A Beautiful Struggle

PARTING WAYS

2009-12-19T05:43:00.000-08:00

Our time in Tanzania is coming to an end and we are down to our last 3 days in Arusha. Although I am looking forward to going home to see my family and friends, I must say, it will be sad to leave this place. Over the past 6 months, Arusha has become my home away from home. My friends and classmates that traveled here with me and all of the wonderful people we met during our stay here have truly made this a journey to remember.

We began saying our good byes yesterday as we visited the ICTR for the last time to do our formal checking out. Due to our limited funds, we utilized our resources and made cards for everyone that had touched our lives in some way or another, which was about 30 people and we kept thinking of more. We stopped to see Frank, one of the security guards at the ATM who is intent on me coming back to Tanzania and becoming his wife one day. He is always so friendly and full of smiles. The question that people keep asking us is when we will be back to Tanzania and we reply, “Inshallah (God willing)”. I then went to see Hamad Kibwana who works in the finance department and had helped us out tremendously with our EU2 project. He was happy to see me and to get his card. He promised to keep in touch and continue to teach me Kiswahili. Neema, the secretary who helped us out so much in the beginning was the next stop and she said she was honored to receive the card. She wished us well and said we will probably meet again in this small world that we live in.

Next we saw Sumari and his good bye proved to be the hardest so far. Sumari is a local Tanzanian that works for the cleaning staff at the ICTR and has been my friend from day one. He came by my office when I first moved in with his charismatic personality and we immediately hit it off. Over the past 6 months we have had many conversations about life in Tanzania and life in American. He was surprised to find out that everyone in America did not own a car. I was surprised to find out that his salary is about 72,000 shillings per month (about $55). He has a wife and a young daughter named Belina, both of whom we met a couple of weeks ago when we visited his village to attend a confirmation celebration for his niece and nephew. As we said our good byes to Sumari we all began to tear up from his kind words. He expressed how we had been so kind to him despite the fact that he is a janitor and that many people at the Tribunal do not extend that same kindness to him. Tears soon began to flow followed by a little laughter as we could tell Sumari felt a little uncomfortable and made a quick exit to avoid more tears. He is one of the people I will miss most from here and I hope that we will be able to remain in touch. He said the likelihood of him coming to America is slim so he hopes that we will come back to Arusha one day.

Another touching good bye was with our supervisor. After waiting for an hour for her to meet with her supervisor (true ICTR fashion), we headed to lunch to have our last girl talk session. Yousser has not only been a great supervisor (although she did push our buttons from time to time with her somewhat obsessive compulsive personality), she has also been a great friend. She has invited us to her home several times and always kept us updated on what to do in Arusha and where to travel. We shared stories about men, careers, and just life in general. During lunch we tried to update her on our most recent escapades: mine to Kakuma, Eunice’s to Dar and Lindy, and Michelle’s to Zanzibar. Yousser then gave us some advice about traveling and the careers we are trying to pursue and family. She said that the transition home will be a challenge but after you do this type of work for a while, home will become where you are and you will not feel so attached to one place. You will want to go and explore more and those places will become your new home. She also said to expect to make sacrifices from time to time and in her case, she chose to sacrifice some of her career choices for her family. This is a decision she says she does not regret and would encourage us to do the same because at the end of the day the times that you will remember the most will be the times with family and friends, not the times you spent hours on end at the office. I really admire her strength as a woman and her endurance to carry on with her career after taking some time off for family. Today she manages to balance her career with her family life despite the fact that her job is very demanding and that fact that her husband lives in another country. She admits that there are challenges just as with any relationship but in the end, it is all worth. After advising us and giving us beautiful Maasai beads as gifts, we said our good byes which were a little rushed as Yousser had an appointment that she was already late for. I hope that we will be able to remain in touch and that our paths will one day cross again.

This weekend we will continue our good byes that include people like Alfred, our buddy who helped us find a place and took us on many safaris; Ben, our apartment neighbor from the UK that we bonded with over the robbery at the Ethiopian restaurant; Peter, our friend from church that is always looking out for us and had many connections in Arusha that he has hooked us up with; Richard and Novica, security guards at the ICTR that have treated us to several meals and showed us around Arusha; Frida and Regina, the wonderful ladies at the center who we could come to at any time for help with anything; Gasper and Emmanuel, our beloved taxi drivers; Tina, the lady who made some beautiful bags for me out of the kangas I got for my birthday; Lei Lei and the crew at the fruit stand; the crew at the East African Hotel where we spent many hours working on papers; Mass, Mic, Baraka, Kelvin and the other members of “Contagious” who provided hours of entertainment with their b boy style dancing; and many other people that we have met here and there. These are all people that will remain in my heart and mind for years to come as I reflect on this journey that has been a beautiful struggle. I think the beautiful struggle will continue as I return home and try to process all that I have learned and experienced these past 6 months while adjusting back to life at home, work and finishing my thesis so that I can graduate in May!!!

Nairobi, Nakuru, Kitale, Kakuma and all places in-between

2009-12-19T05:39:00.000-08:00

December 7-16, 2009
Since classes have officially ended and we do not travel back to the US until the 21st, my classmates and I had a couple of weeks to travel within East Africa before returning home. Some of us traveled to Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam and I traveled throughout Kenya. I traveled with a friend and classmate, Majok, from Sudan so my journey is part of his journey as he traveled back to Kakuma Refugee Camp, where he spent 9 years of his life due to the civil war between north and south Sudan.

Nairobi to Nakuru

We first traveled to Nairobi again for a couple of days of rest and recuperation after a long, hard semester of classes and internships. Nairobi is a very crowded city that reminds me of NY with its traffic and aggressive drivers. Good place to visit but I know I could not live there. From Nairobi, we took a dala dala (called Matatu in Kenya) to Nakuru. On the news before we left, we heard that some of the dala dala drivers went on strike due to a new city noise ordnance that was passed. The dala dala drivers insisted that the noise ordnance affected their business because loud music is how they attract their customers. After a 2-hour ride, we arrived in Nakuru and were greeted by Majok’s sister and a rain shower. At the house I met many of Majok’s extended family including other sisters, cousins, uncles and Majok’s nephew, who is scared of mzungus because he cried every time he saw me. Nakuru is not as diverse of a city as Nairobi or Arusha, so I stuck out as one of the few mzungus around. I was warmly welcomed by the family and shared in their stories as they talked and made up for lost time. One of Majok’s uncles had just come from Australia to visit his new wife and eventually bring her back to Australia with him. I learned a little about life in Australia where the government helps to support its citizens through a more socialist form of government rather than capitalism. Although I do not speak the Dinka language, I was able to piece together some stories with the random English words and translations here and there.

Nakuru to Kitale via Eldoret

The next morning at 7am we began our long journey toward Kakuma. I wasn’t sure what to expect so I didn’t expect anything and just went with the flow. We boarded another dala dala that was supposed to take us to Kitale where we were to meet Majok’s younger brother but we were dropped off in Eldoret and ended up having to take another dala dala the rest of the way. It was about a 3 hours ride to Eldoret and then another 1 hour or so to Kitale. Eldoret I learned was one of the cities in Kenya most affected by the post-election violence of 2007. People that sought refuge in the church were actually burned inside in acts of violence similar to those of the Rwandan genocide in 1994.
We arrived in Kitale around 1pm and Majok’s younger brother, Nhial spotted us pretty quickly because again, there are not many mzungus in Kitale. This was the first time the brothers had seen each other in several years although they communicate frequently via phone and facebook. Nhial is a smart, well-spoken young man that is very tall, a distinctive feature of many of the Dinkas from South Sudan. He is currently completing a program at Kakuma Refugee Camp through an organization that will send him to Canada for college. He scored within the top 10% of the students in Kenya on the national exams, which made him eligible for the program. He is also employed as a teacher at the camp due to his outstanding grades throughout primary and secondary school. We bought out tickets for the bus to go to Kakuma (Nhial went to purchase them because if I was with him, he would be charged the “mazungu price”). We went to grab a quick bit to eat and visited Majok’s uncle who was also in town on business. At 3:00 we boarded the bus along with about 60 other people and all our belongings. We did not actually leave until 5pm because it took a while to load everyone’s belongings, some of which were went under the bus and some where strapped to the top of the bus. Before departing, we had a short sermon by a local preacher, who then took up an offering before departing the bus.

Kitale to Kakuma via Lodwar

We traveled throughout the night on winding, dusty roads with frequent police checks (not sure what they were checking for- the Kenyan police are known to be very corrupt and people are often forced to pay bribes to avoid going to jail). Majok’s uncle was actually arrested the night before for no reason and then released. There were many stories similar to this floating around including people being arrested for not wearing seat belts. About 3 hours into our ride the road switched from smooth to very bumpy which made the ride quite interesting. The bus driver was very careful to take the curves with caution, which made for a pretty smooth ride despite all of the potholes and uneven pavement. At about 1am we arrived in a small town called Lodwar where we were supposed to board another bus headed to Kakuma but that bus never came. It was stuck along the way waiting for water to clear so that it could pass a certain point in the road. The bus conductor refunded us part of our money since they could not guarantee when the bus would get there so we were stuck finding our own way to Kakuma which are another 1 ½ hours away.
Not sure if it was divine intervention, luck or a planned set up, but there were taxi drivers there ready and waiting to take us the rest of the way to Kakuma. So just after 1am, the 3 of us climbed into a taxi with 5 other people, including the driver and headed toward Kakuma, but only after going to get gas and driving around for about 15 minutes trying to find fish for one of the passengers. It was a scary ride as the driver was flying on the road to Kakuma. I tried to keep my eyes closed for most of the trip, preferring not to see my death if it was to come soon. I am pretty sure we ran over a chicken, goat or some other small animal at some point. We did arrive safely in Kakuma at 4am and managed to find rooms at a local hotel owned by Somalis. After some negotiating, we were allowed to stay until 1pm the next day instead of having to leave at 9am. I took a quick, cold shower in the dark and went straight to bed, exhausted from the almost 24 hours of travel.
The next day we were awakened by harsh rain that lasted until about 2pm. Determined not to let it mess up our trip to the camp, we ventured out around 1pm to grab “breakfast” (tea and chapati) and then walked through the town of Kakuma toward the camp. As we walked, Majok spoke of how much the town had changed. There was not much business and activity going on within the town and Nhial informed us that most of the activity occurred within the camp. Many of the local people, the Turkana tribe (an indigenous tribe similar to the Maasai in Tanzania) visit the camps during the day and many of them even work in the camp. In the past there have been conflicts between the Turkana and the people in the camps because in some ways, the people in the camp are better off than the town people. There were incidents of the Turkana coming into the camps with guns and robbing the camp residents. Since then the Turkana have to leave the camps by 6pm each day and the Kenya police help to monitor their movement within the community.
As I said earlier, I was not sure what to expect at the camp but I must say that it was much more than I imagined. Seeing camps on TV and talking about them in class does not really help you to prepare you from what you might see. Kakuma Refugee Camp was established back in 1992 when Sudanese refugees like Majok and many of his family members where taken there by the UN to escape the war in Sudan. Over the years it has developed into a camp that now provides for refugees from various surrounding countries such as Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Burundi and Somalia. The camp is separated by communities so all of the Somalis live together in one community, the Sudanese in another community, etc. Within those communities there may also be separation by tribes such as the Dinkas and the Nur of South Sudan, each have separate communities. There was no security, so we just entered the camp and walked down the main road. The first community in the camp was the Somali community so once we passed their homes, we were surrounded by shops and businesses on both sides of the road. When it rains, the roads in the camps flood so a lucrative business within the camp is transportation. The Somalis apparently have taxis and there are several young men that use bicycles to transport people across the flooded streets. You can get a ride for about 10 Kenyan shillings, which is equal to about a penny. We traveled on the bikes past several shops selling anything from clothing, household items and beauty products. There was even a place to use the internet and watch a soccer match. The local movie theatre showed movies for 5 shillings and there were barbershops throughout.
Once we passed the Somali section, we entered the Ethiopian section, another area with lucrative businesses. We visited Francos restaurant, which seemed to be a pretty popular spot as business was booming. There we ate traditional Ethiopian food, enjera, watched some Ethiopian dance videos and part of a soccer game. Back at the hotel where stayed the previous night, we did not have power, but here in the camp, the businesses managed to have electricity running off of elaborate systems of power lines connected to generators and solar power panels. This is one of the examples where you can see a distinction between the lives of the town people and the people in the camp. The meal at Francos was enough to feed 3 people and only costs about $2.00. People from the town and UN workers frequently eat there during lunch and host meetings there.
After leaving the Ethiopian section, we visited the Sudanese community to see Nhial’s home. This required some creativity as there was a lot of water and no bicycle taxis available. We ended up rolling up our pants and taking turns wearing flip-flops to thread through the water. Nhial’s house was a mud-constructed house with corrugated roof. Majok was impressed at the new roofs because he said when he was there, the roofs were made of plastic sheeting and grass. The home consisted of a bed, a desk and chair and a table. Nhial and his roommate decorated the place by putting kanga fabric on the ceiling and they had rigged up a light to the generator. Several of Nhial’s friends stopped by, including several kids who came to see the mzungu in the community. Apparently the UN workers do not venture into the camp much outside of working hours so it was unusual to see a mzungu on the weekends. Majok shared some of his wisdom and experience with the young men and encouraged them to do well in school so that they might be eligible for some of the same opportunities he was afforded. It seems that the best way out of the camp to pursue further studies is by doing really well in school and getting scholarship to study abroad.
As we spent more time in the camp and in town, Majok ran into more distant family members, friends and teachers he remembered from school and his time at the camp. Some of them were doing well and some of them were no better off than they were 9 years ago when Majok was last in Kakuma. This left him pondering for a little while what his life would have been like if would have stayed in the camp. We got a ride on the bicycle taxis back to town and checked into a different hotel. We sat and watched TV for a little while with other residents of the hotel before heading to bed pretty early that evening.
The next morning was Sunday so we decided to check out the local church Majok attended back in the day. As we approached the church, we saw several groups of Turkana dressed in their traditional costumes, singing and dancing. We stayed to watch the ceremonies for a little while and when it seemed that the usual church service would not happen that day, we headed back to the camp. On the way we met one of Majok’s cousins who heard he was in town and had been looking for him. His cousin was an aspiring rapper who had spent some money that was sent to him to pursue his rap career and as a result was now stuck in Kakuma on his way back to Sudan. Majok gave him the money he needed while trying to give him some good advice. But like many young teenagers, he was a young man learning his way and seemed pretty set on continuing his pursuits. As our bus did not leave until 4pm that day we killed some time chillin at Francos again and then headed back into the town to prepare for the long journey back to Nakuru. The journey home proved to be even more adventurous that the journey there.

