Once again, I'm absurdly late on getting this post written. So much for punctuality. If I get my other posts and emails written this weekend, I'll write the one for next week so that it arrives on time. I'm not holding my breath on that one yet.
Anyway, I certainly face my share of challenges over here, and I've developed a lot of different coping mechanisms for them. It really helps to have several different strategies for different situations.
1. Reading. I do this a lot. I'm going to try to do a final count, but I think I made it through 40 books in the last 18 months. And I also read The Economist and some Google News on my phone (I can't get the mobile version of The Onion to work any longer, but that was a favorite for a while). It's just a good way to calm myself or pass the time.
2. Cooking and baking. Actually, I haven't cooked in over two weeks, and I feel like it has taken its toll a bit. Not only can I control what goes into my food (on the road, many of the selections are deep fried), but there's a certain satisfaction out of cooking a delicious meal. Still, I will be excited to use a proper oven when I get back to the states.
3. Email. Yep, I figured I'd cut back on email when I came over here. I've discovered, however, that I can accomplish so much more when I have it. It really helps in bringing people together and getting stuff done. it has definitely sold me on the benefits on Rural Internet Kiosk projects. One of the greatest benefits of emails over mobile phones is that usage fees tend to be much lower.
4. Hills and mountains. It's odd, since I've lived in fairly flat areas all my life, but I find so much comfort these days having hills and mountains surrounding me. I don't even hike all that often, but I can spend ages lost staring into their contours and shadows. And on a more technical note, I also lament the environmental degradation of them in many cases (deforestation is especially easy to observe on hillsides).
5. Host country nationals. What a ridiculous term, but I can't think of a better way to say it (I feel like "Locals" doesn't have the connotation I'm looking for). Anyway, I've met a lot of really incredible people over here, and they have certainly made this whole experience worthwhile. I've met so many incredible people here who I already miss and yearn to visit again.
6. Blogging. I usually couldn't be troubled to write down what was going on in my life back in the states. I even struggled in classes where we had to keep some kind of log or journal (such as lab classes) because I just never kept it up. I would say that this blog is evidence that that has changed. Big time.
7. Biking. So I've been nearly run over a few times pretty much every instance that I've ridden my bike to town, but that's part of the fun, right? Either way, there's a feeling of freedom as the wind rushes past my face and I weave in and out of traffic.
8. Rain. Sure the mud is a hassle sometimes, but I will always love the rain. There have been so many wonderful storms, and now that I have an appreciation for living life waiting for the rains, I have developed a profound respect for the clouds. Also, extra points when the rain comes with thunder and lightning.
9. Expatriates. There are so many people over here who have such interesting lives and stories to tell. I've met people from dozens of countries over here and heard all kinds of remarkable tales. Also, it's nice to meet people who have some sense of the kind of life that I'm living. (NB: I consider medium to long-term residents expats; short-term people are tourists in my book, and as the last post probably indicates, they do not typically help with coping.)
10. Throwing the frisbee. This was one of my favorite things to do in the states and it remains one of my favorite things to do here. I don't have as many friends to play catch with over here, but every time I pick up that disk, I feel just about all of my problems melt away.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
The difficulty of tourists...
Yesterday morning was supposed to be my first halfway decent night of sleep in about a week. So I was a bit groggy when the clerk at the hotel knocked on my door at 7 AM. He told me that someone was here for me. Seeing as only one person here knows that I'm in town, the clerk ruled him out as my visitor when the clerk told me that it was a girl. I was too groggy to explain that it must be a mistake.
I made my way toward the desk and saw a white girl in the parking lot. I was pretty sure I knew where this was going. I'm the only white person at the hotel, so when they couldn't understand what she was saying, they just assumed that she was looking for me.
The girl was explaining to the clerk that he had found the wrong person. But the clerk didn't actually speak English. So she tried to help him by speaking more slowly, raising her voice and waving her arms like a crazy person. You might find this hard to believe, but it didn't help the clerk to understand them.
I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and started translating. Apparently, the girl and her husband had asked the clerk on duty the previous night about buses to a place called Chitemba and he told them that his brother was a driver and now this morning, they couldn't find their bus. They were trying to find the night clerk, but he was already gone. Not much any of us could do to help them.
I knew that I couldn't do much about their rudeness, but the simple fact of the matter is that most of the time when I meet Tanzanians, they associate me with people like those tourists. I just wish tourists didn't cultivate such a negative impression foreigners.
I made my way toward the desk and saw a white girl in the parking lot. I was pretty sure I knew where this was going. I'm the only white person at the hotel, so when they couldn't understand what she was saying, they just assumed that she was looking for me.
The girl was explaining to the clerk that he had found the wrong person. But the clerk didn't actually speak English. So she tried to help him by speaking more slowly, raising her voice and waving her arms like a crazy person. You might find this hard to believe, but it didn't help the clerk to understand them.
