Less than 1 Week left in East Africa

Greetings once again from Tanzania, East Africa (it’s another long one - smile smile):

In this 'issue' of Joy's wanderings I want to give you an idea of what my day to day is like here now that wedding events are over and I’m almost on my way back to the US of A. 

On August 6th the last guest, besides me ;-), departed. That was Tammy's dad who winged his way over here for the wedding. We took a few days to figure out what gear we should be in for the next month. The Twins were home for the month of August from school which meant the gear was more centered around time with them & having that teenage type of fun. Including:

• watch all the Star Wars movies in chronological order. That means not watching them in the order they were produced, but #4-6 & then #1-3, It was good to be reminded of those classics and I am now ready for the new Star Wars movie that will come out this December!
• learn how to fly a quad copter - a small remote chopper with four blades and two controls. It takes more finesse and patience than I have, but it was fun to crash it a few times :-).
• Go out to restaurants to celebrate various occasions: success of wedding events; twins 18^th birthday or the occasion of not needing to cook J
• Had a blast celebrating my birthday at Arusha National Park. A game reserve just over an hour from Peter & Tammy's place. 
• while Peter & the twins would:
• go on a piki ride (piki is motorcycle in Ki-Swahili)
• archery around the land with their father, my brother, Peter
• work on various crafts – leather; fletching arrows & sewing
• mow the land with the tractor as well as creating new walking paths
• Tammy & I would:
• Catch up on computer work
• Cook
• Walk
• Shop (this is not like shopping in the US! It is takes more energy, creativity and is filled with social exchange with shop owners. Creativity is getting the items back home not full of dust or bruised – see driving below.)

It was fun and tiring being a teenager again. I found myself going to bed and getting up earlier than them :-). It was great to be able to get to know Sianna & Leighton better.

Being here in Tanzania is a study in contrasts & comparisons for me. Let's see if I can paint the picture for you. Some things are easier here as compared to the US of A. while other things take more time & energy. There is a beauty here of country & people. That part of me that grew up in countries focused on people rather than tasks is revived while that part of me that loves efficiency is frustrated up the ying yang. You'll see people walking everywhere here and they are so quick to return your wave with a deep smile and wave, thumbs up or peace sign. There is also communication with the chin and eyes that would go unnoticed in the United States. It says, “I see you, we've connected and have a good day.” Your courteous honk as you're passing someone communicates, "I'm here and going around you now.” and is appreciated rather than seen as an angry / aggressive act. Blinkers are used to communicate if it's OK to pass or not. They drive on the left here so if the blinker indicates that they're turning right - across traffic - that means it's NOT OK to pass (or they're turning right :-). If the blinker indicates that they're turning left it means it's OK to pass – (or they're turning left). Flashing your lights at an oncoming car trying to turn right - across traffic - indicates that you're going to let them turn in front of you. Flashing lights as they're passing you, which I think we used to do in the USA, most likely means there are police out up ahead. 

EATING:  Eating can be much the same items as in the US, but it takes longer to prep food as you’re doing most from scratch. Items from the US are available at a price. Large bag of peanut M&M’s was selling for $45! Don’t worry it was not bought only amazed by the price. The local food consists of rice and meat/ vegetable stews. There is a lot of corn grown and consumed as well, in corn meal the consistency of mashed potatoes called Ugali & they also eat the corn in roasted form. I’ve been able to keep to my new way of eating – palm size of protein and the rest of the plate vegetables. Really enjoy the freshness of what I’m eating. The other day we ate some wildebeest that had been shot by a friend of the family. Can’t remember the last time I ate meat and knew when it had expired!

Eating in the form of dining out has a wide range of options here in Arusha. You can go to a restaurant that feels like you’re in the US from the décor, food and service. Then you can go to the local food spot (they call it a hoteli) for a 1/10^th of the price for some local fare. There is an Ethiopian, Chinese, Italian, Indian, Mexican & Greek dining options here in Arusha.

SLEEPING: I have two locations where I lay my head to rest. One on a twin bed in my tent on the land. I am able to adjust the temperature by unzipping or zipping up the side canvas panels. There is special netting on the door and windows that allow me to look out yet those on the outside cannot see in. This is true during the day, but at night I need to be cognizant that if I have a light shining then those on the outside can see in J. Very impressed with that design that allows vision through a net one way and not the other! My light is solar with three different settings able to be charged by the sun (thus the name J) and lasts for hours. It’s nice to be able to read in bed and simply reach over to my bed stand & turn off the source of light that is not plugged into any source of power! It’s nice to be ‘outside’ though I must admit I do wake up when the tent ‘thwacks’ as it’s sent to dancing by the wind. Another source of wonderful noise is all the birds! More than 100 species have been spotted. Nice to wake up to their calls.

The other place I lay my head to rest is at the house/ office in town. It is called Amani House (Amani means peace). I have another twin bed – it’s a four poster with a mosquito net. I sleep overnight here at least once a week when I need to have solid internet access.

