Sophie in Africa

 

A few chosen ones from my trip to Rwanda in November.

 

5,5 motnhs, or 23 weeks, or 163 days have I been in eastern Africa. It was a descicion I made many years ago, that I wanted to go abroad between my studys to see more of life and what this world is all about. Africa has, I think, always interested me because it is something completely different from Europe. It took a lot of time to search for information, and it was difficult to decide where to go and what to do since there are about a billion different alternatives. In the end I ended up here in Tanzania, and tomorrow it is time for me to go home.

I had a great time here. I have been a teacher for 45 screaming little kids for 4,5 months and it has been both very tough and very good. They have taught me a lot, more than I have taught them, and I am extremely greatful for this opportunity. It was hard to say goodbye to them because they have become my little kids and I might probably never see them again. I think my volunteer experience was a little different from many others, at least in Tanzania, since I went to a small village on the countryside and not to a bigger city where there is electricity, running water and most imortant other white people to connect to. I was the only one in my village which made me an incredible local celebrity. Everyone knew my name and who I was. It was sometimes lonely, but after I made some local friends at about my age it was a lot easier. It was also wonderful to have one friend from Europe come to visit be, because I have at least one person who knos what I was doing and who can share memories and thoughts with me. I will miss Africa very much, I know that, because many things here cannot be found in Europe. The way of life is completely different and this is what I am used to now. What more will I miss? I think actually mostly the small things. Going to the market and buying fresh fruit, seeing the women in the colourful fabrics, even the stuffed African buses. I will miss parts of the African cuisine, and I write parts because there have been a little to much deep-fried white carbonhydrates for me. In Tanzania they eat usually pretty unhealthy, even though the fruit of course is very good. I will still miss the small, shitty (sorry for that word) bars on the side of the road where you sit on rocky, plastic chairs market "The Coca-cola company" (they have an enormous influence here) and eat the local food. The way of life in Africa is more relaxed, less stressed, less worrying about tomorrow. That is refreshing for us Europeans since we are so used to having a lot of stuff and want to achieve so much in life, we forget about enjoying the day. There is a big negative with this though; Africa is in many ways behind Europe in technical development, but actually mostly in mind. I could not teach them not to litter freely or to burn their trash in the open. They don't really understand the importance of protecting indangered species or caring about the nature. They just live today. The school system needs to improve rapidly, the education level is sometimes really poor. Some are well educated but some can't even read when they finish school.

 

Are there things which I will not miss? Absolutely. All the insects for example, I am tired of having ants and cockroaches in my room. I also had a little problems with some persons I had to co-operate with so I will not miss that. You never love everyone around you. Another thing I will definitely not miss at all is that everyone just seems to see you as a walking wallet. Or as I heard another tourist call it, running ATM:s. Especielly on the countryside, the kids come and say "give me my money" and everyone wants you to donate to projects or help to start up a business etc. Also people you thought were your friends can after a while come and say: "but before you leave, you will give me your camera right?". They don't understand that we don't have a lot of money and that we don't want to pay more for everything. You have to fight for every single fruit on the market and still you have the feeling sometime you paid too much. Often it is not a question about a lot of money, but for me it i the princip. It is not fair.

 

I am used to always being recognised. I am used to being the only white among blacks. There are many, many tourists in Tanzania but as a white person you are always noticed and very attractive. They want you to take their taxi, their bus, go to their shop. I am used to everone screaming my name and waving at me wherever I go (in my village this is, not in Moshi or Arusha since I don't reallly know anyone there). All the grown-ups were very happy to see me and wanted me to come and visit. As a white person you get spoiled, you get invited to the homes of people and are being offered an enormous portion food and a bottle of soda. Everyone likes you, and if you are a young girl like me most of the boys is you age want to marry you. (Marriage here is different than in Europe. It is probably different in different regions, but in Tanzania and also in Kenya marriage is not so dependant on love and more about having someone you like to get kids with).

 

I also want to write a few lines about Rwanda. The two weeks I was there before I came to Tanzania meant a lot to me. I got to know Africa in an environment I am familiar with; in the spirit of Taize. They were two tough weeks for me but it was good that I didn't come to Tanzania and started to work directly. I was in areas where there are no tourists and therefor I think my stay was so authentic. I would have never met the people there and seen these areas if it would not have been for Taize. Thank you! I am so happy I got to see three countries here (I also saw a little of Kenya). Since it is so far away from Europe and I am here now I am happy I did not only see one country. Because of this I could make some reflections and compare between at least three countries, otherwise some things are difficult to know wether they are typical Africa or typical for the specific country. I know Eastern Africa so to say.