I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and started translating. Apparently, the girl and her husband had asked the clerk on duty the previous night about buses to a place called Chitemba and he told them that his brother was a driver and now this morning, they couldn't find their bus. They were trying to find the night clerk, but he was already gone. Not much any of us could do to help them.
I knew that I couldn't do much about their rudeness, but the simple fact of the matter is that most of the time when I meet Tanzanians, they associate me with people like those tourists. I just wish tourists didn't cultivate such a negative impression foreigners.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Hectic doesn't begin to describe my week
Jodie set off for Nairobi on Monday morning. Fortunately, in case anyone worries about my productivity going down when the boss is gone, I think I can assuage those fears.
Monday was a Tanzanian holiday. I had planned to open the office and get some work done (I had been in there for a couple of hours on Sunday too), but when I woke up, I was feeling pretty lightheaded. I actually took it easy so that I would be up for everything on my to-do list this week. I still wasn't feeling up to doing much, but unfortunately, work beckoned. My colleagues Reuben and Philemon were hitting the road the following day and they needed me to help them with putting together some materials for their trip. Reuben and I drove to the office to grab some things and do a bunch of printing. Moving around was doing some good for me, but I still was going pretty slowly. I was on my way back to the house, but as we were driving the truck up the hill, there was a wide safari vehicle driving down the hill. The road is pretty narrow, so I had to slow down. Unfortunately, that causes the truck to stall out when it's on the hill. I had to let it roll back down to the bottom to start on a flat surface. Right at that moment, Philemon called me to say that he needed to get his wife to the hospital. I tried to start the car again, but no luck. Philemon called me two more times and I kept trying to get the car working. Finally, he ran down the hill to get it running and then he went off to the hospital. I made it home and just watched a movie at the neighbor's house. I felt a lot better, so I went over to Philemon's to make sure that his wife was all right. He told me "amepata bebi." She had a baby. I congratulated him on being a father. He seemed pretty thrilled about his new daughter. He already has a 4 year old son.
On Tuesday, Reuben and Philemon delayed their trip so that Philemon could make sure everything was all right with his wife and daughter. Still, he told me that he would be on the road the next day. I knew how excited he was about the trip. I started figuring out the schedule and logistics for the trip and made some phone calls to iron out the details. Then in the afternoon, I had to fight with Skype a bit to talk to some of the GCS team in the States, and then a micro-finance guy in Vancouver who is doing research on appropriate technology. Before long, I realized that it was almost 7, and I was staying behind at the office that night for an IDDS meeting (regular time is 6:30 PM EDT, but that's 1:30 AM in Tanzania).
I didn't have any food or any money, so I had to run to the affluent part of town to find a store that takes credit cards. Fortunately, I had the bike, but I couldn't find a helmet. I never realized that the path towards that supermarket is on a long, very subtle slope. All of a sudden, I was going much too fast (the brakes aren't great on the bike) and there was a speed bump in front of me that I couldn't see until I was right on top of it (they have street lights along the road, but for some mysterious reason, they seem to be there as decorations, rather than to turn on the lights and illuminate the road). I dragged my feet on the ground a bit to slow down and keep balance. I managed to stay on the bike, but my heart was definitely racing after that. I vowed to find a helmet whatever it took (my current one was borrowed by Philemon's son, and I'm not sure I'm pretty sure he has hidden his "new hat"). I found food and made my way back to the office. I had my skype meeting at 1:30, but I mustered less than 2 hours of sleep before the meeting (Reuben called me at 10:45 because he thought he might have left something at the office before the trip), so I was pretty tired and not very vocal, so at 3:30 I decided to get some sleep. Unfortunately, sleep took a little while to come that night.
The next morning (Wednesday), I was woken up at 7 as Philemon grabbed some more things from the office for their trip. I couldn't really get back to sleep after that, so I was worried that I would be working slowly during the day. In fact, I found myself really focused as I was developing our sales strategy for the south (we only found out the schedule on Friday of last week, and I had to delay a bit as I wrapped up some loose ends with some work in Arusha). Also, since I was the only other person in the office, I was putting extra effort into making sure that Glady (our secretary) had enough work to keep her busy during the day. Philemon called me from the road to say that his meetings were going well, and asked me to buy some springs in town and take them to our manufacturer. He didn't actually tell me what kind of springs, and it took me a while to find out where and what type I needed to find. By that time, we were trying to have a skype meeting about sales, but with attempts to coordinate people in Boston, Belgium, Kenya and Tanzania, we spent a lot of time only to learn that we couldn't get the connection to work. I decided to leave the springs for the next day, since it was already the end of the day. I hurried home and started packing up the house.
