I think I found a solution to my chicken problem. If I start visiting my neighbours more often, and they keep serving me chicken, maybe we can eat them all eventually and I can have my rest in the mornings. What do you think, would that work?

I have to tell you a little bit about the field project at the college. First of all it has taken a year to find seeds or roots (those who are more familiar with gardening know what I mean) and start the project, but this is normal in Africa. Then you have to understand that there are no machines to help planting. Ali, my houseboy, is now in charge of the whole field project and he is taking it very seriously.

So he with some of his friends spent four days digging the ground and planting roots in the field. Now it has been two weeks and some grass can be seen. But there is also lot of weed in between and they need to be taken of every other day. So we visit the field every day to see how things are going. We can spend an hour or two just walking around the football field looking at each piece at a time.

Watering the field daily is also important. Fortunately it rains every day here at the moment so Ali doesn’t need to pump water from the lake daily. Can you believe that even I am happy these days when it rains? I didn’t think that day would ever come.

Collage students are supposed to help taking the weed out. There are no tools; therefore it is quite a project for them. But for two days now I have seen close to 200 students on the field ripping and tearing the weed out with their bare hands. I don’t think this could ever happen in Finland or any other western country for that matter.

So weekend went by fast. Ali and I went hiking on the nearby cliffs with a fellow teacher. You could see the whole peninsula from the top. Also you can see how big the Lake Victoria really is. It is a shame that it is polluted due the waste and toxics.

Ali and I have become friends now that he understands where we stand. He has also become to be my bodyguard. There are many irritating and annoying people especially men who can’t seem to leave me alone. Ali knows how I feel about them and he is really taking good care of me now.

On Saturday we visited town and shopped some food. I found some pasta and we cooked pasta with tomato sauce at night. You can’t imagine how good it tasted after a long while. I think we will start having pasta twice a week from now on. I only wish I could find some meat, chicken or fish without bones to add on the sauce. I am too lazy to do the work from the beginning.

I have come to realise that weekends are the time for town to prepare electricity and water problems here. So we had no water during the weekend. I think it is ok if you know it beforehand, but finding out after the run is not so nice. But hey, fortunately I know how to take a shower with a half a litre of water.

We have built ourselves a daily routine. In the mornings we eat lot of fruits. The fruit plate includes three of the following ingredients: pineapple, bananas, passion fruit, watermelon, mango and orange. Lunch is more or less on the go; take a banana or something. At night we eat dinner which we (or Ali) have planned. The menu varies between fish with rice, fish with potatoes and fish with pilau (local rice dish). Now we also have the pasta I told you about on the menu. Maybe we can add one new thing on it every week. I just have to figure out what they are.

So after breakfast I go to the College to do use the computer. In the afternoon I visit the classes or come back to the house. At four I go to the field to play with kids. I always bring my three balls with me but they never seem to be enough. Sometimes there are only thirty of us, sometimes we are close to hundred. The beginning is the best time to teach things so I use it wisely. Before everyone gets on the field we can manage to practise some tricks. But by the time there are more than fifty kids on the field we usually just play.

I stay at the field from four to seven or 7:30. Kids start to wonder homes when it starts to get dark. Some stay and want me to show more tricks to them. So we continue until it is so dark that we can’t see anything. When I get back to the house I am usually so exhausted that after taking a shower and having dinner I fall straight to bed.

Sometimes, if I have some energy left, we go for a walk to the market with Ali. It is funny how things are hectic even though it is very dark out. Everyone sits outside of their houses cooking or socialising or doing both. There are some houses with candle lights some with some other forms of light which are not used anywhere else in the world anymore.

The market is at its busiest at night. In the market women socialize while trying to make sales. I can’t buy anything because I wouldn’t see what I was buying. Women are lined up on the road sides with their cooking and trying to earn a living. Some have maize on the “grill” some have peanuts and some other maybe eatable things. Everyone seems to have fun. It is a local way for get-together.

