I am on my way home. I hope I didn't forget anything!

Chenye mwanzo hakikosi kuwa na mwisho!
Everything which has a starting point has a finishing point!

It is time to go home. Tomorrow night I will catch my flight to Finland. I hope to arrive in Helsinki at 5 PM just before the New Year party start. I haven’t been invited to any yet so let’s see how many invitations are waiting for me at home.

Anyway, time to say goodbye or rather like I prefer – see you later! I have packed my bags and now I am on my way home. Until next time…

Kwaherini!

Who said you need a fork or a knife

There is a limit for Tanzanian specialty, Ugali na dagaa

When I came to Africa there were some customs which were not so familiar to me. Taking a bath with a bucket and a scoop or hole as a toilet took some time to get used to. It didn’t take long though. At time I only wished that there had been someone to share to experience with.

During this year I have spent lot of time with locals. Da, like there was really any choice. I have had some great times when they have taught me some local habits and times when I have taught them European or Western habits. We have talked openly how they experienced different things. Things which we take for granted.

Toilet. In Western world we prefer “sitting toilets”. I don’t know if it is because we are so lazy, or we can’t aim or we just like to enjoy the moment of privacy and if possible do it sitting. Here toilets are almost always holes. There is very rarely running water so by the hole there is a bucket and a scoop. After doing your business you throw some water on the top to “flush” and wash your hands with the same water. It is also very common that outside the toilet there are slippers to be used when entering inside. I guess this is meant to serve as a guarantee for hygiene.

My friends told me about their way to get familiar with Western habits. Imagine the first time to enter a room which is as nice as a kitchen, full of different beauty products, no slippers outside, and a chair to sit on. After doing your business you push or pull a button and everything disappears. When you wash your hands you can get cold water and hot water by turning two different tabs at the same time. You can even control the hotness. Imagine the case when taking a shower. No wonder they take long time in a “western” shower.

Eating. In most cases you eat everything with your bare hands. Sometimes but not always a spoon is provided. Knife is meant to cut the meat when preparing but it is never used while eating. Before starting to eat, waiter, house girl, or the woman of the house comes with some water to let you wash your hands. After that you are not supposed to touch anyone or anything before eating. If you meat new people, you greet them with your elbow.

When my friends told about their experiences I was enjoying a lot. They said it was very hard to get used with the fork and a knife at the same time. Spaghetti was a nightmare. After carefully following the others they said they got the hang of it. Still they took lot more time when eating.

Hand washing ritual is something they miss. They feel that you are not clean other wise. We might disagree since the water is not always boiled and comes from where ever sometimes.

Tissues or napkins were also a new custom for them. In Tanzania you wash your hands and mouth after eating. You don’t wipe anything anywhere in between. So imagine their wonder when they had to lay a napkin on their laps or saw others wiping their mouths so often. First they felt that “we” didn’t know how to eat, since we missed the mouth so often.

Portions of food. We all have eaten in a buffet. It takes time to learn that you don’t have to try everything. Still we over-eat and end up having stomach aches afterwards.

In Tanzania women are responsible of cooking. Man of the house is the first to eat, always. Then comes the guests and if food is left wife and children get the rest. If there are surprise guests or father was hungrier than usual it is not uncommon that there is no food left for children. Since eating is not a family custom that happens on a table together, Tanzanians don’t share family closeness like we do. In most cases everyone eats alone in their own corner, outside on the rock somewhere where there is shadow.

When I organised parties or took my friends out to eat in a buffet it was always a scene. Everyone takes as much food as fits on the plate. Filling a plate full is actually an arts form. You would be amazed how much food can one plate hold. We are also taught that if you take it on yourself on your plate, you finish it. Here you finish it if you can. Nobody is used to taking seconds, not to mention thirds like I am.

When choosing a place to eat, the most important factor is the size of portions. The more food you get with less money the better. So you can imagine how amazed my friends were when I took them restaurants which had normal portions but cost was ten times more than they were used to. Afterwards they always wondered how come they were satisfied while the portions were so little. We talked a lot about the nutrition or should I say lack of nutrition in their regular meals.

The custom of sharing a dinner with your family was also new for my friends. When we ate in Mwanza, or here in Dar es Salaam, we always sat together on a table and waited everyone to join us. If we went to restaurants we sat on the same table of course. My friends kept saying that it showed how much love one family has. They were really sad but anxious to adapt that culture into their families.

Greeting. In Tanzania greeting people plays a big role. There are different sayings for different age groups or different status. It is considered very rude to pass without greeting. Most greetings are verbal accompanied with a special handshake that you learn very fast. When you know each other from before, you hug two sides.

Dar es Salaam is already very Western so many western habits have been adapted already. Locals are used to “Westerns” passing by without saying anything so imagine the smile they give when you greet them like you are supposed to.

I took my friend to Swedish Ambassadors residence on the Lucia Day. Ambassador and his wife greeted us like Swedes do. Men handshake while women kiss on the both cheeks. Imagine my friends face when she had to kiss another lady. I was bursting inside. It was funny.

In case of an emergency. We all have had those moments when we need to go and there is no toilet anywhere near by. In urban areas it is not as easy as in rural. Well, not for girls anyway, or so I thought. I can’t tell you how many times we have stopped somewhere to pee when I have been with my friends. I am fortunate to be able to hold, but my friends seem to lack that skill. When they need to go, they need to go. So I can’t tell you how many times “we” have been doing it behind the car, in front of a gate, at the beach, by the shop or anywhere. And we are not talking about being drunk. This happens in the daylight everyday. Again I wonder do I happen to have extra strong modesty barrier. In any case the others seem to lack it. As long as your face doesn’t show when doing it.

