African Odyssey

Wishing I were in Africa

2009-11-11T17:03:00.000-05:00

I was thinking the other day how much I would love to be back in Africa. Things there are a lot more simple. And if you ask Luke much nicer weather.

Beauty Hill

2009-01-16T10:57:00.003-05:00

This is a picture I took on one of the last days I was in Kigoma. It is from the side of the hill in a little fishing village called Kibrizi (spelling is probably wrong). This was one of my very favorite places. The standard of living here is very low, and I would say the people are some of the poorer in the Kigoma region, but they live in what I woulod consider the most beautiful part of the area. What you are looking at is the harbor where all the boats go into Kigoma and there is a port where the boats and trains meet. It is also where the local immigration offices are located. I purposely chose this photo of the harbor because you cannot see where the port is very well. The government does not allow people to take photos of government facilities, which in all honesty, I can see as being a good idea. There was a guest out while Luke and I were there that was telling me a story about how on one of her trips out to Kigoma, she was taking a picture of this beautiful landscape scene. Well, she didn't realize that in part of her photo she happened to have captured a millitary vehicle. After she snapped the shot, she was promptly approached by the military men and luckily she only had to give up her film and not her freedom. Needless to say, the government is a little touchy on the matter of photo taking.

African Engagement

2009-01-10T06:38:00.002-05:00

Because Luke decided to get engaged here in Africa, tomorrow in church we get to announce the engagement. Now this is not your typical stand up and tell everyone you are getting married. They already know that, in fact, last week at church they announced that we are announcing our engagement this week. The reason for this is so they can get ready for the engagement ceremony. When they announce we are getting married, all the women come and take me to the front of the church and all the men go and take Luke to the front of the church. All the people are cheering and congratulating us, then they all get in a line and one by one they go by, shake our hands and spray us with perfume. So just imagine every kind of fabulous smell (sarcasm here) and that is what we then get to get on the plane with! YAY! I think it will be fun though. And Luke's mom was telling us that the people here really like to feel included in family events like engagements and all that. It is a way of saying you care about the people like they are part of your family. It is really important for us as well, because we are planning on moving back here in the future, and it lets them know we are in it for more than just ourselves. It is like a little African initiation for me. :)

Tanzanite

2009-01-03T09:38:00.000-05:00

Here's the stone. It is amazing! I think Tanzanite should be the new diamond.

Engaged

2008-12-31T18:11:00.002-05:00

So, today, much to my surprise, Luke, the love of my life, asked me to marry him, and being the fabulous person that I am, I said "yyyyesss!" Actually I think it was more like, "oh, my gosh!... YES!", but with a lot of shakiness in my voice, because I had no idea that he was going to ask me until he was on his knee. I really thought I would be able to out smart him, but he did his magic, and surprised the heck out of me. To top it all off, everyone at the party knew, and I still had no idea about it. So anyway, the stone is beautiful and I can't wait till the ring is finished being cast. AHHHHH! I am never going to be able to sleep.

Zebra

2008-12-30T15:14:00.001-05:00

So there is a pack of zebra that used to live near the beach that we go to, and usually one can see them at least once on the way there, but as of late we have not been able to seen them. Needless to say, we found them. There is a hotel here that has one of the nice restraunts around here, and apparently they have stolen the zebra from the beach. Honestly, it was a little dissapointing to see them while munching on my food. Don't get me wrong, they are still dangerous to get close to, but still, I was hoping to see them in the "wild."
I guess the hotel is in the "wild", but I mean in the land rover on the dirt road wild. At any rate here they are in the semi - wild.

Containers

2008-12-29T14:35:00.002-05:00

Since I arrived here in Kigoma we have been awaiting the arrival of two forty foot containers. These containers are filled with supplies that will last Luke's parents for the next 4 - 5 years. Think about it...cans and cans of food, and lots of other good stuff, like clothing, and Yarn!!! and fabric and shoes, and computer stuff and building stuff. It is like Christmas for us and the Africans.
The long awaited arrival of these containers ended on Friday and since then we have unloaded two very large, very full containers. How it works is in the morning, the directer of affairs, Mwenge goes and collects workers to move the boxes from the containers (located at the port) and bring them to the site where the houses and school are located. Essentially it is one huge moving day with tons of stuff and lots of people. I got to be stationed at one of the drop off points. This meant that I had to direct the Africans where to put the boxes and such. Really it was a bit intimidating at first, seeing as how I speak no Swahili. Fortunately, the night before I learned numbers one through ten, not knowing I would be putting my newly aquired knowledge to use. So pretty much all day I stood in the sun and told African men, " Moja, imbili, tatu, ine, tano, sita, sapa, nane, tisa, kumi." Really it was nice, not being totally without control of my surrounding. It is rather draining when you can't even give any kind of verbal response to a question. I am slowly catching on to phrases. Anyway, we got the containers unloaded and now for the rest of the time we are here, we will be sorting through the boxes and giving away tons fo things to people who really need the gifts.
I am really beginning to like it here, and I can't wait to begin taking classes to learn Swahili.

Dr. Livingston, I Presume?