So this week I try to find my way to Bukoba, on the Northwest side of Lake Victoria. My plan is to visit Katoke Teachers College on Wednesday near Bukoba. On Sunday I hope to find my way to Singida where I will meet Ari. Ari is coming from Finland to start negotiations with the Ministry of Education in Tanzania for the future project. I am very excited to see him. I can’t wait to speak Finnish but further more to share all what I have learned from my visits in Teachers Colleges. There is so much I want to tell him!

For those who have asked me about my address. I don’t have my own address but if you want to send me a postcard or something the best way is to send it to the Butimba Teachers College. So the address is: Butimba Teachers College, PE department, Marika Vilanen, P.O. Box 1411, Mwanza, Tanzania. Feel free to send me your regards!

Talking about organised sports first you have to define organised. First of all the number of children of all ages, of all sizes and of both gender who is attending is now close to hundred. We have one football field and one netball ground. We have four balls. So tell me how to organise that!

First I started to divide them into groups. Then I tried to introduce games without a ball. After fifteen minutes I felt desperate and decided to step back for a second. While I stood back they started to organise themselves and after a while everyone was playing something. My job was to stay out of their way.

It was great to see them play. Kids are the same where ever you go. The strongest ones take the lead and the weak stand back. Sometimes it hurts to see how harsh they treat each other. Still everyone seem to have fun, all though occasionally some bump into each other or fall down or hurt themselves some other way. As long as I am smart enough to stay back things seem to work out well.

I am still madam or Mzungu to all. I try to teach them my name but for some reason they keep calling me madam.

I am the centre of interest. When they need to catch their breath they come to me. Some are brave enough to talk and come closer. They all like to touch my skin and my hair. So every day when I go back home I am in the need of shower one for playing and other for being touched with so many pairs of hands.

I am still waiting to meet my roommate Adolf. He needed to stay with his family in the South a bit longer so we still haven’t met. So it will be Ali and me for at least another week.

Ali and I are communicating well. He teaches me Swahili and I try to understand his English. Our sentences are short and simple. As long as we keep the verbs in present term and there is not more than three or four words in one sentence we are fine. Ali adds the African ending (-e) to everything so our conversations sound very funny sometimes. You know like, (read likee), food (read foode), market (read markete).

The weather is interesting also. It rains every day but there is moment of sunshine in between. The rain keeps air fresh and there is less dust in the air, all though I have to say that it only take an hour to have dust back.

I wake up for the chicken and birds every morning at five. I keep turning around and get up sometimes as late as nine. The mattress is quite old so my back getting sore. I am not complaining though.

I have become to be the local celebrity. People come and talk to me all the time. They don’t understand why I run in the mornings and hard time understanding where do I find the time to play with kids.

People invite me to their homes frequently and I try to find excuses every now and then. I know I should go when invited but eating more chicken is just too much for me now.

Electricity comes and goes daily. We are depending on my computer on entertainment. Ali loves music but unfortunately in only familiar with Celine Dion and Stevie Wonder. So “I just called to say I love you” and “My heart will go on” keep on rolling.

Weekend is about to begin and Ali is planning on taking me swimming somewhere. I don’t have high expectations but you never know. Maybe the pool is big enough to swim.

So until next time...

26.3.2008 My feet are killing me. Two days of playing bare-foot soccer with kids on a half grass half sand field has left marks on me. But this is what I love to do. I love to play with them. I love to teach them different sports. Yesterday I was playing with only ten girls but today the word had spread and we had thirty kids of different ages on the field. I can’t wait to see how many there are tomorrow! I wish we had more balls (any sport, any size) though but this is also a challenge for me to make it work with what ever we have.

Teaching sports is my passion. There is nothing better than seeing a kid’s face after learning some trick. The expressions on their faces afterwards and the hunger for more are something to die for. And the talent – they are so good. They absorb everything. It is partly because of their age, but mostly it is due the fact that they play every day.

And they aren’t afraid of anything. Like today we were playing on the field which has lot of plantation with spikes on it. I tried to stay on the sand but you know how it is – ball bounces. So kids were running like nothing while I was taking these little suckers (spikes) off from my feet. Sometimes the ball was in a bush but kids just run after. I tried to run after ones and was left with bloody marks on my calves.

