French Fries

I have decided that the best ever french fries in the world are cooked in Tanzania. They are amazing! Called "chips" because of past British influence, they are made at typical outdoor restaurants in towns and villages all over the country. My favourite treat is Chips Mayai, a wonderful concoction of chips and egg cooked over a charcoal brazier. It looks like a chip omelet and is served piping hot with a little pile of salt on the side of the dish. Just add a liberal sprinking of hot sauce and you are ready to dig in with the toothpick provided. Outdoor restaurants are great to eat at because there are so many sights to see. I enjoyed my latest meal with a bottle of Coke while watching a lady plucking a chicken. She was very skilled.




You'll never be disappointed by Chips Mayai.

I met a lady today who knows a Maasai woman
who can easily touch her nose with her tongue.
Her tongue is long due to many years of using it for pointing at things.
It is considered impolite to point at things with your finger.
Words fail me.

Friendly Zanzibar

Jeff and I recently traveled to the island of Zanzibar for a long weekend with some friends from Canada.


Zanzibar sits in the Indian Ocean 50 km off the coast of mainland Tanzania. The Zanzibar Archipelago consists of two large islands (Zanzibar and Pemba) and several smaller ones. These islands produce cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper and are commonly known as the Spice Islands. Zanzibar and Tanganyika united in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania.


As none of our little group had been to Zanzibar before, we were happy to have been given a contact with a young guide, Oti, through a friend. Our new friend/guide met us at the airport with a van, driven by his friend, to take us to our hotel, which was run by another friend of his. The first afternoon our friend, Oti, arranged for a different friend to take us on a walking tour around Stone Town. Stone Town is a maze of narrow alleyways lined with old buildings used as homes, shops and mosques. Many of the buildings in these alleys, often too narrow for cars, have the famous and beautiful Zanzibar doors. It would be very easy to get lost in Stone Town without a friend.

The next day we set out on a boat, captained by a friend of our friend, Oti, to do some snorkeling and see the tortoises on Prison island. These Aldabra Giant Tortoises weigh up to 250 kg and can live over 100 years. We enjoyed feeding them big bunches of leafy green stuff and rubbing their leathery necks. They are very friendly!



Day 3 we were driven by Chichi, our friend from the hotel, in his friend's car, up to the north shore to catch another boat captained by . . . . . his cousin. What a day that was! Snorkeling in the warm turquoise Indian Ocean, having a lunch of fresh tuna on the white sand beach and sailing in the dhow.




We would have loved another day or two on the beach but it was time to leave. After saying goodbye to our friend at the hotel, our other friend called his friend with the van and they took us back to the airport.





It is so nice to have friends on Zanzibar.

The Faces of Change

The Nissan Safari I was driving kicked up a lot of dust as we headed for the main road to town. Jeff was following in the Nissan Patrol and both our vehicles were packed with people, luggage, laughter and singing. We were taking our friends to catch the bus in Arusha, the first leg of their long journey to San Antonio, Texas and beyond.


The morning was a rush of packing, weighing luggage and shaving heads. Women included. My little electric hair clipper I had brought from Canada was put to good use.






These Maasai are Missionaries and Evangelists and as the title of their 2-month USA tour suggests, they are the Faces of Change. These 9 are part of a much larger group who want to bring change to their culture and to help preserve a people group that is constantly threatened by AIDS . They do this through singing in and around Tanzania about Women's Rights, AIDS issues, education and their faith in Jesus. A beautiful photobook has been produced by Pamoja Ministries which chronicles the lives and beliefs of these Christian Maasai. Touring the southern United States is a first step in reaching out and sharing their lives with other cultures. They will be promoting the book, En-Kata, and 60% of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be used to build a school for the children of Orbili and Olerumo. Visit the website for more information about the people, the book and the tour at www.en-kata.com

A Cool Million

I never thought I would hold a million in cash in my hands. Not only that, but the ATM machine here will give me a million! I am not talking about dollars though. I'm talking about Tanzanian Shillings /=. A million TZS is equal to $814 CAD at today's rates. The 10,000/= note is worth around $8.14 and is the largest bank note available.



