Julia’s Tanzania Bucket List (A Work in Progress…)

1. Learn Swahili...like, for real.
2. Eavesdrop on a conversation in Swahili when people don’t know I speak it, then reply with an awesome comeback
3. Memorize all the regions of Tanzania and generally become not an idiot about the country’s geography
4. Read up on Tanzanian history
5. Proudly sing all the words to the Tanzanian National Anthem at morning assembly
6. Take a foot picture on the “heart rock” (check!)
7. Eat at Hotel Tilapia (check!)
8. Learn to dance, Africa-style
9. Learn how to plait the girls’ hair
10. Let the girls plait my hair
11. Experience Christmas in Tanzania
12. Hike Kilimanjaro
13. Learn to cook several Tanzanian dishes: pilau, kisamvu, mandazi, chapatti, beans, ---
14. Know the name of every student at Joseph and Mary Primary Academy
15. Walk to the fish pond
16. Turn right at the main road (check!)
17. Swim in Lake Victoria (check!)
18. Walk to Kitongo and buy something without a Swahili-speaking chaperone (check!)
19. Buy my own produce in Mwanza’s huge market while bargaining in Swahili (check!)
20. Take a piki-piki to a dala-dala to another dala-dala to Mwanza
21. Wander the streets of Mwanza by myself without the anxiety of having a driver wait for me
22. Marvel at the Serengeti’s magnificence (check!)
23. Eat in a random café with plastic chairs (check!)
24. Soak up the sun on the beaches of Zanzibar
25. Do one special thing for/with each of our girls
26. Paint my bedroom sky blue
27. Coordinate a half marathon and train the girls for it
28. Teach the girls sign language to accompany the lyrics to various songs
29. Perform a song, with dance choreography, on Sunday night for the girls (check!)
30. Be part of a flash mob with the girls—future guests, beware!
31. Beat Liku on a run (well, I can dream, anyway…)
32. Be invited to someone’s home for dinner and actually go (check!)
33. Same as 32, but with a local family
34. Introduce Thanksgiving to my Tanzanian family
35. Master those terrible “Lucky” matches so that lighting the gas stove and oven is not an overwhelming object lesson in failure, daily (check!)
36. Teach the girls origami
37. Open a nail salon for the day (check!)

Periodic updates to follow...stay tuned!

Safari!

Quick Kiswahili lesson…“safari” actually means any long journey or trip. If I travel to visit family in another city, it’s a safari. If I check out the beaches in Zanzibar or go hunting (why are you laughing?) or to see what Kenya's really all about, it’s a safari.

But last weekend, we went on SAFARI.

It was a completely serendipitous trip, which made it all the more fun and exciting. Plus, if a handsome Tanzanian offers to take you to the Serengeti, there’s only one appropriate response. As such, Stephanie and I said, “we can be ready in 20 minutes!

A 90 minute drive east of JBFC's campus will lead you directly to the Ndabaka Entrance of the Serengeti National Park...

As we entered the park, I tried to keep my expectations low. I prayed I could see just one giraffe...what an amazing sight that would be!

Check and check. All the following pictures were taken by Stephanie, without a crazy zoom lens. This is important...we really were THAT CLOSE!

In addition to giraffes, we saw ostrich, wildebeests, warthogs, hyenas, cool birds, a river FULL of hippos, monkeys, baboons...and a few other incredible creatures. You know, like a family of magnificent elephants.

We went on a hunt for a lion! A driver from another car had sighted one out in the park, and he gave us directions. Sadly, that search proved unsuccessful.

Instead, we took a break from driving to walk across this oh-so-safe-looking bridge:

Major had a serious lapse in judgment and allowed me to drive his car...

...across a waterfall that looked like this...

...and it was awesome!

As we were on our way out of the park, tunes blasting through our open car windows, we came upon...that's right, LIONS! Plural. Chilling in the grass, just ten feet from the main road. We stopped to marvel at them, with no zoo bars separating us. And then, National Geographic Moment #576 happened...ummm...we witnessed the lion couple share an intimate moment. Right there. There is photographic documentation...and a video taken on an iPad...neither of which I am responsible for. Here's a kid-friendly photo of our friend, Simba:

Just another Saturday afternoon here in Tanzania...a beautiful sunny day, open road, gorgeous landscape, and an adventure through one of the world's most sought-after destinations.

Julia's To-Do List:

Visit the Serengeti...Check!

Safari Njema, Stephanie!

Tonight, Stephanie flies home to America.

The past seven weeks, we have had the time of our lives and cemented a friendship that has blessed me in countless ways.

We've gone from the early days of no toilet paper or soap (a shopping trip to Mwanza remedied this situation) while counting the minutes until our next meal of beans and rice to feeling as though we can successfully navigate life here in Tanzania.

