Tanzanian Perks

Occasionally someone will post something of Facebook that will remind me of a benefit of living in Tanzania. These little reminders help me keep a positive perspective about life here. So let me see if I can list a few here for you.
1. Kids have a wider circle of roaming safely since everyone knows who the two white kids belong to, and kidnapping is not an issue here.

2. We have an amazing garden and view of Lake Victoria that would add an astronomical price to any house in the USA, but here it's not even a factor in the rent. Trivia point: Lake Victoria is approximately the same size as Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg all together.A view from our backyard. The smoke is actually a cloud of lakeflies.

3. Fresh produce! Our avocado tree has great fruit right now on it (and yes, avocados are considered fruit here), and the local market is only 1/2 mile away where I can get fresh produce as often as I like. Local pineapple, mango, bananas, tomatoes, etc! No need to remind any Tanzanian to "Eat Local."Here's one day's take of fruit from our garden this spring: passion fruit, oranges, and guavas.

4. Oh, this one's great! I don't have to pick up after my dog when I take her walking/running! People would think I was absolutely insane if I picked up after her. I can only imagine what they would think I would do with her poop after picking it up. Plus she can be off leash all the time.
5. No need for heaters or air conditioners. The windows are open almost all the time.
6. No traffic here in Musoma. Dirt roads take care of that.
7. You never know when you'll spot a fun critter outside: hedgehogs, monitor lizards, tropical birds, monkeys, mongooses, and chameleons to name a few. In the effort to remain positive I'll not mention the MANY unfun critters.Me with a chameleon on the end of a stick.

8. Only one season of clothes to wear, so no cycling wardrobes in and out, and we never have to deal with dressing ourselves or kids in mittens, socks, boots, coats, warm hats, etc.
9. The simple life. Need a haircut? Meet me on the back porch with the scissors or clippers. Want some fresh flowers? Grab the snippers and step outside. Entertainment? Family game night. Home repairs? Get Dusty and his toolbox.
10. No need for the zoo; we have:

Being foreign again

At an outdoor Swiss museum with all kinds of old houses and traditional demonstrations.


At a restaurant/hotel over a lake near Brienz, before an amazing hike to a huge waterfall.


In the gondola on the way up to see the Matterhorn, which was topped by clouds most of the day.


Playgrounds everywhere! With amazing views and gorgeous weather! Wow - we really miss playgrounds in TZ.


Jungfrau - a very tall mountain. The kids got to play in the snow, and had a blast till their hands got too cold.

We're blessed to have parents who have taken us on a family holiday to Switzerland. My parents helped send us here, and Dusty's parents are spoiling us here. It's fantastic to be with his family again and to have a real vacation surrounded by the amazing beauty of Switzerland.

It's funny to notice and experience:
-straight hair because the dry Swiss air has zapped our Tanzanian curls, even though it's been rainy every day.

-everything happening on time - the trains leave exactly when they say they will, and everything else is beautifully efficient.

-cold weather, fog, drizzle, snow. The cold air was a challenge for our packing since we barely have any clothes or shoes for cool climates.

-summer light - it's 9:00pm here, but feels like it's 6:30 because the sun sets so much later here, therefore we keep forgetting to get the kids in bed on time because it seems so early.

-clean water!! We can drink from the tap - wow! Bath water in the kids' mouths? No problem!

-we look like everyone else here, which feels great, except that they keep speaking German to us.

-mountains, snow, glacial lakes, waterfalls, cows and sheep with ringing bells.

-glorious cheese, yogurt, turkey meat, strawberries, grapes, and I could go on and on. Dusty would add all kinds of beef and pork too. Suffice it to say that we are thrilled with real grocery stores and all kinds of restaurants. It is odd, though, to shop in a grocery store and not be able to read any of the labels.

-all kinds of transportation. We've been in quick, smooth, and fun airplanes, boats, gondolas, cable cars, and buses (not so fun on curvy mountain roads). The kids rode a zipline - does that count?
Jack's in train-heaven, coincidentally matching this one.

Kidisms:
-Tessa looking at a woman in high heels, "She has nice shoes. They have sticks on them."

-Tessa at 7:00pm, "But it's not bedtime! It's morning."

-Jack, "Where's our home now?"

-Tessa, watching a bear and her cubs, "I'd like to have a cub. Ellie could play with it." (Ellie is our dog.)

Conversations in the Animal World

This afternoon we were surprised that Ellie did not meet us at the gate when we got home from doing errands in town. A minute later we heard her barking in the backyard, and we recognized it as the type of barking that means business with another animal. She was having a little chat with a kenge (monitor lizard). Kenge occasionally come for social visits. We like them. Ellie doesn't so much.

