Tanzania 2011

Day 18 – Monday – Most Productive Day Yet!

2011-07-24T14:02:00.000-07:00

So it’s the start of a new week and what better way to begin a Monday than with power! I woke up and helped prepare breakfast before heading down to the clinic to fight for everyone’s free time so I can get the right information about Nyakato. I started in the lab where Meaghan was taking samples from patients for the lab tech to process. She helped me figure out what materials and time go into performing each test. I put these into a spreadsheet that will eventually calculate the exact cost of performing each test based on the latest price information available. Unfortunately however, to do this takes a lot of Jimmy and Dr. Bon’s time. I got as much information from Meaghan as I could and then went to Miriam’s, the HR manager, office to look through some records on the amount of each procedure they have done at the clinic. This is where my day starts to get challenging. The records aren’t exactly what I would call easy to read. They are all in pen or pencil and a procedure that’s called one name on one page will be titled something completely different on the next. I’m not anything close to a medical professional so sorting through these abbreviations and names will be a challenge. I took the records back to Paula’s to digest them and put the information Meaghan gave me into a useful format.

At the house Paula and Sele were working on some financials for a new construction project so I got a little sidetracked helping them on the computer. Sele really wants to learn how to use excel and asked all kinds of questions. Some of the things he wanted to do were new to me so we all spent about two hours learning about the program.

I apologize for talking about excel as much as I do. I know most of you probably don’t care about it but it’s kind of the reason why I am here so when I talk about my day there’s most likely going to be a bit or two about excel.

I went back to the clinic to get a document with all the prices Nyakato currently charges. As I waited for Dr. Bon to finish with patients I talked with some of the locals outside in my minimal Swahili and their attempt at English. When you get to a point in a conversation where both people can tell the other person has no idea what they are trying to say you can’t help but laugh and it puts a smile on the kids’ faces. Dr. Bon and I stayed at the clinic until after dark (around 7:30) going over what I was making for him and how it would help him in his daily management of the clinic. He keeps gasping randomly and I thought maybe he had a respiratory condition. It wasn’t later until I asked Paula that short gasps in the middle of a conversation are like the minor “uh-hu’s” that we would say to let the other person know we understand.

I decided to have dinner at Lucy’s tonight since Paula and Denny weren’t planning on eating. Lucy has cooked Chicken and chips (fries) along with some vegetables and rolls and it was all delicious. The power was off by this point so it was a candle lit dinner. Later I dove into the Swahili book. I’m almost done! Before bed, Paula made hot cocoa so I sipped that down and read until my candle burned out.

Day 17 – Sunday

2011-07-24T13:26:00.000-07:00

Sunday is a pretty relaxing day. I was supposed to go to church with Anar and Dr. Msengi but unfortunately I didn’t wake up in time and they didn’t want to disturb me. Since the internet is too slow here I won't be able to catch the online COR service like I could if I miss church at school.

Sunday is Paula and Denny’s day off and they enjoy just doing things for themselves around the house. As they did some laundry, sewed, and read I grabbed my Swahili book and tried to get through another chapter. I’m really overwhelmed about the amount of grammar I’ve been learning so I’ll be excited to go back through the book a second time with more ease. I read for about an hour before the crew was ready to go to the orphanage to take the kids their new school shoes.

The kids are a little behind their peers at school, especially in English so it has been a challenge for the orphanage volunteers to get them back up to speed. At the last parent teacher conference the matrons at the school told the Upendo crew that all of the kids were trying exceptionally hard and making big improvements. We decided to tell the kids that the shoes were for doing such a good job as opposed to just a gift. It’s adorable to see the kids try on their shoes. They are so excited when they get a pair and even if they are way too small they’ll find a way to cram their toes in because they want them so badly. We did miss pretty largely on a few sizes. It turns out that when kids trace their own feet they have a tendency to exaggerate the width and length of a foot. We’ll have to go back to Friday market next week and get three more pairs.

We left the orphanage just before dark and played impromptu games of tag with the neighborhood children along the way. I love it here. At night we watched Harry Potter. I have never read or seen any of the Harry Potter books or movies so this was a big step for me. I can proudly say that I stayed awake through almost the entire first movie! Haha. They sure are long, and not quite as action-packed as a Lord of the Rings movie or another flick with a fanciful plot. Sorry all of you diehard HP fans, I don’t know if I’ll make it through them all.

Day 16 – Mock Independence Day - July 2nd 2011

2011-07-22T14:37:00.000-07:00

Today is the day we are having our Independence Day Party. We have invited all of the American missionaries around Mwanza and our British friends to join us for the celebration. It’s also Ed’s birthday party which means chocolate cake will be served too! Despite any old hard feelings, the British guys were good sports when we remind them that this celebration is in to recognize our forefathers telling their ancestors to go away.

I spent the morning setting up tables and chairs in Paula’s backyard while she went around and picked flowers for center pieces from all the trees that bloom year-round. It was a nice setting. I think people got a little confused on what time to come though, since most everyone showed up an hour and a half late. I was so glad when they arrived and I learned they brought spaghetti and brownies.

We spent the afternoon just talking with everyone and enjoying the nice weather. I really liked the diverse mix of people. From the U.S. we had people from Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Oregon, Arkansas, and Ohio. From Europe the U.K., Austria, and Germany were represented. We also had one guy from Korea and of course a few from Tanzania. Not the average 4^th of July crowd but it’s cool.

I think it takes a 4^th away from home to realize how lucky we are in the United States. In the U.S. we have power each day. In the U.S. we have roads and most everyone has modern plumbing. In the U.S. we have an informed public to fairly elect politicians. In the U.S. we have schools with teachers that show up each day. In the U.S. almost all of us grew up in a home with at least one parent. In the U.S. we don’t starve to death or know several people who’ve died of preventable diseases. In the U.S. we can find a good job so we have a reason to stay in school. In the U.S. we can own a home until we want to sell it. In the U.S. we have police officers who obey the law. In the U.S. we don’t have to soak our food in chlorine before we eat it to know it’s safe. In the U.S. you can swim in the lakes without getting a disease. In the U.S. you can get things done without having to bribe anyone. I think we have a good thing or two going for us.

