Observations on Love, Life, and Afterlife

Before arriving in Tanzania, I had numerous thoughts regarding the importance of love and beliefs in a person’s life. I have had discussions with different people, many of whom are some of my best friends and may or may not share the same ideas as I do, but nonetheless they have challenged me and stimulated deep thought on important topics. “Important topics”, I should qualify, are those which I feel deeply about and consequently affect (and reflect) the values and proceedings in my own life. In short, they are topics which define the person I am. I have never written about some of these ideas, but now I have the time and at least 2 readers of my blog who may be interested in what I have to say.

Now that I am in a situation where I have had time to think and organize some of my thoughts, I have decided to tackle the task of putting “pen to paper” and conveying some of these ideas in the best way I know: to escape to a place where I am motivated to write and am able to organize these ideas with minimal digression. I should reiterate that these ideas are only those which are important to me and I am not advocating that they are the best nor most appropriate way to lead one’s life. Also, you may or may not agree to some of them, but in any case I hope you will enjoy what I have to say and be stimulated to think a bit.

Let me begin by talking about the importance of love and passion in life. I believe there are several different levels of love and I will try to thoroughly explain what love means to me and why I feel as if it is so important to love. Firstly, there is the love that you have for other human beings, in general. In my case, this is something that I have realized is a struggle, but important nevertheless. It is really easy to be spiteful or to have some degree of hatred toward others, especially after they have wronged you. Perhaps it is even easier to be envious of the possessions or accomplishments of others. Maybe you have predetermined ideas about a person or a race and thus, will not be proactive in taking the opportunity to learn from and understand that person or group of people. I make the argument, however that this is not the best way to conduct one’s life. To live with hatred or envy of others in your heart will blind you from the experience of truly experiencing and learning from those people. Maybe they have come from a background very different from your own, have experienced different things, and identify with a different culture or sub-culture, but why should this preclude interaction with these people? Further, why should this prevent you from understanding and embracing the differences that you share with this person or group of people? Is your culture or lifestyle superior in some way? As I have blogged about before, I believe that happiness is the gold standard in life and different people have different ways of finding happiness. Maybe it is true, however, that if you learn about other people you will also learn some things about yourself, and in the end, find more happiness than you had ever imagined. Of course, this would not be possible if you had proceeded with envy in your heart and hatred in your actions. Maybe it is also possible that the happiness you might experience has come about because you have had a rich life experience while you were interacting with and learning from other people. Life, I believe, is about experiencing the unknown, learning as much as you can, and trying your best to find happiness in all that you do. If you can live life with love in your heart, I think it will be easier to find true happiness.

As I have mentioned, I believe that love exists on multiple levels. Different from the general feeling of love you may have for other human beings, you have love for your close friends and love for the culture with which you identify. I believe it is so important to realize that human beings value their culture and identity. Why not celebrate the fact that we are all capable of living with such passion and thus, embrace any differences we may share? Use these differences as an opportunity to learn and grow within yourself. Maybe you will learn more than you thought you would. Perhaps you will meet new friends that you wouldn’t otherwise have met, and they will affect change in you that will be for the best. Maybe you will learn that it is possible to love other human beings that you wouldn’t have previously realized you could. In any scenario, you may be exposed to views different from your own and this will stimulate personal inflection that will ultimately affect the type of person you become.

Then, of course, there is the love that you have for your work or daily proceedings which may, in part, identify who you are. In my case, I was formerly a competitive distance runner. This was how I identified myself, and if you had taken that away from me, I would not have been left the same person. I loved what I did and I loved the teammates that I did it with. Because I loved what I did, it was remarkable how satisfied I felt once my collegiate running career was over. I wasn’t satisfied that it was over, but satisfied that I could be honest with myself with the effort and passion that I put into what I did. I often wondered while I was still on the team how I would identify myself once it was over. Perhaps this was due to vanity on my part or an insistence that nothing else mattered besides my running, but in the end other things came along and I was accepting of the new things because I was content. Of course, the teammates and friends that I had strongly influenced my outlook and the passion that I put into what I did. When you are surrounded by people who approach their work (or in my case, training) with passion, you can’t help but be motivated to do the same. Passion is contagious. If you proceed with passion, you give yourself the best possible chance to be happy in the end because you know you have been honest with yourself and with your efforts. Ultimately, if you can be honest with yourself and with your efforts because you have proceeded with love and passion, the chances of you being happy in the end will be much greater.

This brings me to another point. Because we aren’t really guaranteed anything beyond what we have right now in this one moment, we can think of love and passion as a finite resource that we are capable of possessing and investing. If we measure success in our life by the amount of love we invest into our friends, romantic relationships, and proceedings, we realize that where we are investing our love, we are investing our life*. To clarify, we are only capable of loving ourselves, others, and our work to the point when we are no longer alive. At this point, the basic molecules which comprise our body are recycled for use by future life on this planet, and the only thing left by us is the love we have given others. Hopefully we have served as an example of the power of love for future generations and our spirit, for lack of a better term, can live on through them. Perhaps this is the best way to think about an afterlife, as a way to live on through others because you have shown them love, given them love, or affected change in them such that they are proceeding with the love that you previously had. As I have also previously mentioned, my best friends that I have in this life have affected such change in me by serving as examples and challenging me when I needed to be challenged. I’m not quite sure what more a person could ask for in their friends and role models, but it would be a pity to fail to acknowledge the change a person has undergone by continuing to proceed without love and passion in their life. Maybe you will affect such change in others and they will be able to carry out their life in a similar way. In any case, maybe they will begin to understand the importance of experiencing life with passion in their proceedings and love in their heart. I could only hope that this will result in a rich life experience and the realization that regardless of culture and nationality, we are all members of the same human race, are all made of the same basic ingredients, and for the most part, all have the same basic desires to love and be loved.