Kakuma to Nakuru

We boarded the bus at 4pm. It was a smaller bus so they managed to get everything loaded and by 4:30pm we were on the way. The bus was very crowded and many people were standing in the middle of the aisles. Most of the people were just traveling to Lodwar, 1-½ hours away but it was still a long time to be standing. We thought we had good seats in the front right behind the bus driver but it became a place for more people to cram into the space. Also, this time our driver was not as cautious as the previous one and his fast pace on the sharp twists and turns, not to mention the bumpy road soon left me wishing that I could not see the road in front of us and left my stomach doing flips. I felt like I was on one of those 4D simulation rides or a roller coaster that lasted 3 hours. I ended up having to take some Dramamine to settle my stomach and tried to sleep to calm my nerves. There were times that I really thought we would not make it as the driver sped up through sharp turns or swerved to avoid potholes while making the bus “lean back” like we were on a Fat Joe video. .
At one point, we came to a point in the road that the bus driver was not sure if the bus would make it through or not. He instructed everyone to get off of the bus so that he could take the bus through without the passengers incase something happened. While I appreciated this gesture, the driver pulled off before everyone had a chance to get off of the bus so we were left in the rain with other passengers while some were left on the bus to risk the dangerous passage. Thankfully the bus made it through with no problems and we had to rush to get back on the board. Majok had one foot on the bus and one foot on the ground as the bus driver decided to pull. At 1am we arrived back in Kitale, where we boarded another bus to take us to Nakuru. This ride was a little smoother and I actually got to sleep some on the bus. After a 15-hour journey, we arrived back in Nakuru at 7am.

Nakuru

Back at Majok’s sister’s house, I happily took a shower and had breakfast, which was followed by hours of talking and catching up. The Dinkas are apparently known for talking. Majok and his uncles, brothers and cousins talked for hours on end on topics ranging from politics in Sudan, school, what family members are doing these days, and life in Australia and the US compared to life in Africa. One of his young cousins who is only 17 kept everyone laughing as he shared his views on various topics. After a couple of hours of listening to the men talk, I ventured outside with the women and girls and participated in some “womanly” activities, washing clothes. I have gotten used to washing my underwear since I have been here but washing all your clothes is another story and a pretty tiring job. We then began to watch a Nigerian movie before lunch. Lunch consisted of the traditional Sudanese bread called kisara. The most familiar thing I could compare it to is corn tortillas. There was an okra soup that accompanied the kisara along with some pasta and beef. I was so full after lunch that the “it is” started to kick in fast and I went to take a nap. The afternoon and evening consisted of more talking, laughing, and eating.
Again Majok’s young but sharp and informed cousin kept everyone laughing. He asked many questions about life in Australia and America. He remarked on how everyone has rights in many western countries. Men, women, children and even dogs have rights according to him which was very different from the system in many African countries. They talked about how the kids in school get lashes if they are late or act up in school and how we cannot do that in the States because the kids know their rights. Majok’s cousin stated they have to train the children as they are growing up or else the families will not eat. It is traditional in Dinka culture to pay cows as dowry for marriage. If a young girl is not raised to be a proper wife, no man will want her and therefore the family will not receive any cows. The dowry is often between 80-100 cows. Majok’s cousin also wanted to know if mzungus had a secret language they could speak besides English when they did not want people to know what they were talking about. These questions plus more stories about family members kept the conversation going into the evening when everyone retired to bed.

Nakuru back to Nairobi

The next morning we said our good byes and headed back to Nairobi. After a 2 hour ride we arrived in Nairobi but it took another 2 hours to get to place we were going to stay because the traffic was so bad. We had arranged for a taxi to meet us at the bus station but the traffic was so bad he could not even get into the city. We got off of the dala dala before we even got to the bus station because we were not moving anywhere due to the traffic. We ventured around trying to find a taxi and praying we did not get robbed in the process. As I mentioned in my earlier blog Nairobi is also know as “Nai-robbery” due the high theft rate. We found a taxi and we talked to the taxi driver about the traffic issue in Nairobi. It seems that the city is not doing much to handle the problem and the few stop lights and traffic police they have are not helping the situation. I saw many people simply ignore the traffic lights and just do their own thing. Citizens have taken it upon themselves to try to regulate the traffic in the absence of police or any organized form of movement. Exhausted and annoyed by the rides during the day, I spent the evening checking email and relaxing.

Nairobi to Arusha

The next morning I boarded the shuttle back to Arusha and I was very glad to be getting out of Nairobi. I was looking forward to the more slow paced life in Tanzania and to seeing some of my other classmates before they traveled back to the US. I arrived in Arusha by 4pm after spending almost 2 hours held up at the Namanga border. Leave it to my fellow Americans to be misinformed and hold everyone up. There were 3 Americans who did not know the visa for Tanzania was $100 so they did not have enough money with them. The ATM machine did not take their cards or have enough money so they had to take a taxi to the next town and use another ATM. They then had to change the Kenyan shillings to dollars at the currency exchange and finally were able to get their visas. There were several conversations going on on the bus trying to determine whose fault it was that we were held up. Some people felt that the Americans should have been more informed coming from a country where information is easily accessible. Others felt the bus driver should have informed all the passengers upon departure what to expect at the border, which did not happen. Still others felt it would not have been a big deal if the ATM had money! Either way I was glad to be back on the road and looked forward to spending my last days in Arusha without drama or having to take another shuttle, dala dala or bus!

Nairobi- aka Nai-"robbery"

2009-11-18T11:45:00.000-08:00

We decided to venture to Nairobi, Kenya to experience another yet another country in East Africa despite the many stories we heard about Nairobi being nicknamed “Nai-robbery” due to the frequent thefts. These warnings came from out professor back at Arcadia who is from Kenya and many of our friends both local and international in Arusha. We were told that people in Nairobi walk very fast to keep from being robbed. People told us not to carry any bags or a lot of money on you because it would get stolen. They also stated we should not talk on the phone when we are walking on the street because that would get stolen as well. Taxis and the matatus (public vans used for transportation) are not even safe b/c the robbers will climb or reach in the cars to steal things.

So with this knowledge, we boarded the shuttle from the local hotel that cost us $25 each way for the 8 hour from Arusha to Nairobi. The thing is that this trip should only have taken 4 hours but since the road is not yet perfected/ finished, you have to take many detours on bumpy, dusty, off the beaten path roads that make the trip twice as long as it should be. As we were traveling down the road it seems like someone just got tired, said forget about it and quit. As the shuttle detoured to the less developed road several things happened on the shuttle. First, people started closing the windows. The road is very dusty so if you leave the windows open, you feel like you are being suffocated by dust. After a while you have layer of dust on your skin that makes you appear a shade darker. As a result of all the windows being closed, it immediately gets a lot hotter on the bus as well despite the fact that we were told that shuttle had air conditioning. Like many things here, that air did not work or maybe they just have a different definition of air conditioning that I do, but either way, it was hot. This leaves you waiting and hoping that the detour will soon come to an end so that you can open the windows and get some air.

About half way through the journey, we arrived at Namanga, the town at the border of Tanzania and Kenya. We were cautioned here not to change money or buy things from the hustlers on the street. At the border, we had to be cleared by the Tanzanian authorities and then walk across the border to the Kenyan side to get out visas which only cost is $25. An Indian man who was on the shuttle with us, was harassed by some local guys who were demanding money from him and caused him to fall and injure himself. When I met up with him he was very shaken and did not know where to go so I just told him to come with us. He was shocked as to why someone would do that to him. One thing that I have been learned here from talking to more locals is that the perception of Indians in this country is somewhat mixed. Many of the locals that I have talked to seem to have this animosity towards Indians because of the way they treat locals and that fact that they monopolize on a lot of the local businesses. Many Indians though, actually consider themselves Tanzanians as many were born and raised here. There are even Indians who are members of the Tanzanian Parliament. It seemed that perhaps some of the frustration of the local people was taken out on this poor Indian guy that just wanted to get to the airport in Nairobi and get back home. After about an hour of dealing with the border authorities, we boarded the shuttle again and continued on our way.

We knew that we had reached Nairobi when we got stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. The city was definitely a contrast to Arusha with the intense traffic and the fact that it has more than one stop light! Nairobi is a much more developed city in the sense that it does give you more of the urban feel similar to NY or Philly, especially in the downtown area. It was not as nice/ new as Kigali though. The people downtown all seemed to be in a rush and eager to get somewhere and there were many taller buildings (mini skyscrapers) and an open market in the center of town. We spent about an hour at the market and it proved to be a somewhat overwhelming experience. At first, we were able to peruse the various goods such as clothing, jewelry, shoes and decorative items but since we were “muzungus” we soon became surrounded by local guys trying to sell us various items. After some bargaining and hustling on my end, I managed to get 2 scarves, a pair of earrings and a purse for less than $10.

We witnessed another shocking incident while we were at the market. As we were standing outside, we hear a lot of yelling and see a man running frantically down the street. All of a sudden a mob of people start chasing him. According to the local people this is a common occurrence and it happens when someone steals something. In what is called “mob justice” the culprit is chased by police and anyone else that wants to join in and teach this guy a lesson. Once he is caught he is beaten pretty badly (there have been accounts of people dying as a result) and then taken to the police station for further punishment. A far as human rights are concerned this tactic is not as bad as when used to happen to thieves in Kenya. We learned that in the past, thieves were burned alive in public by putting a tire around them and setting them on fire. All I can say, is that would be a big deterrent for me and I will never steal anything, not even a piece of gum, in Kenya!

During our weekend in Nairobi, we visited a local organization called “kazuri” meaning small and beautiful. This organization helped to assist single women in poverty, most of them who live in kabera, one of the largest slums in the world. Women are trained to make beads and an jewelry out of clay and can then work for the organization to get money to pay for necessities and to send their children to school. The women work 8 hour days and get paid on an hourly basis and receive healthcare for them and they families. The center employs over 300 women currently and there is a waiting list of over 100 women that are eager to participate in the program. The jewelry that is made at Kazuri is shipped to places all over the world so as they get more orders they are able to bring in more women and train them to be a part of the program. After visiting Kazuri, we went to a giraffe park where we were able to pet and feed the giraffes. They can be pretty feisty at times and take the food right out of your hands. From there we visited the “Bomas of Kenya” where we learned a little more about the tribal cultures and saw how the typical villages were set up complete with a watch tower, 1st wife’s hut, 2nd wife’s hut, the boys hut and the granary. Most of the huts were made out of straw, sticks and mud. We ended the “touristy” part of our day, watching traditional dances of the local tribes.