Playing football among girls isn’t very common here. Girls are more into netball. I on the other hand am not very familiar with netball. So today I taught football to girls and they taught me netball. Playing football was like they had played it all their lives. They weren’t afraid of heading the ball or kicking with bare foot. I was so impressed. I will be having lot of fun here teaching football.

Netball, well what can I say, is not my favourite sport. Maybe because I don’t know the rules, well hopefully it will get better. Anyway, the kids were having fun trying to teach me. They were shouting directions and I was trying to obey as much as I understood them. Most of the time they shouted “madam, position!” And I thought I had one already. They love to pass the ball to me so I was very much involved all the time. I just didn’t pass to my team mates I assume, or not in the correct way anyway. I felt like a kid without any idea what is going on around her.

So I feel quite home in Butimba. Everyone seems to know me already and greet me like old-time friend. I on the other hand can’t tell them apart but try to go along with what ever they are talking about.

Kids and youth are very eager to use their English. “Good morning” is something I hear through all day every day. I sometimes try to correct them but have realised it isn’t really worth it after all. They just want to greet the Mzungu.

Ali and I are getting to know each other. He tries to learn what I like and what I dislike. I have to be careful when complementing on food. Like the other day when I tried to be polite and paid a compliment on his cooking Pilau (local rice dish). Now he thinks I really love it and we are having it just a bit too often.

I still wake up for the chicken and birds. Fortunately they stop at eight so if I am very tired I climb back to bed after breakfast. After all there is no need to hurry anywhere.

So things are quite good at the moment. I will start teaching at the Collage after research is done. Until then I will keep myself busy following their sports classes and teaching kids at the primary school.

Boat trip to Saa Nane Island on Lake Victoria

24.3.2008 Time to get to know Mwanza. After doing some laundry Ali and I left to town. He showed me the best shopping places for fruits and other necessities. We walked to Tilapia Hotel which is the meeting place for all the Mzungus. It is good to know where to go if there is a need to get away for a while. Of course the prices are higher but they serve some Western dishes.

Then we took a boat to Saa Nane Island. It was a fifteen-minute ride at the cost of 50 cents. The island is ideal place for bird watching but since Ali or I are not very familiar with the bird life we can only say that we saw big birds and small birds. There are also few Impalas running free on the island. In one gage there is a black spotted hyena and in another male lion. They both look like they are suffering but still they were very interesting to see from close range, especially the lion which is quite an impressive animal.

We spent three hours on the island just walking around. It seems to be ideal place for young couples to get away from their overprotective parents. There was also lot of parents with their little kids spending the Eastern outdoors. It is funny to see how men dress up when they really try to look at their best for their female friends. Ali was no exception. He wears his pressed straight pants which are sowed on some places but are well taken care of. Then he has an ironed shirt and polished shoes. All men seem to take good care of their shoes. They need to shine. All though men are really trying to look nice I can’t help but laugh since they do remind me of the 80’s. Not that I remember a lot from that era but still the combination of the toe-pointing sole-shoes and baggy straight pants look a little bit funny. They look a bit like men who earn their living around “working girls”.

Buy the time we got back to town from the island it was already eight and dark. When it is dark at least in the city there are some buildings which have electricity. Well, tonight there was no electricity in town so the whole place was dark. Imagine living in a city which is totally dark. And when I mean dark I mean really dark. You can’t see a thing. Thanks to NOKIA we had a little bit light so we knew which way to go.

We took a daladala back home from town but after seven none of the daladalas drive to our house. We had to walk the last two kilometres in dark. I was tired from walking all day but there wasn’t much of a choice. The last two kilometres to our house are on a road which suffers a lot when it rains. It rains every day now so walking is actually quite dangerous in dark. Imagine walking in the dark at your garden or maybe better at your neighbour’s garden which you don’t know that well. Sometimes you step on something soft and sometimes something wet. You don’t really know what it is and you feel that it is better that way. Then every now and then you step on empty and on your next step you hit your toe on a stone. Well, this was the second night walk in the dark. Maybe third time is a charm and I remember to take my flash light with me.

