We were having a company training in Morogoro last week*, so on Monday morning, we packed up the car and left the house at 6 AM. Well, kinda. Jodie and I spent most of Sunday night packing up the car and preparing things at the office and didn't get home until after 1 AM. All things considered, leaving at 6:20 AM seems on time enough for me.
The first part of the drive was pretty uneventful. Philemon was driving, and I was trying to catch up on sleep a bit. I woke up about 3 hours outside of Arusha and saw that we were stopped and talking to some officials. They were from the department of immigration and were demanding to see our passports and work permits. I happened to be traveling with my passport so I handed it forward. If we were in a hurry (okay, more of a hurry) the proper etiquette would have been to include some cash in there. However, we have our principles, so Jodie also pulled up scanned copies of our permits on her computer. The officer then insisted that my permit was not valid (he tried to tell me it was only valid for missionaries) and suggested that he should take us to the station. Jodie then played the trump card. She called our contact at the department of immigration in Arusha. She started by apologizing for bothering him, and the face of the officer outside our car noticeably fell. He started waving us on and told us that we needed to travel with our permits the next time. As Jodie tried to hand him the phone, he told us to just get moving. I presume he knew that someone was going to give him a nasty reprimand for his coarse shakedown and he wanted us to completely forget about him.**
We also had two more stops on the way where we were told that we were speeding. At the first stop, we had no idea how they measured our speed, while at the second stop they had a radar gun (they clocked us going 50 MPH in what was apparently a 30 MPH zone, not that there were any signs to indicate as much). Anyway, we sorted those out much more easily and were on our way.
After the stop with immigration, I couldn't get back to sleep, so I wound up reading. A lot. I guess you'll see that from the upcoming posts. We made it to Morogoro a bit later than we were hoping and then we had to search a bit to find a hotel with a room where we could hold the training sessions. As we waited, I realized that I hadn't eaten or drank anything all day (well, I had eaten 2 almonds that Jodie brought), so I ran across the street to a shop and bought a Mountain Dew. In a glass bottle (not available in Arusha). Yep, probably about the least healthy thing I could've picked to call breakfast at 3 PM, but then, taking care of my health has never really been a strong point for me.
* On a personal note, I was pretty relieved to be getting out of Arusha, as the weekend did not go very well for me. The details aren't important, but it did lead to me breaking my 2010 New Years resolution and smoking my first cigarette since I left Peace Corps. 17.5 months isn't bad. The countdown has started over and I did learn that Embassy cigarettes are absolutely vile and I plan to never touch those again.
** When I was in Zambia, we were also stopped by an immigration officer. However, that time, we were traveling in a Peace Corps vehicle which is supposed to be protected from those checks. The Peace Corps staff who were traveling with us started yelling at him and threatening to report him. I must admit that I now feel a hint of satisfaction watching those immigration officers who thrive on intimidating people intimated themselves. Okay, probably more than a hint.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Sunday Frisbee in Arusha
A typical Sunday frisbee match in Arusha. I just love how majestic it all looks with the mountain in the background.
Photo Credit: Angela Duquette
Sunday, May 22, 2011
American Football
There was a football game in Arusha. Not soccer, but American football. The team from Drake University in Iowa played against a team from Mexico. The New York Times wrote up an article on it.
I was at the game, but it wasn't too thrilling, until the 4th quarter where all kinds of crazy plays went down (including one of the teams clearing the bench). There was an announcer who explained what was happening and helped the first time watchers in the audience to understand the rules. All the explanations were in English (and using specialized vocabulary at that), so it wasn't entirely accessible to a lot of the locals.
My favorite part of the game was the halftime show, which featured a whole bunch of Masai tribal dancing. It was a really fun program. Then they gave American footballs to a bunch of orphans from Arusha. I'll let you know if the game catches on over here.
All photos credited to Tara Mastracchio. Really amazing pictures, Tara.
I was at the game, but it wasn't too thrilling, until the 4th quarter where all kinds of crazy plays went down (including one of the teams clearing the bench). There was an announcer who explained what was happening and helped the first time watchers in the audience to understand the rules. All the explanations were in English (and using specialized vocabulary at that), so it wasn't entirely accessible to a lot of the locals.
My favorite part of the game was the halftime show, which featured a whole bunch of Masai tribal dancing. It was a really fun program. Then they gave American footballs to a bunch of orphans from Arusha. I'll let you know if the game catches on over here.
