Chloe has arrived! Chloe is another 4-H volunteer from Oklahoma who will be working here in Tanzania for the next six months. We have both been assigned projects to work on, but Chloe and I will work together most of the time. It is great to have her here at the camp.
Today we finally went into Tanga to buy some supplies. We took public transportation into town and had quite the adventure. The public transportation was a van with 13 seats, yet 20 people pile in. Gudila rode into town with us so she could show us around. We met up with one of Gudila's friends who walked with us since she was familiar with the town. Our first stop was to buy a cheap cell phone so we can keep in touch with the people here at the camp.
Tanzania is actually very up-to-date with technology. Almost the entire country uses cell phones to communicate with one another, some even have Blackberry phones. There are very few places that have internet access, however, I am very fortunate to be at this camp where they have wireless internet. Although there is wireless internet, it does not mean I always have access to the internet. There hasn't been a day where I've been able to be connected the entire day. The entire country also experiences blackouts quite often. Sometimes they last for 15 minutes, while others last for six hours. Needless to say, each day brings a new surprise.
After we bought our phones, we went to the store to buy food. Chloe and I will be making our own dinners, so we needed some supplies fit for our culinary skills. My favorite part about the store was they played American music! I was pretty excited when I heard familiar songs that I may or may not have started singing out loud while somewhat dancing in the aisle of the store. Most of the store was staring at me...but that is not really anything new since every single person stares at me when I walk by them. Some even decide to take a second look after I pass them.
I stocked up on pasta, rice, peanut butter and jelly, soaps and shampoos. After the store, we went across the street to the outdoor market to buy fresh mangos and mini bananas. There is an incredible variety of fruits and vegetables at the market. You can buy everything from passion fruit, lettuce to your choice of small or giant conch shells.
Chloe and I needed a way to cook our meals so we purchased a gas burner. We managed to come across a gas station that sold gas along with a plate. As you can imagine, we all had rather large bags full of items from the store in addition to the gas tank. We decided to call a taxi since we would probably get even stranger looks if we took the van back to the camp.
When we got back to the camp Chloe, Gudila, and I sat down with Susan and Ben for an orientation. Ben gave us an overview of the Tanzania 4-H program that began in 1976 in Lushoto (where I was last week). A school teacher from Lushoto went to Finland and heard about their 4-H program and decided to start the program here in Tanzania. It is now thriving with over 35,000 members in over 630 clubs. You can now see why the Tanzania 4-H program has become the model for all of the other African 4-H programs.
Following our orientation, Chloe and I made our first successful meal...although it took 45 minutes to prepare. We treated the water with some water treatment chemical that Chloe brought with her... then we waited for 30 minutes for the water to boil. It's rather difficult to screw up pasta, so I cannot gauge our culinary capabilities yet. But just you wait, I know you will all be amazed at what Chloe and I will be able to cook up with a single gas burner!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Today we finally went into Tanga to buy some supplies. We took public transportation into town and had quite the adventure. The public transportation was a van with 13 seats, yet 20 people pile in. Gudila rode into town with us so she could show us around. We met up with one of Gudila's friends who walked with us since she was familiar with the town. Our first stop was to buy a cheap cell phone so we can keep in touch with the people here at the camp.
Tanzania is actually very up-to-date with technology. Almost the entire country uses cell phones to communicate with one another, some even have Blackberry phones. There are very few places that have internet access, however, I am very fortunate to be at this camp where they have wireless internet. Although there is wireless internet, it does not mean I always have access to the internet. There hasn't been a day where I've been able to be connected the entire day. The entire country also experiences blackouts quite often. Sometimes they last for 15 minutes, while others last for six hours. Needless to say, each day brings a new surprise.
After we bought our phones, we went to the store to buy food. Chloe and I will be making our own dinners, so we needed some supplies fit for our culinary skills. My favorite part about the store was they played American music! I was pretty excited when I heard familiar songs that I may or may not have started singing out loud while somewhat dancing in the aisle of the store. Most of the store was staring at me...but that is not really anything new since every single person stares at me when I walk by them. Some even decide to take a second look after I pass them.
I stocked up on pasta, rice, peanut butter and jelly, soaps and shampoos. After the store, we went across the street to the outdoor market to buy fresh mangos and mini bananas. There is an incredible variety of fruits and vegetables at the market. You can buy everything from passion fruit, lettuce to your choice of small or giant conch shells.
Chloe and I needed a way to cook our meals so we purchased a gas burner. We managed to come across a gas station that sold gas along with a plate. As you can imagine, we all had rather large bags full of items from the store in addition to the gas tank. We decided to call a taxi since we would probably get even stranger looks if we took the van back to the camp.
When we got back to the camp Chloe, Gudila, and I sat down with Susan and Ben for an orientation. Ben gave us an overview of the Tanzania 4-H program that began in 1976 in Lushoto (where I was last week). A school teacher from Lushoto went to Finland and heard about their 4-H program and decided to start the program here in Tanzania. It is now thriving with over 35,000 members in over 630 clubs. You can now see why the Tanzania 4-H program has become the model for all of the other African 4-H programs.
Following our orientation, Chloe and I made our first successful meal...although it took 45 minutes to prepare. We treated the water with some water treatment chemical that Chloe brought with her... then we waited for 30 minutes for the water to boil. It's rather difficult to screw up pasta, so I cannot gauge our culinary capabilities yet. But just you wait, I know you will all be amazed at what Chloe and I will be able to cook up with a single gas burner!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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