Anyway, I have come to realise that Ali enjoys walking around with me like I was his girlfriend. At first I didn’t mind but now it has made me a bit uncomfortable. So today we had a good talk. I hate myself for lying but again it seemed to be the only way to get around this uncomfortable situation. So if someone asks, I have a boyfriend back home who is waiting for me to marry him.

23.3.2008 Waking up later seems to be the trend now. Maybe after a week I am back with my ten hour sleep routine. Well, it all depends on the cooperation with the chicken and that single bird which makes that weird clicking sound. I think we have a communication problem what comes to resting times.

Ali had left to look for his son. He was still missing, or so he thought. Since there are no phones (some own mobile phones but not all) there is no other way but walk around and ask people. Fortunately everything was ok. His son had decided to go to live with his aunt and hadn’t told anyone about his decision. So of course people were worried. Now things are good again. He is in his new home and promises to let everyone know about his moves. Kids - no matter where you are they seem to make their parents worry about them.

I was having a very slow morning. I knew I should go running but blisters on my feet didn’t bring any encouragement so I decided to spend time on the computer. Three hours on the computer just organising pictures started to get to me but I kept on continuing. While working, a young boy from next door dropped by. We keep front door wide open in the house so it is easy to see who comes and goes. He asked to enter and I invited him in. We talked for a while. I could see that he was very interested to use his English and just speak. After a while we seemed to run out of subjects and had a long silence. I kept on working with my computer and he just sat there. I think it is funny how people can just sit doing nothing and not feel even a bit comfortable. I on the other hand tried my best to come up with something to talk about. After a while he left and I stayed. An hour later he came back and said that they are having lunch and they would like me to join them. Well, I hadn’t taken a shower, I had my bed hair and wasn’t really up for meeting new people. But there was no choice but to go. It would’ve been rude not to go.

My visit to next door turned out to be fun. I spent three hours there talking about lot of things. The husband is the head master for the secondary school and the wife is a teacher in a primary school. They have six children but today the house was full of people. I don’t know who was who but they seemed to be one family. They were having pilau (local rice dish) and cooked chicken, and some vegetables. Just my luck! I took some rice and one chicken wing. I passed by the vegetables – doctor’s orders. I saw how they looked at my plate and politely offered more chicken. Well, I had to take another piece which I knew was going to get me in trouble. Just when I knew that I didn’t have to eat more cooked chicken for a while.

I survived the lunch and stayed. Today is Sunday and we all know what is the major event on Sundays – Bongo Star Search, TV show. It was also their favourite show. There are seven contestants left and one is from Butimba. So there is one boy from home on TV. Of course everyone is cheering for him. It was funny how excited they were about him and the whole show. They were wondering where do they get the price money 15 000 USD but still keep sending SMS to cheer for their home boy. I had some explaining to do.

We had lot to talk; we talked about my job here, sports in general and lot of cultural differences. TV was on the background and there was Tanzanian number one soap on – the Philippines one, made in the 80’s. They were shocked when I broke the bubble and told them that it is a bit outdated. They also wondered who pays for the actors and actresses to appear on these shows.

Then football came on. The husband on the house was educated enough to know that Spanish, Italian, German and English Football leagues are quite popular. He had hard time understanding how they pay the sums they say they are paying to these players, well who wouldn’t. He thought that tickets to the games are so expensive that they cover the salaries. I tried to explain the commercial side of the business which led to marketing issues. I explained that they also sell lot of team shirts and other accessories to make money. Then he realised why people in Tanzania wear shirts which have someone’s name on the back.

We continued to other areas on marketing. He agreed that there is a little problem in Tanzania about understanding the value of marketing. Kenyans are way ahead. They are advertising their country by saying “come and see the Serengeti National Park and the Mount Kilimanjaro”. They are not lying though; you can see them from Kenya, all though they stand in Tanzania. But Tanzanians don’t take advantage of this. They just sit back while Kenyan tourism is growing.

I learned a lot again from these people. We had really good talks, all though I think some of the subjects were a bit too hard for me to explain to them especially since I have hard time understanding them myself, e.g. subjects like Nike deal with Tiger Woods, and why do women want to be models (read look skinny and unhealthy).

