Email No. 15:
September 11, 2005 Happenings For August / September

Hello all!

A email here in the calm before the storm. I’m in Morogoro again, this time getting ready to help facilitate a TOT for the PCVs that are going to help out with this year’s PST. Enough acronyms for you? After three years in Peace Corps, I’m convinced I could write a fairly substantial paragraph using just those and prepositions!

Anyhow, I have a rare day off today, which I am using to be a bit lazy, rest up, read and catch up with my emails. I think that I have the land speed record between Lindi and Morogoro after my ride yesterday. Because there was already a PC vehicle down south, it didn’t make sense for me to fly up and so I left Lindi yesterday at 6:30 am, arrived in Dar a mere 7 hours later, found myself on the bus to Moro a half hour after that and just 10 ½ hours after leaving the Deep South I had arrived at my destination. This is pretty incredible especially as by bus the same trip would have taken a minimum of two days, possibly three. The amount of work that they have done on the road between Dar and Lindi is amazing. Well, actually, they really could have done a lot more work on it in the three years that I’ve been here (it was supposed to be finished by now, but I personally don’t think that it will be finished up for at least another three years). For now though, in the dry season, it’s pretty good, though the side roads that they have people driving on while they work on the big road will definitely get flooded once the rains start again, bumping the trip up to three days.

It’s been an action packed last couple of weeks. The new health PCVs have sworn in and most have been at their sites for about three weeks now. Because of a shortage of vehicles and the remoteness of the Deep South from the rest of the country, I had the job of installing three of the new PCVs down there. It was a bit chaotic, with bad communication between the PC office and myself beforehand, but all worked out okay in the end. Basically, it ended up being a week of meeting with District Officials, which is nothing unusual, but this time I had these other three along. It was a huge KARIBUNI to the system of protocol and red tape here for them, that’s for sure. Especially, with one newer District not wanting to take responsibility for their new PCV because the PCV’s site was located so far out from the DC capital and then it falling upon the shoulders of the neighboring District. I was very impressed with the way this PCV dealt with the confusion and uncertainty that came out of this meeting… I ended up staying the night with her as I didn’t want her to spend the night in a new empty house alone after the craziness of the day. All ended up being well and good though as her village was absolutely wonderful about welcoming her. The village chairperson and secretary arrived soon after we did and insisted on taking her around the village to introduce her to people, taking her to the market, etc. They also managed to find her a bed, table and chairs, which was something I was really impressed by; this was one of the poorest villages that the PCVs are going to, that had struggled to get the house completed before the PCV’s arrival and they were managing to find furniture. I am constantly amazed by people’s generosity here.

The best part of the week for me was the fact that PC is planning on putting another PCV at my old site, Ndwika, again and so they asked me to go there to do site development (make sure my old house could still be used, find out what type of teacher would be needed, etc). It was one of the most wonderful days I’ve had in a long time! It is an extremely rare that a PCV gets the opportunity to go back to their site 8 months after they’ve left. Everyone was incredibly welcoming and excited to see me, which really surprised me. I didn’t expect it. I drank chai in four different people’s houses and ate ugali and dagaa twice (stiff porridge and little fish cooked with oil and onions…. I know it doesn’t sound very good, but it’s pretty typical Tanzanian food, and they always get excited when people eat ugali with them!). My students literally brought tears to my eyes with their well-wishes and pleas for me to come back (stay another year! Teach us our last year of math!). Basically, the entire experience reminded me of everything I love and want to remember about Tanzania and Tanzanians, and really, validated my Peace Corps experience, putting to rest all of those questions as to if my presence made any kind of difference to anyone. At the very least, I made some good friends, and I don’t think that there’s a “least” really in that realization.

I found that one of my favourite teachers had been promoted to Second Master, and that my counterpart was still working with the Peer Leader Group. They were ready and prepared to get a new PCV; my house was still there, needing no repair but some new mosquito netting, and they had stored all of my old furniture instead of distributing it amongst the staff as I had half expected them to do. Writing much more about the visit wouldn’t even come close to explaining the emotions and feelings of the day, so I’ll just leave it by saying it was a day that far exceeded my expectations; it took me two years, but Ndwika truly had become MY site, and not just someplace that I took over from another PCV. I hope that the next PCV does the same.

Last week was spent doing what was hopefully, my final supervisor’s workshop. It was good overall, but I’m more than happy to be done with it.

The new ED- PCVs arrive on the 22nd. I am excited for them and all the next two years will bring them!

Love to you all,

Jess