 

So, has it been easy all the time? Not at all. Has it been expensive to come here? Yes. Has it been worth it though? Absolutely, without any regrets. I learnd things I could not have learnd elsewhere and have so many nice mamories to take with me. If I would have known some things before I would have planned my trip a little differently but it was good like this too. Would I recommend others to do a similar trip? Yes, I recommend everyone to do something which is a challenge for them. I don't think volunteering is something for everyone, you need strong nerves to be able to go so far away from home for such a long time, especially if you do it alone. And you need recourses, read money. You also cannot be picky, life is different from home and you have to get used to eating new food and living a new life.

 

I am leaving Africa tomorrow, happy and fulfilled but also sad to leave. Of course. I will write again after some time home to share my thoughts when I have settled down in my old life again. I just want to say I am very sorry that I could not upload pictures here, but internet is so slow you have no idea. I tried two times but after twenty minutes I gave up. I want to upload after I have come home so if you just have a little patience you will see som chosen pictures from my entire stay here. I just want to remind you of something: in your eyes you will just see many black kids. But I see my kids, each with their own personality. That is a big difference.

 

I want to end with two lines from a song I think we all know.

 

 

Goodbye Africa, hello again Europe!

Now I am just enjoying my last days in Africa. Moshi is a very nice city, more pleasant than Arusha and more western orientated. I understand why so many volunteers come here, it is nice to see other white people and the enviroment is friendly. I have done some small activities this past week, for example gone to see some nature on Kilimanjaro. The nature here is so different from where I have been staying, Namanga and Maasai-land is just plain dry, dusty and very hot with a big lack of water. The Kilimanjaro region though has a lot of water and green forests. The weather here is also less hot and more humid, which might be because April is in the middle of the big rain season but I think it is always the case actually. I liked to walk on the countryside outside of Moshi because it is "real" Africa again, what I am used to now after all this time. I like though that I have this last week in Moshi, to adapt a little again to normal life before I go home. On Wednesday...

 

Kahawa shamba is Swahili and meens coffee farm. I fulfilles a long term dream today and visited Fairtrade certified coffee plantations on the slopes of Kilimanjaro. The farmers there are small scale holders under KNCU (Kilimanjar Native o-operative Union) and the union is certified. The tourism there is etablished so it was easy for me to do a visit there. I had prepared many questions and luckily got a good guide who liked to answer them. I loved to visit the farmers at home, in their plantations. Now it is perfetly in the middle of low season (April is not the best month here) but I could see the coffee trees and the machines but now they don't produce any coffee. They explained the process and I got to taste a fresh cup of coffe. And I who don't even like coffee normally absolutely loved it. It was so delicious, made by traditional means. I am happy I got answers that I needed about Fairtrade and both positive and negative critics. I am so excitet to continue the work I am doing when I come home! Because now I know for real what I am fighting for, that these people get a better life.

 

This visit was really a highlight for me during this Africa trip, but there have been so many good moments. I am now not far from leaving, tomorrow I have my last day here where I need to do finall shopping and visit the places I like before it is to late. Busy day.

I am writing again after probably having seen one of the most beautiful islands on earth, Zanzibar. My trip was way too short, I think I could have stayed forever ( well, almost). The beaches were amazing; crystal clear water, white sand and lots of palm trees. The people were friendly and generally good at English (finally!) and Stone Town was so beautiful with its old houses. It is interesting though, because it was really diferent from mainland Tanzania. The people looked different (Indian and arabic influence), talked a little different, mostly used another religion (the cost is mostly muslim, but there are many muslims in mainlad too and some christians in the coastal regions) and the whole culture was another. You really see that is before was Tanganyika and Zanzibar and pretty recently (I think 1964) became Tanzania.

 

I had good luck with the weather, despite low season it rained just very littely. I did some tourist activities, they are expensive but mostly worth the prize. On my second day I went on a dolphin safari. I was lucky, there were only two other tourist boats out and we saw many dolphins, probably 20. You have to be quick if you want to swim with them, because they move fast, but that was one of my best experiences. To see them in the water, under me... amazing. We also did some snorkelling then, that was really nice. After that we went shortly to a forest to see Red colobus monkey. They only exist on Zanzibar. They were absolutely not shy, going between the legs of the people and so on. After Have been in Stone Town I went to the east coast. On my way there it was pretty funny, I think every 50 meters there was a new sign of a resort. There are really millions of Hotels, mostly expensive ones. My Hostel, where I stayed, was surrounded by at least four expensive resorts. I mean, I had the same beach, and stayed at the same place about, but just a lot cheaper. My Hostel was run by four rasta-Jamaican style guys, they were a little weird but nice. They took everything slowly, just enjoying life. The bay was really quiet, almost no locals, just a deserted beach. I think I needed the calmness, it was good for me after this volontary work. The beach was so nice, perfect for relaxing. I also saw some Mangrove trees. In the evening you could see amazing sunsets or enjoy the evening at a camp fire. I think I fell in love a little with the island, even though there are negatives also. For example on Zanzibar you have to really careful with what price you get, because they like to add if you are white. And local life is cheap, but being a tourist costs.

