No Swahili this trip but we will use the same blog as we head to Europe for our cycle trip from Berlin to Budapest via Prague.

One more bike to take apart and pack. Next time - bigger bike boxes!

Last to pack will be bike tools so we can put everything together at the other end. We leave today but arrive in Berlin tomorrow evening at about 8pm and head for our hostel where we expect to meet up with the gang finishing up their cycle from Riga.

We're on our way home ......

Just back from 4 days in the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crator and Tarangeti parks. Four days of bone rattling drives down dirt roads, and lots and lots of incrediable animals and birds. Highlights include seeing several cheetahs, many lions, a lepard, tons of elephants, zeebras and giraffes up close, and herds of migrating wildebeasts. A memorable experience was coming upon a pride of 18 lions feeding on a freshly killed buffalo right by the road. It was both mesmorizing and revolting to watch. The cubs crawled right into the carcus, and would come out covered in blood and other bodily fluids. The lions took turns eating, and the would stagger away with their full bellies and collapse nearby - often in the shade under a safai vehicle. The sights and smells were unbelievable.
We heard bits of news about Sunday's election en route to Arusha, and we arrived just as people were gathering to protest the delay in the election results. Sounds like people are ready for a change in government. We have heard from so many Tanzanians that the governing politicians are corrupt, which is always discouraging to hear.I think the protest turned to celebration, as the results were announced (I think the opposition member got in - it is difficult to know exactly what the count is). There was honking, sirens, rallying cries, and fire crackers for several hours, but all was quiet by 10pm. Today all is quiet.
Today we go to Dar and tomorrow night we fly out on our epic journey home (27 hours)!

our last week in muheza

We receied news from Violet that the workshops were cancelled b/c the Global Fund (big ARV funder) is demanding a count of all people on ARVs in tanzania. so, her entire team has been spending the week overseeing the counting of pateints in all of Tanga region. its the way things go around here. dissapoointing for Leah and I, but we make up the workshop powerpoint slides, flichart notes, small group exercises, handouts to pass on to violet.
it was nice to have a few unexpected days in Muheza. I love the village life - doing the shopping and cooking. it was good to hang out at the house with juliette.
Leah and i took our last dalla dalla trip to Tanga on wed. It was a horrific trip. the roads, the drivers, the overcrowding and lack of bus maintenance...
We had a good last meeting with Violet.
Wed night is Wazungo dinner at our palce, then up and out early to go to Arusha. My heart sank when the delapitated 'simba' bus puled up. I thought it would be a long 7 hours on the road. but it was ok. the driver was not wreckless. the scenery wonderful - we moved into plains as we headed inland, following the Usambara mts up to mt. Kilimanjaro.
We spent the night in a wazungo lodge. it is deliciously cool here.
off to the Serengeti today!
sal

The short rains start?

Dr. Sally dropped Simon and I off at Holy Family Monday morning on our way back to Muheza from Peponi's. We arrived during first period and taught 4 classes. We continued with word processing and font options, trying to give them each time on the computer. During morning break, the first hard rain fell. Hopefully this means the end of the dry season and the return of water to Muheza.

About 10 teachers came at lunchtime and stayed for the whole period. None of them had ever received any training in computers so they needed to be shown everything from turning the computer on to launching a program to mouse functions to saving a file. Mostly they started with word processing or games. Several drafted letters. A couple opened every link on the computer and they all asked questions. What is this? How do I burn? They came back Tuesday and there will be time for them today as well.

Today is our last teaching day. We pack up tonight and catch the 8am bus to Arusha for our trip to the Serengeti, Ngorogoro Crater and Tarangere. Access to the internet will be limited to internet cafes once we leave Muheza.

Rose

another great trip to sand island

Today we took a dhow trip out in the indian ocean. did some wonderful snorkelling off a reef, then on to sand island a magical sandy bar that exists only at low tide.
we were accomapnying 10 or so boys for zacha's bday. it was fun and the boys had a great time. everyone came back happy and tired.