I don’t know why I always talk myself into trouble but fortunately it happens less frequently nowadays. But still there are times when I realise that now I am talking about something that is way over their heads and there is no way around it. By this I’m not saying that I know so much more about something, instead I mean that some of these things what we do in the Western world are so everyday customs for us that we can’t see how ridiculous they actually are. For example what am I supposed to say when person asks “how do you buy chicken if you don’t buy it alive”? Try to explain that someone else has killed it and cleaned it and now it is inside a vacuum ready to be roasted on the pan. But how do you know that it is fresh? Well, because that is written on the sticker on the vacuum. You, try explaining that to someone! Not to mention the fact that I wouldn’t have a clue what to do with a live chicken.

When I got back home Ali was home. Today we had pilau (local rice dish) and meet. Then it was time to get ready for the Bongo Star Search. I am so hooked! What am I going to do when it stops? Next Friday is the final show and the winner will be announced. Until then I will be enjoying every moment of it.

On today’s episode we had some variations of Whitney Houston, Bob Marley, local rap stars, and of course some gospel. The judges and I had totally different opinions about their performances but that is ok. The local star Yohanna made it to the final. We will have a great party next Friday when the final is on.

So it is Eastern break here also. Muslims celebrated on Thursday the birth of Muhammad and Christians followed with Good Friday and two Eastern days. So everyone had a five day break from work. It is a custom to spend one day with your family and another you go out and party. Also people have gone to church almost every day. The government offices are closed but markets and stores (booths or what ever you call them) are open because people lie on them for income. They only close them for the short time when they go to church.

I have walked by many churches and enjoyed the variety of music in them. Most of them are outside events so I can enjoy watching them from a distance. My appearance is always noticed though and after a while I am usually invited closer. Well, there are plenty of churches here so I will continue checking the variety.

22.3.2008 Life here is just like living in our summer cottage; even the road that leads here reminds me of it, not to mention the peninsula where the college is located.

Today I decided to enjoy the surroundings. First I went for a run which turned out to be a real torture. I am in such a bad shape, too long from the last time. I have never run a marathon but now I know how it feels; even though you are physically beaten, you can go on because all the people along the road are cheering you on.

Afterwards we left to collage with Ali. We (the project) are planting new grass on the college football field and it isn’t going the way it is supposed to. I don’t know much about planting or any other green house projects in that matter, but I do know that one piece of grass 30 cm apart from another can’t be called a field, not even here in Africa.

After analysing the problems at the field we continued our stroke. We hiked on the rocks by the shore. I felt like a kid again. Climbing rocks to reach the farthest one to find that perfect spot, to lie down and enjoy the sun and the summer breeze from the lake. It is not too hot and yet it is warm.

We spent six hours hiking and enjoying the day. Afterwards we decided to celebrate the Easter by going out to town for pizza. Well, I guess you can call it a pizza if it is round-shaped and has something on it. I’m not complaining. It was nice for a change, all though not exactly the same what the pizzerias back home offer.

When we got back to Butimba it was dark again. We decided to walk from the main road junction which meant another 30-minute-walk in the dark. By the time we made it back to house I was ready to hit the sack. Ali woke me up later. His son was missing and he needed to go after him. He asked me to lock the doors while he was gone. I did what I was asked to do and went back to bed. Two hours later he came back without any success. I didn’t know what to say or do. He said he would go back to look for him in the morning. Now there was nothing else we could do. I went back to bed.

21.3.2008 Third morning in my new home. I woke up at 6:10 which seem to be the time for chicken and birds to start their morning rituals. There is no way to continue sleep through that noise. Hopefully I will get used to that soon.

After breakfast I decided to visit the town. I took a daladala and spent six hours just walking around and getting to know the place. Then I decided to walk back home which turned out to be an hour walk in hot sun but I enjoyed it. By walking there is more time to observe what is going on around you. By the time I was back at the house I was dehydrated and had blisters in my toes from my flip-flops.

Rest of the night we talked and talked about lot of things with Ali. I am starting to know my “houseboy” better. I have hard time to use the word houseboy still so I will just call him Ali.

