ISP has been pretty darn good. The bus trip up here
was pretty uneventful except for the fact that me and Maggie were handed a baby
during one of the little rest stops when the mom had to go to the bathroom or
something like that. Maggie who was on the outside looked up at the mom smiled
and then the mom smiled back and just handed Maggie her baby and left for about
10 minutes. The handing off of babies isn’t anything new to the bus system but
it was awesome that she trusted some Mzungu rather than another mama with her
baby. Usually when mammas get on and they don’t have a seat they hand their
babies off to other random women who will hold them for sometimes hours. Once
off the bus we all piled into a pickup truck with all of our stuff. There were
three people crammed into the front and then 7 of us in the back with all of
our crap. We cracked open some beers and enjoyed the ride and when it started
to pour we just embraced it and had a blast.
In working with
the farmers I have gotten some really good interviews and soil samples. It’s a
pretty bad situation for these farmers because they don’t have much land,
fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and seeds are extremely expensive,
especially in the last 3 years, and there are lots of problems with erosion and
prices at the market are never what they would like them to be. A
lonnngg time ago they used to practice this type of farming called shifting
cultivation in which they would clear part of the forest farm on it for a
season then switch to another plot so the forest could regenerate. In this way
there was enough nutrients and a lack of erosion so they didn’t run into any of
these problems. Then around the late 19th century the Germans came
and started to fuck everything up. They introduced tea and coffee but on
plantations and as the population got bigger and they were faced with famine
they started gathering in bigger settlements with permanent farms close and far
away. They then started farming there but had to start using nutrient
supplements in the form of cow poop (they still use that now because they can’t
afford fertilizers). Another factor to is when farm owners pass their farms
down to their kids they split the land evenly between the sons so generation
after generation the land they have gets smaller and smaller so they have to
farm ever season and as intensely as possible to get enough harvest. Its pretty
much a vicious cycle of not having enough money to keep their crop voluptuous
and healthy so then they can’t sell it for as much then they don’t has as much
money to put back into their crop.
Other than ISP stuff Mazumbia is like a vacation. Even
everyday after work we lie out on the “beach” (the porch and lawn) and read
books, do stuff with our data, play Frisbee and can even go on runs and then
after dinner we always watch movies ( I have yet to stay awake through one).
This weekend we walked to Mgwashi for market day and even though it was sunny
when we left it started about 30 minutes in it started DOWNPOURING for the rest
of the 1.5 hours. Just walking in the rain and being totally fine with it was
so much fun and as we passed all the women heading to the market they were all
smiling and laughing at us and with us. The market was filled with people from
all the surrounding villages selling their crops for dirt cheap. I got 4 small
bananas for 100 shillings whereas in arusha I would pay about 1000 for 8. On
Sunday I went to the “dinosaur” which is this huge tree with huge buttresses
with a few friends. After climbing around on the buttresses we found a vine
that was kind of like a swing and played on it for hours. This little area of
forest was our playground and I felt like a little kid exploring a new jungle
gym (literally and figuratively). Every night this weekend we have played poker
and I have a new found talent. I have never been a good liar but deal me out a
hand in texas holdem and I can lie my way to victory.
Its really crazy to think that in less than three weeks I will be home. So much has happened this semester and I haven’t really had time to reflect on any of it. This whole semester had been a whirlwind of new experiences and new friends and in only a few weeks time it will all be over and I will have to say goodbye to so many cool Tanzanians, Baba jack and a lot of really good friends I’ve made here. Its so bittersweet to be at the end because although in lots of ways im ready to be home in other ways I don’t ever want to leave here. The foods getting old, a few people im really annoyed with and if anybody calls me Mzungu again (except for the kids in Mazumbai, Sagara, and Mgwashi) I might punch somebody. (on a side note in Arusha every time somebody calls me Mzungu ) it takes everything I have not to flip them off. I’ve resorted to death stares, for those of you who know it its also known as the “dragon face”.) But things like how are classes are structured, the new cultures and experiences we constantly have, the majority of people and all of the wildlife, geology and ecology that is around here I will miss like crazy.
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