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:
- It’s their winter here, and it’s like 80. They’re all worried about being cold as we sweat, kind of funny
- If any of us gets diarrhea we’re fucked, only one roll of toilet paper for the next 2 weeks
- 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:
- Almost caught a chicken yesterday, will keep trying next week. I’ve had my eyes on a multicolored one for a few days now
- The goats have floppy ears that flap when they run and it’s one of my favorite things about Tanzania
- I ate some tomato today and have not gotten sick- decided I am immune to food poisoning
- 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
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