Sbuckles30's Blog

It is time to leave this beautiful continent and wonderful country of Tanzania.  I am sad, but also filled with hope that I will continue to return to this enchanting place.  Tears come to my eyes as I write this parting blog.  Gertrude Stein once said something to this effect, “America is my country, but Paris is my home”.  I understand her now.  Iringa, Tanzania has made me feel so welcome, almost like I am home.  People that you just meet – become some of your closest friends.  These are friends that no matter how far away you are from them, you are connected to them through your heart and soul.  This is how I feel.  It is hard to write this because I am crying.  I came to Africa to help, but it is Africa that helped me.

This country showed me that you don’t need all the modern conveniences to make you happy.  You don’t even need hot or running water.  You can eat ugali and spinach with your hands at every meal and feel more content than if you ate at a 5 star restaurant.  Tanzania showed me that you can meet someone and 5 minutes later, you are at their house sharing drinks and food, telling your life story.  Tanzania showed me true friendship.  It showed me a bond between black and white, African and American.  It showed me you can laugh at one another’s differences, but understand and respect them.  Tanzania showed me that people are all the same.  For all of those people who have a distorted view of Africa, I beg of you.  Come here.  You will never want to leave.  You will want their zest for life even though it is a hard and difficult one.  You will want their never ending hospitality whether they are villagers or city folk.  You will want their smile and their perseverance. 

Last night was difficult.  We all got together at one of our first stomping grounds – Chris, me, Miraji, Ally and Allen.  We laughed and shared goat.  We toasted one another with tears in our eyes.  We reflected on the unforgettable memories of the past month.  Ally shared with me a secret that he had kept the whole month. – Everyone, do you remember when I first arrived and got my Ipod stolen?  Well, it was at the bus station that I found out it was gone and I was crying.  Ally told everyone that he was going to get us some drinking water.  Stan, Chris and I got on the bus and waited for Ally.  The bus was leaving and we still Ally wasn’t there.  Chris and I were panicking.  We couldn’t leave Ally.  Finally, he arrived on the bus with drinking water for us.

Do you know where he really was?  He had gone back to the hotel and started tracking down my ipod.  His first stop – a shoe shine man that saw it happen and pointed Ally to an abandoned building where he could get more info.  Ally gave him 1000 TSH and went to the abandoned building where all the thieves convene to show the goods that they have stolen.  This is also where they hang out and do all sorts of shady behavior.  But Ally still went forward and talked to the main guy trying to find out more info.  He was shaking the guy down and all just for me, a person whom he had just met.  Unfortunately, he was not able to get it back because it would have taken 2 days and he only had 10 minutes.  But he offered his own money and risked his own life all because he saw me crying and wanted to make me happy.  He told me that he wanted to surprise me with my Ipod just to see me smile.

I was blown away!!!  Why did he do this for me – someone he just met?  Ally is just that way.  His heart is so big and caring.  Allen and Miraji are the same way.  It is a unconditional love that we all have experienced.  We all have loved and cared for one another like family, like brother and sister.  Kakas, I will miss you and love you with all my heart.  God has truly blessed these 3 men with hearts of gold. 

They have taught me what true friendship is.  Tanzania and all its people – thank you for accepting me into your culture, into your homes and into your hearts.  I am truly blessed that I was given this opportunity.  May God bless you and keep you safe.

Africa – you will be seeing me soon!  I will never be able to keep away from this wonderful land and its wonderful people.

On Monday I took the journey to Mafinga to visit Allen’s sister, Edina.  She was kind enough to welcome me into her school and her home without having met me before.  My journey began around 9:30 am on a crowded little bus at the Iringa bus station.  I was the only mzungu (white person) on it, with my bags on my lap crammed between two people.   

Allen told me, “oh, my Shaina.  It will only be 30 to 45 min to reach Mafinga.”  Well, an hour and a half later, I arrived in Mafinga and boy was it cold!  I got off the bus with my things and again, I felt right at home even though I was in a strange town and the only white person.  I got right into the swing of things, called Edina and waited.  She happened to be right at the bus station walking my way.  It was instant friendship!  She was so warm and welcoming with a big smile on her face which never left for the 2 days that I was there.

We took a cab to her house and she welcomed me into her home.  It was so nice.  I settled into my room and we went to her school, Luganga Secondary School.  She is the headmistress.  They were in the middle of an interview process of students.  Students are in charge of things like clubs, but African style.  Things like guidance and counseling, building and maintenance, sports and games.  The students choose 3 students for the positions, then the teachers interview them and choose the one that would best fulfill the position.  It was very interesting. 

