please stop saying this!!!

So I was having a conversation with someone at the language school earlier today.  We were discussing the violence at the recent villages as many have been stricken by murder and thievery and are on the brink of war.  The conversation soon turned to child soldiers, then Darfur, then the Holocaust, then Schindler's List, and finally Hotel Rwanda.  During the discussion I realized something.  There is a phrase that so-called liberals often use that really gets under my skin.  Maybe you have heard it: "I just don't understand how someone could do that to another person."  First, what this statement presupposes is that the speaker is not capable of such violence.  Always a total falsity.  The people committing the violence are just that, people.  Just as the speaker and I and all of you are people.  Further, much of the violence comes from two places.  Namely, desperation and indoctrination.  When a person, any person, is desperate and feels that their life or the life of any other person close to them will be threatened by hunger, poverty, some outside force or people who want to harm them they will normally respond by blaming an other.  We always do this to a small degree.  For instance, in our current financial crisis each side of the aisle is so quick to blame the other.  After the tragedy of September 11, 2001, many were eager to distribute "justice."  Now, I understand that most of you reading this may not have participated in the march to war in any way.  But I beg you.  Sit.  Think.  Give it a few minutes.  I am certain that you can find some situation where you have blamed the other.  

Often, our blaming does not end in violence, not because of some cultural superiority but because there are certainly levels of desperation.  My desperation in the financial crisis, for instance, is not the same as the desperation of a hungry person, or one who hears Israeli gun fire on a day to day basis.  On top of this, most of us "liberals" have not been a participant in fundamentalist religion or extreme nationalism that has drilled the message into our heads that someone else has or wants to hurt us and the only response is to hurt them.  Many people turn to this message in fundamentalism not because of religious conviction or love of country but because they find hope in ending or preventing their suffering.  These are just people.  People who happen to have heard a continual whisper summoning them to hatred.  By complete chance, you and I were not born geographically close to places where desperation meets this level (though, our government often acts as if we HAD been.)

The statement suggests that the people committing the violence are somehow less human than the speaker.  Thus, it is dehumanizing!  The speaker makes himself superior and so he can start a war or do anything to the bastards committing the violence so that it can end.  When we do not recognize our MUTUAL humanity with those committing violence we run the risk of becoming unwilling to sit and talk and try to end the violence WITHOUT violence.  THIS IS MOST URGENT PROBLEM IN OUR WORLD.  It has started the seemingly endless war against terrorism and countless others throughout the world.   In thinking this way the speaker risks committing the same dehumanizing crime that those committing the violence do.  We begin to distrust and blame the other.  This can create an endless cycle of violence.  If we cannot realize that the people committing violence are just like us then will will never believe that they are able to repent and stop violence if given another option. The world will make no progress.  We must look at ourselves and be able to recognize our own ability to hurt.  So that we can understand that, just like us, the people committing violence CAN stop.  From this point we can end the cycle.  May we see the humanity in every other so that ALL violence can become inexcusable.  Please, begin to end the violence.  Stop saying that stupid statement.  You and I are no greater than any other human.

"It's like Hindu Christmas"

Tuesday was a very eventful day.  We began the day in a nearby Masai village.  It was a pretty basic visit (they are all amazing but I realize that I have spoken about many.)  We were given a tour while Pr. Hafermann registered the people for baptism.  The tours led by Moreto are always fun and full of sarcasm as he shows us around everyday life in the small huts.  Moreto asked us about the attitude in the US like in general.  In broken Kiswaili we tried to explain that, while everything is nzuri in TZ it is not in the US.  Smiles and greetings are far less rare.  We asked if the smiles were often disingenuous in TZ.  Of course, they are not, he told us.  While the people may be hurting in many ways, they are always happy to meet each other and the idea is that a smil comes from within, so when you smile it always an indication of the joy inside.  This is nice and all, but I wonder about the extreme poverty and illness and malnutrition that we have witnessed.  I suppose that happiness is not always married to these things. Maybe it is possible to find joy everywhere.

Notably, there were thirteen baptisms yesterday and the kids were especially happy to play with us.

In the evening we went with Roohid and Mamka to the Hindu temple for a Diwali celebration.  I am certain that Peter wrote extensively about it. I will just say that it was very exciting and we were welcomed very wholly by Roohid and Mamka and the priest.  Though the people were a little shut off as this temple is somewhat conservative and like a very exclusive family.  There was a blessing last night and so many fireworks and a giant meal (normally served by men, but served by the women in this conservative sect.)  Diwali is very much a family affair, there is a short blessing and tonight there is chanting but most of it happens at home with the household deity.  I learned a lot, but am honestly too tired to write any more so I will write another time about it...if you are lucky.  

This week has been full of village visits.  It has been so good to spend the majority of the week off campus actually using our Swahili.  Today was especially good.  Moreto came with us to today's village far into the pori.  The roads are impeccable. Ha.  It is a good thing we have Luka, he is an incredible driver.  I now understand why four wheel drive is made.  It is not for Palin-ite hockey moms but for the sheol-esque pits over which we cross on a daily basis.  The road was about as rocky as the current situation of the people of this village.  They have been displaced many times.  Land that is rightfully theirs has been taken by the local government to give to Waswahili people.  This is evidence of the certain prejudice against the Masai people here in Tanzania.  So now they have built a somewhat permanent church building (it is simply a wooden frame and a corrugated iron or tin roof) as a statement against their constant displacement.  It is interesting to be welcomed so heartily by a group who is something of a constant other in mainstream Tanzanian culture.  The oppression is not always evident and most people can go to school and things with Masai and get along just fine.  But they have a false reputation of being lazy and undereducated (so far from the truth! the people all go to school and value work very highly) and are often driven off their own land, sometimes physically by fire.  What is really remarkable is that, while the Masai are pushed aside by society, the Church has completely accepted them.  It is so good to see the unity that the Church has brought.  When there is a Waswahili lutheran church in the area, Masai always come and are welcomed as full members of the body.  They have really built community with each other.  The Church is all of them, and they are all fully aware of this fact!  

Today's village has many other problems besides displacement.  Many of the people are related to a young man who was recently strangled by his own tunic when it got caught in his motorcycle chain.  What's more, there have been recent murders of a few tribe member and about 400 stolen cattle.  This community is hurting very badly and is on the verge of war with a neighboring tribe.  It is very bad.  

