And off to Addis Ababa!

Jackie!

2011-12-14T22:01:00.000-08:00

This is our dog, Jackie. She lives outside (NOT allowed in the house) and she pretty much came with the house. We don't touch her much, as I'm pretty sure she has fleas. The guard feeds her and I've never seen her eat anything but goat heads and innards. I bought her a collar, and I do think she's looking pretty cute lately. We are doing our best to love her.

Random giggles

2011-09-26T09:57:00.000-07:00

This is a restaurant!

My bed getting delivered to my new house!

Much delayed pictures

2011-09-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

On Ethiopian New Years, my friends Michelle (below) and Henock took me to Henock's grandmother's house for the traditional family New Years celebration!

A chair

2011-08-30T12:50:00.000-07:00

A guard's chair near my house.

St. George Brewery

2011-08-28T10:45:00.000-07:00

St. George is the most popular (and best) beer made in Ethiopia! I went to the brewery today....

My House!

2011-08-26T01:00:00.000-07:00

This is where I live:

Jkjk! But someone really does live in that box on the left. His dog stays in the smaller one on the right. Both sad and innovative.

This is actually my house, my guard chillin, and the gate:

It's an IRC guest house, so there are always people coming in and out, but I am the only permanent resident. Tomorrow I will post pics of my room since the cleaning lady comes today and she'll make my bed. :)

A picture (or two) a day!

2011-08-24T12:33:00.001-07:00

Ok, my new goal is to post a picture (and a comment) each day.

So, my sister is getting married, so I have been keeping my eyes open for ideas for her. I thought this might be a good wedding planner for her:

THEN they changed their sign and adopted this cool Halloween theme, and I was convinced. She should probably fly out to meet with them. :P

Also, interestingly, the new refugee camp in Ethiopia is called "Halowen."

More tomorrow,

Harar and Jijiga

2011-07-18T11:31:00.000-07:00

Finally, I am ready to start writing here!

For the past two weeks I was in the Somali region of Ethiopia, on the border with Somalia. It was a crazy and fun experience. Pru (my roommate/co-worker/friend) and I were charged with the task of helping a bunch of rowdy Somali men create a reports-based monitoring system for the Pastoralists Livelihoods Initiative. We also went to a city called Harar for the weekend, so here are a few photos from the two weeks.

Visit to Harar:

Shalom Bakery in Harar! (I think they just chose it as the name)

The hyena man is one of the most famous parts of Harar. Apparently for several generations this family has "tamed" these wild hyenas. The guy getting jumped on was our guide for the day.

A "traditional" Harari house

It's a tomb!

We were welcomed into a pre-wedding ceremony. These were the old ladies watching the dancing.

Rastafari's House (apparently)

Some guys chewing chat, the very popular Somali/Ethiopian leaf that gets you high.

Coffee bean husks. They make tea from it.

Visit to Sheder refugee camp:

These are doors they are putting on houses to make them more secure and protect families from gender-based-violence and theft

I love this! An IRC donkey!

Typical house in the camp

SO big!

Here's me with a camel. He is carrying somebody's house on his back. Yes, I did eat camel, but not this one. :)

Feel free to leave comments and questions!

And so begins the record of my summer

2009-07-15T21:52:00.000-07:00

So, my wonderful roommate Jessica started a blog (lairja.wordpress.com) for the summer and when I read her blog I end up becoming wildly inspired to try to write like her in some witty, clever and French-infused way. I am also currently listening to the audiotape of The Life of Pi in my car, and when I leave my car, I often find myself inexplicably narrating my life in a slightly Indian accented man's voice. And when I am at work, I get myself in the professional, gracious mode of writing and feel inspired to analyze the world... So, while this is all may be in my head and all of my writing sounds the same, the consequence is my inspiration to write a blog narrating my life this summer.

Let's start with the basics. I'm living in Lantana, which is pretty much the dormiest of dorms. Its two rooms (which is good for Jessica so she doesn't have to live in my messiness), but we eat in the dining hall and I have to walk down the hall to get to the bathroom. Which was pretty terrible when I got the flu and began vomiting uncontrollably. But more on that later.

I am working at the Flora Family Foundation, which I like to call "the baby of the Hewlett Foundation" but is actually its own thing. Its the family foundation for the Hewletts and they give away a lot of money to a lot of cool organizations each year. Right now their focusing on grants to Tanzania (for the next 6 years) hence my getting this job in the first place. The other intern is a rising high school senior at this really amazing, prestigious school in South Africa (the African Leadership Academy...look it up). I was really nervous at first -- she was young, I knew I would have to take care of her, etc. but its been awesome. She is super fun and grateful for all my help.

What else to discuss? I don't really like writing retrospectively. I got really really ill with some throw-up causing bug 2 weeks ago, and I had to miss my 3rd day of work. I went to Vaden Health Center and got an IV. It was intense.

Over the last 2 weekends we have done really fun things including a trip to the zoo to see the new baby gorilla. It rocked.

So, that is all for now. I will try to write and when inspiration hits. Hopefully that will be often-ish. We'll see.

PS Since this blog is "The Adventures of Rachel and Elijah" I will mention that the rabbit is quite well. He has a ridiculous harness and leash and I make him wear it sometimes. Also he has decided that Jess's room is way better than mine which is problematic for the state of her wooden futon (his new chew toy) and her allergies. :/

Everything seems so normal to me

2008-11-26T11:23:00.001-08:00

Nothing much has changed in the last few days, but I guess stuff is still kinda crazy.

We are finishing up classes, even though they never really started. Today I had a test scheduled at 4:00 so I went to the room. At four, I called the teacher (which is already really weird) and he said, of course, that he forgot, could we please reschedule. Oy.

we are planning to cook a very ghetto, but legit Thanksgiving dinner at our program coordinator's house on Saturday. I am making chickens, since you can't really find turkeys in this country. It should be funny.