DRIVING: As mentioned the driving done here is on the left side of the road which puts the steering wheel on the right side of the car. I’ve slowly been driving more and more. It helps that I learned how to drive in Nairobi, KENYA which also is a country that drives on the left and a little bit crazy. My brother describes driving in town like being in a video game as you don’t know what is going to come from where and need to be ever alert. Town is strewn with motorcycle taxis that choose to go anywhere they like including coming at you down the wrong side of the road; on the ‘walkway’ beside the road or passing you. Alert is the name of the game.

Most of the roads in town are paved, but when you get out of town it’s various grades of dirt road. To get from the Wild Hope land to Amani House it is 13 kilometers (little over 8 miles). Two-thirds of the journey is dirt and the final third is paved with speed bumps. Dust is a given no matter where you’re headed. Along with the motorcycles going every which way there are public transport vans called a Daladala – the name derived from a transformation from the original cost of the ride: dollar; carts pulled or pushed by men; pedestrians, tractors pulling wagons; and goats, sheep, chicken &/or cows (on the dirt roads).

INTERACTING: It is a pleasure interacting with the Tanzanian people. They are hesitant to be the first to wave or greet me, but when it is extended by me there is an instant response. Walking in town reminds me of growing up in Kenya and standing out due to my color. It’s a bit hard to blend in. There is not a negative reaction to me, but I don’t necessarily enjoy being the center of attention just because of my skin color.

I’m enjoying interacting with those that are on staff with Wild Hope. Lillian & Mage (pronounce like Maggie) help in the kitchen. It is fun to joke with them and get them to laugh at my mild attempts at communicating in Ki-Swahili and getting them to talk in English. Lillian has been working with Peter & Tammy since 2006 and is like family. She is cooking, cleaning and making sure things are in order in the kitchen. Mage is Philemon’s wife. Philemon is Peter’s right hand man. There are also carpenters, masons, general workers and managers that work on the land. Lillian and Mage go back & forth from Amani house to the land for their work. Though it will be less & less at Amani House as more things shift to the land.

SHOPPING: Shopping is as varied as the restaurants. You can step into a supermarket much like those in the US with a wide variety of choices or go to the local duka (store) and outdoor shop that specializes in something: vegetables; clothes; minutes for your phones, etc. I had a blast going with Tammy & Sianna to a metumbo (used clothes outdoor market) where you could snag a nice long sleeve shirt (it’s been colder here than I planned for) for 50 cents.

ELECTRICITY & INTERNET: This has been one of the more frustrating sides of being here due to the inconsistency of the electricity and power. It has to take its toll on the Tanzanians as they do not know when the power will be on and those that depend on it have to work their schedule around an unknown. You’ll see wielders sparks flying late at night as you drive by as that is when they’re able to work as the power has come on. Before the company would have a schedule of when the power would be out, but now it happens randomly. Fortunately there is a generator at the Amani house that is hooked up to run power through the house though you need to stay away from using appliances – like a hot water pot – that pull a lot of power. One learns what appliances do pull a lot of power. Something we don’t need to figure out in the US.

On the Wild Hope land it is a whole different scenario as they are set up with wind and solar power. A windmill charges 10 batteries – they look like car batteries - & that gives power to the entire place. The wind flows through the land well coming off the plain below so the system is able to keep up pretty well. If the wind and sun have not been real active for a while then there is a generator backup on the land as well. When I first got here it was being used a lot, but found out that was due to the windmill needing to be fixed. It’s pretty nice to be able to come out to these 27 acres and have a consistent power supply.

The internet on the land, as of now, is less reliable than the internet at Amani House though I’ve been having troubles of late. The internet on the land is run off a cell phone sim card!!!! It’s pretty amazing technology really though not always wanting to work.

********************************************

Well, that gives you a little ‘glimpse’ in words of the surface what it’s been like for me here. There is a whole other layer of comparison & contrast for me as well – a deeper one. There is something very special about this Wild Hope land. I’m not saying that one piece of land can be more ‘holy’ than another, but when it is set aside for the express purpose of people to come away and hear God speak to them it does become special, safe and a place of growth. Like the tent I mentioned above I’ve been granted the gift of entering some deep places that I haven’t been able to see into and yet once inside I’ve been amazed at how clear things are and what an amazing view it is from the inside to the out. In August a regular rhythm of prayer was started - Monday through Friday at 10 am & 6 pm. It’s low pressure, as you can make it & such a pleasure to join with the staff – 10 am is in Swahili with them and 6 pm tends to be in English with ‘us’ residents. God has been speaking to me about how He’s gifted me, how He can use me and what He has ahead for me. It’s in the incubation stage right now and getting ready to be birthed. Stay tuned for another update J.

For those of you in the Southern California area Joy L. Russell at Your Service will be up and running the week of October 5^th. So let me know if you have any tasks around the house I can help you with:

-computer help

-organizing a closet / room / kitchen
-gardening

-window washing

-pet care

I’ll be leaving Tanzania tomorrow with Peter & Tammy - Friday, Sept 25^th - to go to Kenya to see Sianna & Leighton’s ‘school world’. Then I fly out of Nairobi, Kenya Tuesday, Sept 29^th arriving at LAX on Wed, Sept 30^th. So, if you don’t hear from me right away it’s because I’m in travel mode and unable to get access to the internet.

It’s been a wonderful 3 months. Thanks for journeying with me,

Joy