 

On Sunday I was back in Namanga to say goodbye to everyone. Most were really sad, but wished me a pleasant journey.I will miss some people more than others, which is perfectly natural. The hard thing is that I have no Idea when I can be back. Most of them don't have e-mail, so it is hard to contact them. But of course I will remember them. Now I am in Moshi where I will be until the end. I have some activities planned which I will write more about another time. I want to make the most out of my last week in Africa!

This week there is a lot happening for me. I have a lot to plan, and of course this was the week when I said goodbye to my school. Because of Easter and other things we closed down the school on thursday, and that was my last day with all the kids. Even though I have almost three weeks left until I come home, it was time for me to say goodbye. But I want to start with telling about what I did on tuesday. I have asked before if it was possible for me to go and visit Maasai-Manyattas (traditional houses) since we have four Maasai-kids in school. So on tuesday we took with us all the kids and went to visit some of them at home. It was not so far to walk, but the sun was burning that day. It was a really  good idea to take all the kids with us, because also for them it is interesting with Maasai. They are not really a part of society, which I also notice with the kids, the Maasai-kids mostly play for themselves. Anyway, whe were warmly welcome and I got to see the Manyattas from the inside. They are round, made from simple materials, really small and dark inside. It is not like a House with walls and a roof like the ones the "normal" Tanzanians live in. I really liked to see how the some of my kids live their lives and it helped me understand. It is not easy to me Maasai, it is a hard life. One more thing: I got a little chock. As I said we have four Maasai-kids: two sisters, one boy who somehow was connected to them but I didn't know how and one boy from a completely different family. I learned: the woman who is the mother of the boy is at the same time grandmother of the girls... the Maasai start at a young age and continue for a long time. And I also learned that the sisters were really half sisters, thet had the same father but different mothers. But they lived in the same place. (It is common with Maasai to have more than one wife, but not with Tanzanians).

 

Yhen, on thoursday, was my big day. I never thought I would come this far, I never thought I would have to say goodbye to the kids. Somehow, even if you are away a long time, in the end it always feels short. And you always have the feeling you didn't manage half of what you wanted to achieve (at least it is so for me). In the morning I played with the kids outside, weird feeling to know it is the last time. Then the parents started to come for a small parents meeting, they always have in term end. We shared some biscuits with the kids, and then the patents were lift in the school while we went outside again. After a while (I think they had a lot to discuss) we went back in and I had to say goodbye. I said some words for the school, and they thanked me on behalf of the school and the perents. I had planned a small surprise for the kids: the evening before I had been baking "chokladbollar" (classical swedish candy) which I wanted to give them. African style of course, since I don't have the same ingredients here. It didn't taste to different though. I also got a gift from the school and the parents: they had bought me a Kitenge, which is a classical African coulored fabric. Then one of the families gave me a gift from them anly, a Maasai-Shuka. Very sweet to think of me. Then it was time to say goodbye for real, oh I will miss these little ones!

 

Yester, on Good friday, I went to see the Easrer parade which the catholich chuch organizes. It started with a role play, where they played how Jesus was caught and put to trial. Then we started to walk around in town, it was hot hot on that day too, with many people following. We stopped at several different stations and many people were watching too. The one who played Jesus really carried a cross, I think it was not too heavy though. I imagine they replayed the whole story until the crucifiction, but I had to leave to see one of my kids at home since the mother invited me the day before. It was a really nice afternoon, we drank soda (of course) and she offered us some food. Then, they gave me a gift. A Khanga, which also is a coulored fabric but it looks a little different. I was moved, because it was the girl who had thought of giving me something. Very sweet at that young age. That made me realize for real that I am leaving and will not see the kids again. My dears!

 

This week-end I am preparing to leave Namanga, I have a lot to do, like packing my bags and maybe say goodbye to some people. I know so many, the list is loong and I don't know when I will have time. Next week-end I am coming back to Namanga shortly, so I will say goodbye to my host family then, but I cannot manage everyone on that one sunday. I will see what I will do.