Now as I begin to conclude, allow me to say that I have decided that it is best to approach life and pursuits with love and passion. The happiness that I experience when I have decided to approach my work and relationships with love, as I have previously defined, goes much further than the superficial happiness that material possessions can bring. If you approach your life with love and passion, maybe you can affect others by showing them the true happiness that passion and love can bring them. If you can’t say you ended with the best of all possible outcomes, at least you can say that you have given all of the love you possibly could have to the person or pursuit. Maybe you have learned about other people, yourself, or have affected change in another person. Perhaps once you are gone you will continue to live on in the form of the love and passion you have given them. Realizing that this frame of mind is capable of bringing you happiness is such a humbling thought; primarily because it only requires a decision on your part. This, for me, is a great way to measure happiness in life.

*“In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die. And where you invest your love, you invest your life.”   -Mumford and Sons

Quick recent happenings in Tanzania: I am nearing the end of training and will be sworn in as a PCV in less than 1 week! I am so excited to finally be able to move into my own home and to call myself a “PCV”. I have finished all final exams, have done well, and will be allowed to swear in. Not that it was necessarily difficult, but I still had to meet minimum standards with technical training and language proficiency. I will leave my host family and Morogoro this Saturday and will spend a few days in Dar es Salaam next week. I will then be sworn in on Wednesday the 15^th and will travel to my site on the 16^th. I have so much I want to accomplish at my school and things that I want to do in and around my house! Hopefully I can find the time and energy for it all. I also hope to have more good news to share about my village, school, and site, as time progresses. For now, stay in touch, and to my friends and family: I hope you are all doing well back in the States and I love you all! Take care.

-Travis

Decisions in Life and in Peace Corps

Our lives are guided by the decisions we make. From the time we awake, to the time we close the day; we have to make decisions about what we will do with the time that we have that day. In many instances these decisions are trivial, such as what to have for breakfast or which clothes to wear for the day. But we sometimes may forget about the bigger decisions that we have made in our lives. The decisions that have a large bearing on our futures are the ones that have led us to the place that we are today. We may find ourselves in an extremely unfortunate situation and wonder how we got there. Or conversely, we may find ourselves in a favorable situation and understand all of the key moments in our journey that have led us to that particular moment. To be able to make the best choice among alternatives for the decisions you are making requires that you understand yourself. Specifically, you must understand your values, beliefs, desires, and your criteria for happiness. If you have established a sense of self and have been honest in your assessment of your values and criteria for happiness, making the best possible decision will be easier. A caveat to that, however, is that trying to make the best possible decision after you place strict criteria on the desired outcome may lead to disappointment. Perhaps the best possible outcome in the end is not necessarily what you had envisioned at the beginning. Assuming a priori that you know exactly where you want to end up may prevent you from enjoying the journey that brought you to the destination. It is possible that you have missed something along the way; or that your focused attention on the destination has led to a missed opportunity which could have led you to a different and possibly better place. What if you had established a clear vision of where you think you wanted to end up, but were flexible along the course, and ultimately allowed the destination to find you? Is there a possibility that you would have found much more than you had originally imagined? Maybe if you had been flexible and had welcomed the uncertainties in the journey, you would have ended up being more satisfied in the long run. Because you can’t predict what the future will bring, and can only assess your happiness in the present, you may be more likely to end up in a place you want to be if you make your decisions based on where you think you want to be, but maintain flexibility as the journey unfolds.

Finding the best outcome following a decision also requires significant patience and the capacity to observe and listen. In assessing the possible outcomes and direction you would like to see yourself moving in the future, you made a decision based on the information and knowledge that you had at the time you encountered the impending decision. Of course, the person who made the decision is not the same who exists today. You have been exposed to culture and other people’s ideas. You have also grown into a person who may no longer have the same desires, or even values, that made the original decision. Realizing that the same person who made the decision no longer exists in quite the same way is fundamental to understanding why it is so important to remain flexible in your expectations following a decision, especially a decision with significant lifelong repercussions. Maybe you had planned that a particular result would come and you knew exactly how you would react after the result came. What if the result never came? Will you still be happy? Will you be able to cope with the disappointment of a “failed” outcome? Maybe if you had made a decision to proceed in a given direction in your life because you think it will provide you with more opportunities to continue finding happiness, you would not have found disappointment. Perhaps even further, you will find something (or someone) along the way that (who) you never imagined you would find. Maybe the situation would be even greater than what you had previously assumed you would find. In short, if you made a decision and then lived for the experience encompassed in that decision rather than the outcome, you may find more happiness with your decision than if you had abruptly ended up at the final destination and ignored the unexpected occurrences.

