"Pole"

We’re in the middle of our second week in Bangata, and are completely saturated in Kiswahili. We’re slowly improving, learning vocabulary and sometimes making sentences, but as a group we probably all sound like we’re three.

We're all busy at school during the week, and the weekends are full of cooking, cleaning, and family time. We watch soccer on TV if the power's working, and all of the neighborhood kids flood our backyard to do laundry and dishes together. The big event this past weekend was the secondary school graduation that I went to with Mama. After the ceremony, the students lined up while their parents fed them bites of cake, and everyone was roaming around taking photos and passing out presents. I met students, their teachers, and a couple of pastors, and then made the dusty, hilly trip back with Mama and her friends. I also explored the town a little more, walking through forests and swimming in waterfalls with groups of American students. Over the last couple of days, I started helping out at my family’s “duka,” or shop after school—sometimes I pour the kerosene and count out change, but usually I just sit on a stool in the corner and play with my little brothers. It’s getting much easier to understand my family, and talking with customers is great Kiswahili practice (even though they laugh at me most of the time).

In Tanzania, everyone in big on greetings—whenever you meet an elder, or even pass one in the street, you say “shikamoo,” or “I give you my respect.” They respond, “marahaba,” or “I accept your respect,” and then you exchange news of your day, school, work, family, or health. This whole dialogue goes on for a while, and there are tons of variations on greetings that I’m constantly mixing up and stumbling over. So, I have a new favorite word: “pole” (pronounced pole-lay). It technically means “condolence,” but it is also used to express an apology or to say, “excuse me.” Really, it’s condolence with some cheerleading built in. In fact, “pole” doesn’t typically have a connotation of regret or sadness. Walking home from school with our backpacks, we often get pole-ed. When someone is climbing a hill, riding a bike, or carrying some banana trees on their head, you greet them with a “pole.” Rather than the feelings of embarrassment that surface when one is caught in a “sorry” exchange, trading “poles” in the middle of a hot, dusty trek or after a long day is really uplifting.

More news from Tanzania: This coming Saturday, we head off to Tarangire National Park for another safari. So, more camping and many more animals. It’s the dry season in Tanzania right now, which means that impalas, zebras, and wildebeest are heading towards the main water sources (one of which runs straight through the national park). Their predators (lions) are right behind, so we should see some of those from our Land Rover…and the park is filling up with elephants.

Here’s a better address to send mail to: PO Box 6007, Arusha, Tanzania. No pressure…love

Leftover photos from Cape Clear

Our farm crew



























Fiona's farm

First Days in Tanzania

Hiya! I'm in Tanzania! I've been here for about two weeks, and am psyched for the rest of the semester--we've already had a safari, started our homestay, and have loads of kiswahili projects. Fresh off the plane, our group headed out on safari. We camped out in Ndarikwai National Park for our orientation week, going on nature walks around the savannah (tons of elephants, zebras, just surrounded by amazing wildlife) and just getting to know each other. We started learning kiswahili at camp, but our real classes started this week.

On Saturday we moved in with our homestay families--I have a Mama and a Baba and two little brothers, and they have been really wonderful. All of the wanafunzi (students) do our kozi ya nyumbani (homework) together after shule (school), and then I go home to hang with Mama and the watoto (kids). We are living in Bangata, a mountain village right outside Arusha. It's so beautiful, tucked into the side of Mt. Meru and surrounded by banana farms and clouds. We're here for another week and a half, then safari again! then midterms! The work is a little overwhelming but I'm definitely into it--all of our readings and assignments and discussions have been really good. Also, the food is all fried, all delicious. Lots of beans and veggies, and Mama and I spend a lot of time cooking.

So, my new Tanzanian friends are great, and I'm so glad that I'm here! I love you all, and here's an address: Klub Afriko, PO 12248, Arusha, Tanzania.

mainland

Helloooo! So, I left Cape Clear Island today. I was farming with Fiona for about three weeks, and I’m hanging around Cork for the next couple of days. Thursday I’m flying out of Dublin…then Tanzania (gaaaahhh!)