Our lease ends in mid May, and since Jodie and I are both on the road until then, we decided that it made sense to shift our things into Reuben's house since we probably wouldn't be extending the lease. I had planned to get a chunk of this done on Monday, but I needed to rest that day, which meant I was facing quite an uphill task. The pickup truck had broken down in town (not my doing), so all the moving had to be done on foot, and since the only neighbor around was Philemon's wife who had just given birth, I was pretty much on my own. Fortunately, the houses are only about a quarter mile apart and it's a gentle downhill slope towards Reuben's. Unfortunately, it was starting to rain, and I didn't want to get our wood furniture soaked as I carried it. I love the rain, but this was not great timing. I managed two runs and settled in to write some work emails while waiting for the rain to let up. It never did, so I finally crashed at midnight with an alarm set for 5 AM.
When I woke up, it was only drizzling, but the mud was definitely a force to be reckoned with. I managed 4 trips before 7:00, but the rain was picking up, so I decided I'd earned a 30 minute nap. It was really hard to get back up, but I still had a bunch more to do. I had to make another 4 trips before I had enough of the stuff out of the house to call it done. I left the neighbor with a list of what needed to be packed up and driven over once the truck was working again (fridge, gas cylinder, etc). By that time, it was 11, so in spite of feeling pretty sore, I hurried to work. I made sure that Glady had enough work to keep her busy, and grabbed the bike (with a helmet) and headed into town. I didn't know where every place that I needed to visit was, but I was having pretty good luck finding things as I went through town, and managed to avoid lines in general. Unfortunately, I got to the manufacturing facilities just after they'd gone to lunch. I waited for an hour for them to reopen so I could deliver the springs and pick up one of our frames that they had just finished a slight redesign of (the springs were for our first bulk order of those frames). The technician told me to come back at 4 to pick up the frame. I biked back to the office and grabbed a quick lunch and checked in with Glady and got a quick lunch in before biking back to the manufacturer again (it's probably about 3 or 4 miles each way). When I got there, the manufacturer showed me that the paint was still wet and suggested that I come back at 6. I didn't really have a whole lot of choice, since I needed to bring it on my trip and my bus was leaving at 6 AM the next morning. I biked back to the office and took care of salaries for all the workers. That also required a trip further out of town to take care of two of our day laborers. Then I had enough time to catch my breath before heading back to the manufacturer and picking up the frame. The paint was still a little wet (and my hands turned a nice rich blue), but I headed back to the office with my prize.
I was feeling pretty exhausted, but I knew that I still had some tasks to take care of before I could leave. I did some printing, fixed up some documents and then, I settled in to square up the books. I managed to get all of the accounting squared away, right in time for another IDDS meeting (we're really ramping up at this point). Fortunately, I had transcended exhaustion at this point, and I was feeling pretty active in the meeting. My mic wasn't working, but mercifully, the committee was patient with me, and I gave my input through typing instead. I was definitely happy with the amount that got done at the meeting, and my hearts went out to the sub-committee that stayed atter to meet until past midnight (their time). When 4:30 rolled around, I packed up and headed to the bus station. There was no public transport at that hour, so I knew I would need to walk, just in case. Mercifully, some security guards picked me up in their truck just as I approached the most dangerous part of town (still before sunrise) and brought me to the station. The bus showed up after about 20 minutes, and I threw my bag underneath and climbed on board. I was asleep before it took off (I hadn't slept since my 30 minute nap nearly 23 hours before).
After a bit over 3 hours, I woke up. The bus ride was fairly uneventful. I alternated between reading The Economist on my phone and taking naps. Unfortunately, my battery is pretty weak, so the battery died before the ride finished, and I felt a bit disconnected. I tried to stay hydrated on the ride, but managed to spill 2 of the 3 (extortionately priced) drinks that I bought on the trip. The middle third of the ride was near the coast, and the humidity was pretty miserable. Fortunately, after a mere 19 1/2 hours, the bus rolled in to its final destination in Mbeya. Unfortunately, the comfortable hotel near the bus stop was full, so I had to go to its neighbor, which is both less pleasant and more expensive. I crashed, but found myself with a migraine midway through the night, so that wasn't my most restful night. (Hey, when you're on a roll, you're on a roll.)
Yesterday was a fairly easy day. I had to take care of a bunch of small errands, but I did move to the cheaper more comfortable hotel and I made sure to get plenty of protein and a good night's sleep. Well, mostly a good night's sleep. I'll let you tune in tomorrow for that story.