Positively, the people don't want war.  They don't want violence.  They are hungry for a message of peace which is evidenced by the fact that so many showed up for church today and show up every week.  Weekly, the village averages about 100 people packed into this little wall-less building with about ten benches.  Which is very high.  Today there were far more than this.  People were pushing to see and sitting very close (I quarter cheeked it for the whol 3.5 hour service.)  There were so many people spilled outside the "walls." So many people that we had to hold communion outside of the building!  It was a service that would make strict high-churchers faint.  With this many people and children the noise was constant and very loud.  So loud that there were points when one could not even hear the pastor.  People really come with their full humanity to church and it is welcomed.  It was amazing, during the baptisms (there were well over ten) people crowded up front to see.  People are so eager for community and peace.  I stayed in my seat and spoke with a bunch of the primary school children (holding a conversation when the Lord is working...tsk tsk tsk, ha.)  If church really is community and is about glorifying God then it would do as God would.  Jesus spent so much time just getting to know people in their full humanity, and that is what happened today.  I spent the baptism time becoming less of and other and more of a friend to some of the kids.  They really enjoy playing with our skin and hair.  Many are scared of us until they do this, seeing that we are really similar to them.  Ha, some scream the first time we approach but warm up when we begin speaking abd showing them our stupid little body tricks.  Now that the Swahili skills are developing to a child's level it is very nice to get to know them.  They have so much hope for th future, they all want to do amazing things. It is a shame that money often prohibits kids from receiving the schooling they so deserve.  Money in their family and in the government.  Worship was really worship today!  We really existed as community.  It is amazin to see how quickly being welcomed as the other turns into being enjoyed as a friend.  The vulnerability of welcoming really opens one to end fear of the other and join together in commonality and a common curiosity concerning differences.  Hospitality is such a radical thing that destroys fear and distrust.  In the villages hospitality is constantly shown as we are given food and drink right away (a normal place for formal hospitality), we are spoken to as honored guests and friends and then enjoy ritual hospitality as songs are sung to welcome us during church and we are cheered upon introducing ourselves.  God is so present in all of this.  The destruction of fear is made manifest in how much we are trusted around children.  We act kind of like babysitters during our stays which is amazing.  

Before the service we were given food, which kind of lightens us up and is a real good indicator of our humanity and our willingness to be culturally sensitive and reliant upon them.  This opens up conversation very quickly.  We spoke with a boy today for a long time, Saani, who just finished primary school and will head to secondary school next January.  He wants to be an evangelist (a formal job here) so we spoke a lot about theological training.  We also got to know an Islamic man, Sebastian, who is from Dodoma but works near Morogoro.  He knew a little english so helped us speak Swahili, correcting us along the way as we attempted to discuss life near Morogoro.  

Reformation Sunday

Happy Reformation Sunday!  Church this morning was rather interesting.  Not only was it the day of reformation but it was also the harvest celebration.  For this reason, many guests were invited and expected.  This was very exciting for me as I had the opportunity finally to see how all guests are treated.  While there are guests at things like weddings, I am so used to the Wartburgers being the only guests of honor during normal worship.  Today gave me a chance to observe hospitality from a further back.  

We pulled into a Waswahili village after bouncing up a mountainous road in the KKKT mobile.  Many of the faces were quite familiar but the village was a new one.  It was built on old training grounds for Zimbabwean freedom fighters.  After they had left the area the land went up for grabs and a new village was formed.  Unfortunately, the soldiers neglected to remove some of the land mines and a few children died from them years ago.  Anyway, we were welcomed with warmth as usual and after the customary humanizing extended greetings we were ushered into the guest space for tea and kasava.  In the past couple visits I have been attuned to the significance of space in hospitality.  People have a strange sense of space.  It is rather important to us.  We experience topophilia, the love of space, so that certain places are very very dear to us.  Those who are careful in their practice of hospitality are quite sensitive to this human need to love space.  For this reason, many communities in Tanzania have very special spaces where guests are welcome to relax and enjoy their stay with very much comfort.  I think the desire of the host to induce topophilia may be the reason we get nifty plastic chairs at the Masai villages and why people are so eager to show us around.  It also occurred to me that we are always in someone's home in the holy time surrounding formal worship (still a part of worship).  I am reminded of the first century house churches every time we sit and enjoy hospitality.  The welcoming family and the women (usually) who serve have a very important role in sustaining the body of Christ.  In hospitality, the other, the guest, is invited into a space that the welcomer loves in hopes of instilling peace and love into the other.  Both parties are made vulnerable to each other as the welcomer has set herself out for the guest to see and the other's comfort and maybe even life depend on the hospitality of the host.  Also, during tea I noticed that no one enters unless welcomed in.  No one assumes their high and mighty state but waits patiently until welcomed.  This is the same in Church as the guest (us and many others today) sit in the humble places until welcomed to the seats of honor in the front.  It is almost always this way.  Something of a ritual of humbleness.

So we enjoyed tea very much and then moved outside to where the children were sitting very quietly.  Steve pulled out the bubble.  Normally, the kids perk right up when the bubbles begin but today it took some time.  Though, in the end Steve and I got very close to the kids as we tried to speak to them and had them help us speak Swahili.  Kids like when they are smarter than you.  Peter had a little three year old follow him around.  When Peter would sit, the kid would sit in the same way.  There are so many children in these villages. So many.

Church was wonderful!  We were welcomed in and brought to seats of honor.  What was even more amazing this week was that during the usual extended time to introduce and welcome guests, the congregation found out some were seated in the back and they were brought to seats of honor.  It is nice to be honored along with other non mzungu guests.  As the harvest festival was yesterday, the village invited surrounding faith communities to celebrate with worship.  Anglicans, more Lutherans and a group of Catholic chatecists showed up.  I found it amazing, absolutely amazing and so unlike the states that on REFORMATION SUNDAY people from the Catholic church not only came to the service but COMMUNED with us.  They were told that this meal is one of unity offered by Jesus and it doesn't belong to any one group.  Next thing we knew the hand full of Catholics were kneeling right next to us.  This sort of unity is so rare but is characteristic of Tanzania.  There is a mutual love of neighbor that I have not encountered elsewhere.  

After church there was the usual auction at which we bought gifts for people of the village, and junk for ourselves.  People give all they can to these communities.  I can really see the story of the woman with the small offering at work here.  This is really like a New Testament community.  Luka always buys chickens at the auction and I have been the one every time to opt to sit in the back of the car on the way back to school and care for the animals.  I am definitely not a farm kid but hangin with the chickens has become a nice little past time of mine.  

We were enjoying our dafu and sugar cane after the auction when the rains came.  The short rainy season has begun.  It is both beautiful and, as a westerner, terrifying to see a people so reliant on the seasons and the regularity of their arrival.  No water, no life.  Rain is such a blessing here and really a reminder of baptism.

On Saturday we went to the cattle market again.  I really enjoy these social occasions.  I am becoming more and more comfortable with the people.  We run into many who ask us if they remember them and I am pretty good at at least guessing who they are and where we met.  Also, you will be pleased to know that being a recovering vegetarian is going smoothly.  At the markets we always order a goat leg, ribs and liver.  The goat is slaughtered at the market which really doesn't bother me. I actually like the idea of knowing my meat before I eat it.  But it is cook over very hot coals and tastes delicious.  Honestly, the liver is the best part.  It is almost like jerky.  With Tangawizi, our meal is complete.  I think next time we go to the market I will follow in Peter's footsteps and eat the marrow.  Overall, I feel very much like less of a tourist now. I mean I am totally aware of the fact of my foreignness and I know that when I come home I won't really be able to answer the question, "what is TZ like?" because i have such an obscure view of it.  But I feel like a friend now.  Very welcomed and honored to be an mzungu.

