A Busy Week Four!

It has been one crazy week four! I haven’t had time to write about any of it, so this blog has been a slow process. But here it is:

Let’s start at the very beginning… For the past two weeks I have been fighting with a bug called a “jigger.” It’s a disgusting, infinitesimally small black pest that somehow finds a way to burrow into and under your skin. Once there and settled, it lays eggs, which creates a giant egg sack. Jiggers only go for the feet and toes; especially under your nails. I have now cut my nails down to oblivion in order to avoid anymore tucking in behind my toenail. My total plucked out of my feet with a needle and tweezers is eleven. There is still one, as I am typing, burrowed in the left corner of my right big toenail. I attempted last night and the night before to extract it, but came up short of my goal because I didn’t feel like poking myself with a needle anymore. Erica, our trusty mother at camp, will hopefully be successful with the little bugger tonight. Therefore, I am most certainly not sick of Tanzania, but I am completely and utterly sick of jiggers! I have tried to avoid them by wearing closed-toed shoes, socks, as well as scrubbing my feet and toes with a toothbrush and bar of soap every other night or so, but nothing seems to keep them away! They are like a lion on a fresh kill, a snail on a wall, a suction cup on a window, they are simply inevitable.

As for adventures over the past week, for our economic policy class, we were split into groups of five or so, and then ventured out in to the village to conduct focused interviews. We learned about PRAs, which are participatory rural appraisals that are basically an outline to the “how tos” when it comes to interviewing people living in a rural areas. We attempted to use the methods of observations within our interviews, but it was difficult to seem “undercover” for the most part and just observe. Our questions regarded local resources and their issues. Our main goal was to identify the top five issues in Rhotia and create a venn diagram from that. This project was much harder than I thought it would be. I know we are a scene when we walk out into the town. People shout “mzungu” (white person)and point at us; sometimes it seems positive, sometimes not. Everyone notices us of course and wants to know why we are here and what we are doing. We always respond with, “Sisi wanafunzi” (we are students), but that doesn’t seem to change any looks or comments or responses. The gist is, is we are white people, we are very noticeable, and most think we are here to give them something. Whether that is money, a pen, or clothes, something of want is always on their mind. It has been difficult carrying this heavy stereotype around because it creates this wall within all social situations. I feel that a lot of our “karibus” (welcomes) are sincere in Rhotia; my feelings make a one-eighty when we are in Mtu Wam Bu or Karatu because we are immediately bombarded by venders as soon as we step out of the cruisers. Most of the venders are teenage guys; however, there are some children who participate in selling necklaces and bracelets and such. I’ll come back to vender stuff later.

In regard to our interviews in Rhotia, they were definitely a challenge due to the hesitancy of the people. It was hard to find people who wanted to talk with us and who would be open and honest. We talked to a nice array of people; a father of six, a mother of eight, two teenage girls, a group of old men, and then a very successful farmer. Those conversations were not too awkward because everyone we talked to liked sharing their opinion on the questions we asked them. However, like I said before, we are only students and we are here to study and because of this, asking them questions about their lives and their resources and telling them how their answers are going to be reported makes me feel guilty for asking them any questions, because we have no way of making a huge difference within their community, at least, not now. With respect to our interviewees responses, the most popular issue stated was education and its lack there of. Most children are sent to primary school, which is basically the elementary level. If the pass out, they can go to secondary school, which is more expensive, or they simply stop going to school and start working within their families because they cannot afford it. Young boys will most likely work with the livestock (if the family has any) and the young girls will help their mamas clean their home, do laundry, and cook. Education here is simply too expensive and does not provide enough quality teaching to help children pass out of primary school. Students only get one chance to pass and if they do not succeed, all opportunity is lost. In other places such as Karatu, there are private secondary schools, and some children have the chance to go if their parents are wealthy enough, but that is quite a rarity.

Second most talked about resource was safe drinking water. There is only one spot in Rhotia to get water from and its filtration system is non-existent. The water is piped up from Mtu Wam Bu and its amount is limited. Water here is very scarce, and its scarcity affects many other aspects in Rhotia: agriculture, livestock, travel, capital. Crops are a primary source of business in Rhotia. Most men are farmers and have a small patch of land where they grow mostly beans and maize, there is not enough water to grow rice. Some men are lucky enough to sell their crops along the main road, others simply use their land to support their large families. Livestock numbers have been slowly decreasing, because there is not enough water to give them. The people here are very dependent on rain for themselves, livestock, and their agriculture, and unfortunately, it has not rained in several months. Hopefully rain season will come in the next couple months when it is supposed too. Here at camp, we have a decent filtration system built, the water tastes okay. You can always find a good few chunks or two of orange stuff, but it’s all sterile. Other things mentioned were capital (of course), famine, drought resistant seeds, firewood, employment, etc.