Ellie: "I'm howling at you so you know how I feel."
Kenge: "If I stand on my tiptoes, you'll think I'm really big."


Ellie: "Sorry for the sudden invitation, but would you like to come to my bowl for dinner?"
Kenge: "Um, no..."


Kenge: "But I do love to tango."
Ellie: "Oh, me too!"


Ellie: "Hey! Don't turn your back on me! You get back here! Last chance for dinner..."
Kenge: "I've really had enough of this. Where's the exit?"


Ellie: "Fine. Whatever."
Kenge: "Whatever. See you next time."

Having had the vet out here this morning to give Ellie her rabies vaccination, we decided we didn't want to call him again to come out to give her stitches or pop her eye back in place, so we called Ellie off the kenge and are hoping that by now, the kenge has found his way out of the yard. Plus, we like live kenge, not dead ones.

By the way - how great is it that the veterinarian, on one day's notice, will come out to our house on his motorcycle, stay for tea, give Ellie a shot, and the whole thing costs about $1.25?

The Name Game

Our names get a bit warped out here. Let me give examples:

Kim: The brand name for shortening here is "Kimbo," which is my parents' pet name for me. I recently gave my name to a shop clerk while buying sodas for a church event. He wrote "Kim" as "Camel." That was a low blow.

Dusty: Very tricky for Tanzanians to say, so he usually goes by Dustin, which is pronounced like "Dastin" and is frequently said "Datsun." Yes, you remember those vehicles from the '70's, right? When we first got here, he was occasionally referred to as "Bwana Vumbi" (Mr. Dust).

Tessa: Before she was born, we asked Tanzanian friends to pronounce a list of names so we wouldn't burden a child with a butchered name. Our friends said "Tessa" properly, and we went with it. What they didn't tell us is that in Swahili it means "torture." Oops. So we frequently find ourselves explaining that it is a short name for "Teresa" even though that's not her name. "Tesa" is also the name of a laundry soap here, so that brings a nicer connotation than torture - don't you think? It turns out many here can't say the 'e' in her name the way we say it, so it comes out as "Tassa" or "Teesa."

Jack: With Jack we went with a name that is also used here, Jackson. We knew we would call him "Jack" though, and because Tanzanian names almost always end with a vowel, we knew they would call him "Jackie" which sounds like a girl's name to us, so before we knew it, we were calling him "Jacko" as a preemptive strike against "Jackie." However, people now call him "Jakobo" thinking his name is "Jacob."

Hill: Having a complicated maiden name, I thought no one could screw up "Hill." I mean, it's a common noun with only one syllable and only one spelling. Wrong. When I showed up for my first prenatal appointment in Nairobi when I was pregnant with Tessa, I found they had written my last name as "Hell." Yep.

Fortunately I go by "Mama Tessa" almost all the time, which is the normal format for parents' names here - they stick Mama or Baba (Father) in front of the eldest child's name. Because of this, it's funny that you can know someone quite well without ever knowing their first name.

More on Tanzanian names at a later date. Till then, this is Camel signing off on behalf of Datsun, Teesa, and Jakobo.

May 22 Update:
We took Jack to the clinic to submit a "sample" to be tested for parasites. It came up negative! But we had a classic name mix-up, this time with evidence:
Our friend, the doctor, wrote Jack's second name as "Dusty," and the receptionist took it one step further.

Dialectical Divergence

So you might think this posting is about our work with the nine languages of the Mara Region. Wrong. This posting results from our friendships with other missionaries and expatriates who also live and work here. We love being part of a truly international community, and are constantly chuckling at our amusing differences. Here's a taste of our wazungu translation work. (Wazungu = white people living in East Africa)

USA first - British/Australian next

FOODS:
*candy - lollies (AU), sweeties (UK)
*cookie - biscuit (UK), bikkie (AU) Do Aussies say this just because they're speaking to kids or do they say it all the time?
*biscuit - scone. However, to a Tanzanian, a "scone" is a dinner roll. And a good Southern girl will insist that a true biscuit is definitely NOT a scone.
*breakfast - brekkie (AU) See above question.
*dinner - tea. Sure to get an American over her head when she invites a friend for "tea" and that person then expects dinner.
*eggplant - aubergine. Not to worry as we avoid it in both dialects.
*sweet pepper - capsicum. I had a good laugh when I saw "Paul Newman Spaghetti Sauce with Capsicum" for sale in Kenya.
*zucchini - courgette. "Would you like a lovely slice of courgette bread?"
*jello - jelly. Don't ask an Aussie or a Brit for jelly on your toast.
*fries - chips. As in "fish and chips"
*chips - crisps - These last two are always confusing to the kids as we interchange them according to company and continent.