I was rather shocked at first with these numbers. I couldn't imagine
paying 5,000 of anything for a plastic thermos or filling up the car for 50,000. I am getting used to it now. The following list shows the current prices of some everyday things I can buy at the market or at the store in town.

Zucchini 1 kg. 700/=
Oranges 10 600/=
Leeks 1 kg. 1,500/=
Bananas 12 800/=
Coke 1 bottle 400/=
Olive Oil 1 litre 15,000/=
Gasoline 1 litre 1,290/=
Tomatoes 16 2,000/=
Butter 1 lb. 4,800/=

Pinball

How long does it take for an eleven-year-old Maasai boy to learn to play Pinball? About 5 minutes! I had my computer on and was showing our friends some photos of themselves when I thought that Mathayo might enjoy trying Pinball. He loved it, of course. Within a few minutes he was playing really well and a short time later had beaten the high score of my two nieces (sorry girls). He hasn't beaten MY high score yet though! Mathayo has never seen a computer game. He has never even touched a computer before. He does go to school but it is very far from his home and there are 200 kids in his class. Mathayo can read and write and I showed him how to type his name onto his pinball score. He loved that!

I Like Swahili

Swahili is a nice language. I like it. Called Kiswahili by Kiswahili speakers, the language forces me to look at my world differently.

To pluralize a word, the change comes at the front of the word instead of at the end, as in English. A verb consists of the verb itself as well as the subject, the tense and the object all combined into one long word and it all has to "agree" with the class of the subject. Whew. For example, the one word "nitamsaidia" means "I will help him". "Tulimendesha (mjini)" means "We drove him (to town)". I won't even tell you how to make it into a negative statement! Some of these more difficult concepts are offset by the fact that Kiswahili is fairly easy to pronounce and very easy to spell.

Kiswahili has also turned my English-speaking sense of time into a tail-spin. 8 a.m. is the 2nd hour or more literally, the hour of 2 and 4 p.m. is the hour of 10. Kiswahili time is relative to sunrise, which is 6 a.m. If I want to meet a friend at 9 a.m. I must tell her to meet me at the 3 in the morning or I will be stood-up at 9 a.m. and she will be wondering where I am at 3 in the afternoon. Makes sense?

The English days of the week are irrelevant here too. In the West our calendars usually start with Sunday and end on Saturday. In East Africa the first day of the week is Saturday and Monday is day three. This is due to the Islamic influence with Friday being their holy day. Many things that we have somehow always accepted as facts are being revealed as mere concepts.

As I struggle to find the time for my language lessons and homework, I hope to be counted as a Kiswahili speaker some day. Soon would be good!!

Kamikaze Cockroaches

The first one was floating in the toilet. He was quite impressive as he took up almost the whole toilet bowl. I was glad to see that he was dead. The next evening a smaller one came staggering out from behind the toilet and met his demise with a swift blow from Jeff's flip-flop. I heard the third one land the following evening. I thought I was being paranoid but as I flipped on the bathroom light our eyes met and he came tearing out from beside the toilet heading straight for me. My Birkenstock dispatched him (or her) quickly. We hadn't been able to figure out where they were coming from. We had put covers on drains and plugged openings but that night we suddenly realized they were sneaking in through a small hole in the ceiling just above the window valance and then jumping 8 feet onto the floor. Kamikaze cockroaches! The first one dove straight into the toilet, whether by design or accident and didnt survive the landing. The second one was a lot slower moving than a normal cockroach and I believe he may have had a couple of broken legs or a head injury. The third (and last) was made of tougher stuff but didn't live to tell the tale and since we stuffed a pot-scrubber into the hole we haven't seen any more. I love outwitting something with a brain the size of a pin-head.