I feel like I’m coming out the other side of this farming experience more relaxed, maybe just more ready to go to Africa. We’ve done loads of work for Fiona, but definitely adapted to the slow, island way of life. Each day on Cape followed this pattern: We wake up, make some breakfast, and get to Fiona’s at around 9. Whenever we walk up the hill to the house, her two dogs, Lucy and Poppet, start barking, flipping out. We’ll kick off our rain boots (or gum boots? wellies?) and have a cup of coffee while we plan our morning—or Fiona will run off a list of little projects as she leaves for work. Usually the am jobs are finished early, unless it’s the endless weeding and digging kind of job. Either way, lunch is 12-2 and we make some food, drink tea, read books…this whole trip I’ve had tons of tea, all the time. At 2 we go back to Fiona’s, usually waiting around for a while (hanging out with the dogs, maybe making some bread or watching the Discovery channel), until she’s back from work. The afternoon jobs usually involve more walking around, heavy lifting, but are always done by 5. Then done! We go down to the harbor, get groceries, go visit our wwoofing buddies Lilly and Gabriel and the Craft Shop, explore cliffs or ruins, or just sit on our porch and bum around.

Emilie and I were working with three other Wwoofers at one point—Ben and Jade from Australia and Miriam from Germany. For the past week, Ben and I were the only ones around. We’ve been herding cattle, cleaning the chicken coop, doing more yardwork. I learned how to use the weed-whacker (strimmer, whipper-snipper…), so I now I’m constantly finding little bits of grass stuck to my clothes, in my hair. I was also practicing my cooking, and I would walk down to the harbor and around the Island almost every day.

Also, working for Fiona has been really wonderful—I’m so glad I got to be on the island, on her farm. I’m more than ready to move on, to see Cork and Dublin over the next few days and then fly to Tanzania. I’m a little apprehensive, of course, but completely excited to get there, meet everyone on my program and start something new.

As my trip in Ireland winds down, I’ve been going over everything that I’ve done, and everything that I’ve learned about farming and traveling. I’m glad I got to experience it both with Emile and by myself for a little while, and this is just the most beautiful country. More than anything, I’ve realized how important it is to me, to my experiences abroad, to really be able to really live somewhere—at Fiona’s I was able to unpack my backpack, to feel more comfortable here than most tourists are able to. Although our bathroom is grimy, there are flies in the kitchen (maybe breeding in our compost bin?), nothing every dries completely, and most things around the farm are falling apart, I just stopped noticing.

ok, please send emails. buckets of love,

becca

some doolin photos

Cliffs of Moher











The Great Stalactite. This is so enormous and incredible, and has been growing drip by drip for 250,000 years








Some ruins--these are all over Ireland.







Cows are also all over. And sheep.







Some ocean







Dooooolin--this is the whole town

aksjghn!

This is my first internet in a real long time, and I'm completely overwhelmed with things to write about. In the last week or so, we've made our way down Ireland's southwestern coast to Clear Island. I've got plenty of photos (posted soon?) and stories from the Cliffs of Moher, the Aran Islands, our night on the Dingle Penninsula and the scenic bus ride down to Baltimore. We took the ferry over to Clear Island on Wednesday, and already feel at home here.

For now--I am happy, healthy, and covered in dirt. Fiona's has been surprising but wonderful, and we just met another crew of wwoofers from across the island. We've been building a wall and a new pig pen, watering the greenhouse veggies (or the "tunnel"), feeding the pigs, polishing silver, moving furniture, and have baked tons of brown bread. We also have plenty of time to explore the island, finding hidden goat paths and amazing cliffs and caves.

These stolen moments on my computer are winding down...lovelovelove

Becca

Map of Galway (Kinvara is on the coast, right near County Clare)











Irish Breakfast