In my last blog post i talked about how i was in need of a hobby to past the hours between school ending and going to sleep/my entire weekend. I have spent the past two weeks trying out various hobbies some of the more obvious ones that did not stick were as follows.
Anti rain dancing- i am not really sure how the Native Americans properly do a rain dance. All I know is that it involves a rain stick and jumping around in a circle while chanting something. I have not been able to check it out on YouTube so i kind of just improvised. I felt like this "hobby" had some real potential to be not only a way to pass time but also had the opportunity to provide me with some much needed exercises, but Alas no matter how many circles i hopped, skipped, and jumped in to stop the rain it inevitably came. As a side note this hobby only lasted one day as I am easily discouraged and may or may not have twisted my ankle in the process due to my lack of coordination. This hobby will be chalked up as a fail.
The next thing I felt had a great potential was tea connoisseur. I felt like i could really excel at this. I love to drink tea and I am always open to trying a new thing and on another plus Tanzanians love their chai. How could this not be a great hobby that would stay with me for the rest of my life? Well my friends things were going along great at our house Gretchen had been smooth enough to take the extra tea bags from our mid-service conference. I was left with many options, peppermint, hibiscus, chamomile, green tea, Kenyan black tea, Tanzanian black tea of course and lemon tea. Soon though I realized this was not the hobby for me. I found that i was rather set in my ways when it came to other varieties. Although hibiscus tea tasted like candy my stomach was less than amused. On top of that i prefer loose leaf tea, you can imagine how quickly I was defeated. Furthermore I was left wondering what would happen after i exhausted all the varieties we had at our home. The village only sells two kinds. I did find that among Tanzanian teas i prefer the classier Kilimanjaro tea to that of Chai Bora, I guess that means it wasn't a complete loss.
One of the hobbies that my parents had insisted i try is writing. I am as much against it as anyone else let me tell you. They tell me i am a great writer and that with all my spare time i have what it takes to write the next great American novel. Well my boredom got the best of me one day and i got to thinking. I can write papers in a snap with little effort and hey I have my blog (although neglected lately) that I can manage to make mildly entertaining for those reading, why not venture into the great world that is writing. I went to the duka down the street and bought 4 new notebooks (a little premature and ambitious I know) all for the sole purpose of filling them with my great story. I came home and sat at the table and pondered. What would I write about? clearly not myself, the world does not need another young white girl writing about her time in Africa "making a difference" also I am also too culturally insensitive to handle writing like that. I needed something better, something new and fresh, but what? After two hours of serious thinking like i have not done since I was studying for the LSAT I found I was stuck. The pressure was too much. I will admit that maybe this hobby has potential but for now it will be placed on the back burner as something I can turn to when i have exhausted all other options, and hey if by some stroke of genius I stumble upon the idea one day while looking longingly outside at the giant mud pile that is my home then fear not because you will have upon you the next great American novel. I mean isn't that what all the great writers do anyway remove themselves from the situation and then BAM the idea comes to them?
Those were the hobbies that i felt had the most potential the next list are ones that really weren't going anywhere from the start but they passed some time.
Chef/ cooking- there is only so much you can do with rice, beans, tomatoes, onions, and the weird leafy green spinach like plant they are selling now. Plus cooking on a jicho albeit time consuming is never stress free or pleasant.
Studying physics- our school library strangely enough has a lot of books on physics. So one day i thought why not give it a try it could be mentally stimulating and keep me on my toes. Most of you who know me know that i have an extreme hatred with math, much to my fathers dismay. I got ten pages into the introduction to physics book and realized it would never work out between us. Maybe I will try one of the psychology books next, they appear to be a lot less threatening.
reading- while a rather obvious choice i have the tendency to read really fast, I quickly exhaust all of my options hence the jump into physics.
yoga- I have no idea what I am doing save for the 10 moves taught to me in a magazine i brought with me, but for the most part i am never relaxed while doing it.
eating- goes with the cooking, its hard to be a foodie when you have a limited diet.
All of these things bring me to the question of what did people do before electricity? I mean seriously. And at this point do I even want to know. I find myself constantly getting jealous of people in the stories I read who even in the late 1800s had electricity in their house. I know its not right but at this point whats a girl to do?