DRINKS:
*lemonade - lemon cordial or lemon juice (AU) I'm not even sure I knew what cordial was till I got here. Doesn't it just mean polite??
*Sprite - lemonade (AU) When offered a lemonade at an Aussie's house, I no longer hope for fresh squeezed lemonade
*fruit concentrate - squash (UK). "Would you like some mango squash." Hmmm, ew!

CLOTHES:
*sweater/sweatshirt - jumper - I think we only use "jumper" for a longish snap/button dress under which a shirt is worn. So when I was complimented on my jumper I had to laugh as an image of a very uncool 80s dress came to mind.
*flip flops - thongs -Guaranteed to get a chuckle out of an American
*swimsuit - Aussie cossie (AU), bathing costume. When asked if they had brought their costumes at a hotel with a pool, my kids looked up at us with puzzlement.

CARS - AUTOS:
*gas - petrol
*hood (of a car) - bonnet
*trunk (of a car) - boot
*shoulder (of the road) - verge (UK) "No driving on the verge." I think we only use "verge" before "of a nervous breakdown."

HOUSEHOLD:
*garbage - rubbish "Ah, that's a load of rubbish!"
*socket - power point (AU) "Does the house have power points?" - guaranteed to confuse an American who is thinking of a Microsoft presentation.
*flashlight - torch
*cooler - eskie (AU), chillibin (NZ) Say chillibin three times fast; it's good fun!

KIDS:
*goofing off - faffing around (UK) - "Kids! Quit faffing around and come to dinner!"
*whine/complain - grisle, winge - It's so nice to have FOUR ways of describing your kids' annoying behavior!
*diaper - nappy
*crib - cot
*pacifier - dummy. I love this one.
*c-section - caeser (AU) Did Julius Caeser's wife have a caeser?
*Mommy - Mummy. As if I don't feel old enough already!

GENERAL:
*afternoon - arvo (AU) Now I know to invite my friends for "arvo tea" if I don't want to deal with a whole dinner.
*to fall hard - to stack it (AU) "Man, I stacked it this morning when running to help the screaming kids."
*soccer - football
*vacation - holiday. How do they differentiate a holiday (Christmas, Easter, etc) from a vacation?
*1st floor - ground floor
*2nd floor - 1st floor, etc. - You can only guess at how confusing this can get when giving or getting directions.
*operating room - operating theatre. In case of needing a "caeser" for Jack, I was told "You'll need written permission to have your husband allowed in the theatre." Was the operation rated R? hee hee.
*thanks - ta!

I know this is just a short list, so add on the ones you encounter in the comments.

So the next time we're in the States just ignore us or interpret when we sound a little funny as we casually throw around words like nappies and dummies, bikkies and crisps.

Ta!
kim

How I Know My Kids are Missionary Kids:

1. They flew before they could walk. Ex: Tessa had been on 8 airplanes by the time she was 5 months old.Jack and Tessa in the airport before boarding a plane.

2. They have debates with their friends about where their "home" is. Tessa recently argued with her friend Harry who insisted she was from America while she insisted she was from Musoma.
3. They speak in Swahili and English and can still count in Spanish thanks to Sesame Street DVDs.Tessa and friends in their Swahili class

4. They are not bothered by having a whole fish on the plate before them. In fact, Tessa wanted to eat the eyes, and Jack called it "my Nemo" (from the animated movie) while biting into the tail.
5. 100% of their clothes are hand-me-downs or come from care packages.
With chameleons we found in the backyard; kids in care package clothes and shoes.

6. They're confused by the concept of socks. Aren't they for skating on our concrete floors?
7. They believe that all choirs dance and even dance with the choir when inspired.Joining the choir in late March

8. They know what to do with nothing.Nothing here = mud.

9. They make friends quickly and are almost flippant about saying good-bye.
The kids' good friend Naomi.

10. They have passports, and they're well used. Tessa's on her 2nd passport which has five pages full of stamps. Jack's passport has additional pages, 17 of which are full.

I recently attended a talk on missionary kid (MK) issues. We talked about the term "third culture kid" (TCK). A TCK is a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside their parents’ culture. It was interesting to review a list of the pros and cons of growing up as an MK. Here are some of them in no particular order.

