My first week...

July 2... Wow what a long day. I was up at 5:45am in PA only to go to sleep at 9pm the next day. My flights were thankfully uneventful with little conversation except for a few minutes with a 30 something Indian woman who was on a business trip. She was in the fashion business and was on a trip to check on some locations back in India after some flooding in the area. I asked her why she went into the business and she answered quite refreshingly with "to piss off my dad". It was a shockingly sincere answer to give a stranger. When I landed in Dubai, I got an iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts and no food...my goal was to eat as little food as possible so I would avoid using the plane/airport toilets. Always good to avoid such things in my opinion. I got through Tanzanian customs without a problem and found Meza right away. I exchanged money and went to our hotel which had a full sized bed, toilet, showers with only one temperature, and a tv which got Fox sports. It seemed quite nice, although the neighborhood would have been considered a slum, although I later found out that all neighborhoods are similar here. Then we went into Dar Es Salaaam to buy a bus ticket for the next morning for Mbeya. People were shouting out that "here comes a white person" in Swahili which I found rather strange...like people couldn't tell on their own. After getting our ticket, we went to dinner overlooking the Indian Ocean. On the way back to the hotel, our taxi was hit by a small bus who was trying to merge into our lane, but it only moved the side view mirror a bit. No damage was done. I passed out from being so tired once we got back to the hotel.

July 3... Up at 5 am to get the bus to Mbeya. It took about 11 or so hours to get there. We stopped only three times, once to pee, which everyone, males, on a wall, once for lunch, and another one function break in the afternoon. The farther you get from Dar, the worse the roads get, as well as the conditions of the house. About 3 hours outside the main city, you see a lot of mud brick and thatched roof houses, which is really only upgraded by a tin roof with fairly brittle bricks. The slum I mentioned yesterday is not really a slum, but how everyone lives. When I arrived at Meza's house, he showed me around and I have a small room to myself with a nice sized bed. They showed me the toilet, which is a nice hole in the ground and no TP, although it arrived the next day. Meza lives with his wife, 3 kids, and two or three brothers in law. A very crowded house, but cozy.

July 4... Woke up about 8am this morning and went to watch the boys play with the soccer ball I brought them. The two oldest set up goals about 5 meters apart and tried to score on one another. Shortly after watching I walked to the store down the road with Rafael, one of Meza's brothers in law who speaks English quite well. We bought bread and butter, which was expired and we had to go back, and something else, which I didn't catch. Meza was awaiting us when we got back. He was on his way to work and said to relax, so after breakfast of 2 pieces of bread and a hard boiled egg, I went back to bed, hopefully ending any jet lag. I woke up around 4pm where lunch was waiting for me. As a guest, it seems that I am to eat alone or with Meza, while everyone else either waits until I am done or they eat in some other room in the house. It is very interesting to experience what it means to be an honored guest.

All of the doors in this house squeak, and not only that, but they all squeak differently, which means you can tell which door opens and closes or who is in the toilet. It makes me realize how much privacy I enjoy and how much I like to be sneaky in my own life. My first thought was to buy oil for the doors, but I think that might be a bit presumptive. Also, everytime I walk into the living room, Meza's mother in law leaves. It was all very strange to me. I asked Meza at dinner why this happened, and he said it was normal. This afternoon, I took a walk and Joseph followed me around the block. When I came back, I played some futbol with the kids in the neighborhood who tried to impress me with their English skills.

July 5... What a long day. I didn't sleep very well because in the middle of the night, all the neighborhood dogs howl and bark. Meza tells me that they are kept inside most of the day, but at night, they are free to roam. Today, Meza and I went into town. We stopped at the bank, then had breakfast at a local place known for their world recipies, which mostly included parts of animals which I wouldn't normally consider delicious. I stuck with scrambled eggs and toast. We took a dali-dali, which is short for 5-5 which is how many shillings it used to cost, now it costs 250 shillings, which is about 25 cents a ride. On the way home, we stopped at two houses and sat for a while. As a guest, the host usually provides soda and perhaps a snack, which if offered, one should eat generously to avoid making the host feel bad. Sometimes the host eats too, but if they do, the women never eat when the men do. After we made it home, we took a short rest and went to the home of Meza's best friend, who was very friendly. We talked about some of America's strange customs, like feeding ducks in a park, or how our houses are so big that the houses the people here live in are only as big as a garage, and cold like one too. While all this is true, it was hard to take in with an open mind. I never considered myself very patriotic, but I felt it at this moment. I feigned humility, but was difficult to sit through. The whole day was filled with people...which is hard for me as an introvert. Hopefully I will get some alone time on Sunday.

July 6... Last night I began reading Genesis. Surely the garden of Eden was in Africa, if Adam was truly made out of dust. Everything here is covered in dust. Meza wore his nice black shoes to church, but after the 10 minute walk, they were a nice shade of dust.

Church, other than the music, was uneventful. I said a few words of greeting, and after that, listened with little understanding. I found out the sermon was on Matthew 11. Next time I will bring my bible so I can read along. After the service, they auctioned off a cake, which Meza won, although I think he only won because I was there. Then we went off to lunch and to get a paper downtown. We ended up staying all afternoon because of a gospel fest. All good music. Then we went to an internet cafe closer to home.

I began reading some of Thomas Merton's work today. It is called the book of hours, and it compiles a lot of his work into a traditional catholic prayer book. I think so much of his wisdom is going to be found during the rest of my time here in Tanzania.

It is true what Jeff told me... it takes you a few days to truley begin a vacation. Once you get over your apprehensions, like going to the bathroom over a hole in the ground, things get much easier and you are able to relax. This next week will hopefully be relaxing and filled with learning new things.

July 7... The room is cold...nearly freezing. I got up early to walk outside so I could warm up. Johanna, the youngest boy joined me for my walk. We returned to watch Haggai play futbol. Then Johanna took me on another walk. He took me to visit his old neighborhood and some old friends there. We were invited in and they were very gracious. After ten minutes of forced conversation, I tried to leave, only to realize that they were making me breakfast, bread and butter with hard boiled eggs and tea. Joyce, a girl who spoke English quite well, ran to her mother to tell her I was hoping to leave and to hurry up. I felt very embarrassed. Johanna, thankfully, did not know how to be treated as a guest even more than I did, so we all laughed at him as he tried to peel his egg and when he drank the tea while it was still very hot. At six years old, he did not know what he was in for. It still bugs me about how women do not eat while men do. Outside of the home, it seems that men and women are equal, but once we are inside, it all changes. Hospitality and feminism have so many different meanings. On the other hand, one of Meza's brothers in law did my laundry, so maybe there is hope yet.

Once we made it home, Meza was off to work so I took a nap. When I woke up, I asked Lwiza, Meza's wife, if she could show me how to cook ugali, which is a stiff porridge, a staple food here. She of course said yes, but everyone laughed at me because men shouldn't know how to cook. I will attempt to make some when I return for the people in Riverside.

In the evening, we went to the market and bought meat as well as maybe the heart or lungs. It tasted ok during dinner.

July 8... It was 1 celcius last night. Thankfully I doubled up on pants, wore shoes to bed, and covered myself in Jay's mosquito net. When you use it improperly, it provides decent heat. Thanks Jay, you may have saved my life! Today was relaxing, I read the book of hours, wrote Tina, my host mother in Sweden, and played with the kids during their break from school. In the afternoon, I took a walk to a new part of town. Some people are very nice and greet me with a respectful greeting. Others go an extra mile and say it in English and others still shout "white" in Swahili, which makes me uncomfortable, even a bit scared, although I know I am not in any danger. What a learning day... will hopefully write more as time allows... Thanks for reading!