Thursday—Fred
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Today we went with Mwankenja, and John, the College driver, on a tour of the more rural areas of Konde diocese—the centers of Manow, Itete, and Makaleile, stopping at the diocese headquarters along the way for a brief visit with the Bishop. The trip to Tikuyu was interesting. Just a few minutes from Uylole Junction, once we got up into the hills that we can see from our house and where it appears to have been raining nearly every day the landscape became green, looking much like Spring, which of course it is here, although temperature and day length have hardly changed at all. Some of the areas between Manow and Itete, however, looked as if there had been no rain in a long time. Going to Manow we skirted the side of one of the dormant volcanoes. In places along the road where earth had been cut away we could see what appeared to be different layers of ash put down by earlier eruptions. The area is still geologically active, and small earthquakes are common. A few years ago there was a larger earthquake that damaged or destroyed many houses. “Experts” attributed the quake to excessive carbon dioxide withdrawal by the gas mining operation at the foot of the volcano. Along the way we passed by many houses with smoke, apparently from cooking fires inside, seeping out of many apertures, and in some cases where the roofs were thatch, through the roof itself—no chimneys. On can only imagine how smoky it must be inside. Speaking of the “Centers” that we visited—Manow is a church run secondary school, Itete a church run hospital, and Makaleile a church run vocational and life skills training center, the people at Mbeya speak of them often, and I am sure they provide valuable services, but to us each of them appeared to be out in the middle of nowhere, with only a small village nearby. Of course culture never stands still—all three were centers of early missionary activity, with churches dating back to the turn of the 20th Century or before, and Manow was formerly the diocese headquarters, but still to us they seemed very isolated. I have been told that the European missionaries favored those areas because the climate was more hospitable to them. It was a very long day. We left at 7 AM and did not get back until a little over twelve hours later. On the way back we bought some maswisa, local fruits that resemble hand grenades, and which taste a little like blackberries.

Saturday, October 31. Halloween is totally unknown here. Karen asked Mwankenja if it is celebrated in Tanzania and he totally drew a blank. Today Mwankenja was officiating at a wedding at Uyole Lutheran, and he invited us to attend, as a cultural experience. Once again, although we would have been content to sit in the pews we were escorted up front to sit on the chancel. It turns out we had met the Best Man when at a previous Sunday service. We did not remember him, but he remembered us—white people are easier to remember. There were two choirs and a brass band. The ceremony was over an hour long. The Groom’s mother invited us to the reception, but because Mwankenja could not go due to business in Mbeya, we declined also—we would have felt very out of place without an interpreter. Nevertheless, we got lunch—the evangelist had arranged for food at the pastor’s home—the usual Tanzanian fare—rice, meat in sauce, beans, and bananas. The congregation insisted on paying our taxi fare as an act of hospitality. The official Tanzanian marriage certificate has space to indicate whether the marriage is monogamous, potentially polygamous, or polygamous. If monogamous is elected, the man cannot later change to polygamy—the wife has legal standing to block the change.After we arrived home we realized that it was the end of the month and we had not paid Hiari. She had already left for the day, so we walked to Mwankenja’s house to give her her wages. I had always expressed doubt about being able to find the house by myself, and it turns out I was not mistaken. Fortunately, we were close by, and Mwankenja’s son, Elisha, recognized us and came out to greet us. Neither Mwankenja nor Hiari were at home, but we left the envelope with Elisha, with a note for Hiari. This afternoon students were watching a soccer game on TV in the dining hall—it must have been quite exciting, for we could hear the cheering inside our house as if the game were being played in person on campus.
Thursday, October 29
The weather pattern for the past week has been, with but one exception, that of clear, cloudless sky in the morning, with rain developing somewhere in the area by late afternoon. When rain comes it is hard and cold, and sometimes the air remains cold after the rain. Several days this week the local people were bundled up against the cold. Supposedly temperatures rise as the rainy season approaches, but that does not seem to be the case thus far. The rains we have had thus far have certainly settled the dust—it is almost nonexistent compared with what we had been coping with since we arrived here, even though the surface of the ground appears dry in most places. Patches of green are starting to appear on the hills and mountains to the south, which have been getting rain more consistently that we here in the valley.
Monday, October 26
Today when we went into town we saw the “Hanging Tree” where the Germans supposedly hanged prisoners after the Maji Maji rebellion (1905-1907). Neither Mwankenja nor Verywell knew anything about it until we pointed it out from one of our guidebooks. The tree has a very small metal hoop imbedded in one of its branches. At one time there was a wire apparatus hanging from the hoop, but that has supposedly been removed to the nearby fire station. One of the firemen offered to show it to us but apparently he wanted money to do so. Verywell vetoed that suggestion so we did not go to see it. This afternoon it rained again. Another cold hard rain that lasted a couple hours. Amazingly, when we went for a walk after 6 PM neither the ground nor the vegetation seemed wet—apparently the continuing effect of the long dry season. We have now had electricity for three days in a row.