Kitabu cha pili!!!

We have reached the second book in our Kiswahili course! Pretty good.  Unfortunately, we did move a little quickly through the last 5 lessons and suffered a little test score wise but it is ok.  Today we asked Moreto, our teacher, if we could slow down.  Now that we are through the first book there is no need to hurry at all.  We spent a lot more time in conversation during out lessons today which was really good. Language is so much easier to learn when it is being applied.  I have been talking a lot with Moreto, Eliude and Elibariki in the past few days.  Right now the conversations are mostly surface level but they are slowly growing in content.  Elibariki and I speak a lot during morning tea.  The conversation always comes back around to culture.  The theme seems to be that many things "are not the culture in Tanzania, but are becoming the culture."  He and I discuss music and clothing and relationships and this seems to always be the answer.  Tradition is changing so quickly as globalization touches down in the cultural scene.  

There are many things that I would have brought along if I knew they would be so useful.  I have spent much time discussing this with the other students.  One object that is frequently mentioned is a tape recorder. This was especially true a couple of mornings ago when I sat down to breakfast with Pr. Hafermann.  I swear that man spits gold.  Every conversation is filled with unbelievable insight but I can't remember half of what he says.  Normally it is about conflict in the area.  I think I am going to interview him and record it on my laptop soon.  

We are beginning to really get to know the European students here.  This past week we were teh only short course students along with the Danes.  They are pretty great.  It is refreshing to speak to them and have them so frequently thank us for not being the picture of the United States that they are often shown.  I guess it is because the four of us realize that "reality leans to the left."  Today, two Swiss students began class.  Some of you will be glad to know that we played HODI with them and Roohid tonight!! Oh and next week sometime there is a Diwali celebration at the Hindu temple and a couple of us will be accompanying Roohid and Mamka to the festival.  I am very excited about this.  

There were no great revelations yet this week that I want to share with YOU people. Ha.  Labda kesho.  Sijui.   Oh. Aaron, Eliude says "hi."  

Things I am learning and learning about:

Patience. The importance of healthy communication. My vocational direction. What it means to be a Christian. What discomfort feels like. What poverty looks like. What it means to be vulnerable. What it means to be silent. What it means to be humble (not by choice). What it means to love my country and hate injustice. Love in the face of pain. Unity. community. Hospitality. Going beyond tolerance. Seeing Jesus in everyone. Relationships with people/animals/earth. What being sick is like. Knowing the holiness of everyone and everything. What it means to waste time. What it means to miss people. What it means to love your context. The centrality of place. What it means to exist with and for people. What honoring my own humanity feels like. How to mumble in Swahili.

A normal day.

So, I realized recently that I often write that a day was "normal."  Life here became "normal" very quickly.  This speedy arrival at normalcy must have come from my experience with new contexts.  My family has, as of this week, lived in 14 different places since my birth.  Thanks to this semi nomadic lifestyle, I adapt fairly easily to change.  Thus, writing about "normal" life here has simply slipped my mind, as interested as I know some of you may be in this routine.  I realize that each day is rich with cultural lessons but they are easy now to miss as they are just a part of everyday life.  Anyway, I think it would be helpful to describe what a normal day is like in this new context.  

The day begins with my rotten alarm going off at 6:10.  Which is ten minutes after I have stepped out of bed and pulled up my mosquito net.  The mosquitos actually haven't been that bad.  I don't use bug spray and have been bitten only once.  Though, I may just be impervious, or have nasty blood as many have contracted malaria since the beginning of our studies and Sara often has red marks from mosquito kisses running like track marks up her arms and legs.  Who knows.  So I wake up.  Most days, after a fair amount of sleep Steve and I get a run in and we head to breakfast sweaty, completely covered in finely carved muscles.  David-esque in our boyish beauty.  In any other context I absolutely detest running but here it is different.  The air tastes, smells and feels different.  Lighter.  As we fun to the train tracks and back the Uluguru stands tall and strong against the horizon, covered in the mist of morning and the haze of height.  The high road leads us to the tracks and the low road, closer to the mountains guides us back past houses, countless chickens, baying donkeys, waking cows, tireless workers and the aroma of millions of yellow and pick flowers.  

At breakfast there is always Uji (a runny brown maize based porridge) and yogurt (milk boiled and then cooled.)  It is really amazing with some granola.  We can also expect fruit, chai, and either pancakes, eggs, or french toast.  We leave breakfast with a little time to study or read and at 7:45ish devotions start.  These are led by teachers and students.  Steve, Peter and I have all had the opportunity to do this.  It starts with a song.  The music is very classic Lutheran.  Most are songs written by Germans or English speaking folk and translated into Kiswahili.  Then comes the word and a short reflection followed by another song.  Jina lako litukuzwe.  Class then begins in our small groups.  We read the lesson book together and then do practice.  The class breaks at 10 for chai and resumes around 10:30 only to end again at 12 for chakula cha mchana.  The noon meal is traditionally the largest meal of the day. We always have rice and then everything changes.  There is a 2.5 hour break in the middle of the day. I use this time to eat, take a short nap and study Kiswahili.  Classes then last from 2:30 until 4 at which time we have community around chai yet again.  The day is full of people.  We are constantly in conversation about culture and politics and language.  It is a very good environment.  4:30 to 6 is fart around and study time. 6-6:30 is chakula cha jioni.  Outside of the campus this smaller meal normally occurs after 9 sometime.  For us, it is bigger.  The food is alway amazing.  Wali na nyama can be well expected.  On some occasions we are treated to local or international favorites.  Kwa mfano, tonight we had mac and cheese.  Way good.  After supper I study until my face melts.  I do always make a little time for reflection, especially since I read Breuggy's mandate to difference a couple weeks ago.  I try to do some homework in the common room where I can practice speaking with the teachers and secondary school students.  So, um...that's it.  Way interesting I am sure, mom.  Kuna swali?   

Visiting the Masai villages is most definitely my favorite part of the semester thus far.  There is nothing as fascinating or welcoming as these places.  It is incredible to see the intersection of tradition and modernization manifested so obviously.  The people still deal in cattle which is the center of each tribe.  They still live in the traditional huts and have some of the same rituals.  They are traditionally and still very welcoming and care very deeply for the people around them. This may be why so many have been so open to Christianity which is rarely forced upon them, except when the pentecostals come around.  Classic dress is worn and there is still pride in the marks of a Masai.  The lyrics to music may change with the religion but the tunes stay the same.  They may worship a different God but the same vigorous joy and emphasis on blessing is still overtly present.  Yet, worship services in the dirt floored church houses are interrupted by cell phone calls.  Modern pumps, wells, generators and water tanks are scattered throughout the villages.  Motorcycles are always parked outside the church building.  And everyone is ready to talk about Obama.  Like everyone else, these people are thirsty for newness as is evidenced in the careful additions of modern technology and thought.  