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Back in Da Village
Sadly the two month long vacay had to finally come to an end and on Sunday I had to make my way back to the village. Of course the trip did not go how it was supposed to. We were originally planning to leave on Saturday but when we went to the bus station we found out that literally every bus was full because all of the students were heading back to school so we had to postpone the bus until Sunday and even then the only ticket we could get was un an ultra SKANK bus called the Princes Muro (princess with one s, it should have been a dead give away that things were going to be rough) this bus was one of the fun ones that had three seats on one side and two on the other, and adding to the fun all of the window seats were taken so Nicole and I had to take aisle seats which on Tanzanian busses is the worst because you are constantly getting hit by everyone who walks by.
We called our taxi driver friend to come get us the next morning the bus left at 6 and reporting time was 5:30 so we figured we would leave at 4:45, the driver had other ideas he insisted we leave at 4:15 in case there was traffic. Of course there wasn’t any traffic and we arrived at the bus station at 4:45. The bus station in Dar is the biggest bus station in East Africa and is also super sketch and seedy so being two white girls with a lot of luggage was not going to bode well for us. After fending off the touts and crazy drunk guys for an hour we finally got on the bus and settled in for what was going to be a long ride. Things were going as well as the possibly could they were actually showing something on the tv (American music videos which were all super old and awesome). Until we were half way into the trip and all the sudden the bus pulled over and everyone started pushing and screaming to get off the bus. I have never been in a stampede or a mob situation but I imagine this was the closest I will get. People were pushing and shoving to get off the bus a kid almost got trampled people were jumping out the windows, all the while I was still confused as to what was going on. I got up and got off completely baffled, when I got off I saw that the bus was smoking pretty bad and realized it was just overheating which was NBD. The other thing I also realized was my phone was gone. i got back on the bus and began searching but could not find it, then I started looking outside and still got nothing. Of course we were in an area that did not have any network so calling it was not an option. Needless to say I was a little pissed the rest of the trip because my phone and all my contacts were gone.
We finally arrived in Mbeya and actually made good time getting there and it was still light out when we arrived, we checked into the hotel, had dinner then watched Discovery channel and MTV for the last time. The next morning I found out that my roommate had gotten us a ride with one of the doctors in town and after visiting the Vodacom store we were going to leave. It was a good thing we found him because later that day we found out that the bus we were going to take had gotten into a wreck that morning leaving the village because the roads are so incredibly bad because of the rain. Needless to say the ride back was a rough one and the doctor thought it was a good idea to let my roommate drive the last stretch of hte trip which also happens to be when we had to wind down this massive mountain, I dont think I exhaled for 45 minutes or let go of hte seat in front of me. I now know how my mom feels when dad is driving in the snow.
This brings me to another fun part of being back in the village, I really didn’t think much about the rainy season because I mean really how bad could rain be? I was so wrong when it rains here it is pouring and the mud is so bad that you just slip around and can barely make it a few feet. They also told us that this rain now isn’t event that bad compared to what will happen in march when apparently the entire road will be washed away… I cant wait !!! to be stuck here for the next 3 months. The plus side is I will save money the down side is I wont have electricity/ fast internet/ I have never spent more that two consecutive weekends in the village I will probs go crazy. I guess this is a good time to pick up a hobby if you have any suggestions please send them my way because I am interested in anything.
We called our taxi driver friend to come get us the next morning the bus left at 6 and reporting time was 5:30 so we figured we would leave at 4:45, the driver had other ideas he insisted we leave at 4:15 in case there was traffic. Of course there wasn’t any traffic and we arrived at the bus station at 4:45. The bus station in Dar is the biggest bus station in East Africa and is also super sketch and seedy so being two white girls with a lot of luggage was not going to bode well for us. After fending off the touts and crazy drunk guys for an hour we finally got on the bus and settled in for what was going to be a long ride. Things were going as well as the possibly could they were actually showing something on the tv (American music videos which were all super old and awesome). Until we were half way into the trip and all the sudden the bus pulled over and everyone started pushing and screaming to get off the bus. I have never been in a stampede or a mob situation but I imagine this was the closest I will get. People were pushing and shoving to get off the bus a kid almost got trampled people were jumping out the windows, all the while I was still confused as to what was going on. I got up and got off completely baffled, when I got off I saw that the bus was smoking pretty bad and realized it was just overheating which was NBD. The other thing I also realized was my phone was gone. i got back on the bus and began searching but could not find it, then I started looking outside and still got nothing. Of course we were in an area that did not have any network so calling it was not an option. Needless to say I was a little pissed the rest of the trip because my phone and all my contacts were gone.