We've logged over 100 km in runs, learned to bake our own bread, and bargained for fresh produce in the market...in Kiswahili.

Stephanie has exposed the students of Joseph and Mary Primary Academy to beauty and the creative process through her art classes. Our preschoolers know all their shapes and colors, our lower grades have done watercolor, and our upper grade students are experimenting with lines and perspective. Stephanie has taught them how to see the world in a new way...patterns, colors, textures and shapes abound!

Her selfless nature, unfailingly positive attitude, and enthusiasm for every new experience has made my first weeks in Tanzania full of joy.

Today, we celebrated her time here with peanut butter cookies in the dining hall with the girls. After hugs all around--and an outpouring of beautiful handmade cards in rainbow colors--we "danced it out" to Shakira's "Waka Waka." This time for Africa...

Tough Choices

We share a bathroom with everyone staying in the guesthouse, which has previously included a family with two young children and a group of six 4^th graders who rise at 5 am to do “chores” for two hours. Loudly. Currently, my housemates (in addition to Stephanie) are one of our drivers and a man who works on our farm.

Shower 1:

Does not drain, even overnight.

Hot and cold water

Has a door

Light bulb works

Nozzle broke yesterday. Water still goes through hose properly.

Lots of bugs. Lots.

Shower 2:

Drains in twelve hours, but only if water runs fewer than four minutes

Hot and cold water

No door

No light

Nozzle completely broken; hose leaks 30-40% of water in several directions.

Average to low number of bugs

Shower 3:

Drains

Hot water only – scalding temperature

Has a door

Light bulb works

Nozzle only leaks 10% of water out the side

Minimal bugs

You choose.

Best. Run. Ever.

Running in Tanzania has been a source of many adventures…like our first run, when Stephanie and I missed the giant “JBFC” sign pointing us back to campus and instead cruised through town, where over a hundred people literally stopped to stare at us, the silence deafening. Or our second run, where we got caught in a monsoon with three toddlers. On another run, I was almost taken by force to share a meal with a family who lives along the road—they are serious about hospitality here. There was also the time we were enveloped in a group of…

a) 40 girls on their way home from our local public school

b) seven boys who were working on their farm and brought their garden hoes along

c) 17 children from the next town over, several carrying sacks of ugali

…giggling as they accompanied us for a kilometer or two.

Last night was the best run of all. Stephanie and I have started inviting the girls to join us on our late afternoon runs, and it’s been catching on slowly. When I invited three girls to come along, they agreed. I went to change and came back to ELEVEN girls waiting to go. My heart soared.

We start out, and Stephanie takes the lead with Nyamalwa, the two youngest runners (both named Neema), and Ima—who’s been our only “regular” until this point.

Following closely behind are Rachel, Nyamiss, and Vale. Further back are Zai, Jackie, Siwema and Reka. They take a shortcut and temporarily catch up, then fall behind again as we continue to “the trees” that mark our turn-around point. We collect the groups of girls as we start back.

We are running in flip-flops, football cleats, sandals, and dilapidated Crocs in hues of pink, green and purple.

We are running into the sunset, dodging piki-pikis and bicycles and herds of cattle. If you’re running toward 90 pointed horns, guess who wins?

We pass groups of women carrying buckets of water on their heads, families planting their crops for the rainy season, and groups of children waving from their front doors.

I get our middle group to the turn in the road, then go back for the last four. “Ok girls, we’ll run to the tree there and then we can walk until the next house.” Zai exaggerates her breathing, and I momentarily panic, thinking she might be asthmatic and we’re just now discovering it. She laughs and runs ahead.

When I round the corner at school and coasted down the hill to our dorms, I see all the girls waiting for us at a finish line they drew in the dirt at the bottom of the path. Everyone cheers as I cross, followed by four very tired, but very proud, girls. We give jubilant high fives all around and then begin stretching. There are groans for newly-used muscles and self-conscious giggling as we make the funny poses required for a good stretch.

I look around at these ambitious, adventurous, bold young women and soak in the moment. We make plans for a long run on Saturday morning. Some will attempt “The Run to Lugeye,” a full 13 kilometers.

And so, the JBFC Junior Olympic Training Team has been formed.

Our "Little Family Outing" to Tunza

In my mind, I had it choreographed perfectly. Bringing nearly 40 children to the beach for an afternoon? Amna shida…no problem.

Our dear friends, Jan and Hannelei, own and manage Tunza Lodge in Mwanza. It’s a restaurant and local hangout with a beach overlooking Lake Victoria. They also have several bungalow-style hotel rooms on the property.