European kids verses African kids. We loose by ten. Where ever you go you can recognise an African kid from Western kid. Children are a good mirror of a culture. Among Western kids there are of course some differences, some can behave, some are more “free spirited”. African kids are all the same. I am astonished. I have seen kids of all ages sitting on their mothers’ laps in weirdest places for long periods of time without saying a word. I have seen them pushed, kicked, treated badly, and used as a child labour, and again without saying a word. They are brought up that way. If someone even a little bit older than you asks you for a favour, you do it without a hesitation. In Finland, you wouldn’t see it happen, at least without few F-words or bad facial expressions.

Also the kids in restaurants, in most cases they can’t behave themselves. Same goes with public transportation. Here nothing. Kids can be passed in the bus from one lap to another and still they don’t say a word. Well, not until they are sitting on a white person’s lap. Then they start screaming. But other than that, they sit for hours without showing any sign of misbehaving. If I ever get any children, they will be brought up like Africans – that is for sure!

Jambiani - what more can you ask for Christmas!

27.12.2008 I spent the Christmas in Zanzibar, Tanzanian island which wants to have its own independency apart from the mainland. I thought it would be a perfect place to spend my last days in Africa before returning home. It was a right choice.

I took one of my friends along. She has never visited the island and probably wouldn’t ever if I hadn’t given her that opportunity. Again a right choice. We had a blast.

We took a ferry from Dar to Zanzibar. There are five different choices so it is just the matter of your own choice when do you want to travel.

Having a working permit in Tanzania gives you minor advantages. One of them is to get to travel with a local fare which is half the price of the tourist price. We searched for the cheapest tickets and got on board at noon. The price of a return ticket was 25 euros. Later we found out that there were even cheaper tickets but they don’t want to sell them for whites. We are supposed to have more money so we should pay more for the tickets. I hate that but I guess it is fare.

The ride across was pleasant. The Ocean was calm and we arrived almost in time. We contacted one Swedish lady who had asked us to let her know when we come so that she could meet us. She works for some project which is sponsored by Swedish government. They have a flat in the middle of the Stone town and it was free during the holidays so she offered it for us for free of charged. We couldn’t turn this offer down.

The flat was right in the middle of the Stone town, the “capital” of Zanzibar, or the only town in Zanzibar. It was on the fourth floor. It had its own balcony looking across the whole town. We couldn’t have asked for a better place to stay. Thanks again Swedes!

We stayed in the Stone town for one day. We wandered along the narrow roads of the old town which used to be the center for slave trade. You can almost relive the history while walking along the roads. Only disturbance is the dangerously fast driving bicycles and motorbikes which seem to own the narrow streets of the old town. There must be lot of accidents each day. Fortunately we didn’t see any.

Zanzibar is 100 % Muslim. People who have visited the place earlier say that it is nowadays even more Muslim that it was before. People were gowns and hide themselves more than before. But wonder enough, they have the latest fashion underneath. If you get to see a glimpse of the clothing underneath, you would be amazed too and wonder why they hide it. Not that there is anything wrong with the black gowns they were, especially since they are very beautiful with amazing decorations all over them. Ant they aren’t cheap. One decorative gown costs almost 100 euros. To me they all look the same anyway.

The second morning we enjoyed a breakfast with the Swedish lady. Then headed for the Dala station to catch a Dala to the other side of the island, Jambiani beach. I had been offered to stay in one of British volunteers home while she was home over the holidays. I had been there before with my mother two months ago.

So I knew how to get there. Two ours on one-of-a-kind Dala which is suppose to hold 22 people at the most. We were 48 while people were hanging outside with barely one foot inside. Not to mention all the weirdest things on top of the Dala such as bicycles, fruit and vegetable baskets, beds, pieces of iron and wood, and chickens and turkeys since it was Christmas time.

We arrived in Jambiani around three. We found our house and got settled. Then it was time to get the taste of Indian Ocean, and by saying get the taste I really mean the taste. My friend is still learning to swim so she likes to swallow quite a lot of water while she swims. It was a great place to learn to close the mouth. She learned it fast after vomiting few times.

We stayed in Jambiani for three days. On Christmas Eve we joined the locals for a beach barbeque, ate some hamburgers and got upsets stomachs. It didn’t slow us down. It was memorable night at the beach. On Christmas Day we snorkelled and sailed along the coast with a local fisherman, Captain James. And on Boxing Day we just relaxed and enjoyed the time with no worries over other parts of the world. We knew all good things come to an end eventually anyway.

We started our trip home at eight which turned out to be a right decision. The Dala we took was already full but had two seats by the driver. We took them. The Dala kept picking more and more people along even though it had already exceeded all possible limits. Before we knew it we were stopped by the street police. It was not the last stop by the Police.

The Police seem to be in power. There need not to be any reason for stopping buses. The cars can be in perfect shape or they can be barely holding along, but if there is a need for a pocket money, you will be pulled over. So we were pulled over five times.

The Police is well-trained to keep a straight face. You really don’t want to mess up with them. So if I was ever alone and pulled over, I don’t think I could manage.

The first time we were pulled over was only five minutes after leaving Jambiani. The Police had a good reason to stop us. We had almost 60 people on (in, on and half out) the Dala. He was also complaining that we had two conductors and we were only supposed to have one. The policeman took a plain notebook out and started to write something, looking very serious, walking around the car. Meanwhile the conductor and the driver talked. They had gather a sum and asked the policeman to step to the side with them. When handing him the money, policeman started to shout that he would go to jail for taking the bribe. After five minutes he came to wish us a good journey. The sum had been raised high enough for him to let us proceed.

