Great Books

One of the greatest joys in my life is reading. I loved the book club I was in because it forced me to read outside my usual choices. Several people have sent us books since we've been here and our church library has a decent selection of novels and a wide variety so I'm sure that as I run through my preferred choices I'll be soon reading books that I normally wouldn't choose, which is always good.

Being inspired by Calandria and Karen's blogs, I'm posting several great reads. Some I've just read, some I've read over and over. All are definitely worth the time!

This was Oprah's first pick when she restarted up her book club again a few years ago. It's the story of Cain and Abel played out over 3 generations of Californians at the turn of the century. The struggles of the brothers revolve around those verses in Genesis in which both Able and Cain bring offerings to God--God is pleased with Abel's offerings but not Cain's, leading to jealousy and the eventual murder of Abel. The desire to please a father and continually coming up short in comparison to a brother is at the heart of the novel.

And while we're on Steinbeck..."Grapes of Wrath" is one of the best American novels ever. Period. Steinbeck wrote it in 1939, right on the heels of the Dust Bowl and immediately understand the pain and devaluation of people that was happening. His descriptions of the Joads alternate with chapters of the larger collective conscience of those displaced people. It's sparse--no wasted words or flowery descriptions, but practically perfect in its rendering of life. Everyone's probably seen the Henry Fonda movie, but read the book.

They're called classics for a reason--they represent the essential elements of the time in which they were written and yet cross all boundaries of time and place. My two Jane Austen crazy friends (and 3 watchings of the recent movie while traveling to Tanzania) inspired me to read "Pride and Prejudice." Which, I admit, was helped along having seen the movie first. But the structure of society at that time, the manners and expectations, and the wit are terrific. I'm onto "Sense and Sensibility" now (which also was made into a recent movie, but one I haven't seen).

I am a big fan of American literature, especially Southern fiction. "Huckleberry Finn" is typically touted as the definitive work of American literature, but I have always loved "Tom Sawyer". Twain perfectly capture the dialect, the enthusiasm, and the lives of the people of Harper's Ferry. His knowledge of local superstitions, which are gospel to Tom, Huck, and Joe are amazing as well as humourous.

Along with things Southern comes an interest in slavery. The author of "Slaves in the Family" is descended from some of the wealthiest slave owners and sellers in (I think) South Carolina. Because of his family's meticulous (bordering on obsessive) record-keeping in all aspect of their lives, he has been able to trace slaves owned by his family back to villages in Africa. For those African-American descendents, they are some of the very few who can pinpoint where their ancestors came from. I'm not a big non-fiction fan, but this one I couldn't put down.

Along the same lines, but fictional is "The Known World", an account of a black family (slaves that were able to purchase their own freedom) who owned other slaves. Historically, there were these people who owned other slaves for a variety of reasons. The main character, whose father bought his own freedom and that of his wife and son, is "mentored" by the richest white man in the county and confronts the questions of what determines success and its outward trappings, as well as the need for the kind of labor required to run farms of a certain size at that time.

Lest I get too stuck on the South, this is the last one. Most everyone has read (or seen) "The Prince of Tides". Pat Conroy is one of my favorite authors and this one combines the Holocaust, Southern dysfunctional families, cancer, suicide, Rome, the Vietnam war, and a murder hiding out as a monk all into one great book. It's one of the few books I've read that travels a terribly painful road as the protagonist comes to grips with his past and has a great feel good ending that doesn't feel forced or artificial.

Did you know that Harper Lee only wrote one book in her entire life? I guess you don't have to write anything more after "To Kill a Mockingbird". It is perhaps my favorite book of all time. I loved that it's written from the point of view of the child. It's one of the few books where I've loved the movie as much as the book. And I should mention that you don't have to be from the South to "get" small town life. There were a few Boo Radley and Bob Ewell types where I grew up in Montana.

Speaking of Montana--there is nothing bigger in a small town than it's basketball team. When our team went to the divisional or state tournaments, businesses and school would close so EVERYONE could head to Missoula or Billings or Helena or Bozeman for the tournaments. The whole town turned out on Friday or Saturday nights (teams played home one night and away the other) to watch the team, dissected every play and call at the cafes the next morning, and took every win and loss personally. "Blind Your Ponies" centers on a Class C basketball team (a school w ith less than 100 kids) that hasn't won a game in over 4 years. In true small town fasion (at least for Montana) everyone is connected, secrets run deep, and the hopes of the whole town ride on the shoulders of the 6 boys that make up the team. If you love basketball and/or Montana--read this! The title is from a Native American legend of a band of warriors that returned to camp to find all the women and children dead. In their grief--and absolute faith in being reunited with them--they blinded their horses and rode them off a cliff to their deaths. The story becomes a metaphor for hope against all odds and the reality that they face every game.

(No pics for these last 2--wouldn't upload for some reason)

If you have a great book to recommend, pass it along--one that really touched you and made you think--I'll post them as well!

Pangani Sunshine

When we first arrived in Tanzania, several families advised us strongly of the need to get away "often", at least every 3-4 months or so to recoup and avoid burn-out. We couldn't imagine vacationing that often--as teachers we had the down time that came with school breaks, but only took one trip a year.
Well, that was then and now we're a bit wiser. Stress can be suddenly overwhelming or it can creep up slowly. And "everyone" was right that a few days away does wonders for your mental health. We never thought that we would need these breaks, but they are needed and definitely enjoyable.

