Saturday at 14:47 off we went. After my departure from 28.8. to 4.9. postponed due to difficulties with the residence permit and was therefore no longer from the Hamburg airport but from the Frankfurt airport started, I am on Saturday, 4.9. run at 14:47 from the railway station Hamburg-Altona with the ICE train to Frankfurt.
The discharge, which have given me my friends and family was very nice (even if that sounds odd for a farewell). Up to 3 minutes before departure, I had put away still feeling all loose, but then was all too late. I was only really aware of that a year is not there to be a year to see all no more, but could be pretty long.
In Frankfurt, I then made eight other volunteers from my sending organization with whom I flew together to Dubai. Everything worked perfectly, although I had two kilos too much luggage. The equipment of the aircraft was great, each room had its own monitor, with a remote control with which one could choose from various movies, music and games. The food was very distinguished, lamb curry as main course, served with red wine, what a decadence. But given the fact that something like this will not next year probably, I was able to enjoy very much. After six and a half Hours we arrived safely in Dubai.
The airport in Dubai is unimaginably large, the terminal itself, in which we have arrived and departed again, was determined a mile long, just crazy, with trees and waterfalls in the building. But it was not nice, it was all applied a little too thick. In the distance we could see through the windows of the skyline of Dubai, the famous hotel that looks like a sail and I think we could also use the "Great caliph, see the previously tallest building in the world. But everything was far away.
After four hours in Dubai, of which no more Exciting to report, I am with only one other VIA eV volunteers, Lucas, then flown to Dar es Salaam. On this flight, I had a window seat so I could look at Dubai also from above. It was breathtaking, a concrete jungle in the desert. And in the truest sense of the word everywhere, as far as the eye can sand and then the small islands of the individual settlements connected by roads that look like painted in the desert. And after we had left behind Dubai, everywhere was only desert until I fell asleep. I've never seen the desert before and I could never make a presentation on this endless expanse of sand and rock.
woke up we were already in Dar. There we landed, after five and a half hour flight around 15:30 local time (14:30 Germany). I was very excited that I would probably be killed by climate, as many had warned me, but when I got off the plane to suffer in anticipation of a shock, it was amazingly all right, but warm in order. A slight breeze caused a refreshment. We we walk across the tarmac have gone to the airport terminal. There we have given our visas and have to wait too long for something to get all our luggage. The employees of VIA eV had been expecting us and taking us with our luggage. Also if I knew before, it was very strange to drive a car with the steering wheel on the right side on the left. The journey through Dar es Salaam was a real adventure. Even if the cars all look ever so shaky, one is working at all and that is the horn and which is also used almost continuously. If go to court because times will simply go down, along the lines of the most courageous wins. To date, I have two accidents and two overturned vehicles seen. But most of the time was, and is anyway congestion in Dar es Salaam. We have for a distance of vlt. Four or five kilometers damn long time, but the more it was watching. And just as we all have diligently observed, were we eyed with interest from the outside; Wazungu (Swahili for white people) are here in Tanzania, a true attraction. In the traffic jam on the road throughout traders came to the waiting cars and have their products offered. These included water, soft drinks (both looked amazingly cool), biscuits, cashew nuts, chewing gum but also ice cream, knives, soccer balls, handkerchiefs, spoons and other strange things, everything can be bought directly through the window. But our driver was very rude to all vendors and we have not had a Tanzanian shillings, and so also could not buy anything.
After we made it through the traffic jam, our driver just said "Lets go on the rough road. "Best way to describe it is not good. Besides the few major paved roads, residential areas are connected by paths that defy before potholes and bumps just like all of them completely unsecured - I would not know how the first time in the rain looks like. The trip by jeep over the "rough road" was like a ride in a cocktail shaker shaken, so I felt it. At the end of our drive we arrived in a pretty big house, where I was accommodated for the next two days until I go on to Morogoro. The owner of the house was Mama Bea, she showed me my room and I was very tired from the trip I went to sleep quickly. At Mama Bea in the past year, a German volunteer used to: Nana. It is fortunately still a week to get back because flying home, they showed me something on Monday around in the city. Be the first time I'm with the small breasts down the Dalla Dalla called. You have no timetable, but drive off then when they are full and complete is so full it really is nothing more ... if I was unlucky and are needed to could I not move on all sides as close together crushed and the ceiling was so low that I could not stand upright. Nana and I are on the ferry to a small Island where we went down to a beautiful beach. Blue sky and blue sea, white beach to a dream. On our way we were watched very closely by all sides and often by traders with "Hello my friend" approached, young children called us again and again "Mzungu" afterwards. It's a strange feeling of being watched Sun As a European, I am considered here generally considered very wealthy man and that is indeed the case, even my pocket money is far more than most monthly salaries here. So I often had the feeling that people want me to be more opposed, on the basis that they are aware that my wealth is based on their poverty. There was a feeling of shame that had arisen. But it's just a feeling of shame was what people really think about me I can not say yet.
