Getting In The Swing of Things

I think I said I get internet in my room in my last post. Well, close to my room would have been more accurate. I still have to wander around holding my computer in strange positions to get an internet signal, but at least I don’t have to go all the way into Songea to use it.

It’s amazing how sensitive the modem is. I sit down and see that I may have a signal, but if I move even a few inches it disappears – no joke. I am used to this game one has to play with the modem by now, but John is not. He wasn’t too happy the first few times, but I am sure he will warm to it.

By now we have seen a good amount of the Hanga village. Unlike in Katibunga where I was living among the monks, in Hanga I live in the guesthouse and never actually see inside the monastery. It leads to a different feel and experience. Instead of attending prayer like I did in Katibunga I go to morning mass multiple times a week (in Swahili) here in Hanga. 

However, similar to Katibunga where I worked three different jobs I believe the same will be for here. I know I will be tutoring some Form 4 (equivalent to the 10^th grade) students in English and other subjects during study time. The only problem is that study time is at 8:00-10:00PM which I find bizarre. So, I am going to ask if I can come in the morning to tutor instead. 

English is supposedly a subject taught in primary school and stressed in secondary school, but it doesn’t seem to have worked all that well. Many students struggle to understand when I say I am from America or that I am 23 years old. I suppose it doesn’t help that the teachers teaching the students English don’t know it very well themselves. However, the class that I will be working with, Form 4, did understand when I told them my name was Joseph. They freaked out. They all cheered like I had just hit the game winning home run in the bottom of the 9^th. Jan, who was introducing herself alongside me, and I just laughed. I guess having a very biblical name helps in these parts of the world. 

As for other jobs, I have not really pinpointed anything yet, but I am sure I will spend some time in the clinic as well as carpentry shop. My main goal is to help the villagers rather than just assist the monastery in their work so that will guide where I end up going. I know a few brothers who work in the gardens and fields, but I haven’t been able to get out there to see what that is like yet. It has been raining a lot since arriving here.

The monastery operates five different schools; a primary, secondary, seminary, trade and a formation. The primary borders another public primary school and the difference between the two is enormous. The quality of the buildings is much different. The secondary school, St. Benedict, is where I will be working. This school works mainly with girls, but there are some boys in Form 1 (I believe). The seminary school is all boys and is also a secondary school. For some reason when touring the schools you get a better feeling about one or the other and that’s where you end up working. I just had a better feeling about Saint Benedict’s secondary school and so that’s where I work. The trade school allows villagers to take lessons in computers, electricity, carpentry and things like that. Finally, the monastery has a school for boys thinking about entering which is called formation. This school is located in Nocagugu (Knock-ah-goo-goo) which is 8km away and in the middle of nowhere. 

Recently, the new president of Tanzania has been working to make good on one of his promises. To make public primary and secondary schools free. I am unsure if this will actually happen or even be able to, but it most likely will have an effect on the attendance of the private schools the monastery runs. 

With the issues I faced obtaining my Visitor’s Permit for my extended stay in Zambia I know that working to get one for Tanzania should happen immediately. I have already begun hunting down the monk that helps with the process. Br. Novatus is the guy and he said he would be willing to help which is great. He returns to the monastery today and I hope to meet with him to get the process going before my current visa expiration date sneaks up on me. Worst case scenario, I would have to leave the country for 24 hours (I think) and then come back in. Rather than deal with that hassle I hope to get things squared away with some help from the monastery.

Additionally, while John and I were in Songea the other day we had two men walk up to us stating that they were immigration officers and that they needed to see our passports. We didn’t have them on us at the time and even if we did I doubt I would have showed them. They weren’t in uniform and just had a little picture card to identify who they were (who knows if it was fake or not). This obviously felt super weird to John and me. They wanted to check if we had our visas. I laughed. Do you think I would be here right now if I didn’t have a visa? Just crazy. Hopefully it doesn’t happen again.

A white guy in the middle of crazy downtown Songea, Tanzania

Songea is a fairly big town, especially when compared to Mpika. There are a few more restaurants and places to buy things. I never found a specific Zambian dish or food, but I have found a Tanzanian one. Chips Mih-aih (pronounced “Chips My-I”…I have no idea how to spell it). It is delicious. For less than a buck you can get a full plate. It is French fries mixed with eggs, onions and peppers. You usually eat it with a toothpick as well. That can be a bit tough, but you get good at it. I have come to really enjoy it and I think we can buy it in Hanga as well so that is going to have to happen.