After that, we got picked up by Father Nyangu from Mafinga Seminary and spent some time looking at the computer lab and guess who I saw, Thales.  He was one of my favorite students.  He came to the class not knowing how to turn on the computer and left creating powerpoints.  He showed me around the lab and he was so proud.  I was proud too.  We hung out with two Indian sisters and Father Nyangu and then we went to Thales’ house for sodas.  It was wonderful being in his house and he was delighted.  I love Tanzanian hospitality.  Even though they have very little, they will give what they have in order to make their guests comfortable.  They are much more concerned with how the guest feels then their own concerns.

We left the Seminary and went back to Edina’s where her daughters prepared a lovely meal of rice, chicken and soup.  We were with Edina’s second headmaster and we had a great time watching news and soap operas.

The next day, back to Luganga.  I took a tour of the property and it was gorgeous.  The town is full of gorgeous trees and thick forests.  I sat in on a class and really enjoyed myself.  The teacher was young and full of life.  He was very interactive with the students.  I talked the rest of the afternoon with the teachers and the students and then the teachers sent me off with a beautiful kitenge.  Edina and I enjoyed a nice lunch and went to town to catch the bus.

She has become my sister.  She is so loving and full of life!  She gave me everything in her home and she didn’t even know me, but after 2 days we formed a special bond.  Black or white, American or African, it just doesn’t matter.  We are  people with the same thoughts and feelings and Edina and I will always be good friends, even sisters. 

Well, finally last night we were all able to meet Allen’s demu (girlfriend) Vivian.  We had heard so much about her and even had talked to her on the phone.  She is a lovely girl and how she puts up with Allen is beyond me!  Just kiddin’ rafiki yangu!

After class, it was decided that we would all head to Allen’s place for dinner and socializing.  Plus, it was Allen’s brother’s last night in Iringa.  Some of us walked and others drove.  Not all can be held in the precious Panda.

I was very excited to finally be going to Allen’s home.  It was such a great honor to me.  He told us immediately to feel right at home and we did!  I was lounging on the couch with Ally and Chris was sitting on the bed with Allen and Vivian and Ally #2 Allen’s brother kept coming in and out.

We started playing music and eventually we got around to playing Sublime and Vivian and Ally were braiding Chris and I’s hair.  Allen was busy wearing Chris’ sunglasses and pretending to be Jay-z.  Then there was some dancing evolved.  Ally really enjoyed the smooth groove of Sublime.  And ladies if you could see him dance – he is quite a natural. All this time, Allen’s brother was preparing a delicious meal.

When it was finished, we all sat down on the floor with the food in the middle, Allen prayed and then we began to eat.  We were laughing, joking, listening to music, enjoying wonderful food, eating with our hands and just having a blast.  I cannot tell everyone enough, it has been such a blessing meeting Ally and Allen.  They are two of the most wonderful people I have ever met.  Chris and I instantly bonded with the two of them.  It is like we have known each other our whole lives and I am already anticipating seeing them again next year in Iringa, Tanzania on the beautiful continent of Africa.

Another fantastic voyage taken by the flat residents – Jan, Jim, Stan, Chris, Sunita and of course Miraji.  We took our journey to Isimila on a lovely midafternoon.  It was a little chilly, but the skies were blue the winds were calm and everything was peaceful.  The first thing we saw as we entered the Isimila area was a mud hut with an African woman outside churning something on an old fashioned machine.  Immediately, we were brought back in time and I rather enjoyed it.  It was a magnificent beginning to our journey back into the Stone Age times.  Isimila is home to thousands of ancient tools created by people called zinjathropes.  These tools found there are over 300,000 years old!  In my mind, we were almost walking on sacred ground.

The first thing was we had to go down a steep staircase into this basin of white sand and rock.  From there, the environment kept changing.  We went through an area of yellow sand with pillars of sandy rock.  Then we encountered a red sandy area with rocks that looked like they were entirely made of iron.  We saw lots of hyrax which look kind of like a grey prairie dog. They were sunning themselves on the rocks.  And strangely enough, they are the closest animal related to the animal.  I will explain in detail to those who want to know the info.  It really is fascinating how a rat-like animal can be extremely similar to the elephant.