All in all, our trip to Nairobi was great and the best part was that no one was robbed!!! On Sunday, after attending church at Nairobi Chapel, which I really enjoyed because it reminded me of my church back home, we boarded the shuttle and made the journey back to Arusha. This time the trip only took 6 hours for which I was very thankful. I got home just in time to take a shower and try to scrub all of the dust off of me before the power went out. Oh, TIL! This is life!!! And life is great!

My B-day Party- Tanzania Style (with pictures)

2009-10-26T05:37:00.000-07:00

The dance crew and the ladies!

Elizabeth, Fabia, Michelle and one of the delicious burgers hooked up by Victor.

Tanzanians are big on gifts at parties which I appreciated very much. I got a lot of traditional fabric to get some dresses, skirts, purses, etc. made.

ICTR friends.

Beautiful smiles!!! Look at Lago's straight, white teeth!

Representing IPCR! thanks ladies for a great party:)

Our friend Seriely who's wife just had a baby that we wants us to name. Talk about pressure.

Our funny French friend, Michel, from the ICTR!

Me and Diana, another intern at the ICTR.

Me, Melissa, Pamela and Michael.

2 of the house ladies at our apartments looking all jazzy!

Divas!

Me, Michael and Novica who is from Bosnia and always has something inspirational to say although the stories tend to be a bit lengthy.

Michelle and her infamous funny face!

My birthday this year was celebrated in grand Tanzanian style at the Arusha Institute with the help of our Rafiki Alfred. He has connections so we did not have to pay a rental fee, just a small fee per person that attended the party. Our idea was to invite everyone we had met here so far for a nice get together where people could just chill and enjoy themselves. We invited an array of people from the ladies we buy our fruit from, to the house ladies and guards that work at our apartments, the guards at the ATM, other interns and people at the ICTR, our professor and of course the usual IPCR crew. We ended having about 50 people attend the party and it was great. Alfred's homeboy, Victor who is a chef, hooked up some beef kabobs, burgers, chicken, salad, potatoes, and bananas. And the party didn't stop just because the power went (even though we were reassured by the club contact person that the power never goes out on Sat. but TIL- This is Life:) People continued to talk, eat and enjoy themselves. We are had a performance from the local dance group called "contagious" who do hip hop and breakdancing. They performed by candle light without music and were still the bomb. The party ended about 9pm with people still filing in up until the last minute. It was a great day and I appreciate all my girls here (Melissa, Eunice, Shoko, Victoria, and Michelle) for making it special. I never knew getting older could be so much fun!

The party wouldn't be complete without Rodley- our professor's son:)

Our friends that guard the ATM we frequent, when it is working.

Dance performance by "Contagious" a local dance hip hop/breakdance crew. They represented even without music:)

My PEACE sign birthday cake. Amani!

Our friend Lei Lei who we buy all our fresh fruit and veggies from.

Eunice's Letter to the Brother who Robber Her (This is deep)

2009-09-25T03:24:00.000-07:00

There is not much that separates you and I, is there? We are both made out of the same type of material – you and I bleed, feel hungry, feel joy, feel sadness, and so on. Yet the environments in which you and I have been raised sometimes convince us otherwise. We are human – it seems as though we have to use labels for everything. How else do we process everything we go through in life? So we come up with labels, good and bad – there are so many social constructions of our identities, it’s easy to forget sometimes. You are Tanzanian and I am Chinese-American. You are male and I am female. You made the decision to sprint by and take a mzungu's bag. Let us move on.

You know I’ve been thinking a lot about pride in one’s people and country. Now don’t get me wrong – I do not want to create this false sense of dichotomy between you and I just because we are from different countries. But after conversations with your fellow Tanzanians who work at the UN, I do not sense much pride in the home country. What I drew from my conversations with one particular Tanzanian UN staff is that, things like the condition of a holding cell or robbery are considered normal here – if not normal, at least expected. Why must the norm or the expected be disrespect for our fellow brothers and sisters? If that’s the norm, then I would rather be crazy. “If I’m crazy it’s because I refuse to be crazy in the same way the world’s gone crazy.” (Boolean: Peter Moran of the Catholic Worker movement, and Shane Claiborne) So, as I reference Shane: “Is it crazy to say we should help provide water access for the 1.2 billion people that need it, or is it crazy, like in our churches, we’re debated whether or not we should get a heater for the baptismal while people don’t have water?” Did you know that about America, brother? Did you know that there really is this type of discrepancy on this earth you and I share? It’s quite heartbreaking, isn’t it?

Perhaps we could learn from each other. Perhaps I could learn your story and you could learn mine. I think that’s what Jesus is all about. I think Jesus is all about going out and talking to the people who don’t look like us, speak like us, dress like us, think like us, or live like us. After all, that’s what he did. Even if you have never heard of this Jesus, have you ever heard of anything as crazy as that? Perhaps if we start sharing, – from individual to global and back – then Tuesday night instead of your unsuccessful endeavor to find money, we could have been sharing a meal together. I think that type of situation requires both of our parts, brother. And neither you nor I are perfect – we still have lots to learn and more room to grow. As long as this type of community may be called idealistic or crazy, there will always be more to do. Let’s help each other along.

Updates

2009-09-23T06:31:00.000-07:00

I am writing this blog at 1am on a Tuesday night because I cannot sleep so I thought I might as well do something constructive :) Since we returned from Rwanda, things have been moving pretty fast. Here are some key points to update you on what has been going on:

- We finally got moved into our new apartment in the same complex. We now have a roomy 3 bedroom. Our 2 classmates have joined us so now there are 5 women living together and the 2 guys in our program have an apartment near us. 5 women and one bathroom might seem like an impossible situation for many to handle but so for it has been working out just fine. We have managed not to get on each others’ nerves and when we need a break or need to get away, we have other friends we can visit.

- We also started classes this past week. Our first class is International Law taught by a lawyer that used to work for the Tribunal and our ex-supervisor at the UN. This class is proving to be very challenging as he expects us to think like lawyers and is surprised by the lack of knowledge we have about the topic, despite having previously taken classes in International Law. Eunice and I gave a presentation on the first week of class to which he responded, “that was good expect you should have included this, this, this and this but you were the first ones to go so hopefully the rest will get better.” We knew we were going to be the guinea pigs for this project that we only had 2 days to prepare for but I am thankful that we got it out of the way. We still have a paper to write and an exam to prepare for in addition to all the reading he has given us so I was glad that this is one less things to worry about.

- Eunice, Melissa and I have been continuing to do morning devotions and pray together. We even had “church” service at our house on Sunday because it was raining really hard (1^st time we have seen that much rain since we have been here) and we could not get a ride. We pray and help support each other and I feel that we have created a deeper sense of fellowship, accountability and community through this time together which helps us to cope with things we cannot control.

- One of those things that we cannot control is a situation that happened today. Eunice and I were leaving work at about 6:30pm and despite warnings time and time again not to walk home after dark, we ignored our instincts and did it anyway. Just as we were debating whether we should take a dala dala home, a guy ran up and grabbed Eunice’s purse and took off into the woods (just like people told us they would do). We stood there in shock and some people stopped and replied “pole” as they often say here, “sorry”. Thankfully we were not hurt and from past experience we do not carry much on us so Eunice did not lose anything valuable. We were a little shaken up though (this is evident by the fact that both of us are up at this hour). For some reason, this incident seems to be bothering me more than the incident at the restaurant, which was much more of a scary situation for me. One thing that is really bothering me is wondering why this happened and I am starting to question God, whereas I do not feel I did that with the incident at the restaurant. I also feel angry that this happened to Eunice. Not that I wanted it to happen to anyone else, but those that know her, know that she is one of the most kind, selfless, and caring people that you will ever meet. I am also angry that this is just the norm here and that you have to live your life with this being the norm. Writing the blog about Rwanda right before this though also helps me to put it in perspective. Living in a society where muggings are the norm is a lot better than living in a society where genocide was the norm. I am still trying to process everything and understand how I am feeling which I think it will take some time.

Rwanda, Rwanda- Land of a Thousand Hills

2009-09-23T05:51:00.002-07:00

I spent this past week in the capital city of Rwanda, Kigali. Rwanda is called the “Land of a Thousand Hills” due to its beautiful hilly landscape of the mountains and lush green lands that surround it. My experience in Rwanda was one that I will never forget. It was an experience that for me was filled with happiness, sadness, anger, excitement, disappointment and hope. After studying about the genocide in Rwanda for the past couple of years, actually being there and experiencing the aftermath of it myself was a life changing.

The highlight of the trip was the people that we met. Upon arriving at the airport, we met a friend of Melissa’s, whom we have nicknamed “Peace” and sometimes refer to as “King Julian” from Madagascar because he made us laugh and “loves laughing”. Peace is one of the most amazing people that I have met in a while. Despite the struggles he has faced in life and continues to face, he has the most humbling, kind, and forgiving spirit. Peace lost many family members in the genocide and was recently fired from his job as a journalist because he refused join the political party that is controlling the government. Peace spent the whole week with us and was very patient as we asked him 50 million questions, some that were very intimate about his experiences during the genocide. He accompanied us to the Genocide Memorial Museum and 2 genocide sites where thousands of people were killed. I am grateful that Peace took the time to spend with us this past week b/c I don’t think we would have had as great of an experience if he was not there. A benefit of knowing Melissa who knew Peace, was also meeting his friends who were equally as friendly and welcoming. We met his roommates, his cousin and other friends. Everyone wanted to make sure that we had the best time in Rwanda and did what they could to accommodate us.

Throughout our time in Rwanda, we met other locals here and there that Peace conversed with. At one of the genocide sites, we met 2 young ladies that were living in child-headed households and taking care of each other due to losing their parents during the genocide. We also met a little boy in the same neighborhood that was thoroughly excited to receive a pen from Eunice. As he ran away, Peace said, “He is so happy, he is running because he is happy!”. At another site, we met a woman who had recently been attacked by some men with a machete to the head and left to die. She survived but was too afraid to speak out against her attackers for fear of further violence.

As we left the airport the first things I noticed was a drastic difference between Arusha and Kigali. Since the genocide, Kigali has drawn a lot of international attention. I wonder how many lives could have been saved if Rwanda was able to draw as much attention during the genocide. As I observed the nicely paved roads, the new buildings, fancy hotels, upscale coffee shops, malls, and fancy supermarkets, I was really excited because it is more of the type of lifestyle that I am used to in the US. My excitement soon faded when I realized that all of this development came at a price, namely 800,000 people were killed during the genocide in 1994. My thought became even more disheartening when I realized that violence was still continuing today, despite all of the progress that the country is making and everything that I had learned about the reconciliation process in Rwanda.

During our time in Kigali, we stayed at St. Paul’s Guest House. St. Paul’s is also a church that was instrumental during the genocide. Many people sought refuge there and the pastor of the church was able to keep the people in hiding and saved many lives. In stark contrast, St. Famille, the church right next to St. Paul’s was also a church people fled to for protection, however, most of the people there died because the pastor was conspiring with the Interharmwe militia. Today, the church has been reopened and people fill the church each morning for worship service. We attended one of the services and while it was encouraging to see people progressing and getting back to “normal” life, it was also a weird feeling to be in a place that had been a part of taking so many people’s lives. We asked Peace how the church managed to reopen and thrive again and he explained that one of the reasons was because people thought that another genocide was eminent so they were convinced to come back to church and get saved so that if they died they would go to heaven. That was a perspective that I never would have thought of and it is something that I am really struggling to understand today.

The Hotel de Mille Collines was another place we visited that felt strange to be in. This was the hotel that the movie Hotel Rwanda was based on. Many people also sought refuge here during the genocide and most of them managed to survive thanks to the efforts of Paul Russesabagina, one of the hotel managers. Today, business as usual is conducted at the hotel and it is even undergoing construction. We went there for lunch one day and it was strange because images from the movie kept popping up in my head as I thought of what a safe haven this was for the people that were able to hide there.