Ali is 39 years old. He has a son who is ten years of age. Son lives with his aunt close by but Ali visits him every day. Ali’s former girlfriend had remarried so Ali decided to take care of their son. Now they live here in Mwanza and the mother lives in Dodoma, five hours away. She has three other children already and never visits Ali or their son anymore. Ali is planning on getting married after four years when his son is in the secondary school. Then he wants to have one more child and leave it there. He is a Muslim but says that it is better to have only one wife because these days everything is so expensive. He feels that people should only have the size of a family which they can take care of. So this is what family planning is in Tanzania.

He has worked as a cook in Butimba College and afterwards for some Japanese company. Now he has been taking care of the house and cooking for who ever have lived in the project house where I live at the moment.

He is quite tall and strong man which brings some security in the house even though there is no need to fear anything really. His English is almost as bad as my Swahili but we communicate quite well, all though I have to admit that we talk about same subjects many times over again, which is only a proof of our minor language barrier.

In the mornings we plan what I want for dinner. I don’t really no the choices, which makes it hard for both of us. After a time I am sure we will have better routine for it, but now I will let him surprise me with what ever. Mornings I also write a list of things to buy and give him money to get it for me. I could of course do the shopping myself but this is the best way to get everything cheaper by avoiding Mzungu prices and also not interfere with his cooking. The other day I asked if he could get me some soap which smells good. Later he brought me soap with some rose sent saying “because woman beautiful, must smell beautiful”. How cute was that!

Ali is very considerate but I still have hard time feeling comfortable having him around all the time. Now that there are just two of us in the house he lives in the other room.

I can here him fixing the breakfast in the morning and then waiting for me to wake up. When I get up and go to take a shower he puts everything ready so when I come out of the shower everything is waiting for me.

He also does my laundry which takes time for me to get used to. I have just learned to handle someone in some hotel washing my clothes, because I know that I won’t see them ever again. But living with a man who washes your underwear but isn’t your boyfriend will take time for me to be comfortable with. I also find it embarrassing to have all my clothes, including my underwear, drying on the rope which hangs in the hallway where we all walk all the time. So in other words my underwear is on everyone’s face all the time. Where is my hundred euros underwear when I need them? It might be too late now to worry but maybe I should’ve taken my best underwear with me to Africa.

So after a week Adolf will be here also. He will be living in the other room which means that I don’t know where Ali will be sleeping. I’m sure there will be other things which will need some time to get used to but I’m sure everything will work out well. For some reason I feel that the situation with my underwear will get even more uncomfortable, maybe I just need to find another way to dry them.

I have started to teach card games to Ali to bring some action to our normal night routine. Watching some Philippine soap on TV just isn’t entertaining for long. Only entertainment is the commercials in between which they use to educate people. Subjects vary from getting tested of HIV to suggestions to wash your hands after using the toilet.

Today we had a very interesting discussion about HIV testing. Ali said that he has been tested ten times. He thinks that it is very important to get tested often. Is it just me or doesn’t that raise other questions? Why would you need to get tested so often? Of course I had to ask that. Without a hesitation he replied that when you pay for sex you don’t always know if the other customers had HIV or not. Well, I agree!

Then he asked me if I had been tested, which lead to very interesting conversation about testing HIV in Tanzania. There are free clinics where you can go to be tested and they are meant for testing HIV only. So when you go there you and all the others know the reason for you to be there. Then doctor calls you in. Lot of questions is asked. When, where, how, with whom and with or without a protection are the most important questions why do you want to be tested? Then they take a blood sample and leave you out in the hallway to wait for an hour. An hour later you are called in again. Then they read you the verdict. If the test is negative they give you condoms and ask you back for another test after three months. If it is positive, you will be given other directions. So if you are dating someone the idea is to get tested together. The results are given to you both together to ensure that both no each other’s condition, no patience confidentiality there. Well, like they say here “the new HIV-free generation starts from you – so get tested!"

20.3.2008 Waking up in my new home is weird. First of all there are the birds, and let me say damn birds. I don’t know how much you have love birds before you can say that it is nice to wake up for the bird singing. Another thing in waking up in my new home is the fact that there is my “houseboy” out there just behind my door waiting to serve me breakfast. How weird is that!