The names of beers here are cool. The popular beers here are Safari, Kilimanjaro, and Serengeti. Also, they have Cadbury chocolate in the shops here. Cadbury is like the African Hershey, but better. 

Last week as Fr. Nick, John and I were enjoying some Safari Lagers a thunderstorm began. The monastery has its own little bar called the Papaya Garden and so we were there sitting under a little canopy. All of a sudden we heard a boom that made me think the lightning had struck right on top of us. I practically jumped out of my seat it was so loud. Fortunately, it didn’t strike us, but it did strike about ten feet over – I am not kidding. There is a big metal container that most likely holds some electrical equipment (not sure because you can’t see in) and that was what was struck. Sparks were flying from it. I couldn’t believe I was that close.

The standard of living seems to be a bit better here. That isn’t saying too much when comparing it to Katibunga, Zambia where the average household lives on less than a dollar a day. The houses seem to be built out of brick and clay more often than just small huts of wood and mud. Those are still widespread, but from what I have seen it seems as if there are less here.

I am able to hear a ‘call to prayer’ sounding over the village every once in a while. This is to remind the Muslims to begin praying towards Mecca. This is something that is different from Zambia because there most everyone is a Christian. 

Christa, a woman from Austria who has lived in Hanga on and off for the past 13 years or so, really enjoys mlonge. Mlonge is a plant that supposedly has healing powers and is rich in antioxidants, amino acids and vitamins. It isn’t too bad so I put some in my tea in the morning, but I have no clue as to its healing qualities. Whatever… might as well give it a go. 

Little motorcycles are popular around here. They provide taxi service into Songea if one doesn’t want to ride a bus/minivan. However, just like the minivans, these motorcycle drivers try to pack as many people on as possible. I saw a motorcycle pass by yesterday with 5 people on it. 5! Like, how the heck does one even make that happen? Crazy!

One of the farms nearby has a chicken coop obviously filled with hundreds of chickens. Along with these chickens, though, is a small little visitor. A baby baboon. The mother was killed and so the farmers of the chicken coop brought the little monkey back to live among the chickens. It’s cute and I believe it, too, thinks itself a chicken. 

Speaking about monkeys, there is a zoo in Mbeya which houses such animals. When passing by the zoo on our way to Hanga last week our driver made the joke that instead of staying at Hanga we were to be put in the zoo; the “White Man” exhibit. The funniest part is that it probably would get a lot of people to come out to the zoo. Ha!

To pass some free time, John and I have begun to play cards. We enjoy the game of golf and, when we have Jan and Ed around to play with us, the game of Yukre (You-ker) is really fun. We tend to play either by the guesthouse or out by one of the bars. When playing others will drink beer or a soft-drink and watch or mingle with other people. I’ve noticed that we drink any beverage faster than they. It’s funny, they will take a sip of their beverage, but when they put it down it looks as if nothing has changed. It’s pretty funny to see in person.

Christa, the Austrian lady I mentioned before, was excited at lunch yesterday. She told me that she had just received a package from her friend. I would be excited too considering the package was sent LAST April. Dang, almost a year! This takes the name “snail-mail” to a whole new level.

Well, things are going well here so far. Sundays have remained my laundry day which I enjoy. No running water for the past two days, but hopefully that starts up again. Not sure what the problem is. I am still working on figuring out some jobs, but soon enough I will be back to work. I have read another book while here. I set aside the Mere Christianity book for now. I really like it, but another book had caught my attention. I just finished Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson. The Lusitania was a cruise-liner for civilians back in 1915. If you know some WWI history then you know that the Germans torpedoed the ship and killed over a 1,100 civilians. This wasn’t the turning point for the neutral Americans, but it did push us closer to entering the war – which we did two years later. 

Now I have begun the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Among the many fantasy and fiction series such as Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and Hunger Games I think the Lord of the Rings is the only one I haven’t read. Because of this my friends give me a hard time since it is their favorite. Connor Beck and Chris Heitzig – I will finish it before I return home. You’re welcome. 

I will close this post with a fun fact: the oldest person to ever be discovered was found right here in Tanzania. If my world history lessons from the 11^th grade have stuck with me I believe the body to be nicknamed “Lucy”. I could be wrong, but hopefully not. 

*I have tried to post pictures to the blog (I succeeded with one), but it is frustrating with the internet so it will take some time. Check Facebook for them.

Thanks for reading!