At night the power was on so we decided to watch a movie on the projector. The projector was awesome and we could see the movie perfectly. Unfortunately the speakers were from a laptop and we all had to huddle around to know what was happening. In Tanzania they sell DVD’s with 8 or 9 movies on each disk. To do this you sacrifice some quality and often get Chinese versions. The sound was so quiet that we decided to turn on the closed captioning. The person who was responsible for typing the captions was definitely not a native English speaker. The combinations of words they decided upon for the captions were anything but accurate. My favorite caption was, “Train speedy but is not” for the phrase, “It’s slowing down!” We watched the movie Unstoppable with Denzel Washington. Awesome movie.

Day 15 – Shoe Shopping (Tanzania Style…)

2011-07-22T14:08:00.000-07:00

I started the day by sleeping in until about 10:30. I didn’t mean to sleep this long but unfortunately it takes more than the alarm on a $15 Wal-Mart watch to disturb this guy’s hibernation.

Friday is the day for the local market. On our list of things to fetch are 9 pairs of shoes, 18 pairs of socks, and 18 pairs of underwear. These are for a local orphanage that was started by an English girl named Carly, who is working at the clinic. Carly and her friend Vicky have been volunteering at Nyakato Hospital since I arrived and over the last two weeks I have gotten to know their story. They are both nursing students from the U.K. and it is Vicky’s first time to Africa. Carly came to Tanzania last summer where she was inspired to start Upendo Children’s Home, an orphanage that pairs donors and kids to make sure they get to go to school and grow up in a loving home. She spent the past year raising money, finding sponsors, and starting a home that now has nine children with plans to open a new facility next year that can house many more. There are quite a few British “blokes” volunteering at Upendo for the summer and since it’s only a 15 minute walk we all end up doing a lot of things together.

After the Friday market and buying shoes in a rather interesting way (the children traced their feet in crayon so that we could get the right sizes) I noticed that after two weeks of being in Africa I FINALLY GOT SONBURNT! Only a little though and I’m sure it’ll go away in a day or two. I wasn’t about to go inside yet though since I needed to finish making the grill for our 4^th of July party tomorrow.

The nearly three hours of haggling for shoes combined with a slow day at the clinic created a perfect excuse to go out to dinner and relax. We went to a place called Isamilo Lodge upon the recommendation of the group that was here before us. The view was fantastic, the food was amazing, and the British volunteers joined us too so the company was pretty entertaining as well. Dinners out take a long time here in Tanzania. Our dinner at Isamilo was nearly 3.5 hours but we did get to learn a lot about the volunteers from the U.K. As it turns out, they don’t say a “Spot of tea,” just an FYI. There is one volunteer here named Andrew who came here a year and a half ago to help out in Tanzania and just didn’t take his plane back home. He lives here now and is a little bit like me with how inquisitive he is so we find a lot of fun things to talk about.

Oh! I should also mention that our cab driver for tonight was awesome. His name is Tumaini which is Swahili for “hope.” He was incredibly fast picking us up, had a well-kept car with A/C, and really wanted to learn English. We talked the entire way to the restaurant, about half Swahili and half English. A few more fares with this dude and I should get a lot of practice. We got pulled over on the side of the road to town by a police officer with an AK-47. This was comfortable for about zero seconds and he went the back door, opened it up, saw Marry inside and I think he took a liking to her so he let us go. We asked Tumaini to pick us up after dinner and sure enough, he was outside waiting for us when we went downstairs. You might think that this is rather normal, and it is for a service in the U.S., but in Tanzania, getting people to do things with even the slightest bit of haste is a big challenge. Our previous cab driver made us wait a solid 45 minutes after our predetermined time and when he finally arrived he realized he forgot to get a second car so we could fit everyone. As luck you have it this second car was on its last leg and broke down on the way to town. I think Tumaini will be hearing from us again.

It’s been a pretty full day but I feel like I don’t get a whole lot done here. It’s kind of like going to the Library and staying on the main floor. You certainly spend a long time there but don’t seem to get anything done. Of course here you don’t get too distracted by everyone talking to you as much but things just take a little longer to accomplish in East Africa. I’ll have to get used to that.

Day 14 – Thursday – How can I get things done without power??

2011-07-19T14:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, first off I want to apologize for not being very consistent with my postings. I have been trying to get more accomplished with the clinic and stay pretty busy during the day. Those reasons with the fact that I don’t get power consistently makes blogging a little difficult. That being said, some of these posts are me recalling the day after it has occurred or later. I just jotted down the bog points of each day so that I could come back to them later and write an in depth blog. Thanks again for reading and I hope you’ll leave comments telling me about home and also ways I can make the content better!

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I woke up really early to help get breakfast going but am extremely tired from staying up late the night before. I had run into a couple questions about excel and needed to Google the answers. Meaghan was going to town to run some errands with Paula but would then be dropped off at Hotel Tilapia to use the internet. I decided to go along.

We went to central market again. I wish you could all smell the intriguing aromas that fill the market. As you walk into the tin and tarp-roofed complex you get a nice whiff of tomatoes, ginger, and garlic. As you walk a little further you run into the butcher section where hunks of slaughtered cattle, pigs, and goats line the windows. I’m a carnivore at heart but you certainly don’t feel like eating the “fresh” produce they have to offer out of their non-air-conditioned shops. There is something about the flies and a strange orange layer of fat that keeps me walking past to the next isle.

Paula has her routine stops at central market. We go by the pineapple guys almost every time and grab a couple. We all of a sudden have a new set of relatives as they cry out, “momma, brother, sista, come and see what I have for you.” If you keep walking back far enough you eventually come to the chicken section. Here you actually get to pick out your chicken. A little bizarre? Yes. Kinda cool at the same time? Also yes. As your work your way back to the entrance the bee keepers have rows of freshly bottled honey and wax for sale. We bought some mangoes, bananas, tomatoes, peppers, avocados, and pineapples along a few other things.