We finally arrived in Mbeya and actually made good time getting there and it was still light out when we arrived, we checked into the hotel, had dinner then watched Discovery channel and MTV for the last time. The next morning I found out that my roommate had gotten us a ride with one of the doctors in town and after visiting the Vodacom store we were going to leave. It was a good thing we found him because later that day we found out that the bus we were going to take had gotten into a wreck that morning leaving the village because the roads are so incredibly bad because of the rain. Needless to say the ride back was a rough one and the doctor thought it was a good idea to let my roommate drive the last stretch of hte trip which also happens to be when we had to wind down this massive mountain, I dont think I exhaled for 45 minutes or let go of hte seat in front of me. I now know how my mom feels when dad is driving in the snow.
This brings me to another fun part of being back in the village, I really didn’t think much about the rainy season because I mean really how bad could rain be? I was so wrong when it rains here it is pouring and the mud is so bad that you just slip around and can barely make it a few feet. They also told us that this rain now isn’t event that bad compared to what will happen in march when apparently the entire road will be washed away… I cant wait !!! to be stuck here for the next 3 months. The plus side is I will save money the down side is I wont have electricity/ fast internet/ I have never spent more that two consecutive weekends in the village I will probs go crazy. I guess this is a good time to pick up a hobby if you have any suggestions please send them my way because I am interested in anything.
It finally happened
I finally got what was coming to me. After six months of being in great health and not having one problem and making fun of everyone who got sick I finally got sick. It happened while I was in Zanzibar and can honestly say it was one of the worst experiences in my life. I have never felt so bad and had no way to fix it. The ironic thing is the morning before anything happened I was bragging to two other volunteers on the way to the beach about how I had never had any problems and then bam that night it hit me. I started running a high fever and could not move my body hurt so bad, the first thing I thought was Malaria but I tired to tough it out. This attitude lasted one day while I laid in the heat of the apartment we were in literally feeling like death I decided that the next day I would risk it and go to a Tanzanian hospital. The next day I had two of the volunteers Katie and Jacob go with me to the hospital because I was not functioning at all. Jacob was great he speaks Swahili almost fluently and was able to get me into get my blood drawn. As a side note most of you that know me know that I am terrified of needles/ things never go well when I have my blood drawn. Just picture me being looking like a hot mess and attempting to plead with a massive Tanzanian lady to please take the blood out of my hand. Luckily Jacob had my back and convinced her to do it and I managed to pull through.
The blood results came back and luckily it was not malaria but on the down side they told me they in fact had no idea what kind of infection/parasite it was and gave me medicine and told me I would be fine by the next day. As per usual that was not the case the next day much to my surprise I was actually worse , but after the experience of the hospital I really didn’t want to go back something about an African hospital just didn’t set well with me. Maybe it was the fact that they were carrying around a legit newborn baby with blood still on it or the fact that there was a guy with gaping wounds just hanging out in the waiting room call me crazy but I really didn’t feel like that was okay.
My boss luckily found me a doctor that catered to the expat crowd so the next day we went. I was so dehydrated that they told me I needed three IVs so be better the only problem was when they were attempting to put the IV in (at this point I was so out of it I really wasn’t that worried about the needle) the awesome nurse from Spain with the lip ring (so professional right?) kept missing my vein she tried my hand then my arm and couldn’t get it in finally on the 5th try she got it. I was finally starting to feel better and even better the doctor promised to have me better by the next night which was New Years Eve. I had to go back the next morning when yet again they couldn’t get the IV in and then decided to leave it in my arm until I came back in the evening because they had run out of veins to poke. I looked rough walking around Zanzibar with an IV thing in my arm everyone was super nice to me though which was a plus.
