It's always nice to have your moment in the sun. Hanako Justice... no, this is not some new superhero that Marvel has put out. She is a 24-year old Californian who has become a close friend to us both. She is also Gabby's morning run partner, and together they are training for the Kilimanjaro Half Marathon in February. She keeps a blog to inform her old high school (which sponsors two St Jude students) of her goings-on. This week she wrote a post all about us (click here to see it!). She pretty much hit the nail on the head by saying that we are 80 year olds and 6 year olds, trapped in 30 year old bodies. (Except for the 30 year old part). We do in fact go to bed at 8:30, and we do make very childish jokes. In fact, we have recently spawned a rash of "your face" jokes. Here is an example, for those of you who are not familiar:
(as we are sitting in the cafeteria eating lunch one day):
Hana: Those cars are actually quite widespread across North America.
Gabby: Your face is widespread across North America.
Yes. Here we are, helping with the education of Tanzanian children. Oops.
Thursday, 27 September 2012
Monday, 24 September 2012
Voices from Heaven
(I tried to add a video here but kept getting error messages. Apparently blogger.com only likes Puff Adder videos:)
One of our coworkers, Jenny, teaches ESL to the teachers at the school. On Sunday afternoons, she also walks over to a local orphanage and tutors the secondary students there in their English. She decided to invite the kids to see the Loruvani choir with us. Afterwards, she brought them back to our kitchen where she had cooked all of us a huge pasta dinner. We had a lot of fun sitting around the table with these teenagers, talking and laughing (and helping them with their inaugural attempt at spooling spaghetti around a fork). Afterward we had a dance party in the kitchen, with a rather amateur version of a conga line wrapping around the room, dancing to LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem. It was a great night overall... the choir, the fellowship around the table, the goofy dancing. Our house was filled with the warmth of laughter and community. We went to bed very thankful.
Monday, 10 September 2012
Brent's Critter Blog...and other things.
Well Gabby wrote the last entry, so now it is my turn to inform and entertain, I hope. Anyone that knows me, knows I love critters of all kinds. If you know me well you know that reptiles and especially snakes are at the top of my list, so when I knew we were coming to Tanzania I brushed up on my herpetological knowledge of the local snake species. I'm glad I did because as Gabby mentioned in the last entry, there is a snake story to be told...
Just over two weeks ago, before we arrived here at the school, we were enjoying our final vacation adventure before our duties were to begin. We were in the shallow south of TZ in the Udzungwa Mountains staying a very cool camp at the foot of the mountains for a few days. Though we had gone on a guided hike the day before, where my eyes were peeled the whole time for snakes or lizards (and monkeys too), it wasn't to be until the next day on our own self bicycle tour through the local villages that we came upon a very special treat. We were slightly out of the main village and on a sandy road about 20ft across when Gabby, riding out front yelled "Snake, snake, snake!" Well that was all I needed to hear to jump of my bike and run up to her while adeptly bringing the camera out of my bag and into ready position. As soon as I saw it, I knew what it was and what a treat this was. There lumbering across the road without a care in the world was one of Africa's most feared venomous beauties. A PUFF ADDER just over a metre long. A big female by colouring. There are other feared snakes here like the Black Mamba and several cobra species, but this one is at or near the top of the list for bites on humans in all of East Africa. With Gabby's voice sharing worthy concern behind me, I got to with about 7 or 8 feet. Not only did the snake not care about me, but it seemed to show no concern to the rooster dancing about its head in protest to its presence. We both thought the rooster was about to die, but no drama was to be. Fortunately I know that a Puff Adder is one of the slowest moving snakes there is. The opposite of the Black Mamba, fastest in the world. But the Puff is one of the fastest strikers and is an ambush predator. It waits camouflaged on the sides of pathways and bushes to wait for passing prey. People get bitten more by these snakes because they just don't see them and then step next to or on it and WHAP! Okay, enough Croc Hunter excitement here's the pic I snapped. Very cool. Don't worry mom, it is a sluggish snake and in NO position to strike. Safety first. I look at it as God saying, "All right Brent, I know how much you want to see a cool snake so because it is so rare and you won't see one likely again, let's get it out of the way." Thanks G!