Yesterday we spent another Sunday at one of these villages with Luka and Moreto.  We were once again honored as special guests, given much food and even an extensive tour this time.  Moreto's uncle, Elias, is an evangelist in this village and was so happy to show us around.  I got to know him pretty well yesterday as I practiced a lot of Swahili with him.  It was the first time that we had time to enter the huts and see women working on jewelry.  We played with spears and really got to know people.  The four of us ended the tour by sitting in a shaded area with a bunch of the village men.  This opportunity has not been bestowed upon us before as they are often off with the animals.  We talked extensively about Obama and life in the States.  They spent a good amount of time asking Moreto for Sara's hand in marriage and were so happy to receive Obama stickers for their bikes.  Following this, we headed in for worship during which there were 16 baptisms.  It had been a while since a Pastor had been there and there were many who needed the sacrament.  The quiet joy that goes with this many people entering into the family and experiencing the cleansing waters is indescribable.  There is a firm desire for something more than this life can offer in this village.  Yet, even with all of this fun and joy, this trip was clearly different.  There was a certain tinge of desperation in this village.  

The area is very very dry currently, and the situation is not improving.  The animals have little to eat so the people must travel very far everyday to care for the sacred creatures.  During the worship service, which was a short 2.5 hours, we noticed first that many people were present and second that many of the women and children were exceedingly thin.  So many people were there because the village has undergone some hard times and they are desperate for some nurturing which many find in the Church.  The answer to the second observation was very heartbreaking.  There was this man with many wives who took care of many women and children, both his own and those of relatives who died.  He was a wealthy man and took very care of his people.  Then he contracted cancer and passed away.  Since he was the benefactor for so many people, they were left with nothing.  This society is explicitly patriarchal.  As much as I love the Masai, this is rather troubling.  The negativity of this style of life has manifested itself intensely here.  Women are not to own anything in this culture.  As that is so, they are completely reliant on the patriarch.  Since this village's primary patriarch passed, extreme poverty has taken over.  None of his people owned anything so once he died they were left with nothing.  This is one of the major differences that I have noticed between our culture and the culture here.  The recognition of reliance on the earth, animals and people is far more visible here.  The last example is negative, but I find that it is normally a very positive community building relationship.  Where there is no water or when the Earth is unhealthy, there is no life.  Where there is no people, there is no life.  Where the animals are suffering, there is no life.  This is equally true in the US, but we shroud it in the myth of independence.  We all need each other so much.  Even though I have always spoken about how I want to be interdependent, I am still a product of my age and place.  As a soon graduating college student, I am urged to follow this American dream of independence.  It is time to leave the nest.  I get this image of a bunch of graduating senior tossing off their caps and picking up cowboy hats to find their way as mavericks in the wild west.  Alone, and tough.  Being here has made me see that I may talk a lot about community but I have done little to actually push off the myth of independence and live in the truth of interdependence. It is painfully clear now that I truly need other people.  I am challenged to go back with a renewed understanding of the centrality of community.  

Amerika and the Uluguru range

Essentials for the Uluguru: Howl, Bandaids, Water, Mayai, and a Danish surgeon.

Today we had the incredible opportunity to hike the Uluguru mountains (a small piece of course.)  There are a newly wed couple of Danish medical professionals studying in the language school who hike on the weekends.  We heard they were hiking an obscure tiny mountain path in the heart of the range today and jumped at the chance to go.  This morning began early.  We arrived at the foot of the mountain at half past eight.  The journey was not finished until a quarter after five.  The first five hours were spent  hiking deeper and deeper into the range and the last four were spent on the four hour jaunt back.  Of course by jaunt I mean leg numbing, vomit inducing, healthy trot up thin rocky paths placed by God, littered with direction changing boulders.  At times we had to scale small areas by hand and foot. And that slow African pace is completely abandoned when there is a mountain to climb.  The fast pace felt amazing.  I absolutely loved it. 

 Peter was not feeling good before we left but really wanted to go.  He vommed about an hour in the the trip and felt way better afterward.  I was proud of him for moving on and finishing with no problem.  It was certainly tiring at the speed we kept up (we are pretty certain it was at least 15 kilometers of walking over the nine hours, at least) but after about an hour it began to feel amazing and now I have these amazing endorphins doing a happy little number on my brain.  And even at the speed we traveled, there was plenty of time to take in the beauty.  Half way up consisted of mostly wooded areas littered with banana trees (purchasing fresh bananas while climbing the range is a very good idea!). After that it awas mostly open area and very steep and rocky.  I have never seen anything like it.  I have been on plenty of mountains in the US but none with this view (we could see like all of Africa from the peak, ha), and none so full of streams and waterfalls.  The path was surrounded and often covered by bright greens and we were encased by the woody green and yellow of countless banana trees.  Every flower was a brilliant shade of blue or pink.   It was alright!   I would love to be able to do this again.  There was so much time o reflect and think and get to know the people with whom we traveled and greet the Uluguru people.  Delta is talking about trying to set up a two day journey where we climb all day and then find a guest house and climb another day and bus it back.  We will see what we can do.  So good.  So good.  Next time, though, we have to remember more water and some sunscreen.  We didn't have nearly enough of these.  

The rest of this week has basically been life as usual.  It is nice to have soemething of normalcy here.  We are developing a groove.  It is nice.  The food is still incredible, there is really nothing I don't like.  And Kiswahili is going pretty well.  I would like to devote more time to it and really learn it but I know this is unrealistic.  I can now understand most things people say but have some trouble responding.  It just needs time. 

 There were a couple of different things that have happened at the end of this week.  First, during our lessons on Friday the language school director, Chuma, comes up to our group and hands me a dafu (baby coconut).  I had no idea what it was for and he simply told me what it was and asked me the noun class.  I answered correctly and thought he was just showing it to those of us who hadn't held one before so I looked confusedly at it and the handed it to Sara.  Chuma said, no no.  It is for you.  So I, still confused, said "thanks?"  He could sense the lack of understanding so he instruced me to begin to eat it with the top part covering the drink hole.  I did not understand him and still thought it was for everyone so I asked...do I lick it?  Idiot.  No, you don't lick it, he wanted me to eat it.  It was mine, for some reason.  So I spent the last hour of class with a coconut in my hand, stealing short drinks between questions.  