Photos

I would love to dazzle you with photos of the beautiful countryside around us, but I haven't been able to upload any pictures due to our slow internet connection speed. We are hopeful this will change in the near future, but for now you will just have to imagine the beauty and believe me when I say it is breath-taking. Jeff is especially fascinated with Mount Kilimanjaro and we have a steadily growing file of photos of her. It is awe-inspiring to see this huge, snow-capped, free-standing mountain. Many days she hides behind a veil of clouds, but when she decides to show herself - WOW!
Most evenings we go for a nice long walk and wander down dirt roads and trails through fields of corn. The "long rain" is almost over and the corn that was chin-height less than 3 weeks ago now towers several feet over our heads. We follow the trails as they criss-cross through fields of green beans, banana and coffee plants. The people we meet along the way always greet us as they pass by. "Habari za jioni", they say and we answer, "Nzuri". Some of the men and women tote huge bundles of fodder for their livestock on their shoulders. Many women balance large baskets of produce on their heads. Children giggle and act shy. It seems we Wazungu (white people) are pretty facinating to them. They say, "Shikamoo" and we answer, "Marahaba".
The sun goes down at 6:30 and we are home by then.

Do Cows Snore?

There are two cows tied up just across the fence and in the night I have heard snoring. It is a deep sound and not unpleasant. Perhaps the old Christmas song should say "the cattle were snoring, the baby awakes . . . "

We walked down the road to Tengeru market on Saturday. It is an amazing and very busy place. There are many people selling wares outside the market area as you approach and hundreds more on the inside. The market is sectioned into different areas and we followed Joy as she weaved in and around the stalls, stands and people. Vendors cheerfully called to us to have a look at their stuff, Mzungu (white person)! There were tables full of plastic bowls, wash basins, pitchers and other kitchen items. Piles of towels, sheets and curtains at one table push against a pile of blankets at another table. 99.9% of these things are used. It isn't unusual to see tags on clothing from Value Village. Have you ever wondered what happens to things you donate? Bundles are sold to vendors who, in turn, sell them in the markets. Some things are in good shape and just need washing. Bargaining is necessary and expected.

The local produce is wonderful. Tomatoes, green beans, bananas, avocados, eggplant, peas, onions, leeks, garlic, mangoes, and more. If you buy too much to carry easily there are men are waiting to be hired to load your purchases onto a cart and follow you home.

Market day is a feast for the senses. It is colourful, pushy, and noisy. The smell of omelets and fried potatoes waft through the air. It is hot and sunny. Sparks flew as a man sharpened machetes on his bicycle-sharpener. He had rigged it up so that he sat backwards and peddled, causing the rear wheel to turn a sharpening stone. In a small shed a movie was playing at full volume to a sold-out crowd. The market continues until long after dark.

A gecko in our fridge

I can tell we are in Africa because there was a gecko in our fridge today. He must have been in there when I started it for the first time a few hours earlier. I had pulled out the crisper to put in some vegetables and there he was. He wasn't moving. Poor fellow. I carefully pulled him off the wall of the fridge with his cold little suction pad toes holding fast. He moved slightly and sluggishly but warmed up very quickly in my hand. I released him in the pantry area and fully expect him to be a good bug-catcher in gratitude.

Africa is a cacophony of sound. Our house is located on the southeast corner of the Pamoja property and is aptly called "The Corner House". The day sounds include chickens, the neighbour's two cows and his radio, trucks rattling along the road, people talking and laughing, children playing, another neighbour's radio on a different station, and the loud squawk of hornbills. Africans live life outside. It's lovely.

Night sounds are different. The people sounds decrease and nature tunes up. Dogs bark, insects chirps, fruit bats peep, bushbabies screech, and occasionally something falls off the trees and hits the tin roof. It's wonderful.

