Blogging on Site?!

No way! Unbelievable!

There is wireless internet on site. It's nice, in a way, but I don't really like it. This experience is super different with power (solar panels) and internet. With that said, this post won't be long, but I wanted to share a few pictures (scratch that, only one.) with you all.

=)

I wish it was bigger, but rather than uploading again, this will have to do.

Lightning-speed Post

I've got 10 min 35 sec left to blog.

We haven't had power in Arusha all day today, but it was amazingly productive.

We made friends the owner and chef of a local Shanghai Restaurant. Good Chinese food that we COMPLETELY beasted. Jess Gu, he remembers you! And he told us that we were the future of China (although he knows we're from Taiwan and HK) as he served us a dish of crab on the house. Our Mandarin skills paid off, so did our easily foreign appearance as we recognized the two Chinese men from our hostel the night before. I've also seen the two men walking on the streets of Arusha, looking just as out of place as I'm sure I do. Either way, the food was good, and we loved the taste of home. The most veggies I've had in a LONGGG time.

The diet, indeed, is mostly rice and beans, but it is so much better than that. Those are definitely the things that fill you up, but the cabbage dish the mamas make are delicious as are anything else we get treated with (or so it seems).

Yesterday we went on an all-day adventure on Mt. Meru. Although we did not climb the thing just yet, we hiked to a waterfall with a guide named Mwalimu (Swahili for teacher, lol. he thought it was a weird name too). Lots of team bonding so far around the campfire and in our little mud huts. I WILL find a time, SOON to post pictures, but we've had enough trouble getting POWER on the weekend in Arusha, much less Internet.

Today we also went to market today to buy fabric, pick up skirts we got made, and such.

Um. yeah. I know it's a lot of rambling and probably does not make sense, but I'm so happy to be here and cannot wait to REALLY start our program this Monday.

Tanzania(ns) is(are) more beautiful than I could've imagined.

Karibu!

After many many hours flying, waiting, and waiting some more, we've finally arrived in Arusha, Tanzania! Currently we're staying at a hostel in town and will be going to site in two days. We met up with some volunteers every step of the way and ended up at JRO with a total of 8. All is well on this side of the world and we're super excited to be here.

As for the long walk we expected, we were lucky enough to get picked up by Jacob (a local who works with OHS) and dropped off at the hostel. Tomorrow we'll get more acquainted with the town and then get ready to see our own site!


The drive here was entrancing. More on this later, but everyone stares and the kids all smile and wave. It's unreal that we're finally here, but adjustment will happen quickly, I'm sure and many more stories will follow!

Time to go!

It's finally here!!

We're leaving San Jose tomorrow morning and will arrive in TZ early Monday morning.

Um, yeah.

Some more lessons learned so far:

packing sucks

excitement can be overwhelming

I don't know what else to say, except to please PLEASE keep coming back and check for updates! I love the comments we get and can't wait to share more with you all.

Q & A

Will you feel guilty traveling to Zanzibar or safari knowing the the amount of money you spend on these activities could support an orphan to go to school for a year?

There is some guilt, but not to the point that would make me not go. My primary purpose of going to Tanzania is not to monetarily support orphans to attend school. Although my program fees contribute to the orphanage which will support a group of orphans to attend school, what I bring to Tanzania is information and friendship. Information as in the ability to help educate people about the transmission of HIV/ AIDS and friendship, as in I will extend my hand to those society has turn its back on and chose not to remember. Because of this, how I spend my money does not reflect my dedication to this cause. It would be foolish of me to not spend any money so I could send all my money to support these orphans. I have to take care myself as well and at this stage in my life, cannot dedicate my full efforts to this; especially when I have not even moved out and began supporting myself.

Packing

Packing for a trip is always a sweet mix of excitement and worry. "I'm leaving in 2 days!", "Do I have enough pants?", "Did I give my parents a copy of my passport?", "I can't believe its finally time."