We spent a good 2 hours just walking around and exploring.  Along the way were the ancient tools that the guide had showed us in the beginning in the museum area.  They were just on the ground! – Tools that were 300,000 years old.  Maybe it was due to the fact that I am a history buff, but I was mesmerized.  I absolutely was awe-struck.  I was standing in the middle of tools made over 300,000 years ago!

Overall, it was a great trip and we all had experienced so much in a small amount of time.  Tanzania has been such an enchanting place, and this was one further proof to this statement.

I am going back in time due to the fact I have not had the opportunity to blog. So, here we go. After we completed the first teacher training class, we had a headmaster class. We were blown away by the attendance of the headmaster class. We did not have great expectations for this class because usually the headmasters are too busy or they just don’t want to show up. It was obvious that the teachers had talked to their headmasters and told them the importance of this class.

The class was unbelievable. They were all so excited. We created email accounts for them. We taught them excel, word and powerpoint. We showed them the presentations that their teachers had created. All this made it come alive to them. In some aspects, they were more excited than their teachers. One headmaster really made an impression on me – Reverend Ngogo. He was so full of life and vitality, always a smile on his face. He just made you smile by looking at him.

This is where it leads into the Image reception. Rev. Ngogo is the headmaster at Image, which is a village area around 35 km from Iringa. It is surrounded by beautiful majestic mountains as you can see in the picture. Just as in Lugalo, we had a regal reception. Students everywhere were singing and dancing. Rev Ngogo was in the center dancing and we joined him. Several students put on skits, did acrobatics, blew fire and lots more. Each American was paired with a teacher from Image and we had lunch together. My partner was Muhammed and he was a delightful fellow. He had just started teaching at Image a week earlier and was thoroughly enjoying his time there.

After lunch, we toured the school which is a boarding school of about 800 students. It was a magnificent campus. I was so impressed by this school, its headmaster and its teachers. We walked into the computer lab where lo and behold was Kaiza, one of our teachers who had graduated our class. We saw the students grouped together around computers creating powerpoints with pie charts. They were creating word documents with clip art and wordart. He was teaching them everything that he had learned. It was a gratifying moment. The students stood up and talked about the importance of their computers.

And guys, they were doing it without the internet and without electricity. Those computers were running on solar power. They want internet access, but they understand it is not possible at this moment so they must be patient and plan to travel to Kinchangani once and awhile to use the internet.
That experience at Image was wonderful. It is beautiful area with an equally beautiful campus. The teachers are dedicated and Rev Ngogo was such a delight! I am eager to return to Image next year and see the progess.
So, everyone, keep up the prayers for communities like this!

Yes folks, we did it again.  We returned to the infamous Shadows.  That is the same place where we waited 3 hours for our food last week.  No one is admitting to who suggested that we go there again.  I don’t blame them.  The group would probably tie them up in the street and stone them.  It started out fun just as before.  This time Allen’s brother was with us.  His name is Ally too.  He was a delight.  He was helping me with my Swahili.  It is definitely coming along.  I can understand more conversation now. 

Well, we were joking around as always.  This time we were giving Ally #1 a hard time about his delightful way of taking things from others.  For instance, the other day I had some leftover food from a restaurant.  He saw it and exclaimed, “Oh, what is this?  This looks very nice – beans, rice and greens.  Oh for me?  Oh it is very niiiiice.  Thank you”.  Then he just takes it for his own.  And for all who have seen the movie Borat, Ally says “very nice” just like him.  It is hilarious.  So, Chris decided to pull the trick on Ally himself.  Chris did the whole scene with Ally’s lovely leather jacket which just happened to have Ally’s prized possession in it – his “Brackberry” as he likes to call it – BLACKBERRY. 

Chris proceeded to wear the jacket around the restaurant and strut his stuff.  I think Ally was going to have a coronary because he was apart from his “Brackberry”.  He continued to laugh and said, “I am not worried.  I will get it back.”  After this we all came up with a wonderful vision.  What is Ally’s house like? Is it piled high with other people’s stuff?  We all had a good laugh.

All this was happening and still no food.  After an hour, Allen went back and talked to the cook.  It would be ready soon they said.  We questioned the meaning of the word “soon”.  After another 45 min, they went back to the cook – again, it would be soon.  After 2 hours, Chris started spazzing out threatening to eat the person that he had known the least amount of time which happened to be Allen’s brother, Ally.  Finally, my food arrived which consisted of ugali and greens.  All five of us shared it.  Ugali is like grits and greens are spinach.  So just envision 5 grown adults sharing this, eating with their hands.   After 10 minutes, another plate of food arrived – the chips mayai, potatoes and egg.  At this point Allen was furious and ran back to the kitchen and cancelled the ordered.  Then it took another 15 minutes to get the bill.  Of course it couldn’t end there.  Allen saw the price of the ugali and pitched a fit.  He said there was no way it could cost that much.  There was some quarreling between him and the server, Devota from the other incident.  Finally, we left and we all vowed never to go back.