Jan and Hannelei have big hearts and are incredibly generous to us at JBFC. Two weekends ago, they asked Stephanie and I to bring all the girls to their beach for a day of fun. When we gathered the girls to share the news with them, we were immediately engulfed in a screaming/jumping up and down/rejoicing/hugging mob of girls. Needless to say, they were excited.

Throughout the week, Stephanie and I made our carefully laid plans. We coordinated transportation, meals, chaperones, and a schedule. We would stay at Tunza the night before (to attend a party and enjoy a little get-away), and the girls would join us the following afternoon.

The plan was they’d call before they left, giving us a luxurious 90 minutes to pack our things and assemble lunch. Then they’d call again when they pulled up outside the gate. We’d greet them with a prepared lunch and go over our rehearsed “Fool-Proof Safety Plan” for the day before going inside. It sounded so good.

As we were enjoying our morning—confident the group would be at least an hour late and still relaxing because we hadn’t received a “we’re leaving” phone call—we followed the gazes of everyone in the restaurant to the door. What a surprise! Standing in the doorway were 32 JBFC girls, three mamas, four additional children from campus, our driver, and several other people from campus who somehow managed to make their attendance on this outing seem necessary and altruistic. The kids shuffled into Tunza, towels around their necks, eager and a little uncertain. They rarely leave our campus, so this was A BIG DEAL.

Stephanie and I leapt up from our chairs and sprang into action.

First priority—a photo with Jan and Hannelei with a thank you gift from JBFC, painted by Stephanie.

Then, we performed a frantic head-count and shouted an abbreviated version of the “Fool-Proof Safety Plan" as the girls eyed the beach. I'm sure they heard everything we said about the buddy system, not going in the water above your waist, and not running through the restaurant with dripping wet clothes. Yep, they definitely heard it.

I managed to take a few pictures of them after they put their bags in the bungalow Stephanie and I had stayed in the night before.

It happened to be a stormy day, so the usually calm water of Lake Victoria was more like a high-tide-lifeguard's-worst-nightmare kind of situation. I may be exaggerating only slightly.

This picture pretty much captures how the day went - unbelievably happy children, chaos in the water, and smiles masking Julia and Stephanie's mutual terror as the waves grew to epic heights.

But the girls had a blast, so that's what counts.

We did manage to keep the little ones closer to the shore. I don't think it put a damper on their fun in the least!

There was a slip-and-slide AND a bounce house, too. As if the day couldn't get any better.

Meanwhile, Stephanie and I assembled 53 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in record time. I credit Stephanie's experience as a weekly volunteer for "Hearty Meals" back home for our ability to pull of this feat. Our main course was accompanied by bananas and a bottle of COLD SODA. A special thank you to Jacques who saved the day and volunteered to be our "bartender", opening all the sodas for us with remarkable efficiency. (Jacques is a Tunza regular who is rumored to have been Michael Jackson's bodyguard at one point. I'll do some fact-checking and get back to you on that one.)

Mama Miriam, Mama Tulieta, and Mama Grace dressed up and looked beautiful for our outing. I think they enjoyed the PBJs, too!

We enjoyed more time in the water, and then confronted the greatest obstacle yet: finding dry clothes for everyone to wear home. There were at least eight different girls wearing items I found in my backpack--scarves, t-shirts, a football jersey--we got creative.

Once everyone found something dry to wear home, we took one more picture to document the day. WE LOVE TUNZA! A very special thank you to Jan and Hannelei for such a wonderful day.

We hopped on the bus, did one final headcount, and took our place on a bench with three children perched between our two laps. It was a cozy and quiet ride home, as almost everyone slept on the way back.

I laughed when I recalled meeting a woman at Tunza earlier in the day. She had told me, "oh, we're just here for a little family outing." I exclaimed, "oh great--us, too!" Well, kind of.

It was a great day we'll remember for a long time. And all 36 children made it back safely...or was it 37?

This is How We Do It: Taco Night!

My friend Shannon arrived right as I was finishing my third week in Tanzania. At this point, I had only recently ventured outside of dining with the girls for every meal. Rice and beans or ugali and beans for lunch and dinner each day...I'm glad I experienced that, but I'm also very glad to have more variety in my diet again. I. Love. Food.

It's taken time to assess our options and adapt my normal cooking routine to fit what we can and cannot find here. Take "Taco Night" for example.

There are no tortillas, so we make them from scratch. Shannon was present for our first attempt at tortillas (using wheat flour), so she made the dough and rolled it out:

Stephanie and Danny were in charge of cooking the tortillas on the stove:

And I was happy to fulfill my role as "appreciative eater."

Why yes, that is fresh guacamole and a delicious mango on the side...two perks about living in Tanzania! (Even better, I bargained for them myself. In Kiswahili.)