Day by Day

Written Thursday evening September 4, 2008

As of today I have officially been in Tanzania for one month, but I’m finding it a little difficult to come to terms with this fact. When I realize that I’ll only be here for a little over seven more months it seems as though this first one has gone by rather quickly; but on the other hand, it seems like one month is far too short to account for the time that has passed since I said my final goodbyes and boarded my plane in Atlanta. During my four years of college it was normal for a month to pass between visits to Gainesville to see family or friends who didn’t attend UGA, but with my hectic schedule of classes, work, and busy weekends, these months passed without much thought. Perhaps it was the fact that I always knew that I could drive home or to see friends at a moment’s notice which made these distances bearable. Being 9,000 miles across the globe puts a different perspective on things, and I am definitely finding it more difficult. The first UGA football game of the season was this past weekend, and though I never was a huge football fan by Georgia standards, I found myself wishing I could be there. You miss what you know you can’t have!

We have definitely settled into a routine now and I’m finding that the days are passing by quite quickly. Every morning Liz and I make the 15 minute walk to work, arriving in the office by about 8:30. We have been busy the past week and a half working with Miriam to learn what jobs we will take over from her when she leaves the office next week. It’s hard to believe that she has done all this work alone up to this point. There is quite a bit of work that Liz and I will be splitting, and we have both been assigned to our own areas of expertise – complete with flashy job titles. Liz is now the Program and Policy Development & Management Advisor. She will be in charge of the business side of the program. My title is the International Communications & Development Management Advisor, which pretty much means I am in charge of all forms of communication between the diocese and the parishes here, as well as with the supporting parishes in the U.S. I am also in charge of all of our graphic design, and I was happy to find that I could put my major in art to good use. I have already revamped the newsletter which we send out every month, and hope to get the August issue out within the next couple days. I also designed a Swahili version of the English logo which was designed some time ago, and I have begun implementing this into our publications. We’ve also been working on improving the condition of the office. I quickly set about rearranging the furniture, and Liz and I got rid of the ugly, ripped floor covering which was laid on top of the concrete. Though plain concrete floors don’t seem that appealing, believe me – it’s better than the alternative! I’m also planning to cover the bulletin boards with some of the great fabric which is sold here, and I am going to paint the new Swahili logo on the door and one of the walls. As Miriam says – I’m putting my mark on the office already!

Aside from the ten of us that work in the office on a daily basis, there are constantly people filing in and out, and it is usually pretty crowded. There is barely enough room for everyone to work, and Liz, Miriam, Callum, and I have been bringing our laptops to help ease this situation. About a quarter of our office space is currently occupied by mosquito nets and other supplies which are given out at the weekly distributions. We have plans to move these to make room for more workspaces. It will be much easier to get things done when we aren’t sitting on top of each other!

The many visitors which crowd the office each day are all here for various reasons. Many of these are Carpenter’s Kids and their guardians who have come to Dodoma to seek treatment for some illness. After they visit the clinic on the floor below us they come to the office to be reimbursed for their treatments. Although the healthcare division of the program is still being developed – Callum is currently working on this – we do have an Emergency Healthcare fund which these reimbursements come from. Medical treatment is very inexpensive here, but with the volume of children who come to our office for help, these costs add up quite quickly. It will be great when the Healthcare policy is up and running, and the dioceses of Atlanta and Virginia are ready to pitch in their support in this area.

We usually leave the office at about 4:30 and head home, after which I try to find things to fill up the rest of the day. I occasionally bring some work home to finish, though after already spending 8 hours in the office, this isn’t my favorite way of killing time. I’ve been trying to run most days, I’ve been reading quite a bit, and I’m quickly making my way through Liz’s DVD collection. A combination of tiredness and having nothing to do usually has me in bed by 11pm, which is much earlier than I’m used to. I’m glad to have finally settled into a day to day routine, and it’s something I’ve been waiting for since I arrived. It’s clear to me now that Liz and I will have our work cut out for us, and I know that there are many things which wouldn’t be done without us here to take over for Miriam. There are so many things which contribute to the running of The Carpenter’s Kids, much of which I am not even aware of yet. It will be interesting to see how Liz and I cope without Miriam’s guidance, but I know we’ll figure it all out eventually. The guys in the office are busy with their own tasks, but they are always willing to lend a helping hand as well.

The church situation is one that Liz and I are having a little difficulty adjusting to. Before I left I expected church to be the one thing which would be familiar about my life here, but I’m finding that this is not the case. The Anglican cathedral holds three services on Sundays, two of which are in Swahili and one which is in English. We have been attending the English service lately, but as I mentioned before it is much different than what I’m used to. Everything that I like about the Episcopalian method of worship is taken to the opposite extreme. The traditional hymns are replaced with contemporary songs displayed on a Power Point presentation, and Liz and I have started referring to this as “Happy Clappy Music”. Whereas at home I can almost recite word-for-word what part of the service my father is coming to next, the service here follows no distinct pattern. Even the Bible readings are edited to include more modern language, and the prayers I’ve had memorized since childhood have words omitted or changed. The English congregation does not have a priest, and the service is led by several missionaries. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with this style of worship - and I know that many denominations choose to worship in this way - I find it strays too far from what I consider ‘normal’ to be enjoyable. Church is meant to be a time of relaxation and reflection, but I find I spend this hour each Sunday slightly irritated and wondering when it will end. I guess being a Preacher’s Kid and attending church nearly every Sunday for my entire life has made me a true Episcopalian! Liz and I are considering attending the 7am Swahili service this week. We have been to this service once before, and though we can’t understand a word of the service, it somehow all makes sense. The service is led by actual priests who follow a set liturgy. The music during this service – though not traditional hymns - is beautiful, and when the congregation sings they sound like a trained choir. The church also has several youth choirs which sing throughout the service, and they are incredible as well. Though this service is different from anything I’ve ever experienced, the fact that it is a traditional African service makes it normal. Maybe if Liz and I can get ourselves to church by 7am we’ll become regulars at this service, though I’m sure we might be the only “Wazungu” there!

I received the sad news a couple days ago that Liz will be abandoning me in October to move about two blocks away to another CAMS compound. There are a few more missionaries coming to teach at the school, and Liz’s apartment has been promised to one of them. Liz will therefore move into Miriam’s old apartment when she returns to New Zealand. Aside from the fact that it will be strange not to have her next door, it also ruins our internet plans! We have been waiting for weeks for an internet provider in town to receive wireless routers from the U.S. Though their service is expensive to install, we were optimistic that we would have both been able to share one router, thus splitting the cost in half. They also charge a flat monthly rate, which is much better than the other providers in town. The service which most people use, a company called TTCL, is not wireless, and they do not charge a flat monthly rate. Their installation is less expensive, but they charge you by how many megabytes you download, which can add up quite quickly. It seems as though we now have no choice in the matter but to go through TTCL, and had we known this I could have had internet weeks ago! I will be calling them as soon as possible, so hopefully I won’t be without internet for too much longer. I feel extremely cut off from the rest of the world with our limited access, and I am very anxious to change that!

A lot has happened this past month, and I am grateful for all that I have seen and experienced thus far. I can only hope that the remainder of my time here continues to be as enriching, but I have no doubt that it will prove to be. I’m in a beautiful country surrounded by wonderful people, and I’m learning new things everyday. I could not ask for more.