Pangani is a small town on the coast about 6 hours from here. Peponi's is a great resort catering to backpackers and expats, but definitely off the tourist path. Low key, great food, a new pool, and a great place to kick back for a few days. We took a dhow to the sand island for shell collecting and swimming, hit the pool for more swimming and rode the tubes for…yep, more swimming.
Noah, especially, did not come out of water for anything more than a bathroom break or meals. Ava learned to swim with her face in the water and began practicing without her floaters (in this pic, though, she's not in the pool--she's just been dumped overboard and is swimming for shore). We’ve been here long enough to see familiar faces, which was really nice, too.

And, since it rained for 36 hours straight just before we left, a bit of basking was especially welcome!

I Love Arusha

And I can sum it up in one word--weather. Yes, any of you with any kind of short or long-term memory capacity have probably heard my mini-rants/musings on why the *$&#^@ the weather is so cool at the equator. And anyone who has known me for any length of time knows that, next to my hair, being dissatisfied with weather is pretty much a way of life for me. After almost 20 years of living in Minnesota, I actually enjoyed the weather for about 6 weeks of the year. And don't get me started on the mosquitos. The combination of sunscreen, bug repellant, and sweat was something I just never really learned to appreciate.

Having just returned from Pangani, on the Tanzanian coast, I am reminded that I think Arusha is pretty much the best place to land in Tanzania, at least for me. For one thing, it really is a pretty decent town as far as being able to access creature comforts. It's got a great ex-pat community. It's on the edge of the savannahs, but in the shadow of the Meru rainforest so the scenery is great. Despite all the dire warnings about mosquitos and malaria, it's not too bad here, and we rarely are bitten and rarely wear repellant.

But back to the weather...the best thing about Arusha is IT'S NOT HUMID. In our 4 days at the coast, we loved the sea, the pool, the heat--but not that sticky humid feeling that never seems to go away. Even when it rained. The owner actually discouraged us from thinking about Christmas there unless we liked the humidity. The weather here reminds me of August in Montana--hot days (more intense sun here at th equator) and cool nights. Minus the forest fires.

Of course, I'm riding the high of a week of hot weather. Last Friday it started to rain here around 4 pm and was still raining without a break when we left Sunday morning. Yuck.

Now about my hair--I'm afraid nothing's going to help.

In the Year 2006...

Cameron is doing his homework tonight by kerosene lantern. We're learning to not leave things until the last minute because we don't know if we will have consistent electricity. Luckily, the power came back on so Cameron could turn on the piano. He is working on writing a minuet as a project for his music class.

Just Because...

This wasn't taken in Tanzania...but it could've been, really. You've gotta admire the pre-iPod ingenuity!

An Inside Look at Education in Tanzania

Every day we wake up and feel so blessed to be living in Tanzania. We also feel so fortunate to live in Arusha, which, despite our challenges, continues to be a pretty soft landing! And even though we are working in the education field we have had fairly limited experience in Tanzanian schools and when we visit, it is clear that everyone has put their best foot forward to welcome us.

The other day I found a website that listed a number of PCV (Peace Corps Volunteers) blogs, written by people teaching here. In reading through them, I have a new sense of commitment to the work that PHF is doing. I'm cribbing excerpts from their blogs and have eliminated names and references to villages, since I don't have their permission. All of them are located in villages considerable distances from any large towns.

I noticed a small fire near the school kitchen. I didn’t think anything of it until it got bigger. When I went to investigate what was going on, I noticed that most of the students were gathered around the fire and instead of putting it out, were spreading the fire so it would completely burn down the small school restaurant and area surrounding it. I then went to inform some of my fellow teachers about what was going on and they were very scared and advised me to not worry about the fire (since I would be in harms way if I returned to where the fire was) and go back home and go to sleep. I was very disturbed by their advice because the American in me wanted to call the fire dept (which doesn’t exist here in TZ) and have the fire put out or at least advise our village policeman what was going on (they told me that it was the teacher on duty’s responsibility). When I told one teacher he was surprised that I was so shaken up by the fire and what was going on because stuff like this is common here. I tried to explain to him that fires are a very serious thing in America and it is difficult for me to sleep when I know that a fire is spreading, (and not being put out) so near my house. The next day I found out that a female student got in trouble for losing the soccer ball from the Saturday soccer game. In order to punish her 3 teachers came back to the school around 3pm (Sunday) and beat her for so long until she couldn’t stand up anymore. They then continued to beat her since she couldn’t stand up anymore. I think that she later passed out from this since the teachers had to resort to pouring cold water on her to get her to respond. As it turns out, the school security guard was the one who stole the soccer ball and the teachers knew this they just wanted a reason to beat this girl that they didn’t like. The students were pissed off that they got accused and punished for stealing the soccer ball and so they stole the guard’s bicycle and went to his house and beat him up! (This might sound horrid but the guy was lucky that they didn’t kill him!) The teachers then beat some of the students for beating up the security guard and this made the students madder so they decided to burn the small school restaurant down. I believe that what the students did was not only because of the soccer incident but because they have been beat very harshly all term, they were asked to pay more school fees for better food and the school has yet to provide it, the cooks have still not been paid after 3 months and most of the teachers don’t even teach their classes. On Monday I found out that in order to punish the students for the fire the teachers were going to beat the students!