Sunday, October 25, 2009
Today Mwankenja took us to Agape Lutheran Church, which is off the old road from Dar es Salaam to Tunduma, a little way out of Uyole. Agape was formerly a subcongregation of the Uyole church, but it become autonomous. Agape has a partnership relation with Shiloh Lutheran in York County. Shiloh had sent Agape a guitar several months ago. The pastor made a point of showing it to us in case we encounter someone from Shiloh when we get back home. They are in the midst of constructing a large new building surrounding the smaller original building where worship is currently held. Once again when Mwankenja was recognized we were invited to move up to the front and today we actually sitting in the chancel. Everywhere we go the clergy seem to have some connection with Mwnakenja. Today the pastor of the congregation was a former student of Mwankenja’s, and the guest speaker was a seminary colleague of Mwankenja’s father. As usual we were introduced to the congregation and asked to say a few words. At the auction after the service we bought a hand of bananas, and then someone in the congregation bought us another hand, seeing that we like bananas. Later when we were at “tea” in the parsonage the electricity went out, and it seemed that some of those present were expressing unkind thoughts about the president of Tanzania. The air was warm today but throughout the afternoon the wind howled so much that it sounded cold.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
There is noticeable humidity this morning, but no mud. The dry ground soaked up all the rain without becoming muddy. This morning before sunrise there was a farmer out with a hoe working on a hillside across from our house that had been burned off just before yesterday’s rain. This morning we had the first oral presentations in the Communication Skills class—for first attempts they weren’t bad. No electricity again most of the day and evening.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Today Peter Chaula, one of the history tutors, invited us to speak to his diploma class about the Great Depression, since he had learned that our parents and grandparents had both lived through that time. Karen was no able to go, because she had become ill, so the class did not have the benefit of our families’ differing points of view. Chaula has also invited me to sit in and possibly speak to the class for the rest of the time we are here. The next unit is on precolonial society in Africa. I am not sure how much I can contribute, but it may be a learning experience for me. This afternoon and evening we had our first real rain—two separate bouts of hard cold rain, each lasting a little over an hour.
Tuesday October 20, 2009
This morning there was a cloud sitting atop the mountain to our north, but I do not know if it dropped any rain. If it did, any runoff would most likely have gone toward Lake Rukwa, instead of to the Great Ruaha River, which feeds the reservoir that is used to generate electric power. Electricity was on and off all day today, and it is starting to get old. Our friends here say that the problem is more pronounced this year than in the past. I have now finished typing a list of books in the library that do not have accession numbers—30 pages. Some, but not many in comparison, are books that we have donated. Accession numbers are supposedly very important, but obviously many books have found their way in without having been logged in. Perhaps I should say that I may have finished, because this afternoon we found another 3 to 4 feet of books hidden away in a cabinet, that have yet to be cataloged. I have no idea if they all have accession numbers. We still do not know if we have found all the books that have been squirreled away in various places.

Saturday, October, 17.
To day there was electricity when we awoke, but it went off around 7:30 AM. It came back on around 11 while we were working in the library, so I went to the house to cook. It stayed on, so we were able to have a hot American style meal for lunch, to which we invited Verywell. He is the duty tutor this weekend; we thought he would enjoy a hot meal. Later in the afternoon there was a grass fire near the house. What I assume had been started as a controlled burn to clear a field for planting apparently got out of control. It was a very windy day. We were never in any danger because the fire would have run out of fuel before reaching us, but another prong of it appeared to be in danger of spreading to the main part of the campus. Our neighbors came out to fight it with leafy branches torn off trees, and they enlisted some students as well. The burned over area revealed two stone walls and several piles of stones that he had not known were there. The ground here is very rocky. The rocks seem to be volcanic in origin, but are rather soft. They do no seem to stand up well to vehicles running over them. Speaking of the wind, it would seem to me that the way the wind blows here wind turbines would be a useful supplement to water power for generating electricity. The electricity went off again around 7 PM, and did not come back on until well after we had gone to bed.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Tuesday morning the weather was raw and overcast, as if it were about to rain, but by the time of morning tea all clouds had disappeared and it was sunny for the rest of the day. On Wednesday it looked as if we would actually get rain—the hills to the south were totally obscured and it appeared to be raining there, and in mid afternoon it looked as if a storm were actually heading our way, but once again nothing materialized. There was no electricity for most of Wednesday, except for a couple hours in late afternoon, and then nothing until long after we had gone to bed. It seems that happens whenever we plan an oven meal. As a result Wednesday’s food, for me anyway, consisted entirely of peanut butter and dried fruit. We have now finished cataloging all of the books in the library that are in English. The books in Swahili are a challenge because the library aide’s English skills are not good enough to enable her to explain authors and titles to us. Thursday and Friday we actually had electricity during all of our waking hours.

