Culture, Goodbye to Zambia and Hello to Tanzania

Five days until I hit the road for Tanzania. Next Monday, January 4^th, is the day. Fr. Nick Kleespie, OSB and John Jaeger arrive today. John’s brother actually married Zack’s (my old partner) sister back in September, kind of funny. We’re all connected in some way.

I am unsure how we will be getting to Hanga, Tanzania, either by car or bus. My guess is that they will put us on a bus, but a car would be much nicer. I’ve heard that a car may be going to Hanga for an ordination on the 6^th. If lucky, we may be able to score a spot. That would make the ride much easier. 

Fr. Nick will stay one week in Tanzania and then board a flight home. John will be with me until February. He will then head home and begin grad school. I believe he will be pursuing a medical degree, but I am not sure. He had sometime between now and grad school so he thought to join me in Africa during it. Afterwards, all will return to how it has been for the majority of my time in Africa. 

Now that I have been alone for the bulk of my time in Africa it has become the norm for me. When the time comes, returning to solo flight will be easy. 

I am looking forward to my time in Tanzania. I know the change will be good. I enjoy exploring new places and getting a feel for other cultures and ways of life. I suppose that makes sense, though, I am living in Africa after all. The new place and work will be revitalizing. 

I can’t say too much about Tanzania considering I haven’t lived there yet, but I know some about my new home. Hanga Abbey is home to an orphanage, health clinic, many farms, a school, a large carpentry shop and much more. There will be many jobs available to me. Hanga is a village that is within the city limits of Songea, Tanzania. Songea is located in the southern part of Tanzania – east of Lake Malawi. Lake Malawi is one of Africa’s great lakes. A big difference between our lakes and Africa’s is that African lakes tend to be home to crocodiles and alligators. I have pet the furs of lions and tigers and ridden elephants, but even I’m not stupid enough to mess with a croc. 

The national language of Tanzania is Swahili which will allow me to put my little Swahili phrasebook and dictionary to good use. I remember in seventh grade my English teacher gave us a lesson about other world languages. She taught us a short little song in Swahili. Ha, too funny. I never thought it would come in handy, but here I am! 

Learning a new language is enjoyable, but difficult. Another piece one must learn while living in a foreign land is culture. Anthony Gittins a professor in theology and culture states on page 18 of his book Living Mission Interculturally that “some people naively think that learning the culture will happen naturally, given time. This is a dangerous simplification: adults must learn a new culture with as much care, attention and trial and error as they would learn a new language (but without a grammar or vocabulary in hand).” He writes this while talking about cross-cultural persons which is what I have become (crossing from the American culture to the African). I think he does a good job in describing these challenging aspects. One cannot just sit around and expect to adjust. 

Additionally, many of the cool experiences that make time spent in Africa great cannot be lived by sitting around and closing yourself off. They won’t just happen, you must create them. Learning the culture and language of Tanzania will be challenging, but good.

Tanzania is home to Lake Victoria which I believe is another one of Africa’s great lakes. Lake Victoria is the beginning of what becomes the longest river in the world – the Nile. Not far from Lake Victoria sits the highest freestanding mountain on earth – Mt. Kilimanjaro. It’s the highest freestanding mountain on earth because it is not a part of a mountain range. Mt. Everest in Nepal is. Mt. Kilimanjaro’s summit is roughly 20,000 feet. I have climbed the Guadalupe Mountains in Texas which top out at around 5,000-6,000 feet and the Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa which ascend to approximately 10,000 feet (rough estimates). Now I hope to double that by climbing Kilimanjaro. The plan is to do so in March. 

Mt. Kilimanjaro is the not only known for being the highest freestanding mountain on earth. It is also a dormant volcano, the highest mountain in Africa (the roof of Africa) and while climbing a climber will ascend past each ecosystem on the planet (for example…rain forest, temperate, tundra, glacier, etc.). The glaciers at the top of Kilimanjaro are the only ones in Africa and are, unfortunately, melting at a rapid rate. Researchers on climate change and global warming believe that the famous Kilimanjaro glaciers will be completely gone within 15 to 20 years. I’m lucky to get a chance to see them before they go. Climbing Kilimanjaro has been a dream of mine for some time now.

I will speak more about the climb when the date gets closer.