The next day, Tuesday, I got up very early and have my stuff packed up in the expectation that Jonas, the employees of VIA would pick ev me to bring me to the bus station so I can then go on to Morogoro . But then the phone rang from Mama Bea: The car of Jonas had broken and he could not pick me. So I had to take the tour with all my luggage in the Dalla Dalla. Fortunately, Mama Bea sent me a young man who helped me with my luggage has and is jointly operated with me in Dalla, because alone would be two backpacks and a suitcase to transport very difficult on the Holperstraßen and I had not just the second day in Tanzania, the adventure Dalla Dalla cope alone.
The ride still Morogoro has lasted about three hours, arrived in Morogoro, the taxi drivers have been tempted by the window her bargain. I had my backpack with all his strength to hold on to not even before I did not even get my other luggage to be pulled in a taxi. It was incredibly determined 10 taxi drivers have been beaten around and there was nothing else than the pushiest enter. As I sat in the taxi then rose suddenly, a second man in the taxi, and I was already afraid and worry ... what have I not already heard horror stories in the taxi, but this man was probably only like to ride and so went off the ride. After a short drive we arrived at the office of the organization for which I will be working next year, the Faraja Trust Fund. After a brief welcome by the Chief Victor I was a Faraja employees and another man (who seem happy here, just ride) down to my new home. At the door of the house was a notice CARIBOU JAN (Welcome Jan) and then came out already Mareen. Mareen here is my project partner in Morogoro, she had no problems with the visa and it would often arrive a week before me. I knew previously only written by the email and now here she was still somewhere in a completely different country and welcomed me. I think we will endure well together in the coming year. Here in the house is next to Mareen also two other German volunteers girls who are still here until the end of September, Dan, a Canadian, all the love here, he has so much knowledge of Africa has a lot of reading about it speaks fluent Swahili and is a really cool type, but he flies back home next week. Then Eva still lives here, she is a kind of housekeeper, she cooks for us and also makes regular the house clean. I get on very well with her she is very nice and sincere man and helps us learn in Swahili. The food cooks what Eva is also very tasty. For breakfast, there is only bread and jam, but Maren had to eat the grandiose ideas, the bread with tomato and salt, so there's at least a little variety. cheese and sausage are here only as a luxury which even we can not afford to buy and not want to here something to fit. For lunch and dinner cooks Eve, mostly rice, potatoes or noodles rarely accessible to vegetables and meat rare, but everything tastes very good. Plantains and ugali (maize flour Breikloß), actually typical dishes, there was as yet not
I have only just packed my stuff in my new room I live in a transitional period will, to the better-equipped rooms, currently inhabited by the girls are free. Then came even first visit, three little Tanzanian girl, came and tried to play with us. That's what I'll probably have to get used to, because this door is always open and the neighborhood children like to come to the only white people far and wide. So here is always living in the house, but after a few hours I felt much more at home here, as even at Mama Bea in Dar es Salaam.
have Mareen After a short rest and I made their way into the city, walk about 15 minutes. On the way we are repeatedly attacked and children against us "fist to fist hit" with tano (five), a welcome. I could here ever try out my first greetings vocabulary. It's a strange feeling when you here by the roads running all people look at you and welcome one and the children run around you, as if one is famous, but I hope that will change the moment I am here for a while and so also get a chance to be perceived fairly normal.