I think Peace Corps experience is largely defined by this state of mind. If you come in with expectations of what you want to do, who you want to meet, where you want to end up, and the type of person you want to be by the end of service, you may be setting yourself up for disappointment. Of course, you can’t predict the people you will meet, the site where you will end up, or the person you will be when you close your service. It would be a pity to assume that you knew the answers to these uncertainties and to define your success by a “favorable” outcome to your decision to join Peace Corps. Things will happen along the way, you will meet people you hadn’t expected to meet and hopefully you will continue to find satisfaction and happiness in the work that you do and the relationships that you have built. If you stop, for just a second, during your journey and pay attention to what you are doing and the people you are building relationships with, hopefully you will be able to see the satisfaction that your work and counterparts are bringing you.

My intention in composing my thoughts tonight is not to advocate a completely passive approach to life or decision making. I do feel, however, that a clearly defined sense of self and values will ultimately allow you to develop into a person you want to be, bring you to a place where you are happy, and allow you to build relationships that are satisfying. In addition, if you are following the path which has been laid out by your decision and you find something or someone that is truly special, it would be a pity to let the opportunity, or person, pass you by. Maybe you were more focused on the destination and were moving too quickly to identify what you missed. If you had been paying attention, observing, and listening perhaps you would have found something far greater than you had imagined. Of course in such a circumstance, you need to pay attention to your senses. What do you feel? What do you hear? What do you see? What is your heart telling you? If you think that you have any idea that there is a previously unexpected opportunity ahead of you, you need to be proactive to ensure that you give it adequate attention. You need to find out what the opportunity means and where it could lead you. If you don’t know anything else except that the opportunity or relationship brings you true happiness, then you need to devote enough attention and energy to find out. In short, you need to make a decision.

Today, as I sit and write this blog post I am on the other side of site announcement day. I will be placed at Gallapo Secondary School outside of Babati Town in the southern Manyara region of Tanzania. I am about a 4 hour bus trip from Kilimanjaro. I will be teaching Biology and possibly an additional subject if time and energy allows. The school has expressed a need for a math teacher as well, but we will see about that. My primary duty is going to be Biology, and I plan to devote the greatest attention to that. Also, I will need to establish relationships within the community fairly quickly so I can integrate in an efficient manner. I am becoming more and more comfortable with Swahili, so I think it will be relatively easy to meet people, converse a bit, and establish relationships with the villagers. I am presently shadowing another PCV at her site and getting to see first-hand how a PCV lives. I think it is great! I am very excited to get to my village, see my house, and begin making it a home. Today, I went to my shadow PCV’s school and met some of her fellow teachers, her headmaster, and some of her students. It was very fun and I was conversing for 30-45 minutes with the students kuhusu vitu vingi vya Tanzania na Marekani (concerning many things about Tanzania and America). I would say I am much more comfortable when I speak, am developing an ability to hear the words as they are spoken by others, and consequently, it is much easier for me to find the things I want to say as I speak to others. I can’t wait until I can become fluent!! It is very exciting to be actually conversing (rather than just spitting out memorized phrases) in another language. Also, yesterday I baked my first loaf of bread since arriving in Africa! It was AWESOME #IMISSMYBROCLINTANDERSWHOWOULDHAVELOVEDTHIS!!! The only downside was that it wasn’t very aesthetically pleasing because the loaf kind of collapsed because I let it proof too long, plus the flour is not high protein, and thus isn’t form gluten as well. But, you better believe that the first thing I did after it was done was cut a warm piece, and ongeza (add) siagi ya karanga (peanut butter) and jam! The peanut butter here is phenomenal. It was truly AWESOME! Today, we baked cupcakes and will take them to my shadow PCV’s neighbor’s house for dinner. Everyone here insists on inviting you for chakula (food). It is very nice and the food is always incredible! Of course, we are doing all of this baking without an oven, so that makes it that much more fun. We have a large dutch oven and are placing coals under it to achieve the oven effect. Works like a charm. I still want to build a brick oven at site, but at least I know of a feasible alternative that works in the meantime.

The weather here is AMAZING. I finally feel like I am in truly in rural Africa at my shadow PCV’s site (My site is about an hour away). There are large plains where you can see for miles in any direction. It is a desert ecosystem where I am now, so it is very reminiscent of far west Texas. I really love it. I can’t speak on my site yet, but I would not have been disappointed if I were placed here! I believe my site will be a little greener, but the temperature may be similar. This morning I ran and was legitimately cold. Pole sana (very sorry) to my friends in Texas who are braving the heat right now, but where I am, there is almost no humidity and the temperature is very cool, even cold. The place I am currently at is on the southern rim of the Great Rift Valley, not far from Kenya, so I can’t help but think of myself running in a place a lot like the great Kenyan distance runners. Of course, I am a slug in comparison but it is still fun. Also, I must say that because I am placed in the north, it will be very feasible to run the Kilimanjaro ½ or full marathon! Again, depending on time constraints I may do the ½ the first year and the full the next. Also, if I ask an mtoto (child) to sign me up I only have to pay 5,000tsh (~$3.25USD) to run the marathon. Of course, the race swag won’t be as good as a race in the states, but the race is very big, has solid sponsors, legitimate aid stations, and the view of Kili. I can’t think of a more awesome place to run a legitimate marathon for so cheap. You are also able to use it as a qualifier for the Comrades Marathon (I believe), so it will be legit enough.