Monday, October 12, 2009
Once again around midafternoon it appeared that rain clouds were coming from the South, but again they had dissipated by evening without dropping rain. This past Saturday we were without electricity all day. It finally came on some time during the night. We ate peanut butter and dried fruit, with leftover chicken and dumplings for dinner. Speaking of chicken, I know that free range chicken has a sort of following in the States among natural food devotees, but those that we have eaten here in Tanzania would never pass muster with Jim Perdue—very tough. On Sunday we had a trip to the Zambia border in the college car with Mwankenja and Verywell. We attended a church service at the border, after which the evangelist insisted on taking us to dinner at a local restaurant. Karen and I had fish with rice, which was very good. One of Verywell’s brothers, Meshack, joined us for a time in Tunduma, the town on the border. On the way back Verywell treated us to a visit to his home village where we met his mother, along with his father’s two other wives, and a couple of his siblings. According to Verywell, polygamy is still legal and not uncommon in Tanzania, although it may be slowly dying out among educated non-Muslims. On the way back we also visited the Mbozi Meteorite, said the be the eighth largest in the world. It is a local tourist attraction, but Mwankenja, always able to get mileage out of his status as a pastor, convinced the caretaker to charge us all the resident rate, as opposed to the higher tourist rate. The meteorite is several kilometers off the highway and there are no signs until you reach the final turnoff. There were no electricity problems on Sunday and as of 7:30 PM none today either.

Wednesday October 8, 2009
We have been having power outages almost daily. On yesterday the power went off just before 8 PM and was off for a few hours. We went to light a candle but discovered we were out of matches. Today there was no power from around 10AM until some time after 4 PM. We were unable to cook lunch at home so we went to the College canteen, which cooks with charcoal, so lack of electricity is not a problem. Lunch at the canteen is always the same: a huge mound of rice, a few pieces of very chewy beef, a sauce made mostly from tomatoes but also having a few carrots and peppers, a green vegetable, and sometimes small bananas. I think I must have gotten the last of the beef and green vegetable, because Karen, and Godfrey Ndalama, (one of the tutors) who came in after me, got only rice, sauce, and banana. In the evening the power went off again shortly after 7 (It is fully dark by then) and stayed off until about 9:45. We did have candlelight because we had borrowed matches from the office. In think I have now perfected the art of reading by flashlight.
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Yesterday the electricity was off from around 7:30 AM until about 4 PM. We later heard that the national electricity supplier had announced that due to shortage of generation capacity there would be rolling blackouts throughout the country. Tanzania uses water power to generate electricity and apparently the water level is low. Around 3 PM it clouded over and the air felt as if rain had fallen somewhere, but we got none. At 3:30 PM the College driver with the Acting Principal’s car picked us up at the house to take us to visit the former principal’s home. Along the way we stopped and picked up the Acting Principal who was on his way back from Mbeya. The former principal lives in a large house surrounded by a high wall pierced by a metal gate. The home is located far off the highway back in the usual warren of bumpy dusty unpaved roads. It seems that even though the locals tell us how safe Tanzania is, there are many houses that are in walled enclosures. We were to have done some traveling during the College holiday but as yet the College car is still undergoing repair. This morning Mwankenja took us to services at a small Lutheran congregation several kilometers beyond the city along the Tanzam highway. It was the first time we were at a service that was not packed full. The evangelist who was conducting the service said that there had been a death in the neighborhood and many parishioners had apparently gone to the mourning instead of coming to church. This is a struggling congregation that is conducting a “tentmaking” project—they are constructing a strip mall of sorts that will be rented out to businesses for use as small shops, as a means of increasing income to the congregation. After we returned to the house there seemed to be thunder coming from the direction of Mbeya but once again we have gotten no rain here at the campus.