Farewell

I am lurking by my computer waiting for the first possible moment to check-in with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, hoping to get seats with maximum leg-room. Tomorrow we fly to Africa. We have gone from counting the months, then the days, to counting the hours. We leave Toronto at 5:45 pm and after a brief stopover in Amsterdam, land at Kilimanjaro airport 19 hours later.
All the planning and preparation is over. Everything has been crossed off the To Do list. The cats are happy in their foster home, the cars have been sold and the tenants moved into our house yesterday. We have been staying with Jeff's Mom for the past several days and really appreciate this time to relax.
Keep in touch everyone! Our email address is: jeffjan.mauch@gmail.com
Send letters to: P.O. Box 1966, Arusha, Tanzania, East Africa

17 Days til Take-Off

We have been busy organizing, packing, cleaning and visiting.

Remember that To-Do List from my last post? It grew longer, much longer.
I forgot to add things such as ~ eating up all the stuff in the freezer. Trust me, that takes some planning!

Other difficult questions include: Do you store all 3,000 hangers from various closets or just the nice white plastic ones? What do you do with all the 1/2 used items like motor oil, paint, and bird seed? (Answer: share with friends or take it to the dump.)

Although the To Do List seemed to grow in such a crazy way at first, it is now much shorter. Whew! We are getting there. It's a good thing too because we move everything into storage on May 8. We will spend the following six days sitting on borrowed lawn chairs and sleeping on air mattresses. Then we are off to Barrie for Victoria Day weekend to attend a wedding and spend time with family. May 18th we will take off for Africa!

Hmmmm, what should I make for supper? I have pea soup, clams, green chilies and chocolate sauce in the cupboard and fish, Italian sausages, raspberries and bagels in the freezer. Could be an interesting meal.

To Do List

I have put my Swahili lessons on hold for the afternoon so that I can get at some of the things on my "To Do" list. I am amazed at all the things that need to be done before moving to Africa! If you are planning a similar move here are some of the things you need to do (in no particular order):

• Tell all your friends and family about your plans
• Purchase plane tickets
  
• Quit your job
• Obtain an International Driving Permit
  
• Find a good friend who is willing to look after things while you are away
• Get the house rented out
  
• Hire a Property Manager
• Sell your car(s)
• Update your immunizations
• Get a passport
• Go to the dentist (because you definitely don't want to go to a dentist in some places!)
• Downsize your stuff (get rid of all your junk)
  
• Store all your furniture
• Pack all your belongings
• Rent a truck to move your furniture and belongings
• Find a foster home for your pets
• Obtain the appropriate visas for your new country
• Set up a webcam and Skype
  
• Update your will
• Sell your son's canoe that's been in the garage for 4 years
  
• Obtain landlord insurance for your house
• Figure out how you are going to get to the airport
  
• Extend your OHIP (unlimited if you are a Missionary)
• Buy additional health insurance with medical evacuation
• Find a storage unit for your other son's stuff
  
• Pack your two suitcases with everything you need for two years
• Change your address for the zillions of places that need to know, i.e. Revenue Canada, banks, credit cards, driver's license, property tax office, professional affiliations, . . . . . . . .
  
• Register with the Canadian High Commission in your new country once you arrive
• Cancel your phone, internet, long-distance provider, gas, hydro, car insurance, . . . . . . .
  
• Learn a new language
• Clean and paint your house
• Get one last haircut because you may end up doing it yourself for the next two years
  
• Start a blog
  
• Say goodbye to your family and friends
  

En-Kata - A Time for Singing

Pamoja Ministries is happy to be partnering with MAPED in fulfilling their vision of educating their children.
Buy this photo book and invest in the future of Maasai children.
60% of the profits from the sale of this book will go towards building and operating a school for Maasai children in Simanjiro, Tanzania!

To preview the book and place an order go to www.en-kata.com

Malaria, Yellow Fever and Dysentery

And now for something unpleasant - Malaria, Yellow Fever and Dysentery. In some people, the thought of travel to foreign places, and especially Africa, can generate worries about exotic and deadly diseases. Everyone planning travel should become informed about the potential hazards of the countries they are traveling to and learn how to minimize any risk to their health.

