Unexpected Guests

Wednesday morning I was sitting in the office working on the grant proposal when Ben, one of my supervisors, came in and informed me that nine people from Finland were coming to visit. I was very excited to be having some guests that would be staying at the camp with us. I asked Ben when they would be arriving and he proceeded to tell me they would be arriving in three hours. One thing that I have become accustom to is finding out important information on very short notice. Whether it is taking a two day trip to visit clubs or having guests from Finland, we usually get no more than 24 hours to prepare.

Three hours later the Finns arrived. Ben informed us that the group would be students our age...and then he said some would be his age. That is quite a difference in age, so Chloe and I were very confused on who we should be expecting. Seven young girls and two adults walked through the camp gates hauling all their luggage. Chloe and I ran down to welcome them and I'm sure they were quite surprised to see other white people at the camp.

The Finnish 4-H club from Hankisalmi, central Finland, began their dream of visiting Tanzania over a year and a half ago. When they discovered that one of their advisors grew up in Tanzania and there was a 4-H relationship between the two countries, they decided they wanted to come to Tanzania. They worked for a year and a half to raise money by selling food, babysitting, cleaning homes, and inviting their community to Tanzanian Nights where they cooked Tanzania food and sang Tanzanian songs. This group of seven dedicated girls raise more than $30,000 for their trip. They will be in Tanzania for several weeks exploring the entire country from Kilimanjaro to the Ngorogoro crater to Zanzibar. They have a pretty incredible adventure planned, which has been well deserved.

After resting for a while, a secondary school 4-H club from Tanga came to welcome the Finnish 4-H club. They performed several dramas in Swahili for us all. They were quite depressing with everyone dying and killing one another. I'm sure there was a positive message somewhere in the drama...we just couldn't understand it. Next, the Tanga club invited all of us to dance and sing with them. We sang and danced and laughed for 45 minutes. One thing I have noticed about Africans is their personal bubble...or lack thereof. They love to hug, hold hands, dance uncomfortably close, and kiss foreigners on the cheeks. Regardless, it was fun to watch two clubs from distant countries interact with one another.

Thursday morning Chloe and I joined the Finns on a trip to the Amboni Caves ten miles outside of Tanga. The caves are said to have magical healing powers for those who leave an offering inside the caves. The caves cover ten square miles and contain ten networks of caves and passageways making them the most extensive known in East Africa. Some believe that there are secret passageways that lead to Mombasa, Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro hundreds of miles away.

As we entered the pitch-black caverns, you could hear the sound of thousands of bats soaring through the cave overhead. I felt as if I was in an adventure movie as we climbed and crawled through holes that we could barely fit through. Whenever the tour guide turned the other way, I took every chance I had to wonder away and explore the caves on my own. I felt like I was an Indiana Jones on an adventure in the caves. When one cave became too small for me to crawl through I turned and went another direction.

After exploring the caves for several hours we spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach with the girls. They were so thrilled to be near the ocean that they could hardly set their belongings down before jumping into the water. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing after a long and eventful day.

The next morning we went on a couple club visits in Tanga. We first visited a primary school. The schools in Tanzania are currently on holiday until the middle of July, so the only children at the school were a few 4-H club members. We had the opportunity to see their club gardens and trees. We then got to help plants some of the trees in the school yard with the 4-H members. It becomes a spectacle anytime a white person comes around. Children from all around the village came to watch us plant trees in the yard. They found it pretty hysterical as we tried to use a hoe to dig through the red clay and dirt.

We then got to visit another all-female 4-H club that focused on sewing. This was the first time that I had visited a club that focused on a single skill. The women were very excited to share their knowledge with us about sewing and making clothes. It was fun to be able to watch these two clubs share information with one another about what they do in their own clubs.

Friday was a very special day for Finnish people-the celebration of the midnight sun. On June 24, people in Finland celebrate the day/night that the sun never sets. They build large bonfires, sing songs and celebrate all night long. Since the girls could not be home to celebrate the midnight sun, they decided to celebrate here in Tanzania with me and Chloe. They spent all afternoon preparing the most delicious Finnish meal over the open-fire stove. We had an amazing Finnish soup with potatoes, carrots, and beef, as well as Finnish pancakes, which tasted like a piece of heaven. After our delicious meal, we head out to the yard to make a bonfire. I have never worked so hard to get a fire started in my life. It's rather difficult to get a fire going when there is 80% humidity and the wood is always damp. However, after a good 30 minutes, we finally got a fire started.

We spent the evening singing songs together and sharing laughs with one another. The girls would teach us songs in Finnish and we taught them popular campfire songs in English. Later in the evening, we all played a form of hide-and-seek with flashlights. During the celebration in Finland, it is customary for young girls to find seven different flower and put them under their pillow for the night. If they do, they are supposed to dream of their future husband. Since flowers are not a common item found around the camp, the girls decided to collect seven different types of leaves. They ran around the yard plucking branches from trees and pulling up bushes. It was an awesome experience to celebrate this holiday in Tanzania with these girls. As the night was ending, they all said this was one of the best midnight sun celebrations they have ever had, and I am thrilled I had the opportunity to partake in the celebration.