Through the entire thing, I kept reminding everyone of the importance of patience.  Actually, I was very adamant and reminded everyone that there are people who don’t eat for days and we could all learn from this.  Chris wasn’t buying it and neither were the others, but Allen’s brother and I kept a smile on our face.  We had our food, but we were kind enough to share with the others.

Overall, I thought we had learned from the last mistake, but apparently not.  What is the saying?  “Shame me once, shame on you.  Shame me twice,  shame on me.”  And that everyone is today’s lesson – “SHAME ON ME”

Jan Pullin from St.Stephens and her husband Jim arrived in Iringa Friday night.  Stan had a reception planned at Lugalo because that is the sister school of St. Stephens.  We had no idea what to expect.  Stan and the others drove, but Chris and I walked. 

When we walked up, we heard singing and laughing and the girls in their uniforms rushed up to us to put African clothing on us.  We took a tour of the school and then we entered this reception room.  There was a long table at the head of the room with our names assigned to certain seats.  We directed to go to our places and the show began.  They sung several songs, most of those they had written themselves.  They recited poetry that they had written.  They did traditional African dances which Sunita, Jan and I were instructed to join in.   

It was unbelievable!  The hospitality of this school.  They were so glad we were here and they were so thankful of the computers and the teaching we had given them.  It was better than any wedding reception I had ever been to.  They repeatedly took turns saying how grateful they were to Global Outreach and St. Stephens.  They offered the best they had for us.  We were their special guests, and to me that was an understatement.  They were all so genuine and sincere.  The students were radiating with pride for their culture.  It was beautiful. 

 After we had eaten, it was mingling time.  The students rushed up to us, chatting and smiling and begging to have their picture taken with us.  They kept telling us thank you so much for coming.  You are very welcome here at Lugalo.  They all made us feel at home in Iringa, in Tanzania and in Africa.  I was glowing when we left the school.  We had been treated like kings and queens, yet I was so humbled.  I have never witnessed such appreciation. 

This is something I will take back with me to the U.S.  I will be grateful and appreciate everything that comes my way.  I am learning their way of life and their culture and it is so touching. 

 Again I say to everyone, if we could be just a little more like the Africans and not the other way around, the world would be a better place.  I cannot say this enough.  I will take back what I have learned here in Africa and try to incorporate it into everything that I do in my life.  They are truly Christ-like.  They are beaming with the love of Christ and we can all learn from this.  And they do all this without all our “modern conveniences” and technology.  They live simply and they love greatly.

Last Friday, after teaching, Allen, Chris and I decided to trek out to the place called Gangilonga. It is a HeHe word for  “speaking rock”. While driving up there, we asked 3 people along the way, which rock it was and they kept pointing to the same one. So, we parked and started our hike.

In the beginning of the hike I spotted a stone formation shaped like a mushroom. As we headed up, I kept getting attacked by these very thorny trees. They God I was wearing my kanga like a shawl. It protected me from most of the attacks, but I still came out slightly scathed. We ventured higher up and came to the rock. It was not climbable due to we had no rock climbing equipment, but we did explore around it and found some flat rocks that stood high on the mountain.

We gathered on the rocks and down below us was Iringa. It was such a beautiful sight. There was a lovely breeze and it was so serene. Chris was more adventurous than Allen and I and went towards higher rocks. He was determined to climb them and he did. He was “king of the world” for a moment.

We had a wonderful exploration and just a great time. On the way down, we took a different route which was much steeper. Just as I was saying how I fall on every hike, there I went sliding down the mountain. Luckily I was wearing some gym pants under my skirt, so I was saved from most harmed, but still have some big scratches on my arm to show off as war wounds.

When we returned to town, we caught up with Miraji and Stan and told them about our adventure. Miraji started laughing and told us that the stone that we climbed up to was not the true Gangilonga.

The real one has driving paths and then a nice smooth walkway up to the stone. Chris and I just looked at one another and laughed. But we both agreed that hiking up the mountain was a better experience. All three of us had a wonderful time together. It was truly another incredible Iringa experience.