Next stop was a road block. The Dala slowed down fifty metres before the police. Twenty men stepped outside and walked through the block while we stopped and were interviewed by the police. The policeman knew exactly that those 20 people were travelling with us but now just walking pass the block only to jump on after we had started moving. Policeman wanted his share again but couldn’t say anything about the passengers since they were not in the car at the road block. So he started complaining about the fire extinguisher. It wasn’t at the right place. The driver gave him 1000 TSH equal to 70 cents, and we were free to go. Ten meters after we took those 20 passengers back on board.

We reached the Stone town after three more stops two hours before our ferry departure. We decided to walk along the narrow roads, got lost and ate delicious pasta before going on the boat. We reached Dar just before dark safely after feeling bad in the boat for two hours. This time the Ocean was rougher than ever.

It was a great trip. We both enjoyed a lot. I was glad that I took my friend along. Here it always means that you are responsible for all costs. To me it only meant that I needed to choose less expensive places to stay and eat but I would have someone to share all nice experiences. Also it gave me an opportunity to offer one Tanzanian an experience in her own country which she would probably not experience without me. It is not that I want to feel good by helping. It is more like I hate that the beauty of this country is only offered to those who have the money and usually they are not even Tanzanians. Tanzanians should have an opportunity to enjoy their country. After all it is their country!

14.12.2008 Steps towards civilization have been taken. Living in Dar es Salaam is the best way to get used to going home. There are some disadvantages but I think I can survive.

Since I came to Dar I have been hanging out with my friend. Her brothers live here in Dar but she has only been in Dar ones. Now I have been hanging out with her for three days and we have had a blast.

We are living two totally different lives. It is like I am introducing another world to her. First day I took her to a Supermarket with two floors. We rode the escalator for half an hour. I think we entertained others as well as ourselves.

Saturday was the Lucia day. Living with Ulla-Maj who is Finnish-Swede has another advantage; we were invited to Swedish ambassador’s residence to celebrate the Lucia. You know it is that Swedish custom where one blond girl wearing a crown of candles, Lucia brings the light to the world in its darkest time. Well, it isn’t so dark here in Africa but we got the point.

It was a cocktail party at the Ambassadors house. Most people were Scandinavian but there were also some locals and people from diplomatic community. We took my friend along. She was so stunned when she was introduced to the Swedish Ambassador, and later again when she hugged the Ambassador’s wife. I, on the other hand, didn’t feel a thing. You remember that we are like old best friends. We shared a special moment with his wife earlier at the hospital, when we both had hard time giving a stool sample when suffering amoeba. Funny how different things bring people closer to each other. Anyway, we didn’t tell everybody how we knew each other.

The food at the party was mainly snacks; well it was a cocktail party after all. I didn’t mind. Our waiter realised quickly that we enjoyed the food and he kept on coming to us. I ate seven traditional Scandinavian pastries (pulla). I miss mom’s pulla.

Later that night we continued to another party. Finnish community celebrated post Christmas (pikkujoulu) at Onnela where we live. We had a buffet dinner with free drinks. That was already nice but the best part was the live band. The band consisted of five local members, one Finn and two local dancers (mamas with big figures). They played some Finnish songs, some local hits and then amazing mixtures of Finnish children’s songs changed into Swahili language with a different storyline. I enjoyed especially Peppi which was translated into a song about guy looking for a meaning of life.

The party lasted until morning. We danced a lot but got tired at midnight. We decided to go home to sleep which didn’t make a big difference. Music was played so loud that it was like we were still at the pool with other guests. We didn’t sleep that night at all.

Since I arrived to Dar my life has changed. The down side is the money spending. I used to live with one Euro per day in Mwanza. Here in Dar you can’t do anything with less than 10 euros a day. My volunteer year is coming to an end, so my budget can’t afford it. I have to stop eating I guess.

Another thing is the social life. We have been in three different parties, visited friends, and gone out to eat. Things which I didn’t think that I missed that much. Now that they are back it would be hard to go back to bush again.

TV is also on 24 hours a day now. I never watched TV in the bush, partly because I didn’t want to concentrate on Swahili language and partly because there wasn’t anything I was interested in. But here, with the satellite, I have been catching up the news of the world by clicking between BBC, NBC and Al Jazeera, but also I have been watching some movies. It amazes me how quickly you get back to all bad habits you lived without for a year.

Anyway, I am happy to be in Dar. I am enjoying my last days in the sun, doing my final shopping of African handcraft which I don’t need, and eating lots of ice-cream to get back to my figure. The last one isn’t that hard after all – well to be honest, none of it is.

11.12.2008 We started the trip at six in the morning. We had a Land Rover with two rows of seats for five people and back which can take either luggage or two more people. Well we were seven people with two suitcases and two big bags. Since I was the outsider I said that I could take the back. That was a big mistake.

The road from Mwanza is almost 1500 km long. Half of it is tarmac. It takes more than a day to reach to Dar. We decided that we were not in a hurry, so we planned to spend two nights on the way. After the first day of eating the dust and suffering from bottom aches we decided to make it in two days.

The weather is humid and we had no air-conditioning. The windows in the back don’t open. Tanzanians will rather take the heat than the dust so they liked to keep the windows closed. I on the other hand got the dust and the heat. So after three hours of driving there was no clean spot on me and my body was totally sweaty. Combine the dust and sweat and you know how I looked like.

