Lung of Darkness: a tale of tuberculosis
in tanzania

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 miscommunication are a rough blend, and distance—it’s what started this whole mess. We’ve walked miles and miles over the last few days, travelling between check-ups to NIMR, errands to PATH (our affiliated NPO), and different parts of town, and it’s starting to wear. We are trying to explore and remind ourselves of our surroundings to keep things fresh, but it takes constant effort to do. All well worth it, for in those moments that I do take it all in like a breath of clean air, I really feel alive. It’s the exhilaration of discovery (and, rediscovery). This is what I travel for. And at the end of this voyage, home; and what a great rediscovery that will be in so many ways.

Day 15.
Early rise to torrential downpour for errands, tom toting a goofy white poncho and I dragging on my heels after a mosquito-filled night of half-sleep. A routine trip back and forth between NIMR and PATH and the routine waiting that follows. Sitting outside of NIMR, eating breakfast, then just, sitting. Sitting inside of KLM, waiting for service, then just, sitting. Sitting on the Barclay’s Bank wall, thinking about going to the ATM, deciding we don’t really need to, then… well, it was slow day. But we did get in touch with a higher-up at NIMR after all that who told us we’d have a letter of approval within the next few days, which lifted spirits. Back to the house with some drinks now to accompany our sitting, a home-cooked meal of cassava flour and corn flake breaded Sole to top us off, a bath in the pool, and off to bed after some great jams compliments of The Books (I rediscovered my iPod a few days back, and the trip has been noticeably better since—music, I love the stuff).

Day 14.
Saba saba (July 7) celebration—a hopping party/market/job fair south of the city with music, food, and… commercial stuff. The most crowded bus ride of my life on the way there, spent contemplating what to grab at to save my soul in case of a crash. Welcome to Tanzania. A 7km walk back, wandering the median through slums and around the bay, catching the ferry just as the sun set. A solid day.

Day 13.
Running around town, playing “jump through hoops to get the research proposal approved!” Drinks at a local pub (down a dirt back road, Indian Ocean view across a road and a makeshift soccer field), dinner, and a movie. Drunken rambling and discussion until we all call it a night and conk out.

Day 12.
Sleep in, read Walden, play harmonica. Margaret, one of the maids, comes over to teach us how to cook beans and rice in Swahili style. Super hard to communicate after I use up my entire Swahili vocabulary in the first 5 minutes. I did learn to cook some great food though, and learned that she descends from a tribe that is located in the rift valley between Lake Victoria and Kenya and still visits often. Being able to have good conversations with locals without straining makes travelling unimaginably better. I’m not quite there yet.

Overall— Research is still slow. I’m still having a good time, and doing a lot of thinking about life, home, and my future (especially in the restless night). Tanzania is still such an interesting and mysterious place to me, and I can’t wait to get to the countryside.

So long for now,

John

FYI—The post below (4th of July love of America) is compliments of good old Jack Daniels, coca-cola, and red meat.