I realized I have not written before about what my work in school really is. I think because it has become my everyday life so I just forget that you have no idea about it. I will compansate that now. So, as I have told you we have three different levels. In Tanzania, kids at this young age really go to school, it is not comparable to kindergarden. For Baby class, we teach them how to read and write. Letters a,b,c and numers 1,2,3 aso. And how? They all have theuir own excercise book and we write the number/letter at the top and they have to copy. We also teach them oraly, to say the Aplhabet and to differentiate the numbers. For Middle class the level is a little higher. They have some simple counting, which we teach them for example by drawing some symbols on the blackboard and let them count and write the number efterwards. They also learn parts of the body and begin with the diference between Capital and small letters. Then, for Top class, they are pretty good. They get all the excercises from Middle class but more advanced. They also have "personality development" and other subjetcs which are hard to explain.

 

This is what I have been doing with them until now. And of course playing with them outside. Next week the school stops, before holiday, but I don't know which day exactly. I have asked but everyone says something different. Typical Africa, live today and don't think about tomorrow. Oh, how weird it will be to say goodbye to the kids!

 

Oh, and one more thing. I booked a trip to Zanzibar! April 1st - 6th, feels pretty good. The first time in my life I do a real beach holiday... a little scary though, to go by myslef, but I know more about Tanzania now so it feels okay. In the beginning I wouldn't have dared. A little sad though that I will be there in the middle of the big rain season, which is coming now, but what to do about it. I will enjoy it anyway.

Last week-end I just felt like I needed a break so I decided to go and visit Moshi. Moshi is a city in the north of Tanzania, about two hours with the bus from Arusha, where most of the volunteers go in Tanzania. Therefore, Moshi is also the city I thought I would be staying in before I came in contact with the project in Namanga. Moshi has been a city I have wanted to visit for lang, but it is far from where I live so it is not easy. But last week-end, I managed to go. I left early in the morning from Namanga and arrived in Moshi about noon. Moshi looks different from Arusha. There are fewer people living there, but the town is bigger. The streets were wider, is was a lot less crowded and also other things were different. For example, I saw a lot more tourist shops there, in Arusha I have barely seen anyone. Moshi was also a lot cleaner and seemed somehow more modern. It had a different feeling from Arusha.

 

I don't know really if I did anything special, I just walked around trying to understand the city (I was very happy for my map). But it was nice to switch environment for a week-end, even though it made me realize that I kind of missed Namanga. It has become my home while I'm here, and it is a very anonymus feeling to be in a bigger city. I am really a local celebrity in Namanga. I think also, after finally have visited Moshi, I am happy to have stayed in Namanga for all this time, even though there are also some negatives with smaller villages. I mean, if I would have lived in abig city, I would not have visited the countryside for longer. But now since I live farout, I visit the cities. I would have lost about half of my african experiene if I wouldn't have been here.

 

On sunday evening I came back to Namanga after a loong bus ride. Very tired, but happy to have made a visit. The coming week-ends I will stay in Namanga before I leave for my two weeks of free. It will be esciting, but also weird to leave the people I know here now. And my God, how much will I miss the kids! To live without them, even though they can be very annoying, ist something which is a mystery to me now. I just have to enjoy the time I have left with them.

This saturday, the 2nd, I made a visit to one of the mountains around Namanga with some friends from the catholic church, who I play volleyball with. They invited me to show me a cave there which all Namanga gets its drinking water from. The cave is on the Kenyan side. And no, I don't have a Visa for Kenya, but if I am careful and don't cross the border too often it's fine. Just across doesn't disturb anyone... Anyway, we left after lunch which proved not to be the best time, since it is in the middle of the worst heat and right now it is hot here. We climed for about an our, over stones and through bushes with very tired legs in the end. At some places I got a beautiful view over Namanga, from above it looks really big. It streches over a big area. Finally, we were there and the cave was really nice. Cool, under a rock and surrounded by trees. We met some youth from a Kenyan pentacostal church there and also a sister from South Africa who was there on a retreat. Very nice. I enjoyed to talk to them, as I have said before it is easier for me to get contact with Kenyans because of language and also other reasons. After a few hours it was time to get back, and of course it went a lot faster than the way up. We also saw baboons, funny, didn't know they lived there. It felt almost as if I was back on the safari again. After that day I was really tired, but also happy. I have been missing this, to see something more from Namanga surroundings that doesn't cost money. And this was exactly what I was looking for. I am really happy I had someone to go with, because otherwise I would not haveknow that cave even existed! And also a bonus: the water up there was clean, cold and very good. Finally another taste than this boiled water. Yuck.

 

Yesterday there was an exciting day in Kenya: election time. Since I live on the border and meet many Kenyans, and also the only radio station you can access here is Kanyan, and the Kenyan newspapers are in english (= I understand), I know that this election was a big deal. Last time, the elections ended in a war, so everyone was just hoping for a peacful day and so it turned out. Hopefully it will stay like this, but I think so.