If you can put aside the little things like the dust and the sweat, you can say that the trip was amazing. Driving across the beautiful country of Tanzania is amazing. Three major tribes on the way have their own style of houses (mud huts). On the way there is also a big Maasai habitant, and they are always interesting to see in their daily activities.

We stopped only when it was necessary. I didn’t find it necessary since there were no big bushes and I knew that my white bud would be the one to shine miles away.

We didn’t stop to eat. We had bought some snacks so they kept us going all day. When we finally reached the half way, the capital of Tanzania, Dodoma, we decided to stop for over night. We chose a cheap and simple hotel. There was no reason to spend any extra money for only one night sleep.

Next morning we left after washing the car. It was the only way to continue the trip. We couldn’t see through the windows other wise. We also fixed the wipers with my sports tape. My sports tape is the answer for everything. I always carry it with me. It fixes cars, mosquito nets, shoes, bags and sometimes even body parts which need heeling. Anyway, we were back on the road at eight.

When we reached closer to Dar es Salaam we started window shopping. I love the way shopping is done in this country. You never have to leave your car. When the car stops, people gather around you selling everything from fruits to clothes. Before we knew it we had bought two buckets of mangoes, a bunch of bananas, six pineapples, corn, tomatoes and other vegetables. The space I had in the back was less than a half now.

We reached Dar es Salaam at six when the traffic is its worst. It took us two hours to get to Masaki where we were living. When we finally got there Ulla-Maj and Tor were waiting for us. It felt like coming home. I was so happy, not just because my butt was tired, but also because the journey home had started.

Tomorrow I leave Mwanza. I am driving with some friends across the country. It will be nice farewell trip across the beautiful country of Tanzania. It will take two to three days depending on how tired we get of the potholes and swallowing dust. We are not in a hurry.

It will be hard to say goodbye to this place. I will miss lot of things. Today I went for my last morning jog around the villages. The scenery keeps amazing me. Also running through the village roads or should I say paths is always a treat. The greetings I get on the way are outnumbered. I don’t know how to tell them that this is the last time to greet each other.

I decided to make a little bit longer route this time. I wanted to enjoy for the last time people’s morning rituals; people doing laundry in a bucket outside, or having a morning bath with only a little cup of water, cooking on a chalko (most common local cooking pot) on the porch or under a tree, people collecting firewood and carrying it on the top of their heads, fisherman coming from the lake with their morning catch, and children sweeping their “yard” in front of their homes. This is the real Tanzania.

Since I will be travelling with my friend, we have had lot of little things to take care of before starting the trip. We both needed to get our hairs done. This time mine was easy. I went to my regular place and got a very short cut. I have begun to like it. My friend, on the other hand, needed to get her hair braded. That is another story. I see women braiding each other’s hair all over usually. When finding one, they are nowhere. After finding one we waited for three hours to get our turn. It was worth it. I got to sit outside and watch people pass us by, women putting up their stands (cooker and a pot), men going to the mosque, and children fetching water from the nearest ditch. Everyone seems to live in peace and not worry about a thing.

Last Saturday I had my farewell party. I had invited my closest friends, must people from the college, and some neighbours. Fortunately only my friends came. We had made food for thirty people but we were 25. This time I though there was no way we could run out of food. Think again. When you invite basketball players over, there is always four quarters in eating. They finished everything we had prepared. We had 5 kg of meat, 5 kg of beans, 5 kg of rice and some other Tanzanian dishes. I can’t believe it was all gone.

Having people over is always been fun. When ever I invite someone over, the number doubles. Everyone wants to see how the Mzungu lives. I am happy to have people over but it is hard to prepare anything since you never know what the final number is. It is also funny to see how the different customs meat in normal situations. For example eating with your hands, washing hands ritual before eating, prayers and asking to visit the bathroom. When I am visiting others it is only me who has to remember their customs. But when they are visiting our house which has some western standards and customs, I always wonder how they are feeling. For example our toilet is normal western sitting toilet inside the house. You don’t have to do any arrangements when entering the room. In Tanzania it is a custom to give slippers to a person who visits the toilet. It is understandable since the toilets are outside with only a hole. So my guest are wondering around the house on my slippers and asking which building the toilet is.

Another thing is the hand washing ritual. I think we all agree that it is smart to wash your hands before starting eating. We are capable of doing it anywhere, in kitchen or in the bathroom, what ever is the most convenient. Well, here the host is supposed to go around with a bucket and a scoop among all guests so that they can wash their hands. We never do that in our house. So when the food was ready and people were invited to start, everyone just waited for me to start the hand washing ritual. I noticed that soon, and said that in Europe you are supposed to go toilet to wash your hands and now we are living partly in Europe. Everyone laughed and went to wash their hands reluctantly to the toilet.

Although it will be sad to leave this place and these people, I am partly happy. Since I have given out most of my clothes, all of my shoes, and some other stuff to my friends and neighbours, people have started to show another side of them – greediness. I hate that. When giving my best shoes or shirt to someone, you would think that they were at least a bit appreciative, but no. Now they come to my house asking for the weirdest things, and they bring all their friends with them. I can’t blame them really. This has been the custom here with previous westerners. When they left, they gave out all their stuff to locals. I can’t do that. And I hate begging. So past few days I have turned people away when they come to ask for a fridge or a bed or what ever you can think of. Even my closest friends. It is very hard to keep an open mind and think of them as my friends in that situation. I wish I didn’t have to see that.

I have received lot of things also. The most common gift for my farewell has been a kanga (a wrap around). I have received quite many of them. Two of my friends prepared a Tanzanian dress for me. I hate to tell you this, but I can’t think of a place to wear them. Anyway, they are beautiful. And it is the thought that counts – right!

