Hiking

Thursday, February 17, 2005
I woke up to the sound of African children going to school outside my window. They are laughing and talking in Swahili, and mixed with the roosters, it is the alarm clock that I have become accoustomed to here. This morning, we were all quiet as we rode to work. Between the big field trip yesterday, and the trip to the local pub for dancing that some of the younger volunteers took last night, we are all pretty beat. I was hoping for a quiet day at Kilamahewa, but the joke was on me! There was a cool breeze blowing, and for the first time since I have arrived, it was not unbearably hot. As a result, the kids were wild!! If I didn’t know better, I would think that they had all had Frosted Flakes for breakfast! The morning passed quickly in a whirwind of ABS’s, 123’s, and teacher’s cries of ,”put that down, stop hitting him and turn around forward in your seat!”. I will say…. I loved every minute of it!
I was hoping to go to the orphanage today, but we have three classes in a row this afternoon. All of these ‘cultural enrichment classes’ will be over next week, so hopefully I can go then! After lunch, the heat settled in thickly and we struggled to keep our eyes open for a lecture on ‘Gender roles in Tanzania’. I was exhausted, but the lecture was in no ways boring! When the roles of men and women here are described to us, we are told that the woman is in charge of everthing that has to do with the home. That includes, but is not limited to, cooking, cleaning, gathering all water, (sometimes as much as a two day walk from the home), feeding, birthing and cleaning up after all livestock, selling vegatabels for money, managing the home finances, shopping, caring for the sick, and, ahem, all conjugal rights that the man expects.
(Now some of you are saying, “Man, that is just like here in the U.S.”, but let me tell you, this is no joke! I have never seen anyone work this hard, ever!!)
When I asked what the man does, I was told that he MIGHT have a job. If not, he just lounges. We see a lot of this here….women working their fingers to the bone and men sitting in the bars drinking beer. If a woman cooks one pound of meat, the man gets half, and the rest is divided by the woman and all of the children.
The women here are proud, beautiful and strong, and all I have to say is that if women’s liberation ever comes to Tanzania, these men better watch out! Things are getting better for women here, though. FGM, female genital mutilation, or as it is better known, female circumcision, is becoming rarer in the cities, and education for young girls is becoming more easily available. However, times change very slowly here. When I asked why most of the women that we meet are quiet and meek, but the women that work here as staff are strong and assertive, we are told that the women here on the staff are educated. Education is the key. That thing whick I took for granted my whole life is such a luxury and gift here and it can change a womans life profoundly. I think that I already told you that until 20 years ago, there was a 98% illiteracy rate among adults here. Well, these are the grandparents of the children in schools today, so you can see how that change has taken place in the last two generations.
After that class, we had another one on spirits, witch doctors, diviners and such. This was also really fascinating. Western medicine has it’s place here, but traditional medicine is still used by the majority of people. The amazing thing is that the traditional medicine is very, very sophisticated. The people that are healers are ‘called’ to heal by the spirits, and are told that healing is the purpose of their life and if they refuse to learn the skill, there is no reason for the gods to keep them around. Pretty convincing, huh?! Stories of their medicine have been written up in many medical journals, and everyone trusts in them completely. Some of the other volunteers are skeptical, but it makes sense to me. Most of our pharmaceuticals are derivitives of plants and herbs. The healers here are just serving them up in their natural form!
As for spirituality, there is a heirarchy of spirits starting with the supreme God, which every African believes in, all the way down to the ‘living dead’, which are those people that have died but that we still remember. Most people here are Muslim or Catholic, but many of them believe in a combination of their traditional beliefs and organized religion. They do not seem to find conflict in the two, rather they allow the two to peacefully coexist.
Booga-booga talk soon gave way to our last Swahili class. I really wanted to skip it, but I kept telling myself that it is not very often that I get the opportunity to take a free Swahili class, so I finally went. Several people are out of town, so myself and the two college guys enjoyed the last class. They spent all of their effort trying to get the teacher, Mama Hedwig, to teach them how to insult each other, while she just shook her head at them and said, “No, do not learn such things”. Even she had to laugh, though, when Andrew told her “Hakuna ma-taco”, instead of “Hakuna matata”. Rather than saying to her, ‘no worries’, he was telling her, ‘no buttocks’. You gotta love a foreign lauguage!
After class, we all gathered for our final field trip. CCS was taking us to the Honey Badger Cultural Arts Center for an evening of dinner, tribal drumming, and dancing. It was great fun and as I twirled around in a grass skirt, I just kept thinking, “If my parents could see me now!” The laughing and dancing went on into the night, and as it got later, Mama Lucy, the large African woman that is in charge at the Center, kept feeding me swigs of the local homemade rum. When I finally got into the van, I was exhausted! I loved every second of it, though, and before we left, Christy and I accepted an invitation to come back and spend the afternoon with Mama Lucy to discuss Tanzanian traditions. I can’t wait!!!
Love, Anna aka Mud Butt

