August 2009
3 posts
The End
My apologies to those who have been waiting for the grand ending to the trip. Truth be told, there was an exciting finale after our Tanzanian friend showed up on our step 3 days prior to our return home asking for a small financial favor. We acquiesced and what could’ve, based on the details, later blossomed into a full-blown premeditated theft was buffeted by a few days of intense paranoia...
Checking Out by Checking In
Sent Tom off to the airport this afternoon. Finished work yesterday after collecting the last of the 700 surveys and conducting our 33rd interview. The wick to departure is burning, so I’m focusing in on the the environment and chopping at the buddings of laziness before they can bloom into regrets.
Day 38.
Interviews. I’d elaborate on these, but the film will capture everything...
July 2009
12 posts
A bit over a week left in Tanzania, and I can’t say whether it will fly by or drag out. All I know is that I’m going to try my best to breathe every rush of cool ocean wind and cloud of stagnant fish-market-stink air to the fullest, to the last.
Day 29.
A hitchhike to the ferry with our neighbor and a short history of the road we’re living on. Five years ago, she brought...
Catching Up
We’ve had two solid days of work and are making up for lost time. In keeping with the day-by-day spirit of things, here are the updates.
Day 19.
Back to my island, with Tom along this time. Lose track of time as the tide rises, and wade back through half mile of ocean. Skirted a few eels and a lot of sea urchins. Big high five and sigh of relief upon reaching shore. Video footage of the...
Back, in Action
Just home from a beach weekend on Zanzibar (island off of the Tanzanian coast). Had an interesting experience to say the least. The 2-second picture: Rastafarians, Masai tribesmen, and international tourists mixed up in a silken-sanded cove kissing teal water at the end of a shack and trash-fire 5-mile-an-hour dirt road. It was odd and nice at the same time—met many people (and fish),...
Exploring
Day 18.
A solitary trip to the beach with book and pen. Took up the opportunity of unusually low tide to try my luck at wading out half a mile to an offshore island. Stashed my bag in a bush and swung my way around sea urchin fields, fat red starfish, tiny shy crabs, odd sea cucumbers, neon salmon coral, and loads of seaweed and sink sand. Passed a few women picking abalone from the weed to make...
Amani na Upendo
Day 17.
An afternoon of sitting round-table with a locals in Kurakao, sipping on banana wine. Met a musician, sang some Bob Marley. He says, “music, it is beautiful, but it is not perfect.” Eventually a bit of a fight breaks out as one of the guys spills a table of drinks. He storms out, but the rest stick and conversation leads us to amani na upendo, peace and love. All the world...
Keeping it Fresh
Day 16.
Wind sprints in the morning, a big lunch with only a fish skeleton left on the plate, and the sun beating down magnifying-glass style all day, and I’m a bit worn out. And as the day winds down, we’re still waiting on approval of our project from Tanzania’s health ministry (NIMR), which we need before we can visit clinics and dive into research. Red tape and...
A Celebration
of American freedom tonight. But a realization too—we are so granted with freedom in America that we cannot wrap our heads around it—the American dream is becoming just that—a Dream beyond attainment. It is sad, because the rest of the world looks to us for hope: in music, in politics… in life.
A long, long talk about this tonight (all on film, so don’t worry),...
Sitting and Waiting
A crab in the pool and a cockroach in the kitchen. Mosquitos and flies everywhere. Chalk-making tools lying idle as the sun sets over the ocean, full of nets to be emptied at tomorrow’s market across the channel. Rebels firing shots in the night across borders, and genocides bubbling beneath the water. Sweat clinging to our bodies as we watch Hotel Rwanda to pass the night. We’re safe...
Settling Down, Starting Work
Day 4:
A sunflower seed chewing kind of day. Late sleep and bus to the local town market, a collection of a hundred stalls of five varieties: oranges/bananas/vegetables, rice/beans/juice/canned goods, cell phone sale and repair, shoes/dresses/shorts/belts, and cleaning supplies/odds and ends. That means that there are about 20 family-owned shops collected within two blocks of dirt path and road...
June 2009
4 posts
And So It Begins
It is my third full day in Tanzania, and it feels like I’ve been here weeks. The days have been packed and the emotions and experiences are swimming in my head (already some forgotten); I’ll try to give you the highlights. The following is a bit long, so the key points for those without a lot of time—
We’re living the good life and getting our researched started up.
The...
Greetings from Dar es Salaam
I made it to Africa safe and sound! We just got internet, but I’m short on time. Updates are very soon to come, so stay tuned over the next few days.
John
-June 25
To Get Things Started
Here’s a short overview of the trip:
4-week stay in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. (the country’s biggest city, on the coast)
3-week stay in Arusha, Tanzania. (near Kilimanjaro, prime safari zone)
During those 7 weeks, we’ll be distributing surveys to healthcare patients via receptionists in selected clinics as well as conducting video-interviews with several healthcare workers.
...
Setting Off
“I raised my head. The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky—seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness.” (Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness)
In less than one week’s time, I (along with Sam Wing and Tom Koerner) will embark for the banks of Eastern...