It all started last week Saturday, when one of our students complained of feeling sick. The next day, he was taken to the regional hospital, where they diagnosed him with malaria. However, this was an incorrect diagnosis, which they realized when they saw his condition exacerbating (GRE word #1). On Monday the poor kid went into a coma, and was having trouble breathing. At this point, he was diagnosed again and found to have meningitis(!). I'm not sure which type, but that’s not important. What is important was that the proper medicine was in short supply, so the entire town had to be scoured to find him any. Maybe it was too little, too late, for a day and night later, he passed away. This was around 11pm Tuesday night.At his bedside, a fellow student had been present. This student immediately called his classmates to tell them the terrible news. Within a few minutes of his death, a majority of the students knew of it. Now, this is the first student death (here) in five or six years, but I've been informed that the "standard procedures" when a student passes away are to hold a school-wide assembly the following day to address the issue. Well, the advent (GRE word #2) of cellular phones allowed this procedure to be circumvented, and the students were aware of the death before the administration. And they were very, very unhappy.Shortly after getting the news, the students arranged amongst themselves to meet at their parade ground. Once assembled, the organized a plan to march en masse to the headmaster's house, to voice their grievances. Their largest concern was that the student wasn't treated properly, they thought with more attention he could have been spared. Maybe, maybe not... Well, at this gathering, another student collapsed and was taken to the house of another school official. I suppose this student's collapse was the progenitor (GRE word #3) of the events which follow. While this student was being looked at in the other house, the students decided to march, as planned. But now, rage was with them.They arrived at the headmaster's house, roughly 500 of them, as a seething mob. Somewhere en route to his house, mob mentality had taken over and they didn't calmly present their concerns, as was initially planned. Now if you recall from my previous post about the soccer riot, what these kids do when they form a mob is throw rocks. So that's what they did. They began bombarding the headmaster's house with rocks, and the yell "Tunakufa!" got taken up ("We are dying!"). They demanded the headmaster come out and face them, and give them an explanation, but prudently he remained inside and told them via a window that he would address them if they calmed down and returned to the parade ground. They refused.I should point out two important facts now. The first is that they arrived at his house around 1am, and that at this time, the power had gone out. The second is that A's house was adjacent to the headmaster's (yes, was; we'll get to that). Imagine waking up in the middle of the night to the cacophony (GRE word #4) of 500 students rioting, and then realizing you can't turn on the lights to see what's going on- the night is stygian (GRE word #5).That's what happened to A, he woke up, and not knowing what was happening, he went outside. The students saw him, and yelled at him "Go back inside! This doesn't concern you!" He did, as anyone would when faced with 500 angry students with rocks. The rioting and shouting continued for an hour or so, but eventually the mob moved away from the headmaster's house and into the soccer field, where a coalition from the school met with them. Around this time, two things happened concurrently (GRE word #6). First, the school administration realized the students were getting more and more out of hand, and that they wouldn't disperse. Second, A assumed all the students had left his immediate area, as the shouting had ceased. He decided to go outside again and see the aftermath of this maelstrom (GRE word #7). When he went out on his porch, he heard some commotion around the headmaster's car, and so he shined his flashlight in that direction. The students he illuminated immediately responded by throwing rocks at him. Maybe to avoid being identified, maybe because they were just angry... Whatever the case, two of the windows in A's house were broken, and he was hit a glancing blow to his head. Don't worry; he's fine physically. But emotionally, the fact that his students he came here to help would be brazen (GRE word #8) enough throw stones at him really got under his skin. So much so, the next morning he called Peace Corps and told them the situation, requesting a transfer.

Two of the cooks at my school were recently laid off for a month for some unknown reason. They didn’t think they were going to be able to cook again at my school and so they went to the village witch doctor and asked him to curse my principal and give them some potion that would make him call them back to work. My principal found out about it and fired both of them for such disgraceful acts.

Life in the village has been somewhat uneventful this past month. I started teaching again in August however I haven’t been able to teach a single period this past September and I was told not to expect to teach any more periods until January. Last week we had graduation and so everyday the students were preparing for that and thus unable to study. We have also been making bricks for some reason unknown to me. I think it might have been to show the parents when they came to graduation that we are planning to build something but no plans of any sort have been made. Everyday each student has been required to carry 20 bricks up from the river. They have now made hundreds of them.

I gave my first chemistry test 2 weeks ago to have all 30 of my students cheat on it including the 3 smartest ones that I give free tutoring to. I was very unhappy tofind one of my smartest students copying the information directly from his notebook when I walked around the room to see if they were done with the test. Normally around half of my students cheat on my tests but I never thought an entire class would. I later discussed what happened with my fellow teachers to find out that most of them cheated their way through high school too! I also talked to my fellow PCVs to find out that it is common in their schools too. One year so many of the students cheated on their national exams that the Ministry of Education canceled all of their scores for the entire country for that.

I have seen or heard about everything at my school: female and male teachers raping students, teachers beating students for no reason other than to let off steam, and other cruel things but last week I was very surprised to see that now they are making the students beat one another! We have had a problem, like most schools do, when it comes to lining up for lunch and other meals. The students are only fed a tasteless dough-like substance, ugali, along with tasteless beans, but they are so hungry they fight each other to get their food! So now to keep them in line they let one sophomore student beat them if they don't wait for their food patiently in a line! I asked my principal about this and he said that they are tired of beating the students, which is hard for me to believe, and they also don't want to miss their lunch in order to keep them in order.

I wish I could say that these people are giving it their all in the worst of the worst school settings, but sadly, that's not the case. This is not atypical. I wonder if things are slightly better near larger towns/cities like Arusha, but I know that it's not the case. Teachers aren't paid, they don't teach, they abuse their students while headmasters pocket fees. It's a sad commentary that one writer observed all he had to do was come to work every day to be a vast improvement over the other teachers that come twice a month. It's a sad commentary when we are told that if we can pay teachers on time and regularly we'll be leaps ahead of the norm. What's sad is that classrooms are full of children who want to learn and who believe that an education is their ticket to a better life. There are teachers who are trying their best, who know there's a better way to do things, but are stifled by a system and a lack of training. There was an article in the paper a week or so ago about "brain drain" as Tanzanians leave the country to get education and jobs. What about the brain drain that's occurring every day in schools all over the country?!