Here's the short video. Hope it works well...
Other random cool critters...
Buffalo Spider (looks venomous to me) and huge 7inch centipede in Zanzibar.
Oh and here are some of my new favourite 'non' critter friends from CoL, followed by my most loved critter of all whom I miss a lot back there in Canada. Hi Phantom!
Just over two weeks ago, before we arrived here at the school, we were enjoying our final vacation adventure before our duties were to begin. We were in the shallow south of TZ in the Udzungwa Mountains staying a very cool camp at the foot of the mountains for a few days. Though we had gone on a guided hike the day before, where my eyes were peeled the whole time for snakes or lizards (and monkeys too), it wasn't to be until the next day on our own self bicycle tour through the local villages that we came upon a very special treat. We were slightly out of the main village and on a sandy road about 20ft across when Gabby, riding out front yelled "Snake, snake, snake!" Well that was all I needed to hear to jump of my bike and run up to her while adeptly bringing the camera out of my bag and into ready position. As soon as I saw it, I knew what it was and what a treat this was. There lumbering across the road without a care in the world was one of Africa's most feared venomous beauties. A PUFF ADDER just over a metre long. A big female by colouring. There are other feared snakes here like the Black Mamba and several cobra species, but this one is at or near the top of the list for bites on humans in all of East Africa. With Gabby's voice sharing worthy concern behind me, I got to with about 7 or 8 feet. Not only did the snake not care about me, but it seemed to show no concern to the rooster dancing about its head in protest to its presence. We both thought the rooster was about to die, but no drama was to be. Fortunately I know that a Puff Adder is one of the slowest moving snakes there is. The opposite of the Black Mamba, fastest in the world. But the Puff is one of the fastest strikers and is an ambush predator. It waits camouflaged on the sides of pathways and bushes to wait for passing prey. People get bitten more by these snakes because they just don't see them and then step next to or on it and WHAP! Okay, enough Croc Hunter excitement here's the pic I snapped. Very cool. Don't worry mom, it is a sluggish snake and in NO position to strike. Safety first. I look at it as God saying, "All right Brent, I know how much you want to see a cool snake so because it is so rare and you won't see one likely again, let's get it out of the way." Thanks G!
Even the Cradle of Love Baby home where I volunteer (teaching the
director's 6 and 8 yr old daughters and playing with the 3 and under
crowd) is full of cool creatures. There are dozens of bats hanging out
in the half finished director's house where construction is on hold. On
Friday (the only day I didn't have my camera, we found a little
chameleon and played with it for almost an hour. Wow, they are so cool
with it's eyes moving independently and it changing colours while on my
shirt. I'm like a kid in a candy store. Today was monkey city. There was
a large troop of Vervet monkeys hanging around and several larger Blue
monkeys in the low trees and sometimes venturing to the ground but well back of the vervets. Here's some pictures...
Other random cool critters...
Buffalo Spider (looks venomous to me) and huge 7inch centipede in Zanzibar.
Well, that is a critter update galore and we haven't even gone on safari yet. I'm excited to be here as you can see. On a quick personal note, I am learning my daily commute to CoL and it has been interesting and exciting to be out there in local culture as the only 'mizungu' (white person) within sight. The locals are curious and very friendly most often. Our Swahili is coming slowly and we've just began weekly lessons for the next 10 weeks. It'll be nice to make more than just the most basic communication with the Tanzanian locals. Gabby and I are both settling into a routing now and it is very nice to come 'home' to the same place every night for the first time in a couple of months. Till next time...
Brent (and Gabby)
Saturday, 1 September 2012
We're in love!