After the market we ran tot eh U-Turn where I got Siri some cookies for helping me out with a project at the clinic. They looked like Oreos and were labeled, “Milk Power!” I thought they had to be good. Turns out they were nothing like Oreos but still delicious. After a couple of hours of working on the internet at Tilapia we went home, snagging a newspaper on the way.

That afternoon I took a much needed nap then went out to dinner to celebrate Sele coming to America. We went to the New Mwanza Hotel again and I had the poached Tilapia. At home a few of us shared some pictures and I picked out several that would be good to help Paula in promoting the clinic. I’m really starting to like this place a lot but I’m also learning about some of the darker sides of the culture. Mainly that the leadership here makes some pretty short-sighted decisions and doesn’t seem to be too concerned with making things better at the cost actually having to work.

This last picture of the little girl is Sele's daughter, Jackie. She's a complete blast and full of smiles. Mary decided while she was here this trip to pay for her education all the way through college. What a great gift for a little girl who can already speak several words in two languages!

Day 13 – Wednesday – Sweaty Mess

2011-07-05T14:39:00.000-07:00

I started the day late since I stayed up until about 3:30 trying to take advantage of the power while we still have it. Today was a slow morning and I pretty much just read a newspaper. There is an ad in the paper for an economic forum close by that I am going to try and attend. I also learned that the government of Tanzania has over 50 ministers in the presidential cabinet. How absurd is that?? For a country producing just over .1%, that’s 0.001, of US GDP they have more than three times as many members of the cabinet. I’m sure that’s all kinds of efficient…

The afternoon was one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had up until now. We went to an orphanage called Forever Angels. This is a home that takes in orphans from all around Mwanza, mostly infants. They try and place kids into permanent “Forever Families” by age 5 or they are moved to another orphanage that has the facilities for older kids. The med students wanted to go there specifically because we heard a rumor that they just received three sets of newborn triplets! We didn’t get to see the triplets while there but we did get a whole lot of time with all of the other kids.

The facility at Forever Angels is really nice. All of the rooms are decorated with painted murals with bright colors and familiar characters. They have three different groups of children: 0-6months, 6-12 months, 12-24 months, and up to 5. The adoption laws in Tanzania are pretty stiff. The most desirable way to find a child a home is to find a distant relative that will take them in as their own. Foreign families are not allowed to adopt a Tanzanian baby unless they live in the country for two whole years. So if you were thinking about adopting a baby then you better find a way to do your job remotely or get a job here for a couple of years.

We got to the orphanage right at snack time and then it was time to play. As soon as the kids lost interest in the food they came to jump on us. Mzungu visitors are pretty common, I think, because the kids immediately wanted us to play with them. They don't get many male visitors at Forever Angels which meant I was going to get a lot of extra attention. Never having a little brother or sister I haven’t had a lot of practice playing with kids but after a while I was probably having as much, if not more fun than they were. All the kids spoke some English and when they didn’t I could get by with my basic Swahili. When in doubt in Tanzania you can always give an enthusiastic nipi tano! Nipi tano literally means “give me five” but practically it translates to “pound it” or “knuckles” and apparently and all the kids know it.

Although the kids were cute they didn’t have the best bladder control. A couple of the volunteers got peed on and I have no idea if I’m damp because of my sweat or other reasons… I’ll certainly enjoy my shower tonight. One big guy named Abdala was a lot of fun. He was probably the oldest one at the orphanage and a huge help in getting all the kids to play together. Of course you get some kids that cry when they don’t get what they want but that’s when Abdala would get them to join in on whatever the other kids were doing. He also liked my sunglasses.

After the orphanage we picked up Selle from the airport. He was coming back from Dar where he successfully got permission to come to the United States for 3 months. He tried last year but was denied. He will have to buy another $300 plane ticket to go pick up his visa in late August. He will be in the U.S for Christmas and will spend the day with my dad’s side of the family so I have some incentive to keep practicing my Swahili.

On the way home you could tell how excited Selle was and we stopped at a store on the way home where he treated us to zumbusas, a meat and vegetable filled pastry, kind of like a samosa. We got home to the fragrant smell of fresh baked cookies. I was shocked to learn that Paula made them with sweet potatoes and pumpkin. I would have never guessed.

I was finally able to take a shower to wash away the carnage of the afternoon and settled into comfortable clothes to stay up late again to work on the computer.

Day 12 – Tanzania Is Dark!

2011-07-02T16:03:00.000-07:00

I woke up in the middle of the night to yet another rain storm! Apparently this is unheard of here. Breakfast was veggie scrambled eggs, French toast, and juice. Of course there is no power again so I am yet again worthless in terms of accomplishing anything on the computer. My biggest challenge will be trying to find something gainful to do with my day.

We found out that we are not alone in being without power since the ENTIRE COUNTRY OF TANZANIA is without power! How can this be?? Well, Tanesco, the state-owned power distribution company, purchases power from three IPP’s (Independent Power Producers) and has failed to pay them for a long enough period of time to where they have decided to stop generating power to contribute to the grid. I imagine with the amount of people discussing what’s going on with the power that we will see something interesting happen politically. Who knows, maybe this will trigger more enthusiasm behind privatizations in Tanzania. Historically Tanzania has had bad luck with privatizations and since 2006 the country has mostly been opposed to the idea. The opposition party is using this as a time to rally as all businesses either pay for expensive diesel to power their equipment or temporarily shut down. Employment regulation here is very protective of the worker and short-term layoffs are not generally accepted. Something needs give way and soon. I think I’ll keep getting the paper.

I’ve heard that the clinic is running the generator to do some dental procedures so I’ll go up there and try to siphon off some of the power to charge my computers and do a little work. I also have a file I used when writing a paper this semester with a section called “Tanzanian Power Privatizations.” I’ll see what I can learn about the current mess.

