T I A

This
Is
Africa.

That's what is said about everything here. We're two hours late.. Well, This Is Africa. Dala dala's have the right of way on the streets.. This Is Africa.. Thong sandals for 22,000 shillings at this store, down the street for 8,000. T.I.A.

The way of life here is slow paced to say the least, which has taken me some serious getting used to. When Swahili classes are scheduled to start at 9, they really start closer to 10, and so on. Everything is approximate and I think I'm going to like it once I start to get over my need to be 10 minutes early for everything.

This past week has been our orientation and language training. Every morning I've been woken up by the man who bangs his bells and calls for prayer, who also coincidentally wakes up all the dogs, cows and roosters.

Monday - Today we did a few hours of Swahili training, then after probing our instructor/driver/Arusha connection, Nelson, about his Tanzanite connections, he took us to his office in Arusha. Nelson's mom owns a mine which produces Tanzanite, a gemstone found only in Tanzania. He showed us how they cut and weigh the Tanzanite. Papa, you would've thought this was pretty cool. I thought of you while we were there! Later we accompanied Moses and Nelson downtown to a little back alley store that sold used everything to pick up a washing machine for the house. Side story - Nelson is a member of the Chagaa tribe. The Chagaa men are known as business men, so it makes a lot of sense that Nelson is the one who is selling us our cell phones, buying a washing machine for the house and charging us to do our laundry by machine instead of by hand. He has mad connections! Life continues as normal around the house, going to bed early, waking up even earlier.

Tuesday - More language training in the morning, and more relaxing and getting used to TIA in the early afternoon. After lunch we went to a place called Center for Women and Children Development, which is a school that offers subsidized tuition to poor students. Side story - 9 of the people living in the house are doing a three week project traveling to villages and giving presentations about everything from finance to hygiene, HIV/AIDS prevention and women's and children's rights, pollution, nutrition and puberty. At the CWCD, we watched the presentation and were able to play with some of the kids who attend school there. Turns out it's a universal thing that kids want to count 1,2,3 and be lifted up and spun around. We spun and played and laughed for over an hour. On our walk home from CWCD, we decided to cut our walking time down and hopped on some bicycle taxi's. 400 shillings, or 40 cents for a few minute ride.

Wednesday - Today's language training taught us fruit and vegetable vocabulary. We took a field trip to the food market and put these new skills to use. We bargained for bananas, mangoes and oranges, cucumbers and attempted a pineapple. We also realized that they market carried all the ingredients to make fresh guacamole, so we took our mad skills and got all the ingredients for a HUGE bowl for 1,500 shillings, or about $1 CDN. Side story - life in Tanzania I'm finding to be pretty cheap. I bought a cell phone for 40,000 shillings, or about $33 CDN. We only pay for minutes, and it's just 40 shillings a text, or less than 4 cents CDN. The government here is not exactly functional. They earn an average of 6 million shillings a month, or $6,000 CDN. They are given luxury cars and resented by most people. An average wage is about 100,000 shillings, or less than $100 CDN a month. After lunch we went to Lake Duluti. To get there we had to take 2 different dala dala's and walked for about 10 minutes. The lake was disgusting and green, and we sat on sawed off lawn chairs in flimsy canoe's. There was, however, an incredible view of Kilimanjaro from the middle of the lake. We saw monkey's, lizards and funny looking birds! Hopefully Saturday's safari is a little better for animal sightings.

Thursday - More language training, even less sleep as the man with the bells this morning really wanted to make sure everyone was up and ready for prayer. Mom, please bring some earplugs when you come! After language, Cassie and I ventured into Arusha by ourselves for the first time! We found the central market and outfits for our upcoming beer pong tournament. After lunch the 5 of us that aren't doing the health presentations were able to visit our volunteer placements. Three of us went to the orphanages and two went to the schools. Cassie's orphanage, Good Samaritan, was our first stop. We were allowed into the room where they keep the babies that are around 1 yr old. No one seemed to mind as we all picked up babies, even the babies themselves. They were just overjoyed to have someone to hold them. All over the world, people just want someone to hold them and show them love. There are clearly enough hands to do this, so why are some children going without? When the time came to leave and put the baby's down they all went limp in our arms and began to wail. I cried along with them. Next, we went to my orphanage. I met Byron, who is about 2 and won't make eye contact, and Angel who is around the same age and who's mother had beaten him and cut his penis in half. These stories are a dime a dozen here, and I'll be sharing more as I learn more. I now am able to see the possibilities to affect change and can't wait to start learning from these children, and hopefully leave some love and positivity behind from my stay, starting with the playground.. I'll try and make a visual here; when you climb up the ladder on the back of a slide, usually there is a platform at the top to sit on before you push yourself down the slide part. The slide at the orphanage most definitely does not have one of these. This will change in the next few weeks! Side story - Hoping to take some really good pictures here, of children, of animals and just pictures of Africa in general.. I'd like to sell some of these pictures to raise money for the orphanage, Camp Moses, that I'll be working in. If you'd like to see some of the one's I've taken so far, or are interested in donating let my mom or myself know! l_richardson9@hotmail.com, or srichardson@summer.com

Friday - This morning was our last language training.. Poa kimchisi kama ndisi baridi ndani ya fridgi. I'm cool like a banana is cool when it's inside of the fridge. That's all you really need to get by here in A-town. After language, we went downtown and are just now preparing for Amazing Race Arusha, which is going to start with a ugali eating contest.. Yum. Safari tomorrow, Maasai village on Sunday, placement Monday! (Cassie and I actually won the Amazing Race.. More on that later.

I do miss my family, Layner, I really can't wait until you get here.. They've got sweet swords and Maasai warrior gear I'm making sure you're going to get for souvenirs. Dad - beer is 1,100 shillings a can, or less than $1 CDN. Mom - these kiddies are going to break your heart, and I can't wait to spend time at my orphanage with you. Aunty Laura - they sell Tanzanite here, I thought of you! Would you like some?! It's pricey, but super rare!

Little things here remind me of people at home all the time - Breckon, the laid back pace and do what you want atmosphere screams your name! Camille, I'm just always thinking of you, especially as my nails are chipping and could really use a cute color.

Anne Kemp - I'm hoping to see some hippos like you told me about over the next few weeks!

More later, especially after the weekend ahead of me!

Wakelini, or something like that, my Swahili is still coming haha.