Finding a Rhythm of Rest and Riding a Rough Bus

Almost paradise

Sometimes I just have to make a small comment about the peculiarity of things I see here, that I don’t see in the US. And this is something that happened often in Burundi. Long story short, I was at a pool in a nice hotel this week (that story coming later). It was quite clean and looked well-maintained except the last 7 feet in the shallow end. The bottom there was pretty dirty and had a lot of dead leaves and debris in it. It seemed like no one vacuumed there. The next morning I saw them vacuuming and noticed that the hose on the vacuum only reached about 5/6 of the way across the pool. So the pool man vacuumed to a certain point and then stopped. I was baffled that no one had thought of replacing the hose, which was a pretty standard pool vacuum hose that is certainly available here or in Dar or Nairobi. But I see this all the time in odd ways. It reminds me of myself in my apartment in college, where I just learned to make-do with whatever condition things were in, even as they deteriorated over time. I don’t know why the management would not replace a cheap hose in an upscale hotel. I used to feel an inclination to ‘right’ the wrong by bringing this to the attention of someone, but I no longer have any compunction. I am learning to make-do with what there is, and not ask questions.

Ilboru grounds

I am currently not in Arusha with the family. I am once again in the lake region about 2 hours north of the town of Musoma in a place called Tarime. It is almost at the Kenyan border. I am here to observe a training MCC is supporting to teach medical officers about how better care for people with albinism by recognizing suspicious skin lesions and refer for patients for treatment.

I have probably said this before, but albino people -- there are several hundred thousand in Tanzania alone -- face stigma and violence. To top if off, until recently, only about 20% survived beyond the age of 30 because they succumbed to untreated skin cancer (basal and squamous cell carcinoma). In recent years, a number of groups have been working to provide families and communities training on how to care for children with albinism. But in a society where everyone is exposed to sun much of the time, it is definitely a cultural challenge, and many cannot even afford luxuries like sun-screen. Our intervention is meant to help strengthen the health care system as even doctors here have not necessarily been trained to adequatelty counsel, treat, or refer, people with albinism.

The most exciting thing that has happened thus far is the bus trip to get here. I had written in a previous blog about the difficultly of getting from Arusha to Musoma. The most common way to go involves a taxi, followed by a shuttle, followed by a flight to a town called Mwanza, followed by a taxi, then a long bus ride to Musoma, and another taxi. I decided to try the more ‘simple’ route of going by bus directly. This involves going through 2 game parks (Ngorongoro and Serengeti) for which I must pay as a foreigner, $100 each way. It also requires getting permits to cross at park offices in Arusha before departing. (otherwise you get left at the park gate to find your way back to Arusha)

The bus left at 6 am on Friday morning so I had to get up around 4. The bus itself looked promising in that it was huge and we sat very high inside. But the seats themselves, 5 across were very narrow and I could not even sit back with the person next to me because our shoulders overlapped. Every seat was taken but no one was standing for the 13 hour trip. I made sure not to drink coffee before departing because there is no bathroom in the bus and few stops except at the park gates.

The trip was about as rough and bad as I could have possibly imagine, mainly because we drove on washboard gravel roads through both parks. What I was not expecting was that when we exited Serengeti park, we did not get on a main road, but instead took a kind of local route through dozens of villages in the Serengeti region on roads that I would have taken for footpaths. It was almost comical to think of a bus-sized vehicle cruising down these little roads (a bit like the ‘night bus’ of Harry Potter fame). But the jarring pain of completely worn out shock absorbers on huge bumps kept me from laughing. When we arrived at 7pm I felt like I had been bludgeoned for hours with a club. One small consolation was that, despite driving at breakneck speed through the Serengeti, I saw a lot of animals, including 1000s of wildebeests, zebra, giraffe, a hippo, wild boar, and a hyena that we almost hit. (I do not recommend this at all as a cheap way to see the Serengeti!)

Sister Martha getting a snack on the road

I was traveling on the bus with a woman named Sister Martha, an albino woman who is a champion of albino rights here in Tanzania. She was also going to the training as a facilitator. She seemed to have weathered the trip better than me, perhaps because she has had to make it many more times than I have. 

We were put up in a hotel in Musoma called the Mara Paradise Hotel. It is a fantastic study in dilapidated grandeur. (Our Country Rep. calls it “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”) Absolutely nothing in my room worked except the lights. BUT upon arrival they provided with glasses of ice cold freshly made avocado juice and tamarind juice. That alone made up for all of its faults.

The following morning we proceeded with Specioza, the project manager for this program (run by the Tanzanian Mennonite Church) to the town of Tarime--by Landrover this time, which felt like a luxury cruiser. We met the 2 dermatologists who were the primary teachers, and settled into our hotel here. Everything works here, but it lacks the charm of the Mara Paradise.

Kids arriving back at school after their trips

That brings me up to the present moment, but events earlier in the week that led up to my departure are worth recounting as well: The past week was an adventure for the kids and a small respite for us (from parenting). St. Constantine school had its annual activities week and both boys went off to a camping trip, Oren to the Usambara mountains and David to Lake Manyara. Oren’s trip was somewhat more demanding beginning with the fact that it was 5 overnights long, during which they were camping in tents by night and doing various service projects and hiking by day. This included a trek through a village to see life there and a day spent at a school for the blind. Getting Oren to the bus at 6am last Sunday was no mean feat and he would happily tell you that he was not in the least bit enthusiastic about going. David left several days later, on a Wednesday morning to go to his camp at Lake Manyara, a safari park.