So tomorrow I will hit the road. I still have almost three weeks to spend in Tanzania. I know it will be a mistake to spend it in Dar; it will be expensive, I will eat too much, and it will be way too hot for me. But I am sure I will enjoy it in any case. Ulla-Maj has promised to let me stay with her as always. She is leaving to Britain for Christmas so I will have the house for myself. I must invite some friends over.

Now it is time to say goodbye to Mwanza and head for another adventure. Kwaherini!

All I remember from my trip to Bukoba

I decided to enjoy my last days in Northern Tanzania by visiting my friend in Bukoba. Trip to Bukoba is best to be taken by overnight boat across the Lake Victoria. I was very excited to visit my friend after a long time.

I bought a ticket to first class which meant to share a cabin with one other person. Other choices would have been second class cabin sharing with six people, or third class sharing with hundreds fighting over a seat to sit all the way to Bukoba.

I had a nice room mate but I don’t know if she shares the feeling with me. I started having stomach problems as soon as the boat left the port. I had a terrible night. My stomach was aching and I had to run to the bathroom a lot. I was so happy when we finally reached Bukoba.

My friend invited me to stay in her house. In local standards it was quite good. In our standards some might say it lack some necessities. I say their hospitality was more than enough.

After greeting parents we headed to a hospital. There were few choices; government hospital with huge line, Hindu hospital which has been my hospital in Mwanza, and the Ngerere hospital which was recommended by the parents. We entered the Ngerere hospital at eight.

The hospital was a small building. Waiting room was a shape of letter L with three wooden benches in both “rooms”. We were pointed to sit in the end of one of the benches.

There was a certain waiting order in those benches. I am not sure it how it worked but all the others seemed to be happy with the order. After an hour we were called to a report. The guy didn’t speak any English. I managed to say that my stomach was aching and I wanted to see a doctor, but other than that, we had a minor language barrier. The card that I received said that I was married with three children and my husband was a pilot. I thought it wouldn’t make a difference so I moved to the other end of the waiting room to another bench.

An hour later doctor called me in. He wanted to have a blood sample and a stool sample and took me to “laboratory”. Another room with a sign that said laboratory; two chairs and one desk and one bucket full of needles, stethoscope on the desk. “Laboratory person” didn’t speak any English either. He was very kind though. Being a white person I received lot of extra care. I don’t think I was the sickest person but I seemed to be taken most seriously.

Blood sample was taken like usually. Clean needle quickly injected to the mid finger and it was ready. Stool sample seemed to cause more problems. First of all they called a cleaning lady to clean the toilet. Then they sent someone to go out to find toilet paper. Then after ten minutes I was escorted to the bathroom with piece of newspaper and a single match. I entered the room while everyone was waiting behind the door.

Ten minutes I waited and waited but didn’t succeed. I came out while everyone was out waiting for me. They all seemed to be disappointed. Well, I didn’t have anything inside of me so how was I supposed to give the sample. I told them that let’s just wait for a while and I will do it later.

We sat down in a waiting room and followed the flowing line of people entering the doctor’s room one after another. Most people seemed to be very sick. They were coughing and sneezing without putting hand on their mouth. I was sure that I would get some dying decease if I didn’t have it already. Well, there is no such custom here, so what was there to say.

An hour later doctor called me in again. He said that there was no need of waiting for the stool sample since my blood already showed that it was malaria. This time I had four parasites. I asked could malaria really cause my stomach to be like this, since it felt the same as previously when I had amoeba. He said, it could also be amoeba. So I asked if I could get medicine for amoeba and if that didn’t work I would come for the malaria treatment. He thought it was a good idea, but he mentioned that I should bring the stool sample as soon as I got it, and that I should also return two days later for a check up.

We left home after four hour visit to the hospital. We ate lunch, I took my medicine, and I went to sleep. Four hours later I woke up and was invited for dinner. I ate some beans in a hope to be able to hurry the sample giving. It didn’t work. Instead I started vomiting which kept in bed the rest of the day. I was so embarrassed.

The parents were trying their best. I knew I was causing them a problem. They thought it was the food they had served me. They were also scared that this white person was going to die in their house. It would mean lot of problems for them. Still their hospitality was amazing.

The next day I decided to wait for the stool sample and then go back to the hospital. The whole family was waiting. They didn’t speak any English but I could tell that my sample seemed to be the main topic through out the day. When ever I went to toilet they all looked at me if I had succeeded. I felt bad to disappoint them – every time.

I started to widen my daily menu. I ate rice and some fruits which seemed to stay inside. I kept eating beans in hope of succeeding finally. But nothing! I decided to go to sleep with good hope of tomorrow.

In the middle of the night my stomach decided to start working – finally. I didn’t know what to do. I knew that for amoeba the sample must be fresh. If I emptied my stomach now, I knew there was no way of giving a sample later that day. I had a problem.

I entered the bathroom and turned the light on. Three huge cockroaches run under the toilet. It was easy to make up my mind. I decided to hold until morning.

When the morning came I delivered the long waited sample. The whole family seemed to be happy for my progress. We left back to the hospital.

This time there were only few people waiting. I walked straight to the laboratory to bring the sample. They asked why it had taken so long. I was very unhappy with their respond since I knew how much work it had been to deliver even that one. I gave it to them and went to see the doctor.

The doctor was not the same. This one was a female and didn’t speak any English. She decided to test everything possible so I was sent back to the laboratory. I thought that might be a good idea so I followed the doctor’s orders.