We also visited 2 memorial sites in Nyamata and Natarama where massacres occurred. These sites are living reminders of the genocide that took place as they have been left in the same condition that they were 15 years ago. Clothes, shoes, belongings, and even bones of the people who were killed are still there. Words cannot describe what it feels like to see these type of reminders of the capability of mankind to treat one another with blatant disrespect and disregard for human life. At these sites, no one was spared, not women, men, children or babies. I had a hard time at first trying to convince myself to actually go into the churches but then I looked at Peace and he helped give me that courage. If he, (a person directly affected by the genocide and the aftermath of it) could do it, then I, (a person who has never had to really experience pain and suffering in her life) could do it.

People often talk about the poverty line and what it means to live below or at the poverty line and this was a concept that was illustrated for us in Kigali. Michelle took a picture as we were driving one day that showed old shacks and very basic houses on one side and luxurious new houses on the other side. She remarked that a good description for the picture would be “poverty line”. You could literally see the drastic distinction between the neighborhoods that appeared to be so close together. Peace explained that one thing the government was doing in the name of development was to “buy” up peoples’ properties and then use the land to build these new houses designed for foreigners and high ranking officials that could afford them. The people that were moved out of these areas could certainly not afford to live in the newly built houses and many were forced to relocate out into the villages. This immediately reminded me of the re-gentrification movement in Atlanta where many of the projects are being torn down and people are given money to relocate but similar to the situation in Kigali, cannot afford to move into the newly built houses. This does not help relieve poverty; it only spreads it out instead of it being more concentrated. The similarities of what I saw in Kigali and what is happening in Atlanta and other cities throughout the US was really baffling but it also showed that we are more connected than we think.

The visit to Rwanda is one that will stick with me more a long time and one that I hope I will continue to reflect upon. The people we met and the fact that we felt very comfortable and safe there, made the trip so much more enjoyable. The insight that we gained from being able to bear witness to some of the aftermath of the genocide, both positive and negative, helps to give me a better framework and understanding of the social life of post-conflict societies. However, I don’t think that I will ever be able to fully understand the depth of the circumstances, struggles, hopes and fears that the people of Rwanda will have to contend with for generations to come.

I leave you with a list of things that you can see/do/hear in Kigali that you do not see/do/hear in Arusha:

- Traffic signs, traffic lights, and crosswalks (Arusha has one stop light and I have not seen any traffic signs)

- There is a quietness that fills that air in Kigali. Arusha is very noisy in comparison (i.e. dogs barking, the call to prayer 5 times a day, horns and music constantly blaring, people shouting- these are all sounds that were a lot less frequent in Kigali)

- Hills (these were evident in all of our walks and drives around town. You could not go anywhere without going up and down a hill.)

- Kigali has much more development, paved roads, new houses and buildings, more of a metropolitan feel than Arusha. In contrast, Kigali seemed a lot less touristy than Arusha.

- In Kigali we felt very safe. People constantly ensured us that it was one of the safest cities in Africa and that it was OK to walk after dark which is something we could never do in Arusha.

- On the other hand, genocide memorials and museums are ever present in Kigali but not in Arusha. It is strange how a city in a country that has lived through a genocide is safer than a city in a country that is known to be one of the most peaceful in Africa. Tanzania does not have any history of war, conflict, ethnic strife or genocide whereas Rwanda has suffered from several genocides throughout history.

- Purple flowers were planted all throughout Kigali as a symbol of grief and morning.

News/ Updates

2009-09-03T00:56:00.000-07:00

- We now have a generator at out apartment complex which makes us part of the “privileged”. This means, in theory, that when the power goes out, the generator will kick in and we will still have lights. I think they are still working out some of the kinks b/c it doesn’t seem to be functioning completely but it is a step up.

- Our 4 other classmates will be arriving this week and next week so I am excited about that. We start classes on the 15^th of Sept. which I am both looking forward to and dreading at the same time. Looking forward to the actual classes but not the papers that come with them.

- We are traveling to Rwanda next week and I am trying to prepare myself for this life changing experience. We will be visiting the Genocide Memorial Museum and some genocide sites where massacres were actually carried out so it will be a pretty intense trip. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to it b/c it helps to put a face to all of the things we have been learning about conflict and reconciliation over the past year. I am interested to see what the sense of reconciliation is like and what it feels like to be in a country where almost everyone was affected by the genocide in one way or another. We have heard that there is still an eerie silence that is present in the country despite all of the progress it has made today, 15 years after the genocide.

- My roommates/ housemates and I have been getting together in the mornings before work to do devotions and start our day with prayer. We read a daily devotion from my Bible (thanks Poppy) and then pray for a productive day, for safety and that the Lord will continue to use us to be a blessing to each other and the people we meet. We have been struggling to find a church home here so this helps to keep me focused and grounded.

- We are continuing our morning runs and I think I am actually starting to like them which is something I never thought I would say.

- We should be starting our French classes at the UN soon and we are constantly improving our Kiswahili.

- I am getting better at washing my underwear by hand but I still use my “febreezing” method on my other clothes. I will have to come up with a plan B soon though b/c I am almost out of it.

- Most of my Tanzanian friends did not like when I got my hair done and it was straight. They said they said I should get my “halfcaste” hair back and that when my hair was straight, it was “muzungu” hair.

- I slept under a mosquito net for the first time since I have been here this week. Melissa and I had a pesky, little mosquito that kept buzzing in our ears so we decided to set up the contraption they call a mosquito net. It felt very confining b/c you are supposed to tuck it under you mattress so that they mosquitoes can’t get in. Luckily, it is still pretty cool here so we do not have a big mosquito problem but one is enough to mess up an otherwise good night’s sleep. I was hoping that I would not have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom but as fate would have it, I did. I managed to slide out with not too much trouble but getting back in and getting situated again was a bit more of a challenge.

HARUSI + pictures

2009-09-03T00:21:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we were invited to a Tanzanian wedding (aka harusi). It was an interesting and delightful experience to say the least. We traveled with our friend Alfred, who has his own safari business, namely Alfred safaris. We were connected to Alfred some time ago through a former IPCR student that spent almost a year here in Arusha. We jumped into his safari jeep and drove about an hour outside of town to a town/village/community that we still do not know the name of. All I know is it was on the way to the airport and then we took a left turn before the gas station by some stores and went up a very bumpy road with patches of green trees and bushes and brown dust.

We passed random houses and kids outside playing and yelling at us, “hi muzungus” before we came to a small village and made a right turn down another bumpy, dusty road. We soon got confirmation that we were going in the right direction when we saw groups of people walking from the church to what ended up being the reception site (the home of the bride and groom). We had missed the ceremony at the church but arrived just in time to see the ushering in of the bridal party.

As the MC made some announcements, family and friends danced around a decorated car that had the bridal party inside. After a few minutes, the bride and groom along with the best man and maid of honor exited the car and made their way through the crowd to join another group of people who were gathered outside of the couple’s new house.

We learned that the couple had built the house (yes, actually physically built the house together, not had the house built for them) and the pastor was now blessing it for their new life together. Alfred had some VIP status so we were able to maneuver through the crowd and sit in the shade while the blessing of the house took place. We watched as the caterers prepared the buffet lines and readied everything for the serving of the meal. We were surprised to see one of the caterers had on a Starbucks apron and wondered where in the world he got that from.

Soon the bride and groom emerged from the house and went to form the receiving line. We again benefited from Alfred’s VIP status and were allowed to eat as hundreds of people bearing gifts took their place in the receiving line to congratulate the happy couple. The meal was delicious consisting of rice, beans, chicken, beef, bananas, and salad. As we ate we watched the people progress through the receiving line. If I ever get married, I would like to have a receiving line like this couple. They were receiving gifts that they actually needed and could use. They received many goats as gifts along with household items such as beds, tables, chairs, dishes, and even some type of metal that I assume could be used to build something if they wanted to. It was a pretty funny sight to see people dragging goats and carrying things like chairs on their heads but it really made sense when you think about it. They wouldn’t have to hassle with taking any gifts back to the store b/c they did not like them or need them and try to exchange them for something else. Even it they got more than one goat, they could make use of all the things they received.

After we ate, we decided to try to get into the receiving line to congratulate the couple considering we had crashed their wedding and already ate such good food. The couple was so busy welcoming their guests that they had not even eaten yet. We managed to get into the middle of the line which was still fairly long at this time and we shook hands with the bride and groom greeting them with “hongera” or congrats. Sensing that it would still take a long time for everyone to make it through the receiving line and eat, we did what typical black folk do and said, “We hate to eat and run but we gotta go!”

On the way out, we passed by what was apparently the outdoor kitchen where all the food was being prepared. The caterers were washing dishes and still preparing food, mainly the “cake”. The Tanzanian version of wedding cake was actually a grilled goat. It reminded me of a pig pickin, except there was a goat instead of a pig. We were looking at 2 whole goats (head, feet, legs and all) with sticks stuck through their bodies being roasted over an open flame. The goat was then wrapped in aluminum foil, placed on a tray and presented to the bride and groom. It was a little shocking and I felt sorry for the poor goat so I passed on tasting some of the wedding “cake”. We loaded back into Alfred’s truck and prepared from the long, dusty journey back home.

Morning Inspiration

2009-08-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

This morning I embarked on another 5K run with my running partners Eunice and Gasper. Naomi, one of our neighbors, did not join us so I had no excuse to stop and walk for a little while. Once we got to the half way point though, I did walk, for just a minute. It really was only a minute, Eunice can vouch for me. This morning I noticed I had a lot of inspiration along the way that helped to keep me going. In addition to Eunice and Gasper's encouragement, I received a smile here and there from people that were walking to work or going to where ever they were going early in the morning. We passed by a group of guys on bicycles and they rang their bells and told me to keep going. Towards the end of our run, a young man joined us and as I was lagging a little behind, he said "twende" (Let's go!). Then I was joined by a little girl on her way to school named Laura. Laura provided the additional motivation I needed to make it to the end. She started running with me and when I told her I was tired, she replied, "pole" meaning, I'm sorry but basically I could see that she meant "too bad your tired, keep going anyway". I couldn't let a little kid out do me so I kept running and eventually made it back home. I was hoping that we would get a tide from Naomi to work this morning but we did not see her when we were leaving so after running 5K, we walked another mile or so to work. Now I'm really tired but I am hoping I will get a spurt of energy to make it through the day. Hopefully some more inspirations will be sent my way :)

“Anything is possible if you believe” + pictures!

2009-08-24T05:16:00.000-07:00

This is the lesson we learned this weekend as we spent another restful weekend at Melissa’s host family’s house in Usa River. It has become out home away from home (Arusha) away from home (the US). Usa River has beautiful scenery and a great view of Mt. Meru on a sunny day.

We visited the orphanage again and there we met a lovely group of young ladies that attend the local primary school located on the campus of the University of Arusha.

Most of the girls were between the ages of 12-14 and it was great to get to know them a little bit. They had come to the orphanage to visit and play on the playground there. As they were leaving, they invited us to come and see their school. Next thing we knew, we were in a short church service before dinner that was led by the children. A group of 3 young boys stood on the stage and proceeded to open up the service with prayer followed by singing, scripture reading, a short sermon, and more singing. It was one of the best church services I have been to in a long time.

We then went to see the girls dormitories since most of them were boarders at the school. They are finishing up their studies within the next couple of weeks and if they do well on their examinations they will go on to secondary schools. When asked if they were nervous about their exams, they replied, “Why should we be nervous? We have been practicing.” I admired their confidence. The girls also had high hopes and aspirations for the future which was apparent in their future career choices. Many wanted to be nurses, lawyers, and accountants. When they asked us what we want to go when we grow up, one girl said that I would be a good hostess. We told them that we were studying about conflict and also about how to bring more peace to the world and they seemed to think that was a good idea.

On Sunday, we were invited to Mama Musa’s house. Mama Musa is the head nurse at the clinic where Melissa works. She invited us to visit her and in the Tanzanian tradition, had a lot of food prepared for us. We had roasted nuts, bananas, mandazi (doughnuts), potatoes, and cake.

Not the healthiest breakfast but it gave us a break from the cookies we had been eating all weekend and of course it was good. I will need to step up my workouts if we keep eating this well. At the end of the meal, Mama Musa gave us some sugarcane from her field to take with us. This was my first time eating sugarcane and it seems like a lot of work to cut it and peel it but I think it was worth it. You have to chew it to get the sugary water out of the cane and spit out the rest of it. The sweetness of it was right up my alley.

I am really enjoying the hospitality that Tanzanians are extending towards us, especially when it involves food. We have had so many good meals and met many friendly people. It has really been a blessing for us and I hope that we can extend the hospitality one day. It is an honor for people who seem to have so little, share what they have with us. Although Mama Musa’s house was small (basically a small bedroom, kitchen and sitting area), she did not hesitate to invite us in and make us feel at home.