Also, yesterday evening Peter uploaded the third pres debate.  We have been following everything closely but have not been allowed to watch anything...of course.  So after dinner the Americans along with our Indian, Danish and Tanzanian friends (who have resorted to calling me "Mistah Obama" I kind of like it) watched the part taht worked.  We caught about an hour of it and had very lively discussion afterward.  The Indian man, Rohoid (I actually don't know how ti spell it) was somewhat impressed by Obama, he did ok.  But was sickened by McCain.  He only talked about his feelings and patriotism and his cock a mamy idea that $5000 will allow Americans to all be insured.  We all agreed with his analysis. Now, I did have some problems with Obama's health care plan and his black and white stance toward outsourcing, but that is for another time. It is really something to hear about perceptions on American politics from so many different sources.  The Africans talk about war and money for development, the Danes were concerned with economics and the high jacking of the language by Republicans, and the Indians (who are doing Doctoral studies on economics) were concerned with economics and human rights abuses.  We agreed on nearly everything.  And the Americans got to teach a little history lesson and discussed how the problems in Amerika can relate to the grasp for the American dream, a society based on commodity, a history of brutality and repeated economic crises and fear over communism and now terrorism and our often violent protection of this way of life.  I came to see that I love my country and many people around the globe car about us so much, but there is a lot to change (just as in every nation.)  I still speak with pride about the people that have come out of the US but I know and the world knows that for any real change to occur we must have introspection.  We must ask ourselves if this current lifestyle of blind consumption and violence is what we want.  Changing anything, we decided will only come about whe the people decide to change.  This may take a terribly drastic event like is currently happening with the market and the change will surely be slow.  But if we individuals change our lifestyle to one that is more healthy and life giving and we have a lot of patience, change is certainly possible.  This little corner of the world thinks that the change can start with Obama.  Support for him is overwhelming in Tanzania from both nationals and internationals.  I hope this is true.  

Looks just like the sun, it looks just like it.

It has been an eventful, busy week.  Tuesday was Nyerere Remembrance Day.  This is the anniversary of Tanzania's first president's death in 1999.  The leader did so much good for this country in nationalizing many things and pushing for national self reliance and against racism.  Many of his policies modernized an unified Tanzania.  His death fell on October 14 and we celebrated with a Masai village visit.  Spending time in these villages is most certainly my favorite part about the experience thus far.  The people are made of music. They express faith in such a unique and wonderful way.  They have managed to maintain important and beautiful tradition while still living in the modern age in select ways.  Modernization and tradition co-exist in a very healthy way in these places.  Not to mention, every village to which we travel is radically welcoming.  I am focusing on studying studying hospitality and practical theology while here and I could most definitely base my entire final paper on any single Masai village.  In Tuesday's visit we were greeted by a crowd of excited kids and by all of the upper management Masai.  The greetings lasted for a solid hour as we were asked time and again about our day and  from where we come.  This creates a strong feeling that these people truly recognize and care for the visitor.  It is very humanizing.  We are not simply strangers but new friends and guests.  In the middle of this time we were ushered into the church building (built by Luka) where the choir was singing.  The Masai choirs are always amazing and this one especially so.  It was made up completely of young people and was led by a girl who could only have been 11 or 12.  The music was so energetic, intricate and beautiful.  They were visibly eager to sing and dance to show us what they could do.  It is a common welcoming act here to be surrounded by song.  The most amazing thing is that these young women either learned these songs by listening to the radio or simply wrote them.  The young leader would either conduct from the back by call and response or would come to the front and conduct through dance.  After some music, we were given a tour of the village by a very proud local evangelist.  Tea came soon, with half cakes.  Food is so central to their hospitality.  And following this was worship.  We were given special seating and the children helped us find the page of liturgy or music that the pastor announces (we didn't learn numbers in entirety until today, we have picked a little up but still have trouble with those rotten page numbers.)  The women of the village even noticed that the sun had begun to shine on us in the middle of the service so they came and insisted we get up so that they could move us to a more comfortable spot.  After the 4 hour service (they seems shorter when they are actually happening) we were fed again.  

Now, I am certain that these practices of hospitality precede Christianity among these people.  But as a Christian community everything that is done conveys theology.  People of religion act, or try to act, in a way that reflects their God.  So, whether or not it is recognized, the actions that one commits appear as theology to the outsider.  This speaks volumes about what kind of God is worshipped.  The practices of hospitality suggest that the Masai understand God to be hospitable and welcoming.  God is inclusive and inviting in these places.  This is no surprise as the God in Christ of the biblical witness requires hospitality to live.  "The Son of Man has no place to lay his head."  Jesus was a traveling, homeless teacher who was completely reliant on hospitality as he was completely "the other" to all people.  A stranger and a guest.  It makes one wonder why hunger, meals, thirst, worry and prison are mentioned so much in the gospels.  Could it be that Jesus experienced all of these things first hand?  The Bible does often mention his thirst and of course his meals are all shared.  It never says he was busy with creating a church budget so he hopped in his suv and grabbed a burger and hurried back to work.  Not even in Mark.  And as Jesus is found "in the least of these," the welcoming of the other is the welcoming of Jesus.  The God the Masai worship is inclusive and hospitable because God experienced the necessity of these practices.  It is wonderful.

Ok.  yesterday and today were fine.  Class is very routine and Swahili is coming along nicely.  I got to preach at the English Eucharist service last night.  It went well.  Hopefully I will get to again soon.  And today Sara and I took Delta into town for lunch.  Good stuff.  Welp, see ya later.  

I just had a conversation.

Steve and I just finished an amazing conversation with Pr. Hafermann.  We got on the topic of yesterday's wedding after Pr. told us that Luka left his phone off for the past twenty-four hours after the event. Ha! Our conversations went to so many places.  I want to write down as much as I can remember.  So this will be stream of consciousness and may mean very little.

The wedding was obviously filled with Luka's relatives, most of whom are Muslim and they really enjoyed the service.  Apparently it was a very big deal that everyone could join together in such a service under the unity of the God of the book.  The pietists often have trouble with things like this.  About ten years ago there was a man who wore his Muslim head cover to a wedding service and one of the church elders nearly ripped it off.  Since then there has been a large push in the Lutheran Church in TZ against this kind of separation.  Pr. Hafermann told him not to do that and since then has taken every opportunity to remind people that we can live together in love.  I guess piety and legalism are and have been quite troublesome here.  Of course, this is rather similar to our context.  There are always people wanting to kick others out for premarital relations or demon possessions or sharing with Muslims or even being Masai.  But the Church has grown against this grain and has taken the stance that the only Church discipline necessary is that laid out in Matthew 18.  A revolutionary and grace-filled chapter where in the end those departing from the Church teaching are to be treated as tax collectors and sinners.  Jesus ate with and worked harder still to love tax collectors and sinners.  The wedding also hosted a large amount of Catholics yesterday.  Many of whom chose to commune.  This is happening in many places in TZ.  The body is becoming one through the sacrament and hospitality that is the eucharist.  The Church has also been a place of unity for the villagers and the Masai.  Apparently the Masai are often understood to be nothing but a bother.  But the Church has grown against the grain in this way too.  The Church has grown geographically in a triangle.  This triangle happens to be home to many Masai and as Luka's father has said "Lutheranism is now a part of the Masai religion."  In every church there are a large number of Masai mixed in with the village.  The sermon yesterday just happened to be over the verses about building on the chief cornerstone.  So it was way good since Luka is a builder.  We also discussed hospitality in the use of the altar.  It doubles as our meal table prior to worship.  The biblical connection is obvious.  And the theological implication is huge.  Church extends far beyond the formal ritual and the act of hospitality.  Finally, we discussed a builder who will be at the village we visit tomorrow.  He was once into black magic.  His charms and things were torn down and cast out by Ass of God folks (who later called the KKKT a den of iniquities to which the response was, of course we are, that is why we confess.)  Soon after he became schizophrenic and was committed.  Luka knew him well so he went to talk with the man who listened intently and somehow the schizophrenia left after baptism.  Ok.  that is all for now. 