I can't believe it's this close. My heart pounds as I stuff insect repellent and clothes into an empty backpack. Each heartbeat is a second closer to my long awaited journey, a journey I would even consider calling an odyssey (given that Homer allows me). Time can't seem to go fast enough. I've waited long for this opportunity and it is so close. I'm ready to make a difference. I'm excited.

Am I prepared? I'm worried that maybe I should buy a pair of REI pants. Do I have enough money for 3 months abroad. I better not forget my malaria pills. Are my tennis shorts thick enough to prevent bug bites? My Swahili is not that great, I hope I can pick it up fast. Will I-House accept my application for housing? What will I do if I don't get housing? Will I get the oppurtunity to achieve what I set to accomplish? I'm worried.

A question asked:

Is AIDS just an inevitable form of population control as was the black plague?

AIDS is not a form of population control because people know exactly how to prevent a new infection. Numerous studies have provided us with enough information to know exactly how this disease spreads and how it debilitates the human body. It is not the weak and helpless that fall victim to this disease; it is the poor and uneducated that are infected by HIV. In many developed countries, HIV education and treatment is top-notch and there has been great success in reversing the spread of this disease. In many third world countries, however, HIV infections are still on a rampant rise. For example, pregnant mothers in many developing countries can not afford or do not know about drugs such as Nevirapine that reduce the chances of mother to child HIV transmission by 50%. In a country like America, a pregnant HIV+ mother would not even have blink before doctors started her on Nevirapine. The spread of AIDS is not a population control; it is the absence of education and international intervention.

Some Answers

How will you deal with a situation in which a child doesn't want to stay at the orphanage because they were used to being on their own?

This is something we have taken into consideration upon picking and choosing (as politically incorrect as it sounds, every center like ours needs some sort of criteria) kids to stay at our orphanage. OHS has been talking with some street children our volunteers have met during the summer and asked that they meet at a certain place and time every week. The ones that come are given some food and are a little bit closer to having a home. The ones that are consistent show us a desire to have a home and a family. We do this because we are not there to tell them what is right, only provide a good, solid option for living. If they do not want to be at an orphanage, we certainly won't make them.

How will you react to resistance when you teach community education workshops that challenges the "traditional" way things are done? For example, sex education or contraceptive use? 

I expect that a lot of the resistance will not all that apparent to us volunteers. Why? These community workshops are completely voluntary on their part. Those who attend want to hear what we have to say, maybe knowing that it challenges their current knowledge of HIV/AIDS. In terms of their "traditional" way things are done, our workshops hope to cater to those traditional ways by only allowing males to give condom demonstrations to males and having females speak with expecting mothers about preventing HIV transmission to their newborns. Contraceptive use is not unheared of nor uncommon in Tanzania. They have their own national brand of condoms called Salama and its usage is very popular. What does challenge the traditional way is that condom usage is solely the responsibility of the male. It is not proper for wives to ask their husbands to use condoms because it suggests promiscuous behavior and infidelity (men are allowed to have multiple wives, but not vice versa). To cater to this, we have tailored our curriculum to encourage males to use condoms and expose women to the benefits of condoms while encouraging them to use female condom (aka diaphragm) to protect themselves.

Great questions, Sue! Thanks for asking. As for Anonymous, we will post the responses to your questions soon! Feel free to ask more questions.

Your turn.

Post your question, we answer.


Comments = good.

1-way blog = not as good.

So please, talk to us.

How would you choose?

Our orphanage is brand new. As far as my knowledge goes, we have yet to have permanent orphan-residents. What I've been told is that part of our job is to find and bring orphans to our center. So far, the only qualification is that they are truly orphans. Although this seems obvious, it is not all that simple. Many of the children our volunteers have met and have spoken to are street children, but not orphans. Many of them had left their villages to find work in Arusha. Some had even left orphanages in search for a way of life with less restriction and more freedom. As disheartening as it seems, I guess it was naive of me to think that our help would be in great demand by all.

