Mambo! Week One in Tanzania

I'm writing this post on the porch of our dormitory at the Mwangaza Center, our home base for our month in Arusha, Tanzania. Mwangaza is a grassroots organization based in the Evangelical Lutheran Church that is focused on improving education and health care in the area. Our host, Daudi described the center as a family, and the way that our group has been welcomed whole-heartedly into Mwangaza proves that he was right. It feels like we've been here much longer than just a week.

And what a place to settle in! Our neighborhood is away from the bustle of the main city, but full of life. Next door to our dorm is the chapel for the boy's school across the street and we can hear the music drifting into our rooms every morning and providing a soundtrack for our class in the evenings. Up the hill from Mwanganza is a track and athletic field where I have been running several times this week. You can see Mt. Meru (the second tallest mountain in Tanzania) from the track, which makes a pretty fantastic backdrop for a workout! Running here is extra fun because other runners will keep pace with me for awhile to chat and offer some words of encouragement before we separate again.

We officially started school on Monday with our first public health lecture, but before that we spent two days learning some survival Swahili. We learned common greetings, the names of animals, and a few phrases to help us barter in the markets. Now when I see kids on my way to and from class, I'm able to respond "Poa" to their excited "Mambo!" Even knowing simple greetings makes me feel so much more comfortable as a guest in this community. I believe that as a traveler and guest, it is important to at least try to speak the local language of the places I travel to, so those small moments of connection I can have with people passing by are powerful.

Above: Our classroom and a group photo from the first day of classes!

On Saturday I was able to cross an item off my bucket list: go on a safari! We drove three hours out of Arusha to the Ngorogoro Crater where we spent the day driving in small groups and experiencing the wildlife. My group's driver, Bryceson (aka Bry Bry), was an excellent guide, and pointed out a rhino that, to us, looked just like a blob in the distance. Rhinos are the rarest animal to see on safari, so we got lucky! The "big 5" animals are the elephant, lion, water buffalo, rhino, and leopard, and our group succeeded in spotting four out of the five! Only the leopard eluded us. My favorite animals to see were the gazelles, of which we saw big herds grazing in the center of the crater. It was a thing of beauty to see them run, especially without the confines of a fence anywhere in sight.

Scroll through the slideshow to see some photos from the safari! The first is me and Noah in our Safari car.

The next day we put our Swahili and bartering skills to the test with a trip to the Masai market in Arusha. The market itself was constructed of narrow alleys lined with stalls that burst with colorful crafts. I learned that having a partner was helpful when bartering because if you weren't interested in buying something, your partner could assist in moving on despite the efforts of a persistent shopkeeper. I was able to find some beautiful handmade earrings and other gifts to bring home, and I think I did decently well with bartering! I actually found the process pretty fun, even if I may have walked away from a few interactions having overpaid. At one stall I bought some jewelry from a woman who chatted me for awhile and even introduced me to her son. Commercial interactions here are so much more relational than at home. You chat a little, debate the price a little, and then chat some more before moving on. The fact that people often wanted to continue talking after they had made the sale shows the genuine nature of these interactions. Yes, you are playing the roles of buyer and seller, but the desire to engage in conversation is never feels like it is solely for the purpose of making a sale.

Today instead of our regular class schedule (public health in the morning and comparative education at night), we drove out for our first school visit after eating breakfast. My group visited Peace House Secondary School, a private co-ed school about 45 minutes away. Nosim, one of the Mwangaza staff members, joined us because Peace House is her alma mater! We took a tour of the school and then sat in on the end of a geography class. When the class ended we had the opportunity to talk with the students about their experiences in education.

The view of Mt. Meru behind the Peace House campus

I spoke with a group of girls in the A-level class, all of whom were 18 and 19. I was initially a little nervous about this informal interview, but they were all very friendly and open to talking with me, so I quickly felt at ease. We talked about the challenges they notice in their school - lack of books and up to date curriculum - as well as their favorite subjects and goals. Four out of the six girls I met wanted to go on to university to become lawyers, the other two had dreams of becoming neurosurgeons. Of the future law students, several talked about wanting to support the rights of women and protect women who have been victims of domestic violence. They cared deeply about justice being carried out ethically and without corruption, and all six seemed to be very dedicated to their studies. I have no doubts that these girls are going to make big waves (both in the courtroom and the surgical theater)!

We also got the opportunity to speak to a few teachers who echoed their students' wishes for more school resources. This conversation was, again, hopeful. The teachers saw themselves as members of a respected profession despite mediocre pay and spoke about how they seek to be role models for their students as members of the community. Despite the differences between the state of education here and in the United States, the students and faculty at Peace House did not seem to doubt their ability to succeed. After this visit and our discussions in ed class, it seems that the problems facing education in Tanzania and at home are actually quite similar, just in varying degrees of severity. It all seems to come down to a lack of funding, shortage of qualified teachers, and large class sizes. The goals are the same too: providing quality education for every child. I am eager to continue analyzing and comparing the various education systems we will encounter throughout the semester. More than anything, all of this is making me appreciate how fortunate myself and my peers are to have the educational background that we do. Any child anywhere has the capacity to learn, but there are not nearly as many obstacles between us and our diplomas.

Our group in front of Peace House! Front: Seda, Mei Yi, Laura, me, Silas, Clara, Solveig. Back: Sam, Noah, Johnny G., Brennan

As I sit here writing this, I feel like it is important to mention just how gorgeous this place is. Everything is so lush and green, and I could not imagine a better place to spend a month of my life. Needless to say, Tanzania is off to a great start.

Thanks for reading! GMH