Unfortunately, there is no dependence on their government for any aid whatsoever. The people in Rhotia are very free. There is not much regulation of rights and most people live how they want too and all of the “laws” are established through the community and not the government. They don’t rely on the government at all. They made sure to mention that to us; that they just wait for their government to respond to their requests, but it will never happen, so they just act themselves and do what they can with what they have. There were a few loan organizations mentioned to us during our interviews, but none of the people we talked to participated in them. There is a membership fee for most organizations and the people would rather not have to pay back any loans because, according to a mama, “that’s a waste of energy that could be placed elsewhere.” There main source of community development is found within their church. It is very welcoming to all and provide Rhotia with some aid and community projects. Did you know that church on Sundays can sometimes last for six hours? We had to write a paper on our findings and such and my conclusion was this: The people in Rhotia mentioned many local resource problems; however, all of these fall under a lack of opportunity. There is no chance for opportunity here and that keeps moving forward at a stand still. I believe all these people need is a tangible change in their community. A change that truly makes an impacting difference. For example, maybe a new water filtration system that acquires enough clean water for the entire village. Or a new transport system that allows students to attend private schools, or maybe cheaper education, or even free educational opportunities about proper farming techniques. Microfinance availability would make a big difference, because maybe having access to some financial benefits would increase the will and hope of the people.

There are so many complex issues in Rhotia and fixing all of them at once is unobtainable; however, if there
was just one change, one light of hope that set sparks off in the hearts of the villagers, perhaps that would be enough to create a domino effect of even better things. A change is not going to originate in Rhotia, it most definitely needs to be from an outside source. The question is who is going to participate, what are they going to integrate, and how is it going to be accomplished?

Monday, September 27, 2010, we all had a homestay in Rhotia. It was only from early morning to before dinner time, and was quite an experience. Most groups were is pairs. I was with one other girl, Chris, and our homestay was not too far from camp, we actually walked back to camp when it was over. We arrived there in the morning and were welcomed by a very happy, smiling, and teddy-bear like mama. She understood and spoke zero English, so the day started out tough. We first swept the dirt from around the house, and then helped her two daughters clean their house which was located on the same plot of land, about 20m or so down from mama’s house. We cleaned out the livestock’s “cage” with a broom and a basket and then used some of the dung to fill the holes in the cage, yes, I sure did use my hands to spread and press down the dung into the holes…Yummy. Don’t worry mother dear, I washed my hands afterward (kind of). I also learned how to do laundry. I had attempted at camp before, but after my lesson with my mama, I think I will be able to do a much better job. I got to carry a bucket of water on my head. The daughter and I walked about 30m to the water hole and filled up our buckets, put them on our heads, and walked back. The bucket was so heavy, it was not an easy task, and I now know for sure that African women have the strongest necks in the world.

After our work was completed, we learned how to cook. We made chapati (it’s like Africa’s pita bread) and tastes wonderful with rice, cabbage, onions, and tomatoes (way to much oil was added, but I guess that is a source of calories!). Our mama invited some neighbors, a mother and her daughter, over for “luner” (we ate around 3pm), our mama and her guests ate out of one large bowl and Chris and I each got out own. It was the largest bowl of rice I had ever seen and there was no way I could put all of that in my stomach. I ate as much as I could, trying not to be rude, and then had to stop shoveling rice into my mouth. This homestay happened a week or so ago, and I am still full from rice. My mama asked me to go feed the cows and goats with the scraps from our lunch. Do you know that cows have surprisingly long tongues? I stuck my free hand out and they all wrapped their tongues around me. It was sincerely a nice feeling, gross, but I could do it again. Tanzanians also drink tons and tons of tea. We had three tea breaks throughout the day; and when I say tea, I mean milk, water, spices, and tons and tons of sugar. A lot of our staff are seriously nocturnal, they never go to bed! I think it may be due to the excess amount of sugar they put in their already caffeinated tea! Anyway, the homestay was quite the experience. Not being able to speak or understand word that is being said was tough, but somehow we managed to walk away with a newly found relationship. We will most definitely be heading back before we leave for Kenya to say hello and hopefully help her make some more rice.