I had high hopes for New Years Eve but instead I ended up spending it until ten o’clock at the hospital with another one of the volunteers who was also sick and ended up staying in and eating my first meal in four days, I feel like it was a win. This experience was god awful because I have never been so sick before and not had a way of fixing it that day. I am now going to be a lot less risky with what I eat and drink because god knows I don’t want that to happen EVER again.
The blood results came back and luckily it was not malaria but on the down side they told me they in fact had no idea what kind of infection/parasite it was and gave me medicine and told me I would be fine by the next day. As per usual that was not the case the next day much to my surprise I was actually worse , but after the experience of the hospital I really didn’t want to go back something about an African hospital just didn’t set well with me. Maybe it was the fact that they were carrying around a legit newborn baby with blood still on it or the fact that there was a guy with gaping wounds just hanging out in the waiting room call me crazy but I really didn’t feel like that was okay.
My boss luckily found me a doctor that catered to the expat crowd so the next day we went. I was so dehydrated that they told me I needed three IVs so be better the only problem was when they were attempting to put the IV in (at this point I was so out of it I really wasn’t that worried about the needle) the awesome nurse from Spain with the lip ring (so professional right?) kept missing my vein she tried my hand then my arm and couldn’t get it in finally on the 5th try she got it. I was finally starting to feel better and even better the doctor promised to have me better by the next night which was New Years Eve. I had to go back the next morning when yet again they couldn’t get the IV in and then decided to leave it in my arm until I came back in the evening because they had run out of veins to poke. I looked rough walking around Zanzibar with an IV thing in my arm everyone was super nice to me though which was a plus.
I had high hopes for New Years Eve but instead I ended up spending it until ten o’clock at the hospital with another one of the volunteers who was also sick and ended up staying in and eating my first meal in four days, I feel like it was a win. This experience was god awful because I have never been so sick before and not had a way of fixing it that day. I am now going to be a lot less risky with what I eat and drink because god knows I don’t want that to happen EVER again.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Back In Action
Sorry for the long absence for the past two month I have been away from the village traveling.
The traveling started in November when I made a surprise trip back to the states. I had been trying to convince my parents to come over here since I left and at the last minute I decided coming home for a surprise visit would be much more fun and a great reward for lasting 6 months in the village. It was so much fun to get to go home and surprise all my family members, it was also great to be home for Thanksgiving and my birthday. I was happy i got to see a lot of my friends and go to Little Rock for the Hogs game.
After about a month at home I left the States and headed back to Africa to meet up with two other volunteers and travel through Kenya and Tanzania. I flew into Nairobi and was immediately impressed with the place. It was so different from Dar, there was actual infrastructure and tall buildings, and all the people spoke English which was really nice. Everyone had told me before hand that you have to be careful in Nairobi because they call it nairobbery, but honestly i never felt unsafe there, and i really didn't even eel like i was back in Africa yet.
This all changed on the bus from Nairobi to Mombasa. At this point int he trip our group had grown to 4 people. Three of us, Lauren, Bree and myself all are volunteers for WorldTeach and the fourth member was Bree's boyfriend Rob who works for an NGO in the DRC. On this bus ride Lauren and I of course got the seat that did not have a window that opened and quickly began to sweat profusely, and look like an all around hot mess for the next 6 hours. Mombasa I will say this has some of the WORST traffic I have ever encountered. We literally sat in the same place on the road for an hour in the humid African summer heat. When we finally got to our hostel it was a really cool place. It was an old mansion that they had converted into a hostel so it had a pool and great place to get food and drinks. The only down side was that it was so far from town.
After spending a day lounging we finally decided to get out and see Mombasa and all it had to offer. We walked around Old Town which was pretty nice and then went to visit Fort Jesus, an old fort built by the Arabs and controlled by the Portuguese at various points. After hanging out at the beach and hostel for three days we made our way back into Tanzania and into Tanga. Tanga is the northern region in Tanzania and is on the coast. We spent one night there and went to the beach yet again before moving into the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania. We visited Moshi and Arusha and went up to the starting point of the climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro and also visited some beautiful waterfalls in the area. After that we went and visited another volunteer, Lauren's roommate Allison at an orphanage she had volunteered with and meet some amazingly cute kids, it was a great afternoon.
After almost two weeks of traveling we made it down to Dar to board the ferry for Zanzibar where we spent Christmas and New Years but those are deserving of their own post.
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