2008-12-16T09:05:00.001-05:00

As seen here, you can tell why I am not quick to call this little room a museum. Along the walls are some paintings of the two men’s encounter that were painted in the late 1800s. On the other wall there are a couple of photographs of the men and where they lived.

Perhaps the most redeeming factor about this place was the view from the window. The sheer amount of plants that are here is amazing. I love the variety of not only the flowers, but that the foliage is so multi-colored that I have thoughts of becoming a botanist, just so I can identify all the plant varieties.

How Cute

2008-12-16T09:02:00.000-05:00

Here is the David Livingston memorial monument. This is the place where Henry Stanley found Livingstone under a mango tree and uttered the infamous words “Dr. Livingston, I presume?” The “museum” has funny statues of the meeting. There are very old paper maché, life-sized statues of Stanley and Livingstone.

Sunset

2008-12-16T08:58:00.000-05:00

This is the sun setting on the lake from a lookout near the beach where we stayed for a couple of days. This isn’t the best one we’ve had. Actually tonight the sky was the prettiest I have seen it yet. The whole sky was on fire with an orange-ish pick tint, and I could clearly see the Congo mountains in the distance.

Moonshine

2008-12-16T08:55:00.000-05:00

So while we were at the beach the moon was in its full stage, but more than that it was the closest it will be in 40 something years, so that was freakin’ amazing to swim in crystal clear water with the moon lighting the bottom. Swimming in this lake is like swimming in the cleanest bath ever. There is no salt to cloud it and it is much better than a pool because there is no chlorine to smell. It is soooo clean. Not a ton of fish or birds; just red beautiful sand.

The View

2008-12-16T08:33:00.000-05:00

This is the view from my patio which is attached to my room. The water is Lake Tanginika (the second largest fresh water lake in the world) and there are mountains (which are in Congo, 45 miles away)in the background that aren’t very visible in this picture. I took this around six in the morning right as the sun was coming up. Because of where Kigoma is situated on the lake, the sun sets rather than rises on the lake.

In Kigoma

2008-12-09T14:05:00.002-05:00

I made it safely to Tanzania. The trip took a total of 30 hours including the layovers. Let's just say it was a long and interesting trip. When we got to the airport in Chicago one of our boxes was 11 lbs over the limit, so right there in the middle of the airport we opened our boxes, and I had to throw away my shampoo, conditioner, some snacks, and a bag of raisins (those were for Luke's mom). Luke and I packed all our clothes in one box, so we would have enough room to fit all of the things his family and other missionaries wanted us to bring out. Once we had the boxes all evened out, we were on our way. There were no problems till we were getting onto the plane in Dar es Salam. In the airport, Luke had to finagle with the people at the check in counter to get at least one of our pieces of luggage on the plane. The Man at the counter said that they couldn't put them on, but eventually he said he would do what he could to get at least the box with our clothes on it. I was not very hopeful that anything would actually make it on the plane, but at the last minute I saw the man from the desk drive our box out to the plane. Needless to say I was very happy that my clothes would be coming with us.
When we got to Kigoma, we were greeted by the entire church here. Which means I got to shake every one's hand and then, to my surprise I got to say a little something about myself in front of everyone. I was not expecting this and felt really inadequate. I would also like to say that I had the added pressure of being Luke's girlfriend. Luke is like the celebrity of the town, so I was under the scrutiny of the local people. Although it was unexpected, greeting people of the culture was nice. It sort of imerses you all at once, and got me over the initial shock of being here in Africa.

I will say being in warm weather and knowing it is snowing at home, has been an unexpected plessure. I have only been here for two days and I can certainly see myself living here.

Money

2008-09-19T15:07:00.002-04:00

As one would expect, going to another country costs money. A lot of it at that. So this week I literally broke into the piggy bank. I knew that I had tons of change, but I never thought it would amount to a great sum. Well, I have been rolling coins and I have managed to collect $50. I was more than surprised to have that much. I guess pennies still have some worth.
I was talking to my boyfriend and he was telling me he knows of this couple that never spends anything less than a $5. That does not mean they never buy anything less than $5, it simply means they never carry anything less than a five dollar bill, and when they break it the change goes into savings. I was thinking about this, and it really puts spending money in a whole new light. It makes me ask the question, " Do I really need this?" I mean if every time you bought something less than five dollars you would really be spending the $5 because the rest went into saving.
So now that I am saving, perhaps the little things that I buy will mean a whole lot more.

Only a Month and a Half Left

2008-09-15T10:43:00.002-04:00

I am getting excited about the journey I am about to embark on. Always as a child I would hear stories about lands far away and the trials and adventures of those who had gone and returned to tell their tales. I have always had a sense that I would be going to Africa, but I was never sure how it would play out. I would have to day that I could not be happier that it is to be with the love of my life.
I know that it will be different than I can imagine, but I know that in its way Africa will grab hold of me and never let go. There are few things in life I feel can draw you to it in the way that Africa has for me. For many years I have pushed the feeling to the back of my heart, but now that I have given into the call, it gets stronger and stronger every day. I often liken it to the power Greece and Penelope must have had on Ulysses. Even in times of trial and distraction, the deep desire for where one is meant to be drives one home.
And so here I am on my way to what, I think, will be the best weeks and hopefully years of my life.