Day 11 – Monday – Will We Ever Get Power??

2011-07-02T15:33:00.000-07:00

The power still hasn’t come on as we expected it to last night. Paula thinks that a transformer or something broke and of course in Tanzania it would be completely taboo to work on a Sunday so hopefully they are getting us back online now. Without power there really isn’t a whole lot I can do. I’m supposed to build a grill for our 4^th of July party this weekend with all the other American missions in around Mwanza so there’s a chance I’ll be getting my hands dirty.

Three more medical students are leaving today and three others are coming back from Zanzibar so a trip to town is going to be necessary. I think I’ll ride along since I read in my last newspaper that there would be an article about the Mwanzan economy in the Sunday paper (It takes a day for the paper to reach Mwanza from Dar es Salaam).

Later on in the day…

I went to town around 10:00 and dropped off the three med students at the airport. They are flying 540 Airline which is supposed to be a bit risky since they are planes assembled from the scraps of fuselages that no longer meet European and FAA standards. Can’t say I’d risk that for the $30 savings. The airline industry here is dominated by Precision Air and Kenya Airways for nice, safe travel and then there are a few “discount airlines.” There is one particular airline that only has two planes now, down from the 26 it had four years ago as a result of their addiction to crashes. We picked up the three from Zanzibar and had lunch at the same place I went when I arrived in Mwanza.

After lunch we went to the U-Turn convenience store to stock up on supplies since the owners will be gone for a religious festival in Dar next week. I was able to get my paper and our new friend Titu (we met him at the Hotel Tilapia) came over to say hello. Our next errand was the central market. Unfortunately my stomach was feeling a little heavy after lunch and I’m afraid I might be getting sick.

At the market a rude little kid kept following us around. My Swahili is still not good but I knew enough to hear the boy say, “Give me money now!” I told him no. So for the rest of the time in the market he followed us and kept looking in our baskets. Unlike the other boys there that would ask to carry our bags for money this little brat just kept on demanding we pay him. He followed us out to the car where the others were waiting. The boy asked them and I told them not to give him anything since he was so rude. We loaded up the groceries, got in the car, and drove away to a 7 year old bot giving us the Beverly Hillbillies’ Californian Howdy.

The evening was rather uneventful. I was still feeling sick so I took a nap, woke up for dinner where I was able to eat a few pieces of toast, and then we had hot chocolate for desert. Time for bed.

I don't have any cool pictures from the day but I wanted to show you all these two of our milkman and the way we get our milk in Tanzania. Definitely not like going to Wal-Mart. Also there are a couple of pictures from around the clinic.

Day 10 – Church and an Orphanage.

2011-07-02T14:27:00.000-07:00

I started my day late by sleeping in until 8:30. Today we have church at a nearby congregation at 10:00 so I wanted to get a little done before then. Church was certainly a new experience. The service was in Swahili so I wasn’t able to understand most of it but they did have us mzungus introduce ourselves to everyone. I am proud to say that I was able to stand up and greet everyone, tell them who I was, why I was there, and where I was from entirely in Swahili. They all applauded and then continued with the service.

I had no idea at the get go that the service was going to last an entire TWO AND A HALF HOURS! There was frequent singing and dancing from the church choir. They perform to a track that is a little annoying since it’s so loud and has voices on it but the dancing certainly had a Mwanza flavor. Men and women from ages 6 to 50 were a part of the choir and they sang and danced to songs in excess of 15 minutes. I wanted to get up there and sing and dance with them since it was basically the closest thing I was going to see to a show choir while in Africa. I think I’ll ask tomorrow if I can do a couple of songs with them next weekend. The best part of the singing and dancing was when the power went out. The city generally tries to keep the power on until most services are over but since this was a later service it was cut off, right in the middle of the song. The whole choir just kept on singing and dancing as if nothing had happened and it was some of the most pleasant singing I have witnessed. On boy, who is probably the most talented in the bunch kept a completely peaceful expression on his face throughout the entire service. The choir would get up and sing four separate times throughout the service.

I could understand very little of the service but you could tell the minister was talented. I felt like the guy in The King’s Speech when the main character watches Hitler on TV and his son asks what the man (Hitler) is saying. The main character responds with, “I don’t know, but he seems to be saying it rather well.” There was a lot of passion behind the sermon and it was complimented by the crowing of roosters every few minutes. This was the first time I had worshiped with a rooster. It was also the first time to ever accidentally turn around to see a woman breast feeding in the row behind me. Good ol’ cultural differences! They take offerings three different times throughout the service and when an offering is taken everyone files down the center line to place their contributions, kind of like we do during communion. I liked the way they did the offering.

After the service I was surprised to find out that the roosters in the church were actually offerings, along with fruit and a pumpkin, that were to be auctioned off outside the church. The minister gave the benediction and the choir led the congregation in song out the back door into a circle where one of the older boys proceeded to auction off the offerings. When we were dismissed we were immediately greeted by almost everyone there. They came up to shake our hands and saying, “karibu” which means welcome. The people here might even be friendlier than those in Kansas. Everyone seems delighted to meet us and is curious to know if we like being in Tanzania. And of course, we do.

We got home just in time for the skies to open up and begin to pour. It is extremely late in the year for the kind of rain they have been getting but it only lasted an hour and after a quick lunch we were off to our friend Carly’s orphanage to play with the kids.

The orphanage was a lot more impactful than I thought it would be. At first the kids were very shy but then slowly they warmed up and wanted to read. I saw a boy named Joseph reading by himself across the room so I decided to go over and sit with him. These children are fairly young and are outstanding readers for being 2^nd graders. Joseph was particularly talented but it was difficult for him to pronounce English words. You can see a picture of him to the right. I read with Joseph for a while and taught him what a long “I” sounds like, how a “c” can make an “s” sound, and helped him learn to pronounce “h’s.” I tried to challenge him a lot. When he would graze over a word we would stop and sound it out until we reached a pronunciation that we were both okay with. I can now better see why so many people want to be teachers. Joseph was a great learner and would smile from ear to ear when he would catch himself about to repeat a mistake he had made before and would then say a word such as “Alice” perfectly.