So, here we are in our living room in Usa River after a Saturday morning of shopping in the market for our groceries. The birds are chirping in the banana trees and farmer's fields outside of us. Outside our living room window Mount Meru towers above us. Brent is drinking a Guinness (his prize find in a small local grocery store today) while Gabby, who has found many fellow wine-lovers among her, is sipping a French aged Riesling that has somehow made its way to the table in front of her. We love this place!
After two long days of busing (read:loud, dusty, cramped leg, body-odour, hot, nauseous), we were relieved to arrive in the dark to St Jude's Moshono campus in Arusha. The Moshono campus is where the primary (grades 1-7) classes are held, as well as the administrative hub. We stayed the night in their guest accommodation, and the next day our orientation was held with a gentle, friendly woman named Carmel. She took us around the whole campus and introduced us to everyone. What can we say about St Jude? It is like an extremely well-oiled, efficient machine. Everywhere you look, there are people bustling about their work, and they seem extremely enthusiastic and passionate about their job- whether they are a teacher or cook or secretary. It could be very well be our first experience with an NGO that is just as impressive in person as they are on their website. Needless to say, we were blown away.
Then we caught an afternoon bus to the Smith (Secondary) Campus in Usa River, which is about 20 km away from Arusha. It is quite a contrast to the other campus. Out in the countryside, it is cool and quiet, with a less bustling atmosphere. Don't get us wrong... it is still very much a well-oiled machine, but we were very happy to settle in to the quiet comfort and "country life" of Usa River! The beauty of our surroundings and the friendliness of our coworkers here have made us feel immediately at home.
Our accommodations here consist of an apartment with a bedroom, attached bathroom, and beautiful little living room with a couch, desk, bookshelf and coffee table. As we are on the corner block, we have windows on 3 sides of our place, which make it sunny and lovely during the day! (Not to mention the view of Mt Meru, which is just icing on the cake!). The communal kitchen is a place of fellowship, where we all gather in the evenings to cook and eat together, share stories and laugh. Our coworkers are mostly Aussies, with one Brit and two Americans. Aside from the two Americans who are in their twenties, most are over 50. We find them to be perfect company to us (especially Gabby) as they appreciate cooking, Scrabble, wine, and going to bed at 8:30.
Yesterday we went to visit Cradle of Love. Again, we were blown away by this well-functioning, passionate organization. The owner, Davona, is a woman full of heart and faith, and has poured herself into this ministry. We found ourselves staying much longer than we wanted to, saying "okay, I'll just hug one more baby. Okay, just one more..." The babies are like this throng of dwarves that follow you around everywhere with their arms out for a hug. It's all one can do to keep from melting. We also met the two girls that Brent will be teaching in the mornings. They are sweet and chatty little Tanzanian girls, with American accents. We think it will be a good fit, as they immediately clung to us and shared all the details of their lives as we started cleaning out the classroom.
To sum it up... we are in love with this place! Give us some time and the honeymoon will be over. But we are happy as clams here!
Till next time,
Gabby and Brent
ps- stay tuned for Brent's snake story!
After two long days of busing (read:loud, dusty, cramped leg, body-odour, hot, nauseous), we were relieved to arrive in the dark to St Jude's Moshono campus in Arusha. The Moshono campus is where the primary (grades 1-7) classes are held, as well as the administrative hub. We stayed the night in their guest accommodation, and the next day our orientation was held with a gentle, friendly woman named Carmel. She took us around the whole campus and introduced us to everyone. What can we say about St Jude? It is like an extremely well-oiled, efficient machine. Everywhere you look, there are people bustling about their work, and they seem extremely enthusiastic and passionate about their job- whether they are a teacher or cook or secretary. It could be very well be our first experience with an NGO that is just as impressive in person as they are on their website. Needless to say, we were blown away.
Then we caught an afternoon bus to the Smith (Secondary) Campus in Usa River, which is about 20 km away from Arusha. It is quite a contrast to the other campus. Out in the countryside, it is cool and quiet, with a less bustling atmosphere. Don't get us wrong... it is still very much a well-oiled machine, but we were very happy to settle in to the quiet comfort and "country life" of Usa River! The beauty of our surroundings and the friendliness of our coworkers here have made us feel immediately at home.