After being sparked by Michael's question, hence the title of this post, I want to open up this question to all of you. How would you choose? What kind of criteria would you create?

The basics: Is this child an orphan (specifically, are both parents deceased)? Does this child want help?

Another thing I think you all should know. In the words of OHS...

The purpose of empowering education is to promote academic enrichment, life skills, and character development of the children to build effective lives and become potential community leaders, so that they may continue the cycle of positive social change.

Education is the way we choose to help.

Pioneers

So last weekend Sue and I talked to Mrs. Germeraad about her trip to Tanzania (as it turns out, she went with Mrs. Hinkle earlier this summer to help teach English in a village near where Sue and I will be). I learned a lot, about her personal experience and her take on the general situation in Tanzania. A very interesting comment Mrs. Germeraad mentioned was the hopelessness that native teachers in Tanzania have towards the deteriorating situation there. Mrs. Germeraad worked closely with several Tanzanian primary school teachers and told us that, despite their optimistic and welcoming appearances, on the inside, they are quite overwhelmed with sadness, depression as they watch the young be destroyed by violence, poverty, and disease. Although she tried to comfort her fellow educators, it is hard to give hope to those who have spent their lives seeing failure all around them.

I hope to those who I meet and encounter overseas, those who have given up all hope, those who are calloused from misery, those who believe that tomorrow does not bring a better future, I can show and prove to them that they are wrong, that in the end, people can make a difference, and that by helping one person escape this cycle, you have already changed the world.

Bloc Party - Pioneers

If it can be broke then it can be fixed, if it can be fused then it can be split
It's all under control
If it can be lost then it can be won, if it can be touched then it can be turned
All you need is time

Nothing is hopeless. Believe.

Per Jen's Request

This has absolutely nothing to do with OHS or going to TZ. However, it is entertaining so here we go.

Simba = lion. Creative, I know.
Nala = gift
Mufasa = named after a king of pre-colonial Kenya
Pumbaa = foolish or dumbfounded
Rafiki = friend
Sarabi (Simba's mom) = mirage

Scar = because he likes giving people scars?
Zazu = also just a proper noun.
Timon = see above



Bit of trivia: What was the Lion King's original title?

jungle juice

my mosquito repellent is called jungle juice. i believe that speaks for itself.

How to Donate

One Heart Source is the name of the organization Michael and I will be working with in TZ.

If you are interested in donating, first off, THANK YOU!! No joke, it is because of you people who have made this dream a reality for me. OHS is a registered non-profit, which means your donations are tax-deductible, if you so choose.

To make a donation, simply mail a check to One Heart Source at:
One Heart Source
PO Box 24293
Los Angeles, CA 90024

In the memo, feel free to put in the name of specific volunteer(s) if you wish to contribute to so-and-so's fund in particular. If that is not your cup of tea, you are welcome to leave it blank - this ensures that the money goes to the organization and straight to the children.

Now that it is September, counting down the days is a whole lot easier!



17 days...

GO BRUINS!

UCLA beats Tennessee(18) 27-24 in overtime in the Bruins' first game with Rick Neuheisel!!

Aside from this exciting game and good news for the Bruins...



Thanks, Jess, for your question! Here and when we're over in TZ, we would love any comments, questions, or suggestions you all may have. We'll do our best to respond to them ASAP.

And to answer your question, there IS internet in the town of Arusha. Mateves Village, where we will be centered, is a half-hour drive away from the budding town of Arusha and has no internet. However, we will be visiting Arusha (FYI, I tend to refer to it as "town" - and Mateves as "village") on the weekends for supplies, hot shower (if so desired), and of course, connection with the folks from home!


This weekend, Michael and I went shopping for supplies and got super-compact sleeping bags (for easy carrying) and LOTS and LOTS of insect repellent.

Malaria = bad.

That's it for now, thanks for reading!