“When all is said and done here at the ending of the day, I look out on this world and it still takes my breath away…”
“Robin’s Song” Small Potatoes

Anna aka Mud Butt

Wednesday, February 16, 2005There are several events that CCS schedules for us to help us learn about the culture here in Tanzania, and today we did a whole day of stuff! This is a big field trip that encompasses a ton of stuff and I have really been looking forward to it. We all loaded up in the van at 8:30 and took off for our first stop. Simon, our driver, had not been driving for even fifteen minutes when he pulled over to an empty lot. When we asked what we were doing, he pointed across the field. There stood the single biggest tree I have ever seen! It is a bao bob (?), and they are sacred here in Tanzania. Not only is it against the law to cut one down, but spiritually, it is akin to commiting hari-kari! Simon says that these trees can grow 2000-3000 years old, but this one was only about 800 years old. Can you imagine? Of course, I hugged the tree! Wouldn’t you?!?! One other note of interest, ….when trying to get rid of hexes or evil spirits, people sacrifice animals at the foot of the tree. There was a bucket of something beneath the tree with a million flies in and around it, but I did not move in for a closer look! There are some things I would rather not know!!
Our next stop was a Chagas cave. The Chagas are a tribe of people that were at war with the Masai for centuries. They built a series of caves and tunnels to hide their women and cattle in, since that is what the Masai were primarily interested in. There is one cave and tunnel that leads to the river and is a TWO DAY walk….all underground! The cave that we went to was small with a long ricket-y wooden ladder leading down into the darkness. Once you got down there, you had to crawl on your stomach from room to room through layers of guano. I have to be honest, though, this is definitely second hand information. There was no way, no how I was going down that dark little hole! I really do believe that when I have a fear in this world,, the best thing I can do is try my best to overcome it. I have hiked at night, I have forded streams, I have attempted a 40 foot high cat walk (I could not do it, but I DID try!), I have flown to foreign countries, I have performed in front of thousands, and I have walked through an African village by myself, knowing no one. All that having been said, I was NOT going down into that dark little hole!! Instead, I walked behind two of the huts and met an elderly Chagas woman. We talked for about 15 minutes, (no, she did not speak English!), when all of the sudden she went running off through the banana trees! A few minutes later, she came back dragging a large stalk of corn with an ear hanging off. She had ripped it out of the ground to give it to me! She was so excited that she just kept talking in Swahili until finally Simon came over and explained that she wanted to give me a gift. I was really touched and after thanking her about a thousand times, I stuck the ear of corn in my bag and fed the rest of the stalk to the cow. I may have been scared of the cave, but I had my own wonderful adventure and I am really glad that I got to meet her.
After the Chagas cave, we stopped by a tiny market for 20 minutes before going on to lunch. I was still in pursuit of kangas so off I went to try my negotiating skills. As usual, within a minute, we were all swarmed by locals talking to us and reaching out to touch us. When I found the kangas I wanted, I bargained with the woman for a few minutes before finally reaching a price. Business done, I headed back to the van. It turns out that out of the three of us that bought kangas, I paid the lowest price! Everyone said that it was because I was a good negotiator, but I think it is because between my bad Swahili and laughter, I am the silliest! The market sellers seem to really enjoy that!