Miss you all.

Also, CONGRATS to Mike on landing an amazing new job.

Amani,

Rachel

I bought a cat and other news

2008-11-22T10:48:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

Well, I'm getting to the 6 week mark which is absolutely crazy. Things have gone so fast but they also have become strangely normal.

Last week Stephen visited and it was tons of fun. We went to Zanzibar, the movies, the beach and shopping, and it opened my eyes a little to remind me how rugged my life here is. Its also so nice that someone will understand a little bit when i get home. We took the craziest 3-wheeler ride ever. Three wheelers are the mini-taxis here. They are like motorcycles with seats in the back, or something. I will take a picture. Anyway, we took one home from the airport after flying to Zanzibar, and it literally swerved through all of the traffic and then went up on the bumpy sidewalk and sped through massive crowds of people, barely missing them as it honked its way through. Oh, Dar.

This week we have spent a lot of the time getting classes organized. Essentially, we need to have a midterm, paper, presentation and final for each class all in the next 2 weeks. But, we've only had a few real lectures in each class, there are only foreign students in the classes and the teachers are not very excited about it all. Its especially weird calling and texting teachers. I have yet to work out 3 of my classes.

Natalia and Megan both got Malaria this week. Its not as big of a deal as it sounds. But they still feel sick :( So, Julie, Tony and i went to go get tested to be sure. (Tony has malaria but no symptoms) and they (the dispensary) had a bunch of new kittens whose mom had abandoned them. So, today, I went to the tailor and asked her if she wanted a cat, and she was like, "sure, bring it here," like it was no big deal. So I went back to the clinic and got a kitten and brought it to her and her niece/daughter. The cat cost me $1.80.

Alrighty, off to bed.

With Love,

RQ

2 Pieces of Not-so-great News

2008-11-12T04:45:00.001-08:00

1. I found out from my mother, that my puppy, Layla has recently died. This is the message from my mom: "at 5:00 pm yesterday we put Lovely Miss Layla to rest. She was down to 7.5 pounds and more than weak. She was 15 1/2 years old. She was a brave fighter who lived life her way. She was loved and will be dearly missed everyday." I am quite sad but it is particularly difficult for my mom, who put so much time and energy into keeping this dog healthy. Rest in Peace, Layla.

2. Today the University of Dar es Salaam was closed indefinitely, following 3 days of protests and student strikes. The students were striking about loans and financial aid, and the minister of education refused to meet with the student leaders. According to UDSM policy, if a strike lasts for 3 days, the school is closed. The army drove all around campus today announcing that everyone except foreign students had 3 hours to evacuate. Supposedly they will continue holding classes for us (I am the only foreign student in a few of my classes!). I am sad especially to see my roommate leave, since we have spent so much time making Tanzanian friends, and now they are leaving! :(

On a happier note, my friend Stephen from Stanford is visiting and I am giving him a crash course in Dar es Salaam life...tomorrow we are going to Zanzibar! Wooo. It was an exciting time for him to be on campus, eh?

Ok, I will write more soon.

Go hug your dogs.

Love,
Tumaini...haha Rachel

Guest Blog Entry

2008-11-02T11:14:00.000-08:00

Hello to Rachel’s blog readers. This entry comes from Rachel’s Mom and Dad (Janet and Brian).

We had an amazing trip to Tanzania and, with all the traveling, now really understand that Rachel is truly on the other size of the earth!

With all of the amazing things we saw and experienced, the best part was our visit and time spent with Rachel, touring Dar and the University, meeting the Brown gang and providing Rachel with a few hot showers and some fancier meals. We were able to view, first hand, her good work at the orphanage. But, best of all, we saw how well she speaks Swahili! Though she’d argue that she isn’t fluent, there wasn’t one situation where she wasn’t able to fully communicate with the locals. And they really get a charge out of seeing a white girl from America speaking their language.

We had a relaxing couple of days in Zanibar then it was off on the safari!

We spent about 10 days with our driver/guide Shaaban (just the two of us and Shaaban) touring around northern Tanzania. We experienced the whole spectrum of accommodations, from a 5 star hotel down to a two person tent. We spent time in the Tarangire National Park, the Ngorongoro Recreation Area and the Serengeti.

We saw all of the Big Five (the lion, the African elephant, the Cape Buffalo, the leopard and the rhinoceros), plus giraffes, zebras (LOTS of zebras), wildebeest (LOTS of them too), impalas, cheetahs, hippos, ostriches, baboons, hyenas, jackals, and more. We were quite happy to see paved roads when we got home.

We met people from all over the world (not too many Americans) and found everyone very friendly and accommodating.

This was truly an experience of a lifetime. It took us 41 hours to get back (from leaving our final accommodation to our front door in California), with a small plane ride (landing and taking off from a dirt air strip and three stops), a few layovers and two international flights (one for 10 hours and the other for 11 hours). But it was all worth it!!

We look forward to having Rachel home in January.

We took over 1,100 photos and have posted three short slideshows (if you’re interested):

http://web.me.com/bquint/TanzaniaAdventure/TanzaniaMovies.html

Also, just 6 photos are posted below. Thanks for reading.

J & B

Update!

2008-11-02T00:57:00.000-07:00

Alright, I have had a lot of requests for a blog update so I will do my best to write a long one.

So, I think Mom and Dad will write a little on this blog as well, but I can just say they had a fantastic time. They saw every animal anyone would ever want to see on safari...I don't think they realize how lucky they are to have seen so many cats -- eating, sleeping, mating, etc. So, they left on Sunday and I went back to "school." Classes are happening, but they are just so different than classes at home. Once in a while a professor won't show up, but most of the time they are lectures that are in English, but taught by teachers who don't really know English that well. The resources available here are not great, so a lot of the time teachers are lecturing about really outdated material. I have made a few friends with Tanzanians in various classes, but its harder than you might have expected, especially because the students are not really here to socialize, much more to get an education.

