25 Things
This was a facebook message things, but I thought I would post it here too because these are just some random experiences/tidbits from my Africa experience that are amusing.
1) In Imiliwaha, my home in Africa, I sleep with 4 heavy blankets. We’re one of the highest villages in Tanzania and it’s the rainy season = damp cold = 4 blankets. Who ever said Africa was hot?
2) I eat completely organically, except for a few condiments, but even the cooking oil is produced from sunflowers here at Imiliwaha. Everything is raised/made on location.
3) I made peanut butter by hand for the orphanage. It takes about 1 hour and a half to get about 1/2 cup of peanut butter and go from dirty peanut to smooth butter. I’ve also made coffee from scratch– shelling the beans, roasting and pounding. Nothing smells better
4) There are about 3 children from the orphanage I would love to take home: Tuma, Casian and Marta– they are all around 2 years old, so I think I’d go crazy if I did take them home.
5) I probably have around 5 choices for an African husband, there are about 5 teachers/printing press boys that would say yes in a moment. None of them though would work out.
6) I’ve helped expand a river by hand before the rainy season
7) I’ve been on the worst roads in the world here, but I’m going to miss them
I’ve developed an irrational fear of dying in a freak vehicle accident and tipping over into a ditch in a bus due to too many people
9) I’ve been on a bus with about 40 people in it when it was only made for 20
10) 1st question I’m usually asked is “Where are you from?” I say “America”. The next word out of their mouth is “Obama!”
11) The cure for any ailment, from headache to flu to nausea is “Eat More!”
12) I’m the official killer– bugs, large spiders and lizards so far
13) This is a complete patriarchal society especially in the religious perspective. Priests are placed on pedestals and the sisters are expeted to be servents. Imiliwaha is prime example number 1. Even Cara and I sometimes get put into the “sisters” category. And there are times when we want to smash a plate over the chaplain’s head
14) I’ve learned to appreciate cold beverages. Most of the time we get warm sodas and warm beers, which just don’t taste right
15) TV is an interesting aspect of Tanzania. We have it on every night at dinner and it is usually turned to the news or this comedy program that features many transvestite actors. We haven’t really figured this one out
16) I’m addicted to chipate, a tortilla type of thing. At breakfast they are dry and for lunch and dinner they are squishy like a pancake. I could eat them everyday
17) I’ve seen the following animals while here– all of them wild: giraffes, elephants, warthogs, babboons, a type of gazelle, what we thought was a green mambo snake, an owl, a giant snail, a large bull frog, siafu (biting ants), huge moths about 4 inches across, lizards, and too many other bugs to count
18) I’ve listened to more hip hop and rap then ever before in my life, because we have the radio on everyday at the printing press– and I still don’t like it
19) Cara and I can now cut hair. I’ve given Cara one major hair cut and I’ve gotten two from her. Add that to the resume: teacher, librarian, adventurer, and hairdresser. We’re going to get jobs instantly!
20) We’ve learned that if you do not pray before meals we’re going to die like animals, according to S. Valeria.
21) We’ve got a total of 5 movies on Cara’s computer. We should have kept a running tally of how many times we have watched Pride and Prejudice and Love Actually. Regardless, we’re going to have both movies perfectly memorized by the time we get back
22) The average length of a Tanzanian sermon is about 30 minutes. And if that wasn’t enough we are sometimes given further enlightenment before the concluding prayer with another one. To date, the longest combined sermon is 51 minutes, but we still have Easter and we’re going for 60 minutes.
23) Yes, I’ve got horrible skin problems and everytime the sisters ask if it is all mosquito bites.
24) You can entertain a group of children for hours with your digital camera
25) During the dry months, especially in November, I had to take a candle-light bucket bath, which was very romantic, and Cara and I became toilet flushing experts with a bucket of water.
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