Crew from WOU
                        in Tanzania

Team Blog
Day One
Day Two

Day Three
Day Four
Day Five
Day Six
Day Seven
Day Eight
Day Nine

Day Ten
  Sunday
Day Eleven
Day Twelve
Day Thirteen
Day Fourteen
Day Fifteen
Day Sixteen

Day Seventeen
  Sunday
Day Eighteen
After Day 18

Before
The Flight

First Full Day
VIllage Bound
A Birthday
Garden Beds
Hot Springs
Back Again
Jane

Church
Computers
Electricity
No Electricty
Packing
Start Safari
Safari

Heading Home
Washington
Follow up

O.F.F. Site

Email us

Electricity

Five in the morning. Actually it's not that early considering we went to sleep at eight because there was no electricity and everywhere is dark. But now there is electricity and it's time for showers and laundry. I don't mention these two processes in the same sentence by accident. You take your laundry into the shower with yourself. And so the first hour of this morning was getting clean not for the day but for several days, maybe for most of the week.

It's apparently too much to expect the vehicle to be on time twice in a row and so we arrived at the computer classroom late but still earlier than most everyone else. The generator was started and the declaration was that only eight computers could be turned on leaving several students doubling up on a single computer. The goal for the first part of the session was to simply practice holding their hands on the keyboard and using all the fingers without looking. After a while we went online and found some practice typing programs and websites. The second session started with five on eight computers but ended with ten on eight computers. Apparently we as the teachers learned something from the first day because the session went much better.

Rice, beans, spinach and fruit was again the fare at noon; simple but filling and satisfying. Six in the back of the Land Rover made for cozy quarters and dumps on the road made for queasy stomachs. On of the six suggested that every stone and rock in the country was placed on the roads for our visit, and would probably be returned to the natural station after our visit. Arriving at Chiswea, a place for homeless children between the ages of about 14 and 20, we were greeted with smiles and hugs from some of the students of our morning. They were just eating their plates of rice and beans.

The head of the agency explained their purpose as getting the children off the streets and finding training for them so that they could do into the market with a job. Some 40 children reside there now. One of the morning computer students took one of the team to see her room.

The next drive was a shortcut to Mt Meru Curios and Crafts Market for our second time to use our last opportunity to purchase souvenirs and gifts for family and friends back home. Each vendor welcomes us with "Karibu" or Welcome" and eagerly shows us their wares. Bargaining is practiced and expected with the vendor stating a price and the buyer countering with half the amount. Either one compromises in the middle after several counter offers or the vendor agrees to the buyer's offer when the buyer starts to walk off. Some bargains were indeed bargains and some were not such good bargains.

More hip to hip action over more bumps causing more queasy stomachs and we stopped a second time a Shanga.The objective was to actually watch the deaf and blind, mostly deaf/mute, create crafts from recyclables by melting them in high temperature furnaces and molding them into beads and bracelets and wind chimes and many more items. Another area was filled with sewing machines while another was for persons doing beading.

The highlight came when one of the guides of the center, offered to show us the signs for simple phrases and words in the Tanzanian sign language, and in turn Kat did the same in ASL. This drew a crowd of about a dozen workers exchanging signs from the two different sign languages. There was a great deal of laughing and smiling as everyone enjoying the exchange and intimacy among the people from two distant continents. The time together ended with a group picture of everyone.

Pictures will be added later.