Sunday, September 29, 2013

Homestay Songs

Here are two recordings we made of our host family singing before going to bed. This post uses HTML 5 which may not work for everyone, so I included a few download links as well. Please post a comment or e-mail me if you are having issues.

When the storms of life are raging (download):


How great thou art (download):

Friday, September 27, 2013

Fish out of Water

As funny as it may sound, before I came to Tanzania I would not have been able to put into words what defines American culture (I could, however, describe to you a bacterial culture).  I guess I never gave my own culture much thought.  I grew up in it, I lived in it, and I knew what was expected of me and how to behave.  Now I find myself in Tanzania-and making mistakes, like not bowing to let the little children touch my head when they greet me.  According to the experts from our Peace Corps training, being aware of your own culture and being aware of your own limitations are the top two qualities necessary for living and working in another culture.  Seeing and experiencing a different culture has made me more aware of my American culture as I learn about my new culture.

One of the striking differences between American and Tanzanian culture is independence/community.  Americans are very independent.  We like to figure out solutions to problems on our own with minimal intervention from others.  Here in Tanzania, however, you rely on your community much more heavily.  For example, today Jason and I took a long walk into the village situated along the main highway.  This village has more shops than the little village located just outside of the University grounds.  We were looking to buy some mahindi ya bisi (popcorn!) as well as some siage ya karanga (peanut butter!).  While searching we ran into a worker at the University who has been helping us with repairs around our apartment.  Our American mindset would be to fix our broken cooker ourselves, but here in Tanzania we are learning there is a great need for community support.  We never would have found a proper electrician without the aid of our friend.  Today while talking we mentioned we would like some little stools made.  Our friend immediately offered to talk to the carpenter who he uses and get the stools made for us.  My American reaction is to not have our friend handle the making of the stools for us, as I would like to have a say in how our stools are made.  We see the world through our culture-colored lenses and I am learning to adjust mine.

Another difference between American and Tanzanian culture is in the way each culture handles greetings and goodbyes.  In America, we are casual with greeting each other (Hey!  What's up?) and we spend time saying goodbye to each other and wrapping up conversations.  In Tanzania, greetings are elaborate.  We are asked "Habari za leo?" (what is the news of the day?), "Habari za nyumbani?" (what is the news of home), Habari za sokoni? (how was the market?).  Because we are teachers, school children will often say "Shikamoo" to us, which is a greeting of respect meaning literally "I hold your feet."  While greeting each other, you often shake hands and continue to hold hands for what feels like a very long time to this American.  While we are on the topic of holding hands, it is perfectly normal to see two males or two females walking and talking and holding hands, but a male and a female should not hold hands in public (scandalous!).  Tanzanian goodbyes are brief.  In fact, if you are having a phone conversation, there may be no goodbye.  Tanzanians just hang up when they feel like the conversation has come to an end.  Jason and I have not mastered how to discern when the end is yet.

As Americans, we value privacy.  We enjoy alone time, especially when sick.  If you come to Tanzania, you may feel like Tanzanians are nosy, but their inquisitiveness is actually a part of their culture and how they build relationships.  For example, when meeting someone for the first time, you may be asked if you are married, if you have children, and what your religion is.  In America, these are not the usual questions you ask after asking a person's name.  Another example is when Americans are sick, they like to be alone and rest. Tanzanians want to be constantly checked on to make sure they are alright.

Lastly, I would like to share with you how Tanzanians view Americans.  Some of these attributes may come as a shock, while others may make you proud.  I know that listening to Tanzanians describe Americans was enlightening to me, so I hope you find the following list interesting and challenging:


  1. Not tolerant
  2. Punctual
  3. Hard-working
  4. Direct
  5. Frown upon corporal punishment
  6. Anxious to know what we do not know
  7. Risk takers
  8. Self-centered
  9. Like space and privacy
  10. Appreciate nature
  11. Gender sensitive
  12. Like animals
  13. Like to cry/emotional
  14. Concerned about human rights and democracy