After we left Mama Musa’s house, we stopped by the primary school to see the girls one more time. They were outside playing so we joined in for a game of net ball. We then showed them some yoga moves, exchanged addresses and phone numbers, and wished them luck on their exams.

Although it was only for a short while, the bonding experience we had with the girls was one that cannot be captured on film or pictures. It is one of those things you just keep a mental picture of and go back to it from time to time to remember the innocence and genuine kind spirits that do exists in this world. Sometimes it helps you forget about all the craziness that takes place, even if it is just for a moment.

Everyday I'm Hustlin

2009-08-24T04:06:00.000-07:00

This blog entry was inspired by the recent hustles that I have seen in and around Arusha. To me, a hustle is basically anything that you do to survive and pay the bills. It could be your regular 9-5 or a less conventional hustle such as selling bootleg dvds and cds or selling "hot" items out of the trunk of your car. In Atlanta, I am used to seeing certain hustles such as the dvd man coming into the beauty shop trying to sell the latest cds/dvds or the occasional person approaching you in the parking lot trying to sell anything from watches to perfumes. Arusha, though has led me to see hustling on a whole different level. Here people really get their hustle on and can be found selling anything from watch batteries to white baby dolls. The most creative hustle that I have seen so far though has been charging people to weigh themselves on scales set up on the side of the road. I guess in an area where not too many people have scales in their homes, making money off of people weighing themselves is not a bad idea. There is apparently a market for it b/c when I passed by I saw 4-5 people being weighed.

Another hustle I have discovered here is bootleg dvds. The dvds here are a little different from the dvds I would get in the States though. Here you can buy one dvd and it may have 13-15 movies on it. Not a bad deal! There is one catch, however. The movies are not always in the desired language. For example, I was all set to watch Madagascar 2 the other night until I discovered it was in Russian. The other 12 movies on the the dvd which included Shrek 1,2, and 3, and Beverly Hills Chihuahua, were all in English. Of course the one movie that I wanted to watch would be in another language. We tried to watch it with subtitles but the subtitles made no sense whatsoever. They were ridiculous and had me wondering whose job it was to translate.

Other hustles I have seen here are charging people for bags at the local markets. Not sure if this is Arusha's attempt to "go green" and encourage people to bring their own bags, nevertheless it is a hustle. Usually young boys are walking around the markets trying to sell plastic bags. I have also seen someone getting their nails painted at a little stand on the side of the road and carts full of used clothes for sale. Additionally, people have tried to sell me newspapers from various countries and mosquito zappers that look like tennis rackets. You are always approached with the sales pitch that this is a special "muzungu" (white person/foreigner) price that is 10 times higher than the price for locals. You learn quickly to negotiate the muzungu price and get it the item for less than half of the original asking price or walk away.

The locals though are not the only ones that have perfected this art of hustling. The muzungus that have been in Arusha for a while, have also benefited from this art form. They are making money off of catering to other muzungus. This includes opening grocery stores, movie theatres, restaurants, clinics and coffee shops that the average Tanzanian cannot afford. Here the minimum wage is about $41 per month. On that budget, not many people can afford to pay $10 for a meal, $8 for a movie or $3 for a cup of coffee.

I guess, in the end though, hustling just makes good business sense. That is what good business is all about: finding a market, catering to that market and making money off of it. They say, "You can't knock the hustle" and I'm not knocking it, it just seems that the various hustles create more of a divide in the levels of society and these societies interact mostly in a business/ employee/ employer relationship sort of way. These are just some personal observations that I have made so far that I am trying to understand more and find out more about. I will keep you posted.

2009-08-24T04:00:00.000-07:00

Above: The group at Fotini, a vintage and souvenir shop on the outskirts of Arusha. It is owned by the couple in the picture (husband is from Greece and wife is from Kenya- they have spent most of their lives in Tanzania).
Eunice and Michelle browse through books at Fotini's book swap and Gasper, our running partner and taxi driver, poses for a picture :)

Internship

2009-08-18T02:15:00.001-07:00

I am enjoying our internship, although the work is sometimes mundane. The mix of people we have met there is so diverse and I am learning a lot just from interacting with them. The IT guys that come fix my computer when the internet goes out (which was 3 times on Friday) always teach me new Kiswahili phrases. Sumari, one of the custodians that works on our hall, greets me in the morning and attempts to have a full conversation with me in Kiswahili that can be pretty challenging. There is also Nelson, the copy guy, who is so friendly and always asks, “Habari za kazi?”, “How’s work?”. There are 2 French guys on our hallway that always tease me about my hole in the wall office and about our robbery experience at the Ethiopian restaurant.

My favorite UN character right now is a little Indian guy that reminds me of King Julian from Madagascar, the movie. We were in a staff training the other day about making yourself marketable for life within and outside of the UN where the facilitator went over interview techniques. During the training, “King Julian” kept yelling out random comments. Out of the blue, he asked Eunice is she spoke Chinese and told her that he didn’t. During a discussion about who to put down as a reference if you can’t put anyone that works for the UN, he suggested that you might put the name of one of the accused people on trial. It was actually pretty funny and he kept me entertained during the training. I felt that the training was a little inappropriate for the audience but the people in attendance seemed to really like it (there were about 60 people in the training and only half of them had chairs to sit in). I assumed that a group of experienced UN staff members would know not to put sexymama21@yahoo.com on their resumes but maybe not. The facilitator also stressed the importance of hygiene, and I quote, “Deodorant is important!”.

Our supervisor, who is from Tunisia, and has just returned from vacation there, has also taken us under her wings and is trying to give us as much experience as possible while we are here. She even got our internship extended for the rest of the time we are in Arusha, even though we will only be able to do it part time when we start classes. This means we have 4 more months of access to the UN library, the Duty Free shop, and can actually participate in the language classes offered by the UN. We thought we were going to miss out on those b/c they are in recess right now and do not start again until September. 6 months of UN experience will also look great on our resume! We are continuing to work on the Witness Protection project related to residual functions that will need to be carried out once the Tribunal closes, along with project management where we are compiling a report of various projects being carried out to raise awareness about the work of the Tribunal and to strengthen the Rwandan judicial system. Our supervisor makes me feel like I am really a part of the team and it seems she values our feedback. She has also promised to teach us how to cook some new dishes and take us on some day trips once things get less hectic.

It’s Friday, it's Friday, it’s the end of the week and the last day!

2009-08-18T02:06:00.000-07:00

Selina its on you, so what you gonna do! I’m gonna get my skype on, I’m gonna get my eat on, I’m gonna get my hair done, all weekend long!

Skype on- I’m lovin skype! Being able to talk to people half way around the world for little to nothing, is a great invention! I hung around work a little longer on Friday so that I could skype home and not have to call people at the crack of dawn. It was great being able to talk to my boo and see him on the video and just catch up with him. I also got to talk to my girl on the eve of her 30^th birthday as she wondered about what the weekend had in store for her. I will have to catch up with her this week, hope it is good news :).

Eat on- Friday evening we decided to invite friends over for dinner and cook to redeem ourselves for the first meal we cooked that was edible but not really good (I actually wasn’t a part of that meal b/c I was already sick- I think it was a blessing in disguise). We cooked for about 10 people and it was actually good. Our new recipe that we have cooked variations of (paste and tomatoes with olive oil, wine, onions, garlic, basil and cheese) was a success. It took about 4 hours from us to make it, given the tedious process of cutting and peeling everything (this is why I don’t cook) and the fact that our stove is very slow. It takes about an hour to boil a pot of water for pasta. In addition to the pasta we had fresh, cooked vegetables, oregano sliced potatoes, and cucumber and tomato salad. I don’t like to brag but it was a pretty good meal. I asked everyone to give a video testimony so those of you that know that I don’t/ can’t cook can hear it straight from the horse’s mouth that the food was great! I will post it soon :)

Saturday, we continued getting our eat on thanks to Melissa’s friend Ulvine. Ulvine’s family lives on the outskirts of Arusha and you have to take a daladala to get there. Daladalas are the local, economical, somewhat shady vans that you can use to get from one place to another. This was our first time taking the daladalas since we have been here. Picture a 13 passenger van packed with about 20 or more people plus baggage or other random things. We have been amazed and how many people fit into a daladala and how the people maneuver in and out of it –usually backing out and ducking down. Ulvine’s house was about a 15 minute ride and it only costs us 250 schilling, which is less than $.25. We were greeted at Ulvine’s house by her parents, her little nephew and a feast of food (rice, fish, potatoes, green beans and peas, a traditional Tanzanian dish of maize and beans, all with a ground nut and egg sauce). It was delicious! We were also served fruit and a homemade lemongrass tea that we all loved. Ulvine’s father works at the medical clinic where Melissa is doing her internship at the University of Arusha and her mother is an entrepreneur. She raises chickens for eggs and to be sold as food to the local hotels and restaurants. She is also a seamstress.

I found that many people here are pretty creative in their forms of income and many have an entrepreneurial spirit. There are many local stands/ side of the road shops where people sell anything from clothes to vegetables, watch batteries to vocha for your cell phone, and mosquito zappers to white baby dolls. We have also been approached by people selling newspapers from all over the world and their own paintings and handmade crafts. I guess there must be a market for these things but it can get pretty overwhelming at times, especially when you just want to get to where you are going.

On our way to work every morning, we pass a sweet older lady that would be considered a panhandler/ beggar. She sits by the side of the road and collects money to get food for her family. We greet her with “Shikamo” and she melodically responds “Marhaba”. We sometimes bring her fruit in the mornings, but wanted to see if we could invite her to lunch one day. With the help of a friend from the ICTR to translate, we invited her to lunch but were told that she really appreciated the offer but she could not leave her “office” because she would miss out on collecting some money during that time. She also did not want to eat in town b/c the money or food she collects is for her family so she would prefer to take food home to them. That said, we decided to bring her groceries from time to time that she could take home to the family.

Getting my hair done- On Sunday we went to a local Catholic church that we were invited to by a friend of a friend who came to dinner on Friday. On the walk to church, we passed by the church we used to go to (the one where we sang in the choir) and had an interesting/ uncomfortable conversation with one of the guys in the choir. He was wondering what happened to us and why we did not come back to choir practice. We tried to explain to him that we would not be able to come because of work and school (as we have done several times before) but he wasn’t feeling it. He wanted to know if it was something they had done and we tried to explain that it was just that we were busy and could not commit to coming every week. Not sure if he ever really got what we were saying b/c he really wasn’t listening but we eventually broke off the conversation and continued our walk.

After church, we took another daladala to Njiro, which is the more well to do area of town. This is where the cinema is along with a “mall” with a couple of shops, a new grocery store, some restaurants and coffee shops. There is also a beauty salon called "Glorious" there where you can get your hair and nails done. To get a break from this pony tail that seems to have a life of its own on my head I decided to get my hair done. A wash and set at this salon costs 3,500 shilling (less that $3.00!!!!). That is even a better deal than the Dominican salons back home. A pedicure costs about $7.00. The cinema complex is one of the areas in town that has a generator so I figured we would not have to worry about the power going out but what we didn’t bank on was the water being turned off. Not sure why it was off, but the ladies had to constantly bring in buckets of water to wash our hair. Not really sure where they were getting the water from but they managed to keep it rollin like it was nothing out of the ordinary and never missed a beat.

Yes You Can!

2009-08-18T02:01:00.000-07:00

This Friday, inspired by Eunice and Gasper (my running partners), the words of Obama (“Yes, You Can!”) and Martin (You Go Girl!), I managed to run 5K straight, no stopping. Eunice and I have been running about twice a week at 6am before we go to work. This is the first time, however, that I have made it all around without stopping- I usually have to walk about 5-10 minutes. I am not much of a runner (I actually don’t like it) but there is something about running the streets of Arusha as the sun comes up that really gets my adrenaline rushing and gets me off to a great start of the day. This particular morning we were also joined by a group of guys that tagged along for a while, (one was a local Maasai, in his traditional Maasai garb- rubber flip flops, a walking stick, and a 2 pieces of traditional cloth material wrapped around his body, and one guy who had a beer bottle and offered my some beer while we were running). The guys hung in for a while (the Maasai guy started singing/ chanting something in Maasai language as we were running that helped build up the momentum of the run) and then they politely said “badai”, meaning see ya later!