Of course you can’t keep a child inside all day so when we finished our book it was soccer time. Wow I’m out of shape! When you combine being in college for four years with high altitude you get a prime mixture for a sweaty, winded Kyle. When our goalie had to take a break I stepped in and was shown by a couple Tanzanian boys how much better they are at sports than me. We then said goodbyes and took pictures before making the 30 minute walk back home.

I have never enjoyed walking by complete strangers so much in my life! Every time we turn a corner there is another group of kids that call out to us, “Mzungu!” Some have learned a little English and ask us how our day is going. They really like to be chased and the whole village will watch and laugh as the children giggle and run.

Tonight is the last night in town for three more medical students. They are a lot of fun and we all went downtown to the New Mwanza Hotel tonight for a nice dinner. The 15 minute cab ride only costs us $6 split between 4 people. Not a bad deal. The hotel restaurant has Indian and seafood. Most of the people got Indian but anyone who has eaten out with me knows that I’m not that adventurous. Instead I had the poached tilapia. It was some of the best fish I have ever eaten. I had to do a little guess in check to figure out how to eat it since it was served as an entire fish with the head still attached. I had a full plate of tilapia, rice, and vegetables, a side of French fries, and 7 different drinks for 16,000 TSH or about $12 after tip. This place just keeps getting better!

I have to get to sleep now though since tomorrow is Monday and it is time to get back to work on my assignment. I also was given the task to make a charcoal grill over the next week for a 4^th of July celebration. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Day 9 – Saturday – No Power. Again.

2011-06-28T14:09:00.000-07:00

As a result of falling asleep so early last night I ended up waking up around 3:30 again. I’m getting further in my book though so it’s not a complete loss. Right now I’m learning about the noun classes in the Swahili language. There are several noun classes but right now I am just trying to gain comfort with three of them. I’m also learning how to demonstrate possession, plurality, and negating words and phrases. It’s a bit of a challenge and I’m getting a little frustrated so my plan is to just do the best I can on the first time through the book and then to go back through with more precision again in a week or two.

The morning started with a quick breakfast and then I went straight to the clinic to catch Miriam as early as possible. Of course the clinic doesn’t have power again and all of the records are on her computer. TIT. Oh well. She still had some records that were printed so I went over those. These documents are concerning the entities that Nyakato provides services to on account. They can pay anytime within three months after services are rendered to the employees or members of the respective organizations. This will help me pinpoint exactly what to expect in terms of total revenue since right now revenue is recorded when the bills are paid instead of when the services are performed. We want to make sure to record the revenue when they come into the clinic so we can get an accurate representation of the earnings for each month. Miriam did tell me that she had all of the information I need though so at least I know where to go on Monday. All in all it was a pretty efficient morning and it’s only 10:30.

Not knowing what to do for the rest of the morning I went back to the house to see If Paula needed any help. Since there was nothing to do for her I was glad that one of the volunteers came and asked if I wanted to go with them to a local girl’s house we had met in the clinic a few days before. This really nice girl named Frita had taken a taxi to the clinic to pick us up and bring us to her house. I was little concerned but there were three of us going and Paula said we would be fine in this part of town during the daytime.

The house where the girl lived was gorgeous. Actually it was her sister’s house and there was a substantial gated wall, a nice courtyard, and the inside had a polished white marble tile floor. The house was all wired for electricity and even had lights in the sockets although the family is currently saving up money to pay the power company to run a line to their house. We sat and talked about life as a Tanzanian and American for a couple hours with Frita’s sisters and their two little girls, Noura and Glory.

We got back to the health clinic just in time for my meeting with Dr. Bon to start teaching him how to learn QuickBooks but again, no power. When the power is out and there are no patients there is really only one thing to do… Get a cab, load up as many people as you can, and head to town.

Meaghan, Anar, Siri, Katie, and I all went to town to eat at that same Chinese restaurant I went to my first night in town. We had long meal by the water with a few people ran an orphanage and then went to some roadside shops to hunt for souvenirs. There wasn’t a whole lot of good stuff but I did find a painting and purchased several greeting cards that were particularly “Mwanzaesk.” I thought that when I’m interviewing for jobs I’m probably going to be talking about my experience here so my hope is that sending thank you cards like these will do quite a bit in making myself memorable.

We took a wrong turn to get to Hotel Tilapia where we were meeting more of the med students but got to go by Bismark Rock, Mwanza’s trademark landmark so we didn’t mind. At Hotel Tilapia we again sat by the lake and enjoyed our afternoon of relaxation. With the lack of power over the last three days I was in desperate need of a shower and I was determined to take one when I got back home evem if there was no hot water!

Fortunately there was power and I had a nice, long shower and got cleaned up to go out to a popular bar and “Discotheque” with Selle and a couple others. We went to a place called Villa Park Resort where a live band entertained a basketball court sized area of open air seating. The atmosphere was uniquely African and a lot of fun. After sitting outside for a bit we paid a $50,000 TSH cover to go into the Discotheque. This was one of the stranger things I’ve seen since being in Tanzania. There was a big dance floor with a lot of men dancing, by themselves, and very slowly. We weren’t sure what to think about it and the place seemed pretty empty. I went up to the bar after a while where I met a man and his wife who served in the Tanzanian Army. People here are very nice. The guy first asked me how I was doing in Swahili. I responded with a little hesitation to which he came back in perfect English saying, “I am very happy to have you in my country. Karibu sana!” We talked for a bit and he got the bartender’s attention for me. As I left I said, “Nemefurahi kukuona” meaning “it’s nice to meet you.” We stayed at the disco until around 1:30 and went home.

On the way home we came across a pikipiki accident. A pikipiki is a motorcycle taxi that people typically take to and from work. They are everywhere in Mwanza. There didn’t appear to be anyone hurt although the pikpiki was most likely totaled.