What you've been waiting for

The wedding day has finally arrived and is now coming to a close.  Many of you are aware that today was Luka Ramadani's wedding.  For those of you who don't know, Luka is an evangelist with Pr. Hafermann and a close friend of Wartburg.  He is the first person we met and has quickly become a very close friend.  So the wedding was that much more meaningful.  

I will start describing it by talking a little about yesterday.  Lines of communication got crossed somewhere and the four of us thought the wedding was yesterday so we got up and ready and realized after hours of waiting that Pr. Hafermann was probably still in Dar after dropping Kirsten off at the airport.  Finally, when he arrived early in the afternoon he informed us that the wedding was tomorrow.  Luka wanted the wedding to be during worship so that would be the center with the wedding worked into the middle.  We had to pack our excitement back up and hold it until today.  Rough.  

We had the amazing opportunity to be special guests at this shindig.  This first meant that we rode in style with the family of the bride in a dala dala packed with about 17 people.  It was really good and the woman next to us told me that I have the face of Jesus.  Way nice, I think. And people are always eager to pass their frightened children to us which makes every ride wonderful.  The kids warm up pretty quickly.  The dala dala was full of music the entire time both on the way to the wedding and in our return to the seminary.  

We arrived to hundreds of people.  The church building was built by Luka and many of you helped paint it in May.  It was so nice.  The family welcomed us into the building and gave us pretty swank seats as is normal for guests.  Music started as we sat and it never ended.  Everyone was so happy, dancing and shouting even more than normal.  Luka is rock star in these parts.  The service began as normal but there was almost a visible skip in Pr. Hafermann's step.  Emy and Luka looked very solemn the entire time as is the local custom.  The bride and groom remain straight faced to respect the bride's family.  We were told that it shows that the bride is sad that she will be leaving her family.  But the wonderful thing is that her family was going nuts.  They were so happy, shouting during the service and moving so much.  It was amazing to see how close these two families are.  The service went on as normal but broke to conduct the weddings (oh, that's right, there were two weddings today.  The other was for an older couple.  So good.)  The couple exchanged vows and rings as the families exploded in joy and song.  They had to be hushed by the pastors for the congregation to simply hear the service. The after the vows it was clear that Luka was struggling to hold back a smile.  Upon their presentation to the congregation they were given large cross necklaces.  Emy had to help Luka put it on.  He couldn't get it right.  Weddings are amazing here.  Some aspects are very formal and high church.  But for the most part people come with their full humanity.  While they do not smile, so much joy is expressed and people are free to move around and joke and smile and really be people.  It is always so welcoming and so beautifully about the community.  There is always room for people, even if the children have to sit around the altar.  When they returned to their seats Luka did his characteristic head bob as his eyes closed half way.  Pr. Hafermann works him half to death plus he had so much to do for this wedding.  He is so happy and really glad it is over.    

The kids flocked to us the whole time.  We are very close to Luka's niece and nephew, both of whom are now under his care.  They shot over to us as soon as we arrived and helpded us take pictures the entire time.  Baraka, the 10 year old nephew, is awesome.  I taught him to thumb wrestle and he taught me some Swahili.  God exchange.  Oh, and my little buddy Issacka from the first time we visited this village (his picture is in my facebook album.  His is the face I am squishing) was there in a super fresh suit.  He is about 3 but remembered me from nearly a month ago.  He saw me sitting and leapt from the arms of the woman holding him and jumped on my lap.  He bounced between Steve's lap and mine throughout the service.  

After the service there was the normal church auction followed by the meal celebration during which we greeted the wedding party.  They were so happy.  Luka was absolutely beaming.  All in all, a good day.

Standing in a dala dala

The Germans, with whom we have been in class for four weeks, are leaving today.  It will be different around here.  I suspect there will be more silence.  At first, we and the Germans had a couple unpleasant encounters.  A few cultural misunderstandings and simple clashes of very different personalities.  Very little time passed before these were forgotten and friendships were formed.  It is odd how quickly one forms relationships with people in strange situations.  I think that this is suggestive of the human need for others.  In previous blogs, I have commented about independence and codependence and interdependence and how in Tanzania the last two are stressed far more than the first, so I will not go too far into this thought.  The idea that "person is people" is simply confirmed by this desperate grasp for relationship.  We need each other.  No one is really independent.  It is good.

Yesterday we had a send off celebration for the Germans so we were allowed to leave our studies early to prepare.  Every nationality was to cook a meal from home.  The students from the US had a rather difficult time coming up with something to cook that was really "american" and easy enough to prepare for 30+ people.  We finally decided on mac and cheese.  Since this doesn't really require more than two hands the rest of us went to town to buy supplies for the party after the meal.  It was way good.  I really enjoy going into town.  On the way, our dala dala broke down so we got to walk for about a mile, very refreshing.  Oh, for people who are thinking of coming to TZ: know that you can get most toiletries from the store here.  Small travel size things are fine and will suffice until the first visit to Pira's Cash and Carry.  On the way back home I got the wonderful opportunity to be the last one into the dala dala so I stood up in the speeding vehicle with my backside in the face of this lovely Muslim gent.  The dala dala is quite the experience when you are sitting.  Standing up doubles the fun.  I really enjoy the dala dala.  Ok.  So we came back and had food and it was delicious.  I have been jonesin for Indian food and we got some last night so that was wonderful.  During the celebration I got into a discussion with our teacher Delta.  We talked about school and how he wanted to go to university to be a community developer or business person but would have to wait for the second picking of his agemates.  He told me about when he first started school and how he was too young but he basically whined until his mom let him go.  So whenever he wanted to feign sickness and stay home his mom would say, remember how you wanted to go to school?  Get up and go.  He had no excuse.  We talked about family and how he and his older brother used to fight a lot.  We shared stories of the best fights with our siblings.  Then he said that the respect he began to show his brother really changed everything.  In TZ culture, a younger person is to greet an elder with "shikamoo" to which the elder responds "marahaba."  I had no idea but this apparently can also apply to brothers (Johnny).  So when he began to greet his brother with shikamoo his brother began to feel a responsibility toward Delta and the relationship has improved.  I think this is very telling about human relationship.  If parties show respect and begin to feel a responsibility for each other then things will improve.  We are our sister's and brother's keepers.  It is amazing that respect is so deeply ingrained into this culture.  There are so many other areas of life here that are centered in respect for another's humanity.  Even the greetings.  A person never goes anywhere without greeting and the greetings can last for a very long time.  No conversations just gets down to business.  It is a cultural norm here to really care about how a person is doing and how their life is.  It is very humanizing. 