Amid groans of hunger, we headed to a small park for lunch. We drove for miles on little dirt roads, dodging the livestock before we came to a metal gate. When it swung open, spread before us was the most beautiful green lawn circled by shrubs and flowers. This was our picnic place, and it was like heaven. We lounged on the grass under a tree eating box lunches that our cook had prepared for us as we garnered our strength for the rest of the day. The next trip was a close walk to a traditional Chagas hut, and it was really neat. The guide explained the burial practices of the Chagas dead, and took us inside the hut to show us how traditional Chagas live. Imagine a round grass and twig hut woven so tightly that no light can come inside at all. When you enter, on the left, there are two pens, one for the cows and one for the goats, and on the right are two sleeping platforms, one for the girls and one for the guys. There is a small fire in the middle of the floor, and a loft above for storing bananas. It was all very interesting, but I really sat up and took notice when the guy explained that HE lived in here!! I thought that it was a display hut, like you might see if you visit Indian Village in Andarko, Oklahoma, but NO! This was this gentleman’s home! Fulgence, our director, explained that in this situation, rodents, insects, animals and humans all lived together in harmony. Hmm…..almost sounds like the Appalachain Trail to me!
After the history part of the day was done, we all went on a hike down to a waterfall. I had spent a good deal of last week worrying about this because some previous volunteers had told me that it was a very steep, difficult climb down and back up. I thought about not hiking it, but I kept telling myself that if I can do a big chunk of the AT, surely I could do this! So, they handed out sticks to everyone, (I took two!), and down we went. Well….it was steep…very steep…..but there were hand rails! And it was mostly giant steps cut into the rocks! Hah! Piece of cake!! Simon told me at the top that he wanted me to go down with him and to go very slowly. After the first five miuntes, I sat down on my butt to go down a steep section. He went’ “Oh!! Be careful!”, and I smiled at him, telling him that I did it on purpose. A few minutes later, he said softly, “you are good, …very good”, and stayed behind with some other volunteers. At the bottom was a gorgeous, huge waterfall, and I settled back onto a rock to enjoy the view. There were about six little local boys down there and they laughed at us all as we splashed in the water and hopped from rock to rock. The weather was hot, but perfect and the sky was a brilliant blue. As I looked up through the trees, I just felt totally relaxed. It really doesn’t get much better than this!
Much too quickly, Simon came to tell me that it was time to go. I had asked him for a ten minute head start so I could take my time, so off I went. The climb back up was hard on the legs and lungs, but not technically difficult. The heat was overbearing, though, so I struggled to get up out of the canyon as fast as possible. When I got to the top, I did the ‘dance of the real woman’, while saying, “tena…tena”, which means ‘again!”. The other volunteers were not amused, but I couldn’t help but feel great. One of the guys asked me it that trail was like the AT, and I explained that the AT was a lot tougher. Steps cut into rock and hand rails are a serious luxury! He just shook his head and said he would never understand why someone would ever want to do that. I just shook my own head, wondering why someone would not want to.
The rest of the day passed quickly with a stop at the gate of Mount Kilimanjaro and a long drive home. As we drove through the darkness, I listened to the music on my iPod. The Burns sisters were singing, “I’m gonna dance upon this earth”, and I was filled, once again with gratitude for my life. I am the luckiest person I know. Good night.

“When all is said and done here at the ending of the day, I look out on this world and it still takes my breath away…”
“Robin’s Song” Small Potatoes