All in all this was a pretty fun and full day. I just wish I had power and internet at the same time so I could share my pictures and blog posts with you all. I hope everything is nice at home!

Oh and mom, I’m all kinds of safe and have made good friends with the guards. People are nice and I’m a lot more comfortable getting around. Love ya!

Day 8 - I Slept!

2011-06-28T08:12:00.000-07:00

I was delighted to wake up and see that I had actually slept until a reasonable time this morning. It rained most of the night so that probably helped. It isn’t common for them to have rain this time of year but it’s kind of nice since it drowned out the sounds of the dogs. Typically when it rains the clinic has a slow day since people like to stay home so hopefully I’ll get to work with Dr. Bon for a while. I’m finding that a lot what you do during the day depends on what’s working, whether or not you have power, and if you have enough water. People like to say TIT – “This Is Tanzania” when something occurs that completely changes your day’s agenda. There certainly isn’t a rush to get things done most of the time and people move a little slower than I’m used to.

The morning started with a quick breakfast and then I went straight to the clinic to catch Dr. Bon as early as possible. His computer had power today so things were looking up. We searched through the files where he keeps the price lists but the only ones we could find were from 2009. Inflation is pretty rapid here and the prices were definitely outdated. Dr. Bon said that Mariam has the current price list and so I went to go talk with her. Of course she is out of the office today.

I went to town to run some errands with Paula. I remembered to take a book this time and just kind of felt like I wasn’t accomplishing much. After getting back I went with Francis to pick up the med students that were teaching an AIDS class at an orphanage. Neither one of us had been to where we were going before and had to ask directions several times. As we got closer we asked a boy where to go, he told Francis where, and then just got in our car along with two little girls. They rode with us a ways until we dropped them off near home. I can’t believe people do that here!

During an AIDS class, the medical students play a game called “Who has AIDS?” where they split the children up in to two groups. These groups stand shoulder to shoulder and one side has a ball labeled “HIV.” Each team passes the ball behind their backs until an officiator says stop and the other team tries to guess who has the ball. The idea is to teach the kids that you can’t tell from the outside who “has the ball” since HIV carriers don’t look any different.

I’d say it’s time to call it a day.

Day 7 - Frustrating!

2011-06-28T07:53:00.000-07:00

Today was a little frustrating but also a lot of fun. I spent most of the day trying to get a bit of Dr. Bon and Miriam’s time to go over some of the accounting records that I couldn’t understand. They don’t have any formal education in accounting so a few things were done with a little creativity and therefore are confusing. After I realized they were going to be pretty busy I went back to the house where Paula and Sele, the project manager, were trying to figure out an issue with Excel.

Of course I couldn’t help but offer my assistance and I spent the next hour and a half helping them understand what the spreadsheet is doing with the information they input. This form we created can then be printed off and taken to the bank where payroll can be done “automatically.” I’m sure I will go into more detail about the banking system in Tanzania and Mwanza as the summer continues but for now let’s just say it’s pretty inefficient and the largest bill is a 10,000TSH which equates to around $6.25.

After helping to prepare the payroll I went to help at the clinic and watched as the med students did lab work to learn how that part of the process worked. I learned a lot about the common illnesses here (malaria, typhoid, HIV/AIDS, etc.) and how they diagnose them. The children are pretty tough and barely flinch when they have to get blood drawn but if they do cry they usually get a Beanie Baby to cheer them up. There was a team down here a while ago that brought 1,600 donated Beanie Babies with them to give to the children at the clinic.

After lunch it was time for one of the med students to head home which means driving through Mwanza and out to the airport. Of course I wanted to go when they asked me and a carload of us went to go run errands in town. As we passed through town we dropped off Sele and Miriam to run some personal errands. Miriam is Kenyan and has to fill out a ridiculous amount of paperwork to remain in Tanzania as a worker.

Upon dropping off the med student we went to a local grocery store. It reminded me of the general store in Iconium, Missouri by Bartle but with foreign brands. Outside of the store I was able to get a newspaper from a street vendor to read later in the evening.

Our next stop was to the RMO. When we went to see him the other day he mentioned to Paula that when they have specialty teams come she can contact him and he can get them some free air time on the radio. She just needed to provide a schedule ahead of time and that’s what we dropped off.

On the way back home we picked up Sele and Miriam and stopped by a market to get sugar, eggs, and Coca-Cola. The sugar comes in large 50kg bags (about 110 pounds) and these small boys load it into the car for you. After a four hour trip to town we were on our way back home. Just in time for the afternoon rush of patients.

I spent the rest of the day at the clinic waiting for Dr. Bon to get the price lists of the different procedures they perform at the clinic but it was a pretty busy day so I just helped out where I could. Finally after the day was over we had a chance to look at the current pricing scheme. We sat down at his desk, opened up the computer, pressed the power button, and nothing happened… Apparently the clinic did not get power at all the night before so the computer was completely out of battery! We laughed hysterically at the irony of the day since that’s about all you can do in a situation like that. Here in Mwanza you get about 12 hours of power and then 12 hours of darkness. It’s anything but convenient and puts a large strain on the economy. Businesses that need to operate when power is offline must run generators and diesel gasoline is about $8 a gallon. This cost is of course absorbed by the consumers and is making the cost of commodities in the area, especially food, a lot more expensive.

After a long day at the clinic I came home and played cards with a few of the volunteers. We had a quick dinner and relaxed in the candlelit living room while reviewing some of the more popular Swahili phrases. Although I didn’t get to accomplish much today I still learned a lot and tried to make the most out of it. I’m learning quickly not to go anywhere without a book or something to do in the downtime since they seem to get a lot of that here.