As I begin to wind this blog post up, I can report that I am still moving along well. I am happy. I am simply living life and finding satisfaction in each day. I am enjoying the relationships I have built and am building. I have met people I didn’t expect to meet, and am missing one in particular. For now, I will continue to listen, observe, and go in the direction that is providing the greatest happiness as I am living my Peace Corps experience. Andy Dufrain from The Shawshank Redemption, in regards to his unfortunate situation in Shawshank Prison, said “…you gotta get busy living or get busy dying...” He found out a way to improve upon his situation and DECIDED to do something about it. So for now, I will continue LIVING an experience that has been fulfilling. I miss my friends and family back home. You know who you are, and I love you all very much. I hope you are doing well and I look forward to talking to you all sometime soon. Take care!  

Thoughts on Life in Morogoro

How we perceive and enjoy our lives is strongly affected by our mindset in a given situation, as well as our relationship with ourselves and others. We are also pleasure seeking creatures, as happiness is the gold standard in anyone’s life. As a result, we like to surround ourselves with people or situations that make us happy, bring out the best in us, or at least provide us with an opportunity to seek happiness. We love the feeling we get when we know that we are genuinely happy. What’s even more incredible is the happiness that two people can bring to each other in a relationship – romantic or just as friends. Often times, it seems as if nothing can bring us such happiness. There are also times when everything seems just perfect. As if nothing that anybody could do could bring you down at that moment in time. Unfortunately, maintaining genuine happiness is a struggle in a dynamic world. With each fleeting moment of happiness, you risk encountering a hard ship. In other words, you risk encountering a situation that will make you unhappy. But this really doesn’t matter to you - especially during that one moment when everything seems perfect. Maybe you are doing an activity that brought you the happiness, or you are with a person that you love to be around. You can only hope that the activity or the person will continue to bring you the amount of happiness that you are feeling at that one moment. At the very least, you hope that you will experience that same feeling one more time in the future. Maybe that is what motivates you to keep training hard after you run a personal best time, or you wake up every morning next to someone who you genuinely love. You love seeing their smile every morning. Maybe this is what keeps the bond strong between the two people. Whatever the case may be, such happiness is second to none.

Observing and seeking this sort of happiness has been an important theme so afar in my Peace Corps life. I left a comfortable situation with friends and family that made me happy. I assumed I would find a way to be happy in Peace Corps, but there were uncertainties. I wasn’t sure of the type of people I would meet or the relationships I would form. I especially wasn’t sure of how I would perceive the culture, how the culture would perceive me, and most importantly, how I would adapt to the unfamiliar culture and situation. I prepared mentally and emotionally, I brainstormed expectations with friends and family at home, and finally I went for it.

Fast forwarding one month, I can only report happiness. I have met people here that will undoubtedly become lifelong friends. I found myself smiling A LOT yesterday (July 7) while on the safari in Mikumi National Park. Of course, there were specific reasons for that, but I found myself to be so happy with the people I was with and the situation I was in. The bus we were on wasn’t the best and the seats hurt my ass, but it was all great! I have also come to notice how happy people in Tanzania seem to be. Everyone is eager to greet and maintaining relationships between people far exceeds any other tasks a person has to do. I have also become keenly aware of the pride that many Tanzanians have. They LOVE the fact that they live here. Many people in America have a preconceived idea that Africans all need help. They need food, better leadership, more money, a better house, a car, etc. etc. Sure, politics can create problems in many African countries. There is corruption among the leaders of the country. I would argue, though, that corruption exists similarly in America. Maybe we don’t have the same immediate repercussions or deleterious effects on national development, but we have plenty of issues of our own. As far as other luxuries go, I’m not so sure that the people here would care to have these things. Most people are very well fed, they have ways to get around, and they are very happy. It’s amazing how that works.

In terms of help, yes, I can help. I have had access to an education that many Tanzanians will never have access to. This is the reality and it is a luxury to live in a well-developed country and have access to quality education. I will be able to bring knowledge and ideas to the classroom that many Tanzanian educators can’t. But what I am really beginning to learn, and am very excited about, is how they will HELP ME. I have already developed a tremendous amount of patience. I have learned their culture and (some of) their language. I would say every day I become more and more “Tanzanian”. I find myself looking around and thinking “Wow! This long wait for a bus sucks!” or “This way too cramped bus would never work in America!” I also haven’t found myself searching for anything, but I feel as if I am finding everything. I’m finding satisfaction in adapting to my new culture, greeting people as I walk to the bus stop every morning, and making the 70 minute, 10 mile commute back home after training each day. Of course I found happiness in things back in America and I am not trying to paint a “Mayberry” type of picture. The point I am trying to make is that I feel fulfilled by just about every aspect of my life right now. In Tanzania, I have been able to find pleasure in a lot of different things (some things that are maybe strange by different standards). Perhaps the same things wouldn’t have given me the same pleasure back home in the states. Maybe they would, but it took a different perspective to realize them. I already find myself fast forwarding 26 months in my mind and thinking how I will be different when I get back to America. It seems to me that this is what is so exciting about Peace Corps service. You are forced to find happiness in very basic things. Often times, you manufacture happiness in a crappy situation and you learn more about yourself in the process. In the perspective of my new culture, I have learned the value of relationships with people. In the perspective of being a Peace Corps Volunteer, I have learned the value of the friends you have and have recently made if you didn’t already realize it. Your friends back home are great, but they probably can’t really relate in exactly the same way to the challenges you face during the progression of your service. The initial highs, the culture shock if it’s a problem, problems learning the language, challenges adjusting to your new site and host community (which I can’t comment on at the moment), etc. You really do build a support network that will be essential to successful service with the friends you meet here. You find ways to keep each other happy. By the end of training, you are left primarily with your skills, your PCV friends, and your thoughts. You have to figure out the rest and make the best of it.

