Similarities and Differences

Through daily runs and exploring the village I have been able to find some great paths for my long walks. There are quite a few paths that wind and bend outward from the village and into the bush and surrounding land. I haven’t mapped them all out, but they seem to be great walking paths. In Katibunga I would just walk on the main road that led from Mpika to Katibunga. The paths here are different, but nice because I won’t have to deal with cars and the dust they tend to kick up. 

Another week has passed and I have become accustomed to life here in Tanzania. It’s a nice one and I have enjoyed getting to know the people and ways of life here. After living in two other African countries I have a good sense of how it goes, but each country is a bit different so it is fun to experience the changes and new aspects. With the Abbot elections taking place a few monks from Katibunga have come to Hanga to take part in the elections. This is normal considering Katibunga is associated with Hanga. It is nice being able to see some of the monks from Katibunga that I have become friends with over the past 6 months. Br. Barnabas sought me out after mass one day to say hi. It is nice to have friends from other places. They think it is neat that I am getting to experience both Hanga and Katibunga. 

My work continues to go well. Working in the carpentry shop is like being deaf. Well, not completely, but I must learn by seeing what others do and then copying them. The language barrier is strong so showing me what to do is better than trying to tell me in Swahili. If I do want to talk then I must use my Swahili book. I bring it with me wherever I go now. We are finishing up our work on the desks and will be moving onto start a new project soon. 

Teaching Excel to help organize records

I have finished up teaching Br. Peter and his employees how to keep their records on Microsoft Excel. I probably will have to assist them again soon, but I think they understood the gist of what I was teaching and saying to them. It can be hard to teach someone how to use a computer program when they have never used a computer before. Also, Microsoft Excel isn’t the easiest program to teach either. We have recorded the amount of eggs produced by each house of chickens (there are three) as well as the total number produced and sold.

I was able to stop by and help out in the dispensary yesterday. It is much more organized than Katibunga’s (I tried my best at keeping things organized in Katibunga’s clinic but there is only so much I could do) and has an abundance of medication whereas Katibunga’s was beginning to run low. There is also a large wall that blocks the patient from entering into the medication storage room. There is a hole in the wall to exchange payment for medication. This was also something that was different. In Katibunga you are up close and personal with the patient. No wall blocking out the patient or the ailment they bring with them. I spoke with Br. Joseph, one of the monks who works at the clinic, and he said I could stop by whenever to help out. I still would like to get work in a different part of the clinic, but we will see. One step at a time. 

Another difference I have noticed is the way Tanzanian’s tell time. There is Swahili time and English time. English time is what we all know, but Swahili time is a system that runs from dawn to dawn rather than midnight to midnight. So, considering it becomes light out around 7:00AM it is referred to as one o’clock and midnight is referred to as six o’clock. What you must do is add or subtract six hours from the standard time. Confusing, but I usually ask for time in English and therefore receive it in a way that I understand. However, one must be careful and check because there still is a good chance that it is skewed and in Swahili time.

Something else I have noticed is that they do not offer the wine at mass. I am not completely sure why, but my guess would be that they don’t want to spread any illness. Just something I thought I would note.

The Hanga Dispensary

The other night I woke to a weird sound. It sounded as if pigs were right outside my door. I went to take a look and sure enough there was a truck full of pigs outside the guesthouse. John heard them too and was wondering what was going on. It had rained that night and the pigs in the back of the truck didn’t seem to like it too much. I’m just glad the driver moved on the next morning so we didn’t have to endure another night of squealing and pigs.

It definitely is rainy season because all it seems to do is rain. It has rained just about every day I have been here. After rainy season comes winter which begins in April or May I think. It’s not something to worry about, though. Winters in Africa aren’t too much of a change, temperatures in the 60’s most likely. When I head home I will be going back into summer which means I’ll have around 17 months of straight warm weather since I left till the next winter in 2016. 

At lunch the other day I noticed a few red bananas which I have never seen before. They were completely red. Supposedly there are numerous kinds of bananas which I did not know about. This one was definitely different, yet tasted the same as the yellow. Always fun to try something new, though.

Speaking about red things, my hair is finally long enough for it all to be pulled back and into what many would now call the “man bun”. It could be pulled back before, but some would always fall out which is probably the most annoying part about having long hair. So, I am happy to have reached this milestone.

I recently bought some fabric in Songea and told you I had a shirt made. There was so much fabric left over, though, that I was able to go back and get some pants made. They are sweeeeet! I really like them and they will be fun to hang around in. John also bought some fabric and I will be getting some pants made out of his extra material as well. 

A shorter blog today, I know, but just trying to keep up with work and everything else going on here. I am still working on getting my extended visa figured out as well as a few other things. 

John leaves in two weeks. No other volunteers have arrived from Europe or America. I am unsure if any will, but I will be on the lookout. 

Thanks for reading!