More Pictures - Usa River Orphanage

2009-08-11T23:46:00.000-07:00

Group Picture

Planting a garden

Tug of War :)

Bennie pushing me on the swings. He is pretty strong for a 3 year old!

Singing my infamous 3 Little Bears song. Always a hit with kids no matter what culture:)

New meaning for multitasking!

More planting.

Looking at his re-creation of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

All smiles :)

More Random Thoughts

2009-08-10T23:20:00.000-07:00

Power Outages:

Yesterday we had our plan A all worked out regarding our power outage but we are realizing you always need a plan B and a plan C wouldn't hurt either :) Knowing that power goes out every Monday and Thursday (occasionally on Sundays), we rushed home after work to try to get there before it was cut off so that we could warm up our dinner. We prepared the night before by cooking extra pasta and vegetables so we could just throw them in the microwave. I think that our walk home on Mon. and Thurs. goes by much quicker b/c we are consciously trying to get there before the power goes out to make a mad dash for the fridge and microwave. We got there with about 10 minutes to spare. Just enough time to warm up our food and start eating. Afterwards, we headed to the cinema with our friend Alfred to watch Ice Age 3 but to our dismay, the cinema is closed on Mondays :(. Hence, plan B. But, we really didn't have a plan B so we just walked around the shopping complex (most of the other stores were closed on Mondays as well) to see what they have. I found out where the salon was that I have been hearing about. Apparently I can get my hair done there (wash and set) for 3,500 shillings (about $3.00)! That is cheaper that the domincan salons back home! We did stop in to the new grocery store that caters to foreigners but it was really expensive. I saw a box of cereal for 12,000 shillings. that about $10.00 (ridiculous!). We grabbed a few things and were out. On the way home we stopped at a new coffee spot called Starcup which is right next to Star grill. It was a nice, relaxed atmosphere and you can tell they also cater to foreigners.

Societal divides:

As we were at the Starcup talking to the son of the owner I started to think more and more about the societal divides here. It seems that there is a society that caters to the locals and another society that caters to foreigners. The guy at the shop was telling us about a new medical clinic his father also owned that would be opening up soon. He said that there is a need for such a clinic because many people travel to Nairobi and South Africa for medical care. As we talked to him more and more I realized that this would be another place that would cater to foreigners. He talked about how it would be a state of the art center and they would bring in foreign doctors and nurses and it would be a private facility, possible with a gym or a daycare center attached to it. I assume that the center would employ locals as the coffe shop has (our barista was a nice local guy with a shirt that said "coffee and sandwitches" on the back) but I just have this conflicted feeling about the inequality that seems to be created in Arusha. The thing is that I also take part in creating that inequality because I like to frequent these places that cater to foreigners because they remind me of home. I guess from a business stand point it makes sense to provide what people want or need but I am sure that that the local people are also in need of better health facilities and they cannot afford to travel to Nairobi or South Africa. This is just something that I have been thinking about lately as I start to notice this divide in society more and more.

Laundry:

On a lighter note, I have realized that I have a new way of separating my laundry. Instead of separating them by colors to be washed as I would back home, here are my new categories:

- clean clothes (the ones that I was able to wash in the wash machine at Melissa's and now I don't want to get them dirty)
- not so clean clothes (ones that can be refreshed with Febreeze at least 2 more times)
- almost dirty clothes (the ones that have been Febreezed 3 or more times but could go for atleast one more spray)
- dirty clothes (the ones that have been febreezed to death and no amount of febreeze will make them look or smell better!)

I think I am getting a system down now so it is not bad. Hey, you gotta go with the flow!

Ulifanya nini weekendi?

2009-08-10T06:56:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we had a little weekend getaway to a place called Usa River (not USA river as we originally though:). Our friend, Melissa, who is also in our program is currently doing her internship there at a clinic (she is a nurse). Usa River is a little town about 30-40 minutes outside of Arusha and is in between Mt. Meru and Mt. Kilimanjaro. It is a little higher in elevation than Arusha so we experienced a little bit of fresh air, which was nice. To get there, you travel on the main road to the airport but eventually detour off to a much more bumpy and not so comfortable road. Luckily our driver, knew his way around and knew how to avoid most of the big potholes.

Melissa's house ( actually it is a couple from America's house that have allowed Melissa to stay with them) is very nice and located on the campus of the University of Arusha. The campus is surrounded by 5 villages with about 25,000 people. I really liked the way the houses were interspersed within the campus, made it fell more community oriented. We were actually visited by one of the village elders who came to check on Melissa because he knew she was staying there by herself.

A couple of big differences between Melissa's house and our apartment:
1. They house had a big kitchen which we actually utilized and prepared some great meals (we are not such bad cooks after all).
2. The shower was nice and hot and I did not have to rinse off with the spray nozzle. It was a "real" shower.
3. They have a washing machine!!! I actually got to wash a load of clothes although it did require a little extra work. You have to manually fill the washing machine with 3 big buckets of water and 2 more during the rinse cycle. It was better than hand washing though!
4. The house comes with dogs. I'm don't really do dogs but these dogs were really nice and well behaved so it wasn't bad.
5. Also in the kitchen we had access to alot of stuff we don't have at home like various spices, cheese and fresh eggs. I haven't eaten eggs since I have been here but did eat scrambled eggs this weekend (scrambled well with cheese, just like I like them). I also ate french toast, cinnamon toast, pasta with fresh vegetables, baked rosemary potatoes, and cookies (eunice's specialty).

While we were at Melissa's we also got to visit an orphanage where she has been volunteering. The kids are between the ages of 3-10 years and we spent about 2 hours playing with them. The kids are all from Tanzania and some have lost their parents while others parents are still alive but are unable to provide for them. I believe the orphanage was established by a German couple and they have put a lot of time and effort into making it a great place for the kids. The kids were all playing outside when we got there and invited us to join them. We played soccer, red light, green light and just ran around with them. I also hit them up with my ever famous "3 little bears" song that is always a hit with kids (apparently no matter what age or culture). They quickly got the hang of some of the words and the movements. It was a great experience to hear, see and feel the laughter of little children who despite their situation, really seemed to enjoy life and look forward to all it has to offer. They were such a joy to be around and I can still see the smiles on their faces as they played on the playground and invited us into their rooms to see their stickers and beds.

Other than eating, chillin with my crew and the kids, I also got a chance to relax and read this weekend which was also nice. I finished my book about the UN and I am starting another book about peacemakers throughout the world. This evening, since the power will be out, we are venturing to the cinema for the first time. Just like back home I have a bag of sweets to sneak into the movies with me thanks to my mom :) I got a package of German gummy bears and chocolate today that only took 2 weeks to get here. I am still waiting on packages from 2 of my other friends though that were sent about a month ago. I'm not giving up hope yet!

Random Thoughts

2009-08-05T23:58:00.000-07:00

Today I am pretty much all over the place so here are some random thoughts/occurrences that I thought I would share:

- Last night we watched "Surf's Up" on TV. Apparently we have HBO (I don't even have HBO at home :). In my apartment the movie was in black and white or "gray" as my goddaughters would say but still good to watch nonetheless. We watched the movie while cooking a delicious and nutritious pot of vegetables. We had carrots, brocolli, green beans and cucumbers. We bought all these veggies for about $2.00. It was really good and exciting to have something that did not have a lot of carbs. The vegetables took about an hour and 15 minutes to cook though b/c we do not have a great stove. So, Michelle and I attempted to do a workout while we watched "Surfs Up" and cooked. HBO seems to be an Indian channel here b/c there were a lot of Indian commercials during the movie. We even saw one commercial, we could not understand what they were saying, but it seemed from the portrayal that it was a commercial for the morning after pill for an abortion. I have never seen that advertised on TV so that was interesting.
- After "Surf's Up" I watched another random movie b/c it was only 8pm and wasn't sure what else to do. I came across a "movie" channel. I am not sure how this channel works exactly but at the end of the movie I saw the screen come up that you would see when you come to the end of a dvd and you load another dvd into the dvd player. I am assuming that all this channel does is play movies through a dvd player and somehow we have access to it. "Enter the Dragon" came on after the movie I was watching and I saw the screen with the main menu for the movie where you could select different scenes or start the movie. Oh, TIA!
- This morning I woke up to the sound of the call to prayer mixed in with the dog chorus again. I am trying to figure out a way to capture the sound and post it on my blog so other people can hear it.
- Since I woke up early this morning, I continued reading a great book that we got from the UN. It is called "We Did Nothing: Why the Truth doesn't always come out when the UN comes in." It is written by Linda Polman who was a journalist and spent time in Haiti, Somalia, Rwanda, and Bosnia. It tells about some of the UN's struggles and sheds new light on the UN in both positive and negative aspects. Here are some interesting things I have learned so far:

- "UN Resolutions are like hotdogs. If you know how they make them, you don't want to eat them. You just swallow. No questions asked."

Somalia
- UN peacekeeping soldiers are sent for a little R&R at a resort in Kenya where they are encouraged to visit the local clubs and bars, get drunk and have sex.
- at the camps set up by the UN, the soldiers from developing countries are placed on the outskirts of the camp with less resources (i.e. they are sleeping outside or in tents) and less protection. The soldiers from the developed countries are located closer to the center of the camp with great protection and resources (i.e. make-shift houses flown in from their repsective countries equipped with air-conditioning, ample food supply, a gym, and other luxuries)
- Headline: "The UN pays out more for rich dead than poor dead" Industrialized countries whose soldiers die in UN peacekeeping missions get paid $85,000 from the UN while 3rd World countries get paid $19,500 for every soldier that dies.
- Quote from the US representative delivering a message from George Bush as the US came into Somalia with Operation Restore Hope
" Under American leadership the world is going to stop this country from committing suicide. The President of the US is quite determined. We come in peace but you know what the American army can do. You saw it for yourselves in Desert Storm. Now those same American forces will be landing here. If you don't cooperate, we will pulverize you."
- The US initiated the mission in Somalia under Operation Restore Hope but then pulled out expecting the UN to come in with less resources and "clean up" Somalia under Operation Continue Hope. Needless to say it was not successful and we still see the effects of it today in Somalia.

Haiti
-The US initiated the entry into Haiti under the Operation Restore Democracy. Many people say there was no democracy to restore in the first place and the country was bankrupt.
- The Organization of American States (OAS) imposed an embargo on Haiti to try to put pressure on the military coup and drive them out of the country. However, this had an adverse effect and ended up driving many innocent civilians out of the country. Many refugees tried to flee to the US and Clinton eventually granted some asylum. Others were allowed to live in a refugee camp set up at Guantanamo Bay (which was soon overflowing so cruise ships were rented to house more people).
- Clinton gave a speech at the UN saying that the UN needs to learn how to say "no" to missions that it does not have the resources to handle. 2 days later, he requested that the UN come into Haiti to pick up where the Americans had left off with Operation Support Democracy.

Just some food for thought....

Sounds of Arusha

2009-08-03T23:02:00.000-07:00

Here are some sounds that I have noticed quite frequently here in Arusha. Some are a little harder to get used to than others:

- symphony of dogs barking
- the call to prayer (Adhan) 5 times a day- this morning I heard it at 5am along with the dog choir:)
- honking of horns (usually notifying you to get out of the way b/c the cars will not yield to pedestrians)
- people calling you "mazungu" or in my case "halfcast".
- the sound of the dala dala (cheap vans) drivers as they call out the place that the dala dala is going (i.e. "mashono, mashono" or "njiro, njiro")
- kids laughing, playing, and talking outside my window at 6:30 in the morning (there is a school right behind my apartment)
- beating drums as the kids at the school are called to come to the morning meeting ( i am assuming that is what the drum is used for)
- back firing of cars mistaken for gunshots or vice versa
- various bird sounds on the way to work
- the swishing sound of the street sweepers as they clean the streets with brooms made of branches and leaves.
- "taxi, taxi?" eventhough we walk most places, we are always getting approached by taxi drivers wanting to give us a ride.
- loud music or singing in the middle of the night, especially on the weekends. Not sure what is going on, haven't investigated that yet!
- mosquitoes buzzing in your ear
- "rafiki, rafiki" the ladies at the vegetable stand calling you "friend" as they try to get you to buy something from them. This is also heard a lot at the markets, "Rafiki, karibu. It is free to look."

A week of great meals!