This, I think, is one of the most humbling parts of Peace Corps that I have realized so far. I expect that I will have to find ways to be happy in the long run. I genuinely feel, though, that this will be possible. I think I came in with the right mind set; I have ushered in truckloads of patience, and left any expectations in America. As I mentioned earlier, I have already found some really great things that I never expected I would find. So, as it is, I will continue living my Peace Corps life one day at a time, eagerly waiting to see what the future will bring. I expect I will have to continue to adapt as problems come, but that is my strength. I can handle it. I am excited about the prospects!

To move on to more specific (and less abstract) things, training has been going along about the same as I have said before. Language is still a challenge, but I continue to improve. This coming week marks the mid-point of training, and as such, we have mid-terms! Mid-term language tests, most importantly. I will let you all know how that goes… Yesterday (July 7), I had the opportunity to see some incredible animals on our safari! There were many giraffes, elephants, baboons, zebras, hippos and gazelles. Unfortunately, I did not get to see any lions, but it was still a great trip. At one point, we stepped off the bus to take pictures of the hippos in a pond and I remember looking around thinking “Holy Shit!! I’m in the middle of an African savannah!!! I could get eaten by a lion or bitten by a cobra!!!” It was nuts, but so much fun! I have posted a few select pictures on Facebook, so you should check those out if you haven’t already. Of course, I took many more than what are posted on my page. After the safari, we stayed at “Hotel Genesis”. It was a really nice place and we had a blast. We had a grand time dancing most of the night, while drinking fine (said sarcastically) Tanzanian pombe J. There are some great stories to be told about last night, but that will be for another time and not in a public domain ;)

As I wrap up, I will leave you with my upcoming schedule: I begin my internship teaching this coming week. I will be teaching Form 1(~8^th grade or so in the states) Biology for 3 weeks. Also this coming week, I will have the mid-term evaluations for language! Hopefully those go well.. In two and a half weeks I will learn my future site, and have the opportunity to go there for a week, as well as shadow another PCV during that time. It will be essential that I take in as much information as I can during that week, before I move to the site on my own. In short, there are a lot of exciting things coming up in training, so stay posted as I keep you updated on how things are progressing!

I hope you are all doing well back home. Stay in touch and enjoy!!

Travis

And Now More From Morogoro!

Another week in the books in Morogoro, Tanzania. Training is very stressful, but I am thoroughly enjoying it. It keeps me really busy 6 days a week. This past week, we started “microteaching” which involves picking a subject in our respective teaching subject and preparing a 10-15 minute lesson to present to our fellow trainees and trainers. The first day, I went straight for the kill, skipped way ahead in the curriculum, and decided to teach Evolution. It went very well, and what is even cooler is that I was presenting to the Peace Corps-Tanzania Country Director, as well as the other trainees in my group. She is very involved with the trainees and it is very cool to be able to interact with her on a personal level. She also has some really cool stories to tell about her Peace Corps days and years since. The second microteaching subject I taught was the scientific method, and third, movement in plants. I have also learned the importance of speaking very slowly and clearly, as the students I will eventually be teaching are very new to curriculum delivered in English. In fact, because primary school is taught in Swahili, the first 2 years of secondary school are essentially a review of the last couple years of primary school, just in English.

 We have had current PCVs visiting training and interacting with all of the trainees. It is very cool to hear their perspective on the first 1-2 years of their service, as well as any difficulties they may have had during their service. Also, they are presenting various topics; some teaching subject specific, and others on topics useful to all trainees. One in particular was over “Special English.” This involves how to address Tanzanian students in class, as I mentioned earlier. It is best to speak slowly, clearly, loudly, and with the fewest (and easiest) words possible to still get the important point across. I feel as if I am adjusting really well to this. In the states, there would be times where I would be talking and get off on a tangent or digress (as some of my friends, notably DUSTIN can attest to J), but now in teacher mode I am much more aware of what I am saying. I have to be. The students will have a hard enough time getting the information as it is. Especially with the jargon (or at least advanced vocabulary) that tends to sneak into the upper level biology curriculum here. I hope that I can master this skill and it will ultimately carry over to my future endeavors in the US. Especially if I will be doing any sort of teaching. I have also gained an appreciation for how difficult the English language really can be for beginners. In my attempt to learn the Swahili language, a language often touted as being easy to learn, I have had to try and learn the exceptions to different rules in the language. This is especially the case with irregular verbs and verb conjugation in different tenses. I often find myself asking WHY DO WE DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT HERE!? WHY CAN’T THIS VERB FOLLOW THE SAME PATTERN AS OTHERS!? My wise teacher has calmed me, though, and said (and I paraphrase) “JUST BECAUSE!” This is the case with any language.