Morogroro is a much more pleasant city than Dar, just much more transparent, not so hectic and not so much traffic jam and the climate should be in the hot season (at the December round) is also much more pleasant than in Dar es Salaam. Here I have also not as strong a feeling that people are against me in an unfavorable position. Although Morogroro is also quite a big city it feels like a family here.
employed in the first time I'm chiefly in the Swahili language is spoken here to learn. Although I have already had lessons in Germany, but now it is here to cram vocabulary and to gain practice. This actually works quite well, I'm constantly on me to try here and Eve is very tolerant, although I do sometimes serious mistakes. Anyway it is very helpful that I have learned the grammatical foundations already in Germany. I hope that I will make rapid progress.
On Thursday, I again shared with the Mareen Faraja office visits in order to determine when we will start to work and do what we are. We were first again encouraged to do everything possible as quickly as possible to learn Swahili. We were given two months before we can really speak well. Otherwise we were left quite free to choose where we put our priorities in volunteering. Mareen, which has already completed a Teacher Training Programme, want to teach just as our predecessors have done the same in school. I've got great respect for, but I can well imagine the try out, maybe I find it's not even that hard. To first get an overview of the work of Faraja, we were invited on Monday once again come to the office so we then once all the projects of Faraja can be shown and so then we can decide better where to start, we want to work . The first time we will probably still with the volunteers who are currently here go along just to see what the views like this and to learn from you.
At noon we are in a restaurant gone and each court have paid 5000 shillings, or two about 2.50 Euro, a quarter of what you would pay in Germany. Everything here is much cheaper than in Germany and I have to first get used to the new currency and the new prices in order to not be ripped off. For many people we have here the feeling that they're expecting of us knows more expensive prices than they require of the Tanzanians. As it is well informed to know what a thing costs normally. Here we can help Dan with his experience and Eva.
Here at the home of Eva is always something going on every evening, many people come by to meet here with us (especially talk to Dan) or to just hang, as I said the door is always open for all. Thursday had two of them birthday and we threw a party for them. There was soda (soft drinks) and pilau (rice with meat and salad) and sweet, a real feast. And I've eaten together with the Tanzanian Pilau with his hands that was pretty funny, but was not that hard to knead because the rice was very good and so good to lead with salad in his mouth was. But do not worry, it washes her hands before and is even with the right hand, with the left to do other things here ... The Tanzanians have enjoyed, I also believe that I am at your custom I tried. All the people here make the life out first, it slowly built a family feeling and it feels good, even if it's family at home can never be replaced. Yes there is a little homesick by =)
The house is pretty big way, there is a large living room, a kitchen, the second first glance be seen as a kitchen, two showers (cold, matter of getting used) , two toilets (one European and one African), a room where we hang our towels and seven bedrooms, each with a bed. To this end we have a courtyard where a scaffold above a water tank it says. From this stand you can enjoy a breathtaking view of the Uluguru Mountains, where it is not just hazy.
On Friday Eid, the end of Ramadan is celebrated here was the great, all people were free, it was a school-free and all the people were very left out, they finally allowed to eat again during the day. And suddenly it is much quieter in the city. During Ramadan, namely sounded all along the loud prayer of the muezzin from the tower of the mosque of the city, but with the end of Ramadan, the muezzin praying much less from the speakers.
On Friday evening we had a discussion with Tanzanian youth who we often are in the house, about homosexuality. Most Tanzanians to have an equally clear how frustrating opinion: Gays and lesbians are bad, are evil people! They argue about religion. They said things like, "God does not want" or "God created man and woman, not man and man or woman and woman" or without cause, "Ni baya tu" ("It's just bad / evil"). Man is powerless against this kind of argument. Dan, the Canadians here at home, they tried to explain that it is natural that there are people who are gay or lesbian, that they can not help it and that one should at least tolerate it. However, a Tanzanian, Ignas was even believe that people have the choice of which sex love them and they simply were to blame for their sexual orientation. Gay people are persecuted in Tanzania, not by the government or the police or punished, but you risk severe stigma and social isolation. It seems as if worlds meet here. Surprises again with globalization we are all equal here, shows how different cultures.