Our accommodations here consist of an apartment with a bedroom, attached bathroom, and beautiful little living room with a couch, desk, bookshelf and coffee table. As we are on the corner block, we have windows on 3 sides of our place, which make it sunny and lovely during the day! (Not to mention the view of Mt Meru, which is just icing on the cake!). The communal kitchen is a place of fellowship, where we all gather in the evenings to cook and eat together, share stories and laugh. Our coworkers are mostly Aussies, with one Brit and two Americans. Aside from the two Americans who are in their twenties, most are over 50. We find them to be perfect company to us (especially Gabby) as they appreciate cooking, Scrabble, wine, and going to bed at 8:30.
Yesterday we went to visit Cradle of Love. Again, we were blown away by this well-functioning, passionate organization. The owner, Davona, is a woman full of heart and faith, and has poured herself into this ministry. We found ourselves staying much longer than we wanted to, saying "okay, I'll just hug one more baby. Okay, just one more..." The babies are like this throng of dwarves that follow you around everywhere with their arms out for a hug. It's all one can do to keep from melting. We also met the two girls that Brent will be teaching in the mornings. They are sweet and chatty little Tanzanian girls, with American accents. We think it will be a good fit, as they immediately clung to us and shared all the details of their lives as we started cleaning out the classroom.
To sum it up... we are in love with this place! Give us some time and the honeymoon will be over. But we are happy as clams here!
Till next time,
Gabby and Brent
Wednesday, 22 August 2012
It's a Hard Knock Life...
We have sung this song to ourselves many times in the last few weeks. While strolling the white-sand beach, swimming in the turquoise ocean, eating curries and reading in a hammock. After many months of work, paperwork, moving work, and endless transitions, it has been so wonderful for us to lie on the beach and recharge here on the island of Zanzibar.
Our flight through to TZ was smooth, with a long nap/Olympic watching stint in the London airport on the way. After a night at the Friendly Gecko hostel, we set off on a ferry from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar. Although it was Brent's first immersion into the crowded, noisy, cell-phone infested, body-odor-permeating world of African travel, God has a sense of humour. On the tiny television set above us, right after chanting the Ramadhan call to prayer, an episode of Top Gear (one of Brent's favourite British shows about car reviews) came on.
Some of the highlights of Zanzibar have been:
-a spice tour. We saw many spices (cloves, pepper, cardamom, vanilla) in their natural form and got to smell/taste them. Followed by a delicious lunch sitting in a circle on the floor of a little hut and an afternoon visiting the "Slave caves", where slaves were hidden after the slave trade was abolished and the slave masters still wanted to continue trading slaves.
- We took a trip out to Mnemba Atoll for some of the finest snorkelling we have ever seen. The water was the colour of Blue Kool Aid and visibility was easily 30 m. We saw snake eels, moray eels, scorpionfish, stonefish, and many cool reef fish. From the boat we were able to see many sightings of dolphins jumping out of the water as they swam and played. On the boat ride back, we came across a sad sight... a large green sea turtle had been caught in a fishing net and was floating dead, bloated after a slow death. It was sobering for all of us. After our trip, Gabby spent the afternoon pampered by the "beach ladies", getting a massage, then a henna tattoo, and picking out a new african dress for her birthday dinner. All in all a great day!
-A big highlight has been observing the Muslim festival of Eid-al-Fitr, the end of Ramadhan. It could be compared to Christmas for Canadians in its grand-ness. Everyone is sporting their brand new outfits, and there has been festive atmosphere in the air for the past 3 days. Last night in Stonetown we walked to the night marked by the port, where the plaza was packed to the hilt with families dressed in their very best, eating, celebrating, kids playing. We walked from stall to stall, getting little samples of food until we were stuffed. "Zanzibar stuffed pizza" is like a crepe filled with beef, tomatoes, onions, egg, then fried on both sides. Yum!! Also, samosas, beef kabobs, french fries, and for dessert the same Zanzibar pizza but stuffed with bananas and nutella, drizzled with chocolate. We rolled home happy.