I wanted to mention that polygamy is largely practiced here and that a couple of the other homestays had husbands who had several wives. It is just there culture, but that is something I will never understand. A lot of people, however, are very true to their wives and families. I know this mainly because of the staff that works here and the stories they have told me. Most of them are married and believe in having only one wife to respect and love. There are many different concepts of marriage and relationships and roles and rights here in Tanzania. The interesting thing is that it is all very much accepted. Perhaps not by personal views, but by the country as whole. The right to freedom and the right to freedom within a specific culture is very much acknowledged by the people here and no one questions “why” certain people live any particular ways.

We had a traveling lecture on Tuesday morning. We stopped at three main (kind of random though) sites and received lectures on each. The first was just at the top of a hill overlooking Tanzania. We talked about the vegetation growth at a higher altitude as compared to below us, as well as the moisture level, land-use efficiency, farming systems, biodiversity, grazing factors, etc. We covered a lot of material and it was nice to do it all outside instead of in the classroom. We also stopped on the side of a main road and discussed the positives and negatives of road building, how it affects the wildlife, the natives, the vegetation, etc. Our last stop was at a curio shop. The main point behind that lecture was tourism and its advantages, disadvantages, how complex of an industry it is, and how can Tanzania and all other tourism based countries find a balance within the realms of cultural tourism and sustainability/conservation of the environment/wildlife/culture/etc.
Tuesday evening we got to go to Happy Days Pub for one of our classmate’s birthdays. We all got to order American food like pizzas and burgers and grilled cheese. I had a pizza and it was utterly delicious. I miss good cheese! We also got to try some more African beers and African gin. It was a lot of fun and a nice getaway from camp.

Wednesday we had a day off. We got to go to Mtu Wma Bu to venture around for a bit. I have now become a very successful barterer and am proud to say that I got away with spending very little money, but still managed to get some really cool gifts! I cannot mention what they are because that will just ruin the surprise. The town was fun, we steered clear from the open streets where you get attacked by venders. We were able to walk around the small shops and just talk with the people. It was an afternoon well spent. As soon as we got back to camp, we remembered that a goat roast had been planned. It was rough seeing two live goats running around our camp, knowing what was going to happen next. It was an option, of course, to watch the entire process, but I figured, I’m an omnivore and I should watch. So me, along with many others, watched two goats get killed, hung on a tree, skinned, and roasted. Some of my classmates participated in the skinning and roasting, but I had had enough. It was a very hard process to watch, but it’s reality and I think it is important to recognize the history of the packaged meat you pick up from Albertson’s. I tried the goat and am pleased to say I am not a goat fan. I think I will stick to my philosophy of enjoying a great burger and a nice cut of steak every once and a while.

On to the best part of this week….our third safari!! We woke up at the crack of dawn on Friday morning and headed to Ngorongoro Crater. The crater has been around for a couple million years and is 610m deep, with a floor of about 100 square miles, and maintains an arid ecosystem full of thousands of species. There is barely any cover found within the crater, so very few browsers (giraffes, elephants, dik diks) exist within the crater. It was amazing to just drive into the crater; we climbed up the outside of it and then once we reached the top, we got to take a windy road into the crater. It is seriously amazing how isolated the crater is from the outside world. It’s actually one of the world’s wonders competing to be in the top seven. We trekked around the land for the day. One of the first animals we came across was a hyena carrying a wildebeest leg in its mouth. We also saw tons of lions, probably around 15 or so. We saw two very pregnant females attempting to hunt, four male lions (all of which were asleep), a couple cubs, and then a bunch of sporadic lions around the area. Every safari is just incredible. As we are driving around, standing up through the roof of our land cruiser, I continually ask myself, “is this really happening?”, “am I really in Africa?” My mind is blown every time we come across an animal. I feel so blessed and so happy to be here. We leave for Serengeti in a week and will be there for four days, doing morning drive and night drives. I’m sure I will let you know all about it.

I apologize for the length, it was just a busy busy week. I hope you all have been enjoying the beginning of October! I wish you the best of every moment.

Salama,

-Katie