**So remote – Getting to Sarah’s area was arduous – a 12 hour bus ride followed by a 10 hour ride on very bad dirt roads (think of the worst potholes you’ve ever seen and imagine a road filled with a “million” of these potholes). But being so remote did have its positive sides. There were no other tourists at all. We felt like we were seeing the real Africa. If they someday pave a road out to Sumbawanga it will change the way the region feels. I am glad Sarah got to live there before that happens.
**Car problems – The bad roads had lots of rocks in addition all of the potholes. I saw more flat tires in 2 weeks than I have seen in the last 30 years in Minnesota. We had one too. But our blow out happened near a village we were going to stop at anyway. After tea with the priest we had some extra time waiting for the tire to be repaired. So we got an unplanned tour of their hospital. (After setting up churches Catholic missions still focus on health care and education). It was fascinating. We saw the operating area, the lab, a few of the wards and got to talk to nurses and doctors. Nikki, Andy and June – you would have loved this part.
**Getting sick – We didn’t have anything too bad but you expect a little sickness on a trip like this. Karen got a touch of something. She was feeling her worst when we were visiting a convent in a village way at the end of the road – almost to the Congo. One of the 4 nuns there starting asking Karen a lot of very intelligent and detailed questions. Turns out in addition to being a nun she is also an MD. She had set up practice and runs a dispensary there. She gave Karen some medication that she was sure would be better than what Karen had brought. And it worked just like she said it would.
**No electricity – Most of the homes and most of the stores don’t have electricity. But this had positive sides too. At night the stars were spectacular – we could see the whole Milky Way directly overhead. The stoves were wood burning – not gas or electric. We were served a lot of wood roasted (oven baked) chicken. Clothes were pressed with non-electric irons that had a compartment for wood embers.
**Needs and hardships for Tanzanians were overwhelming - The average life span in Tanzania is 65. Malaria, amoeba, other illnesses and lack of health care make everyday life very difficult - but in spite of that the people are mostly happy and never seem to complain (certainly puts things in perspective).
So – here are the TOP TEN....
#10 The markets – They had a market in Sarah’s small town that was about one square block but just a maze of small shops and skinny streets. They sold lots of stuff including food and clothing. The market in the capital city was huge and very crowded. And everything was incredibly cheap. Sarah mostly wore skirts and dresses she had bought at these markets.
#9 Beautiful weather and scenery – The 50 miles next to the ocean is oppressively hot and humid. But the rest of the country was beautiful. The temps were about 75-80 every day all year round. And it was not too humid. There are small mountains and lots of high plains. Lake Tanganyika was huge and had no cabins. Because the rainy season is over all the fields and hills were green. This is virgin land without much development.
#8 Great men/women of God – Tanzania is a very religious county. Although Dar es Salem is 50% Muslem, the area where Sarah lives is mostly Christian. Throughout the trip we were surrounded by clergy. Two of the most impressive (besides the monks in #3) were the parish priest in Chala and the Bishop of Sumbawanga. We stayed at the parish house in Chala for 3 days. We ate all our meals with the priest there. He was so friendly. He loved to talk and had a great sense of humor. And all this was on the 3 busiest days of the year for him – Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. We met Bishop Kyaruzi twice. Sarah eats most of her meals with him. He definitely had a presence about him. He was very friendly, knowledgeable and happy.
#7 Making visitors feel welcome – Tanzanians believe it is a great blessing to have guests. We were always made to feel welcome, like we were doing them a favor by visiting them. When we went to our host priest’s mother’s houses they slaughtered a goat just for the occasion. This was a very poor family so this had to have been a big sacrifice. We have pictures with the goat when we first got there. We ate “goat bitings” on the road the next day.
#6 Impromtu "talks" to teenagers at retreat - Sarah had been asked a couple of times to talk to some kids who were gathering for a conference/retreat. It was during our visit so she said "No" she couldn't because of our visit. Well, that didn't stop them from bringing the 3 of us to the kids so we each could "impart some words of wisdom". As we entered the room where they were gathered, they all stood and greeted us with songs and clapping. Then, we each said a few words....
#5 Unexpected parish visit turns into wonderful experience - On the way back from the trip to Lake Tangayika, we stopped to visit a local parish. The priest served us refreshments and "bites". We heard singing and asked what was going on. The priest said they were practicing for Easter. I told him I would like to see and take pictures. He said "Sure" and took us over to where they were practicing. There were adults and kids singing and dancing so I took video and pictures. Pretty soon a bunch of kids gathered and we took pictues and showed them to the kids....they loved it. What fun!!
#4 Music and Dancing on Easter – We attended all the Holy Week services but the Mass on Easter morning may have been the best. As usual it lasted 2-3 hours. There were 1500 people packed into the Church. The choir filled the first 8 rows on one side. At every song they were dancing as they sang. They led every procession (and there were a lot of them), dancing as they walked. There were a dozen girls on the altar who danced whenever there was music. Sarah got introduced during the sermon and stood up and greeted the crowd in Swahili. 
#3 Meeting the monks - When Sarah got malaria there were 15 over-protective monks who took care of her. We wanted to meet them to thank them. Twice we got to have dinner with them. I have never met a group that seems so happy, friendly, fun loving and generous. They are my new role models. I want to be like them. Those were 2 great nights. They had some “mini” fire works on the first night during a toast for us. They gave us African shirts on the last night.
#2 Going on a Safari – We drove through a large (20 mile by 20 mile) game reserve. Since we are so remote we only saw 1 other car while we were in the park. We got a guide and headed off-road. We went thought paths in the grass lands, on the edges of watering holes and into the forests. We got within 10 yards of giraffes, hippos and cape buffalos and were able to just stop and watch them for a while. The zebras and antelopes and monkeys were more skittish but certainly saw a lot of them, too. 
#1 Seeing Sarah – This was the reason we made the trip in the first place. Sarah is doing great and having the adventure of a lifetime. She is happy. She has made lasting friendships with the other volunteers. She also has connected positively with many of the Tanzanians – from the workers on the bishop’s center where she is living to the other teachers in the school to the kids at the school to the owners of the small shops she visits to oodles of priest and nuns. She just kept running into people who called her by name and were happy to see her. Her language skills got us through any situation we encountered. She seemed strong and confident. None of the challenges seemed to get to her too much….her ‘laid-back’ personality is a definite plus in Tanzania. Along with teaching, she is looking forward to snorkeling and swimming with dolphins in Zanzibar, going to Victoria Falls and having a good friend from St. Ben's visit. When she gets home in July she is looking forward to seeing everyone and eating all of her favorite foods (the food in Tanzania is the same every day– bread for breakfast and for lunch and dinner ….rice, maybe beans, maybe a little meat or chicken, spinach if you are lucky).
WOW!!! What a great synopsis of your trip! The pictures and videos are great and it was so fun to hear your top 10 list. Even in the pictures, you can see how happy and friendly the people are. This was a trip of a lifetime. How wonderful that you had your own personal "tour guide/interpreter".
ReplyDeleteYou should be so proud of Sarah. She has adapted so well and clearly has made a great impression on the people there. What a great gift she has been given.
Thanks for sharing.
Lots of love,
Donna
Great Experiance and the way it has been demonstrated is amazing. Thanks for sharing this Joe.
ReplyDeleteRegards
Sagin Sebastian
What a great post! It definitely gave me even more of an idea of what life is like for Sarah! I definitely probably would have liked the tour of the hospital! Glad you thought of me! :-) I am also impressed that all of you gave a speech to the audience of teenagers! I have a feeling Sarah is gaining a lot of courage and confidence. Love and miss you all!
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