Monday was a Tanzanian holiday. I had planned to open the office and get some work done (I had been in there for a couple of hours on Sunday too), but when I woke up, I was feeling pretty lightheaded. I actually took it easy so that I would be up for everything on my to-do list this week. I still wasn't feeling up to doing much, but unfortunately, work beckoned. My colleagues Reuben and Philemon were hitting the road the following day and they needed me to help them with putting together some materials for their trip. Reuben and I drove to the office to grab some things and do a bunch of printing. Moving around was doing some good for me, but I still was going pretty slowly. I was on my way back to the house, but as we were driving the truck up the hill, there was a wide safari vehicle driving down the hill. The road is pretty narrow, so I had to slow down. Unfortunately, that causes the truck to stall out when it's on the hill. I had to let it roll back down to the bottom to start on a flat surface. Right at that moment, Philemon called me to say that he needed to get his wife to the hospital. I tried to start the car again, but no luck. Philemon called me two more times and I kept trying to get the car working. Finally, he ran down the hill to get it running and then he went off to the hospital. I made it home and just watched a movie at the neighbor's house. I felt a lot better, so I went over to Philemon's to make sure that his wife was all right. He told me "amepata bebi." She had a baby. I congratulated him on being a father. He seemed pretty thrilled about his new daughter. He already has a 4 year old son.
On Tuesday, Reuben and Philemon delayed their trip so that Philemon could make sure everything was all right with his wife and daughter. Still, he told me that he would be on the road the next day. I knew how excited he was about the trip. I started figuring out the schedule and logistics for the trip and made some phone calls to iron out the details. Then in the afternoon, I had to fight with Skype a bit to talk to some of the GCS team in the States, and then a micro-finance guy in Vancouver who is doing research on appropriate technology. Before long, I realized that it was almost 7, and I was staying behind at the office that night for an IDDS meeting (regular time is 6:30 PM EDT, but that's 1:30 AM in Tanzania).
I didn't have any food or any money, so I had to run to the affluent part of town to find a store that takes credit cards. Fortunately, I had the bike, but I couldn't find a helmet. I never realized that the path towards that supermarket is on a long, very subtle slope. All of a sudden, I was going much too fast (the brakes aren't great on the bike) and there was a speed bump in front of me that I couldn't see until I was right on top of it (they have street lights along the road, but for some mysterious reason, they seem to be there as decorations, rather than to turn on the lights and illuminate the road). I dragged my feet on the ground a bit to slow down and keep balance. I managed to stay on the bike, but my heart was definitely racing after that. I vowed to find a helmet whatever it took (my current one was borrowed by Philemon's son, and I'm not sure I'm pretty sure he has hidden his "new hat"). I found food and made my way back to the office. I had my skype meeting at 1:30, but I mustered less than 2 hours of sleep before the meeting (Reuben called me at 10:45 because he thought he might have left something at the office before the trip), so I was pretty tired and not very vocal, so at 3:30 I decided to get some sleep. Unfortunately, sleep took a little while to come that night.
The next morning (Wednesday), I was woken up at 7 as Philemon grabbed some more things from the office for their trip. I couldn't really get back to sleep after that, so I was worried that I would be working slowly during the day. In fact, I found myself really focused as I was developing our sales strategy for the south (we only found out the schedule on Friday of last week, and I had to delay a bit as I wrapped up some loose ends with some work in Arusha). Also, since I was the only other person in the office, I was putting extra effort into making sure that Glady (our secretary) had enough work to keep her busy during the day. Philemon called me from the road to say that his meetings were going well, and asked me to buy some springs in town and take them to our manufacturer. He didn't actually tell me what kind of springs, and it took me a while to find out where and what type I needed to find. By that time, we were trying to have a skype meeting about sales, but with attempts to coordinate people in Boston, Belgium, Kenya and Tanzania, we spent a lot of time only to learn that we couldn't get the connection to work. I decided to leave the springs for the next day, since it was already the end of the day. I hurried home and started packing up the house.
Our lease ends in mid May, and since Jodie and I are both on the road until then, we decided that it made sense to shift our things into Reuben's house since we probably wouldn't be extending the lease. I had planned to get a chunk of this done on Monday, but I needed to rest that day, which meant I was facing quite an uphill task. The pickup truck had broken down in town (not my doing), so all the moving had to be done on foot, and since the only neighbor around was Philemon's wife who had just given birth, I was pretty much on my own. Fortunately, the houses are only about a quarter mile apart and it's a gentle downhill slope towards Reuben's. Unfortunately, it was starting to rain, and I didn't want to get our wood furniture soaked as I carried it. I love the rain, but this was not great timing. I managed two runs and settled in to write some work emails while waiting for the rain to let up. It never did, so I finally crashed at midnight with an alarm set for 5 AM.