Tony and Megan had their birthdays last weekend, so we did a lot of celebrating, including going out to a club in the city which was really fun. What else to report? I've been doing some tourist shopping which is really quite fun and going out for fancy coffee more frequently. I really am excited to get back to the states for real, good food, and coffee shops that have soy milk. Mmmm. We are planning on making a version of Thanksgiving dinner here, using the kitchens of various women we are friends with and a lot of canned versions of food we like. I am in charge of the chicken (there are no turkeys in this country).

This weekend I went out with a Tanzanian friend to a concert which was really fun. Megan and I were the only non-Tanzanians there and a big hit.

Last night Miriam and I went to visit an American family that she knows that is living in Dar for the next few years. (They are teachers at the International School) and it was really interesting to see that ex-pat world out here. It is a whole other world, much nicer than the rest of Dar, but you can't really blame them for wanting running water, electricity, internet, etc.

So, I'm half way around the world and the only thing anyone can talk about is the US election. I would say 99% of people here want Obama, and everyone is interested in talking about it. Not like this will make a difference, but: PLEASE GO VOTE!

Alright, off to lunch soon.

With Love,

RQ

Wazazi Wangu

2008-10-12T23:44:00.000-07:00

My parents have come and gone. I am sad to see them off but it was so wonderful to see them and show them around here. Thursday I showed them around Dar - we visited all of my friends, the orphanage and the market and then had a delicious Ethiopian food dinner with my group. Friday we headed to Zanzibar and took a tour of the city and had a spice tour, followed by the long (1 hour) drive to our BEAUTIFUL hotel on the beach. Saturday we spent relaxing by the pool - Mom even swam! They fed me unbelievably well (this previously vegetarian girl ate a hamburger for lunch and a steak for dinner!) Now they are up in Tarangire National Park and seeing all of the animals you could imagine. Yesterday they saw a mother and 3 baby lions eating a freshly killed zebra! Mom is particularly happy to finally see all of her National Geographic photos in real life.

School is finally starting to happen. Sorta. I didn't realize "African Time" tramnslated to weeks, not just hours. Oy.

Much love.

Rachel

All Kinds of Things

2008-09-27T23:02:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't written in a long time, so I will try to give a whole bunch of information today.

We are just waiting around for school to start and our roommates to arrive and nothing is very clear. Apparently classes will begin tomorrow, but we don't know which classes, or exactly how to register. Its crazy how, as the biggest, most prestigious University in the country, they are this unorganized. It also just shows how crazy organized Stanford is. Also, I got clearance to volunteer at a local hospital, so we will see if I can get there sometime this week.

Transportation in Tanzania
I've gotten so used to the transportation here that I almost forgot to write about it. In Dar, and the rest of Tanzania, most people travel via Dala-Dalas. They are small, 16-seater Toyota vans in which all of the original seats have been removed and replaced with more seats (the ultimate goal is to get as many people inside as possible). The ceiling is usually covered in some kind of wildly tacky cloth, and the back is painted with an often religious phrase, sometimes in English and terribly misspelled (example: "Grory to God" since Swahili speakers tend to mix up their Ls and Rs.) If you want to get anywhere in town, you wait at a "bus stop" (a cut out in the road) and a Dala will swing by to pick you up. There is a driver and a conductor ("conda") who shouts at people to get in and collects money. They drive specific routes and when you want to get off, you call "shusha," which means "get off" and the conda will get the driver to stop at the next bus stop. The whole system is really efficient, and besides being periodically sat on by mamas or forced to stand with your butt in someone's face, it's quite easy to use. Plus, each ride is 300 shillings, equivalent to 27 cents. Recently, Tony got a chance to be a conda for a day, and he is now seriously famous. Everywhere we go, people shout, "conda!" at him. Also, there are taxis and mini 3-wheel taxis. When mom and dad come (in less than 2 weeks!) I think we may stick to taxis.

Food
Food is definitely what I miss most about home (after the people of course). Tanzanian food is almost always fried carbs and ridiculously chewy meat. For breakfast, Tanzanians usually eat mandazi (fried pastry), chapati, samosas, or supu, this disgusting meat broth with pieces of literal cow foot. The rest of the food (aka lunch and dinner) is rice, ugali (corn maize mush), cooked bananas with beans, peas, okra, or meat. Also, chipsi (aka french fries) is often served as a main course with meat, or cooked with eggs as an egg-french-fried-omelette. The saving grace is the availability of fresh fruits and veggies, which I can buy at the cafeteria and the guy will cut up for us. Plus, there are some more American and Asian places around that we can get to for special occasion. Oh, what I would do for a turkey sandwich!

Greetings
Greetings here is a huge part of daily life. Every time I enter the dorm I have to greet the guard (who, incidentally is a little old women who frequently loses her voice and sits on a chair all day listening to the radio - good to know we have a fierce attentive guard!) Greetings go something like this:
Me: Shikamoo (repsectfully greeting her)
Guard: Marahaba (I accept your respect). Hujambo? (how are you?)
Me: Sijambo (I am fine), Habari za kazi? (how is your work?)
Guard: nzuri (good) za kwako? (your home?)
Me: Nzuri (good)
Guard: za shule? (school?)
Me: nzuri (good)
Guard: za siku? (the day?)
Me: Nzuri (good)
Guard: nzima? (are you whole?)
Me: nzima. (I am whole.)
...all before I can get into the dorm! Other variations ask about your night, your morning, even the last 5 minutes if I have been up to my room only briefly and heading back down. Oy.

Alright...off to have some amazing Tanzania food....

RQ

All is well

2008-09-22T13:25:00.000-07:00

Just writing to say all is well. I moved into my new room today to make room for my Tanzanian roommate who will move in next week. It seems like the internet is better here!