Friday, October 2, 2009
The last couple of afternoons it has looked and felt like it could rain, but nothing has materialized. We are seeing more and more fields being burned off in anticipation of the rainy season, including some very steep slopes on the mountain to the north. Yesterday we invited the practice teachers from Dar es Salaam University to see what we had been doing in the library. I was surprised that they were unaware of book cataloging in any form. The same seems to be true of some of the tutors here. Amazing.
Fred—Wednesday September 30
Another power outage this afternoon. It lasted a little over an hour. The good news is that we have water back at all places. For the last two days we have had water in the courtyard but not in the bathroom. That has now been rectified. Early in the afternoon it looked and felt as if we could get rain, and the view of the mountains to the south was obscured as if rain were falling there, but none fell at the house. By late afternoon the mountains had reappeared. Wind is very strong this afternoon, too strong to sit out on the porch and read. Another power outage around 7 PM. This time the watchman brought us candles, which we did not use. We went to bed early and power was restored some time in the night.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Yesterday we were asked to help supervise mid-term exams. I discovered that I am getting a little old to spend three hours on my feet walking back and forth in the assembly hall. In between we also managed a trip to the community library in Mbeya. Unlike public libraries in the US, the library is not free. A membership for nonstudents costs Tsh 10,000, ($7.69 US)—that is also about how much we are paying per week for internet time. It is a hefty sum for many Tanzanians, and I wonder how many Americans would stop using libraries if they had to pay anything at all? Last evening darkness was falling as we took our walk around campus, and we noted several large fires on the mountain to our north—farmers burning off fields in preparation for planting when the rainy season arrives. The College, and I suppose the surrounding area has had no running water for over 24 hours. Hiari walked the 1.5 km to Uyole Junction at least twice yesterday for water, returning carrying a full 5 gallon bucket balanced on her head—we had not asked her to do that. She did it on her own accord, even cutting her evening English class in order to water the garden. We have decided to pay her Tsh 20,000 over the monthly minimum wage.
This morning there was a meeting with all the first year students to talk about the new syllabi—the students had not learned of them yet, even though they go into effect for first year students immediately after break (October 15). One of the changes is that communication skills has been added to the Certificate Course, but taught in English—heretofore, Certificate Courses, except for English itself, have been taught in Swahili. The principal told me I would be teaching that course, along with a new tutor who has not started yet. The meeting with the students, along with the faculty meeting that followed it, was entirely in Swahili. We understood nothing but we did our duty and attended.
The weather pattern has reversed itself. The last several days it has been calm an night and very windy during the day. A veritable dust storm was kicked up in the Assembly Hall during the session with the students. I understand this pattern is normal as the rainy season approaches.

Sunday, September 27. Today Mwankenja took us to yet another Lutheran congregation, this time to the oldest Lutheran congregation in Mbeya. We arrived late and attempted to sit in the back, but we were invited to come to the front. During announcement time we were introduced and as always asked to say a few words. It was a special day to honor children and Sunday School teachers, and the children had several presentations, including one boy who recited the whole of Genesis Chapter 25. Adults in the congregation presented him with monetary offerings afterward (apparently traditional). The service lasted almost three hours, but this is unusual. Once again after the service we were invited to the pastor’s office and then to his home (adjacent to the church) for lunch. The pastor and Mwankenja are old classmates but had not seen each other for a while. After church we purchased some English language newspapers in an effort to find out what is happening in the world, but the international news content was sparse. We finally arrived back at our house around 3 PM.

Saturday, September 26. We spent the afternoon with Verywell and his family. He had invited us to lunch, which by the time we walked together to his home in the warren of dusty streets and footpaths north of the highway took place late in the afternoon. He told us his home is about 1.5 km from the College, but it seemed to be longer. There are no street signs and I question whether we could find our way there again on our own. His home is on what appears to be a large lot by local standards—perhaps about the size of our property in Carlisle. It is surrounded by a wall somewhat higher than the waist, with a wooden gate. The yard, where he raises bananas, ducks, and chickens, is hard packed dirt—no dust. He told us that we were the first white people ever to visit his home. Verywell, too, has an extended family. In addition to his wife (for whom he paid three cows and still owes a fourth) and his three children, a nephew from his side of the family and a niece from his wife’s side of the family live with them. A second nephew was visiting. On the way to and from Verywell’s home young children whom we passed would greet us with “shickamoo”, the traditional greeting given to someone who is older and higher in status, to which we would give the traditional reply—“maharaba” . The words have no specific meaning. It is merely a societal convention. We told Verywell that in the U.S. children would never greet adults whom they had not met. We walked back to campus afterward, despite Verywell’s expectation that we might want to hire a taxi. He insisted on walking back the whole way with us despite our telling him that we could find our way back once we reached the tarmac road.

Friday, September 25.

I presume I am finally an “old age pensioner” because my first Social Security payment was to be deposited this week. The brief rain last week must have wrung all remaining moisture from the atmosphere because this week there has been no dew at all in the mornings. Previously there had been some. I finally got to teach the first lesson in the unit on oral communication on Wednesday, but then mid-term exams started on Thursday so no classes Thursday through Monday, with morning prayers at 7 am instead of 7:30. As a result we have spent some long days in the library. Cataloging is going more quickly than we had envisioned at first. Yesterday we started cataloging the books that are kept in a locked cabinet because supposedly there are “special” but I am not sure why. Mgogo, the academic dean, nearly had apoplexy when he came in and saw those books spread out on a table, but we assured him they would be put back in the cabinet once we cataloged them. I think may changes must be made to library procedure if the school is to succeed in obtaining university status. Last evening we experienced the third power outage since we arrived, but the first that happened during hours of darkness. We were pleasantly surprised when the Principal’s wife arrived from next door with a kerosene lantern that she lent us. Power was restored shortly after 9 pm but by then we had decided to go to bed.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Today is the Equinox, but that apparently has little significance here where the people think more of the rainy season and the dry season. I have noticed that day length has been increasing. Maybe with the change from winter to spring the night winds will not howl so much and sound so cold. We spent several hours cataloging in the library today. The quality of the library holdings is “interesting”. We worked on the 900s today. In the open stacks apart from two specialized books on French history, all of the history books deal with American history. The library has depended heavily on donated books, which people appear to have sent without any inquiry into what is actually needed or appropriate for the school’s needs.
The Ministry of Education has sent out new syllabi, which has the tutors quite concerned. They were in meetings about it most of the day. Supposedly second year classes are immune, but first year classes must begin using the new syllabi immediately even though we are well into the current school year. I do not know yet what if any the change will have on my Communications Skills class.

