Tarangire!

!

 Yesterday Danielle, Anne, Katie, Cameron, Simone and I -- along with Gervus, our driver for the day -- had a fantastic time at Tarangire National Park, about 2 hours from Arusha. The pictures will speak for themselves! More to follow.

An Arusha Day (and night)

Mike using chopsticks

no idea what's going on here

crazy tree

Tunasoma Kiswahili!

Almost  five weeks in Arusha! Saturday was a day full of local activities. Danielle and I started the day by getting into a taxi to go to the Arusha Community Church, our Saturday teaching location, only to find out that the taxi driver didn’t know where it was and we didn’t know how to find it from where we were either! A phone call to Mike, our Swahili teacher, saved the day. In general I am gradually getting oriented to where things are in Arusha in relation to each other. Arusha is not a very big city, but many of the streets do not have names, or people don’t use the names, and recognizing landmarks is essential. There are only two traffic lights in the whole city. They make great landmarks.

After the morning of teaching violin (me) and voice (Danielle), Mike arrived for our fourth Swahili lesson. It was fast-paced and challenging.  I think both Danielle and I are starting to catch on. Mnafanya nini? Tunasoma Kiswahili. Unafanya kazi gani? Ninafundisha violin. Leo utakwenda lini? Nitakwenda shuleni.

Next we had our first experience riding in a dalla dalla, the local mini bus. Dalla dallas run along all the major routes and are very inexpensive, but also crowded. Every available space is filled and then some. I had my violin and backpack yesterday and had to take extra care not to poke someone in the head with my music stand. Generally it is best not to carry too much stuff when taking a dalla dalla.  It is a good thing Mike was with us, because we would not have known where our stop was. (I still wonder how to tell where you are when it’s too crowded to see out the window…) I am looking forward to taking more dalla dallas in the future; it is definitely a slice of life.

Danielle, Mike and I went for Chinese food, and in a reversal of roles I taught Mike how to use chopsticks. He was a very quick student. Afterwards we went for a walk around a neighbourhood with restaurants, tree-lined streets and a park. [pictures] Then Mike took us on another Dalla dalla to meet some friends for a drink at a Tanzanian bar before we headed home.

In the evening we went to Empire to hear a live reggae band. Lots of Bob Marley covers, but also reggae versions of Tracy Chapman and Lionel Richie. (Interesting!) The band also played some Soukous and other African styles. The night ended with dancing at Maasai Camp, a happening nightclub at a backpackers hostel. (Line dancing in Tanzania…. whaat?? I thought line dancing went out with the 80’s…) Some of the music was in Swahili, but some was the same as would be heard in a club in North America. A very diverse mix of people of all ages and from all over the world, and a delicious plate of chips (fries) at 3 in the morning… I can think of a lot worse ways to spend a night! All in all it was a good day and one that went a long way toward my feeling that Arusha is home.

Mt. Meru

Hey everyone! I'm behind on writing and will do so soon. Meanwhile, here's a picture of Mt. Meru. I can see the mountain very clearly from where I work and also as I walk up the hill to my house!

An eventful week

A lot has happened in the past week! Here are some of the highlights:

Starting to figure out my way around Arusha – I can now give directions to our house, even using some Swahili words

Ordering a taxi in Swahili and having it show up at the right time and in the right place

Discovering that the easiest way into town is to walk down the hill (a 15 minute walk) and take one of the many taxis waiting at the bottom

Attending a meeting with some of the parents of Umoja’s outreach students – local Tanzanian kids who will start their violin and piano lessons in a few weeks

Having someone say their phone number in Swahili, writing it down as they said the numbers and actually getting it right

Trying to memorize my phone number. If anyone’s wondering, it’s sifuri saba nane nne tano tatu tano tano saba nne  -- figure it out!

Enjoying a delicious dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant with Danielle and Tiana and her daughters

Having pizza with Liza and Danielle at the Masai Café

Dancing at Via Via!

Hearing live music at the Blue Heron

Signing up for Swahili lessons

Going  running through the coffee fields next to the International School (only once so far, but planning to make it a regular practice)

Learning to read alto clef since I have a viola student

Saying goodbye to Liza, who is off to grad school in London. I will miss her! As will so many other people! But we are excited for her as well.

Trying to organize a safari

Cooking a few quick but good meals and learning a few food words including mkate, mboga, ndizi

And of course, teaching a full week of private lessons and groups.

This evening Danielle and I were present at a very special occasion. Tiana invited us to her house for the “Minuet graduation” for her daughter Elsa, who has been one of Liza’s violin students and will now be one of mine. Elsa played for us the three minuets by J.S. Bach from the first Suzuki book, with Liza accompanying her on second violin. In the background, through the living room windows, we could see the sun setting over the hills. A beautiful setting and beautiful music. It was so amazing that in the midst of our busy and somewhat frenetic lives time stood still while we listened to a young girl play Bach. A moving testimony to the power of music to bring people together in community and to bring peace and joy into our lives. Also a testimony to the importance of supportive, encouraging parenting that celebrates the milestones, large and small, in a child’s life.

Now it is Sunday night and I am writing with the kitten curled up in my lap. A new week begins tomorrow. More adventures ahead!

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Swahili time

So… I’m gradually learning a bit of Swahili. It’s slow going. The other night I actually managed to order a taxi in Swahili! That’s a start. Unfortunately although it’s possible to come up with words to say it’s much harder to understand what other people are saying. I am hopeful that as time goes on it will become easier.

One very interesting thing about Swahili is the way people talk about time. Instead of a new day beginning at midnight it begins at sunrise, or 6 am. (Since Tanzania is close to the equator the sun rises and sets at approximately the same time all year.) Basically, you count up from the bottom of the clock instead of down from the top. For example:

7 am is saa moja asubuhi  (1:00 in the morning)

noon is saa sita mchana  (6:00 midday)

9:30 pm is saa tatu na nusa jioni  (3:30 in the evening)

midnight is saa sita usiku (6:00 at night)

Usually people use English time when speaking English and Swahili time when speaking Swahili. So when confirming the time of something, it is not unusual to say “eleven o’clock – saa tano.”

In general Swahili is a fascinating language. I’ll keep you posted as I learn more!

New home!

Danielle and I have moved to a house which we are sharing with Thembi, a writer from Great Britain. Thembi has lived in Tanzania for many years. The house is located up a winding, rocky dirt road near the top of a hill. Although it seems remote, it is actually not that far from work! But it's a whole different world. It is quite rural, with many little shops along the road. When I get a chance I'll take pictures of our "hood." We can buy fresh vegetables right at the end of our lane! And apparently there is a woman at the end of the land who has a shop where she makes fantastic chips. I'll have to check it out soon...

 

My bed, with mosquito netting of course (very cozy)

front of the house

a view of the whole house. The two windows furthest left are my room.

Garden

Pictures of ISM, where I teach Monday through Friday

Car park and front kiosk

front gate

Music building

sign in the hall outside music studios