I will write more soon.

RQ

Blogs and Emails

2008-09-15T23:54:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

Just some info on keeping in touch for the rest of the time...

The best way to keep in touch is to send me emails. I promise I will respond to any emails I get as soon as I can. That is best because my email is the first thing I check and is much easier to log into than facebook.

Also, my friends here have blogs too if you are interested.

Tony: welcomebanana.blogspot.com
Megan: allabroad.blogspot.com

love,

RQ

Some Photos from Trip to the North

2008-09-12T07:39:00.000-07:00

More Details

2008-09-12T00:26:00.001-07:00

I stole this from a friend's email to her friends and family, but it gives lots of good details and I changed it a little...

One daladala and one bumpy pick-up truck later, we arrived at Isaya’s boma, which consisted of three small huts – one for each wife and their children, and one for his father, surrounded by a thick wall of thorns. The huts themselves, which were made of dung and ash, consisted of one large room with a small fire for cooking in the middle surrounded by a few stools. Each hut had two “beds, ” which, in reality, were a pile of sticks covered by a hard cow skin. Each bed, which was about the size of a full, was expected to hold anywhere between three and five people. In the middle of the boma was a smaller enclosure made of thorns for the cattle. Although the area was no more than thirty feet across, at night, it was home to more than one hundred cows. Just to the left of the cattle, fifty goats slept in a separate pen. Although the cattle were taken far beyond the walls of the boma everyday to forage for food, the goats were free to wander around the compound, leaving the dusty ground covered in feces. And yet, Isaya’s one-year-old sister crawled freely across the compound.

Almost immediately after we arrived, Isaya along with five or six of his friends began to dance. Maasai dancing is actually more like jumping. They begin by shuffling around in a line tapping their fimbos while making the most bizarre sounds – a combination of high-pitched cries and low guttural sounds. Suddenly, they stopped shuffling and began to jump one at a time,
low to the ground at first but eventually they started to get higher and higher, feeding off each other’s energy. You would never believe how high they are able to jump, and with such ease. You would think they had nike shocks instead of pieces of tire tied to their feet. After thirty minutes or so, they invited us to join. Women, however, are not supposed to jump. They shake, but somehow they do it without moving their shoulders at all. Try it. It is a lot harder than it sounds.

Then we were to eat a goat...apparently, in Maasai tradition, it is good luck to name the goat just before it is slaughtered. As we were the guests of honor, we were asked to give the goat an American name. Only one named seemed appropriate – Barack Obama. Minutes after his christening, we watched in horror as Barack Obama was suffocated. [Actually, I, Rachel, stood away so I did not have to see the apparently brutal death. I explained in Swahili that I didn't mind the goat alive, or dead, but I didn't want to see it in-between] As blood is one of the Maasai’s staple foods, it would be a shame to waste any of it by cutting its throat. Immediately three or four Maasai descended on the carcass, skillfully carving the animal apart.

No part of the goat is wasted – even the feet are smoked and eaten. Before I knew it, I had not only tasted smoked goat, I had eaten raw kidney and drank blood, and not from a cup – straight from the stomach. It must be fresh of course. I suppose it is all part of the cultural experience. I am practically Maasai now. In fact, I almost became Maasai when one of Isaya’s friends began to bargain with Tony over my bride price.

After the entire goat had been devoured (not by us I can assure you) and another few hours of dancing around the bonfire, we retired to the hut, which was now completely filled with smoke. With only one small lantern in the corner, we felt the way towards the bed, around the baby goats who were spread across the room to sleep for the evening. In order to experience the true Maasai lifestyle, all four girls squeezed onto one rock-hard bed. I think it is safe to say not one of us slept for more than a few hours that night and I may have woken up with a few bruises on my hips. In the end, it was not necessarily a comfortable experience, but I can certainly say I have gained a whole new understanding of village life and the Maasai lifestyle, in particular. Definitely an adventure.

Goats are better alive

2008-09-10T00:54:00.001-07:00

Well, I am back in Dar from the vacation up north. I don't think I have the energy right now to write about everything, so I will give some highlights.

Friday we spent the day in Moshi, the town/city right near Mt. Kilimanjaro. For those of you who don't know, Kili is the tallest mountain in Africa. Anyway, we got a guide and the 5 of us usual travellers, plus the new girl, Miriam who just arrived, and the 2 Lithuanian and 2 Swedish exchange students hiked around the villages near Kili and went to some waterfalls there. It was beautiful! (Photos to come...)

Saturday we got up early and met a friend of Conner's (named Isaya) in Arusha to go visit his Masaai village. As it turns out, he is the chief of the entire region. (He dresses in traditional wear all the time). You can actually read about him since he was one of the guys who ran the London marathon (actually, they skipped the London marathon); just google it. Anyway, we took a 1 hour bus ride and then a 1 hour pick up truck ride to his village. Well, the pictures will tell more, but they live in the most remote place in the entire world. We stayed in a literal mud hut, on these extremely hard "beds" made of cow hide. The Masaai are fascinating -- their diet consists of meat, milk and drinking the blood from their cows and goats. Thus, they killed a goat for us, and I tried raw goat kidney, goat blood and meat, all which was DISGUSTING...but a great adventure. They also danced for us, and taught us about their culture etc.

I will spend some time and try to get photos to work...

Love,

RQ

More Traveling?

2008-09-02T23:24:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

I am just letting you all know that I am heading out for another vacation tomorrow up to the North. We will be starting in Moshi, to Arusha and then possibly to Mwanza and Rwanda! I have my cell if you need me.

