Kindergarden Started by CEFA
And I was afraid they would speak too much English here. Chalk Board at a Primary school saying " Our Mottor: Education is a key of Lifse"
Roma drumming for the students. Behind him is one of the Italians, Gabrielle.
September 24, 2008
The next day we left Roma's home after having chai. We left around 10 am for what we believed would be a two hour walk to another village. We set off enjoying the beauty of the southern highlands- up and down, up and down, no flats here. Walking through the dust with sweeping views of chai estates and hills beyond. Walking in this region is super tiring- high altitudes, no flats to rest on, and we are nearing the end of the dry season so the dust lies on the road like snow, usually about a foot deep. It is not super hot, but sweaty just the same, and dirty always dirty. After climbing through a chai field that Roma claimed was a short-cut, it was almost vertically uphill, so that I had to put my hands on the ground to help me climb, I was pretty much exhausted. Also I was wearing my big backpack since I would be away from site for over a week. We were reading to be there. But no.
On and on we went- hour after hour. Finally we got to a village with a secondary school where we rested and had sodas with the head teacher. Whenever, there is more than one white person in a one place it is a big deal- so we met all the students and Roma played them a song written by Jason- about staying in school- Josh knows the guitar part so they played for the students. Then it was back to walking. Around each corner we were sure was the village- be we were mistaken. Roma skipped along, sipping Gatorade through his camel pack and playing the guitar, reminding me of a Tanzanian Pied Piper- with his rats dragging behind him. The bottoms of my feet were falling off- I am not being poetic, the skin was literally coming off them. Finally, around sunset we hitched a ride on a chai truck, realizing that we had been walking for 8 hours, not including the brief break.
So many people have asked me if I am losing weight here- it is impossible not to. Despite the carb heavy diet, I can eat whatever I want in whatever quantity. This is actually a lie, because whatever I want is not available (A croissant from Grand Central Bakery? A Burgerville milkshake, perhaps?) Anyways, it is impossible not to because it is impossible to be still here. Everything takes so much work. There is always walking to be done. The other night I had thirds on rice and beans, which is weird that I thought it was so good, because this is what we eat two to three meals a day.
A student of Josh's, who was home for break showed us around his village. We had all planned on leaving that day, but since I could barely walk I was worried how I would ever get out of there. We went to the primary school, where once again we had to introduce ourselves to all the students. Next we went to CEFA, an Italian NGO, doing work in that village. Here we met two Italian guys who showed us around. They have a great garden, a sewing shop and some kindergartens going. We went to visit one of the Kindergartens where the children sang for us. They also took us to the hydro-electric plant that their organization had built. And as luck would have it, they were headed our direction later that night in their car and offered to drive us to site. We had lunch at their place, complete with red wine, crusty Italian bread, and espresso- as they smoked cigarettes. I felt like I did at Zummi and Adina's- "Where am I again?" The conversation was interesting as their English wasn't great, and we speak no Italian- So most of the communication was done in Kiswahili- every ones second language, except Roma's.
Later as we headed out over the potholed, mountainous road in their truck- All I could think was when you wake up in the morning in Tanzania, you never know what the day will bring or who you will meet. But mostly I thought, "I can't believe I walked this..."
The next day we left Roma's home after having chai. We left around 10 am for what we believed would be a two hour walk to another village. We set off enjoying the beauty of the southern highlands- up and down, up and down, no flats here. Walking through the dust with sweeping views of chai estates and hills beyond. Walking in this region is super tiring- high altitudes, no flats to rest on, and we are nearing the end of the dry season so the dust lies on the road like snow, usually about a foot deep. It is not super hot, but sweaty just the same, and dirty always dirty. After climbing through a chai field that Roma claimed was a short-cut, it was almost vertically uphill, so that I had to put my hands on the ground to help me climb, I was pretty much exhausted. Also I was wearing my big backpack since I would be away from site for over a week. We were reading to be there. But no.
On and on we went- hour after hour. Finally we got to a village with a secondary school where we rested and had sodas with the head teacher. Whenever, there is more than one white person in a one place it is a big deal- so we met all the students and Roma played them a song written by Jason- about staying in school- Josh knows the guitar part so they played for the students. Then it was back to walking. Around each corner we were sure was the village- be we were mistaken. Roma skipped along, sipping Gatorade through his camel pack and playing the guitar, reminding me of a Tanzanian Pied Piper- with his rats dragging behind him. The bottoms of my feet were falling off- I am not being poetic, the skin was literally coming off them. Finally, around sunset we hitched a ride on a chai truck, realizing that we had been walking for 8 hours, not including the brief break.
So many people have asked me if I am losing weight here- it is impossible not to. Despite the carb heavy diet, I can eat whatever I want in whatever quantity. This is actually a lie, because whatever I want is not available (A croissant from Grand Central Bakery? A Burgerville milkshake, perhaps?) Anyways, it is impossible not to because it is impossible to be still here. Everything takes so much work. There is always walking to be done. The other night I had thirds on rice and beans, which is weird that I thought it was so good, because this is what we eat two to three meals a day.
A student of Josh's, who was home for break showed us around his village. We had all planned on leaving that day, but since I could barely walk I was worried how I would ever get out of there. We went to the primary school, where once again we had to introduce ourselves to all the students. Next we went to CEFA, an Italian NGO, doing work in that village. Here we met two Italian guys who showed us around. They have a great garden, a sewing shop and some kindergartens going. We went to visit one of the Kindergartens where the children sang for us. They also took us to the hydro-electric plant that their organization had built. And as luck would have it, they were headed our direction later that night in their car and offered to drive us to site. We had lunch at their place, complete with red wine, crusty Italian bread, and espresso- as they smoked cigarettes. I felt like I did at Zummi and Adina's- "Where am I again?" The conversation was interesting as their English wasn't great, and we speak no Italian- So most of the communication was done in Kiswahili- every ones second language, except Roma's.
Later as we headed out over the potholed, mountainous road in their truck- All I could think was when you wake up in the morning in Tanzania, you never know what the day will bring or who you will meet. But mostly I thought, "I can't believe I walked this..."
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