Stool sample was fresh, so no problems there. Blood was easy, so that was ticked out fast. Then urine. I entered the bathroom which had become very familiar to me from my previous visit. I was given a soda bottle. I decided not to look amazed. I just wondered that this is why they write “only for drinking” on the side of the bottles. I entered the room – nothing!

After ten minutes I came out and faced the disappointed faces waiting outside. I was so embarrassed. I decided to go out and find water. I drunk two litres of water and returned to the hospital. Everyone was looking at me. I wasn’t sure was it like usually because of my colour or was it that everyone knew this is the “Mzungu” who can’t deliver any samples when needed.

My friend and I waited patiently. Time passed and more and more people came with weird deceases or abnormalities. Just a side note for all of you. Be happy with the situation you have in your home country. It can never be compared to this. If you don’t have malaria, typhoid, amoeba or some other everyday sickness, you won’t be cured here.

After an hour I decided to give it another try. I went back to the bathroom. Now I faced another problem. I had never done it into a soda bottle. Let me tell you, it isn’t easy – unless you are a boy. You are welcome to try.

This next part is for those who know me well. Those who don’t know me, better jump to the next paragraph, so that they still have some respect on me. Because I know that after reading this there is no respect left. Anyway, I started to aim. It was still lot of work to get anything out. When I finally did get something out, I missed the bottle. I was so mad. So what to do now? I came out and people seemed relieved. They had heard me succeed through the door. Now I came out and had to tell them that it was false alarm. Fortunately my drinking had some consequences and I went back after few minutes. I was finally through with all the tests.

I got the results after half an hour. No malaria, no amoeba, nothing was wrong with me. I guess the amoeba medicine had worked and there was no malaria since the beginning. Doctor advised to finish the medicine and get new tests after a week. I was relieved. I started feeling better right there. I guess I was faking since the beginning.

We left the hospital and went back to my friend’s home. Everyone was waiting. They were so happy to hear about my “recovery”. I even felt like a winner. I didn’t die in their house and I didn’t need to give any more samples to anyone.

My three day visit to Bukoba was nice although there is not much else to tell you than my visit to a hospital.

On the third day I took a boat back to Mwanza. This time there were no problems, at least nothing that has occurred yet. The return trip was interesting though. I don’t wonder anymore why there are so many accidents on these boats. We barely stayed above the surface with all the bananas that we had. And loading and unloading them is another story – not to mention how they played Celine Dion’s Titanic song through the whole nine hour trip…

First week alone. Kanda, my housemate left home. I gave my houseboy a week off. What a change. I love it. I admit that living with the boys has been fun. But living alone after 11 months, this is what I call life. I can wake up when I want to and go to bed when I want to. I can even walk in my underwear outside from my room. Well, that amuses the neighbours but I don’t care.

On Monday I cleaned the house and went shopping. I bought everything I thought I would need during one week for cooking. I have invited some of my friends over and we have had a good time. I found some sausages from the town supermarket so it has been a heaven to eat something else than fish after a long while.

Living alone has some disadvantages. Everyone thinks that I am lonely. Neighbours come in and ask if they can do anything to help me. They don’t usually leave until I let them do something. Nowadays the boy next door waters the garden for me.

We have a primary school nearby. Kids have a break at ten. They all come to my house to get some mangoes. We have some mango trees on the yard so they are more than welcome to eat them. They are now sharing them with baboons that take their share in the mornings.

After climbing trees and playing at the yard for few hours they come in to ask for water. It takes almost a half an hour to serve for 20 kids for water. It still amazes me that it is all they get since waking up and before going home for evening meal. And let me tell you that my water is pure. Most of the time they drink from the lake, where the water is contaminated and full of crocodiles.

Since my going home is getting closer I have started to clean my closets. I have given out most of clothes and shoes already. I never thought how big of a hassle it would cause. I thought I managed to get rid of unwanted beggars after giving out all the shoes, but no. This has caused even more problems. Every day at least ten people come to me and say give me my shoes, give me my shirt, or give me my ball. I should not have given out anything. I should have just left it all at the house for someone else to give out. At least I learned my lesson. Never give out anything. They learn that Mzungu (white man) will give you always something.

Tomorrow, on Saturday I will have my farewell party for my friends. I have invited only few people but as we know, when Mzungu has a party, everyone will come. So let’s see how many we are tomorrow.

I know that everyone will expect to get food. That is ok. The only challenge is the amount. I don’t know how much I should cook. Then another thing is that we have no plates for everyone. Fortunately Africans are used to eating with their hands so that won’t be a problem.

After the weekend I will go and visit my friend in Bukoba. It means an overnight boat trip on Lake Victoria. Last time I did it, I had a food poisoning. I didn’t really enjoy it. I hope this time will be better.

After coming back from Bukoba I am heading towards Dar. My plan is to drive through country to enjoy my last days in Tanzania. As we all know things happen when you are on the road. I just hope I will be safe. Until next time!

Almost as strong as Honka

I started a girls basketball practise two months ago. I invited all who were interested. We had eight girls at the beginning. When the word got out the number started increasing. Today we have almost 30 girls in the team.

I took two of the players from my basketball team to coach with me. We are quite organised nowadays.

We practise Monday through Friday from 4 PM to 6 PM. Of course you have to remember that we are in Africa so the starting time is quite flexible. In spite of the starting time we are always stopping at six. Girls are responsible of cooking for their families so they can’t be late.

The youngest player is eleven while the oldest is 18 years old. Two of them have already kids. This doesn’t slow them down. They usually bring their babies with them to the field. While we practise babies lie in the sun and stay quiet. Sometimes they have some neighbouring kid taking care of them during the practise.