In that respect, I believe PHF does have much to offer. In addition to educating the students that will attend our school and training our teachers to be great, I firmly believe that we have an obligation to share the wealth by providing training and opportunities for learning to as many teachers as we can. Face it, we can't educate all the kids, but if we can show teachers a better vision of what teaching can be, if we can show headmasters a different model of leading and managing, if they in turn can share their knowledge...then we can begin to effect change apart from just what happens on our own campus.

To those of you who have supported us personally and PHF financially or emotionally or spiritually--THANK YOU. Keep it up in whatever way you can and know that whatever you do, you are making a dramatic difference way over here.

Color, Color--Everywhere!

One of the things you notice when you arrive in Tanzania is the profusion of color, even in the driest dustiest areas. Any of our Western notions about coordinating color in our clothing goes right out the window. Women everywhere wear kangas and combine them in ways that make every passer-by come alive. The small fungas (piles of vegetables) sold by the road or at the markets brighten up the scene wherever you look. Brightly painted dukas and buildings--painted so either because no one can afford to be choosy about affordable paint or because they have an eye for color that is so different from ours--line the streets. Even the dalla-dallas, the crazy overstuffed minivan buses are wildly decorated (my favorite the other day proclaimed "damu ya Yesu"--"the blood of Jesus"-- on the top of the window, "Inshahallah"--the Muslim phrase meaning "if Allah wills it" --at the bottom and sported a giant marijuana leaf in the middle--go figure).

But nature provides some amazing color as well. Here in the fall/spring (fall back home and spring here) it's jacaranda season. These beautiful purple trees explode like fireworks and their beautiful lavender petals carpet the roads everywhere. These photos are taken in our yard and at the international school, but you can bet PHA will be just as colorful.
The bouganvilla spreading across the roof of the kids' dining area at school will be covering the 2 miles of fence surrounding PHA. It's amazing how everything grows so quickly here, given enough water. The weather is hot, the short rains are (hopefully) imminent, and things are BLOOMIN'! Come and see for yourself.

And thanks, Calandria, for your inspiration--you always capture the little things that are great about living in MN--including your nature shots--and I'm terrible about that. It took me a week to remember to drag a camera along on the way to school today!

What a View!

Here is Peace House Academy from a whole 'nother perspective. While Charles and Andrea were here, we were able to ask a friend with a plane for a favor and he flew them over the school site for this great shot. Unfortunately, when you come to volunteer, we can't promise you'll get this view...but at least you can map out your early morning walking/running routes!

Starting at the bottom, the pairs of squares are the student dorms. Just to the left of them and at an angle is the dining hall. Above them, the egg-shaped road circles the hill--you can see the volunteer housing on the lower right of the loop. At the left on the narrow end, you can see the headmaster's house and our house which is to the right. Along the top of the loop are the teacher houses. Directly to the left of the narrow end of the loop is the administration/classroom building. Above that is the workshop area.

This view from higher up shows the whole project area. You can see the fence line around the approx. 100 acres. A large section of the land to the right of the loop has been planted as an orchard.

Karibuni wote! (Welcome to all!)

A Maasai Experience in Eluyai

This week I had an amazing opportunity to spend two days and overnight in a Maasai village called Eluyai, about 3 hours from Arusha. Mileage-wise, it’s really not very far, but in terms of road conditions (or lack of roads) and culture, it’s another world entirely. PHF has a video/recording/production team here for two weeks to do some filming and photography of PHF. Andrea and Charles are absolutely amazing at what they do, which is creating magic. They are able to see and record images and events in a way that draw you into that experience and make you feel like you’re really there. They are also tremendous blessings in that they donate their time and talents to PHF to make our work here come alive. One of their tasks was to record traditional Tanzanian music, including the Maasai. That's Andrea manning the computer and Charles hunched over to snap one of those photos that all of us amateurs can't ever seem to get!

In many ways, the Maasai story is comparable to that of the Native Americans. They are traditional nomadic pastoralists who are in great danger of losing their way of life. The need/desire to “fit in” to a more Western culture, the encroachment onto their land of private reserves, agriculture, population growth, the ongoing ravages of the climate are all threatening a way of life. A group called Aang Serian (Maasai for “house of peace”—how appropriate is that?!) is working to preserve and record their way of life and made the arrangements for us to go to the village. The husband and wife team of Aang Serien (she’s British, he’s Maasai) have a vested interest, in that we visited his village. You really can’t go to a village on your own—it’s often perhaps not safe, and it is very inappropriate. In order to visit, you need to have an invitation and introductions by someone who is connected to that village and can accompany you to make introductions. It’s also difficult to go without some purpose. On this occasion, we had both.