Saturday, September 19. We have discussed Tanzanian wedding customs with a couple of or colleagues. The “bride price” custom is alive and well here. The prospective groom must pay the bride’s family a price in the neighborhood of 3 to 5 cows, or the valued thereof in order to be permitted to marry the woman. Some of our friends back in the States have written to ask how things are in the jungle. I am not sure there is any jungle in Tanzania, except perhaps in the far north along the border with Uganda, and perhaps in a few places along the DRC border; certainly not here in the southern highlands. What we see from our house are maize fields and cattle pastures with trees scattered here and there. It is still quite brown because the rainy season has not yet begun. The rain of a few days ago served only to settle the dust for a short time.
Friday, September 18. No classes again today. There is to be a special assembly to welcome the first year students, with student entertainment, and the students wanted additional time to prepare. The tutors were not all aware that classes were cancelled. I have been to only one class this week. Perhaps the unit on oral communication will finally begin next Wednesday. The assembly itself, conducted in Swahili, went about two hours. It included student comedy skits and a reenactment, including face paint and “spears”—actually broomsticks, of a Nyacyusa celebratory dance. Today was also the day of the netball and football games between students and faculty. Students won the netball game 6-4, but the faculty took the football game 2-0. Neither Karen nor I were needed to play. I did not mind.