Day 6 – Clinic

2011-06-28T06:59:00.000-07:00

Today I got to know the grounds of Nyakato a little bit and met most of the staff that make this place operate. This was the first day to start working on establishing a new accounting system for the center to make sure they are charging enough money to make the health clinic sustainable. After a tour of the grounds I shadowed a few of the nurses and doctors to get a feel for how things operate within the clinic. As of right now a patient goes through the following steps:

1) Check in

2) History/Vitals

3) See a doctor (at this point the patient may proceed to step 8)

4) Order lab work

5) Pay for lab work

6) Get lab work done

7) See a doctor again

8) Check out and pay

9) Got to the pharmacy if necessary

The lead physician here is named Dr. Bonaventura who oversees the operations of the clinic. He is assisted by a lady named Miriam and together they do all of the accounting, HR, and management of the facility. Most of my morning consisted of sitting in Dr. Bon’s office to catch him whenever he got a free moment (about 3 minutes between each patient) to go over what accounting methods he had in place. I learned a lot about how the clinic operates but still have quite a few questions since Dr. Bon does not have all of the records I need to perform my analysis. Unfortunately it has gotten busy and I will not be able to complete my fact gathering today so instead I helped Dr. Bon write prescriptions and order lab tests. This was very interesting as I got an inside look on how they determine what treatment to apply to each patient. I also helped prepare and witnessed a circumcision. This was not the most pleasant thing I’ve ever experienced in my life but it is one of the more common procedures done here so it was cool that I got to see what all goes into completing such a task.

In the afternoon we took a car full of people to go to the central market to get food for the next few days. This open market was fascinating as there were fresh fruits and vegetables everywhere along the narrow market walkways. The market is very busy. There is shouting from people trading goods and trying to move them via wheelbarrow to their appropriate places. The narrow walkways are barely wide enough for a wheelbarrow and a person to get by one another but I was able to get this picture in a calmer isle. Along with the commotion of trading everyone calls out to us, “Mzungu!” which means “white person” or European. The origin of mzungu comes from a word meaning around and around because the Europeans would come to this region throughout history for a few years and then leave for a while only to come back again. So now anyone who is white is classified as an mzungu.

I am still pretty jet-lagged so I will again be falling asleep early today. That’s okay though since I always end up waking up around 4:00am and read until the rest of the crew gets up around 7:30. It’s a good time to practice my Swahili. Habari za usuki!

Day 5 – Nyakato

2011-06-22T19:19:00.000-07:00

Today has been a blast. After breakfast I went into town with my cousin and her husband. It takes a long time to do much of anything in town but over the course of the morning we went to the bank twice, an office supply/copy store, a pharmacy, and to visit the Regional Medical Officer (RMO). Paula has been here 9 years so she has a strong relationship with most people she does business with and they are all incredibly nice.

The RMO is an important person for the hospital because he is the man in charge of all the Tanzanian physicians in this part of the country. Nyakato has a brand new birthing center but needs a full-time doctor that can do C-sections in order to open its doors to the public. Before I left I bought a couple of shirts at JC Penney’s with a size 19 neck (since they aren’t available here) just for this guy to give him some extra encouragement to find Nyakato a doctor quickly. He was an outstandingly nice guy and his face lit up when Paula showed him the shirts. Examining them both he holds up the white one and says. “Now dis, is di shirt of a dokta!” He took a lot of interest in me and made special care to provide me background on any issue that was discussed.

Traveling through Mwanza, not surprisingly, is not like traveling down the streets of KC. There are Coca Cola, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Sprite, and 7up displays everywhere. Not only are entire house facades converted into large billboards but a whole row of houses looks like a large vending machine, and of course they don’t forget to use the roof space as well.

Returning home after the morning in town meant it was time to prepare some food. There are all kinds of fruit trees in the back yard. I think they have a couple orange, lemon, and guava trees. The great thing about fruit here is that it is generally fresh and it tastes delicious. However, it is dangerous to eat anything without cleaning it first, especially the outside skin. To solve this issue we fill a tub with chlorinated water and soak the fruit for at least 15 minutes. Today we made pumpkin soup, potato salad, egg salad and avocado salad. I can't say I was too crazy about any of them but it was cool that I got to make it all. The avocado we used was huge and the pumpkin, although green on the outside, looked delicious on the inside.

I’m still adjusting to the time change, we are 8 hours ahead of Kansas City, so I’m going to head to bed to take a nap. Hopefully I won’t sleep through the whole night but I wouldn’t be surprised.

Talk to ya soon!

Day 4 – Mwanza!

2011-06-21T15:45:00.000-07:00

Well it’s been 2 days, 19 hours, and 46 minutes but I’m finally in Mwanza. Upon arrival I was confused about where to get my luggage. There are two holes cut out of a wall that serves as the airport’s carousel. Awesome! I was greeted by my cousin Paula and we had a nice meal near the airport for about $2.50. Also Awesome. Tonight we went to a Chinese restaurant of all places with the medical students and enjoyed a meal next to Lake Victoria as they told stories about their time in Mwanza thus far.

Yesterday I was pretty tired so I decided to take a nap around 3:00pm. I ended up sleeping until about 3:30 the next morning. After a snooze like that there’s no point trying to go back to sleep so I decided to read until the sun came up with hopes to catch a nice sunrise. Unfortunately it was overcast but I did get through a couple chapters in my book. There are several signs around the grounds of Kia Lodge that read, “Kilimanjaro Viewpoint.” I still haven’t seen the mountain yet so I kind of think they’re pulling my leg.

When it became light enough outside I went to get some breakfast. Just to warn any of you that are planning to come to East Africa, the jar of white crystals on the table is not sugar! It’s salt. Don’t put it on your cinnamon roll.

I’m settled into my room now and about to go to bed. There is a net that covering my bed to keep the mosquitos away and a tennis racquet looking bug zapper that makes for a fun game. Tomorrow I’ll be getting acquainted with Nyakato Health Center and just doing whatever Paula has for me. Breakfast is French toast. I’m sure I’ll have no problem waking up.

Baadaye

Day 3 - In Africa

2011-06-21T15:19:00.000-07:00

Hujambo!

Well I made it to Tanzania in one piece. Right now I am staying at a place called Kia Lodge for the night until tomorrow when I make it the rest of the way to Mwanza.

