I’m good! the
food is fine (really good coffee) and we bought tons of bottled water ( I
have a 1.5 liter bottle, it’s like carrying around a child). Today the plan
was to get a tour of the university and then get ID pictures and meet the
students we’re working with, but the one guy is on his honeymoon and the
other lady is gone… so I think that the new plan is computer lab and then
go back to the hotel? making plans for the day is hard, and they seem like
they’re going to change even after we make them. anyway. right now, I’ll be
in Dar til Friday and then go to my field site, but that might be pushed
back too… for now, we’ve been exploring and at the hotel the women have
been helping us learn Swahili.

notes: it smells weird here, I’m not burned or bitten yet, they eat a lot of papaya. I still don’t like white rice

Location: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

I absolutely love it here. The weather is warm, people are kind, we’re right next to the beach and the whole environment is really relaxing. We just got our fieldwork site information solidified yesterday (we leave Sunday for Kibiti and then Lushoto for 2 weeks) so we’ve been in limbo; which kind of makes it feel like vacation. During the day we do a little work (mostly learning Swahili- I’ve met about 4 people who are fluent in English… so Swahili is essential) and we go out to eat or go to the beach and hang out in the evening. There was a group of other Penn Staters here for a few days (Wilson! It was all the LARCH people!) so we made friends with them and would stay up late talking and went out to dinner, it was so much fun. 

We did spend a lot of time figuring out fieldwork stuff though- I think the slow pace and lack of organization would drive me up a wall if I was in America, but here that’s just how things are, so not being productive really doesn’t bother me (I only get grumpy when I’m hungry and things are moving slowly).  Here people just talk slowly, or do things inefficiently? I cannot for the life of me fully figure out where all the time does, but it flies here, without us doing anything… weird. But everyone is friendly! I can make small talk in Swahili now, my motivation to learn more skyrocketed once we got here because people get so happy when you try to speak their language, and nobody laughs if you get it wrong, they just help and I write it down and keep going.

A few days ago an old alumni from the program (he graduated about 2 years ago) got here and has been showing us around which was great. He’s been working in Tanzania for the last 9 months so he knows his way around and is conversational with Swahili so he was a great tour guide. He speaks slower so I’ve been picking up a lot since Michael got here. He does research with malaria and mosquitos right now and it was fascinating to hear about, I could see myself being interested in a career in HIV or malaria now that I’m here. There’s a lot going on with mosquitos adapting to the environment which is really cool, but then I’ve been learning more about the social factors associated with HIV which I also love… we’ll see. Fieldwork will help.

Day 1:

Tour of Dar

got a few marriage proposals at the fish market..

Lunch at 4:30- I was grumpy

Day 2:

Visit MUHAS (university) to get ID cards and meet people

LARCH people get here!

Ethiopian food for dinner plus a coffee ceremony- AWESOME. (**I want to learn how to cook Ethiopian! It looked easy and you eat it with your hands which I like)

Day 3:

Go back to MUHAS (Muhambili University of Allied Health and Science), not really sure what we did there…

More Ethiopian food for dinner! With Penn staters. Lasted like 5 hours… it was a good night

Day 4:

Nursing group leaves for Dudoma, I miss them

We find the beach plus an outdoor restaurant next to it- I’m excited

We buy mini bananas that kind of taste like bana-orange hybrids

Stay up late with LARCH people

Day 5:

BACK to MUHAS.. finally get assignment for fieldwork

Michael gets in, takes us to the shore where we see the vendors

I get a sandwich at lunch, it’s sad, I’m upset. BUT then I ate a mango and it’s all better

Dancing! And we got to ride in a tuk-tuk (3-wheeled car thing… should only be used for local travel. No doors)

Day 6:

Last day here!

Go to mall with Alex to get a phone, find nutella gelato. BEST ice cream I’ve ever had. Ever. Better than Europe, they need to work on that)

Side notes:

1. I can’t wait to get more involved in the culture, I hate being seen as the rich white girl who doesn’t know her way around
2. I miss salad
3. won’t want to eat rice and beans for at least 3 months after getting back
4. women don’t wear pants like ever- glad to have gotten so many skirts. I also hate the money belt. With a passion. It makes your belly sweaty and awkwardly lumped
5. like the mosquito net- feels like I have a canopy bed
6. I don’t like cats. there are millions here (I’ve only seen 2 dogs) and they’re all homeless
7. squat toilets are still not cool. squat toilets plus no toilet paper is even less cool. Americans- be grateful for all your Charmin

Things are just so simple here and I love it. I only have two backpacks worth of stuff and no internet (mostly) and no TV and it’s fantastic. I feel like my favorite part of being abroad is the organic feeling you get- I appreciate the little things more than I do in the states. People are more genuine here, they talk to you and everyone is relaxed. There are dangerous parts, yes. But if you’re smart, Tanzania can be less harmful, or maybe more peaceful, than anywhere I’ve ever been. I wouldn’t live here, but so far, it’s been better than I could have imagined.

***I won’t post very frequently, we only have so much internet and assignments are more important, but my goal is once a week

Location: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania