Week 5 Moshi Blog to November 13th

Original oil painting by Famous Marangu painter 1950's

Let the tears pour down for a little while more.

I believe this has been the hardest week that I have ever spent anywhere.  I am grateful for Moshi, for the friendships that John and I have developed over the years, the expatriates who seem to a person to have been overwhelmed and horrified by this election week, and the vast majority of our Tanzanian friends, and even quite a few just acquaintances and most especially our project and the staff. Many of us have cried together in fear, anguish, and stunned disbelief.  Our senses of justice, freedom, kindness and morality, have been shaken by this election and our sense of loss that a woman who has worked her heart out in service for others should have lost this Presidential election.

Before the election John and I had a lovely dinner with our friends Elizabeth Minde (a lawyer/director of KWIEKO (the women’s legal rights organization in town), and the sister of Mama Mkapa who is the wife of the former Tz. President,  and friends Agnes, Kristen and Erling.  Our dinner was delicious and we all commented about our hopes for the election.

The day in which the results of the election were announced, I had my usual 7am swim session and tried to work hard just to shore up my anxieties. Moshi is 8 hours ahead of the US, and we were not sure what was happening except that it did not look good.  My fellow Saa Mojas (at the hour of 1, =7) also gave false encouragement, “it cannot be true, something will happen”).  But then I met another American friend in the parking lot and we both burst into tears.  And for our own reasons, refugees, poor people, global health, kindness and decency, our children, religious freedom, we wept and wept.  When we got ourselves together, I drove to Machame to see my dear friend Sylvie.

Anyone who has read any blogs of mine have to be familiar with our friends Nic and Sylvie.  They have lived near us in Machame for years, been married since the early 60’s and run the best coffee and sisal farm around until Nationalization.  The coffee is still fantastic-none can come close, though now Nic and Sylvie have to rent their own farm back, and the sisal was destroyed through the government farms.  But, these two friends are perhaps the most resilient I know, and their love and strength supports us continuously.  Sylvie was at our cabin in Boone when the BREXIT vote came in and we cried then, so it seemed fitting that I should be going to see her on the day of our election. 

We did after all have a plan, and that was to visit Machame Secondary School, which was the first job Sylvie garnered after graduation from University in the UK.  She always knew she wanted to return to Africa, and was happy to get this post.  As she relates, her first night alone in her new bungalow at the school was quite scary until she got out her Daily Word and saw that it was the feast of St. Michaels and all angels (Michaelmas) and knew that she would be fine.  And so she was.  Her years at Machame Secondary School were on the whole wonderful, and definitely enhanced by the appearance of young single men who came up to the school to play tennis and take a look at the new crop of young British teachers.  Here is where the romance began between Nic, the dashing young Greek, and Sylvie the beautiful, smart and caring British teacher. 

List of Head Mistresses over the years. 

The famous tennis court is now being converted to a basketball court

Gate on the front of Machame Secondary School

We had quite a walk about the school, being graciously accepted by the Head Mistress who was interested and quite excited to meet a teacher from the 1950’s.  She was eager to hear about the school’s history in those days and noted some corrections in the school’s written documentation through Sylvie’s discussion of the days.  She gave us full permission to walk around and accompanied us to see Sylvie’s old house and her reminiscences of the path to the house, how it looked and some stories of walking up and back from the school.  All the teenaged girls were studying outside because the next day was the beginning of the national exams, and they would be eating and studying for exams outside, as exam day would be spent in the cafeteria. 

Around the school yard

Sylvie's first bungalow, now a bit decrepit & many little buildings around

Words for young teenaged girls to live by

While everything looked quite a bit different to Sylvie, it just was all-fabulous to me and a great distraction for my day.  My respect grew for the work that Sylvie has done over the years, that she and Nic have built a beautiful home and nourished it, and have raised a family who now all have families, and continued to show their kindness and graciousness to an array of people.

With the full moon coming up tomorrow, I have been practicing with my cameras, and wow has this been a learning experience.  I have several pictures to post, but trust me there have been about 30 missed tries.  The most astounding thing to me is that my trusty SLR camera and this particular lens cannot seem to take a good picture.  They look good, but the clarity is very bad even though I have carefully zoomed and taken on tripod and used a two second delay.  But my little Canon Powershot 65x has rescued the day.  I have one picture in which I tried to hand hold the camera.  Fun picture but not really a moon in the making.  But, on the tripod with a manual focus and 2 second delay and nearly full zoom (not quite) I got some really nice photos, and I will post them with joy at the potential of seeing the full moon tomorrow night.  Remember this is the closest full moon to earth that we will have for 70 years. 

I have to call this the moon on drugs Nov. 12th the big spot is the moon

Nice almost full moon Nov.12th

Nov 13th moon 1 day to full

Finally, the name Patricia!  I have 2 close friends in the US who are named Patricia.  My sweet “Patty B”  (Pat Beaver) and my good old Boston friend Patty Shay. But all of a sudden I find that I have two new Patricia friends here.  One Patricia, close to my age is in my Moshi Book club (to which I am privileged to belong and the other in the Saa Moja group.  A young lawyer Patricia (who is a very good swimmer), her friend Sophia who is a businesswoman, and her father Erik, also a lawyer who is learning to swim.  We all are valiant in coming out at 7 to hurl ourselves into cold water and be tormented by our really good swim instructor Sabini.  So 2 Patricia friends on two different continents.  What fun.

Patricia the Old and Patricia the Young

We will hang tight and be strong, and let the lessons of this election stay with us as we continue to strive for the higher ground.  God help us in the meantime!

Jacaranda tree, purple Allium and Travelers Fern keep hope alive

Elections are Over, What has Changed and Mama Mkali is Alive and Well

John Pombe (really) Magufuli (the Bulldozer)

Samia Suluhu Hasaan First Female Vice-President of Tanzania

I felt as if I were in the US after Bush V Gore and the Florida election votes had been tallied.  “ hanging chads”  and the election is over…almost, and then over as Magufuli was quickly seated with his Vice President, Samia Suluhu, a strong woman from Zanzibar. I find it hard to understand a good deal of the response to the elections.  I am completely baffled by the CCM party’s ownership of the National Election Commission and the Zanzibar Election Commission and their overt “flip-flop”; i.e., the acceptance of the mainland vote (which was clearly manipulated, probably not enough to change the outcome of Magafuli winning, but enough to infuriate the voters who voted for the opposition and are probably correctly sure that ballots were not counted properly from certain regions), and the Zanzibar nullification of their vote in which the opposition won.  (and probably even there the opposition votes weren’t fully counted).  So, my African friends are angry, yet not surprised, and they aren’t rioting but they are hoping that some international group (hopes hanging futilely on the US) will get involved and force a recount of the mainland and an acceptance of the vote on Zanzibar.  Sigh.  Magufuli has pledged to end corruption of the high level party officials.  All of us are hoping that he will make good on his promise, and that the new leaders will be strong and willing to work with the opposition instead of trying to crush them.  Who knows.

Golden weaver bird in Zawani Tented Lodge Camp

Mama Mkali (Mama Harsh, mean or whatever) headed out for a short run on Wednesday, only to run into a little boy and his young mother.  The little boy had rocks that he was throwing at the weaver nests, where babies were chirping and mothers in their plain colors were anxiously flying around trying to protect their nests.  I (mama mkali) in my most stern Kiswahili (which of course isn’t that great) in no uncertain terms told the little boy to stop, I took his rocks and gave him a lesson in the worth of birds that eat bugs, mosquitos and other “wadudu” that are annoying and sometimes harmful to humans.  His stunned mother finally said, “si piga motto”  (stop hitting child) and he did.  So here again is a beautiful golden weaver from Ziwani Camp.  The weaver nests are fascinating, but let them fall after the babies grow and leave, please.

Because of the elections, John and I had stocked up on provisions and made a pledge to stay near home and KCMC (to which we can walk if need be).  It was actually a good week, and I revel always in our sweet house and all the flowers that Pauli has planted and nourished.  I try to help him, but my zeal for manure and feeding some of the plants results in the tragedies of their demise.  Here are some just fabulous ones.!

Clerodendrum (beautiful)

Shell Ginger beautiful

And this is Pink Oleander, beautiful but very poisonous

Our fun house

I'm obsessed with the Rangoon Creeper

And, so sad to report that the baby ducks have been struck by some virus.  All but 5 have died.  I fear the same outcome for the others, but maybe fate will intercede.  They are so cute, and for Pauli, Lucy baby Joni and me, it is very sad to watch their quick demises.

 

In this “stay near home plan”, we had a lovely dinner with the new Executive Director of the hospital Gileard Masenga and an opportunity to chat about shared hopes and dreams for KCMC and for projects that are on-going or about to come.  

Two incredibly handsome guys!

We also had a fun conference that our wonderful Dr. Nyindo presented on his parasitology “MOK”.  I thought of my friend Doug, and how, at the end of his life, he signed up for every on-line course he could find.  He would have loved this one, I guaranty.  And, Nyindo is so very happy when he finds an outlet for his special field of gross bugs and snails and horrible diseases that sail right along with them.

Kili  Oct 28 2005

kili with bouganvilia oct 28 2015

Kili Oct 28 2015

The mountain has been out, and though it is always inspiring, take a look at the loss of snow.  Stunning this year.  When I compare the snow just 10 years ago this month, it is astonishing.

Finally, it is Halloween!  And here we had the first “trick-or treaters” I can remember.  Start a tradition kids.  Wonderful.  So Happy Halloween all! Or All Hallows Eve or whatever.

Omari--I've got my fingers crossed for Obama today!

Even West Kilimanjaro has an Obama Shop

This is still my favorite photo of President Obama

Just down the road from our house Obama!

This is the day.  VOTE!