Tuesday, September 15. Hard to believe we have been here three weeks already. I have been reading a chapter per day in English Grammar For Dummies. The other day I came across an interesting fact—in 1850 the British Parliament passed a law establishing Masculine by Preference for use in English—e.g. everyone should bring his notes to the meeting. The book did not say if the law was ever repealed. Today Hiari and I walked to the local market, about 1 km, for some groceries. We got 2 kg of rice, 1 kg of wheat flour, a cabbage, a coconut, a little over a quart each of onions and tomatoes, two small hands of bananas, and about 2tsp of pepper for 9,700 shillings. Hiari said that market is very expensive compared to prices in Mbeya, 10km from campus, but it seemed very cheap compared to prices in the US—at 1300 shillings to the dollar, I spent $7.46, but then that must be balanced against an average income in Tanzania of perhaps $600.00. Minimum wage for domestic workers is 65000 shillings per month—about $50.00.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Haven’t written for a whole because the Bishop invited us to attend the meeting of the Diocesan Executive Council at Matema, a conference center that the church has on the shore of Lake Nyasa. Matema is known as a resort, and everyone we spoke to before going there said it was very nice, but it would be very hot. What they did not tell us was the difficulty in getting there over dusty bumpy dirt roads. On they way from Mbeya to Tukuyu we stopped and bought a stalk of small bananas from a grower who was selling them along the highway—500 shillings (less than 50 cents) for the entire stalk. We munched on them as we traveled. They were small and sweet but very good.
The Tukuyu area gets some rain year found, so the landscape is greener, and there are crops growing that have not yet been put in around Mbeya—corn, potatoes in various stages of maturity, beans, etc. They get three crops of potatoes per year—we saw some that had been harvested—it wonders me that potatoes are not a bigger part of the local diet, rather than corn. On the way home on Saturday we bought a large sack of potatoes, I would guess 40 pounds or so, for 3,500 shillings—a little less than three dollars. Even though the landscape is greener, it is no less dusty than at Mbeya. Once off the pave road, dust is still everywhere.
From Tukuyu there are two ways to Matema—we took the one that is unpaved road the whole way, because Mwakenja wanted to visit his father, who has been ill. Along the way we visited a former German colonial outpost, saw a troop of monkeys near a secondary school—Mwakenja told us they frequented the school to beg for food, and stopped at Masoko Crater Lake where legend has it German Troops dumped treasure during WWI to keep it out of the hands of the British. The Tukuyu area is home to two dormant volcanoes, one of which, Mt. Rungwe, is the third highest mountain in Tanzania. There is still enough volcanic activity to make the “harvesting” of carbon dioxide economically viable. Along the way we also saw several other craters which did not contain lakes. We are told, however, that there are several other crater lakes in the vicinity. It seemed to take forever to get to Matema over those bunpy roads. Mwakenja continually assured us that it was only a few kilometers more but I became very impatient as more time passed and we still were not there yet.
Matema itself was nice, although many westerners might not consider it much of a resort. The facilities were perhaps more like church camp. As guests of the bishop we were accorded VIP treatment, which I am not accustomed to. Food was plentiful and very good. Dinner the first night included a large catfish baked with the head and skin still on. I had never before eaten catfish that had not been skinned before cooking. The temperature was certainly warmer than in Mbeya, but not unbearable, and there were few mosquitoes. Lake Nyasa (also called Lake Malawi on some maps) is the third largest of the African great lakes. Our “hut”, actually a brick house with tile roof and western toilet, was right on the beach facing the lake. Every night you could see lights out on the lake which were fishermen out in canoes fishing for sardines. When we arrived the first night it was already dark and it looked as if the lights could have come from buildings along the shore, except they were actually stretched across the long narrow lake. In addition, even if on the shore they would not have been electric lights because that part of rural Tanzania is not yet on the grid. The Lutheran Centre runs a generator each evening from 7 to around 10, and the Lutheran Hospital at Matema also has a generator which it runs whenever doctors are operating.
The Bishop introduced us to the executive committee after first giving an exhortation that the ELCT should not be quick to condemn the ELCA for the general assembly’s recent action concerning pastors in publicly accountable same sex relationships because the Germans and the Swedes had already gone down the same road as the ELCA, with the Swedes probably having gone farther and faster. It was good that none of the committee had any questions for us concerning that issue. It was interesting that some of the committee members that we spoke to during the sessions thought that we were from Germany! Perhaps because the long term missionaries who are ex officio members of the counsel were from Germany.
On the way back from Matema on Saturday we took the other route by way of Kyela which still required about two hours of travel along unpaved roads until we finally reached the paved road at Kyela—we are told that this route is sometimes impassible during the rainy season. It is also said that mosquitoes are much worse during the raining season. The trip back included a side trip to the Malawi border where we got to walk across the bridge into Malawi, stopping just short of the customs gate, and a breakdown just past Tukuyu. The clutch master cylinder in the car that Mwakenja had borrowed from a friend for the trip failed. We waited a few hours while Mwakenja’s friend and a mechanic came out from Mbeya to make the repair. Very interesting—had the same thing happened to us back home I am sure that the best we could have managed on Saturday afternoon would have been a tow to Lebo’s. Thankfully, the breakdown occurred along the highway rather than been back in the bush when we were visiting Mwakenja’s parents whose farm is way off the road. When we finally did get back to campus we baked some of the potatoes we had purchased and ate them for dinner.


Tuesday, September 8 2009

Last evening we were invited to dinner at the home of the principal of the College, whose house is next door to ours. He introduced us to his family, beside his wife and two children, there are his wife’s younger sister, and his three younger brothers. If that house is configured the same as ours, and I have no reason to believe it is not, then the home is very crowded. That house is receiving an extension to accommodate a western toilet attached to the main living area, because the principal like ours so much after it was built.
Each weekday at 7:30 we attend morning devotions which all students, including those who are Muslim, are required to attend. There is very good singing, all without musical accompaniment, and usually student lead worship. The Chaplain, Mwankenja, usually attends but has preached only once since we have been here.
We had our first detailed meeting about the library today, with Verywell, the Assistant Dean. He had started the library but then gave up that duty when he began teaching. The books are roughly shelved according to the Dewey decimal system, but the books themselves are not individually cataloged, and because the current librarian is on maternity leave, there are no library hours. If both of us were to do nothing but work on the library it would seem to be a boon to the College.
At morning tea we have been speaking with the other staff members in an effort to learn some Swahili. They say we are doing well for having been here only two weeks, but I doubt we will be able to learn enough to be able to follow conversations.
When we returned to the house we found Hiari working in the garden, digging up a much larger area than I had already prepared. We could not convince her that we did not need that large a garden. She had purchased seeds of various fast maturing greens, which she has also planted and watered.
Today I started reading “Giants in the Earth” by Ole E. Rolvaag. I had read an excerpt in 11th grade English but no further exposure, although I have had the book for several years. I finished the book the following Sunday—sort of a tragedy I guess. It covers much of the same subject matter as the Little House series. The books I have bought that could be considered literature I plan to donate to the college library.
Later in the afternoon, before some of Karen’s students arrived unexpectedly, I spent a short time photographing some of the wild flowers near our home. I do not know the names of any, except that one is a variety of thistle.