When I woke up, it was only drizzling, but the mud was definitely a force to be reckoned with. I managed 4 trips before 7:00, but the rain was picking up, so I decided I'd earned a 30 minute nap. It was really hard to get back up, but I still had a bunch more to do. I had to make another 4 trips before I had enough of the stuff out of the house to call it done. I left the neighbor with a list of what needed to be packed up and driven over once the truck was working again (fridge, gas cylinder, etc). By that time, it was 11, so in spite of feeling pretty sore, I hurried to work. I made sure that Glady had enough work to keep her busy, and grabbed the bike (with a helmet) and headed into town. I didn't know where every place that I needed to visit was, but I was having pretty good luck finding things as I went through town, and managed to avoid lines in general. Unfortunately, I got to the manufacturing facilities just after they'd gone to lunch. I waited for an hour for them to reopen so I could deliver the springs and pick up one of our frames that they had just finished a slight redesign of (the springs were for our first bulk order of those frames). The technician told me to come back at 4 to pick up the frame. I biked back to the office and grabbed a quick lunch and checked in with Glady and got a quick lunch in before biking back to the manufacturer again (it's probably about 3 or 4 miles each way). When I got there, the manufacturer showed me that the paint was still wet and suggested that I come back at 6. I didn't really have a whole lot of choice, since I needed to bring it on my trip and my bus was leaving at 6 AM the next morning. I biked back to the office and took care of salaries for all the workers. That also required a trip further out of town to take care of two of our day laborers. Then I had enough time to catch my breath before heading back to the manufacturer and picking up the frame. The paint was still a little wet (and my hands turned a nice rich blue), but I headed back to the office with my prize.
I was feeling pretty exhausted, but I knew that I still had some tasks to take care of before I could leave. I did some printing, fixed up some documents and then, I settled in to square up the books. I managed to get all of the accounting squared away, right in time for another IDDS meeting (we're really ramping up at this point). Fortunately, I had transcended exhaustion at this point, and I was feeling pretty active in the meeting. My mic wasn't working, but mercifully, the committee was patient with me, and I gave my input through typing instead. I was definitely happy with the amount that got done at the meeting, and my hearts went out to the sub-committee that stayed atter to meet until past midnight (their time). When 4:30 rolled around, I packed up and headed to the bus station. There was no public transport at that hour, so I knew I would need to walk, just in case. Mercifully, some security guards picked me up in their truck just as I approached the most dangerous part of town (still before sunrise) and brought me to the station. The bus showed up after about 20 minutes, and I threw my bag underneath and climbed on board. I was asleep before it took off (I hadn't slept since my 30 minute nap nearly 23 hours before).
After a bit over 3 hours, I woke up. The bus ride was fairly uneventful. I alternated between reading The Economist on my phone and taking naps. Unfortunately, my battery is pretty weak, so the battery died before the ride finished, and I felt a bit disconnected. I tried to stay hydrated on the ride, but managed to spill 2 of the 3 (extortionately priced) drinks that I bought on the trip. The middle third of the ride was near the coast, and the humidity was pretty miserable. Fortunately, after a mere 19 1/2 hours, the bus rolled in to its final destination in Mbeya. Unfortunately, the comfortable hotel near the bus stop was full, so I had to go to its neighbor, which is both less pleasant and more expensive. I crashed, but found myself with a migraine midway through the night, so that wasn't my most restful night. (Hey, when you're on a roll, you're on a roll.)
Yesterday was a fairly easy day. I had to take care of a bunch of small errands, but I did move to the cheaper more comfortable hotel and I made sure to get plenty of protein and a good night's sleep. Well, mostly a good night's sleep. I'll let you tune in tomorrow for that story.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
4 weeks + Lessons
Sorry for the delay, let's just pretend that I managed to get this posted on Tuesday. Should be a post up here shortly explaining the craziness that was this week.
This week's list is things that I'm proud to have learned on this journey. As this is my third time living in dollar-a-day communities, I can't list things like doing laundry by hand, coping with intestinal parasites or having to skip two or even three meals a day. I'm also leaving off things that I learned from books (though I am very proud to know so much about Dean Acheson these days), and focusing on some of the practicals:
1. New languages. I'm not fluent in kiswahili yet, but people have stopped talking to me like a foreigner and they speak kiswahili to me the way they speak to other native speakers. I also learned a bit of Kenyan Sign Language (which is moderately different from American sign language) and tidbits of some local languages.
2. Driving on a manual transmission. Well, I had some lessons with my dad before coming here, but I never completely got the hang of it. Now I can get around in a pickup truck that doesn't have 1st or 2nd gear most of the time.
3. Making bread. I learned a lot in the kitchen, but successfully proofing yeast and getting bread that rises was probably my biggest accomplishment.
4. Using a slide rule. I got this as a graduation present and decided to bring it here and try to figure it out in my spare time. Then I discovered that the math curriculum in Kenya required me to teach students to make calculations using log and antilog tables. All of a sudden, the slide rule made sense.
5. Computer software. Yep, I went to a school that is particularly well known for it's computer science department, and I probably learned nearly as much in a year and a half here. I picked up database and accounting software as well as Ubuntu (I still have a lot to learn there) and now I'm starting on twitter.