RQ

Chapati Chapati

2008-08-31T02:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great day. We woke up kinda early and took the two new Lithuanian exchange students to the market to get their bed nets, buckets, etc. They don't know ANY Swahili. I mean, I am not an expert, but I can't imagine coming here without any language training, or even plans to take language classes! Then we went to the orphanage for the morning and the women there taught us how to make chapati, the best breakfast food here. It is basically like really good naan bread. It is quite a process. They roll out the dough it 4 different steps to add air and oit to make it fluffy. It is amazing. In the evening, a few of us went to check out a concert downtown, but decided not to enter since it was about $20 and we didn't know the bands or anything. Instead, we just hung out at a local bar for a while, which was fun, too.

I will write more soon.

XOXO
Gossip Girl

just kidding, but I have been watching that show and it is hilarious.

RQ

Missionaries and Rich People

2008-08-29T00:53:00.000-07:00

Right now Conner and I are in the middle of New York City or London. Well, not really, but it sure feels like it. We decided to go downtown to get some real coffee and free internet at the fancy hotel. It is called the Kilamanjaro Hotel and it is where George Bush stayed when he came here. It is at least as nice as a Four Seasons -- shopping, casino, expensive food, 2 restaurants, etc. etc. The strangest thing about Tanzania is the freedom and legitimacy we can get just because we are white. We walked into the hotel (the nicest hotel I have ever seen) with our backpacks and all and the security guard literally shook out hands. Similar stuff happens when we ask to use bathrooms at offices, etc. We can often get privileges that other people would NEVER get here. On one hand, it is extremely convenient. As we are slightly picky about our bathrooms, etc, we can often find nice ones easily. Similarly, we are able to escape crowds by going into fancy restaurants or hotels where security would question a Tanzanian, but not us. Its also strange and a constant reminder that we will never be able to be Tanzanian for reals. So, as I sit here, I am wildly curious to know why all of these people are here in TZ. So, I have subsequently created an imaginary research project investigating "American Social Presence in Tanzania" to give me an excuse to ask people why they are here. Goodness, I really have no fear of embarrassment or awkwardness. So, we are sitting with a nice couple who are missionaries for the Evangelical Church of America. I don't know how I feel about missionaries. They are nice enough-- actually extremely nice. They are doing great development work and really living in TZ for real, with the people. Plus, so many Tanzanians are Christian anyway, its not like they are converting them from indigenous religions. Plus, Christian Tanzanians, since they are very religious now, basically consider Missionaries to be historical heros. But, of course they are always going to have a holier-than-thou element since they are bringing the "correct" religion to the people. All is well, because missionary Mama Carol is going to help me get knitting needles.

Oh my, I haven't had real coffee in 2 months and I am soooo wired.

Love,

Rachel

One of Africa's Great Journeys, Part 2

2008-08-28T00:08:00.000-07:00

Monday, August 18

Monday we took a bus to the second town, Tukuyu, a really pretty rural town. We stayed in another “guest house” that, for $10 per room, was quite luxurious compared to our other hotels. We spent the day walking around the town and the market, and found an extremely legit tour company for a hike the following day. That night we hung out in th hotel bar and played the card game “spoons” with the hotel staff. Quite hilarious. We also got to watch some Olympics, which was exciting.

Tuesday, August 19

Tuesday after breakfast we met up with our tour company to go to a place called Kaporogwe Falls. We took an INSANE van ride down to the falls…it was about one hour of the bumpiest road I have ever been on in my life. Then we had lunch in the cave behind the falls and went down to the pool below to go swimming. So, I have learned since I have been here that as a rule, Tanzanians don’t know how to swim. It makes sense, since going to swimming lessons or something is clearly a luxury. Anyway, one of our drivers decided to come in the water with us (and I guess stay on the edge) but basically started drowning and grabbed onto Julie to try to stay afloat. Tony pulled Julie away from him, and them him out of the water. It was pretty scary, but Tony was a hero for sure! After that excitement, we went back to the hotel, and the hotel staff was really disappointed when we were too tired for hanging out at the bar again.

Wednesday, August 20

We headed on another bus to Kyela, the “biggest” town in the area. We were pretty excited when we found a decent hotel for $3.50 per room per night. The guidebook said that Kyela was “nobody’s favorite,” but it wasn’t too bad…until evening. We should’ve realized that for $3.50 it was going to be the hangout for prostitutes and other hooligans, who had little sense of quiet hours. The night was rather unpleasant, to say the least. On a positive note, Julie and I did get a chance to walk around and made some friends and got some cool portraits of locals (see below). FYI the creepy looking girl actually has really bad cataracts.

Thursday, August 21

So, the guidebook had essentially raved about a possible ferry ride from Itungi port (near Kyela) to Mbamba Bay on Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi), calling it “One of Africa’s Great Journeys”. We had gotten really excited about this, since the book had made it sound like the first class cabins were nice and the views were amazing. We also somehow had begun to quote the book as saying “Africa’s Greatest Journey.” Anyway, we took a ride to the “port” down a dirt road, and when we got there, realized that this “ferry” was basically just a large fishing boat with some rooms on the top with bunks for sleeping. I have some pictures below (note the chickens). In our adventurous state, we decided to take the 22-hour ferry anyway. Oy. We stayed in the first class “cabins” on the top of the boat, and the poor locals stayed in the bottom of the ship in a big room with benches. It made us feel a bit guilty, but we certainly weren’t willing to stay down there. (Our tickets were $22, the 3rd class tickets were $7) In the first 15 minutes, we all realized that we had overlooked the level of rocky waves that can exist on a lake. The girls went to sleep, and I tried to stay awake with Tony, leading to me vomiting 3 times. In the end, Julie and Conner slept for 23 hours, Megan for 17 and me for 14. In the process, we did see some amazing scenery, especially the towns were we stopped along the way that basically cannot be reached by other means. It appeared that the entire town came onto the beach to greet the ship.