We left in the morning, carrying Lesiker (our guide), Andrea, Charles, me, Remy (our driver), and a cook. As willing as I am to be open to new cultural experiences, we were warned in advance that we may not want to extend that to traditional Maasai food, which typically involves milk and blood for drinking and meat (roasted and raw, organs, etc.). Especially with volunteers who are on a tight schedule of a lot of work to do—so we took the recommendation of bringing a cook who whipped up some great Tanzanian food while we were there. We stopped in a small village to pick up some meat (goat—and fresh! It was baaa-ing on one side of the road and being skinned and gutted on the other) and some other food items. Then we left the road and headed out across “roads” and washouts, climbing steadily until we reached the village. We were greeted by Babu (Swahili for “grandfather”). He is the elder of this particular family group. He has 4 wives so everyone in this group is related. Most of the people spoke only Maasai. A couple men spoke Swahili as did a few of the older children who are attending school—I imagine that would not be terribly unusual in smaller villages or more remote areas where not many attend school and the tribal language is spoken—in many of those areas, Swahili is learned when (if) children begin school or as a necessity if someone comes to a larger area where there are larger numbers of educated people. Only one person other than Lesiker spoke English, which would be typical in small villages (which begs the question, why have all secondary education in English when only 2-3% of your country’s population speak it?) When we arrived, everyone turned out to see our very interesting group! We brought gifts of coffee, sugar, salt, and oil, which is common when arriving some place new.

One thing you will notice wherever you go in Tanznia is how many children there are everywhere! I think I understood that Babu's 4 wives have a total of 12-14 children. Some are quite young (I think his youngest wife is around 18 years old) but others are old enough to have their own families so there were lots of children. Everyone is referred to as "brothers" when in fact they are actually cousins. It's too confusing for me to try to puzzle out the family tree! Older girls (like the one in this picture) have the responsibility of caring for the littles and often carry them on their backs while their mothers are working. Although I didn't fully understand, there are clearly defined roles and responsibilities at each age group. Several of the children I talked to were teens (14-16 years old) but in the equivalent of 4th-6th grade. Since the children that looked about 6-9 seemed to be in charge of the livestock, I wondered if they start school when they are done with that responsibility.
I’m using words like “village” and “boma” but not necessarily accurately. The “village” is probably a number of the communities, each community being a collection of family-related homes. Where we stayed, the people were all related, but they were all also related to the other grouping that were scattered around. “Boma”, which is often used to describe the Maasai home, it actually either the family community or the enclosure made by brush and logs.

The Maasai are known for their beadwork and both men and women are highly decorated as a matter of course. They wore more of their special ornamentation (the large collars, the head and face decorations) for us when they were singing, but everyone, down to the littlest child, wears beaded bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and anklets. They are also known for wearing red and even though their clothes are understandably worn and dusty (given the work they do), they look beautiful as they go about their daily lives. We provided a rare break in the routine. Everyone loved our digital watches and the children constantly sneaked up behind us and rummaged through our pockets. The children loved to climb on the car, while the women took advantage of the mirrors to check themselves out! At the same time, I loved watching the cows and goats come in as night fell (the cows are kept in a pen made of logs and branches, goats/sheep in a “house”, calves and kids are in the family homes) and the littlest children “herding” with tiny switches when they weren’t playing. This particular village has no water so the women walk quite far to bring the water up on donkeys and portion it out. The older children attend school and the younger ones tend the animals during the day.
We gathered away from the homes under a tree—Andrea has engineered a sound recording system that is amazing compact, efficient, and high-tech. She has a professed love for bright, shiny, gadget-y things that beep and squeak, so her job suits her well! The homes are at the top of a hill overlooking a vast plain with the famous volcano Ol Donyo Lengai (an often active volcano) close by and the outside rim of Ngorongoro Crater in the distance. It was an almost surreal contrast of timeless music and culture surrounding 21st century technology.

As the group began to sing, more comparisons to Native Americans came to mind. Not only the colorful clothing and beadwork, their songs are very rhythmic, using no instruments) and there’s a movement that is very organic in how it enhances the singing. The woman move their shoulders and move up and down, making the large collars bob as they sing. The silver bangles jingle throughout.

One of the most impressive dances involves the men jumping up and down. It starts almost like a warmup, with the men jumping up and down a few times, then coming down hard with a thump, then moving aside for the next one. As they continue, the singing becomes more intense and louder and the jumping gets higher, almost like a contest or a challenge. It’s just spellbinding and a unique blessing to be able to watch them perform in such a spectacular setting.

Everyone loved the opportunity to see themselves on camera, and to hear themselves singing after Andrea recorded them. I loved watching them listen to their own music—each person would immediately begin to move and sing along as if they were doing it for the first time.

(You’ll notice that many of my pics have microphones or Charles in them…well, I suppose that’s OK…they are the professionals and I guess it’s only right that they would have the better angles.) It's amazing how they were able to completely ignore an "mzungu" (white person) with a camera inches from their face, but they rarely seemed to notice! Make no mistake, though, most people loved getting their pictures taken and then seeing them in the camera! One of the gifts Charles and Andrea are leaving is sound and photos that Aand Serian can use to promote their work as well as working with one of their workers who is doing photography and video. There are some really talented people here who just don't have the means to access training--so Andrea and Charles' time and talents are a huge gift in that respect as well.
We slept that night in a larger home that Gemma and her husband Lesiker (the Aang Serian leaders) sleep with their family when they are there. It was constructed like the other homes (stick frame covered with mud/dung/ash “cement” and grass roofs) but it was bigger with 3 beds, a couch, chairs, and a “sink” (no plumbing, just buckets). There were 2-3 small windows with glass. There was also a guest bathroom outside, made of plastic over a frame and with an actual padded seat inside. The typical home is much smaller for a family of up to 8 people. There would be one central room with a small firepit for cooking. There would be a bed made of cowhide covering grass that would double as a seat where everyone would sleep (or sleep on the floor). Part of the room would be walled off, where the calves or kids (goats) would stay at nigh. Windows are narrow slits. Compared to Il Boru, where we live, the silence was heavenly—well, except for that one donkey that had plenty to say several times that night! Before going to sleep I stepped outside to most beautiful stargazing I’d ever seen. No light pollution for hundreds and hundreds of miles. The sky was perfectly clear, the Milky Way bright, the stars actually twinkling…I think there may not be a better place on earth to watch the stars!