Anna aka Mud Butt

Tuesday, February 15, 2005
This morning I made a wonderful discovery! I went To Kilamahewa as usual, and began teaching 1-2-3 etc. The day is beautiful and hot, but there is a nice breeze blowing and we are shaded by the corrugated tin roof over the porch where class meets. The children are in good spirits, but one boy in particular, is being a booger!! He is wiggle-ly and distracted, and basically causing lots of trouble. I finally walked over to him and said, “Ache, Emmanulli, ….hapana, hapana….andika 1-2-3”, which basically means ‘stop driving me crazy!’
When he held up his half-piece of paper covered in about a skillion 1-2-3’s, I turned it over and wrote his name in big letters. “Andika”, I said, and he imediately leaned over in deep concentration. Several minutes later, he showed me a fabulous five-years olds depiction of ‘Emanuelli’, with a huge grin. I immediately grabbed him by the arm, interrupted Mr. Masawe in the other room, and showed him. You would have thought the child had found a cure for cancer!!! It was so great! Mr. Masawe cheered, the class clapped, and I hugged him. Needless to say, he calmed right down and I started challenging him every five minutes with something new. It is amazing how a bored kid can become a perfect student with a little motivation! We ended class with a rousing rendition of the Hokey Pokey and Emanuelli was right in the middle ‘shakin it all about’ with a happy smile. Man, I love this job!
After school, I headed back to the house for an afternoon of chores and such. I needed to do laundry and run some errands, so having some downtime was really nice. When it comes to doing laundry, CCS has arranged for women in the neighborhood to do our laundry. It is a way for them to earn some income, and I have to say, it is a wonderful service! I put all of my clothes in a laundry bag, fill out a sheet saying whether or not I want wash, press, or wash and press, stick my money in, and leave it on the porch. A little old woman comes to get it and two days later I get it back. The thing that is amazing is that they do all washing by hand. No washing machines, no dryers. And they get the clothes SO clean!! A bag of clothes costs about $3 to wash, and there is no way I could do it as well as these women! Traditionally, though, Tanzanians never handle the undercolthes of strangers, so we have to hand wash all of our own underwear.
The afternooon ended with yet another Swahili class. At this point, I am somewhat lost! People of the street constantly compliment me on how good my Swahili is, but that is because they have not met Andrew and John, the two young Georgetown boys in my group. These guys have not taken the first note or written the first thing down, and they remember everything!!! At this point, I am happy to live in the present, (rather than figure out future and past tense), and communicate like a cave man. “Me name Anna. Me American. Me teach childs. Me loves Tanzania much.” I think you get the picture!
Tommorw is a big day, so I am going to head to be early. As for today, well, it was just another normal African day! My best to you!! Anna aka Mud Butt