I met mama at the collage at nine. We had decided to work all day to begin with our report from our work so far. To me it showed some signs that mama was about to finish her journey around the collages after visiting 28 of 33 collages. I was eager to see how she would put it on words.

Easter holiday had already started so mama had asked for some special arrangements for us to be able to use the ICT room for the day. She had also brought laptop from the ministry to be used in transferring all the data from my laptop to hers. She isn’t an expert with computers and neither am I but I know at least that you don’t need another computer to transfer the data. All you need is a cd or a flash. Well, she couldn’t get the computer work so we decided to continue using mine.

We had a really good work session. We compared our notes and I wrote reports. What ever I have said earlier about mama resting and me doing all the work on our visits to the collages, her input for the final report was great. She has so much knowledge on areas like politics, culture and local customs which are crucial for our report. I was also very surprised what she remembered from our visits without any notes, which is another funny story. You know that she has had three notebooks on our two-month tour so far. She doesn’t write a lot while we are working but there are some things like the contact information that she collects from everyone on them. But she is not very good with keeping the notebooks safe. First notebook was lost after one week. Second one she lost somewhere in Arusha. And now the third one was left in Tarime where we were two days ago. But like I said she has a good memory. She made some remarks which I have not noticed or don’t remember anymore. Anyway, I think we are a good duet what comes to writing reports.

So we worked ten hours with one twenty-minutes break. We were finished at eight when it was already dark outside. I left mama at the college guesthouse and started walking towards my home. It wasn’t an easy task to find my way home after only two days living here. And when it gets dark it means it is dark outside. There are no street lights anywhere. All you can see is dark shadows which can be holes, stones or some other cracks on the road. The usual ten-minute walk took a little bit longer but I made it home. It is not scary to walk home from the college but it is interesting when you don’t really know which door to knock on.

Ali had cooked again, fish was on the menu. I didn’t mind even though I had had fish already for lunch. Fish is good and fresh here and it isn’t expensive. My lunch, fish with rice had cost 1000 Tsc which is approximately 60 cents, at the canteen. So we ate dinner together and talked a lot.

Today was a good day in work wise. We finished the first draft and scheduled our remaining visits. I can’t believe how fast the time has gone. I have been here now two months and visited 28 teachers colleges out of 33. So there is only five more to go. Three of them are more or less reachable but last two will be challenging at least now when the rains have started. Anyway, mama is going back to Dar for Eastern and I will stay in Mwanza and wait for her return. In case of her not returning the plan is that I will finish the remaining five colleges by myself. We will know more after the Eastern.

19.3.2008 It rained all night and hearing rain drops hitting on the roof and wind blowing so hard it was impossible to sleep. I had asked hot water in a bucket for six in the morning since we were to leave at seven. But quarter to seven there was no sign of water so I decided to get dressed and pack up and leave. On my way to the car the lady was coming after me and bringing the water with apologies. It was an awkward moment. What was I suppose to do? Get naked and take a shower there. I thanked the lady and said that it was ok. I decided to go with a white lie and said that cold water was just what I needed this morning.

We arrived to the collage at 7:30 which was the time when all the students were marching around the school yard and singing. It is a ritual they do every morning. The students become teachers for primary and secondary schools where it is a custom to march and sing their school alma mater. So while studying to become a teacher they have to practice it through their studies. I think it was amazing. They seemed to have fun doing it and it seemed to build up school spirit also, though I have hard time picturing students in Finland doing the same.

After the visit to the collage we headed to the ferry again. This was a bigger boat and we had third-class tickets ready. It was again a battle to get into the boat. Seats were first come first serve basis. Mama and I were left with the seats by the toilets. Mama decided to upgrade the tickets and so we moved up to the first class with ten other fellow passengers. The difference was 60 cents but we got to sit in a cabin with tables in between the seats. I thought it was worth the cost.

Three hours travelling comfortably on the beautiful Lake Victoria was a nice experience. The ferry was full but we didn’t feel it while sitting in the first class. The funniest thing was again see how the locals travel with their carrions. One had a chicken in one hand and fish in another, baby on the back and luggage on the head. Another had a basket full of oranges on her head, baby on the back and a mattress on her hands.

