London - Iringa - Lutheran Church, Mlandege!
Trip Start
Jan 10, 2008
1
12
Trip End
Oct 2008
Iringa,
Tanzania
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
I'm now in Iringa, the town in which I'll be training before I am despatched to a village. I'd hoped to get to the internet cafe sooner, but it's been so busy since I arrived...
I landed in Dar es Salaam on Friday morning with the other English and American volunteers, and was put straight on a public bus for the eight hour ride to Iringa in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. I spent the ride falling in and out of sleep, but what I did see was stunning, as I hope you can see, if the photos can be uploaded successfully. We drove through Mikumi National Park on the way and were lucky enough to see our first game - Gazelle/Impala (I've forgotten how to tell the difference), Warthog, Elephant, Giraffe and Baboons. Our bus driver didn't seem such a fan of the wildlife though, as displayed by his deliberate killing of a snake in the road and attempts to hit baboons
Street in Iringa
!After the 24 hour journey from London we arrived in Iringa, at a hostel in a vocational training centre, where we stayed for two nights. In the first two days, we visited the local football stadium and met the local team, wandered around town to get our bearings of the area we'll be staying in for the training period, and ate lots of samaki (fried salted fish, which looks vile but tastes amazing!).
On Sunday all the volunteers were sent to stay with local families for three weeks, to get a better understanding of the language the culture here. I'm now staying with a local pastor of the Lutheran Church and his (and my new) family: Baba (Dad, the Pastor), Mama (Mum), four boys Samwel, Daniel, George and Agustino, and three helpers Eliza, Mekei and Timolai. It was a hell of a culture shock immediately when Baba took me straight to the Church during a sermon and invited me to the pulpit to introduce myself to the whole parish and talk about what I would be doing with no warning! The audience of around 150 then screamed and clapped (I'm hoping that's a good thing, as they were like no claps or screams I'd heard before!). Things have been a little calmer since then, I'm getting to know the family and trying to develop a bond with the kids, and I'm the only one of the volunteers to have the luxury of a sit-down toilet at my new home!
My three-week intensive Kiswahili course began yesterday, and is going very well so far, though it requires a couple of hours of home study every day to keep up. There's loads to tell, but I'd better get going if I'm going to make it home in time for dinner!
Tutaonana Baadaye!
Comments
Glad to see you have arrived safely
Hello Dipak,
your trip so far looks very exciting. the wildlife, learning the local language, making new friends.
want to wish you all the very best for your work, will read about your wonderful experiences.
well done for the detailed description of your travel so far. do keep up the writing.
my best wishes
Savita
hi, dipak
it s so great to see u being well and happy and Thank you very much for those pictures.
I am pround for you. Yeah~~~
Re: hi, dipak
by the way, it s abby here, please give all animals my love as well and best wishes for them.
i ll be around to see your updates.