6. Running a chemistry lab. Okay, so I never actually learned the lesson about not spilling nitric acid, not breathing hydrochloride fumes, and not setting my hair on fire, but I still managed some pretty nifty tricks. I produced ethene and laughing gas, but the best moment was definitely watching kids using test tubes for their first time.
7. Trees. Yeah, I learned a lot about them in books, but I learned just as much in the field and if you don't watch out, I'll probably talk your ear off about planting trees. When you finish reading this post, you should go outside and plant one.
8. Treatment for sea urchins. Rub papaya on the spines. I cannot underscore the importance of this lesson. (For those of you thinking of urine, that's for jellyfish stings)
9. Agriculture. My knowledge in this field probably increased one hundredfold since coming here. Of course, it was a pretty small base to grow from, so maybe one hundredfold is an underestimate.
10. Hitchhiking. This is definitely something that you don't want to do wrong. And sometimes doing it wrong means just plain having bad luck. Still, there are plenty of situations where I found it to be the safest means of transport. I would still say that I am far from being an expert.
Now, for a really long list, I would write the things that I wish I had learned. Good thing I'm coming back here soon.
This week's list is things that I'm proud to have learned on this journey. As this is my third time living in dollar-a-day communities, I can't list things like doing laundry by hand, coping with intestinal parasites or having to skip two or even three meals a day. I'm also leaving off things that I learned from books (though I am very proud to know so much about Dean Acheson these days), and focusing on some of the practicals:
1. New languages. I'm not fluent in kiswahili yet, but people have stopped talking to me like a foreigner and they speak kiswahili to me the way they speak to other native speakers. I also learned a bit of Kenyan Sign Language (which is moderately different from American sign language) and tidbits of some local languages.
2. Driving on a manual transmission. Well, I had some lessons with my dad before coming here, but I never completely got the hang of it. Now I can get around in a pickup truck that doesn't have 1st or 2nd gear most of the time.
3. Making bread. I learned a lot in the kitchen, but successfully proofing yeast and getting bread that rises was probably my biggest accomplishment.
4. Using a slide rule. I got this as a graduation present and decided to bring it here and try to figure it out in my spare time. Then I discovered that the math curriculum in Kenya required me to teach students to make calculations using log and antilog tables. All of a sudden, the slide rule made sense.
5. Computer software. Yep, I went to a school that is particularly well known for it's computer science department, and I probably learned nearly as much in a year and a half here. I picked up database and accounting software as well as Ubuntu (I still have a lot to learn there) and now I'm starting on twitter.
6. Running a chemistry lab. Okay, so I never actually learned the lesson about not spilling nitric acid, not breathing hydrochloride fumes, and not setting my hair on fire, but I still managed some pretty nifty tricks. I produced ethene and laughing gas, but the best moment was definitely watching kids using test tubes for their first time.
7. Trees. Yeah, I learned a lot about them in books, but I learned just as much in the field and if you don't watch out, I'll probably talk your ear off about planting trees. When you finish reading this post, you should go outside and plant one.
8. Treatment for sea urchins. Rub papaya on the spines. I cannot underscore the importance of this lesson. (For those of you thinking of urine, that's for jellyfish stings)
9. Agriculture. My knowledge in this field probably increased one hundredfold since coming here. Of course, it was a pretty small base to grow from, so maybe one hundredfold is an underestimate.
10. Hitchhiking. This is definitely something that you don't want to do wrong. And sometimes doing it wrong means just plain having bad luck. Still, there are plenty of situations where I found it to be the safest means of transport. I would still say that I am far from being an expert.
Now, for a really long list, I would write the things that I wish I had learned. Good thing I'm coming back here soon.
Monday, April 26, 2010
A small request
It's 1:30 in the morning. I just wish these cockroaches would stop
crawling across me. I think that's what I get for sleeping on a
concrete floor. At least it's cool and comfortable here.
crawling across me. I think that's what I get for sleeping on a
concrete floor. At least it's cool and comfortable here.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
5 weeks + Foods
This is my new countdown. 5 weeks from now, I'll be flying back to America for the first time in (at that time) 522 days. The trip will last for 2 1/2 months, and I don't know if I will keep up the blog during that time.
However, when I do come back to Africa, I think I'm going to move on to Blog 2.0. I'm going to start fresh on Wordpress (yes, it has some pros and cons to it, but is better suited to the new direction that I want to head) and try to reliably include pictures in my posts as well as start doing categories and tags.
Anyway, as I count this down, I might as well include some lists each week, so here goes:
The most interesting foods that I've eaten during my time here.
1. Roasted termites - no matter how many people have tried to tell me that they're delicious, I don't believe them
2. Fish eyes & brains - they're pretty greasy, but it was texture more than the flavor that got to me. All the same, it's an insult to the host if you leave the best part of the fish on your plate.