The next morning we reconvened to record another 4-5 songs, including more jumping. Fantastic! You’ll notice that in many of the pictures people, but the men especially, are standing very close, often with their arms around each other. It’s a very common sight, even in town, when you see Maasai gathered together. I suppose it’s an extension of living in an extended family setting where everyone’s somehow related, not to mention the very close quarters where everyone lives and sleeps. But it’s more than that—they always seem to be easily amused and truly enjoy each other when they’re together. Our driver, who comes from a region near where we live, confirmed this. He confirmed that the Maasai have a reputation for getting along well and really enjoying each other.

It was time to leave. I wanted to stay, although I’m not sure what I’d do. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to be able to be there for more than some sort of cultural visit—a drop in and look around and leave type of thing—and to get a glimpse of a lifestyle that is so vastly different in every aspect from anything I’ve ever known. It’s hard to describe the experience and my pictures certainly don’t do it justice—perhaps some of the professional shots will make their way here at some point. In any case, it’s a slice of a life that is changing quickly—it was a privilege to be able to catch a bit of it this week.

I just reviewed this before publishing and I'm surprised how familiar all these faces looked to me after just such a short time. The Maasai are a common sight all around Arusha, and my guards and gardener look just like all of these guys...I just can't imagine buzzing in and out of a cultural photo op. and thinking that I had any sense of life for this group of people. Not that I really have an understanding at this point myself...life changing? Well, isn't this whole journey life-changing? But even this brief experience makes me want to learn more, do more, experience more...and THAT is life-changing, no matter where you are.

The News from Arusha

Note--This article is from this week's local paper, The Arusha Times. When we arrived, I heard that there's no "free press" here. I thought that meant that the newspapers (at least the main ones) were controlled by the government. That is, I think, true--but "free press" in this case actually refers to money. As in, if you want a reporter to cover something newsworthy, you have to pay them to come. On the other hand, if you want to write an article and submit it yourself, they'll gladly take your "news." I'm pretty sure there's not a lot of verification and fact-checking going on. In any event, PHF is in the news this week...

ELCT’s Peace House Academy opens next March. Construction of phase one of a 7 billion shillings secondary school for orphans is due for completion in March next year. The boarding school which will cater for form one to six students is being constructed in a 100- hectare piece of land located at Kisongo near Arusha Airport. The school is being constructed by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, Arusha Diocese with support of sponsors from Minnesota in the United States of America. The land was allocated to the diocese by the government. Bishop Laizer of the ELCT Arusha Diocese told the Arusha Times last week that construction of the first phase of the project started in March this year and would be complete next March. Upon completion of the first phase the school, to be known as Peace House Academy, will admit 640 students from all over the country. Construction work of structures such as classrooms, dining hall, assembly hall, teachers quarters, a rest house and a workshop is on going and the pace is impressive. Registration for the first batch of entrants will be announced in October this year and they will all be orphans. According to Bishop Laizer the project is meant to be the diocese’s contribution in the national programme for poverty reduction. Bishop Laizer further explained that the overall vision of his diocese is to have some nine secondary schools by next year. The diocese is already running six secondary schools namely Enaboishu, Ekenywa, Kimandolu, Ngateu, Moringe and Maasae Girls.

The construction of the school is a very big feather in the cap for the diocese and so it is often referred to here (especially by church officials) as "their" school. Considering that we derive considerable benefits by partnering with them, we don't mind too much, although the "support" mentioned from MN donors is more than "support". We're pretty sure we won't have student registration ready and announced in October, but we are preparing for that task, which will be tremendously difficult in its scope of identifying, screening, and confirming the eligibility of the potential students that will attend the school. Each student will have to meet certain criteria, and will have to be certified to be either an orphan or a significantly impoverished child, a task that will be very time-consuming and difficult, but absolutely necessary to ensure that the mission of PHF is carried out.

In other news, Andrea and CJ, PHF's very own video team, are here for two weeks, so look for some great pics (if they'll let me have a few to share--if not, you'll just have to look at the ones I take). They are capturing some great pics of PHF work, the construction, and some traditional music and dance from Chagga and Maasai groups. It's always great to have visitors!

We have posted positions for the headmaster, head of residential life, and a purchaser/accountant and applications are coming in. Daily we are given advice about how to discern the best and honest candidate for the job. Keep Mark in your prayers as he leads this team effort.

Where We're From

This isn't really about Tanzania, but it is about us. Many of you know that we have lived in the Twin Cities for 18 years, but we were very unusual in that a) we weren't native Minnesotans, and b) we lived pretty far away from our families. Admit it, you Minnesotans--there's some genetic link/pull that keeps y'all pretty close to the Midwest! That's something that we actually looked forward to as we started our family--knowing that they'd be native Minnesotans and the odds that we'd live near our grandkids would be pretty good. Well, then we moved to Tanzania, so who knows now?

So this bit is a peek at our families...

But first...do you ever have a picture that just catches the essence of someone? This is Noah at 4 at his preschool program. He is dancing with his best friend from "back home". They had two years of preschool, 3 seasons of soccer, and two seasons of baseball together in their short lives. Noah is so enthusiastic and loyal. The joy on his face just shows him loving life and living in the moment.

Update--Noah's little buddy reminded me that there were also 2 seasons of floor hockey together, too! What a pair. We miss you guys!





