Friday, May 13th, 2016

Today, the sun rose over Moshi, and many of the group got their first sun-lit views of Tanzania.  From the fifth story look-out at Bristol Cottages, we could see Moshi waking up below; market stalls opening, taxi-bicyclists waiting for customers, and roosters crowing enthusiastically toward their hens.  After a quick eggs-and-toast breakfast, we took our journey from Moshi to Same.

We arrived and unpacked at the Elephant Motel, had a bite to eat, and headed out into town for a tour.  On tour, we wanted to identify hardware stores, hotels, and anything else that might be relevant to a future project in the region.  We got out of our trucks and walked about a market.

When we got back to the motel, we met for two or three hours, having important discussions about our strategy for the next 8 days and strategies for our program as a whole.  As the sun set, we were reunited with our good fried from KiHo, Mr. Kateri. He surprised us at our hotel with a very polished itinerary as well as an invaluable hand-drawn map of Marwa; drawn by four of Marwa’s own people, which showed locations of the river, significant population centers, and even suggested distribution points.  We wished Mr. Kateri a good night, and settled in for the evening.

Pat Enright – After arriving in Tanzania after the longest series of flights I have ever been on, stepping off the plane into the warm, humid  night air was a refreshing feeling. The first thing I noticed, as Dr. Hagenberger said I would, was the distinct smell of the country. It was the smell of something foreign burning, it wasn’t necessarily good or bad, just distinct. Walking down the steps of the plane onto the tarmac and stepping into the airport reminded me of flying into a quaint, outdated regional airport. Making it slowly through customs one by one, we were officially in Tanzania. The drive to the airport just gave glimpses of Tanzania. Because lights were few and far between, it felt like the rest of the country was hiding in the dark. Although, there was more nightlife than expected, with music blaring from many of the local establishments. Arriving at Bristol Cottages was refreshing, finally having a place to stay after twenty some odd number of hours. We sat down for the first real meal – not counting the airplane food – and the first taste of Tanzanian food made it feel like I had actually arrived, even though we had been in the country for over an hour already. Melanie and I climbed the steps to the top of the hotel after dinner to see if we could get a glimpse of the stars or the city, but we couldn’t see much, making us wait until the morning to see everything. After a good nights sleep – finally –  was ended by a crowing rooster and a shower to make me feel human again, we met for breakfast and gathered ourselves for the day. Although the morning was slightly rainy and overcast, he garden at the cottages was beautiful , a tropical feel that gave me a good feeling for what the rest of the trip would bring. Dr. Hagenberger, Alex, and I walked to the top of  the hotel again to look around and when I saw what had been around us I realized we had been in the middle of the bustling city of Moshi the whole time. People, cars, and motorcycles were slowly coming to life as the morning came. We prepared to leave the cottage and go to our more permanent hotel in Same. After exchanging some money into shillings and reluctantly turning down the local bracelet and painting salesman, we departed for the next destination. Leaving the city was a gradual transformation from bustling city to rural country, with shops and bars becoming less and less frequent the further we got away. The people were remarkably friendly, with many wanting to stop and wave with a big smile on their face, which in turn gave me a big smile on my face. The countryside was beautiful, with fields, trees, and mountains as far as the eye could see the entire way. I took as many pictures as I could because I was so impressed with what I was seeing. As we drove further, the shops began to pop up again and I knew we were close. We arrived at the Elephant Motel after a quick stop from the immigration officers to check our passports. After unpacking, we went to the village and explored. The people were just as friendly, but seemed almost tentative to wave, as if they were feeling us out. We explored for a while then met for a meeting in the courtyard where we finally met Kateri and made our plans for the days to come.

IMG_0414Melanie McDonough –  They do things differently here- they seem to live more organically. For instance they call their time keeping “Tanzania time” aka if I say lets meet at noon and you show up at 3:30 it is totally acceptable and an apology is not in order because you have done nothing wrong. Another example of their organic lives is the manor in which the Pare people (the community native to the Pare Mountains) name their children. We met a man today that told us the Pare people are given 3 names- the first name comes from the place or event in which they  were born. This particular man’s mother went to the market one day very pregnant and started to feel sick, before she knew it she was going into labor and the other women ushered her under the nearest mango tree where she gave birth to her beautiful baby boy whom which she names ‘Setonga’ which means “women going to the market”. I love this. I actually think its a little odd how American parents name their babies months and months before they ever meet them or even know the sex of their child “well if its a boy we will call him Johnny and if its a girl she will be names Sarah” how can you give your kid a name before you ever look into their eyes? This is because we feel like we need to have a plan and a backup plan and even a second backup plan. Their way of naming has such beauty and meaning to me. This is how I feel about the Tanzanian people I have met so far but also about their culture in general- its beautiful, slow, meaningful, and organic and I am so excited to learn more about it. So I’ll leave you with a Tanzanian phrase “Pole Pole” which means slowly slowly, and I think we could all stand to live a little more slowly.