Saturday, September 5, 2009. Karen is keeping a detailed chronological journal, so I may focus more on topical entries. Contrary to the belief of many Americans, ourselves included before coming here, not all of Africa is hot. Mbeya’s altitude is a little over 5000 feet, and at this time of the year—late winter—September is equivalent to April in the northern hemisphere, it is quite cool in the morning. It warms up quickly when the sun rises, but does not get above the high 70’s, at least not yet. In evening the temperature falls quickly when the sun gets low in the sky. When we take a walk in the early evening we often need a sweater or jacket. In addition, there is not much twilight here. There is full darkness no long after sunset.
I continue to be fascinated by people, mostly women, carrying things balanced on their heads—even fragile things such as baskets of eggs or tomatoes, without using their hands. When we checked into Luther House in Dar es Salaam, a woman easily put our heavy suitcases on her head, one by one, and carried them upstairs to our room. We are told that loads of up to 50 Kg are carried on the head.

Sunday, September 06, 2009 We continue to struggle with Internet issues. Apparently I did not understand what plan we purchased from Zain, and it seems that every time we speak with them the answer is different. I am sure it is mostly because of the language barrier. Mwankenja has suggested that he and I switch modems and ISPs because his is easier to refill, and perhaps that will help. I had prepaid internet while on the cruise last winter too, but we always knew at any one time how many minutes were left.
We attended worship at a different local parish today, and there was Holy Communion. Again we were introduced as guests from the USA and asked to speak briefly. After the service there was also an auction for offerings in kind, albeit shorter than that last week—no live chickens, but we bought two eggs. Like last week, we were invited to “tea” with the pastor, which turned out to be actual lunch.
Yesterday using a borrowed hoe I began preparing a small patch of ground for a garden. We hope to raise some fast growing greens to supplement a diet heavy on starch. I do not think I will develop a taste for ugali, but Karen seems to like it.
I was looking forward to teaching oral communication skills this coming week, but I will be missing those classes because we have been asked to attend meetings at Matema, a resort on Lake Nyasa were the ELCT has a retreat center, that are being held in preparation for the diocesan assembly in November. I think it will take place after we return home.

Sunday worship

August 30. Mwankenja took us to a local Lutheran church just off the road to Tukuyu for Sunday worship. The service, in Swahili with Mwankenja translating for us, lasted about two hours. There were perhaps 300 in attendance. Some of the offerings are made in kind rather than cash, and those are auctioned off immediately after the service. One of the parishoners bought a live chicken that had been contributed, and gave it to us as a gift. It will be dinner later in the week.

Settling in

We moved into our house Saturday August 29. It is built of concrete and is quite nice. Four rooms with bathroom in the main section, and a separate kitchen across an enclosed courtyard. The college has about 100 acres, fenced and gated, perhaps 10 Km or so out of the city. There are no paved roads or walkways on the campus. Our house is perhaps 100 yards from the administration and classroom buildings. The Principal's house is next door. From our front porch we look out on a rural setting, but the road into town is all urban. Traffic in Mbeya is lighter and less chaotic than in Dar but I am still glad we are not driving.

Journey to Tanzania

August 23 2009 Pastor Tim gave a sending service for us at the beginning of the 8 AM service, and he also told the congregation that we would be blogging about our experience. At coffee hour after the service Sherm Hendrix gave me a book on educational evaluation and measurement to add to my already heavy briefcase. We waited in line more than two hours to check in with British airways at Dulles Airport--probably would not have avoided that by flying from Harrisburg because we would still have had to check in with BA at Dulles anyhow. Because we are traveling as missionaries we get to check three bags instead of two--an advantage. Even tough we usually travel light, we are loaded down with books that the College in Mbeya has requested and also with a supply of peanut butter and dried fruit because we were not sure what would be available in Tanzania. Actually, British Airways service, apart from the long checkin, is quite good. The plane had good for feet and the flight attendants were helpful. The flight was a little late lifting off but we nevertheless landed in London a little ahead of schedule because of good tailwinds. My fears about Hurricane Bill were unfounded. Dinner was not bad, and alcohol is still complementary on BA.

August 24 2009 Because we arrived around 10 AM and our flight out would not be until 7PM we took the tube into the city and went to the British Museum to see the Rosetta Stone. I never realized it was so large. Because of our checkin experience at Dulles we made sure to get back to Heathrow by 4 PM to checkin--no big lines this time, but at Heathrow they d0 not announce gate assignments until a little over an hour before flight time, but then if you are not at the gate by 30 minutes before takeoff they pull your bags and leave without you. Eventually we leared we would be leaving from a B Gate, which takes about 20 minutes to get to but somehow we made it with time to spare. Karen and I are getting on each other's nerves somewhat at this point, having both been up for over 24 hours. The plane is not full, so we are given the option to move to other seats once we are airborne. We took advantage of that option and both got window seats by ourselves, giving us a little more room to try to sleep. There is a good movie selection--I watched "Here to Eternity" during and after dinner (cottage pie, not bad) and somehow manage to get some sleep. I was suprised to see that there are only a very few Africans on the flight--almost all the passengers are white Europeans or Americans.