When we got to the shore I heard everyone talking about something very passionately. I asked around and was told that someone had fell down to the water the day before on his way to his mother’s funeral. He was rushing out of the boat when he fell. He didn’t know how to swim so he had drowned. I asked why anyone didn’t try to rescue him. I was told that since nobody knows how to swim there is no point of jumping after anyone. I thought it was awful. Imagine looking at someone’s struggle in the water and not doing anything. I don’t know if I would have been able to rescue him but at least I would have tried. Anyway, they had found the body after 24 hours.

We were picked up from the harbour and driven to the collage. Mama wanted to rest and I felt like going to my house to take a shower. Ali was waiting for me with a plate full of fresh fruits. What a nice welcome back. Later we had sweet potatoes and fish for dinner. His cooking has been great so far.

18.3.2008 After the usual bucket and a scoop shower and white bread with some Blue Band and tea for breakfast we were on our way to the school again. The visit was very interesting. We saw maybe the most crowded dormitory on my tour so far. The room had 120 students sleeping on triple decked beds. You must really get along with your neighbor to like it there. Then we saw the ICT room with 40 new computers but only four attached to the server due the lack of electricity. And finally we learned how the nearby goldmine finances lot things for the college in return for educating their primary school aged kids.

After the visit in the Northern border of Tanzania it was time to visit Murutunguru Teachers College on the Ukerewe Island in Lake Victoria. The drive to the shore took three hours and we had to speed up to make it to the two o’clock ferry. We were there just fifteen minutes early. The ferry was a bit late like always and at four we were moving. The wait was interesting though. I got to enjoy the local fish village life where time has no meaning and all that matters is today. I enjoyed every moment of it while mama hated it and didn’t try to hide it.

When the ferry came everybody started to line up for the tickets. By lining up I mean gathered around the ticket holder without any order. First I thought of waiting but then I started to worry that I wouldn’t get a ticket. So I decided to take my position also. For the first time in long while I was happy to be an Mzungu. I think I was one of the first people to get tickets (two, one for mama and me) and it wasn’t even close to being my turn. For some reason they were eager to serve me before others. Maybe they had had some previous incidents which they didn’t want to face again with another Mzungu. Anyway, mama was happy to be accompanied with me after a long time. Usually she complains how everything is so much more expensive for her just because she is walking around with me. People seem to think that she will get the money from me.

When we had the tickets we entered the ferry. Now I realized why everyone was hurrying to get in. There were only few seats on the side. Others would have to stand or lay on the floor between cars. We got our seats while 90 percent of the passengers traveled more uncomfortably. It was heart-breaking to see mothers of all ages struggling with their babies and carrions. I wanted to give my seat to them but knew that I wouldn’t survive the trip like they would on the floor, and also there were too many of them to ease the situation.

The day was hot so the breeze from the wind was welcomed. Everything seemed great. At the halfway I heard a distance drawling sound and then a big splash. I knew something was wrong. Next thing I noticed we were turning around. We were all interested to know what had happened. Everyone thought that someone had fallen into the water. But not someone – something, it was the front bumper. We had lost the “front door” and now we were going backwards so that the water wouldn’t come in. The first thing that came into mind was the thought of swimming to the shore. Then I remembered that I was told that the water is very dirty and it is even dangerous to swim there due to some bacteria. We started to weigh our options. Then the person next to me told me that swimming is out of question since there are lots of crocodiles in the lake. So much for that idea. I decided to stay on board and to hope that we would make it to the island.

An hour later we were happily on the other side. We were picked up by the college principal and taken to the hotel in Nansio, the centre town of the island. Mama decided to go and rest and I decided to go and walk around the village. I walked around the harbor and fishing markets, then towards the inland and finally back to the hotel. There isn’t much to see in the island but seeing locals do their everyday routines was just as much fun as I could ask for.

When I finally got back to the hotel I decided to take a shower and read a little. Well, there was only a bucket with some dirty and smelly water in the bathroom so I decided to skip it but instead go straight to bed and read. When I finally got everything settled and was lying in the bed reading, all of a sudden the power went off. So much for reading – I closed my eyes and…zzz