3. Vegan brownies - I think that if I worked at tweaking the recipe, this could actually work, but my single attempt didn't bake very well
4. Roasted pork - doesn't seem that interesting, until you bite into one of the "potatoes" on the plate, only to discover it's just a chunk of gristle. Pigs are not even close to lean here.
5. Pasta with peanut butter and balsamic vinegar - I like to try mixing random foods together. This one was not my best combination
6. Mac & Cheese not made from a box - I still prefer Kraft, but it's nice to know that it's possible to do it
7. Goat stomach + intestines - I managed to chew half a bite. I still get nauseous at the smell of it.
8. African samosas - I usually associate samosas with India. Which is why it's always surprising to bite down on a mouthful of ground beef. Still pretty tasty.
9. Kitumbua - This is a deep fried rice pastry. I think the rice is really good at soaking of the oil. Clogs the arteries like no other, but man it's delicious
10. Hummus, Guacamole and tuna/egg salad sandwiches - all ingredients homemade (except the bread). Pretty killer combination.
Of course, I am proud of the bread-baking, pancake making (especially with bananas), chapati burrito preparing and other recipes that I've mastered since coming here as well. I hope that I didn't miss any of the exotic foods from my time here. I did leave off foods that I found in Nairobi, Mombasa and other cities that were certainly impressive, but not exactly representative of the bulk of my cuisine here.
However, when I do come back to Africa, I think I'm going to move on to Blog 2.0. I'm going to start fresh on Wordpress (yes, it has some pros and cons to it, but is better suited to the new direction that I want to head) and try to reliably include pictures in my posts as well as start doing categories and tags.
Anyway, as I count this down, I might as well include some lists each week, so here goes:
The most interesting foods that I've eaten during my time here.
1. Roasted termites - no matter how many people have tried to tell me that they're delicious, I don't believe them
2. Fish eyes & brains - they're pretty greasy, but it was texture more than the flavor that got to me. All the same, it's an insult to the host if you leave the best part of the fish on your plate.
3. Vegan brownies - I think that if I worked at tweaking the recipe, this could actually work, but my single attempt didn't bake very well
4. Roasted pork - doesn't seem that interesting, until you bite into one of the "potatoes" on the plate, only to discover it's just a chunk of gristle. Pigs are not even close to lean here.
5. Pasta with peanut butter and balsamic vinegar - I like to try mixing random foods together. This one was not my best combination
6. Mac & Cheese not made from a box - I still prefer Kraft, but it's nice to know that it's possible to do it
7. Goat stomach + intestines - I managed to chew half a bite. I still get nauseous at the smell of it.
8. African samosas - I usually associate samosas with India. Which is why it's always surprising to bite down on a mouthful of ground beef. Still pretty tasty.
9. Kitumbua - This is a deep fried rice pastry. I think the rice is really good at soaking of the oil. Clogs the arteries like no other, but man it's delicious
10. Hummus, Guacamole and tuna/egg salad sandwiches - all ingredients homemade (except the bread). Pretty killer combination.
Of course, I am proud of the bread-baking, pancake making (especially with bananas), chapati burrito preparing and other recipes that I've mastered since coming here as well. I hope that I didn't miss any of the exotic foods from my time here. I did leave off foods that I found in Nairobi, Mombasa and other cities that were certainly impressive, but not exactly representative of the bulk of my cuisine here.
Working in town 2
The first part of my journey was to follow up with several of the dealers from last week. I was greeted by smiles everywhere that I went and most people replied that they were still making their decision as to whether or not to buy it.
I decided that the next step was to visit more stores in other parts of Arusha. I first ventured to TFA (the Tanganyika Farmers' Association), a large agricultural store, which is owned by Tanzanian farmers to see if they would have ideas about where I might be able to sell the charger. The clerks were busy, but the one who approached me said that I would probably have really good luck at an electronics shop near the main bus stand. But he couldn't give me any name or an exact location. Unfortunately, there are dozens and dozens of shops in that area and I wasn't sure I would have enough luck to pick the right one.
Before leaving the area, I stopped by an electronics shop that I noticed nearby. I showed the charger to the clerk behind the counter. He was impressed and he called the manager. A man named Najib came out and asked me a few questions. Then he turned and said "How long will it take for you to deliver five?" I promised him delivery after two days so that he would be ready with the payment when I arrived.
Then I was on my way to the bus stand and I noticed Kilombero Market. I knew that this was not the main market, since it was just outside the downtown area, but I discovered that it was actually somewhat bigger than Soko Kuu (the main market) and had a steady flow of bicycle riders going into and out of the area. I wheeled the bike through the market, trying to take in the whole scene. There were lots of fruit dealers and clothing stalls and cookware shops and hawkers selling fish and salt and lots of miscellany (the stench of rotten fish was overwhelming), but I couldn't find any kind of electronics shop. I asked a man at a clothing shop and he directed me to an electronics dealer right outside the market. I showed it to a man named Ali who said that he liked the design and invited me to return again so that he could think about his decision. He seemed genuine, so I'm looking forward to seeing him again.