All photos credited to Tara Mastracchio. Really amazing pictures, Tara.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Frisbee Tournament in Mombasa - Pictures
Here are the pictures from our trip to Mombasa for the frisbee tournament (see the story h e r e):
Back row from left: Rose, Angela, Tara, Claire, Jodie, Simeon, me
Front row from left: Shannon, Karina (aka Dutchy Dutch), Mic
Back row from left: Rose, Angela, Tara, Claire, Jodie, Simeon, me
Front row from left: Shannon, Karina (aka Dutchy Dutch), Mic
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Frisbee Tournament in Mombasa Day 4+5
Monday was a nice relaxing day for all of us. We had a slow morning and tried to get all the moisture out of the tent and our sleeping bags before packing up. The remainder of the team was heading down to Diani Beach for a bit more relaxation, while I traveled with some of my Peace Corps friends back to Mombasa. Mercifully, they helped me get back across the ferry since I was hauling the tent and an extra sleeping bag. They also told me about some administrative changes that sounds exciting and of course, the conversation then devolved into politics as it always does.
Back in Mombasa, I ran to the supermarket for some snacks and then went to the bus station and booked a seat on the bus. Not a moment too soon, since I grabbed the last seat on the bus. Then I went and booked a room in a nearby guest house and just slept away the afternoon in front of the fan. Turns out going to bed late, sleeping in damp bedding and waking up early every day had caught up with me. I woke up at 8 PM and realized that I needed to grab a bite.
I walked down the street and noticed that I had tons of options. I couldn't help thinking that if I were back in Arusha at this hour, I would have trouble finding places that were open aside from the bars and they're usually out of food by then. I chose a nice outdoor grill and had a Swahili pizza (ground beef and egg wrapped in chapati and fried--in Arusha they call them Zanzibar pizzas) and discovered that they had Fanta citrus, which is my favorite flavor. I hadn't had any in ages, so I drained three sodas with my meal and struggled to push away the stray cat who wanted to share my meal.
I headed back to my room and climbed into bed. I was on the bus by 6:30, and I was glad I had a window seat, but I was in the very back row which I knew was going to make for a very long ride. I read for most of the journey, and during the stretch from Voi to Taveta, I felt every single bump and nearly knocked my head against the ceiling a few times. Otherwise, the journey was pretty uneventful and I was happy to be heading home.
Sadly, during our photo exchange over the weekend, I didn't end up getting the pictures of our team, so I'll have to put them up in a separate post.
Back in Mombasa, I ran to the supermarket for some snacks and then went to the bus station and booked a seat on the bus. Not a moment too soon, since I grabbed the last seat on the bus. Then I went and booked a room in a nearby guest house and just slept away the afternoon in front of the fan. Turns out going to bed late, sleeping in damp bedding and waking up early every day had caught up with me. I woke up at 8 PM and realized that I needed to grab a bite.
I walked down the street and noticed that I had tons of options. I couldn't help thinking that if I were back in Arusha at this hour, I would have trouble finding places that were open aside from the bars and they're usually out of food by then. I chose a nice outdoor grill and had a Swahili pizza (ground beef and egg wrapped in chapati and fried--in Arusha they call them Zanzibar pizzas) and discovered that they had Fanta citrus, which is my favorite flavor. I hadn't had any in ages, so I drained three sodas with my meal and struggled to push away the stray cat who wanted to share my meal.
I headed back to my room and climbed into bed. I was on the bus by 6:30, and I was glad I had a window seat, but I was in the very back row which I knew was going to make for a very long ride. I read for most of the journey, and during the stretch from Voi to Taveta, I felt every single bump and nearly knocked my head against the ceiling a few times. Otherwise, the journey was pretty uneventful and I was happy to be heading home.
Sadly, during our photo exchange over the weekend, I didn't end up getting the pictures of our team, so I'll have to put them up in a separate post.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Frisbee Tournament in Mombasa Day 3
We weren't playing in the first game of the day, so we took plenty of time to warm up and decided that we would start our next game with representatives from five different countries on the line. At this point, our main ambition was to win the spirit award, so we were just going out there to have a great time. So as we lined up against Peace Corps, we had Mic (Tanzania), Karina (Netherlands), Rose (UK), Angela (Canada) and Simeon (USA) out there.
I was psyched for the game, since I knew most of the players on the team. We went into the half trailing 6-4, and to start the second half, we put 5 girls on the line. They reminded us that we only needed one on the field to match them. We replied with a friendly smile that we would try not to embarrass them. We kept the girls out there for two points and they scored one and yielded one, before we subbed some fresh players in (and provided a bit more of a gender balance). We lost the game 11-7, but we all had big grins on our face.
After that, they took the results from the 6 games that everyone had played and seeded the teams for a single elimination bracket. We were the 8th seed, so we were playing the 1st seed. As it turns out, that meant the Ugandan team that we had played once the previous day. We were a little tired following our game with Peace Corps, but we lined up against Uganda with five girls on the team. We had to assure this team as well that we were confident in our strategy and that this was a perfectly sane strategy.