One of Africa's Greatest Journeys, Part 1 (for real)

2008-08-26T14:02:00.000-07:00

To begin:

I was planning on writing more today but then Tony introduced me to the fun that is Garage Band and we have been playing with it for a long while instead of writing blogs. My apologies. I am going to try to give a day-by-day recap of my trip this past week. Overall, the trip was absolutely the biggest adventure of my life. For sure, not everything went "well" per say, all the time, but the overall experience was amazing. Its funny to think how happy I am though to be "home" in the dorms in Dar. Essentially the trip was the 5 of us (5 of 6 Brown Program people) bought a bus ticket to the south of Tanzania and headed down with our "Rough Guide" book and clothes and money. For the sake of stories and pictures, Julie is the one with the cute short blonde hair, Conner is the other girl (not boy) with the brown hair, Megan is the girl with the kick-ass African braids, and Tony is the one, very good sported, male. He very often allowed us to pretend that we were his polygamist wives in order to prevent us from getting painfully hit on. Usually men asked for one of us and he kindly refused. Ok, enough chatter…

Friday, August 15

Thursday was actually our last day of Swahili classes. I am by no means fluent in Swahili, but I can carry on a conversation and get around, especially when it comes to asking for something or buying stuff. I am working on it.

Friday, Megan and I went on a wile goose chase into the city center to find an ATM that takes MasterCard. We also had lunch with some of the leaving American students (summer is almost over?). Other than that we just packed up and went to sleep early to prepare for the day.

Saturday, August 16

Saturday we woke up early to catch the 14 hour bus to Mbeya, The bus company we took is called Scandinavian Express and is relatively nice, so the seats were comfy enough. We stopped a few times along the way for "bathroom" breaks and for lunch. Also, many people use buses as an opportunity to sell things, so we were able to buy snacks through eh bus windows. Our favorite snack is roasted corn, though the sellers decided that we would continue to buy if they shoved as many corns as possible through the window into poor Conner's face. (See photo coming soon) I spent a good amount of time next to a nice but perhaps out-of-it old man (since there are five of us one person is with the stranger…) We also passed by Mikumi national park again, and saw elephants and giraffes as we drove past! After a long day of iPodding, sleeping, eating, chatting and 20 questions, we arrived in Mbeya and stayed the night at the Morovian Church hostel. It was nice ($7 per room) and Julie and I shared a bed since we didn't want to have to buy a whole room for one person. A tight squeeze but not a problem J .

Sunday, August 16

Sunday was the first day that we discovered that perhaps our trusty guidebook was going to steer us wrong. The book suggested several hikes and day trips around Mbeya and said that the only legitimate would be through the program "Sisi kwa Sisi." After an hours of searching and befriending a random German-Polish Priest living in TZ, we found the Sisi kwa Sisi building (closed for Sunday) with 4 different numbers painted on the building, all which did not work at all. Instead, we used our Swahili to chat up the man at the bus office who found us a random guide on the street who took us up the mountain to the crater lake (Ngosi Crater lake). Jack (the guide) was the first Tanzanian I have ever met who likes President Bush (they are all OBSESSED with Obama here), which should have made us weary of him (he ended up overcharging us quite lot.) Plus, he led us on a crazy hike wearing white, pointed men's dress shoes. Oy Tanzania. We took a crazy crowded bus (see photo of Julie on my lap with a Tanzania baby on her lap… The hike was beautiful, challenging, and we met a bunch of interesting kids at the top of the mountain who go down and collect water from the late for locals who believe the water has healing power. On the way back we met a villager, who had us come over to her home for a break. We literally sat in the house while a zillion kids peered in through the window and doors at us. I feel bad for zoo animals, dude, it was awkward. Check out the photos of the day, below.

Ok I am getting tired…more tomorrow!

With Love,

RQ

One of Africa's Greatest Journeys (part 1)

2008-08-25T01:10:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I spent an hour writing this blog entry and then the internet died and erased the entire thing. So, I am doing my best, but it might be a little while till I re-write this. (A little while being like the whole day today). Sorry!

Weekend Trip to Morogoro and Mikumi

2008-08-10T14:11:00.001-07:00

Here are a few photos from our trip to Morogoro and
our mini safari in Mikumi national park. Enjoy!

Top 15 Things That I Do Here That I Would NEVER Do in the States

2008-08-10T10:38:00.001-07:00

15. Become shocked or offended when I see women's knees or shoulders.
14. See a white person on the street and assume I know them
13. Not stop to look when I see a monkey
12. Not get insulted when people shout "White Person" (in Swahili) as if it were my name
11. Get complimented on my language skills after saying ONE word in Swahili
10. Run across a 4 lane highway.
9. Not flinch at all when I see a chicken in the bus that I'm on.
8. Let 25 dirty children play with my hair.
7. Spend a large portion of my time explaining why a don't go to church on Sunday.
6. Wait for 2 hours at a restaurant for my food and not complain, or receive any kind of apology.
5. Celebrate when I take a bite of food without finding a rock in it.
4. Consider it a miracle when I find a bathroom with toilets, toilet paper, running water AND soap, regardless of how bad it smells.
3. Look at a 16 seat van with 25 people packed in it an assume there is still plenty of room to hop on.
2. Argue for 10 minutes about a 50 cent decrease in price...and then leave since the guy wouldn't lower it.
1. Take a free ride in the back of a stranger's pick-up truck.

Zanzibar Photos

2008-08-08T07:14:00.001-07:00

Zanzibar and Such...

2008-08-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

Oh my,

So much to say since I wrote last. Zanzibar was awesome. See the next post for pictures.