I had the opportunity to watch a current PCV teach actual Tanzanian students Form 1 (1^st level of secondary school) English the other day. While I was observing, I really became aware of how difficult the English language can be. This is especially true in terms of exceptions to rules or when certain letters are dropped off the end of a verb when the verb is conjugated. A simple example: The verb “Dance”. When said as an action (dancing), you drop the “e”. You don’t do this is other verbs like “play” or “fly”. Why? I don’t know. Just because! And then there are LOTS of idioms in the English language.. I won’t even discuss those. If you want to appreciate the language and the culture, there comes a time when you have to learn the language and associated rules AND EXCEPTIONS as they are. There isn’t necessarily a “reason” why some words do not follow a logical pattern. They just don’t, so suck it up and deal with it. This is what I needed. I need to stop searching for patterns. I need to learn the rules and exceptions, practice speaking as much as I can, study some more, and practice speaking some more.

As it turns out, Swahili IS an easy language to learn and I am improving a little every day. The other day, for example, I found myself easily exchanging a greeting with an elder. I think she was very impressed that I could at least tell her hello (in a culturally respectful way—as opposed to the English equivalent of “What’s up?”), tell her why I was in Africa, and where I was walking to at the present moment. The nice thing about that exchange is that I was able to answer her questions without really thinking about what to say. Of course, I was at my limit fairly quickly after the greetings and introductions had passed, but 2 weeks ago I didn’t know much more than “Hakuna matata” or “Asante sana”. #Progress #Africa #PeaceCorps #InternetDongle #BlogUpdates (For my readers who don’t understand why I went overboard with the #Hashtags, I apologize. It is an inside thing with certain people like #BrianSalin #DustinJoubert and #ClintAnders. Maybe #AndrewBlauser too.).

As I type this blog, I find myself slightly disheartened, as I am missing the US Olympic Trials. I wasn’t sure of the exact dates, but #JesseParker and his Facebook status just reminded me. I imagine fast races and a majestic Hayward Field with stands filled with thousands of track savvy, screaming fans. Hopefully this is really the case. Oh well, c’est la vie in Africa. My family likes to watch soccer, though, so I am fairly up to date on the Euro Cup. I think of #KlaasOlsen when I watch the games, especially when Germany won the other night. In addition to soccer, all the kids here love American wrestling. Yep, WWE wrestling. I’m from America and I didn’t even know wrestling was still on. They all love Triple H. This brings me back to, say, late elementary or early Junior High. It makes me laugh.

Other thoughts on Africa thus far: 1) DalaDalas* are very interesting, but not in a fun or enticing way. 2) The weather in Morogoro is very nice. 3) The passion fruit, oranges, mangos, and bananas are incredible! And 4) The mosquitoes in my current village aren’t all that bad.

*The daladala is a bus used for public transportation. As far as I can tell, they are privately owned (I think) and drive various routes from the village to a central hub in town. I have to take one from my village to town, then switch daladalas at the hub to get on another one to take me to the training site. To clarify my “interesting” comment above, there is no such thing as too many people on a daladala. It is a business and the drivers want to make as much profit as possible since they will drive the same route anyways. I’m not sure if there are any regulations on max carrying capacity, but if there are, they are ignored. All of the seats are filled and people stand A to B (A**hole to Belly Button) in the aisles and anywhere else they can fit. Such high population density also presents an opportunity for “Mwizi” (thief). It is easy for them to pickpocket the passengers that are standing, so you have to be very vigilant or hold any valuables in your hand. The best strategy is to not having anything in your pockets, obviously, but when that isn’t an option you have to keep your pockets covered or your eyes on them. The difficulty is that one hand is required to hold on to a rail so you don’t fall, while the other hand might be holding a bag or valuables. DON’T CARRY MORE THAN YOU ARE WILLING TO LOSE! I know it sounds really terrible, but it isn’t really that bad. Yes it is extremely crowded, but I have accepted it as part of the culture. It is an experience and it is Tanzania. Embrace it! Just be aware… J

I will stop my rambling now, and again I hope all is well back home. Hopefully everyone is avoiding the summer heat, as best possible! To my XC brothers, I hope your training is going well. As Jesse always says and you all know, miles make champions!! Keep it up and keep me informed on how things are going, I would love to hear any training or race updates! I wish I could join you all for a run, so I will just have to imagine I am in the state park and as a real runner while I am out plodding along on the dirt roads here. To my triathlon friends (Dustin), if you are racing, I hope that is going well. I am already training for Florida 70.3- 2015. You better watch out this time… And for Officer Balluser, I hope your 25/75, 50/50, etc. shadowing is going well. Keep me informed! For everyone else, until next time, take care!

Feel free to send letters or other things, just refer to the address in my earlier post!

-Travis

Update on Life in Morogoro, Tanzania!

Things are going very well for me in Morogoro, Tanzania. I feel as if I am becoming more cultured each day. I have gotten used to having food constantly given to me, and consequently, have gotten really good at saying “Asante, nimeshiba sana” “Thank you, I am very full”. My host family is great. There are 2 children, a boy named Muwya (8years old) and girl named Mercy (4 years old) and a few house girls who take care of chores and help with cooking since Mama and Baba (dad) both work full time jobs. As I have said before, the food is awesome! For breakfast, we will have some combination of chai tea, chapati (Kind of like a tortilla), uji (porage), andazi (similar to a donut), ndizi (banana), and chungwa (orange). Lunch and dinner are usually similar and consist of maharage (beans), ugali, wali (rice), viazi (sweet potato), mhogo (cassava), chicha (spinach and greens mixture), and maybe more chungwa. We rarely have meat, and if we do, it is generally kuku (chicken). It is also very common to eat with your hands. For example, I just had a lunch of maharage, ugali, chicha, and pili pili (pepper, very spicy) without any utensils! It is also required to wash your hands before you eat, but this is generally done by mama or a house girl pouring water over your hands with a bowl underneath to catch the water. You also NEVER see a Tanzanian eat (or make social interactions) with their left hand. I encourage you to google this to find out why. In short, the food is fresh from the garden or tree, it is delicious, I am very well fed, and I am slowly becoming a cultured Tanzanian!! When in Rome…

Earlier today, I did laundry for the first time on my own in Tanzania. A housegirl taught me how to properly wash my clothes by hand. It took forever and my knuckles are raw after working with the clothes so much. The clothes are nice and clean though!