Pros:
1. Less pressure to perform (smaller peer group and not barraged by sports, music, art classes, etc.)
2. Longer childhood
3. Well-read (not as many entertainment options)
4. Family grows closer
5. Creative with resources and time
6. Expanded world view
7. Adaptable and flexible

Cons:
1. Loss of extended family relationships (which is so much better now thanks to the internet and Skype)
2. Confused identities upon return to passport country - Where am I from? Why don't people understand me? What do I do in this situation?
3. Ignorance of American culture which leads to confusion and feeling like a misfit
4. Struggle to keep friends since they are accustomed to leaving or being left
5. They don't quite fit in when they're abroad or in their passport country. My kids aren't Tanzanians, but they're not really Americans either.

It seems that several of the challenges occur mostly when the family or MK is in their passport country or when the MK is functioning on the adult level. Our kids did great while we were in America although Jack was much more clingy than he otherwise would be.

I know for me it can be difficult to raise my kids in a place that I was not raised even though I have a lot of international experience under my belt. The only instance I can remember offhand was when I took the kids through the car wash in America thinking it would be as fun for them as it had been for me when I was a child. Instead, it left both children crying as though they were under alien attack.

Really, these things just touch on some of the issues related to MKs. What it makes me realize is that raising children overseas can have really great blessings and challenges. I truly hope that when my kids start facing some of the challenges, the Lord will grant us the wisdom to know how to help them along.

Did I mention they're handy to have around?

Every Hilly Day: a Random Photo Post

This post is simply a collection of photos of everyday life here in Musoma. Enjoy!

A cloud of sami (lake flies) over Lake Victoria. I was happy to watch them move in a direction other than towards our house. They're tiny and get into everything, then die and stink up a storm.


Jack and Tessa enjoying local yogurt and straws from a care package. Jack's got a nice yellow shiner on the center of his forehead from a fall earlier. The bruise lasted an entire week.


Our vegetable garden, which now hosts sweet corn, lettuce, bell peppers, butternut squash, and real American sweet potatoes! All those things are thrilling! Planting a vegetable garden was one of my three goals for 2nd term, so it's exciting to be reaping the rewards on our plates.


ONE day's take of passion fruit, guavas, and oranges from our garden. The passion fruit makes great juice, but the oranges were inedible - which we sadly discovered after making orange juice.



Jack and Tessa at the local train station restaurant (our house). Their waiter was Alphonse (me). The menu was red juice, apple slices, avocado chunks, sausage sticks (leftover egg/sausage casserole), and noodles (also leftovers). The reward for eating it all was the Ice Cream Supreme Especial (vanilla ice cream, cocoa powder, 1/2 a cookie, and an ancient maraschino cherry). Bon Apetite!


The two chameleons we found walking through the grass in the backyard. We later put them in separate basins (the kids' bathtubs and our laundry tubs) for the day so we could play with them (i.e. worry them just enough to make them change colors and get stripes). After Dusty came home and saw them, we released them into our garden.


One of the chameleons silently yelling at me. Chameleons do bite, and Tanzanians are quite afraid of them.


Recognize these cute little elves? No copyright/patent infringement here! We got these as a treat for the kids in Kenya.


A typical Tanzanian plate of food - rice, beans, meat. This, or a variant, is what Dusty eats at the office for lunch every day until he gets tired of it and asks me to make him a PB&J.


Spiderman and Princess. One is powerful, and the other is sweet, as you can see from their faces/gestures. Tessa is waving to her adoring subjects, and Jack is shooting out invisible webbing. I was practicing with face paint for Tessa's party the next week. They loved being my guinea pigs.


A gorgeous moth who landed on the back of Tessa's front porch birthday sign.


A fantastic, big, hairy moth who was visiting our front window one morning.


Trust me; the Scottish Shortbread cookies from South Africa are much better than their hilarious name.


The sticker says, "Be Truth" which I thought was a fabulous misspelling for a "Beetroot." The idea of having a price sticker on produce is totally bizarre here anyway. But hey, we're thrilled to be able to buy beets. The kids love them since they make their tongues purple. They cost 4,000 Tanzanian shillings per kilo, which roughly translates to about $3.50 for 2 pounds.


Action Jackson struts his stuff in our kiddie pool on Tessa's birthday. I painted his face like Batman, but by this point most of it had washed off.


Bat poop (guano) leaking down the wall after a particularly hard rain brought water through our cracked roof and deteriorating ceiling boards. The cool thing was that one of the men who came to fix it found our team's translation of Luke 1 and 2 in his language and got really excited.