We stayed with them all the way to the half, with the score seesawing back and forth reaching 6-5 their lead going into the break. Several of the spectators as well as the other team seemed to be wondering if we were really the 8th seed. Unfortunately, for the second half, they seemed to draw on infinite reserves of energy, and we couldn't keep up. They pulled away and won 11-6, eliminating us from the tournament. They joined us on the field as we made a pyramid and congratulated us on some really solid play before we took a bunch of pictures together.
We ate a big lunch and reflected on our stats for the tournament. We finished 0-7, but we had also played five of our games against the top 3 seeds (Uganda, Mwanza and Uganda) and we played each of the two teams in the final twice. There was another team that finished 0-7 and we never got to play them, and they were only seeded ahead of us since they scored more points. We talked about scheduling a friendly match, but we were all a bit tired, so we just shook hands.
We swam in the pool and enjoyed the perfect coastal weather. Unfortunately, I forgot to put sunscreen on my legs (they almost never burn) and in my 20 minute swim, I picked up a pretty nasty sunburn. I spent most of the rest of the day hiding in the shade. We did go to watch the final match (Uganda vs. Uganda) and we were happy that the team that we found more sportsmanlike ultimately prevailed. After that, there were a few more random Frisbee related activities.
Jodie, Mic, Shannon and Karina all left early, so we said good-bye to them. We grabbed dinner at Twiga, where they further disappointed us by charging us 200 shillings for an avocado salad (three of us ordered it) that was listed on the menu for 150. They assured us that the menu was wrong and that we should have asked them the price beforehand. This seems like a good place to reiterate my comment that the service at Twiga Lodge was really disappointing and I hope that people traveling to the coast find more pleasant accommodations for their stay.
At night, there was a big party where they awarded prizes, and we were really excited to receive the spirit award (combined with a frisbee and a carved keychain for each of our players). We were really thrilled and everyone seemed really happy for us. There were some games at the party, but I mostly found quiet places to talk to some of my friends from Peace Corps about how their projects were going. Then I started hanging out with the remainder of my team at the party and we didn't crash until after 1.
I was psyched for the game, since I knew most of the players on the team. We went into the half trailing 6-4, and to start the second half, we put 5 girls on the line. They reminded us that we only needed one on the field to match them. We replied with a friendly smile that we would try not to embarrass them. We kept the girls out there for two points and they scored one and yielded one, before we subbed some fresh players in (and provided a bit more of a gender balance). We lost the game 11-7, but we all had big grins on our face.
After that, they took the results from the 6 games that everyone had played and seeded the teams for a single elimination bracket. We were the 8th seed, so we were playing the 1st seed. As it turns out, that meant the Ugandan team that we had played once the previous day. We were a little tired following our game with Peace Corps, but we lined up against Uganda with five girls on the team. We had to assure this team as well that we were confident in our strategy and that this was a perfectly sane strategy.
We stayed with them all the way to the half, with the score seesawing back and forth reaching 6-5 their lead going into the break. Several of the spectators as well as the other team seemed to be wondering if we were really the 8th seed. Unfortunately, for the second half, they seemed to draw on infinite reserves of energy, and we couldn't keep up. They pulled away and won 11-6, eliminating us from the tournament. They joined us on the field as we made a pyramid and congratulated us on some really solid play before we took a bunch of pictures together.
We ate a big lunch and reflected on our stats for the tournament. We finished 0-7, but we had also played five of our games against the top 3 seeds (Uganda, Mwanza and Uganda) and we played each of the two teams in the final twice. There was another team that finished 0-7 and we never got to play them, and they were only seeded ahead of us since they scored more points. We talked about scheduling a friendly match, but we were all a bit tired, so we just shook hands.
We swam in the pool and enjoyed the perfect coastal weather. Unfortunately, I forgot to put sunscreen on my legs (they almost never burn) and in my 20 minute swim, I picked up a pretty nasty sunburn. I spent most of the rest of the day hiding in the shade. We did go to watch the final match (Uganda vs. Uganda) and we were happy that the team that we found more sportsmanlike ultimately prevailed. After that, there were a few more random Frisbee related activities.
Jodie, Mic, Shannon and Karina all left early, so we said good-bye to them. We grabbed dinner at Twiga, where they further disappointed us by charging us 200 shillings for an avocado salad (three of us ordered it) that was listed on the menu for 150. They assured us that the menu was wrong and that we should have asked them the price beforehand. This seems like a good place to reiterate my comment that the service at Twiga Lodge was really disappointing and I hope that people traveling to the coast find more pleasant accommodations for their stay.
At night, there was a big party where they awarded prizes, and we were really excited to receive the spirit award (combined with a frisbee and a carved keychain for each of our players). We were really thrilled and everyone seemed really happy for us. There were some games at the party, but I mostly found quiet places to talk to some of my friends from Peace Corps about how their projects were going. Then I started hanging out with the remainder of my team at the party and we didn't crash until after 1.
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