Back in Mpwapwa and Dodoma
on Kev in Tanzania (Tanzania), 10/Jun/2009 05:20, 34 days ago
Thursday 4th JuneBack to work today! Got up early and left Liz and Peter to look after the house.Spent the morning in work, sold the memory sticks that I bought over for the tutors, they went so quickly and people wanted more. I gave Lubuva his digital dictator and memory card reader. Mr Gullo, the Dean, got his basic SLR camera (cost£1 in a charity shop!). Lots of people asked for more gifts and I patiently explained that I could only fit so much into my one bag!I don’t like the zwadi (present) culture, but it is because not many people travel away and when they do they give gifts to the people they know. What bugs me most is people I don’t really know who were coming up to me before I left calling me friend and asking for mobile phones, cameras and laptops. It is not so bad at the start but when 40 people ask you get a little fed up. I didn’t feel too good just before leaving as so many people knew I was going I wondered if my house would be ok, luckily Peter helped by staying there for me.It was nice being back at work but unfortunately there were no students so there was not that much to do. Lots of Open University people printing work though and that kept me busy. Whenever the students are away all the tutors seem study for Masters, one problem is there no such thing as plagiarism in Tanzania (might not be so bad if you are studying…)Peter departed for Dodoma at midday and after lunch Liz and I decided to try the monopoly card game that I bought. It is actually pretty good, kind of like Rummy but you can play action cards and steal other people’s property. I recommend it!In the late afternoon we went up the Tigo Hill again for some exercise and from the top you could really see how dry it has become in town…After dinner and a couple of beers we watched‘City of God’ and then called it a night.Friday 5th JuneLiz cooked breakfast, we used the chickens eggs in omelettes and had some mchica (spinach) on the side.We travelled to Dodoma on the 1pm Kimambo bus, we got on at TTC and had nice seats near the front of the bus. The journey was fine and we had some funny conversations. We were going to Dodoma for Saskia’s memorial service, which was being held on Saturday.Once in Dodoma, we walked from the Saba Saba market to the Cana Lodge where we were meant to be staying. Unfortunately Nelson had messed up our booking so we had to try somewhere else instead. Parliament was in session in Dodoma (which is the official capital of Tanzania, despite everything else being in Dar!) But were able to get a double room in Dear Mama hotel, which was a nice hotel near Area‘C’ where Anna used to live.We were all meeting at the New Dodoma Hotel for dinner at 7.30pm. After a nice shower we went to a bar nearby for a beer and some‘Sh*t head’. It was good to be back at the New Dodoma Hotel, there was Nelson, Charles, Emma (from Iringa), Corrie, Liz, Peter, myself and a new volunteer from Holland called Frouke (she was replacing Clare) we ate in the Chinese restaurant. It was wonderful to all be meeting up, I had not been to Dodoma since March!After eating we went to bar near Area‘C’ and our hotel Dear Mama. It was fun chatting to Nelson, Liz and Fouke, who has settled in well. We were joined by Kristina and we proceeded to get Nelson drunk (well, we all got drunk!).Saturday 6th JuneToday was the memorial and we got up early for breakfast, checked out and moved to Cana Lodge where Liz and I were going to spend Saturday night as originally planned.We met Peter at Cana Lodge and walked over to the church where the service was being held. I was already feeling emotional as I was thinking about Saskia and had not been to a church service for a very long time. We met Douglas the VSO Programme Manager for Education out the front and then Peter, Liz and I went in.There were lots of people there, including Saskia’s deaf students. There was a big picture of Saskia on the screen and some lovely music playing, we sat a few rows back and as we did I felt tears coming and had a cry, Liz held my hand and it was so good having her there for comfort.The service was very nice, everyone said nice things (one guy got a little carried away about the bible but I am not going to criticise…) Saskia’s students did a dance which was great and watching the other students I realised that her impact was massive, she had taught all of the children to communicate using sign language. It made the things I have done seem so trivial. The students now had a way to communicate and thus a better future. After the dancing, John (who came with Mary to visit me in March) sang ‘you got a friend’ which also got me crying again.The service was about 2 hours long and the final speaker was a Dutch man who runs the sign languages courses, he did a very nice speech about how we are viewed by the Tanzanians and how people back home cannot understand exactly what we go through or why it is so important that we do what we do. He spoke very passionately and obviously knew Saskia very well. The service was videoed so it could be sent to her parents back in Holland.After the service there was lunch but I was not really in the mood for it so Liz and I said polite goodbyes and went to buy our own lunch and played‘Sh*t head’ back at Cana Lodge. I ended being 15 up! And Liz was not letting me win you should have seen her face, the Aussies can be competitive a times!We agreed to climb the Lion rocks near Nelson’s old house and we met at the Pizzeria at 4pm, it turned out we were half an hour early so Liz and I played a round of crazy golf (or putt putt as she calls it…), it was good fun and a nice way to spend the afternoon after the service, I beat Liz but we both got holes in one during the course!I remember joking when they were building the crazy golf course that I thought no one would ever use it…Nelson and Charles arrived and then we bumped into Kiteto Charles and all 7 of us (Liz, Charles and Charles, Nelson, Frouke, Kristina and myself) climbed up the rocks. It was ok going, it was not as hot as the first time I did it back in November. We carried some champagne up to the top and once there we toasted Saskia’s memory. She would have liked that, especially the wind and all the bubbles blowing everywhere!Once back down we met up with Kiteto Anna and 3 of her friends at the pizzeria. They all ate pizza and I ate Rigatone with Bolognese sauce, the food was great and the place was owned by an Italian couple. It was fun seeing Anna and I teased her again, we all had a good evening. Towards the end of the meal we helped Nelson to talk about his feelings with the death of Saskia and his frustrations with the way VSO handled it and made him feel. Liz and I came up with the idea of planting a tree for Saskia and I bought it up, Nelson seemed keen, I told him I did not want my‘per diem’ (expenses for the weekend) and he could put it towards the tree.After the meal we split up and some of use went to Frouke’s house. We piled into Kristina’s pick up and I ended up in the back with 5 others, it was quite a ride but we made it one piece. After a few more drinks there we then headed back to Cana Lodge just in time to beat the 12 midnight curfew!Sunday 7th JuneWe were departing Dodoma today, Peter was going onto Dar for a short placement, Liz back to Pemba and me alone to Mpwapwa. After breakfast I took Liz to the bus for an emotional goodbye and then did some shopping before catching my bus from Saba Saba at 11am.The trip back was hellish, hot, crowded and I was wedged next to a sealed shut window by a big mama! I escaped by casting my back over the last 8 months…I got home and had some sausages for dinner, cooked with a blue dragon sauce (Oyster sauce, bought from home) and some rice, a little treat! Got an early night as I was back to work on Monday.Monday 8th JuneGot up and decided I should try and pay wages in today as they actually came on time for once (in the form of a cheque!). I also checked for mail at the Posta but there was none (a little disappointing…). In town I gave Matayo a scrabble board that I bought for him and I purchased another big container for water as there is still none coming out of my taps and I want to store a little more.I spent a few hours at work but there not much to do and I went home expecting a water delivery at 12 noon but it did not come… Some people are so unreliable!!Cooked rice and mchica for dinner– the joys of Tanzanian food…Tuesday 9th JuneOne of my neighbours children delivered water today which was a relief, I saw them the day before and asked. I was able to fill all my barrels and it will keep me going for a couple of days and means I can wash my clothes I wore when travelling.Thad was back today, he had been travelling around fixing computers, it was good to see him and I will have to teach him and Matayo the monopoly card game and play some scrabble!Watching‘Prison break’ again it really is good entertainment and keeps me occupied in the evenings that I have power.My chickens have given me 7 eggs in the last 2-3 days– awesome! One of the black ones wants to sit on the eggs so I could maybe have chicks if I plan it right!!That’s me blog all up to date now, there are plans to visit Dar in a few weeks, especially as things are quiet at work. Maybe I shall make some more posters!Take care