Yellow fever is a vaccine-preventable illness caused by the bite of an infected daytime mosquito. Malaria is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium, which is transmitted via the bites of infected mosquitoes (night-flying). Anti-malarial drugs, taken before, during and after travel, are designed to prevent malaria. Traveler's diarrhea is the most common illness you're likely to experience while traveling. But traveler's diarrhea usually isn't serious — it's just unpleasant. Being careful about what you eat and drink can reduce your risk.

If you are planning to visit us in Tanzania, I would suggest that you make an appointment with the Public Health Unit Travel Clinic a couple of months before your trip. The travel clinic provides pre-travel counselling along with immunizations and medications needed to stay healthy while in Africa.

The well water on the Pamoja Base is safe, but as an extra precaution all drinking water is filtered through a Swiss-made ceramic filter system called the Katadyn Drip Ceradyn. We will be bringing one with us. It is a free-standing gravity filter with 3 ceramic filters and a 10 litre water container for large quantities of water. The ceramic filters have a micro porous structure with impregnated silver which delays the growth of bacteria. The pore-size of Katadyn ceramic filters is 0.2 micron. Bacteria range in size from 0.2 to 5 micron and like protozoa (1 -1 5 micron), are efficiently filtered out. NO WORRIES!!

Pamoja Ministries is working together with a Maasai-run organization called MAPED in the areas of Evangelism, Women's Rights, Health, HIV/AIDS Prevention, and Education for the Maasai. MAPED has formed a fabulous choir which is very effective in putting the message deep within the hearts of their people.

Jeremy Feser, Director of Operations for Pamoja Ministries, puts it this way:
"Today, Yona, Maliaki, Kadogo, Elisaba, Naitapwki, Isaac, and a few others, form the first generation of MAPED. There are about 14 people really really involved, and the rest of the Maasai community are involved to varying degrees. Some younger people, like Marco, Alanyuni, and Willy are increasingly involved as well. It's incredible to see."

"The choir sings songs teaching about AIDS (Ukimwi in Swahili). They teach about Salvation. They teach about Women's rights - including FGM (female genital mutilation). They are working on building a school to teach their children. They are building sand filters to provide people with clean water. They are concerned with getting wells into their communities."

AIDS is devastating the Maasai people. Jeremy states, "The Maasai culture has a number of loose rules that allow age groups to sleep around "morally". The problem comes when the young guys go to the cities to work as guards. The Maasai are renowned for their unique dress and lack of fear. They're exceptional night guards. However, while they're in the city, the guys sleep around and get HIV. Then they go home, and like wildfire it sweeps through the community."

"In Women's rights, it's interesting to see what's happening. Female genital mutilation is built right into the fabric of their culture. There are all sorts of lines that are used to explain it, but the rubber meets the road at the point where MAPED now have two girls whose fathers and mothers have agreed not to subject them to circumcision. Everyone understands that it means the girls probably won't ever marry, but they're doing it. It's a huge step, and it'll take a generation to really work. However, it begins the long process of breaking the grip of the past on them. I think we'll see more of those decisions over the years. Each one will be the decision of a mother and a father (and even the daughter will have some input), but the tables are going to turn - it's going to be okay to not do it. Maybe it'll take years, or maybe they'll succeed faster."

"This group of Maasai don't look like "western Christians" because they aren't. Kadogo has two wives. But they have Real, Vibrant, Communal, Powerful relationships with God through Jesus, and they are radically changing their community, undeniably for the better."

"The choir sang recently for the President of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete. He's Muslim. All of their songs - all of them - are about God. They're impacting the nation now, not just their community. They were called to perform at a government event highlighting education in the remote areas of Tanzania."

Pamoja is partnering with MAPED by producing a music CD, a Documentary DVD and a beautiful Photography Book, all featuring their wonderful choir. The funds raised by marketing these products locally and especially in the West, will raise funds to build a school for the Maasai in their own area.