When we started practising most of the players played bare foot. Some were wearing a track suit, some had a skirt or a kanga (wrap around) on, but none was wearing shorts. Today all of them are wearing shorts. They still come to practise wearing skirts but when they enter the field they take the skirt of.

After first month of practise we gave them the shoes that were donated by Finnish friends. For some reason we had about ten new players wanting to join us. We haven’t given out more shoes but every day we get new players who come and ask for shoes. Some have stayed longer, some stopped coming after not receiving the shoes.

The percentage of those who have stayed after receiving is quite high. Only five players have disappeared after receiving the shoes. There is not really anything we can do about it. Another minor problem is our two players whose older brothers took their shoes. In Africa this is how it goes. It doesn’t help if we tell them to take them back. They can’t really do anything. And if we give them another pair, they disappear just like the first ones.

Our team looks quite nice nowadays. They are proudly wearing Honka uniforms without knowing that they are from Finland. Since everything here is bought second hand, they think that they are just like anybody’s uniform.

Coaching here is almost the same as it is anywhere else. Coach is a teacher and responsible of many things among teaching the sports skills. The different culture just brings some challenges which have to be overcome by lot of imagination.

Since the uniforms are sleeveless just like all basketball shirts, it would be quite suitable to wear something underneath. Well, bras are not very common here so you won’t see them really at the court either. African ladies are well-equipped so to me it is almost impossible even to think about playing sports without wearing bras if I was them. Slowly I have tried to encourage them buy some bras and some have managed to find something to put under the uniform. Few days back I decided to change it and went and bought some bras and tops, gave them to my friend, and she handed them forward. Maybe few of them have the right size to wear but honestly there isn’t much you can do about that either.

Now that we have organised ourselves, I made a little brochure about our programme. I gave each player one copy to take it home to show it to their parents. None of them speak English so players were asked to translate it to them. The brochure had information about our goals; how we try to educate girls in all areas of life through sports. How they will learn to work with others, and how to control their emotions which appear. Of course we wanted to emphasize on the fact that those who participate in sports are also more active in studies, get better results and go for further studies.

After few days we started to get some feedback. Parents seemed to be happy about our goals. Only thing which they wondered was how is it possible that those who attend sports get better results, since their daughter stopped going to school after we started practising. What a surprise! We have to work on that.

These cultural differences make you appreciate what we have back home. At the same time I can’t but admire the women in this country. Where to start? Bus ride from town costs 20 cents. They can’t afford it. Yet they come everyday and walk 12 km to the practise and back home. They have to be home right after practise so that they can cook for their families. Dinner has to be ready at seven. They have those basketball shoes which we have given plus black walking shoes for school. They usually come wearing school uniforms and walk or run home after putting them back on, on top of the sports gear. They are responsible of their own laundry. Since they go home late and leave to school very early, they don’t have time to wash their sports gear between practises. Sometimes they do it anyway, and come to practise wearing wet clothes. Shoes are always clean. They keep washing them weekly. If they don’t dry for the next practise they come bare foot. It isn’t uncommon at all.

Facilities and equipment is another thing. All courts are outdoors. Depending on which part of the country you live, but all go through two rainy seasons. Mwanza happens to have quite mild rainy season. It is going on right now. It rains almost everyday. The water comes like from the shower. It makes everyone wet instantly. Then after an hour it stops just like any shower, and we continue the practise. There are days when it rains all day. Fortunately it happens not so often.

The court we are playing on is pure cement. It is in a good shape. We even have two baskets which are on the correct height. There are no socks but squares are painted on the board. They are almost at the right place even.

We are using those balls which we received from Finland. We have ten all together. Half of them are men’s and half children’s size. It doesn’t slow us down. The balls are divided among players to keep them safe. When ever I walk by the court I see local village kids using them. This way they will only last two months, but at least they are all in good use.

Since I am leaving home quite soon, I decided to invite my players to my house to watch some basketball. Thanks to Tuomas, we have some college and NBA games at the house nowadays. Two of the girls had seen a real basketball game on TV before. Others had never seen it. We had a blast. I even showed them one women’s game Finland against Slovenia, just to let them see how far they can go. They were all excited. Now they are all dreaming about becoming stars and getting out of the country. I am not so sure that this helped to achieve our goals in teaching them how important it is to attend school.

Inviting people over and not offering food is out of question in this country. Well, cooking for 22 people isn’t an easy task. Fortunately I had my houseboy helping me. We cooked for three hours and thought we had enough food. As it turned out, these ladies aren’t dieting that is for sure. We had 5 kilos of rice, two big bowls of beans, 5 kilos of futari (local dish made of cassava) and 3 kilos of meat. Nothing was left. I didn’t even get to eat at all. That didn’t bother me though. Seeing them eat like they had never seen food made me not eat. My portion would have been less than 10 percent of theirs. I can’t believe where all that food went. They are all tiny and they ate portions at least six times of their stomachs.

Having them over was fun. It was great to see them wearing their best clothes instead of seeing them in school uniforms or sports gear. It was also fun to see how interested they were to see how a “white man” lives. We had hand-washing ritual and prayed before the meal just like they do home. But they had problems of using our toilet, since they are only used to the standing type of toilets. Well, let me just tell you that I needed to clean toilet after they had left.

I will be coaching “my team” two more weeks. Then I will be gone. It is sad to say goodbye this soon since we have just started. I am little worried what will happen to them. Those shoes and balls will be worn out after three months. They don’t have any sponsors and parent can’t afford to buy them anything. I hope they will find someone who is interested in helping them. Otherwise the programme will stop before it even started.