2009-08-02T23:12:00.000-07:00

This past week we were blessed with some very good meals (a lot different from tne ones we have been cooking ourselves or the Ramen I have been eating :). We were invited to dinner 4 nights this week. On Tues., our friend Ben cooked spaghetti bolonaise (not sure if I spelled the right but basically spaghetti with meat sauce). It was delicious. We also had salad and garlic bread.
On Wed., we were invited to our supervisor's house for dinner and he and his wife cooked a great meal that included fish and pork kabobs, beef fried rice, plantains, sweet potatoes and regular potatoes and a spinach soup. We were in heaven! I will post some pictures of the meals soon so that you can see what I am talking about.
Then on Friday, we were invited to a barbeque for Ben's birthday. There were hamburgers, sausage, steaks and all kinds of good stuff. Ben is a big fan of Kenyan beef which we have heard is the 2nd best beef in the world. I think I would have to attest to that because the hamburger that I ate tasted like steak!
On Sat., we were invited to have dinner at the home of the Deputy Secretary General of the East African Community, Madame Karasu. This was a big time dinner. Madame Karasu is from Uganda and used be a member of the Ugandan Parliament. She is now working for the EAC and it was an honor to be invited to her house. She was very hospitable and down to earth despite her status within the East AFrican Community. There we had another feast of meat, potatoes, salad, dessert and lots of drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic). Our host made sure that everyone was satisfied and had plenty to drink.
On Sunday, we celebrated Eunice's birthday (Happy Birthday Eunice!) at the Impala Hotel with chinese food, and pizza. We realized that we did not order enough food and ended up adding a pizza on at the end of our meal!
So as you can see, I am eating well here, atleast for this past week. Even when I just eat beans and rice (or refugee beans and we have been told they are called) it is still a very good meal and it is very cheap. We are working on perfecting our cooking skills but if we keep getting invited to dinner, that may make us less apt to practice. Tonight the power will be out so plan B is to have left overs from lunch that we can warm up quickly for dinner.

Pictures- take 3

2009-07-30T03:51:00.000-07:00

It's official. Posin with our UN badges on the 1st day of work in Michelle's office.
This is the Nyerere Center for Peace Research where we will be taking our classes beginning in September.

This is the bridge that we cross everyday on the way to work. The first day we crossed it we were acting like typical tourists, taking pictures of the little waterfall in the back and just chillin. We have since found out that this bridge is called "muggers bridge" and thieves hide under it. They can run out and steal your bag and then run back under the bridge to hide. So now we walk quickly over the bridge and watch our backs. There are usually security guards there as well to monitor what is going on.

Dinner at our friend Alfred's house. He taught us how to make curry chicken and meatballs. We are learning how to cook slowly but surely.

Making shadow puppets in the dark to occupy our time during power outtages.

Me and our friend Pamela. She is from Rwanda and works for the East African Community.

Chillin outside out new place eating g-nuts (like peanuts but not really). They taste like grass at first but then you get used to them :)

Mangos- my new favorite fruit. They are so good fresh and they only cost us about $.50 each. This is how Eunice taught me how to cut the mango and display it ever so nicely. yummmmm

Attempting to exercise at our old house.

Our new apartments :)

Friends at the Michael Jackson party at Maasai Camp- a local club with a mix of foreigners and local people. Here they call Michael Jackson "Wacko Jacko".

Photos- take 2

2009-07-29T23:05:00.000-07:00

Here is my office at tne UN. Yes, it was a closet that was turned into an office. Notice the separation in the doors. I have to duck down to get in but I am actually grateful for this office b/c there are some interns that have to share an office with 12 other people. Atleast I have my privacy ( you know to download pictures at work :)

This is Mt. Meru that sits in the background of Arusha. It is beautiful to just go outside and have a view of the mountain.

This is a luxury villa in Arusha, mostly for tourists of course.
Here we are outside of the police station with some new friends :)

This part of Arusha is said to be the center of Africa inbetween Cairo and Capetown.

Clock tower in the middle of town, great landmark for directions!

Pictures- sort of...

2009-07-29T03:36:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to download pictures all day (for real, I am not exagerrating) and this is all I could come up with thanks to these sorry computers at the UN. You would think they would have a better communication system considering this is an international court and getting information is pretty important but TI-UN (this is the UN). Here are 5 pictures of the house where we used to live (the guest house). Maybe tomorrow I can download 5 more! Enjoy!

Life at our old guest house

Our room- check out the Winnie the Pooh curtains :)

Our bathroom accomodations

God left Rwanda and did not come back for 100 days

2009-07-28T01:32:00.000-07:00

This comment was made in a dvd we were watching last night about the work of the Tribunal and the Rwandan genocide. I found it very interesting that such a comment was made on a documentary that is used to educate people about the genocide. It makes it seem as if God is responsible for the 800,000 people that were killed in the genocide and not the perpetrators of these heinous crimes. I know that people often question God when bad things happen, I do it myself, but to hear it actually stated in a video produced by the UN seemed kind of extreme to me. I started thinking of all of the people that will watch and have watched this video and how they may react to this statement. Especially the citizens of Rwanda that were directly affected by the genocide. It reminded me of a part in a book by Shane Claiborne called the Irresistable Revolution, where he also talks about when we question God about the situations in life. He points out that God could ask the same question of us, "How/ Why did you let this happen?" The Rwandan genocide was not the 1st genocide to happen while people stood by and did nothing. Even today, the phrases "never again" and "not on my watch" are heard over and over while the killing continues in Darfur. Another aspect to that, however, is those few people like Romeo Dallaire, the commander of the UN troops in Rwanda, who refused to stand by and do nothing and stayed in Rwanda even after the UN troops were evacuated. He has had to testify in some of the cases that have been brought before that Tribunal and in one of his statements he says that he knows God exists because he has met the devil. My hope is that people watching this video do not lose their faith in God or whatever higher power they believe in and that one day we can push past the thinking that the things going on in other parts of the world do not affect us therefore we should not be concerned about them. Once we realize that we are all interconnected on this great planet called earth, we will have a much better chance of things like genocide not occurring on our watch.

Directions to work (jncase you ever find yourself in Arusha and need to get to the Tribunal)

2009-07-28T00:41:00.001-07:00

This is how we get to work every day, well how we used to from our old house. Add about 10 minutes on to this journey from our new house.! (taken from Michelle's blog)

Go straight up the driveway past the cows and banana tree.
Walk through the wet cement, at end of driveway turn right.
Go straight to the end of Kanisa Road, passing the Catholic youth hostel on your right and salon sign on your left.
Turn right onto Old Moshe Road and pass the Anglican church on your right (where we are brand new choir members!)
Keep straight. Say "shikamo" to sweet elderly lady sitting on your right who will smile beautifully and respond "marahaba". Sometimes give her fruit from breakfast.
Pass over bridge quickly. Take note of scenic water fall and forest to your right while using peripheral vision to scan under bridge for thiefs. Do not stop to take pictures.
Keep straight and pass SUPER DOLL sign and Goodyear tire store on right and Arusha's five star hotel with GREAT coffee on left.
Decline dala dala (giant van taxi) ride and pass through masses of waiting patrons.
Bear right through Onyx Petrol station. Clock tower will be on your left.
Wave to rafikis (friends) sitting on wall across the street.
Continue straight past Kase bookstore on your right and wish you could stop to peruse. Must be mindful of cars aiming at you on this street.
Continue straight on balance beam (aka curb so you can avoid traffic). Politely wait for street sweeper with bamboo broom and wheel barrow to let you pass.
Say mambo vipi (whats up) to taxi drivers and decline ride.
Pass a tree of a loud sleeping bat colony.
Pass taxidermist sign ("We tan dip and ship,") storks and turtles on left, continue straight through German fort museum.
Upon exiting say hello to cultural center artisians on right. Typically a surprise here. Past surprises include giant sand hill in walkway or wedding.
Say mambo vipi to taxi drivers and decline ride.
Continue straight while watching security guard use long mirror to check underneath select cars. Wonder how they select cars.
Pass right into security check point, put bags through x-ray, set off metal detector and be waved through casually. Badge does not work at this gate so you will be let through without identification.

Reconciliation

2009-07-27T23:41:00.000-07:00

Working here at the UN is another experience all of its own. We have met a diverse group of people from all over the world that are helping to bring justice to the people of Rwanda and end the legacy of impunity that has been associated with war crimes and genocide. We watched a video last night that was produced by the ICTR to raise awareness about the Tribunal and all of its accomplishments so far. It talks about how the Tribunal was the first to convict a head leader of a state, a prime minister, of genocide and how it is really hoping to deliver the message to prepetrators of crimes that they will no longer go unpunished. Many of the judgments that have been handed down are for life sentences or atleast 15-25 years. It is also chilling to read through some of the witness testimonies and how they made it out alive but lost so many members of their families. In speaking with a representative in Rwanda that is heading up one of the projects we are researching, I asked about the spirit of reconciliation in Rwanda. His comment was that there is not reconciliation in Rwanda yet. People are living together because they don't have much choice but the reconciliation process will take generations. The sense of reconciliation and assessing the impact of the Tribunal on Rwandan society is a research topic that we may be looking further into so it will be interesting to get different people's perspectives on that. We are hoping to go on mission to Kigali at some point before our internship ends which is something I am very excited about. We just have to convince one of our supervisors that we should be allowed to go!

Kwaheri Bill

2009-07-27T23:28:00.000-07:00

Bill is "dashingly stunning wise gentleman" we met here in Arusha from the UK that has a great personality and was fun to hang out with. He was volunteering at a local school and orphange and had some great stories to tell about his experiences being in Tanzania. We met him at church one Sunday and have been hanging out ever since. He is going back to the UK today though, after spending about a month here and get back to his normal life. We will miss hanging out with him and all his quirky British prhases and stories. My favorite story was the one he told us about washing his clothes. He was washing and scrubbing so hard that his knuckles were starting to bleed. All of this as the young son of the family he was staying with keeps telling him, " Do it again. Its not clean." and getting a good kick out of watching Bill struggle. Bill soon wised up and starting letting the housekeeper wash his clothes for about 5,000 schilling, a little less than $5.00. Can't beat that!
Anyway, we will miss Bill and hope to catch up with him one day back in London. That is the one thing I love about Arusha. You get to meet people from all over the world and that increases your travel potential and your social capital!

Adjustments

2009-07-27T22:39:00.000-07:00

As I think about my time in Arusha so far, there are definitely some adjustments that have to be made, some take a little more time than others but nothing that is that extreme that I can not do it. All in all though, I feel that life, is not that different than life at home. Sure there are things that you have to get used to and we don't have all of the conviences that we do at home but in the grand scheme of things, life is good.

Here are some of the things that I am starting to get used to:
-power outtages (since we know when the power is going to go out, we can plan for them and it is not so bad)
-walking everywhere (great exercise)
-boiling water to drink (I try to fill up on clean/free water here at the UN so we don't have to boil so much at home)
-loud music/ dogs barking
-call to prayer 5 times a day
-people calling me halfcast or Africast (mixed)
-taking a shower using a spray nozzle
-heating up the water before you take a shower
-using Febreeze as a form of washing my clothes
-slow computers at work that take forever to download something
-being able to buy fresh fruit and vegetables on the way home from work at really cheap prices

Here are some things that are a little harder for me to get used to:
-having a housekeeper that comes and cleans our apartment everyday (just feels wierd)
-washing my clothes (mainly underwear and socks) by hand. I am not very good at it and not sure how clean they are really getting. As far as my other clothes are concerned, after a couple of "refreshers" with Febreeze, you can pay the housekeepers to wash them but they don't do women's underwear.
-Little kids who know very limited English but can manage to ask you for money.
-people constantly wanting you to buy something b/c they think you have money.
-guards, police, and sometimes random people (maybe undercover cops) walking around with AK-47s
-smell of trash burning
-pedestrians never getting the right of way (it is kind of scary to cross the street sometimes, especially since the cars are coming from the opposite direction as in the US).
-not being able to eat salad b/c it is washed in unfiltered water. I am hoping that before I leave Tanzania I will have built up my tolerance and be able to eat a salad one day.
- Tanzanian/ Rwandan men that are very persistent and send crazy emails and text messages after meeting them one time. I think I will have to start saying that I am married b/c the "I have a boyfriend" thing doesn't always cut it here.

So those are some of some of the adjustments that are taking place right now. I learn something new each week though so there may be more to come.

Mambo Halfcaste!