We left on Friday morning super early and took the boat to Zanzibar island. It took about an hour and a half and wasn't too sea-sick-ish. When we got there we had breakfast at a hotel and then went on a spice tour. They brought us around a little forest and showed us all of these different plants that were spices and different kinds of fruit. It was amazing. The pictures tell the story way better than I can. Next, we went to a little Island and got to pet tortoises! (again, see photos). Saturday we went snorkeling which was really fun but a little underwhelming. Sunday we went shopping and I bought a zillion (like 7) beautiful scarves and a few different kinds of spices. Monday we just headed back on the boat which was terrible. The boat rocked so crazily -- it was pretty scary.

Now I am back and a bunch of other study abroad programs have arrived. No one else has studied swahili before which makes us all feel nice and advanced.

Ok--off to bed soon.

Love you all.

RQ

Zanzibar

2008-07-31T03:15:00.000-07:00

I am off to Zanzibar for the weekend, so I won't be in an internet location till Tuesday. When I get back I will post photos and description. Text me if you need me. Much love.
RQ

So Many Things!

2008-07-29T03:05:00.000-07:00

Oh My,

It is particularly overwhelming to write a blog post after a while because I have lots to write and can't really remember it all. I guess just more motivation for me to write more consistently!

Everything is going really well. Last week was a pretty normal week except that Dan, a friend from my Swahili class at Stanford came to Dar and stayed with me for the week. Its nice to have guests and he was a totally easy addition to the family. We went to a really amazing pizza and Indian restaurant on Wednesday (Tanzanians don't tend to really understand the idea of segregating different food ethnicities). Otherwise the week was pretty normal -- went to the orphanage and the school.

On a more serious note, this week my friends (not me) saw something totally intense. In Tanzania, since the police aren't necessarily around all the time, if someone steals something, someone will yell "mwizi!" (thief) and basically everyone around will make a mob and beat the thief, sometimes to death. Often after a while a police man will take the thief to the police station, where he may be beaten there as well. We had a lot of interesting conversations after my friends saw one of these mobs because it seems so terrible, since we were not brought up to consider stealing equal in severity to death. Almost all Tanzanians really support this type of "mob justice." Just a bit of a culture shock I thought I would share.

On a less serious note, this weekend we went to a beach town called Bagamoyo. It is a notable historical site because it was a stop along the East African slave trade route. We stayed in a pretty nice hotel (with hot water!) and had two very overpriced but tasty meals. The beach was nice, we saw a zillion crabs and collected a few pretty sea shells. The museums were not so exciting but it was interesting to learn a bit about the missionaries, who are pretty much considered heros to the Tanzanians, which is opposite of what you would expect.

Yesterday I went to the orphanage and had a great chat with the women there about witch doctors and religion. It is really difficult to explain Judaism, but as long as I say I trust in God, they don't have too many concerns. Here it is much more of a concern that you HAVE a religion and less important which one you have.

This weekend we are going to Zanzibar! I am very excited. Today we are going to hear a talk by a UN woman...not sure if it will be interesting or not.

Sorry for the delay.

With Love,

Rachel

No Internet

2008-07-24T03:09:00.000-07:00

Hey All,

I am just writing to say that I am alive and well, just haven't had much internet or electricity for the past few days. My friend Dan from Stanford is here from Arusha area and I got to see Annalise too. Lots of fun. We are working on getting internet again so I will hopefully write more soon. In the mean time, I can text you if you want, its not too spendy.

I am in the "computer center" now so I will try to come back to keep updating if we dont get more internet.

Love and miss,

RQ

Photos

2008-07-17T10:30:00.001-07:00

Why the title?

2008-07-16T11:45:00.000-07:00

"Suck it up and smile" has become the motto of the group here.

Things don't always, go perfectly...food is gross, sometimes we can't understand people, sometimes no internet, sometimes no water, but part of "roughing it" is sucking it up, and most importantly SMILING.

We say it at least once a day here, and it helps...

Babies

2008-07-16T11:36:00.000-07:00

I went to the orphanage today...you can see more pictures of the baby-carrying process in the photo section. I learned how to carry a baby on my back. I’m pretty sure this particular girl is HIV positive. :(

Nothing else new since yesterday :)

RQ

Schools and Baboons

2008-07-15T11:36:00.000-07:00

Where did I leave off?

Sunday I went to the University church which was supposed to be “non-denominational” but was very Presbyterian/Catholic-esque with communion and stuff. It was also in Swahili, so it got boring since I had no idea what was going on. Plus, people bring their own books, so I couldn’t even follow along. The singing was cool -- very Tanzanian with almost-tacky background electronic beats on the keyboard. The kids sang too, with hand motions. A cool 2.5 hour experience, but I am not running back every week. Sunday I also did my laundry, which took a while, but I am glad I have clean clothes!!

Yesterday we had class and then went to the orphanage again. We played Sherades (sp?), which was a HUGE hit. My hair (which I was wearing down and curly) was also a huge hit. Last night we went out to get some food variety (I eat rice, beans, peas, eggs, and fruit in some combination for EVERY meal), and I got pizza that had CILANTRO on it. Very upsetting. But, I discovered a cream-of-wheat type cereal for breakfast from South Africa called Pro-Nutro that I am super into. I wonder if they have it in the states?

Plus, the past 3 days I have seen baboons! They look kinda like huge monkeys, but since they are big, they seem really human. I haven’t had my camera lately when i see them, but I will take photos and send them. I can get pretty close without it running away.

Swahili class is going ok, but we have a guy in our class from China who really doesn’t speak English OR Swahili which slows down the process, and our teacher also doesn’t really speak English, which makes learning complicated grammar concepts really tricky. I am learning, though, which is what matters. Everyone is super motivated, so its fun. We actually ASKED the teacher to give us daily quizzes. Friday I am giving a presentation on animals, I’ll write about it later.

Today I went to a primary school where I will be teaching drama, sort of. It is not “community service” per say, but a very interesting cultural experience. I will be teaching for an hour of a 2nd grade class, probably once a week or so.

