Getting to Work (By Which I Mean Literally Getting There)

We are reaching the end of week two of working here in Dar es Salaam.  I wouldn't exactly say that we have completely sorted everything out yet but we are definitely getting our morning routine down.  Here is what our trip looks like:

We take a bus (daladala) from near our home everyday. The buses are a bit of an adventure, but hey, we've never waited for longer than 5 minutes for one (take that TTC!). I took this picture of the traffic out the window.

We get off near a busy market place. In the morning it's not too crazy but by the time we go home it will be packed with vendors. It usually takes us about 1/2 hour to get there, but that can change depending on how creative the bus driver is with the route.

We often grab breakfast on our way to work from one of the street vendors.  All our purchasing has to be done in Swahili because most of the vendors don't speak English.

This is my typical breakfast. It involves spiced chai, chapati and vitombua, which are sweet fried buns made with rice flour.  We get it hot off the street and eat it as we read the local paper.

Here is my fellow intern Susannah.  My desk looks pretty much the same as hers. Right now mine is stacked with papers for a grant application on Gender-Based Violence that's waiting to go to the printers.

 Here we are with one of our co-workers Samora. He is the senior volunteer at Equality for Growth. He is going to feature very prominently in my next post because he came over to teach us how to cook Ugali (or nshima for those of us who previously spent time in Zambia) and we took lots of pictures.

I'll try and get more photos of our trip soon so you can see the community we are living around.

Trying to be a Part of the New Neighbourhood

It's the first week and we've all been very eager to make connections and build relationships with the new people we've met and work with. Moving to Tanzania is such a big change that a week can seem like forever. We all want to be grounded in our new place and feel connected to where we are. And we want it to happen right now!

The hardest things to deal with at the moment is that we aren't grounded, have few connections, and nothing is familiar. For awhile we just have to sit with that unsettled feeling and recognize that this is always the way things are in the beginning.

It's also hard to remember that relationships with people can't be forced or pushed. We want to fit in at our work and our neighbourhood but just like starting any new job or moving to any new neighbourhood, fitting in and being trusted takes time. We may know that we are planning to stay here for awhile and want to be part of the community but most people we encounter think we are just tourists. There are a number of hotels in our area so most people assume we are staying at one of them. However, we are making some progress with our guards and a few other shop keepers in the neighbourhood so there is always progress.

Only time will help us overcome here hurdles. So here's to week two!  

Introducing My Apartment

Things you should know about my apartment

1. The paint job in my bedroom. I'm not sure if I'm horrified or delighted.

2. Here's a view of the Living Room walls. The funny dot in the middle? Yeah its sparkles...

3. We have AC (I've said it a million times but it was so exciting to see that)

4. However, electricity is prepaid so if you run out in the middle of the night you're stuck. Here I am trying to climb up to check our meter after we ran out the other night.

5. We have a gas stove that everyone was a bit nervous to work with but I managed to cook dinner on it the other night.

6. We have a bathroom off one of our balconies (don't ask me why I don't know).

7. The bathroom is the shower, there is no separate shower stall. So far we have managed not to completely drench the rolls of toilet paper or towels.

8. This is the views from one of our balconies (we have three). There are so many new buildings going up in the area. We are surrounded by construction all the time.

This is just a taste of our new life in Dar es Salaam. There will be many more photos to come.

The Other 40 Hours of My Trip

So this was quite possibly the longest trip ever. All the flights were overnight but that didn't make it any easier. Here is the summary of the remaining trip.

1. Heathrow Terminal 5 – Its really an international shopping mall more than an airport terminal

2. So I couldn't resist some shopping at Boots for products not available in Canada

3. Dear Old Rainy England

4. Everyone taking advantage of the last bit of free wifi before Africa

5. Waiting at the gate with the Zambian Team. Here we go on our separate ways!

6. Johannesburg airport in the early hours of the morning

7. A very tired and jet lagged group having morning coffee

8. The joy of a good latte!!!

So there are no more photos because beyond this point we could barely stay awake let alone take photos. All posts from now on will be from Tanzania!!!