August 25 Tuesday I guess--its hard to keep track of these things while traveling. Another nice thing about having moved our seats--we both got to see Mt. Kilimanjaro rising high above the clouds--a nice perk of flying into Tanzania in the morning. They say that because of global warming the mountain is losing its snowcap, but it still has some. There has also been severe drought in that region recently, which may also contribute. We land in Dar es Salaam around 7 AM local time--2 hours ahead of London and 7 hours ahead of EDT, so our bodies still think it is midnight. We avoid the long line for visas because we got ours ahead of time, but we must complete a swine flu questionnaire, which is then collected by gentleman in medical whites and wearing a surgical mask. Tanzania has had no cases, except one brought in by a British tourist and they hope to keep it that way. We indicate "Mission" as the purpose of our visit on the immigration form and no further questions are asked. Customs is nonexistant. After gathering our bags we head outside with a little trepidation but we immediately recognize Gwamanka Mwankenja, the Chaplain of the College, who has come to meet us. We had met him a couple months ago when he had come for the Lower Susquehanna Synod Assembly. We load our bags into a car that we learn later Gwamanka has borrowed from his brother-in-law and head for the Luther House hostel in the city. After breakfast at the hostel we get a few hours sleep before Gwamanka takes us out to see some of the city. We go to the beach along the Indian Ocean where Karen gets to touch the water. The tide is low, and I find the miriad of very small crabs, perhaps the size of 50 cent piece, scurrying along the sand. While at the beach we also hear sirens--a motorcade carrying either the President or the Prime Minister is passing. I had trouble sleeping despite being very tired--the room is hot and I guess I have not yet adjusted to the time change.

August 26. Another day in Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania, population several million. It sits a sea level and temperature is in the mid-80s. Traffic in Dar is "interesting" Despite gas prices around $4 per gallon there is a lot of traffic, and most drivers, including Gwamanka, are quite aggressive. Except for occasional traffic lights there seem to be no traffic control devices at most intersections. Dust is everywhere. Only main streets are paved, and even there the shoulders are unpaved. We visit the University of Dar es Salaam where we tour the library, and we also visit Tumaini Lutheran University where Mwankenja's brother-in-law is a law instructor. Back at Luther House there is a fundraiser, and we are introduced to the Presiding Bishop of the ELCT. The room is more comfortable because we have finally figured out the air conditioner, but still I do not sleep well.

August 27 Thursday? We take a very fully loaded taxi to the Scandinavian Express bus terminal to begin the all day trio ti Mbeya. The bus line supposedly has a limit of two checked bags and one carryon per person, but since Mwankenja has only a small backpack it works out OK. We boarded at Scandinavian's own terminal, but the bus makes a second stop at the city's main bus terminal, which I can only describe as chaos. There seem to be scores of buses from many carriers, not only big touring buses, but also minibuses, actually vans, called dala-dalas, and seemingly hundreds of people milling around. Among the crowd are also vendors hawking all sorts of merchandise--clothing, good sunglasses, etc. Eventually we do get underway and head out of the city on the Tanzam Highway, the maim road from Dar es Salaam all the way across the country and into Zambia. It starts out as a good two lane hard road, but after about half way to Mbeya we get into mountains and it begins to resemble a Scottish single track road, not quite. It is "interesting" seeing large buses passing big trucks ion narrow roads. Along the way the road passes through Mikumi National Park where we got to see an elephant, several giraffes, a small herd of buffalo, bushpigs, assorted antelope, and a troop of baboons in the middle of the road. Except for the baboons, the bus does not slow down, so we did not get a good view of the animals or a chance for pictures. No lions. We are told it is very rare to see any of the big cats from the highway. In fact, Gwamanka tells us that he has never seen a lion in the wild. All along the road after we left the city, and even in the small towns along the way we get to see indigenous housing that has us a little concerned about what our house in Mbeya will look like. There are a lot of mud huts, and some small brick houses of various types, some with thatched roofs. some with tin roofs, and many in various stages of disrepair. It is a very long trip with only a few short stops. Contrary to what we have been told to expect, however, there is only one rest stop that uses "the bushes". It does get cooler as we reach the Southern Highlands. We finally get to Mbeya after 7 PM. It has already gotten dark. There is no twilight in the tropics. We are to stay at a local hotel, the Stockholm, for two nights, until our house is ready. The hotel is comfortable. The stay is at the expense of the college, which we are not happy with, preferring to pay our own way, but maybe something can be worked out later.

8/20/09

Well, I have been instructed in how to blog. I hope I can remember. We have all our shots and we are starting to pack. We have learned that since we are traveling as missionaries we are each permitted to check 3 bags as opposed to the usual two.