Erosion on the road near our compound

Because both children were gone until Friday afternoon, Rebecca and I requested 2 days off for a small retreat as a couple. It was quite strange to not have to think about the kids and what they would eat or do every 15 minutes. We took time to reflect on what our priorities would be as a family and what we would work on as far as things like enforcing rules around screen time. We also thought about our giving this year (in terms of tithing) and other home economic issues. We also did some fun things, going out for dinner and a movie on Wednesday evening after work. (About five minutes into "The Shape of Water," we were quite certain that it was a film that we would NOT take the children back to see. An intriguing film, nonetheless.) On Thursday morning, we had time to take a long walk in our neighborhood, outside the gates of our compound -- it's good to explore our surroundings a bit more.

On Thursday afternoon we went to a hotel in town called Ilboro Safari Lodge which is a beautiful place with a nice pool and a Belgian chef. We enjoyed relaxing there and had an excellent dinner and breakfast the following morning. We also had time to reflect quietly and pray very intentionally about the year. It was a much-needed respite together. Even though we had a vacation only recently, it is quite different being alone as a couple rather than a whole family.

The kids got back Friday afternoon and had quite a few stories. Oren actually came back and first words out of his mouth were ‘Never Again.’ But after reflecting with him on the things he did, he admitted that he would have been disappointed and felt left out if he did not participate. Rebecca collected some more details from them here: 

Oren returned from his class trip with mixed feelings. He is definitely not an outdoorsman by nature, and doesn't look forward to hiking and camping. On the other hand, he hiked 20 km over 4 days, including an extra 3 km on the final day. We asked if he got some kind of award for hiking that far, and he answered, "No, it was just for the personal acheivement." He also reported that the hiking was difficult and dangerous and at times, made him start talking about dominos with his classmates, as they walked along narrow trails, presumably with some kind of heights involved. Well, he called it the "cliff walk" so I guess I'm glad they didn't take me along! They did apparently have the reward of some lovely views: we still await the photos from the school staff who were taking pictures. Sadly, it was too rainy to hike to the waterfall they were meant to see and swim in. Maybe some other time we can get there as a family.

Flowers at Ilboru

The class stayed in 3 different campsites over the 5 nights, and Oren told us that he would enjoy going back to the final campsite as a family, if it were not under such stressful circumstances. That was good to hear! One group of students served as the entertainment committee, and on one afternoon, they set up a treasure hunt contest for their peers. Oren's group of boys came in second, and won the prize of 1st turn in the showers. 

Oren was able to share a 2-man tent with his good friend Abraham, and they had a lot of laughs. A cricket visited Abraham's sleeping mat on their last night and sent Abraham squealing into Oren's lap. There was colorful discussion of the options of how to deal with the situation, but it seems that Oren eventually persuaded Abraham that he should be more afraid of Oren than of the cricket.  They had lots of rain over the course of the week, and the school tents weren't perfectly waterproof, but at least their sleeping bags didn't get wet. 

passion flower

Other good moments for Oren included a visit to a school for blind children. He said it was very interesting to watch all the different creative ways those kids can learn. His class then met with the children and sang a song for them. Oren also enjoyed eating the chipsi mayai his classmates cooked on one occasion (french fries glued together with scrambled egg). He appreciated the time of processing and feedback that the staff led on their final day together, including the opportunity to remember all the funny moments of the trip. And finally, Oren astutely observed that the kids who went on the trip together would probably feel closer as a group than the kids who chose to stay home and do service projects during the regular school day. 

David's trip was much shorter -- just two nights away at nearby Lake Manyara national park. The class did several activities -- ride bikes, play a soccer game with a local school -- but apparently David didn't ride (not enough bikes) or play (he's no good at football). He did enjoy seeing wildlife on their game drive through the park, and he even claimed to have seen "a Green mamba on the bus." We were shocked and asked more about this. And he explained that he was on the bus when he saw the green mamba (a large green snake) on a tree outside. Phew! Who knows what he saw! We didn't get too many more details from him, but he seemed to like the trip and wasn't too concerned about sleeping away from home. 

Processing passion fruit

We took both kids to the pool for our Friday evening swim ritual -- very timely in this case as an opportunity for some soaking out the camping grime. And then, after dinner, we needed to head home for an early night. On Saturday, the kids had a little free time, but then the three of us left to help another missionary family move house. I'm not much of a heavy lifter, but at least I could bring a pick up truck and a pot of ham & pea soup for lunch. It was good to be working on this project in good company, and the new home will be great for our friends, espcially all the outdoor space their boys will have. It's hard to live behind walls in a cramped compound with active kids. 

On Sunday, I had to drag the kids with me to church early, because the Sunday school teaching team was meeting to set up a schedule for the new year. It's exciting to be getting involved officially, but also exciting to have someone else in charge of the Sunday school program. I'm still discerning exactly the right ways to be involved in this church, but I think it may end up being only partly with Christian education. After church, we had lunch together, just the three of us, and actually enjoyed very pleasant conversation and some word games as we waited for our food. And, an historical event happened: instead of ordering pizza for lunch, Oren requested a big salad. ;-) And loved it! David and I topped off the afternoon by processing a lot of the passionfruits he has been collecting. I shared several bags with friends, but David's collecting mania and the passionfruit season were equally paired and overwhelming. There were lots of fruits to cut and scoop out!

I (Paul again) was very sad to have to leave the house at 5 am on Saturday morning for a week just after the kids came back. I am looking forward to being back this Thursday but a 14 hour bus ride from hell stands between me and my reunion with the family. There will be a full report in the next installment.