Last Days

I finished my work with the WOFATA group today. I believe I saw 47 people in total, mostly members of the organization, but also some outreach. It was a great experience. I think the counseling made a difference. One thing I figured out early on is that people were only advising their children about abstinence. Fortunately Flora (in the picture) agreed with me that they need to talk about condoms as well, so we talked about that with everyone we met who had kids. Abstinence is just not a realistic concept in a country where the average man gets married at about age 30 and the average woman at about age 22. Actually, I don't think it's a realistic concept in any country and the statistics tend to back that up. Mostly it was just nice to work with a great organization that is doing a lot of good for people with HIV/AIDS. They have almost no funding though. I am going to try to raise enough money for them to open an office. There are probably 15,000 people with HIV in Arusha and this organization only has about 100 members.

I think I will be back to Tanzania, hopefully bringing my own students after I get my PhD and start teaching. It's hard not to fall in love with this place. The people are extremely friendly, and not just towards the tourists. If you sit in a restaurant you talk to the table next to you. When you're on a bus or walking down the street, everyone talks to each other. People have been encouraging me to try to teach here, as all of the universities teach in English.

A few days ago I visited Mama's village, about 2 hours from town. I got to meet her parents, three more of her children, and several grandchildren. It was nice. They live in a small farming village. I thought they only had two kids when I first got here, but the have eight. Only the youngest two live at home - Wilson and Jovena. Wilson is the one who takes me to the internet cafe all the time. He's one of the most mature and respectful 17-year-olds I've ever met. It's funny to think that in Tanzania you are usually considered to be an adolescent until about age 22. He already seems like an adult.

On Sunday I took a day trip to Mt. Kilimanjaro. It was only $55 and I had a personal guide. Unfortunately it was cloudy, so I couldn't actually see the mountain. We just walked around at the base. This is really the first time the weather has screwed me since I've been here. I expected a lot worse during "rainy season." It rains about one in three days, but usually it's just a 20-30 minute downpour...and most of the time it comes at night. I have only had to use my umbrella twice. The temperature is also great. You would think it would be hot 75 miles from the equator, but we're way above sea level. Most days the temperature is in the 70's, and I don't think it has been higher than the low 80's.

Well that's about it for this blog. I posted a few more pictures of people I've been working with here and of Kilimanjaro. Thanks for reading and thanks for the comments. Here are my flight details for those who are interested. I leave on Tuesday and arrive in Atlanta on Wednesday.

NWA/KLM airlines
Kilimanjaro to Dar es Salaam flight 8481 (8:55pm)
Dar es Salaam to Amsterdam flight 8481 (11:05pm)
Amsterdam to Atlanta flight 8621 (10:20am)
Arrive in ATL at 1:40pm Wednesday