So I'm filling out this Study Abroad experience book that was assigned for our id course.  We always kind of make fun of it while we fill it out.  It just has never felt like it was directed completely to our experience.  We are different.  Ours is a weird program.  Even the pictures on the front are all of western study abroad experiences.  Tonight I figured out why it feels so odd to fill it out and why so many questions seem not to apply to us.  Let me see if I can explain.  First, part of the book is about language learning.  We are lucky because our language learning is set out for us here and is really necessary as many of the places we go only speak Kiswahili.  Second, GMCS is awesome so they have us doing projects here already that help professionally.  For instance, I am studying practices of hospitality in everyday life and most especially, in the Church community.  How does welcoming the other reflect the local understanding of God?  Finally, the reason I write this is that we are forced constantly into cross cultural situations.  Both those of religious origin like the Ninian Smart book discusses and the things of every day life.  No tree here is like a tree at home.  The language is all around us.  The villages visits are obviously vastly different from anything even remotely like home.  A lot of the book is about getting the most out of the experience by actually having a cultural experience and not staying within our comfort zones.  Kwa mfano, it reminds the reader to pay attention to things like the transportation.  If most people take public transportation, don't take a cab door to door.  Well, for us the only way to get around is the dala dala.  These small buses packed with people who all want to talk in Swahili about Obama.  Even the cabs are a cultural experience as we can barter with the driver to lower costs.  Internet and communication is different.  The pace of life is different.  The way classes are taught is different.  The way people treat each other in church is different.  Everything is different.  I mean, the people are like people back home at their base.  I'm saying, at first glance everything is so different.  It is more of a struggle to do things like we do at home.  The only way we could not have a cultural experience is if we locked ourselves in our rooms and stayed on the internet all the time.  Which is not even possible as the internet is way spotty and there are somewhat frequent power outages.  And concerning the places that Pr. Hafermann takes us, we are thrust into these absolutely different situations and constantly live as "the other."  I am not complaining about the book.  It is no big deal.  All I'm trying to get across is that I am beginning to appreciate these things and see that everything we have done is something new.  Hey, by the way.  Let me know if you all have any questions about life here or anything else.  I would love to answer them.  Ok.  Thanks for letting me think for a while.  Bye now. 

Mikumi, fun for some ages.

The past two days were spent at the “Mikumi Wildlife Reserve Area Thing.”  It was way better than I expected it to be.  We arrived to elephants drinking right in our backyard.  Sitting on the porch of he restaurant, we were about 40 feet from a family thirsty elephants.  A very good way to start. Our rooms were way swank with a lot of geckos and stuff (Peter’s getting used to them now).  Now, I don’t want to bore you with “you should have been there” stories.  I also don’t really feel like trying to conjure up beautiful detailed but repetitive imagery of the same handful of animals that many of you have seen so I will do a condensed best of.  A lot of writing for nothing.  First, it was amazing to see everything in the wild, in their territory.  It was wonderful to get so close to giraffes and zebras, close enough to punch it in the gut.  Impalas run around like deer in the midwest, they are everywhere.  Elephants lumber about like they own the place.  We saw huge crocodiles and hippos at the watering hole along with huge packs of buffalo. We even had the opportunity to drive down a little side path and see lions.  The unafraid Pr. Hafermann sort of made his own path so our car came within literally 10 feet of the lion.  We noticed that none of the three lions were budging when we came close.  They were full and tired.  So we got to get out of the car.  I mean stick out of the windows and the back doors.  Peter hastily climbed onto the roof, nearly punching Steve in his lovlies to get around him.  He was happy, like a little kid.  The lion thought for a second about eating our faces but laid back down.  I showed some muscle and it decided not to budge. We then noticed we could get even closer and a better angle from the other side, so we made another path and got way close. But the absolute highlight...wait, before I say this you might want to put the kids to bed.  It gets a little blue.  The absolute greatest thing that has happened in anyone’s life ever occurred.  The lion stood up and started walking toward us, but it stopped short at the lady lion who was lion on the ground.  He gave her a little come hither stare and was all, you look real good tonight.  He then gave her a little lick on the back.  Romance is always important.  And for about eight seconds we stood ten feet from sweet sweet lion love.  Then he was all, ok, I have work in the morning and rolled over and fell asleep.  Best thing ever.  Apparently, this is real special as they only make it for a couple days in the year.  But they do the deed like every half hour during those days.  Good for them.  It was a very re-productive evening.

We all then enjoyed incredible food and a drink as we watched more elephants drink from the pond in the back.  In the night a lion evidently showed up near us and it’s roar woke me up two or three times.  The huge amount of buffalo rushing past also woke me up.  It sounded like they were in our room.  Wonderful. 

Til the cows come home...

I began to write this on Sunday.  Then I suddenly felt rather crumby and the last thing on my mind was blogging.  It continued to get worse on Monday and Tuesday.  We checked for malaria and I don’t have it so that is good.  Though, I still feel like Nephilim are stomping on my gut.  Anyway, here are my thoughts on Sunday and then I will write abut Mikumi in another entry.

Blogs really don’t do justice to days like Sunday. It was incredible. One of those days that remind a person why they are where they are.  I will remember as much as I can. Sunday we went to another Masaai village deep in the pori.  Upon arrival we were greeted by one of the patriarchs of the village.  He is a very wealthy and progressive man who could not wait to give us a tour so that he could show off the new well and generator system that delivers clean water to the village and a steady source to the cattle.  With only about three hundred people relying on these cattle it is clear that this man is extremely wealthy.  Just like in the US, people with excess wealth use part of their money but most simply sits and exists to make a person wealthy.  Though, his excess does not look nearly the same as it does in the US.  His excess benefits the poor in the area as he is extremely benevolent.  He allows neighbor’s cattle to use his water source and he rents out farmer’s land to graze on so that the land is easier to till and replant.  It is simply part of this culture that one shares what they have with little hesitation.  This is even reflected in the language as Swahili doesn’t have words for ownership.  Rather, they speak of being with something.  Like Tim is with knife.  Pretty neat.  This wealth will also make it possible for some of his many children to attend school.  It was very cool to see modernization in action as we had the rare opportunity to watch as the thousand or o cattle were brought herded to water.  You know, it is wonderful that when the Masaai get new technology it is for life sustaining purposes and not simply to entertain.  

I also asked Pr. Hafermann about the relationship that the Maasai have with their cattle.   Obviously, they are completely reliant on the animals and are very aware of it as this is often the center of discussion.  Our Sunday services often wait for the cattle.  And we nearly always literally worship until the cows come home in many villages.  The children begin caring for cows at a very young age.  We have seen kids as young as five or six taking a small herd of calves from village to watering hole.  The cows support them and so they give complete respect to the cows.  (Could this be like the United States where paper money supports us so we give our utmost respect to the dollar?  I feel the difference is that the Maasai that we have met would never ignore a person or let this get in the way of relationships. Maybe if there was a great crisis, but then the seemingly natural rules of hospitality and care for the other would be flipped so that the other would require that the non-Masaai help her brother in the crisis.  In this way it is more respectful.  In my short time, I do not sense a great grab for cattle.  They are necessary but not at other’s expense.  I know there are thieves and such but in day to day life it just seems different.  I think greed is at the center of so many problems, but I will save this for another day.  Sorry, quick stream of consciousness.)  Anyway, I was saying, the respect for the animal is astounding.  Every milking cow even has a name.  There are a lot of milking cows.  