Anyway, thanks again to all those who donated sports equipment for us. They are really in use now. You are more than welcome to come and see the happy faces which are a result of your own generous action. Karibu!

I have 44 days left in Africa. I don’t know if I should feel happy or sad. I can’t believe that my time here is coming to an end. I have had the best 11 months here and time has gone by so fast. Of course there were times when I wished some things from home, but honestly I couldn’t have asked for a better year.

What am I leaving behind? The people whom I have met over the year are probably the only thing which I will miss. There is no way of describing how different people are here. I have travelled a lot around the world and met many wonderful people. But there is no way to compare them to these. The kindness and attitude which they have to others, no matter who they are, what they look like or where they come from is something that is so hard to understand to someone who comes from a culture where the education, the background and the way you look means a everything.

Another thing which I hope that I have learned is how to value the family. And this doesn’t mean your parents and siblings. African extended family might include everyone you know. It doesn’t stop to people you live with. This family always comes first.

There is no hurry in Africa. This phrase describes a lot of African life. I think I have adopted it quite well by now. When ever I have a meeting with someone I know the time it is just an estimate. It took me a long time not to be angry or even disappointed if the other person comes few hours late. Nowadays even I go late everywhere. I might face some problems when I return to Finland.

Having a houseboy has been a learning experience to me. I know myself that I can never have a servant in my house. I don’t know how to be a boss and still eat at the same table with them. Our houseboy is older than me. He is supposed to do the laundry, cook and clean the house for us. At first it felt nice not to have to do anything. Nowadays I do my laundry due to two reasons. It is a nice way of relaxing plus it is a guarantee that at least the remaining bras will stay in shape.

The other things which we share are cooking and cleaning. I cook once or twice a week to give a rest day for our houseboy, and to have a change in our daily menu. I am in charge of the toilet cleaning also, since I have not succeeded to teach him how to clean an European toilet, and living with two guys makes me do it more often that they feel it is necessary.

The weather in Mwanza has been great. I will return to Finland during the darkest and coldest period. I will have a cultural shock for sure. It is now a raining season in Tanzania. This means that it can rain for days or we can have daily showers. In any case it is a nice change for the normal hot weather.

In general I have enjoyed the weather here, especially here in Mwanza where I live. The days are hot but nights the temperature comes down to give you a good night sleep. Totally opposite from the coastal weather where the nights and days are humid and there is no way to sleep at all without air-conditioning which is a rare sight there.

Being in the sunny Africa would make you think that I am totally tanned and can’t burn my skin anymore. It might be funny but I burn my nose constantly still. I am tanned or at least tanner than I was when I left Finland. But the disadvantage of being a white person is that the skin is not meant for the sun. It will still get burn every now and then. The biggest difference is the attitude toward the sun. In Finland I use to go out always when ever the sun was out. Sitting in the shadow was against all my principals. Here it is different. When ever I see a shadow I go there. I have adopted even the African walking style, always nearly in the ditch under the trees. Even a second in the shadow will be worth of changing the side on the street.

Things that I won’t miss

The mosquitoes. I have had two malarias here. The first was over in two days but the second took more time. First medicine didn’t work so they gave injections. After that didn’t cure it I had to go for another medicine. It took three weeks to cure it but I got it out of the system.

Another thing with mosquitoes is the sleeping under the net. It might seem a small thing for you but tucking your net under the mattress night after night when you are tired and wish just to crash to bed makes you miss your own bed where you can just jump when ever you feel like it.

Not to give you a wrong idea about the mosquitoes. There aren’t really that many of them. I think we have more mosquitoes in Finland than here. The problem is me getting the reaction from them. It doesn’t matter if it is a mosquito, tsetse fly, spider or any other insect; I seem to get reactions which nobody else gets. And I can’t leave them alone. I scratch them until my skin bleeds and that is the end of my modelling career.

I have to admit that I won’t miss the local standing style toilets. They are usually cleaner and quite convenient but still when ever there is a sitting toilet it makes happy.

Food is something I probably will not miss at all. The traditional dishes – all five of them -  are tasteless. Having a meal is very rarely an enjoyment. So those days when I decide to cook, it might be more expensive, but at least I can say that I liked what I ate. Honestly our houseboy is a good cook. But eating the same fish day after day will make you hate the fish eventually.

What have I learned?

I think of my self quite clean person. I like to keep my room clean and I appreciate if people around me do the same. In our house here we have a plain concrete floor. The windows are just nets keeping the mosquitoes out. We keep our front door wide open which invites lot of crawling things to visit us daily. Due to these reasons I have learned that the house can never be as clean as one would hope. I have stopped worrying about it.

My attitude towards every little thing that moves has changed a lot. We have lot of geckoes in the house. They are ok; they just leave lot of mess behind. Spiders and other crawling greazers don’t make me jump anymore. Even the cockroach can be removed by a foot sweep.

My patience has increased a lot. I have learned to realise that complaining doesn’t take you anywhere. Of course I sill complain but hopefully less. Waiting for your food for an hour is normal in the restaurant, and if you didn’t get what you ordered you can ask them to change it, but it might not be possible or it will take twice the time.

Being treated wrongly or seeing some unfairness around is everyday thing. What I have learned, which I am not proud of, is that you can’t do anything about it. If teachers use a stick, or parents hit their kids, or men harass women, it is just better to leave the scene and forget it. You can’t do anything about it so better to leave.

There is a lot more that I have learned during my visit. I am glad that I came. Will I ever come back to Africa? For sure I will. When, that is the only question!