Training Part 2 - What We Learned

The view from where I was staying during training

Ten days of training was a very intense experience. Each day was at least 9 hours long and there were often events to go to or homework to complete afterwards. We covered a lot- talked about everything from health and safety to intercultural effectiveness to development approaches.

Here are two messages that really resonated with me from the training:

There are Systems. Even if You can't See Them

Having worked previously in Africa, I know from personnal experience, that what can seem insane or chaotic, actually often turns out to be entirely reasonable within the social environment you are in.

Like bartering for example, I hear people coming back from all parts of the world complaining about  “not knowing the real price” of an item. They assume the system of charging more is just people out to get you. But, having different prices for things, depending on who you are (and more importantly how much you have) is often a way to create greater social equality. Think about it this way- everyone needs food. So if you make more money you should pay more for you food because this will mean someone with less money can pay less. That way everyone can still eat. It's the same idea as tax brackets really.

So the best advice I have been given in dealing with what seems to be different, or seemingly chaotic (and the method I have used myself in the past) is to watch and not say anything for a very long time. Eventually things will be clear.

Sitting with Your Privilege

It's important to acknowledge your privilege and also sit with what that means. You have a camera, a computer; you can live in a nice neighbourhood; even the fact that you can travel outside your country to work or visit is all about privilege. All of these things are a reality of where you were born. While you can't change that, you should be able to acknowledge it and understand what it means for other people in the world.

One thing I find about living in African countries is that poverty is never invisible. In Canada, if you choose to stick to certain neighbourhoods you can go days or even weeks without having to see the inequality that exists even in our world. But here, even if you are in a wealthy neighbourhood, there will be people doing work, walking somewhere or selling food who are obviously barely getting by.

One of the positive things that comes out of this is that it means people are always talking about developing, improving, and addressing poverty. Even a hip-hop radio station will have talk shows devoted to discussing development issues. I find it really energizing to see so many people engaged in the task of making their society better. (Something we could do with more of back in Canada)

Going Forward

At the end of the training, the ultimate message is that as interns we are there to learn and watch. It is not our place to go and try to solve all the problems we see because we are likely to either A) be misunderstanding the situation or B) the problem will be too big to solve on there own. What I hope for in my internship is that after watching and learning, I may be able to share in some of the work that these organizations are doing. If I can say that I did that at the end of 6 months I'll be happy.

What to Do with a Five Hour Wait in Vancouver

 1. Catch up on sleep (training was intense and we are all sleep deprived) 

 2. Update blogs (as above we've had no time thus why I look so haggard)

 3. Say last goodbyes to family

 4. Skype with friends while we still have a decent internet connection

 5. Marvel at the fact there are mountains outside the airport (Pearson has nothing on Vancouver)

 6. Eat and drink with the hope it will help us sleep on the plane

After dinner we boarded our 9 1/2 hour overnight flight from Vancouver to Heathrow... and when we landed, totally exhausted, we still weren't even half-way through the trip yet.

They put long distance haul tags on my baggage, I feel a bit like I might need to put one on myself so people know to handle me with care.

Training Part 1- Meet the Team

Introducing the Intern team for Cohort 2!

There are twelve of us heading off to various countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.  Here are a few fun facts about the team that you may find interesting:

Girls Night Out (No Boys Allowed)

1. Most of us are in our late twenties (though we have a few youngins)
2. Most of us don't have a degree in development. Our educational backgrounds range from bio-chemistry to international politics to social work to communications to history (my own personal addition to the mix)
3. There are twelve of us going to four different countries: Uganda, South Africa, Zambia and Tanzania
4. Three of us have travelled to Africa before. Others have done travelling elsewhere and spent time in South America, Saudi Arabia, Honduras and India
5. We sat around one day and asked everyone to describe who they were in high school to see who would have hung out in the same group
6. The two guys in our group made a song about all of us.  Check it out on youtube!