Being able to lay flat is a welcome treat after sitting for almost two days. My flight was great though. The plane we flew on was one of the nicest I’ve ever seen and appeared to be brand new. Since I stayed in D.C. all night I was the first to check in for the flight and the Ethiopian guy gave me the emergency exit row, the most spacious exit row ever! This picture gives you an idea of the comfort. I only slept about 6 hours on the plane though so I’ll be taking a nap this afternoon.

During my layover in Addis Ababa, it was cool to hear all the different languages being spoken around me. I heard French mostly but you could also hear German, Spanish, Chinese, and Amharic. I’m feeling really American since I only speak English.

Customs was really informal at the Kilimanjaro airport and the wait was minimal. There was a man named Amin waiting for me when I got there and a ten minute car ride brought us to Kia. For $110 a night you get a half tent that has a bed, a luggage room and a bathroom. Here is mine.

Alrighty then. It’s nap time. Talk to you guys later.

Day 2 - Irony

2011-06-18T03:41:00.000-07:00

There's an odd feeling associated with the realization that the cover story of the USA Today has strong immediate relevance to your life.

While waiting in line to get my boarding pass for Ethiopian Airlines, this news article caught my eye...

Day 1 - The Journey Begins

2011-06-17T20:20:00.000-07:00

Hey guys!

Well I'm currently in Washington D.C. killing time during my 15 hour layover. I thought it would be boring here, but when I arrived there were hundreds of suitcases lined up near the carousels with frustrated travelers browsing the rows for thier bags.

United Airlines' luggage tracking system crashed this afternoon and it's quite entertaining. I'm outside security at the baggage claim which means that all the people out here are headed home as soon as they get thier bags. My guess is that the guy in the blue polo really, really wants to go home and isn't opposed to causing an embarrasing scene for his wife. It's funny. There are a select few that belong to a highly exclusive group in this country that are able to become more intense at an airport than my dad.. They are having a convention tonight.

The shops inside the terminal are closed so I'm chillin outside the checkpoint with my DP. There's not a whole lot to talk about but I figured I'd make a post since I'll be on a plane for the next couple of days. I'm looking forward to being able to post pictures to accompany my text.

I'll be flying Ethipoian Airlines. I hope we get seats... I let you know.

Hey mom. I'm still alive. :)

Later!

Oh and in case you're interested, here is a map of where I will be:

A close up of the country will show you where Mwanza is (i'm flying into Arusha):

And here is a satalite photo of the health center with some descriptions:

Almost Time!!!

2011-06-14T14:37:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I will be posting updates about my trip to Mwanza, Tanzania here to keep you informed about my travels.

I'm new to this blog thing so I'll try to keep my posts pretty regular, entertaining, and not too long. And yes, I'll post lots of picture mom. I don't know who all will be reading the blog for sure but I do know that my mom will be at ease knowing the details so if I get a little ridiculous about the finer points just bear with her :)

Here's the plan for the summer:

Travel to Tanzania

I will be flying out of Kansas City International Airport this Friday, June 17th at 17:51 (5:41pm) on United Airlines Flight 3762.
From there I have a 15 hour layover in Washington DC ( I was able to save $700 by spending the night in the airport - Airfare.com has larger layover tolerances for international flights than sites like Expedia and Travelocity and was the only one to find me the cheaper ticket)
I fly out of the country the next day at 12:00pm on Ethiopian Airlines flight 501 to Kilimanjaro Airport near Arusha, Tanzania. I'm sure I'll get lots of reading/sleeping done on this 17 hour and 35 minute flight. There is a short hour and a half "pit stop" in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and I'll be arriving in Tanzania at roughly 12:35pm.
After I go through customs I will be greeted by a representative from Kia Lodge, where I will be staying for the evening since the last flight out to Mwanza isn't until noon the next day. (http://www.moivaro.com/pages/kia_lodge/lodge.htm)
On June 20th I'll take Precision Air from Kilimanjaro to Mwanza where I will be received by my cousin Paula around 13:25 (1:25pm). So all in all I have about 2 days 19 hours and 44 minutes of traveling. I have no idea how long the drive will be until we reach my destination for the summer, Nyakato Health Center but I'll certainly be happy to be on the ground. This is the website for the NGO that I will be working with: http://www.ihptz.org/index.htm

What will I be doing?
There are really five things I hope to accomplish while I'm in Tanzania this summer and they are:

The hospital is wanting to start operating 24 hours/day and I have offered to help them analyze what such a change in their operations will do to their financials. They want to be self-supporting through the service revenues they generate from providing care and I will be helping them to design a system that accounts for all the relevant costs.
As an independent study with K-State, I will be doing some research focused on informal financial arrangements the poorest Tanzanians employ to help meet large financial obligations when they arise. The inspiration for this project came partly from my concept I pitched at The Next Big Thing Competition - Sponsored by the K-State Center for Entrepreneurship, a book I have started reading entitled "Portfolios of the Poor," and several conversations with my sponsoring K-State faculty member, Chad Jackson.
The third thing I'd like to do is become better at Swahili. I have been practicing off and on since winter break and have most of the basics down. I hope to vastly expand my vocabulary and have a goal to go a whole day without speaking any English (Hopefully that doesn't mean I won't be talking at all).
I'm really looking forward to climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, the world's tallest freestanding mountain and ranked fourth worldwide in prominence (the distance from the base to the lowest peak). I am still trying to figure out how/when this is going to happen but I'll keep ya posted.
Finally I will just be an extra set of hands to help out at the health center. I'm looking forward to participating in this worthwhile cause and getting to know the people who spend their lives caring for the disadvantaged poor.

Coming Home

I'll be leaving Tanzania on the 16th of August and getting back to Kansas City at 6:24pm on the 17th, just in time for an American cheeseburger and to start classes the following Monday.

Please feel free to comment on my blog or send me emails at klandau@ksu.edu! I'm not sure how reliable internet connectivity will be while I'm there but I do know I'll be able to get access most of the time.

Okay that's all for now!