I’m writing this blog from our campsite near Iringa, a location with very spotty and slow internet. Thus, we will probably not be able to include photos in this blog – it’s hard to upload them. But I’ve managed to post a few photos on Facebook, so if you’re interested look there.
And why are we in Iringa, a town in the south of Tanzania along the TanZam highway (connecting our country with Zambia)? We are spending 2 weeks here, doing intensive Swahili language study at the Iringa Swahili School. True, we have been studying Swahili since September. But we were only ever able to study 4 – 6 hours a week at most, and our classes were inconsistent, due to our own travel and our tutor’s frequent family emergencies. We had gotten through our designated grammar book and were reading short stories in Kiswahili, but we are far from conversant. We just don’t have enough vocabulary, we get the noun classes wrong all the time, and we can’t understand what other people are saying half the time. In my past experience of language learning, it’s good to start at a steady pace and then, once you have enough grammar under your belt, go on to some intensive learning. So, here we are!
Oh, and yes, we have taken the kids out of school to come with us for these two weeks. But, because they are due for a half-term break next week, they are only missing 4 days of regular school. And each of them has brought some work along to complete while we are here.
Iringa is a solid 12-hour drive south from Arusha, and so we elected to drive down in two stages. We’ve lived in Africa long enough to know that it is unwise to drive after dark, and especially perilous to try to find a place at night, when you have never gone there before. Google maps works, kinda sorta, but it tends to become deceptive and misleading off the main roads. Thus, we left by 9 am on Saturday with a fully loaded Land Rover. We knew we would be staying in a cottage (banda) with electricity and bathroom, but beyond that we weren’t sure. We included mosquito nets, lots of sports toys, games, study materials, sheets and towels. I was so proud of myself for thinking of how to bring all that we would need to filter water in-house and make our own fresh coffee in our coffee press, with milk, sugar and tea for good measure. Knowing that the campsite was beside a river, I threw David’s fishing rod on top.
The first day’s drive was uneventful. We stopped for lunch at one of the road side bus pull-offs, with Swahili food ready-made and laid out in buffet-style (and decent toilets). Paul had made reservations for our family at a renovated old railroad hotel in Dodoma, the official in-process-of-development capital of Tanzania. I’m still trying to figure out the rationale for such a big city in that spot – it is roughly in the center of the country, and that may be its highest recommendation. The hotel was a pretty nice place to stay, with a large paved courtyard garden and fountain, framed on 4 sides by two stories of rooms. We enjoyed a quirky continental dinner and probably the only 30 minutes of the Winter Olympics that we will see this time around on the hotel TV. In the morning, we didn’t need to rush off (the drive to Iringa was less that 5 hours) so we enjoyed a good swim together before getting back into the car.
As we left the hotel, we started looking for a gas station so that we could top up our fuel. We had half a tank of diesel and could easily drive the 300 km on that. But still, it’s better safe than sorry. Strangely, we had quickly left the outer limits of Dodomaand were heading down the road south without seeing a single place to fill up. I checked google maps and saw 3 small towns along our route; we noticed lots of big trucks passing us going north; and we decided to stop sweating and just trust that we would find a gas station down the road.
The scenery along this road, which bisects the country north to south, was lovely and varied. At certain points, we passed rice paddies. At other places, strange hills cropped up, perhaps moraines from long-melted glaciers. In many areas, green fields stretched away infinitely, dotted with strikingly elegant baobabtrees. At one point, we came to a restricted area where photography was forbidden. It turned out to be a dam and hydroelectric plant below a gorgeous reservoir. Through the drive, we alternated between listening to favorite old children’s music albums and following Frodo and Sam in their miserable journey towards Mordor in the Two Towers. Oh, there was some fighting, too. Some whining about hunger…
…because we had planned to maybe stop for a snack when we got gas. We passed the first town on google maps. It would be kind to call it more than a settlement. We passed the second settlement. We could have probably found kerosene for sale in recycled spring water bottles. But no gas station. Still, we had a quarter tank and only 100 km to go. The road was good and smooth. There were no rest stops, but that was not a problem since we found plenty of deserted bush at hand to use in case of need. And then we realized that we were about to climb up over a hill. The hill turned into spectacular forested mountains. We climbed up and went around switchbacks, admiring the indigenous trees in canopies above the varied undergrowth. We looked down on seemingly endless vistas across the plains to the west. It was truly beautiful and worth driving through…until Paul pointed out that we had burned up an eighth of a tank on the steep ascent.
And then we had to face the various unpleasant scenarios if we were to run out of gas. Who would go alone to Iringa to get diesel? Who would remain, vulnerable, with the kids and vehicle? Could we plan to pull the vehicle off somewhere more secure? Running out of gas in Tanzania can be a serious problem in terms of security, not merely an inconvenience. We couldn’t believe we had gotten into this situation. Well… you’re reading this now, so you can breathe again. We made it to Iringa and filled up at the first station we reached, with probably a few liters of diesel to spare in the tank. But, that was a lesson learned: there is no source of fuel between Dodoma and Iringa whatsoever.
On Sunday afternoon, we simply continued through Iringa, a town perched on a rocky escarpment, and it seemed like a pleasant place. We will be back to explore next weekend. But that day, we were eager to arrive at River Valley campsite and get settled. As we heard from missionaries who have come here before us, it’s a nice place and great for kids. The campsite is situated along a narrow stretch of flat land between a river and a line of rocky hills. Many simple stone cottages and outbuildings are interspersed with lawns and places for camping. There’s a great playground, built with local materials and appropriate technology, which our kids have really been enjoying. Even better, quite a few huge boulders have come down the hill long ago and are great for climbing and pretending.
As we unpacked, I discovered two very sad oversights on my part. I had all the supplies for hot beverages – except the electric kettle! Sadness! So, we will be drinking Africafe (powdered instant coffee) while we are here. And while we had David’s fishing rod, I had forgotten to throw in his little tackle box. He tried to make a hook out of a bent, rusty safety pin, but so far, has not had any bites. For want of a nail…
The language school rents little tiny pavilions at this campsite. Teachers come in from town (20 minutes away) every morning. Right after breakfast (meals are provided by the campground), we just walk a few meters to class. The kids have their own teacher, who has practiced using more play-oriented methods of teaching. All the students and teachers meet up for a tea break at 10:30, we have a chance to check in with our kids. Then we all continue with lessons until 1:30 in the afternoon. Another family (EMM missionaries in Zanzibar) and a single woman are currently studying here, but we all have our own teachers. Paul and I are taught by the same woman, which is fine because it allows for more conversation. We are similar in learning style and level and that has worked well for us so far. In the afternoons, we have time to do our homework and drillflashcards of the vocabulary we have learned for that day. One can’t sit and study indefinitely, so we’ve been taking turns playing with the kids, walking and exploring. So far, after just two days, I can say that this round of intensive study is well worth it. We are returning to ground we’ve covered but didn’t internalize very well, and it’s finally sinking in this time. We can just focus on this learning process and have a predictable schedule to follow. Someone else is making the meals and dealing with practical stuff. We are very, very thankful for this opportunity to concentrate and learn and we hope that it will bear fruit over the next two and a half years here.
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