My Swahili is improving a little each day. I have gotten good at all of my greetings and self-introductions and am developing a better ear for hearing the language as the locals speak. At first it sounded as if they were just rattling of a whole lot of nothing, but now I can hear words and make sense of them here and there. I frequently use “sema polepole” or “sema tena tafadhali” “speak slowly” and “say it again please”. It is important that I get as good as possible with my language, because the Tanzanians love it when a foreigner can speak to them in KiSwahili. Yesterday, for example, I was talking to a mama (lady) and I greeted her and spoke a few sentences, until I was at my limit, but she was so excited to see that I was not just your regular “Mzungu” walking the streets. I also like to say “Mimi si mtalii, mimi ni voluntia!” “I am not a tourist, I am a volunteer!” This will usually conjure a laugh as well, in which case you follow the previous sentence with “unanicheka??” “Are you laughing at me?” Joke’s on you!! Then everyone has a good laugh. All of the locals really are extremely nice and it is so important to greet everyone, so as to not be seen as rude. Essentially, it is really easy to foster a good relationship with people if you put forth the effort to greet them and use as much KiSwahili as possible. I am excited about the prospect of becoming fluent enough to be able to have a meaningful conversation with the locals… Especially when I get to my site in a little more than 2 months.

On a side note, it was very funny this morning as I was sitting on the porch and my host family had the radio playing American music. “I Swear” by John Michael Montgomery came on the radio… I swear I was laughing! Who would have thought you would hear some silly country song playing on a Sunday morning in a far away village in the middle of Tanzania!

I am still able to run on some very nice dirt roads, but I usually have to get up early in the morning to do it. Generally, I will wake up at 5:15 to run, and then leave plenty of time for my bucket bath, getting dressed, and chakula asubuhi (breakfast), before I have to leave for training or class. I feel as if I am just living life. The worries are minimal, if you keep everything in perspective. I have a nice bed to sleep in, good food to eat, plenty of nice roads to run on, and lots of people to talk to. I don’t have to be overly worried about time, no one is rushing here or there like in the states, and there is just a general sense of well-being. Maybe I will get sick sometime and be upset about that, but I expect it so I will deal with it when it happens. I have an awesome medical kit that the PC gave me, so I am set with any medication I may need. I can see why many PCVs say it is difficult to re-adjust to the American lifestyle after PC. Africa is a very different place, especially in the village, but not in a bad way. It is very interesting that many Americans (me included) might think or have thought that they have it bad here or they are lacking in so many areas and we are so much better off in America. After only being here for 11 days, I do not hold that sentiment at all. Everyone seems so happy here. Few of them have internet, cars, A/C, running water, or electricity, but it really doesn’t matter. It is a part of the lifestyle and you embrace it as such. When I just typed that last sentence, it was honestly the first time I realized I do not have running water right now. I also do not miss always having access the internet, my car, or having my iPhone attached to me at all times. It just isn’t a part of the normal lifestyle here. Once you realize that and live as a Tanzanian, you are happy. Safi! Hamna shida! (It’s cool! or good! And There is no problem!) I miss all of my friends back home, and wish I could hang out with you all, but the other things aren’t an issue. I am not trying to be philosophical here, but it is just a way of life that I am living now, so these things aren’t essential. I bet once I go back to America, I will have all of these things again, but that is because the fast paced American way of life almost demands it. We will see, though. That is 2 years from now.

If you haven’t checked out facebook lately, I posted a few pictures a couple days ago of the area where I am training and living, so check them out! Also, I am betting that I won’t be able to upload very many pictures because the internet is too slow and it uses all of my internet time/data. So, I will have to share a large portion of the pictures once I return, or when I have access to good internet. I will continue hand selecting a few good ones to post from time to time, though, so stay in touch! I hope all of you are still doing really well back home, and I will talk to you all soon! Also, below is my phone number, now that I have a phone, so you are welcome to call me if you find a cheap way to do so, just bear in mind, that I am 8 hours ahead of central time. Maybe skype or another online calling service will suffice for making cheap calls. Poivy is pretty cheap, so google it and check it out if you want.

I generally have my phone on and in my pocket, as it is an easy way for us PCVs to stay in touch. Plus it is free for us to call each other and free for me if YOU call me! Sorry that I cannot call you all because it would break my (very small) bank very quickly. A day’s salary will get me about 15-20 minutes of talk time, so that creates a big problem! Also, you can mail things if you want to the address in my earlier post ^^^ Peace Corps will deliver it to my training center here. Take care, have a nice day, and talk to you all soon!! As the Tanzanians say: Hakuna Shida! No worries! (this is more common than hakuna matata, I am sorry to say. The Kenyans say Hakuna Matata)

Tanzania!!!