Anna aka Mud Butt

Sunday Afternoon-2.13.05After church, we had been invited to Jessicas house for dinner. She has been asking all week, so I know that it is important to her, but it is even more important to me! We walked down dusty roads until we got to a small dirt driveway. At the end was a small group of buildings made of brick. This is Jessicas home and fourteen people live here. The word family, in Tanzania, encompasses much more than it does in our country. Cousins are considered sisters, aunts are considered mothers, and a Tanzanian can routinely have thousands in their ‘family’.
As we walked through the buildings, Jessica introduced us to many sisters, friends, and children. There was fresh laundry hanging on the line, and several of the women are huddled over a small fire in the corner of the courtyard preparing lunch. Jessica’s mother came out and I adored her instantly! She looks just like Aunt Jemima on the syrup bottle, and she is constantly laughing and smiling. When we tell her how much we love her daughter, she just beams. The warmth and love in this family is so evident, and they immediately all made us feel at home.
We went into the main room of the home where there were chairs and couches covered in lace doilys. In Tanzania, very few houses have glass in the windows, and this home was no exception. Flies come and go and all of the sounds of the animals float through the room as we sit in sweaty little puddles. The heat outside is quite intense, but inside, the shade of the house makes it more tolerable. As Christy and I sat on the couches, we heard Jessica struggling with something large and bulky. With a proud smile, she carried a television into the room. Their home is one of the few that has power, and they are very proud to have a TV. She turns it on to the only available station and the sounds of a South African soap opera fill the room. We sat there trying to figure out who was marrying whom, and who was who’s daughter, and before long, Mama Digna (Jessica’s mother) came in with a tray of mugs and a pot of tea. As she poured the tea, I realized that I was about to experience yet another first. Tanzanian tea. Hmmm…..how do I describe this? Well, first you go out and milk the cow, then you heat the milk very hot, add a splash of tea and a spoon of brown sugar granuales. The result is the most…..um….earthy tea that I have ever tasted. Every few minutes, you would have to scrape off the film that had appeared on the top, and I managed to make it through ¾ of the mug before I finally gave up. It wasn’t that the tea was bad, actually it was pretty good! However, I have never had non-pasturized whole milk straight from the cow, and for a girl that finds it tough to choke down skim milk, this was really different!
After tea, Jessica took us out to show us the family’s animals. Three cows, a calf, many pigs both large and small, and a ton of chickens filled the pens in back of the house. However, it was the dogs that I loved the most! Tanzanians have a lot of dogs, but they are kept for guard purposes only. No one ever pets them or loves on them. At first, I was horrified at this, but I soon came to see that it is just a normal part of their culture. Earlier in the week, I had been telling Jessica about my dog Scarlet, and how she sleeps with me. Jessica was truly shocked and said that she could never imagine such a thing. I walked up to one of the dogs in her yard and started to pet it. It immediately rolled over and bared its belly for a scratch. As her tail wagged back and forth furiously, I told Jessica, “See….she likes it! It shows her that you love her, and the tail wagging shows you that she is happy!”. Jessica agreed that she would begin to pet the dogs of occasion, even though I could tell that she thought I was crazy!!! 
We went back into the main room of the house, and soon, low wooden tables were brought in, and lunch was served. We had brought our own bottled water, and the rest of the family drank tap water. Mama Digna opened a large steaming pot filled with rice, seasoned with onions, potatoes, oil, and a little beef. Alongside that was steamed greens, much like spinach, but with a different type of leaf. There were peeled cucumbers, tomatoes, and mangos, and it was all delicious!! I was really touched at how much work Mama Digna had put into the meal. Knowing that we cannot eat any raw fruit or vegetable that has not been peeled, she went to a lot of extra work for us!
After two helpings of lunch, we all declared, “Nimesheba, asante”, (thank you, I am full), and settled back into the couches. Refusing help with the dishes, Mama Digna cleared the table, and a few seconds later came back into the room with a tray held high. Stacked on the tray were six dusty, tall bottles of Pepsi and Orangeade. What a surprise!!!! I knew that we were honoured guests, but these six bottles of soda were a very, very special treat for the family, and I couldn’t believe that they were sharing them with us! Jessica’s father sat back in a chair with a contented sigh and took a long drink of his warm Pepsi. We all joined in, feeling very, very lucky.
After lunch, several of the younger children got over their shyness and came in to see us. We soon began to share the various childrens songs we knew and before you could say “Mary Had A Little lamb”, the entire family was crowded into the living room and we were teaching them the “Chicken Dance”! It was so much fun! We all laughed, and twisted, and wiped the sweat rolling off of our brows. At the end, Mama Digna declared that Christy was her Dada, (sister), and that I was her first born, Sarah was her second born, and Jessica was her third born! With that, she swept us all into a big giant hug and a new family was born. We laughed and called ourselves the Mzungu/Bongo family. Bongo is the word that is used for natives here, and this family was proud to adopt us into their own.
Soon it was time to head home, so we began to make our good-byes. Jessica said that her mother wanted to escort us home, so to please wait for her. A few minutes later, Mama Digna came out in a beautiful outfit and head covering. She was going to escort us in style! We set off down the road, ten of us holding hands and singing. We waved to neighbors, and scared all of the chickens off of the road. Half way home, The smaller children, including the little boy that had been holding my hand, headed back for home while the rest of us walked on. After a few minutes, Mama Digna stopped to help a neighbor with his cell phone and we kept going. We stopped a way down the road to wait for her and when she turned the corner, we all burst into a rousing rendition of the Chicken Dance for her! She laughed and clapped her hands while joining us for the remainder of our walk home.
The day was completely magical, and I cannot imagine anything this special happening for the remainder of my trip. However, who knows what Tanzania still holds? All I know is that it just doesn’t get much better than this!!
Love, Anna

Anna aka Mud Butt