Saturday morning took us all to Muheza to visit an all-female club. It was the same club that I first visited five weeks ago and it was great to see all the women again. After the two clubs shared about their 4-H clubs, they sang and danced with one another. The Finnish girls learned several Tanzanian song, including the national anthem. It was pretty amazing to watch the Finnish club stand next to the Tanzanian club and sing the national anthem together in swahili.

After visiting the women in Muheza, we headed back into Tanga to visit some other members of 4-H and see their individual projects in their homes. We had the opportunity to see how the members keep and raise chickens, ducks, goats, and cows. One 4-H member pulled me aside and was very interested in the education system of the United States. I soon found out that he has been dreaming of studying engineering at a university in America. He wanted to know what he needed to do in order to study in America. He has thoroughly thought his plan through because he wants to find someone to sponsor him so he can afford to study engineering. It is pretty difficult when someone shares such a dream with you and you can only do so much, which isn't enough, to help.

Saturday evening was spent relaxing and playing card games with the girls. They taught me and Chloe how to play a Finnish game and then we all played Uno. They all wanted to teach my a useful phase in Finnish so with much practice I finally mastered the phrase. I can now go up to any Finnish girl that I see and tell her that I saw her in my dreams. Best Finnish pickup line ever.

Later in the evening it was "girl time" where all the girls braided one another's hair and painted each other's nails. Being the only male in the room, I just sat and watched them all have fun. The girls had been wanting to interview me and Chloe for a few days so, after "girl time," we had our interview session. They were interested in our work here in Tanzania and some of our best experiences. I mentioned that my mother is an author of several children's books and they all became very excited. So, I showed them "C is for Cornhusker," which is an alphabet book about Nebraska. The perfect book to show people about my home.

I have been wanting to go to a church in Tanzania since I arrived, but Chloe and I have been traveling every Sunday. This Sunday, I finally had the chance to go to a Lutheran Church with the Finnish group. We walked into the church and immediately saw the most colorful dresses and fancy hats/head wraps. Women wear their most fancy, bright, and beautiful dresses to church on Sundays. The women wore their African fabrics that were neon pinks, vibrant oranges, bright greens, deep blues, scarlet reds, and golden yellows. The men sat on one side of the church and the women on the other. I knew the service had begun the minute I heard the most beautiful African harmonies. Everyone stood as the pastors made their way down the aisle singing in perfect acapella harmony that rang through the entire church. It didn't matter that the service was conducted in Swahili because anyone, regardless of language, could feel the presence of God in the incredible music sung by the congregation.

Sunday afternoon was spent relaxing at the beach with the girls. You can imagine it is quite the spectacle to see seven white girls swimming in the sea. Tanzanians came from all along the beach to see the girls. Eventually, as I was laying on the beach soaking up some sun, all of the girls came to lay down next to me. Several Tanzanian men came up to me and asked me to share the girls since there were seven. I politely smiled and said "no, I don't think so." It was quite an eventful and enjoyable day with the girls.

Monday morning was the first day that Chloe and I had a chance to get back to our office work. While the girls went to visit some clubs in Korogwe, Chloe and I stayed at the camp to work on our grant proposal and some other paperwork. It was the last day that Chloe and I had to spend with the girls so, we put together a fun activity to do with the girls after dinner. We spent three hours laughing and enjoying one another's company during dinner. The girls were so excited about our surprise and talked about it all evening. Chloe and I created a jeopardy game that included questions about Tanzania, 4-H, me and Chloe, and a miscellaneous category. Within each category, Chloe and I put fun activities like singing my favorite song, carrying a water bottle on their head, playing games they taught us, and eating a surprise we prepared for them.

We laughed and laughed for hours playing the game. It was one o'clock in the morning by the time the girls started to fade. Chloe and I went into town during the day because we wanted to give the girls a gift that they could take with them on their adventures in Tanzania. We bought them snickers, Pringles, peanuts, cookies, chocolate, and other fun Tanzanian candies that they would enjoy. I also gave them one of my mother's books to take home with them. The minute we gave the girls their gift they started crying. We all were not looking forward to the following day when they would have to continue on their adventure.

Tuesday morning before the bus arrived, we spent every minute we had playing all sorts of games that they had taught us during their stay at the camp. When the time came, we waited along the road for the bus to pull up. Several more tears were shed as we said goodbye one last time. I loved every minute I had with the girls and it was sad to see them leave. I have never met a more fun group of happy, energetic, kind, polite, and enthusiastic young girls. I promised them that I will see them again, and it is a promise I will keep.