It's a pretty great group of people and it has been a ton of fun getting to know everyone.  You'll be hearing a lot more about the Tanzania group in particular but I'll post up the people's blogs as soon as I have links to them all.

Packing (The Chaos)

I have two suitcases for this trip and need fit all my stuff in them. Packing for 6 months is hard but it's even harder when you have to factor in the possibility that somethings maybe difficult or even impossible to find once you get to your destination.  Here is a break down of what I'm bringing with me to Tanzania...

My packing list:

• Nice dress clothes - As I said in a previous post, the work place tends to be pretty formal so I've got plenty of button-down blouses and dress skirts/pants.
• Casual clothes for weekends and chilling around the house
• Tech - There's a big bag in that pile full of cables, chargers and adapters for all my technical (and blog related) needs.
• My hairdryer- It's a little bit "bringing coals to Newcastle" but being properly styled in the workplace is equally as important as dress.
• Medication - For every contingency from colds, to the flu, to bites, much of it thanks for my pharmacist co-workers.
• A few personal items (i.e. the weird stuffed animals) to make the place seem like home.
• Light-weight exercise gear -  I'm bringing a jump rope and resistance bands so I can work out now and then.
• Bedding - Because I had room (sort of). This means I won't have to buy it and I can ditch it when I leave.
• Winter Jacket and boots - Our debriefing will be held in London and after leaving 30 degree weather, it will feel very very cold - always be prepared.
• Shoes - Three pairs packed and wearing another pair on the plane
• Swimsuit - Because Dar Es Salaam is on the water and Zanzibar is close at hand.
• Toiletries - Make-up & hair products plus personal things, hopefully enough to last me because those sorts of things can be expensive and hard to find.

This pile represents about 2/3 of what's in my suitcases. At this point if I haven't bought it, I'm going to have to do without because I'm so close to the line on my weight limit that whether I get through will depend on the kindness of my check-in attendant!

Needles, Thread and My Matrilineal Heritage

Getting ready for this internship has involved not only shopping for clothes but also sewing.

1. Vest made of loose weave cotton (Burda Pattern) 2. Wrap Harem pants out of stretch knit (Burda Pattern) 3. Knee length skirt is stretch canvas (Burda Pattern) 4. Skirt out of African print cotton (Custom designed pattern) 5. Cropped Jacket out of Cotton print (Pattern not available online). Burda Patterns is a great resource for people looking for stylish, on-trend patterns.

I'm very proud of being able to sew some of my clothes, not just because it lets me save money and have something unique but also because it is a piece of my family heritage.

Great-Grandmother

My great-grandparents were shop keepers in London, England.  At this time, elementary school was free but secondary school cost money. My great-grandfather refused to pay for my grandmother's education because he thought it was a waste of time to educate a girl - after all she would just get married and be a housewife. So my great-grandmother took in sewing and tailoring to earn the money for school fees. Because of my great-grandmother's quiet persistence, my grandmother completed her high-school education. 

Grandmother

My grandmother did get married, raised her children and moved to Canada.  She continued to sew and also to knit and taught these skills to her daughters. Though she spent most of her time as a housewife, after her children were grown up, she followed her own interest in clothing and fashion and became a business women in her own right, owning a store in Yorkville, Toronto.  

Mother

My mother works in the museum field but after having three children she took a break from work to concentrate on her family. During this time, sewing provided an opportunity to gain extra income while being at home.  She did everything from kids clothing to dance costumes to custom wedding dresses. She also tells me that sewing was a way to provide her family with nicer and a wider variety of clothes than she could otherwise afford.

I don't know where my sewing skills will take me or when I may be most grateful to have learned them, but when I look at my own history it shows me the ingenuity of women in using their traditional spheres and skills to change their lives for the better.