I'm 10 years older than my sister and so for most of my life I didn't really get to know her. One of the blessings of having kids is that she and I have become much closer. She's crazy, though--totally Montana. She's bungee-jumped (and not necessarily in a yes-we-know-what-we're-doing-and-we-have-insurance-so-you-can-trust-us kind of way), gone sky-diving, and jumped off bridges into the river in Glacier. She is forever buying stuff and ice cream for my kids when we go to Montana and has access to cool stuff like jet skis, boats, and ATVs, which my kids love. Here she's reining it in a bit because Ava's on the sled but even this sledding day involved risk of bodily injury!




My brother, Greg, is also a bit crazy. He can be gruff-looking, but he has a heart bigger than Montana. He'd give you the shirt off his back, no questions asked. He went through a pretty bad patch a few years ago and he stands as one of the people I admire most for his transformation. That's him with a gun, showing Cameron how to shoot. The gun Cameron is holding actually belongs to my sister (sitting) and it's sized for a child about Noah's age. Really. And now that some of you are getting wound up about guns in the hands of kids, let me say that there's no cheaper entertainment than a box of 100 bullets (purchased at the grocery store for $4.00) to keep a kid occupied. Cameron took the whole thing very seriously and was very careful. It's a Montana thing.
My brother has always loved fireworks, too--the bigger the explosion the better, which my kids also find fascinating.

Incidentally, I'm actually the black sheep of the family--consequently, I'm pretty sure I've missed out on a lot of fun in my life.

This is not good. Not because I worry about Mark, but because I have photographic evidence that he successfully encouraged my babies to leap off this same cliff. It's a practice jump--he took Cameron up to a 30 foot drop and jumped.

Actually, all dads should do things with their kids when their moms aren't around. They have a ton of fun in ways you just can't have when Mom's near. And it really does turn out OK. Too often I think we as moms don't have enough faith in dads. I'd've been so putting my foot down on this one.

My mom is great with the kids. Sadly, I've inherited none of her patience and gentle nature. She's always willing to play games or color and tries to think of ways make sure their visits are fun. Well, she lives on 30 acres of woods and owns a whitewater raft, so I guess fun's a given. I used to try to think of things for her to do when she came to visit us, things she doesn't normally get to do in Montana, things that sometimes didn't involve the kids, but she said once, "I don't come to do those things, I come to see the kids and you." 'Nough said.


Yeah, Mark doesn't like this picture. I guess the headbands are a bit politically incorrect. The water softener company's been handing them out at the Flathead County Fair for something like 60 years and we all wore them as kids every summer. Rodeos aren't very politically correct, either, in many circles, but if you've never been to one, man, are you missing out! Especially if you can go to one out West. A bar in my hometown has bullriding once a month. It's a blast.

The highlight of every year is our camping trip with Mark's brother and his family who live in Idaho. Here are the cousins--the oldest is now 12 and Ava is the youngest. Neither Cathy nor I would necessarily choose camping as our first vacation choice, but we are unanimous in our recognition of camping being the best way for us to get together and have a fantastic time. The Hillmans camped for every vacation. We stay at the same campground (Avalanche) and take the same hikes every time we go. We did Yellowstone and the Black Hills, but I miss Glacier every year that I don't go back. I'm sure there are really beautiful places in the States--I wonder when I'll see them. The boys are crazy here and Ava's too young to know the danger she's in!

We have other Hillman cousins, too. Steve and Jen live in the Quad Cities and we are terrible because we don't see them nearly as much as we should, considering they're not so far away. Whenever we get together, I feel bad when we leave because we have a great time, too. Ava loves her girl cousins! And Andrew loves books and legos so he's a perfect fit with Cameron and Noah. Actually, there are 10 Hillman cousins, the oldest being 12 and Ava being the youngest, so there's always someone who's the same age to hang with!




Mark's sister Diane is on the left. She lives in the Seattle area and we don't see her nearly enough, either. Confession time--we have limited vacation time and it's 24 hours to my mom's house in Montana, another 4 to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and another 8-9 after that to Seattle. The drive with kids just kills us to go that far, so we end up stopping at my mother's house. She lives 20 miles from the entrance to Glacier, where we camp every year. We just don't get out to the coast as often as we should...

This summer instead of camping we spent the week in Idaho with Mark's brother and family and Mark's parents. Cathy's parents live next door and they have a pool and the cousins have go-karts. We tubed, went to an amusement park, and generally had a fantastic time. Mark's parents did a great job teaching their kids about faith and family. We'll be blessed if we can raise the same quality of kids they did. We were so sad leaving, knowing we wouldn't see them for 3 years, but then we realized it was just 3 camping trips we would miss! Then it didn't seem so long...


This is us on our first full day in Tanzania. My friend Lindsay posted a funny pic of her and her attempt to get all 4 kids to "look nice" for a family shot. It's been my experience that if you want a nice family picture don't have more than 2 kids. You just can't control for more than that. This one is rare, because we're all in it and we're all looking pretty normal and not too shell-shocked. Cameron looked at the picture and said, "Geeze, that was a long time ago!" It was 7 months ago--but in some ways a lifetime. We are not the same people that you see in the picture. We are changing in little and in fundamental ways, learning about ourselves as parents, Christians, and Americans, trying to discern what is the best of what we are and what we have to give. We are truly blessed by the family you see here, the friends that are reading this, and the God that provides what we truly need.

Shopping For a Good Cause

Assuming you're not going to be able to shop for a good cause on October 28th at PHF's annual silent auction/dinner (and really, why wouldn't you be able to?) this is the next best place. There's a Ten Thousand Villages shop on Grand Ave. (I think across from the Cafe Latte building). It's a great organization by the Mennonites that practices fair trade and encourages local groups in different countries by selling their crafts in different stores around the country. Prices are reasonable, too! If you can't get to Grand Ave. in St. Paul you can go here to learn more about them, find a store near you, or order online.