On Saturday we went hiking in the Berrgen. We should meet at seven clock in the morning Statdtmitte with our guide, so to get up at six on a Saturday ... We were, of course, as is appropriate for German belongs, at the meeting point on time. But no one came to pick us up, 15 min. 30min. 45min. Well we should have known that punctuality is not important here, but well just like we are wanted we will not continue to risk that someone has to wait for us. After little more than an hour finally arrived, our guide and some friends of our house (so I call the young people who are often at our house) with Canada's three girls in tow wanted with us in the mountains. It went off in a comfortable pace, we call it here, now the African pace, it is more of a stroll, just very comfortable. Once we figure out from the city were it was mountainous, Morogoro lies in a sort of valley of the Uluguru Mountains and it was steeper and steeper and steeper but the Tanzanians were in their African pace no matter how steep it was, we had unconditional Wazungu Sun keep up our problems. sweated Luckily it was not yet so hot and it was fortunately not too hot, there were many clouds in the sky, I have so had enough, after a short time ago, my T-shirt soaking wet. We quickly left the paved road and came to a still relatively wide path. But this was becoming narrower and narrower, but still drove people on motorbikes (Pikipiki) up and down by us, looked quite dangerous because from. Later we left and this narrow path and continued on our way to continue on a very narrow path that condemned in some places was steep, so one could call it almost climb from, well, I just am a city rat from northern Germany where already a small hill a mountain for me. I'm glad I had my hiking boots here;). The landscape is beautiful, bright red earth and the wide variety of plants, many palm trees and banana trees and alternating with agricultural land and ordered the steep slopes of the mountain. Also, various animals we have seen remarkable giant, flying grasshoppers and even a snake, but only a very small. The best, however, were the many small waterfalls that we have encountered again and again, with clear water. After about three hours we had reached our destination. The German House (Pension Edelweiss I think), a house on the slope of the mountain, which made the German colonialists built 1911th Today it is a bit run down and used for agricultural management (I just did not understand). It was exciting to discover this place right in the mountain as far from the city as part of the German-tansansichen history. From this place down the mountain, you had a wonderful view of the countryside and to Morogoro, but he surely would have even more beautiful and more can be if it had not been so cloudy, but there was not so hot. After about an hour for lunch and lots of photos, we were on the way back, again and again, we met people who live up there in small huts, a three-hour climb from the city, impressive. The descent went well and in the end we are pretty exhausted but no accidents reached the bottom. The consciousness soon be able to take off the boots has worn me. It was a very nice trip and after a good feeling to have moved.
On Sunday the whole morning was nothing going on so I played my first came out because my clothes by hand washing. Especially the stuff from the hike could not have even worn once. So two buckets half full of water, a rub with and without detergent, and then the clothes clean and scratch, scratch. Well 100% pure clean it with cold water have not, but it's good that the clothes at least once felt with soap water, and rough spots can be edited very well, at least fade. That was was quite exhausting and as a consequence of my first washing action I decided to wear my T-shirt once more before I put it back to the dirty laundry. Namely, they are dirty again anyway:)
On Monday Mareen and I were in Faraja Office in the expectation that we are shown the various projects of Faraja and we can orient ourselves may identify areas for us to work as volunteers in question. But as easy as we imagined it was not. We were sent by an employee to another and each told us about his project, what is being done and everything how it is financed and so on, but every time we have then asked how we could help participate in it or has always said only: "Oh Faraja is such a great organization, it will be wonderful when you see Staring you once all the projects and then seek out what you want to do it." But what we can to peek into all projects, where we point it to go or to whom can we turn everything we have said no. We will first have to find our place in the organization and find our contact and then looking very strong on its own initiative in the projects we can collaborate. The Chief Victor gave us a staff of Faraja, Mr. MUSHI (no joke), directed the show should give us a few projects, but he said only sent us on to other employees and is also starting Tuesday on a business trip to Saturday. Let's see maybe it goes ahead with it in the next week. This week we do first with the two other German girls, Nadia and Lara, and the Canadian Dan to the orphanage and the so-called Home visits with us. " In the Homevistis families are visited and offered them assistance as needed in different forms, more precisely I will then describe afterwards. Perhaps there is also something. I hope that we will find our place soon.
So I hope it works out this post to put online, because so far I had run into difficulties on the Internet, it is very slow and with my own computer in the Internet cafe I could only retrieve emails then was the link again stopped, but I will in the near future have yet to find a solution.
I hope my first post could be read fairly well, until next time
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