2009-07-22T03:55:00.000-07:00

"Mambo Halfcaste" is the greeting I received today when I entered the cafe downstairs in the Tribunal. It is basically like saying "What's up Mixed Girl". I relied the standard reply "Poa" meaning cool/good but it kind of took me off guard. I have heard people refer to me as a halfcaste here before but I am still trying to figure out in what context they are using it. They have also referred to my friend here that is Chinese as "China" pronounced "chee-nah". I don't think that it is a derogatory term here but for some reason I keep equating it to the "N word". At the same time, I guess it is a step up from being called "Bruni" meaning white person, as I was referred to in Ghana. I spent my time there trying to convince people that I was black. I haven't had to do that here but it still feels weird for someone just to call you "Halfcaste". I keep thinking back to when I was little and people would call me "Oreo", or "Mutt". I wonder if Obama has ever been called "Halfcaste" in his trips to Africa???????

Food aka "Chakula"

2009-07-22T00:24:00.000-07:00

For those of you that were worried that I would not get enough to eat here in Tanzania, I can ease your worries because there is some great food here in Arusha. There are many great restaurants, both local and some owned by other foreigners that have excellent food. We have eaten everything from curry chicken or vegetables with rice or chapati to rice and beans to pizza and burgers. Eating out everyday though can get pretty expensive (well not really when you compare it to U.S. dollars- you can get a good meal for anywhere between 1500-4000 shillings which is between $1.25 and $3.50) but we are trying to make our money stretch as far as we can. So we decided that since we now have a kitchen, we should buy some stuff and cook. That hasn't turned out to be very beneficial for us as of yet, considering that none of us really know how to cook. There in lies the problem. I though I was the only one that was not domestic in the kitchen but apparently my roommates only specialize in 2 dishes themselves. We are unfortunately a part of the microwave generation :) Our first meal at home ended up being rice and chick peas (fortunately I missed out on that one b/c I was sick). Our spaghetti did not turn out well due to the power outtage and last night we were just not in the mood to cook so dinner consisted of a lot of snacking. Tonight, however, we have 2 gentlemen (one older British guy and a younger American) that are having pity on us and have agreed to come a teach us how to cook a meal. They are buying things from the local markets and stores and promised that we will be able to get some ideas for future meals that will help sustain us. We better take good notes!

Power Sharing- a new meaning

2009-07-21T00:29:00.000-07:00

I have studied about power sharing alot this past year, mostly in post-conflict situations where there is an agreement to have equal representation (which is debatable) among political parties in a newly established government. Last night, however, I learned about power-sharing in a whole different context. In Arusha, power-sharing literally means sharing power (electricity that is :). Evidently there is not enough power generated within the city to be sustainable for everyone so certain areas of towns experience power outtages on certain days to conserve energy and make sure there is enough to go around. We have heard that there are certain areas of town that hardly ever go without power so there is some suspicion whether this power sharing thing is really for the benefit of all or just for the benefit of some. Needless to say, when the power went out last night from about 6:30pm-9:30pm (right in the middle of us trying to cook dinner and in the middle of my workout) we were not prepared. We ended up with a pot full of soggy noodles and only an hour battery life on the laptop trying to watch Grey's Anatomy. As we tried to come up with other forms of entertainment (i.e. making shadow puppets on the wall, listening to kiswahili lessons on the ipod, and just starring into space), we realized that we need a plan of action for our power sharing days, which we have heard are Mondays and Thursdays. We are starting a list of "Power Outtage Activities" so we welcome any ideas/ suggestions anyone may have.

God is Good

2009-07-19T23:15:00.000-07:00

Apparently the call and response phrase "God is Good (all the time) And all the time (God is good)" is a fairly universal phrase. I actually found myself laughing a little yesterday in church when we were saying this as I thought of comedian Ricky Smiley and his infamous church parodies. Yesterday I had the priveledge of officially (in choir robes and everything) singing and dancing with the Efather Choir at Christ Church where we have been attending services. All of the practice paid off as we actually kind of knew what we were doing up there. When the pastor realized that there were new faces in the choir (not hard to do since we stood out pretty easily) he had us introduce ourselves to the whole congregation. It was a little nerve wrecking but everyone was so welcoming that it wasn't so bad. I can't imagine ever doing something like this at a church back home. We had only been to the church twice and were not even members, yet they invited us in for practice and let them sing with them for a Sunday service. They didn't even care if we knew how to sing or not. Now we have also been invited to perform with them next week at another church. I am trying to figure out how to explain that all I initially wanted to do was watch them practice because I really enjoyed seeing them dance and sing but now it seems that they may want us to participate long term. Hmmmm.... we will see how it goes.

K-303 (Human Rights Violation or Place of Peace?)

2009-07-17T02:04:00.000-07:00

My office here at the UN is located in the hallway between 2 buildings and I believe it used to be a storage closet (hmmmm sounds like my old office back at D.H. Stanton). Needless to say I was not looking forward to being stuck in the hallway away from everyone else and it is kind fo cold out here. But, I am learning that the grass is not always greener on the other side. My office with the red door (K-303) has actually been a blessing. Being in the hallway kind of attracts a lot of attention and people are always peeping in here trying to see what is going on and why I have been stuck in here. It has been a great way to meet new people from all over the world and from all different professions here at the ICTR. I have met some lawyers, legal analysts, judges, translators, IT guys, and other interns. Already today, I have spoken with a young lawyer from Rwanda, an IT guys from Mauritania, my neighbor is from Madagasgar, and several French guys that work in the video department stop in to pick on me from time to time. Some people just walk by and give me looks of pity (one guy even stated that this was a violation of human rights believe me, its not that bad) but I tell them the office is growing on me and I would rather be here than in a big office with 12 people, which is what some of the other interns have to deal with. Too much drama. So with that said, I will take my little closet of an office with the red door that is cut in half so you have to bend down to open the door and get in and out! It is turning into a place of peace and tranquility where I can listen to music. I have the freedom to be in my own space or choose to share my space if I want.

Choir Practice/ Cardio Workout

2009-07-17T01:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we attended choir practice again and found in singing and worshipping I actually managed to get a pretty good cardio workout. There are so many movements and dances that accompany the songs of the choir that by the time we were done I was exhausted. It was a lot of fun and again the choir was very welcoming and helped us with the words and dance moves :) We have another practice on Sat. and then our debut on Sunday! I am also learning more about "African Time". I guess that is where "CP time" gets its origins. If choir practice is supposed to start at 5pm, we arrive at 6pm and will be right on time!

Singing Praises

2009-07-15T00:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a chance to attend choir practice at the local church we have been attending. I wanted to go because the choir is always jammin at church and they have choreographed routines that go with their songs. They always look like they are having lots of fun. We were very welcomed and were asked to introduce ourselves, which we did in Kiswahili and were pretty successful. After watching about 2 songs, we were invited to actually join the choir and sing with them. We must have done pretty well, because we were invited to come back on Thursday and Saturday for practice and on Sunday to actually sing with them during church service. I know some of you are probably laughing at the sight of this (3 Americans- 1 muzungu, 1 china girl and 1 half-caste- singing with an African choir) but I am really excited about it and think it will be a great experience. I always wanted to be part of a choir even though I have no vocal talent whatsoever! The lack of talent and knowledge of Kiswahili did not seem to matter to the Efather Choir. They were happy to have us and I was happy to be there!

Judgment Day

2009-07-15T00:47:00.000-07:00

Today I sat in on a court session at the UN-ICTR (International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda) where a man was being sentenced for crimes committed during the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. The accused man was a Prefect (somewhat like a mayor) in the town of Kigali and was being tried on 6 counts of genocide. After 49 trial days that involved 53 witnesses, the court was ready to issue a judgment. The man was being accused of encouraging military training, ordering roadblocks, distributing weapons, facilitating the movement of the Interharmwe militia, distributing fuel to the Interharmwe, selecting Tutsi refugees to be killed and being aware of and encouraging the rape of Tutsi women. In some of the cases mentioned above the court found significant evidence and in others, there was not enough evidence to convict him of that specific crime. In the end however, the accused was sentenced to life in prison for genocide, murder and rape related to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
It was very interesting to sit in on a judgment such as this. I have never personally witnessed someone being sentenced to life none the less for a crime such as genocide. It is my hope that this tribunal is really living out part of its mandate which is to send a message for perpetrators that impunity will no longer be tolerated and that the persons responsible for such crimes will be brought to justice. I also have the hope that in the end cases like these will help to deter future crimes on this level when people realize that the international community will no longer allow things like this to happen on its watch. We still have a long way to go in that regard but I think the tribunal is a step in the right direction.

Karibuni!

2009-07-15T00:40:00.000-07:00

“Karibuni”, as they say here in Tanzania, “You are most welcome” to my blog and to share in some of my experiences during my time here in Arusha. This blog is an attempt to capture some moments of my experience here to give you a better idea of the “Beautiful Struggle” that is Arusha, Tanzania. I will try to update it weekly so that those who are interested and have the time can keep up with my TIA experiences (This is Africa!)
Our first 2 weeks here have been a mix of new and exciting occurrences combined with one unexpected occurrence. Upon arrival we were greeted by our new house mother and owner of our guest house, “Mama Lydia”. She has taken us in and made me feel comfortable and at home. Our accommodations consist of a small room with 2 twin beds and a small bathroom (water gets everywhere when you take a shower).
The house is within walking distance to the center where we will be studying and the UN-ICTR (International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda) where we are doing our internship. Our walk to work is about a mile and mostly pleasant. We pass a small creek and waterfall (although we have been told to be very careful on the bridge b/c thieves hide under it), the clock tower in the center of Arusha, bats, a mini zoo that has a strange bird that looks like an old man and turtles, and a cultural center.
Our time working with the UN so far has been interesting to say the least. We have met many people from various backgrounds and have had a taste of UN bureaucracy at its finest. We have 2 supervisors that are great to work with and have great personalities. The projects we are working on include the Legacy Project which deals with residual functions that need to continue once the tribunal closes and some capacity building projects which look at training Rwandan lawyers and judges and outreach programs in Rwanda to keep people informed on the progress of the tribunal. Here is a sample of some of the ins and outs of our internship so far:
Day 1- Met our supervisor and got our ID badges J
Day 4- We got our offices (mine is in the hallway and I think it used to be a storage closet- needless to say, it’s a little chilly out there)
Day 5- We got our computers and internet access.
Day 6- We got email addresses, learned that there was a UN shuttle that could take us home (would have been helpful to know before)
Day 7- Went on a mini tour of the building and sat in on a court session
Day 8- Met some other interns and learned that there is a gym that we can use
We never officially got an orientation so we are learning to just piece things together here and there and learn as we go. Hopefully we will not miss out on some things that we could have taken advantage of. Oh, we also learned that there are UN flights to Kigali that we may be able to get on. The only problem is that you are not guaranteed a seat on the flight back b/c they may be bringing witnesses back to Arusha.
Since we have been here, we have met many interesting, delightful and helpful people (both locals and internationals). We met an older guy from the UK that is volunteering here and has some very funny stories about his adjustment to TZ life. We met an Indian guy who grew up in TZ and knows all of the ins and outs of Arusha. We also met a lady from Rwanda what is working for the EAC (East African Community) and her office is located in the center where we will be studying. We meet many locals on the streets that are trying to sell things but are eventually becoming our friends as they learn we will be here for a while and do not want to buy anything right now. It is a good way for us to practice Kiswahili and for them to practice English. Apparently some people here think I am Spanish though. I have also been called “half cast” meaning mixed. We met a great guy through a connection of a former student here that has been helping us look for another place to stay and another guy at church that has been very kind and helping us out.
On the other side, we did have an incident the other night that scared us and showed us another side of Arusha we had not seen. We were in a restaurant with a group of interns and 2 guys came in shooting and robbed the people there. Thankfully me and my crew did not lose much (a little $ and cell phones) but some of the people with us had credit cards, ids, keys, jackets, etc. stolen. We hid under the table, praying that everyone would be safe, as we waited for the men to leave. Thankfully they did after a few minutes (although it seemed like forever) and we were all ok (expect the parrot in the restaurant who was shot- not sure if it was on purpose or accident.)
This incident was such a stark contrast to the rest of Arusha that I have experienced so far that it still seems unreal to me. I could not help thinking though of other people who have been in far worse situations such as during the genocide in Rwanda or with other things that are currently happening in Darfur and Burma that it manages to put it all in perspective for me. Many people have to face this kind of danger on a daily basis and deal with the consequences for much more that a few days, often for a lifetime. In talking to people about our experience the other night there is genuine concern in people’s comments and a sincere apologetic tone. Despite this incident, I continue to be optimistic about my time here and look forward to making the most of this experience. Please continue to keep myself and friends in your prayers and until next time, “Amani” (peace)!