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

A Place to Call Home

Site Announcement.  Those two words create a spark of excitement that spreads like a wildfire among Peace Corps trainees.  Every trainee waits for this day-the day they find out where they will be spending the next two years of their lives living and working alongside Tanzanians.  The Peace Corps makes site announcement very dramatic.  The staff bring out a map with each trainee's picture covered by a post-it note and linked to a region by a string.  Each person is revealed one at a time.  People bounded up to the board, excited to hear more details about their site.  My name (and thus Jason's too) was called as a picture was revealed linked to the region of Mbeya!  Mbeya is a region located in the southwestern corner of Tanzania.  We were told that Mbeya is a lush, mountainous region full of tea plantations and banana trees.  Sign us up!  After learning about our region we were informed that we would be living near the city of Mbeya and teaching at the Mbeya University of Science and Technology (MUST)!  Jason was assigned to teach ICT subjects (Information and Communication Technology) and I was assigned to teach Biology.

Three days later we found ourselves on a bus headed from Korogwe to Mbeya via Iringa.  A word about transportation in Tanzania.  The roads, while mostly paved, are rough.  The bus does not stop very often, which means you should not drink water while traveling. If you do, you might have to "chimba dawa" (literally meaning "to take medicine") which entails stopping the bus to squat on the side of the road.  When the bus does make official stops, you are bombarded by vendors selling soda, fruits, and other snacks.  If you did not buy any from the vendors who push their wares through your window don't worry, your neighbors on the bus will notice and share food with you.  There is no air conditioning operating on the bus, which made for a warm ride.  Buses do not often arrive on time.  We found ourselves waiting at the bus stand for two hours wondering if the bus was still coming.  All these things make traveling in Tanzania an adventure.  If you approach bus travel in Tanzania with the mindset that life is about the journey, and not the destination, you will be just fine.  That, and bring your iPod.  You are going to need it.

Once in Mbeya we spent some time with current volunteers.  They spoiled us.  They made us homemade pizza for dinner the night we arrived and homemade cinnamon rolls the next morning.  Then it was off to our site!  After a short dala dala (mini-bus) ride, we hailed a taxi to travel the last stretch of dirt road and arrived at the doors to the university.  We then waited quite some time to see the acting deputy head of the school.  In fact, much of our time at site visit was spent waiting-karibu (welcome to) Tanzania!  We toured the university during our stay, Jason met some of his fellow teachers in the ICT department, and we learned what we will be teaching!  Jason will teach Electrical Fundamentals and Introduction to Software Engineering and I will teach Applied Biology I and II (basically Microbiology and Molecular Biology/Genetics) in the Laboratory Sciences department.  We are very excited to begin working with our fellow teachers at MUST.

After spending three days at our site we returned to Korogwe for some final training and our final exams (which we both passed :) ).  On September 12th we officially swore in as Peace Corps Volunteers.  Swearing-in was quite the event as it was held at the US ambassador's residence in Dar es Salaam.  Speeches were given, all of us new volunteers sang a song, and there was food-very fancy food.  The Tanzanian media was present, so we were on the news!  We spent most of the 13th (14 hours!) on a bus from Dar es Salaam to Mbeya.  Praise the Lord that we were on the nicest bus we have ever traveled in while in Tanzania, it was only four seats wide instead of the usual five.  We have been living in our apartment for a few days now.  The place needs cleaning, but once we tidy up it will be very nice!  We have electricity (it seems to go out every night-it's funny as we live right next to the girl's dormitory and they all scream when the lights go out), running water three times per day (morning, noon, and evening), two balconies, a big living room/dining room, kitchen with attached pantry, two bedrooms, a shower room, and a western style toilet (oh yeah!).  Pictures will be forth coming once we settle in.  Right now we are busy cleaning and trying to figure out where we can buy all the things we need (like flour...unga wa ngano uko wapi?)  After next week Jason and I will begin to prepare our lessons for the start of school on the 28th of October.  Sorry for the long absence from our blog...we have been busy!

Kwa heri!
Heather and Jason

PS-If you would like our address, leave us a comment or send us a note via email.  Or Facebook me :)  Or, if you know my mom, ask my mom.
The main tent under which speeches were given-go America!

Jason and Me all dressed up for the occasion-I had the dress made in Korogwe!

Our Community Based Training (CBT) group-we will miss everyone!