The service was unbelievable.  First, as is the norm here, we were welcomed with natural and radical hospitality.  I started to think recently that this may be due the fact that we are with Pastor Hafermann and they really like him or that we are American and expect nothing less.  Then, something wonderful happened.  A woman and her children came from a nearby village to see what Christianity is all about and they too were given special treatment.  Of course, they were treated more naturally as it is easier to deal with someone from your own culture but they were still clearly special guests.  Again, we were given wonderful chairs and fed.  They are so concerned with taking care of us and the other evangelists and pastors who come.  

After eating, we waited and got to know each other.  As is always the case, discussion turned toward Barack Obama.  We often joke that we are not going home if he loses except to rescue our family.   Peter is certain that if McCain wins we will return to a post-apocalyptic America.  Much like that in Terminator.  We all uncomfortably laugh at these half truths.  Anyway, we waited for all the people to arrive.  Time moves slow here, mostly because people value each other and would rather spend time together than rush to the next appointment.  Time is not a commodity.  People are really not a commodity.  

We gathered in the shade of a tree on a ground gray with drought and the gifts that the cows have given back to the Earth after having been given so much by her.  Even the way we sat was humanizing in the act of worship.  The places to sit were all facing each other so that we could see each other.  This is significant as it emphasizes community and worship as discussion with one another and God.  Too often we think that worship is just between us and God.  This is certainly a shame which was made so apparent today by the deep contrast to what we are used to.  Worship in this setting made us feel so close to our sisters and brothers and to the open Earth upon which we sat.  Facing in every direction also made us recognize the other.  In every direction we could see curious onlookers watching.  The open space left so much room for people to join us.  So welcoming.  The people are so hungry to hear about a God that welcomes them, washes their dirty feet in hospitality and shows radical love to the other.  And they reflect it.  This is practical theology.  Really really good practical theology.

Our Town

People are basically the same.  This is the gentle realization to which I have come today.  Now, I have certainly heard this said before and I know that my saying this is not any great leap in cultural understanding.  Hell, in tenth grade advanced english we read the play Our Town in which the conclusion, if I remember correctly, is that life everywhere, throughout time and space, is essentially the same.  I feel somewhat foolish for coming so late to this new understanding but I suppose everything happens in its own time.  This thought is the culmination of what was, for some reason, a relatively difficult week.  This difficulty, I am sure, is due to the frustrating feeling that we are experiencing a lot of time on the campus and very little in the villages and cities of Tanzanians.  We are basically in a community of education similar to that in which we would be at home.  Life began to really become normal this week.  The first few weeks were so full of these great revelations of cultural and religious difference, especially in everyday ritual and practices of hospitality, and attitude toward people and the land.  Then for a few days I experienced a dip in feeling as realizing these things made me long for home and what I once considered the inferior attitudes of the western world.  This week I met myself somewhere in the middle.  The great high of culture shock and then the great low of missing home has now ended up in what I believe is closer to reality.  Life is normal here as it would be at home.  We all do many of the same things that we would do at home and no one here has become an entirely new person.  Earlier this week, this was very frustrating.  Then I realized that we are all still ourselves (certainly growing but basically ourselves) because life here is not entirely other.  There are still incredibly nice people and those who seem especially upset all the time.  Greed may look different and may more often be need based rather than excess based(like the sales-child that attempted to swindle me at the cattle market) but he evil of excess based greed is still around, as is great charity and selflessness.  There is hunger here and at home.  There is emptiness and love and a longing for technology and newness.  Kids spend the evenings at da club.  I still read a lot, The Office is still funny and Steve’s still a slammin’ hottie.  The differences, while still present and sometimes obvious, are more often subtle and somewhat superficial.  At the bottom of everything people are people.  There are many other things that I could mention but you understand, I am certain.  I think this is a constructive point to come to as the month of very intensive language learning is coming to a close.  I am now past this and can focus on those subtle things that do make us different.  Always with the understanding that the differences are normally just differences in manifestations of the same things.  We are humans at our core who simply express the essences of our humanity in different ways.  It is these expressions, especially as demonstrated in the life of faith, ritual and community that I can now begin to focus upon so that we can learn from each other in our mutual expressions of our humanity and our common convergence with the being of God, the ground of all being.  

Ooops!

So I woke up today and realized that I hadn't written in nearly a week.  Oops.  Since this is the case I will summarize what has happened in the last few days.  Peter has been getting better and better.  He handled himself really well and kept on his studies so that was good.  We also discovered that with a camera, Peter and a small window of health, malaria is rather funny.

In short, most of the rest of the week was spent in a daze of language learning.  We were under the impression earlier this week that we had only been alloted one month of courses which was somewhat terrifying as we are yet very early in the book.  This became rather stressful and caused us to speed up our lessons, perhaps a little too much.  It is fine now as we came to learn that we are budgeted for three months so we can take our time and really learn the language.  This was yet another opportunity for me to realize the extraordinary significance of communication.  If we would have simply spoken with our leaders instead of listening to rumors we would have avoided a fair amount of stress.  It's a good thing to realize. I am just way pumped and relieved now that we have it figured out.  Otherwise, I think the language learning is going rather well.  Thus far, the grammar seems nearly entirely logical.  The most challenging part is containing the large amount of vocab.  But even this is way fun.  It has been good to have the opportunity to speak Swahili a great deal outside of class.  Every trip to town reveals progress.  'Sgood.  I really enjoy learning language.  Oh and apparently I have moved on to sleep Swahili.  Peter and I are roommates and every night I do this annoying little lip smack click thing.  This would drive me crazy if it wasn't me making the irksome sound.  So, upon waking Peter informed me that in the middle of my sleep smacking I evidently asked "...kiko wapi?!"  This roughly translates to "Where is?!"  There is no subject.  But for those who have taken Swahili, you will recognize this from the question, "Choo kiko wapi?" Where is the bathroom?  Yes! Sleep Swahili.  My friends, this is why, this is why, this is indeed why I am hott.    

There was no internet for about 24 hours.  That was fine.  It did mess up my evening plans but it was really nice to spend time with people.  I do plenty of this being present here as I have been focused a fair amount on it but being forced to be present was pretty good.  I had no great Peter-esque revelations.  I just enjoyed my time here.

Yesterday I spent a good amount of time outside.  It is wonderful to be in a place where the people seem to have a relationship with the land other than one of domination.  There is still a bit of that.  But for the most part there is a mutual understanding between the people and the land  Both benefit from each other.  I have had plenty of time to think about this as our neighbors are doing doctoral work on environmental economics and sociology.  

Ok.  More later.