Furthermore, the Serengeti is located in Tanzania and the island off the coast which is a popular vacation spot is Zanzibar. I will speak more about the work I will be doing once I get there. I do know Hanga Abbey is a much larger community and, therefore, there is more to do. 

So, now that my service in Zambia is complete it looks as if each year in my twenties has brought me to a new African country. 

21: South Africa

22: Zambia

23: Tanzania

I’m lucky to have been able to live and experience each of these countries.

As I plan for Tanzania I have begun to close out my service in Zambia. Teaching biology, working at the health clinic and farming have all been great. Teaching ended a few weeks back and I have one or two days left at the clinic. The farming has been a fun thing to try and the new field that I am helping develop with some of the boys from the secondary school will be great. With my last few days I plan to help with that. 

The boys developing this new field are a part of a group started by Fr. Francis this year that help them pursue a higher education. The farm’s crops will be sold and the money that is brought in will help fund their schooling. Money can be hard to come by here and, therefore, many people with authority are corrupt. Therefore, I must be careful with who I give the money I have raised through the Abasambi Project to. This program that Fr. Francis has started seems like a possible option. Giving the money directly to the school can be difficult because some of the teachers may take it for themselves. The monastery, as good as they are, also may not spend the money on what I want. So, it becomes tricky. I just want to make sure the money goes towards the kids and their education.

Something I may bring up to the BVC on my return is that the volunteers who come to Katibunga focus some of their work on this farming project. Fr. Francis, a Filipino monk, has been reassigned to a community in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania so he will be unable to monitor the program as closely as he’d like (he may travel to Tanzania with Fr. Nick, John and I). Of course, teaching and the health clinic can be done as well, but I think if some energy is put towards something like this then that would be great.

With the rain it becomes difficult to walk every day, but if I totaled all the miles I have walked here in Zambia I wouldn’t be surprised if it was over 1,000. I plan to continue my long walks in Tanzania. I’m unsure if it will be possible, but I am guessing so.

The time has come to give away some of my clothes that I have brought. I will give some away here and then some more in Tanzania after I finish my service. Even if a shirt or pair of pants isn’t in the best shape the kids will love them anyways. This will be my final gift to a select few. 

Christmas was an enjoyable time. It is strange to celebrate Christmas in a foreign land when you know that everyone else is back home and gathered together. However, even though, the experience was nice. Mass was presided over by Fr. Francis who is from the Philippines. This means that mass was in English and not Bemba which made it much more enjoyable. Afterwards many people gathered in the small market to celebrate. I spent part of my day cooking a meal with the boys who I work on the farm with and after I went into the market with James and some others. It was a hot day with a midday rain. Must be the first time I have seen rain on Christmas. 

A challenging part about being the white man in a poor village like this is that many people came to me wanting something. They would say “Christmas” to me as a plea for a gift which usually turned out to be some kind of alcohol. I bought a select few of my friends some things (biscuits, Coca-Cola or some beer) but if I had bought everyone something I would have blown through my life-savings. Someone always wants something I suppose ha. 

I have been able to get into Mpika twice this week to get some work done. On the way home yesterday it began to rain off in the distance. The rainbow that was created by this was one of the most vivid and close I have seen. I mention this because it literally seemed to end 50 feet from where we were. Also, another rainbow formed which created a double rainbow. It was a nice sight, however I think the best rainbow I’ve ever seen was when surfing down in South Africa. I was out alone waiting for some waves while sitting on my surf board. It was sunny where I was, but raining over the shore. The whole sight was amazing!

Now, onto New Years! I am looking forward to it. I hope all of you have a wonderful time celebrating as well.

This will be my final post from Zambia. Once I get settled in Tanzania I will begin to post again. I must find a new internet modem to buy and then I should be back in action. Either an Airtel or Vodacom modem would be a good choice (these are like Tanzania’s AT&T and Verizon). I may not post at all next week, though. Continuously check back for my next posting considering I am not sure when it will be.

It’s time to get my goodbyes in order. It will be sad, but as with all endings there comes a new beginning.

So long, Zambia – it’s been good! HELLO Tanzania! Mom and Dad, remember that I will now be 9 hours ahead of you considering I will be moving to another time zone. :)

 Happy 2016 to you all!

Thanks for reading!