The group have worked all week and now – graduation day!  It was a memorable and emotional day.  We had been with them for 9 hrs a day for 5 days.  We got to know every individual personality. 

There is a picture below of me pointing with the students crouched low to the ground.  Do you know what they are doing?  They are picking up rocks for their bingo game pieces.  Day 4 was my day teaching the class and I had a blast and I think the students did to.  I introduced to them crossword puzzles, word searches and finally, bingo.  It was so much fun seeing them getting up and moving around to person to person asking for help with the crossword puzzles.  They were smiling and having a good time while learning.  And just when they thought I was too crazy – that’s when I marched them outside and had them hunting for rocks.  They thought that was the strangest thing, but they had fun.  It was different and engaging.  They as students were part of the teaching.  They did such a wonderful job with the games.  This is something they have NEVER done in a class and they enjoyed it.  They immediately started creating their own games for their classes. 

In only 5 days, they learned so much and we grew to love them and respect them.  Tanzanians are such lovely people.  The gratitude they have is immense.  They received their certificates of completion and their eyes were wide and sparkling.  Some got up and talked about the week and how much they had learned.

They thanked the three of us so humbly – it was a lesson in humility for all of us.  They presented Sunita and me with beautiful pieces of cloth to use as a dress, skirt, wrap or scarf.  Chris was given a necklace for himself and one for his girlfriend.  They also signed and wrote individual notes in a card. 

What a day!  I was so proud at the moment.  This is what teaching is about.  It made me somewhat discouraged by American behavior.  It is very rare that a student expresses his gratitude for what you have taught them, but I do have hope.

Africans are so thankful and appreciative.  At that moment, I was the happiest I have been about being a teacher.  This is why I went into teaching.  It was a moment I will never forget.  Their excitement for learning is unimaginable to us in the United States.  Every piece of information, they are noting and storing in their minds.  They are thinking how this will help them and their children and the future generations.

They want to get out of poverty and the Tanzanians know it will only be through education. 

I truly believe we have taught them good things to bring back to their schools.  We have given them the tools, now it us up to them to use them.  They are an encouragement to me and I think also to Chis and Sunita.  Everyone out there reading this – if you could only see through their eyes for a minute – what a world of difference it would make!

God Bless!

This is a combined quote from Ally and Allen last night.  I think this should be the motto of Tanzania – maybe sew it onto the flag.  Now, we Americans are not known for our great patience, but Africans are different.  They do not mind waiting for things.  It’s kind of like Frank’s song, “The Best is Yet to Come”.

But last night, even the patience of Ally and Allen was tried.  We arrived at a bar/slash grill around 7 pm, our usual time of socializing.  We took a few pics in front of the place.  Ally and Allen took turns wearing Chris’ beanie.  By the way, don’t they look good?  I will put up some pics later to show all of you out there.  So, we finished goofing around outside and entered the place.  The server was great.  She hung out with us all night.  We ordered drinks and started joking and chatting comme d’habitude.  Chris somehow managed to get Devota’s earrings and wore them.  Bob Marley was playing and I got up and danced with Devota and 2 guys in the place.  All just having fun.  By this time, it was about 9:30.  Now, usually the food does take about an hour to be served here in Africa.  But after 2 and 1/2 hours Allen started getting concerned.  Maybe concerned isn’t the right word.  He was down right upset!  He took off with a huff and a sigh to go talk to someone up at the bar.  When he came back, they returned with one plate of food.  We all looked at one another in amazement.  Where were the other 3 plates of food?

So, for a good 5 minutes, we sat there staring at the 1 omelette in front of it, wondering what to do.  Apparently, the order got mixed up in the kitchen even though we were the only table in the place.  Ally came up with the idea that maybe after the 1st dish was cooked, the chef suddenly got a better offer and was transferred to Dar Es Salaam where more money was offered.  While we were waiting for the other 3 dishes, an interview process for cooks was currently taking place.  Ha! 

Then Chris had the idea that maybe they were waiting for the next rainy season so the potatoes and tomatoes had time to grow and then we could get our food.  Ally suggested another idea – maybe we had to order the food two days in advance to be able to have a meal.  Whatever the case may be, we decided that we would share the omelette and pass the fork around.

Chris and I seemed ok with the long process.  It was Ally and Allen who were going nuts about the long wait.  They had lost their patience.  We all had a good time last night and folks, what was the lesson of this story?

That’s right – PATIENCE UNTIL YOU DIE