Habari za leo!? (How is your day?) This is about the extent of Swahili I have learned in my first lesson, today. Hopefully much more will come... but for now I am very limited. I arrived in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday evening, Tanzanian time. I was exhausted and slept like a rock that night! I am starting to feel a little better, but I am still a little jet lagged, I think. It has been lots of fun so far! Our day has been filled with lots of important information about living and surviving in country, including what food and water is safe to eat and drink. A typical day has consisted of:

06:15 - Wake up/exercise a bit in my room
07:00 - Breakfast
08:00 - First session
10:00 - Chai Tea (really good stuff)
10:30 - Another session
12:30 - Chakula (food/eat/lunch it means something like that)
13:30 - More sessions until 5
17:00 - Free to roam about the mission

Our first few days we are staying at a catholic mission. It is nice. They feed us plenty, and very good fresh veggies and fruits, of course. They also have a protein, usually chicken or beans. Of course, the chicken is normal and small, unlike the monsters you get in America. Mom, you know what I mean.. I commented on this last christmas! The rooms are nice, have electricity, running water, and a fan. I take cold showers, but it is very nice, since it is basically like Huntsville here in terms of weather. Not quite as hot though. So far, our lessons have involved safety in TZ (we had a guy come from the US embassy and talk to us about issues around and how to stay safe, etc.), Food and water prep and safety, what to do WHEN you get diarrhea, and basic Swahili. For now, we will be here until Tuesday, when we will travel 200Km west to Morogoro for PST (Pre Service Training, the Peace Corps (PC) is FULL of acronymns). There, I will be introduced to my homestay family, whom I will live with until mid August. Before that, however, I will have an opportunity to travel to my future site for a week and get to know the locals, while also shadowing another PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer). It should be very useful in my preparation.

I like it here. It is very nice, the locals are very friendly, and I firmly believe (MOM) that it will be very safe in my village. Of course, moving around in a large city, like Dar, could be dangerous if you look like a tourist. Stupid Tourists... :)

This is why it is important to integrate well into the community, as they will treat you as an asset to the community, and more importantly, a family member. I am excited about the possibilities! I have also found out that everyone is definitely very poor here. At least the normal person. We are required to like off of about 8-9,000 Tanzanian Shillings per day, which is equivalent to about 5 US dollars or so. But of course, you have to realize that things are cheaper here. I would say that I am having to budget in the same way, relatively speaking, as I did back home. Most people in the village live off of less than 1,600 Tsh per day... So, I am still a rich Mzungu to them (I believe that means white person)! We also have some current PCV's here now giving us the deets (details to those who dont know) on PC life at your site. All in all, everyone is extermemly helpful, they are feeding us AWESOME naturally produced, ethically raised food, and it tastes great! The cooks cook all day long, from one meal to the next. I will be sad when that is no longer the case when I move on to my own site. I will make it though. I have no doubt. It is going to be a blast! (most of the time).

Lastly, before I run out of internet time, I have to say that I have gone for 2 runs around the mission, here so far. I have gotten plenty of looks and laughs. I'd say they love my short shorts, but of course I wear a T shirt. It is just as entertaining for me as it is to everyone watching! There is a 1/3 mile dirt loop that I have to stay on, since I can't leave to walls of the mission, but that is fine. Im not running high mileage now anyways. Just enjoying the atmosphere!

I better log off now so I don't incur extra fees, but in summary, all is well and I am doing fine! Hope everyone is good back home, and Keep in touch!!!!! :)

Travis

AFRICA!!!!

I just arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa. I am exhausted! The flight was 14.5 hours from NYC, mostly during the night. I am slightly jet lagged, as my body is adjusted to 7 hours behind the actual time in Johannesburg, and mostly tired from pulling an all nighter in Philadelphia the night before we left. It was a great evening to get out and see Downtown Philly and enjoy a night with my fellow trainees. We had an AWESOME dinner at a sushi/hibachi place, very similar to Benihana. I finally got my sushi fix!! Some of my closest friends can tell you they had to listen to me complain about wanting sushi before I went to Africa, as it was... So I made it happen.

So about the flight: (Big plane, interactive screen in back of headrest, good movies and music, nice blankets and socks, good food!)
The plane was huge and the food was actually really good. They served us 2 complete meals (dinner and breakfast) and snacks in between. For dinner we had lamb in a curry sauce and rice and desert, while for breakfast I had eggs, potatoes, fruit, and yogurt. During the flight I watched a few movies (21 Jump Street, Man on a Ledge, and Contraband), listened to some good music, and slept a little. I expect I will sleep well in Dar tonight... The total flight distance ended up being right around 8,000 miles. It initially seemed like a very daunting task to travel that far, but here I am.. It is also a funny feeling knowing that I am on the other side of the world compared to a day ago. It feels surreal in a way. I feel as if the flight took FOREVER, but at the same time I feel as if I was just saying goodbye to my mom on the phone in NYC. Weird how my tired brain is having trouble comprehending these things..

Finally, the airport in Johannesburg is NICE! AND huge! Plus they have AWESOME COFFEE!!! I thanked the barista lady and told her it is hard to find such good and "real" coffee in the states. For now, I will wind the blog down since I am using someone else's computer, but I am glad that I can report a successful trip thus far. Fun flight, great airplane, good movies, good food, and a nice airport in Johannesburg. I AM IN AFRICA!!!! To all my friends and family back home, take care and I will blog again soon!