Saturday , August 3, 2013 - A beginning

Those of you who followed this blog last year know that I (Birdie, the other half of Ken) take the opportunity to chime in and add my own observations on our visit.  I am not as prolific as Ken, nor do I have as many adventures as he does.  Here in Iringa, he is the medical doctor and the computer doctor. Between those two titles and BKB Coordinator, he is busy all the time.  Me ...not so much.   But I have my place.  This year I am suffering a little from some back/hip pain from the long trip and aging and I am trying to work through that for the time being.  I also have a full time job just keeping track of Ken!  But fortunately we are with some terrific groups right now and they have been fun to spend time with. 

It has been such a great pleasure to see some familiar faces here in Iringa!  The main staff at the Lutheran Center is still intact and made our welcome a warm one.  Hugs all around were gratefully accepted.  With the arrival of our groups, the Lutheran Center is full and the staff love that!  Ken and I are just across the street in the Bega Kwa Bega apartment and Kent Olson is in the Ag apartment in the same building cluster.  We try to gather at some point during the day for visiting about events of the day and plans for the next one.  Lots of people going lots of different directions. 

Ken has been so busy since we got here we haven't had a chance to make a trip to the market to stock the kitchen.  I am not comfortable walking there (the walking part not the safety part) alone so we have been eating two meals a day, all out.  One of the best parts about that for me has been having breakfast at the Lutheran Center.  A plate of fresh cut fruit and a glass of interesting juice, toast and some type of egg dish is a great way to start the day.  To top that off, as I sit drinking my second cup of Africafe (the best instant coffee I have ever tasted and good enough to make me not care that I can't have Dunkin' Donut coffee) I can listen to Petro (the chef) singing in the kitchen as he works on the days preparations.  He is sometimes joined in harmony by one of the women who works there.  It is usually a simple little melody or a chant with words that I cannot understand but the joyful spirit that produces the music is unmistakable.  Petro is always smiling, too.  Here is someone who loves what he does and shares that inner joy with others without knowing it.  It makes me smile and realize how lucky I am to be here.

 

Saturday, August 3, 2013 - Reflection

When we were preparing for our trip this year, it seemed to me to be a lot easier to get ready to go.  I had the same clothes as last year plus a few warmer additions so no worries there.  I knew how much shampoo I would need and that I didn't need to bring back as much "stuff" as last time.  I knew what shoes worked and that you can cook most stuff without bringing much from the US.  I knew if I was cold I could buy rice and make a rice bag out of a pillow case and use the microwave to heat it up!  I also knew that with the internet, I could Skype, Facebook, email and use the Magic Jack for phone calls. I could be in touch as much as I wanted or needed with those back home. 

What I didn't count on was the fact that last year the weather was SO HOT that it was a relief to be going somewhere (anywhere) to get away from it.  It made leaving easy.  This year we had to wait for  the weather to finally become the summer we love.  Cold and rain prevailed until July and then became the summer we long for, warm days and cool nights.  It made leaving harder.

What I didn't count on was the knowledge of the long journey to Iringa (about 44 hours total from departure in Minneapolis to arrival at the Lutheran Center) had become a mental obstacle to the joy of the trip.  The long plane flights and the exhausting bus ride were things I wasn't looking forward to.  This was the first time I had traveled to Tanzania in two consecutive years and the memory of last year was still vivid in my mind.  It made leaving harder.

What I didn't count on was the fact that last year my grandchildren were a whole year younger and didn't seem to understand or even care that Grandma and Grandpa were going to be gone for two months.  This year, they are a whole year more fun and seemed to understand that their biggest playmates were not going to be available and that "Wednesdays" were going to just be Wednesday.  It made leaving harder. 

So the time came for us to depart and I had mixed emotions;  glad to be going with some experience so there was little trepidation, but sad to be leaving the things I love most to be doing.  I am not going to do this again I thought.  Then I arrived in the primitive airport in Dar es Salam, Tanzania and moved through the airport with a comfort that wasn't there on my first trip.  I knew the drill.  I could be flexible when we had problems with our lodging reservations because, after all, this was Africa!  (You learn to understand that the more you are here,)  The hot muggy air was comforting after the long plane flight. The sights of the streets were familiar and comforting.  The smiles of my friends here in Tanzania were comforting as we arrived in Iringa.  It was then that I realized this place is like a second home.  It is like having a place in Florida or Arizona only a lot farther away (and right now colder!)   It is like spending time in the Boundary Waters so that it is so familiar it becomes a part of you.  And...it will make leaving harder.