Randall Berkley – Last night when we arrived at Bristol Cottages it was dark and we were warned that the rosters would be waking us up at the crack of dawn so I honestly assumed that we were in a remote location in Tanzania. When we woke up in the morning and went to the viewpoint at the Cottages to see Mount Kilimanjaro, we immediately realized that the little slice of paradise we had been staying in was actually in the middle of a big city, Moshi. I was amazing at the serenity of the hotel being a street over from a construction site and the busiest road in the town. As a side note the construction sites operate a little differently from a safety standpoint in Tanzania than they do in the US which the civil engineering team had no problem discussing in length. We were disappointed at the viewpoint though because the heavy fog was completely engulfed Kilimanjaro. Though the fog made for a more manageable temperature and less intense sunlight for us Ohioan which I guess is the silver-lining. As we made out way to Same, I was impressed by the road conditions. It was a nice treat because the roads going into Marwa will be all mud/dirt. After settling in at the Elephant Motel we made out way over to the permanent market in Same which is just down the road from the motel. I was surprised how tentative the community was, staring at us as we drove and walked around. It concerned some of us at first, but once we got out of the cars and began interacting a little with them, all it took was a smile and wave for them to become some of the most friendly people I’ve ever met. As great as it was to get to interact with some of the locals, by far the best moment of the day came when Kateri (our contact at KiHo) arrived and presented us with a map drawn by the Marwa community. I can not iterate enough how important this will be for the project. Not only did they give us an idea of the community location and area but they provided us with their personal ideas of what a water distribution system might look like. This is huge and I am so excited to move forward and begin working with this community.

Alex McWhirter –  At the risk of repeating everyone, I will try and be brief with a few anecdotes. My first and favorite story is how H made a little boy cry…twice! As we walked around Same, we started turning heads and while many people waved and smiled back, one little boy began to cry and hid behind the brightly colored skirt of his mother. In an attempt to win his heart, H tried to give him a sucker. He cautiously accepted the sucker from his mother and then threw it back at H. We finally gave up and walked away as everyone but the little boy chuckled.  About 15 minutes later, we circled back to the same shop and even from across the street, the little boy saw H, cried and scurried away.

We have also had a bit of monkey business, and I’m not just talking about all the card games we have been playing (mainly stealing the deal in Euchre).  As we returned to the Elephant Motel, we sat under the shade of the large tree and began to have an incredibly productive meeting. About twenty minutes into the meeting, the monkeys started to invade. When I say monkeys, I mean 10-15 small monkeys that slowly came closer and closer. H had his back to the invasion and heeding his advice about distractions, no one mentioned the monkeys until they were finally within spitting distance. We all turned in amazement at the setting of our meeting and the juxtaposition of the wildlife with our somewhat formal meeting. We decided that we would have “monkey breaks” periodically.IMG_0466

Sierra Heaton – I can agree with everything that my friends have said above. So instead of repeating what they have said in my own words I will take this time to reflect differently. This place is so different from what we are accustomed to. However, while we were driving from Moshi to Same, I kept thinking “We all live in the same world”. I believe this was going through my head because while driving I was observing so many people doing so many different things. From trying to sell their produce/products at the market, to herding to animals, to digging in their garden, to just laying under a tree talking to friends, we are working for something and trying to survive in this world. I can’t help but think about the people I have come across in my life that are so judgmental and ignorant to the rest of the world. If everyone could only see and observe this part of the world I have been so grateful to be apart of for a short period of time. I can tell you that this trip has already made me think differently and appreciate more. I am also taking a journal of my own so I can share my experiences and thoughts with others so I can hopefully make an impression on others such as the people of Africa have done to me.  I can’t say that I did not have any doubts before coming on this trip. I am very far away from comfort zone, from my family and friends. But Hagenberger said something back at OSU that has become one of my favorite quotes to live by,  “Regret the things you do, not what you don’t do”.

Robbie Pesarchick – Today was an exciting day.  Leading up to this trip, I felt pretty stressed because I had a very good idea what the logistics of the trip would entail.  I was stressing the flights, the bumpy rides, the cold showers.  It was only today that those clouds cleared away.  The drive from Moshi to Same was very familiar, I’d made it twice a day for a week.  I loved seeing the agave fields, the children, and the herds of livestock.  I forgot the rush of serotonin from seeing smiles and waving and giving thumbs ups.   I loved walking through the market, exchanging greetings and making the shop owners laugh with how limited and awful my Swahili is.

It was really nice to see Kateri again, I really admire him.  He’s a selfless person and he excites the room with his enthusiasm for helping and empowering his neighbors.  Having Tony around is great.  The conversations, in contrast to the August trip, is concentrated primarily on community commitment and buy in.  Tony is steering conversations away from the numbers and measurements that we are comfortable with, and encourages us to focus on how we can make sure we can offer the optimal consultancy while ensuring that the water solution is by the people, for the people.  That is a concept that I admittedly didn’t give much consideration.  It’s easy to assume we know what would work the best and prescribe it, but that’s not necessarily the most effective solution.

It’s good to be back.

 

One thought on “Friday, May 13th, 2016

  1. What a great experience for you all!! I’m glad you have this blog! It’s a fantastic way for you all to share the experience with you family and friends way back at home. I can’t wait to read more about the trip!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *