one year down...

So, it’s officially been a year here in Manga. Crazy. There’s so much going through my head as I reflect at this midway point...about how far I’ve come, how much I've learned, but also what I still need to learn and do in order to feel satisfied with my service to the villagers of Manga, and planning for what’s next…

Some Snapfish pictures for your enjoyment of the last action-packed month. Hoping pictures can make up for lack of words...

http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=57541154688490030/l=115331972/g=13602658/cobrandOid=1000001/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

And some additional ones from my friend Kate's album (of Kate and Tait's cookie co.) from the US Embassy 4th of July PC chorus and party:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=ta03g2t.4m6raeq5&x=0&y=-6wp4im

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To explain the pics a bit...
From Dar-Mid-Service Conference & Permaculture Workshop:
*Permactulture gardening work at an orphanage outside of dar-hope to apply to orphanage here in makambako (“coconuts”, “orphanage” & “Patrick”)
*Singing @ Embassy July 4th (“july4chorus” and “embassy”)
*Crane Family Sunday (“cranes")
*The pool (“dreaming” and “darpool”)-a fancy dar pool we paid to use for the afternoon
*My CBT group of crazy girls from PC training-Manzese forever (“cbt1-5”)

Zanzibar-Int’l Film Festival (thanks to CARE for opening night tickets)
*”Fgardens” and “zanziband”-the music, the food of the island
*”Hats”–shopping to make our appearance, muslim style (i was later reprimanded for wearing this typical muslim hat meant for men only--me wearing it means i will never marry. uh oh) & “zshopping”-amanda buying a locally sewn bag by mama's group
*”e&g”-at emerson&green and at their incredible bar, “zbar” (what a view) and “zview,” the view from atop their rooftop bar

PCV of the week/training with new PCTs
*”peace”–this is a new peace corps volunteer's back believe it or not.
welcome to the peace corps–bringing peace hard core.
*”shadowing” & “biking”-shots of the girls who shadowed me in manga. we had fun wearing our helmets during a rough car ride. really rough.
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What a magical island one happens upon after only a 2 hour ferry ride from Dar, the port of peace...a magical place called Zanzibar. My 8 friends and I had a lot of fun with the name over the weekend, making plenty of pirate jokes (what’s a pirate’s favorite island?zanzibarrrrrr) and essentially using the “z” and “bar” in every possible phrase (are you enjoying z-view at z-bar?). Ha ha...okay, so perhaps my humor is getting worse. That’s what happens when you live in the African bush for a year!

My favorite moments were spent relishing in the distinct sounds of Stonetown-the kids running and singing in the alleyways below, the mosque call to worship and the activity in the harbor, as the ferries and ancient dhows crossed, bringing past and present with them. What a rich and unique place...

Favorite times since back in Manga:
*Sitting in the smoky cave known as Rahema’s grandmother's house by her stone and firewood-fueled fire, only to leave the black cavernous space feeling like I’d smoked a whole pack of cigarettes. Although she only speaks Kibena (tribal dialect), we seem to communicate, and get our messages across, spending most of our time just giggling. She’s precious. She told me if she’d been farming like she used to, she would’ve been able to offer me a lot more than the bag full of sunflowers she gave me. It was enough for me...

*Hanging out with my Health club counterpart in his new teacher's house sucking on sugarcane, not speaking, listening to the loud, cackling Radio Free Africa in Swahili...and then laughing later about how if I am to get married, they will have to come and make the first dance one for Tanzania with drumming and the dramatic moves of the Wabena people. Bila shaka, I said (of course).

*On my way home from sitting with this teacher, I was signaled to stop my bike by my favorite babu. After peering into my bike basket and noticing the available space, he insisted on taking me back to his house to pick some of his fresh lemons (which I put on everything here-even enhances eggs. Okay, so maybe I’m hooked...on that, and Tabasco Mild Green Sauce. Can’t live without these two essentials). He’s the only man in the Manga with fruit trees and one of my favorite people in Manga, so I jumped off to walk with him home. He’s the inspiration for the fruit tree planting movement that’s just begun here. At this point, he boast one mother avocado tree along with 15 new seedlings and a gorgeous, aromatic lemon tree. Plus, he just had a well dug so that he could more efficiently water these beauties.

In fact, just today I welcomed a local expert (from an NGO in Njombe) to educate my mama's group and some other male village leaders in order to motivate them for a village planting to increase the amount of fruit trees in our fruitless world. We decided as a group today that our aim is to have this expert return to educate the students along with their parents, and various selected villagers about fruit tree planting, maintenance, as well as budding and grafting techniques (adding the sustainability element kama kawa). That same day each primary school student will ideally receive a seedling (avocado if all goes well) to plant at their home, thus spreading fruit trees all over the entire villager; this, however, is all depending if the grant goes through. Cross your fingers. I will then add a lesson on the nutritional benefits of eating fruit, along with the potential economic gain of selling them in local Makambako market (i.e. if you have one avocado tree and it on average yields 200 fruit and you can sell each one for $1 or 1000 Tsh, that’s already 200,000 Tsh, enough to educate a child at a private secondary school!).

It took me a while to realize why people weren't eating fruit, or eating more balanced diets in general. Why weren't they listening to my health lessons or reading my signs up all over the dispensary and village? Why were they continuing to just eat ugali, with a few beans on the side? Finally, it came to me--an awakening if you will: of course they'd like to eat the fish you explain is full of iron and minerals, or drink milk with its high calcium content, or supplement their diets with papaya, mango or peaches with their high fiber and minerals to keep the immune system strong, but they simply can't afford to. How many times do us development workers/volunteers/outside aid forces think the people we're serving just aren't listening to us when they actually are; it's economic forces and poverty that's restraining them from taking action.

Consequently, I’m finding myself more and more brainstorming income-generating activities since income and health are essentially linked. In order for my friends in Manga to stay healthy, avoid infection of various illnesses and even prevent HIV/AIDS transmission, they must have financial stability. If their incomes were to increase, they'd eat better, live better (with less stress), stay healthier, and not feel pressure as women to engage in sexual activity for money, etc. Although people here may be far from being financially stable, having economic-boosting opportunities (like selling fruit, baskets) is certainly a start and will assist them until the days of greater stability and prosperity arrive. As the swahili proverb goes, "haba na haba hujaza kibaba" or drop by drop, you fill the bucket...

The Kili climb is not happening this year-not enough time to organize with all my village projects. I couldn’t refuse the offer to climb instead this November with my generous Aunt Suzanne and Uncle Thad, although I hope to use it as a research opportunity to investigate if/when/how to lead students and ideally, friends from home, up Kili in 2007 or 2008, if I extend with the Peace Corps. Please forgive me those of you who have been asking and wanted to go this year. I hope you can work with me and be flexible. I'd love to share the experience with you if you're up for coming all this way! Thank you for your interest.

Indeed, I’m thinking of making my service 1 year longer if I can extend my Peace Corps contract with an NGO, preferably one implementing OVC (orphans and vulnerable children) care and support, the subject of my Master’s thesis for SIT. I’m having a really rough time completing-or let’s be honest-even starting components of my thesis, such as the Literary Review, when I hardly have enough time on the internet to respond to my close friends’/family’s emails! I’m hoping a 3rd year may offer not only a stellar learning experience (personally and for my thesis), but also career reflection. Might I want to work for a similar organization after PC? Hmm...Labda. Only God knows. What I do know is that I’ve never felt more purpose that I do here in Tanzania, and I feel like this incredible country may have more to offer than in Manga, although I can't imagine leaving it anytime soon...

Happy birthday shout-outs this month go to my favorite brother King and friends Hil and Buss! Celebrate and think of me when you eat that dark, moist chocolate cake of yours. I'm jealous...and missing you lots.

Upendo na Amani,
Tait

"Do small things with great love" - Mother Theresa