The Roller Coaster Ride also known as the month of January

The Roller Coaster Ride of January
2/3/10

The month of January has signified a turning point. Not only is it a new year, but January marks the completion of my third month in Tanzania. January has been a busy month-with many highs and lows! I’ll take you through down the rocky road it has been.

(High) After traveling to Zanzibar for Xmas, I returned to Arusha to ring in the New Year. I celebrated New Years Eve with dinner at a Chinese restaurant, and then headed to a central round about in town to watch fireworks. After the new year I resumed working on the Books for Africa project, visited the education offices, etc.

(Low) One week after the new year, while out with friends, my purse was stolen off of the bar counter (I was standing right in front of it, and two friend sat on either side of where I set it. (Yes, yes I know. I don’t need the lecture about being more careful with my things). While I was saddened that my cash, bank card, and phone were stolen, I was more upset that my special little purse I bought at a boutique while visiting my sister in LA and special key chain I’ve had for 10years bought in Toledo, Spain were gone too! I figured the bank card would be useless to the thieves-NO WHERE in Arusha or greater Tanzania uses credit, and chances were that they weren’t savvy enough to buy a flat screen tv online. But still I (and my mother) had to go through a great deal of trouble to cancel the card from my US bank! I also lost all my phone numbers, which is the main form of doing business in Tz. my IDs were gone, as were my house keys. What a pain!

(High and Low)The following Monday, as I tried to recollect the lost bits of my life I received an urgent email from the program director with orders to go to Dar es Salaam immediately! USAID had released a funding opportunity and I was to go to Dar to network with orgs, research Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children (OVCs)issues, and sell our org as a potential partner/sub-grantee to bigger health orgs like Family Health International (FHI) and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF). While I was excited to start a new project and re-enter the world of public health, it was a little untimely considering the loss of all my important possessions! However, I pulled it together, popped a Dramamine and boarded the bus to Dar. The length of time I was to spend in Dar was indefinite which added another stressor to the trip. I was warmly welcomed at the fabulous Chateau Imee and Tom.

(High) Imee and Tom (fellows for CDC) live in a very nice apartment on the peninsula in Dar, outfitted with fast internet and cable TV! Living in the lap of luxury! Additionally, I received a call from an employee of the bar where my purse was stolen-it had been returned with all my possessions (sans cash)! I was ecstatic! Many of my Tz friends had told me similar stories about how their wallets had been stolen, and then returned to a post office, or even put in an envelope and placed under a random car’s windshield wiper. I figured with my luck, I would never see my purse again. Apparently these thieves had some shred of decency or perhaps they heard me lamenting about my fav keychain that I’ve had for 10 years!

(Low)Despite spending many hours in Imee’s guest room/office on the internet and phone trying to arrange meetings, I succeeded in setting only two during the two weeks I was in Dar. Many organizations have been working in the realm of OVCs for many years and are opting to continue with their current partners; others are not to applying for this grant; and still others felt that my org could not offer additional skills or services that they themselves (Mom/editor in chief/corrector of my speech, is that proper English?) already provide. This was definitely frustrating. This also changed my orgs approach to the grant: instead of applying along with another org as a subgrantee, we would now apply as a primary grant recipient. It also meant I would have to move on to Tanga to do more leg work.

(High) Imee and Tom are great hosts! While in Dar I ate great food: sushi, fish and chips, burger! Aside from the food and MTV, it was also nice to hang out with Imee because she can be such a motivator. As a type-A personality, Imee is a go getter, not afraid to talk to people, and is networking 24/7-pretty much my complete opposite! Through her encouragement and connections, I’ve begun to think about my next steps here and even passed along my resume. This position has been a great foot-in-the-door, but I know my next job has to be public health work full time. I’m planning a return visit to Dar to conduct some informal, informational interviews that will hopefully lead to something fruitful!

(High) Even though Tanga is probably a 4hr drive north of Dar, of course in reality it took 7hrs. Tanga town is a small seaside town with friendly people, beautiful water, and cheap eats! My first night I met a local who told me all about Tanga, showed me where the internet shop and a nice little restaurant were. On Saturday night, I accompanied him and a few Norwegians (who were staying at the same motel) to dinner and the local disco. Turns out-he knows my roommate from Zanzibar! Small world, Tanzania is. Monday morning I had a productive meeting with the regional director of the social welfare department. Even though I unexpectedly dropped by the office, the director took the time to answer all my questions, he and another officer personally escorted me to two children centers to help me with my research! This is a testament to 1) the niceness of the people here, 2) the different way in which business operates in Africa.

(All time low!) Since I had lost my purse prior to departing for Dar, I only had X amount of money, and no emergency-bank-card-withdrawing-access-as-safety-net. I had budgeted exactly enough money to for the trip and to get home—or so I thought. When I checked out of the hotel I was informed that I still owed 40,000 T shillings. I only had 40,000Tsh left, total! When I booked the room, I thought the man had said 20,000Tsh/2 nights. Apparently it was 20,000/night. After looking very upset and pathetic, the man relented and accepted 30,000. That left me with 10,000Tsh for the bus. When I arrived at the bus station, I informed the booking people that I only had 12,000. They told me that would only get me to Moshi-again I looked sad and pathetic and they said OK. THANK GOODNESS EVERYTHING IS NEGOTIABLE IN AFRICA. Usually this loosey goosey system drives me nuts: as a white person I tend to get overcharged, but in this case it worked to my advantage.

I made it safely back to Arusha. While the seaside view was beautiful, after 3 weeks of being on the road its good to be home! Since I didn’t think I would be traveling to all these places, I neglected to bring my camera to visually document the journey. When Erik comes to visit in March, I’ll have to retrace my steps and photograph the lovely places along the way (hint, hint Erik-buy that ticket!)