One of the sad things I've realized is how many great artisans there are here in Tanzania and how very few of them are able to export things for sale. Of course, that's true for many organizations in many countries--however, if you see something for sale from Africa, it's likely to be from Kenya or South Africa. Tanzania just doesn't seem to have the connections or whatever it takes to get an opportunity to market their goods. Zanzibar and Dar have tremendous carvers and the Maasai typify Tanzania with their beadwork. You can see and purchase great items from Tanzania that will be for sale at the October fundraiser! So do it!

And, if you really are serious about not attending our fundraiser (and again, why wouldn't you--it's great fun and great food and great people and a great cause and I would appreciate testimonials from previous attendees that I can publish here!), then Ten Thousand Villages is a terrific way to support artisans in countries around the world. There's something for everyone!

Noah's New Look

I love seeing kids who've lost both their front teeth! Case in point...

OK, I was going to use the word "adorable" but given Noah's penchant for mugging for the camera, well, perhaps "adorable" isn't the right word. But when he relaxes his face, he is pretty cute.

I've always loved his bright blue eyes and his absolute enthusiasm for life. When he came back from his first day of school and I asked him how it went, he said, "Better than I could have hoped!" How can you not love that positivity?

Tanzania's Next Olympic Star?

You can't see the caption at the bottom of the pics, but it reads, "Tanzania's Young Olympians"! Somehow, an old-ish white guy ended up in the shot, though.

Mark and his friend Steve entered the race, which was cancelled, several weeks ago. They ran it two weeks ago. It was called the Arusha Marathon, but it was only 25km. The 5k (which actually ended up being about 5 miles) started an hour late. When Mark paid his registration of $20, it included a tshirt and shorts, transport from the end of the race back to town, and post-race food. None of that delivered, though! He had a great time, finishing 4th in his group.

You also can't tell, but he's branded his loyalties all over himself. Those are Minnetonka shorts, his Luther tshirt, and his PHF hat. Thanks for the advertising, Mark!

A Twist on a School Reader

An excerpt from Noah's 2nd grade reader, entitled "Rotten Apples":

(as an introduction, the children are gathering apples in their yard when a man selling secondhand items comes through on a horse and wagon. The children give the horse a basket of apples, but the horse only eats the rotten apples, which the children find funny/curious)

The horse ran into a car park (parking lot).
"Look out!" shouted Harry.
The horse began to sway.
It made a funny noise.

The horse went slower and slower.
Suddenly, it stopped.
It laid down and went to sleep.

Harry and the children climbed off the wagon.
"This horse is drunk!" said Mum.
"Why is it drunk?" asked Biff.

Harry looked at the horse.
"The rotten apples made the horse drunk, " he said.
Biff was sorry.
Harry laughed. He didn't mind.
Many people cam to see the horse.
They bought things from his cart.

Now, I ask you, what would you do if your young reader, curled up next to you on the couch, was reading this story, assigned to him from a legitimate (albeit British) reading series? Well, if you're in Tanzania, you just shake your head and giggle.

This is the Day...

Today marks a big event in the life of Peace House Foundation--the signing of the formal agreement of partnership between us and the Lutheran diocese. When I first came here almost 4 years ago, we began the process of writing the agreement. Since then the agreement has undergone countless permutations as we've learned more, but the conversations have always been limited to visits here by board members but the distance and lack of technology had made the process difficult.

For the past 3 months, Mark has spent a huge amount of his time streamlining the agreement, working with an attorney here, and manymanymany phone conversations with PHF about how best to represent our interests. The culminating document (shrunk, I think, from our first draft 4 years ago of 20+ pages is now only 3-4) was signed yesterday.

It was a difficult process for several reasons--first, the church here (not just the Lutheran but also the Catholic and Anglican) is very powerful wields a tremendous amount of influence. They are used to complete and unquestioned control and management of their programs. PHF, of course, wants to maintain overriding control of the financial and operational aspects of the school, while at the same time giving the church the role of participating in the decision-making processes. There were also cultural differences as the church officials had to understand the procedures for hiring and establishing procedures in seveal areas that were decidedly Western in nature and not familiar to them. The cultural norm of not questioning or challenging superiors or elders was put to the test during these discussions. We also had to learn about how business, formally and informally, is conducted here and how to meld the two points of view.

The outcome, however, is very positive. The agreement provides a framework for Mark's work here and defines the roles of each organization, which was badly needed. Of course, there will be ongoing discussions that challenge and clarify the agreement as both sides continue to learn how to work together, but it is a tremendous relief to have this accomplished!

PHA is Hiring

Now, if I give you this link, you have to promise only to read it...and ooh and ah over the fabulous appearance, the wonderful text, and the sterling professionalism it exudes. Because Mark gave all the professional information to me and I wrote most of it and then gave it to Karen Peterson who put in her typically flawless final form. And, when it wouldn't fit with the other ad on the page, she smooshed it into yet another fantastic permutation, guaranteed to get us the best applicants for the job.

And then Kate Krebs, computer genie extronindaire, made it look totally cool which is what you're looking at when you go to the link.

But remember, I said read and ooh and ah only. You can't apply, because the job is here in Tanzania...and it's really for a Tanzanian, since it is a Tanzanian school.

Of course if you're reading this and you are Tanzanian and you are in Tanzania (or you can get here) and you're qualified, then apply away!

http://www.peacehousefoundation.org/headmaster.html