We are looking forward to the next phase of our travels, in the Udzungwa National Park mountains. We will be camping in the rainforest and doing day hikes and hopefully some cycling for 4 days. Then in a week, we head up to Arusha to begin our new life. We are anxious to see our new surroundings and meet our new coworkers! And to put our nomadic lifestyle aside for a little while. (No disrespect to the nomadic Maasai people... we have met several of them and they are tremendously friendly!)
Our flight through to TZ was smooth, with a long nap/Olympic watching stint in the London airport on the way. After a night at the Friendly Gecko hostel, we set off on a ferry from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar. Although it was Brent's first immersion into the crowded, noisy, cell-phone infested, body-odor-permeating world of African travel, God has a sense of humour. On the tiny television set above us, right after chanting the Ramadhan call to prayer, an episode of Top Gear (one of Brent's favourite British shows about car reviews) came on.
Some of the highlights of Zanzibar have been:
-a spice tour. We saw many spices (cloves, pepper, cardamom, vanilla) in their natural form and got to smell/taste them. Followed by a delicious lunch sitting in a circle on the floor of a little hut and an afternoon visiting the "Slave caves", where slaves were hidden after the slave trade was abolished and the slave masters still wanted to continue trading slaves.
- We took a trip out to Mnemba Atoll for some of the finest snorkelling we have ever seen. The water was the colour of Blue Kool Aid and visibility was easily 30 m. We saw snake eels, moray eels, scorpionfish, stonefish, and many cool reef fish. From the boat we were able to see many sightings of dolphins jumping out of the water as they swam and played. On the boat ride back, we came across a sad sight... a large green sea turtle had been caught in a fishing net and was floating dead, bloated after a slow death. It was sobering for all of us. After our trip, Gabby spent the afternoon pampered by the "beach ladies", getting a massage, then a henna tattoo, and picking out a new african dress for her birthday dinner. All in all a great day!
Gabby's birthday! She's so relaxed, she can't even remember how old she turned.
Here we are on the beach... we got a little tanned but you can see we lost weight!
-One day we headed to the Jozani forest by local bus. Brent's second foray into the world of local transport.... he sat both ways on a plastic oil jug, in and aisle that is meant to fit a small gnome rather than a solid north american male. However, we have realized that the key to local transport is finding a female:male ratio higher than 2:1. The perfumes of the women will then overpower the body odor of the men. Jozani forest was a quick guided tour, but allowed us to get within touching distance (not that we touched) of the Red Colobus Monkey. They are super cute and fascinating to watch, especially the baby that was about 8 inches tall. 
-A big highlight has been observing the Muslim festival of Eid-al-Fitr, the end of Ramadhan. It could be compared to Christmas for Canadians in its grand-ness. Everyone is sporting their brand new outfits, and there has been festive atmosphere in the air for the past 3 days. Last night in Stonetown we walked to the night marked by the port, where the plaza was packed to the hilt with families dressed in their very best, eating, celebrating, kids playing. We walked from stall to stall, getting little samples of food until we were stuffed. "Zanzibar stuffed pizza" is like a crepe filled with beef, tomatoes, onions, egg, then fried on both sides. Yum!! Also, samosas, beef kabobs, french fries, and for dessert the same Zanzibar pizza but stuffed with bananas and nutella, drizzled with chocolate. We rolled home happy.
Saturday, 4 August 2012
Two more sleeps!
It's starting to become real, finally! Tonight we had a big family farewell "paella" at Gabby's parents' house. For those of you who don't know, that is a massive Spanish rice dish with lots of meat and veggies. We'll miss the paellas while we're gone, I don't think it is a common dish in East Africa. Pictures and updates will come throughout the year, though in sporadic, African fashion (so please bear with our response times).
Blog soon...
Brent.
Blog soon...
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