dada mkali

Yep, that's what I was called: Dada Mkali, or a Fierce Sister. This isn't meant as an insult--it usually means a person who takes charge and gets things done. It can also mean a person who's mean, usually from drinking too much, or just an overall nasty person. In my instance, it was meant as the weird compliment, as someone who gets things done. This description was uttered by a Peace Corps driver, heard by a friend, and was re-told to me not too long ago. My favorite Peace Corps employee was described as mkali, and I really like her, so I decided not to be upset. That's why I'm here: to get things done.

We're had an incredibly busy past two weeks. We finished our malaria sign campaign, and our village leaders are THRILLED with the signs that Tony made. We successfully taught our first permaculture/nutrition class with our dudes, and it was really well-received. I was overwhelmed by how interested our villagers were in learning basic food group and nutrition information. Actually, the preparations for this class took up most of our time, but it was worth it. We gathered our first harvest of mchicha (Tanzanian spinach), and it was delicious! The rains have been minimal, which is a source of stress, and we study the skies every day. Here's the big news: we came up with our idea for an International Women's Day project for March 8. We wrote up a proposal for a big HIV testing event to take place on Women's Day, in honor of women and with respect to protecting them. We showed our proposal to our village's doctors, nurses and leaders, and they loved the idea. Our leaders are going to get students to sing, dance and play drums at the event, and some of the "power mamas" want to organize a parade and carry signs in honor of women. So this little, tiny idea of ours is blossoming, and we're going to keep nudging everyone to keep the ball rolling--excitement is contagious, and all we did is plant the seed. I'm hoping that over 100 people will get tested for HIV--that's my personal goal, just a number I picked out of the sky. Maybe no one will get tested, maybe everyone will get tested--I'm preparing myself for either outcome. One thing is certain: people are very, very afraid to be tested for HIV here, and would rather just not know. I'm hoping for three things: to help people overcome their fear of knowing their HIV status, to help people stay healthy if they are not infected, and to help infected people live positively with their disease and stay as healthy as possible. My next blog update will let you know. How will you celebrate women on March 8?

Yes, Pipi the adorable kitten is doing well. She looks at me and starts purring, and sleeps on my belly during the night. She is afraid of dogs, is disinterested in chickens, and is endlessly fascinated by blades of grass and the rug at the foot of our bed.

As I'm writing this, it's 5:45pm, and the most glorious breeze is blowing through the computer lab. This is my absolute favorite time of day in our little part of Tanzania, when the sun stops being harsh and the breezes start blowing. When we're at home, we're usually cooking and listening to music during this time (called "jioni" in Kiswahili) and winding down the day, and I really love it. Tonight we're going out for dinner with some of our Mpwapwa Peace Corps friends: we're in the mood for chipsi rosti, which is fried potatoes cooked in a delicious tomato/pepper/garlic/onion sauce. Last night I baked a pineapple upside-down cake, and avocados are coming into season. We're doing ok.

a full update

We're settled back into life in Kibakwe, and things are moving along smoothly. Our fence is finished, and we now have a gate as well--no more uninvited chickens, guinea fowl, goats or cows wandering around our yard. It's pretty spectacular, actually--it's a living fence, meaning the trees that were cut down to make it re-sprouted and are growing back, and are producing leaves that people here like to collect and eat. Gilbert's wife taught me how to collect the best leaves, then pound them into a paste with garlic and boil with onions, tomatoes and peanut flour--really delicious, called kisamvu. This is a tribal dish, really common for our region's Wagogo people. Our garden is also coming along well; Tony and our dudes have double-dug (a technique in permaculture where you dig a garden bed twice as deep as normal so the roots grow down, not out, thus producing stronger, more productive plants in a smaller space--also utilizes a series of channels to collect rainwater and minimize erosion--really cool) at least 8 beds, and we've planted mchicha (Tanzanian spinach), tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, butternut squash, zucchini and papaya trees so far--other things to plant in the near future include melon (seeds from US), other greens native to Tanzania, corn, beans, peanuts, and lettuce (seeds from US.) Tony and I and our dudes are teaching a permaculture gardening class in a few weeks, planning to introduce these easy gardening techniques to our villagers with the hope that they will return to their homes and plant small gardens nearby, thus improving their health through increased veggie/fruit consumption; I'll do a small piece on nutrition, and I'm really looking forward to it.

What else? We've started our malaria sign campaign, which involves making signs about malaria prevention and posting them around our town. Our town's head doctor really liked our idea and gave his full approval to our prototype. We finished one sign already and will do several more, hanging them in strategic locations like the veggie market, the health center and the schools. We also met with our next door neighbor, the town's nurse midwife, and had a long meeting about women's health and reproductive issues in Kibakwe. She and I will go to the secondary school (high school) and give some lessons about birth control and other issues related to sexuality. Tony and I would like to start video nights, where we show videos about HIV and related subjects, then have a group discussion afterwards; again, we would like to focus these efforts within the schools, because we think it's important to focus on the students. Finally, we're planning to start a little English class at our house, for those students interested in REALLY learning English; all of secondary school (high school) is taught exclusively in English, yet almost no one graduates being able to really speak or understand English. The students simply copy everything from the blackboard into their notebooks and memorize it for exams, without comprehending much of anything. International Women's Day is March 8; trying to come up with something great! Whew! Lots of plans, so many ideas--no harm in trying anything, because even if a project fails, we'll know we tried.

Our kitten, Pipi, is thriving. She has almost doubled in size since joining our household, eating a steady diet of dagaa (dried sardines) and powdered milk every day, plus table scraps. Her fur is thick and shiny now, and the sores on her nose have gone away. She is also proudly wearing a flea collar, courtesy of a dear friend in America--no more fleas!! She purrs like crazy, loves to eat bugs, and sits on our front steps every day, surveying our yard like a watchdog. When she wanders off, she goes over to our neighbor's house and curls up on top of their cable box (it's warm) and has a nap. She's unbelievably cute.

Tony and I are in a good groove; we're healthy and excited to have projects underway. We miss the comforts of home and the people there every single day, and regularly play the "if you could eat anything right now, what would you choose?" game. Home will still be there, veggie burgers will still be there, bloody marys will still be there when we finish this gig. I'm really trying to focus on the present: I live HERE right now, and I need to keep my mind here. It's easy to start spinning: where will we live when we finish in Tanzania? What will do? Will we buy a house? Where? What about grad school? Kids? Exhausting. I'm here, trying to enjoy my beans and rice one plate at a time.