Yeah it is the weekend!!

At Peponi Lodge for the weekend. So great to have some time off. It has been a strenuous week , and so far it has not felt like much of a holiday! (and Leah has – by far - been taking the lead on everything for obvious reasons. The learning curve for me is still very steep as I engage in the process of supporting the development of palliative care at Bombo.) Leah and I have been at Bombo Hospital almost every day this past week, planning for the regional meeting that took place Oct. 21^st. The politics and complexities surrounding the planning of this event were as enormous and confusing. Although what seemed insurmountable and clear as mud one moment seems to have worked out the next. The meeing came together with reps from all of the 8 districts. Their reports on where they were at were impressive and moving, especially given the very limited resources. It was such a priviledge to be part of this process, as peripheral as I was. The head of the TZ palliative care assoc. attended and spoke of the work being done at a national level to get pc integrated into health policies and funding.

Leah and I continue to flog the WHO public health strategy framework and her intro to the day really dovetailed with his presentation. We were also tasked with the dubious task of introducing a monthly reporting form to measure and evaluate, that is not a great data collecting tool but seems to be the starting place being proposed by one of the ngo funders (Diana Fund UK).

I am also honoured to play a small role in 2 workshops for Bombo CTC clinicians next week on psycho social care.

So it is all exhilarating, exhausting and challenging all at once. It is such great fortune to play a small role with a group of amazing TZers – and Leah (and Dr. Ambrose, who comes up in conversation all the time!) who have so much knowledge and determination, and carry on amidst so many challenges. They shine all their light in the sun (for you GHC fans), and are definitely the grains of sand that are building a mountain.

So as I mentioned I am on a weekend off, sitting at our banda by the Indian Ocean and enjoying the breeze. Tonight is the full moon, and I have been busy studying the equatorial star chart with the hopes of identifying some of the constellations, etc.

Sal

Week end

I only taught two classes on Thursday as the GI problems that had been troubling me since Monday worsened and Sister G drove us home a bit early. In consultation with Leah, I started on a course of the antibiotics we had brought with us for this purpose and woke Friday am feeeling much better. Simon stayed home and I walked to school to teach 4 classes - 2 standard 6, 1 S5 and 1 S4. Not without the usual Tz glitches however, the power went out at 9am and one laptop immediately ran out of power so I only had 3 laptops to work with. Fortunately, the power came back before the remaining laptop batteries ran out.

I focussed on the word processing options - more advanced with the S6s than the y0unger classes - changing font and font size, bold, colour etc. The younger ones need more exposure to the keyboard.

The language barrier is not really a problem. As long as I speak computer (left-click, save, hold shift button down while typing etc), while I demonstrate something, they cluster around and give their full attention and seem to understand. They pick it up quickly and when they get their turn at the computer, they may have to ask me (Sister! Sister!) how to do something again but they remember what it is they want to do. I will introduce the basics of Spreadsheets to the S6s next week and use the rest of last three teaching days to reinforce what we have been able to cover. That will cover the syllabus. Sister is most concerned about the 6s because they are tested this year.

Edna, the computer teacher, seems quite competent and was very pleased that the basic computer book I had brought with me was for the school and borrowed it for the weekend. At least 4 of the teachers have expressed an interest in learning more so, next week, I will see how we can make more time for them to have some teaching too.

It is hard to identify what makes the days so exhausting - the heat, the challenges of communication, the constant noise - probably all of this plus a bit of dehydration to say nothing about the GI issues. But everyday in the afternoon, most of us doze or nap and Sally and I are in bed by about 8:30ish pm.

We headed off to Peponi's on the coast south of Tanga - about 1h40m trip by back road from Muheza. In addition to running water and the ocean, the best part of being here is the quiet. No traffic, no fruit bats. The second best thing is being able to keep down and in a beer and most of a meal last night - surf and turf - prawns, calamari, steak and chips (fries)! The third best thing is sitting outside in the breeze, something we rarely do in Muheza.

Tutaonana
Rose