People here are great. Of course, there is rarely a group of people without some conflict or annoyances, but we have a fun, easy-going dynamic. The one guy (!) in our group plays guitar, so we frequently have Eric Clapton sing-alongs, including one during class today.

There are other groups of wazungu (white people/foreigners) here, some of which we hang out with and some of whom we don’t. I think we are the only group here now and also staying into the semester.

Mom, Dad, Megan -- I think about all of the fun things I can do with you and get so excited! I can’t wait for you to visit.

Wow, I am proud of my pretty long blog post. Posting these on the internet has been a bit of a nightmare, but I am doing my best.

Love, miss, etc.

RQ

Orphans and Presidents

2008-07-10T11:35:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

I will begin by answering the questions from my mother (who signed her comment JQ because she thought I would be embarrassed of her...which I am NOT!)

The woman sitting outside my window must live in this complex, and she is usually just chillin’. We greet her when we enter the dorm, and sometimes she talks to us when we wash out clothes on the porches. The mosquito net is fine, and usually I am so sleepy I don’t even notice it. I am working on more photos. :)

Yesterday I went to an orphanage to volunteer which was tons of fun. They have 60 kids (I met kids ages 1-15) there and they were so excited to have new people to play with. I spent about 2 hours just chatting and playing. It is a great place to practice Swahili because they don’t speak English but they also don’t care if you make grammar mistakes. I also set up a chance to teach Drama at an elementary school next week. Should be really fun (and the school is taught in English which makes it easier for me). Today we went into the center of town to shop for kangas and ketenges (special African cloths) but there were so many it was overwhelming. I bought one. A friend here also found us cloths with the face of the 1st president of Tanzania (a huge hero here) which is awesome and funny. I’ll include a photo of it when I can.

Swahili classes are going well. Our main teacher doesn’t really speak English which is frustrating for when we try to clarify things, but we have another teacher also who is great. I am learning, which is all hat counts. We have a test every Friday (tomorrow!) so I need to go study.

Miss you all.

RQ

For LQ (except I am still trying to re-upload pics)

2008-07-08T11:31:00.000-07:00

Good day. Hung out, did laundry, went up on the roof to do Swahili homework, etc. I can’t believe I’m actually BORED sometimes. That is a new feeling for me.

Yesterday we went to the Embassy which was interesting to see what kind of Americans are living in Tanzania. Lots of very cute families. I also got to see Annalise!

I included two fun pictures for your enjoyment.
I’ll write a longer note soon.
Miss you all!

RQ

Going Well

2008-07-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

Its a three day weekend this weekend which is exciting -- there is a holiday for July 7th (Saba saba) but we aren’t totally sure what is being celebrated. I will ask around (or look it up on the internet). I will hopefully get a chance to see the city this weekend, because so far I have only been off campus for dinners in super up-scale parts of the city.

Today we are going to town to go to an alleged 4th of July party at the American Embassy, and then the 5 of us are going to have a little “party” here. Monday we are going to the beach. Probably tomorrow we will go into town to the market, but we aren’t sure yet. So many things to do!

I bought money for my cell phone and I will call you all when I can. You can also call me, but I think it might cost you a lot of money so check first. To call me, dial: 011-255-782-091-315. The time difference is 10 hours ahead of California and 7 ahead of the east coast.

I just went to the Duka (little shop) and had a long conversation in Swahili with a guy there. That is so much fun!

Let me know what else you want to know. I enabled comments so you should write some.

With Love,
Recho (I’ve just given in to that name)

Made it to Dar

2008-07-03T11:27:00.000-07:00

I made it to Dar last night at around 9:00 and all is well so far. I had a strange night of sleep, and was woken by all kinds of crazy sounds. I have a single room for the next few weeks (7 weeks of orientation) which is pretty nice. We have no running water now, but we do have wireless internet. I think it is hilarious -- so Tanzania!

The most exciting news (not really but still) is on the way to class we saw 5 wild monkeys! MONKEYS! It was really exciting. I must be in Africa of something.

The people on the program (6 here now) are all very friendly, and we are all in intermediate or advanced Swahili. We had class this morning (the second or third for most of them). My friend Michelle, from Swahili at Stanford is in my class which was so nice to see a familiar face. The next 7 weeks in Swahili class every morning for three hours and then a few structured activities, but more freedom as the weeks progress. I will definitely find a community service project (there are several good ones to choose from) soon.

I’m not sure what details to include -- I had beans and rice for lunch for 60 cents and a coke (sweetened with real sugar) and we are going to Indian food tonight. I took a lovely bucket bath this morning (hot hot water).

I’m feeling good -- nervous of course, but excited about what is to come.

Let me know if you have specific questions. I will be getting my cell phone tonight, so I’ll give out the number when I get it.

Love to all!
Rachel (Recho!)

Pre-Departure Email

2008-06-30T11:24:00.000-07:00

Dear People That I Love,

As you all know, I am leaving for Tanzania tomorrow. I am, as
expected, wildly excited and nervous.

I will be sending out periodic emails (figure every 3 weeks or so?) to
you all to give you updates on my adventures. I know some people hate
these mass emails, so just let me know if you would like me to take
you off the list, I won't be insulted.

Also, I made a WEBSITE to post pictures, and also include these emails
in the form of a blog. I'm likely include more info (like pictures and
notes about the wedding this weekend) on the website that I don't
email out. The address is: http://web.mac.com/bquint/Rachel

My plan is that if you email me, I will do my best to email you back
(personally). Also, here is my mailing address. A letter from the US
costs about $1.50 and takes about 12 days to arrive. Packages will
probably never get to me.

Brown University Exchange Students
University of Dar-es-Salaam
University Hill
P.O. Box 35008
Dar-es-Salaam,
Tanzania

I will send out my phone number when I get it.

Keep in touch!
Kwaheri!

With love,
Rachel