After that, I made it to the bus stand and visited a few shops trying to find prospective dealers. Some of the staffers gave me helpful references, but many of the shopkeepers had gone to lunch, so I couldn't make very useful connections, though many people were impressed with the design, which was useful for raising the company's profile in town. At one shop, they owner suggested that I bring it to their in-law's shop down the road. They sent their son (probably 18 years old) to show me the shop. He asked me questions on the way and when we arrived at the shop he took the lead on the sale. The shopkeeper seemed interested, but I was much more interested in Juma, the boy. We are going to look at if we might be interested in hiring him in some sales capacity.
My last two stops were both bicycle shops where we had left samples. The first one told me that he was having trouble selling it because of the price. I was surprised by this because the electronics shops that have been so optimistic are known for selling lower priced goods and have had no problems with our price point, while this bicycle dealer sells products to people that cost much much more, but he was having trouble selling it. As we continued talking, I learned that he hadn't really made efforts to sell the charger and I was pretty underwhelmed with him as a salesman. The other shop said that they were still trying out the product but hadn't made efforts to sell it yet. They were impressed with how it had handled the tests, so that was fairly promising. Still, I'm even more hesitant about giving samples to dealers rather than selling products outright (I have always been fairly skeptical).
Once again, I was pretty dehydrated and just overheated, so I decided to go back to the office. I was proud to be returning with an order this time, and I had a plan to go out with some gatorade the next time I do this (and something to plug my nose when I go back to Kilombero Market).
My apologies that this post and the preceding one are identical to the ones on the GCS company blog. I guess work is most of my life these days :)
I decided that the next step was to visit more stores in other parts of Arusha. I first ventured to TFA (the Tanganyika Farmers' Association), a large agricultural store, which is owned by Tanzanian farmers to see if they would have ideas about where I might be able to sell the charger. The clerks were busy, but the one who approached me said that I would probably have really good luck at an electronics shop near the main bus stand. But he couldn't give me any name or an exact location. Unfortunately, there are dozens and dozens of shops in that area and I wasn't sure I would have enough luck to pick the right one.
Before leaving the area, I stopped by an electronics shop that I noticed nearby. I showed the charger to the clerk behind the counter. He was impressed and he called the manager. A man named Najib came out and asked me a few questions. Then he turned and said "How long will it take for you to deliver five?" I promised him delivery after two days so that he would be ready with the payment when I arrived.
Then I was on my way to the bus stand and I noticed Kilombero Market. I knew that this was not the main market, since it was just outside the downtown area, but I discovered that it was actually somewhat bigger than Soko Kuu (the main market) and had a steady flow of bicycle riders going into and out of the area. I wheeled the bike through the market, trying to take in the whole scene. There were lots of fruit dealers and clothing stalls and cookware shops and hawkers selling fish and salt and lots of miscellany (the stench of rotten fish was overwhelming), but I couldn't find any kind of electronics shop. I asked a man at a clothing shop and he directed me to an electronics dealer right outside the market. I showed it to a man named Ali who said that he liked the design and invited me to return again so that he could think about his decision. He seemed genuine, so I'm looking forward to seeing him again.
After that, I made it to the bus stand and visited a few shops trying to find prospective dealers. Some of the staffers gave me helpful references, but many of the shopkeepers had gone to lunch, so I couldn't make very useful connections, though many people were impressed with the design, which was useful for raising the company's profile in town. At one shop, they owner suggested that I bring it to their in-law's shop down the road. They sent their son (probably 18 years old) to show me the shop. He asked me questions on the way and when we arrived at the shop he took the lead on the sale. The shopkeeper seemed interested, but I was much more interested in Juma, the boy. We are going to look at if we might be interested in hiring him in some sales capacity.
My last two stops were both bicycle shops where we had left samples. The first one told me that he was having trouble selling it because of the price. I was surprised by this because the electronics shops that have been so optimistic are known for selling lower priced goods and have had no problems with our price point, while this bicycle dealer sells products to people that cost much much more, but he was having trouble selling it. As we continued talking, I learned that he hadn't really made efforts to sell the charger and I was pretty underwhelmed with him as a salesman. The other shop said that they were still trying out the product but hadn't made efforts to sell it yet. They were impressed with how it had handled the tests, so that was fairly promising. Still, I'm even more hesitant about giving samples to dealers rather than selling products outright (I have always been fairly skeptical).
Once again, I was pretty dehydrated and just overheated, so I decided to go back to the office. I was proud to be returning with an order this time, and I had a plan to go out with some gatorade the next time I do this (and something to plug my nose when I go back to Kilombero Market).
My apologies that this post and the preceding one are identical to the ones on the GCS company blog. I guess work is most of my life these days :)
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