Out of Africe, Part 4: Stonetown and Shopping

Sunday, July 19 - Today we opted for a private tour of Stone Town. Jason made the arrangements for us to meet the operator and guide at 9:00 A.M. Jason has befriended the young man who is starting up this little business and has met with him several times to offer suggestions and help in running it smoothly. Our tour was very informational and included some rich history of the island. We followed our guide through the narrow maze-like streets and went inside the old castle (which by the way was the meeting point for one of the challenges on the Amazing Race a couple of seasons back!), toured the House of Wonders (museum) and the czar's palace. We also saw the old public bath house (sort of like our modern day spas) and the site of the former slave trade.

We loved the beautiful hand-carved doors we saw throughout the island.Roxanne and Annikah met us for lunch (Jason had accompanied us on the tour) at the Archipelago and then we spent the afternoon shopping. We allowed Roxanne to do the bartering for us - she is definitely an expert. Maybe she should think about becoming a personal shopping escort for Mzungu travelers! Shopping was an interesting but challenging experience. The streets are narrow, and an occasional car or motorcycle would drive through. Crazy stuff! It was fun to see the goods and to choose items to bring home for friends and family.The narrow streets where we shopped. Always be on the lookout for a car, bike, or other moving object!Inside a shop were I purchased hand-quilted bags for Jorie and Annie. Roxanne bought an adorable little dress here for Anni's cousin Claire.

Out of Africa, Part 3: Pool , Pizza, and Party!

Saturday, July 18

Though Jason was responsible for Chai time* at the school work site yesterday (*hot tea and African doughnuts served to and enjoyed by the workers while one of the team leaders shares an Old Testament story - in swahili, of course); and both he and Roxanne attended a team meeting in the afternoon, today their official "vacation" began for the duration of our stay.

Yippee! That first day of vacation always provides such a free, hopeful feeling! We all agreed that it would be great to spend the day lounging at the pool and enjoying the sunshine, so we headed to a beautiful Zanzibari hotel. The admission fee allowed us to spend the entire day enjoying the pool as well as a generous lunch in the lovely outdoor restaurant there. Annikah made a beeline for the water, and anyone who agreed to spend a little time with her in the pool became her instant "best friend." It was a lovely setting overlooking the beach. We nearly had the pool to ourselves.

We enjoyed a delicious feta and spinach pizza at the lovely outdoor restaurant. We hadn't expected to find such good pizza in Africa!

Annikah had fun playing on the African-style playground equipment. Even Bibi got in on the fun!
We headed home about mid-afternoon so the ladies - Roxanne, Annikah, and I - could get dressed to attend a local party. I must admit to feeling a little nervous, but was also excited for the opportunity to experience some true local culture. I felt honored to have received my own individual printed invitation to the event. Everyone seemed to know that Bibi and Babu had arrived!

So I'm still not sure what the celebration was for - but I guess it was a sort of religious celebration that the Muslim people have from time to time for their children. The little boy honored this day was just a year old. The parties are attended only by the women and children. The host had laid down straw mats to cover the entire outside surface where the party was held, which I was grateful for, because everyone sits on the floor (ground) and no one has grass or manicured lawns - just plain dirt! Even though the party was outside, we still removed our shoes upon arriving. Once the music began, most of the women and children were up dancing. It got really wild when the women started waving money! Roxanne was grabbed by a friend right away and pulled right into the middle of all the dancing and partying, so I just sat and watched. The women and children sitting near me enjoyed staring at me, and it was a really strange feeling not to be able to talk or even really comprehend the experience. The music (?) was more like an irritating wailing, and so loud that Jason and Jim, at home a few blocks away and hoping to nap, had no such luck. They were subjected to the music, too, for the duration of the party. All of the guests were given a "party bag" filled with African foods (fried meat pie and other such "treats") to take home; and I had to laugh because most of the bags were Mickey Mouse. Who knows where they came from! The picture below shows Feisal, the boy who was being celebrated. What a little doll!

The "band" was made up of a group of men - the only ones present at the party, except for a videographer.
The girls all wear complete headcoverings, just like the women.
Roxanne and Anni are getting ready to party!

This is Hans' oldest daughter, Natsia, dancing with an African friend. Hans's wife, Doro, and her three daughters attended with us, which helped me feel not quite as strange as I might have.
Here I am, taking it all in!I loved being able to personally experience an actual social event similar to what Annikah and Roxanne go to quite regularly. The children are all so beautiful, and they loved being photographed. They would pose and then laugh when they saw their image on the camera. As I looked around at the crowd I couldn't help but imagine how different my life is from the women there. Most have never been off the island, and the only life they know is regulated by rules and observances; sharing a husband with one or more other wives; raising a family with few conveniences or opportunities outside of their home; a home that in many cases is nothing more than a hut. It made me so grateful for my own life. I am humbled, and hope and pray that I will meet each new day with gratitude for the abundant blessings of opportunity, monogamy, riches in family and friends, freedom in Christ, and hope for the future.

Out of Africa, Part 2 - "Progress"

Though the past year has been a long one when we think of all of the holidays, birthdays, and milestones we haven't been able to celebrate together with Jason, Roxanne, and Annikah, it seems like a short time when you view all of the accomplishments they have made regarding the work they went to do. Their mastery of kiswahili is remarkable - we never tired of listening to the lively conversations they engaged in with their neighbors and many local friends they have made. They speak swahili on the phone, and I even saw lots of texts messages in the language on their cell phones! Annikah follows right along in comprehending, and joins in often with words and phrases. She was our little translator at times, helping us with words like these: dudu=bug; kuku=chicken; jambo=hi,hello; tembo=elephant; kobe=turtle; maji=water; mchicha=spinach; jua joto=hot sun, etc. And of course, we already knew and used often the words "asante" and "asante sana" (thank you, thank you very much); and "pole" and "pole sana" (sorry, very sorry) just in learning from Roxanne's blog. We also picked up on "hodie" - the greeting called out from the visitor upon his/her unexpected arrival at one's home; and the response, "karibu" - welcome (even if you're not thinking that at the time!!) And of course, I have to mention "mzungu" which mean"white person." Mzungus certainly do receive lots of looks and attention in Zanzibar. Jim now sports a "Mzungu" T shirt - one of his selected souvenirs.

But I digress - I was talking about all that Jason and Roxanne have accomplished in the past year. The first, as stated, is a good grasp of the language. The second is a rather complete adjustment to local life and the lack of many of the conveniences and comforts that we take for granted each and every day here. Third, they have made an effort to be known and make friends with numerous locals; to reach out and offer hospitality and interact with them. All the while they freely share with them that they "follow Jesus," which of course is their primary purpose. Fourth, they, along with their team, have made wonderful progress on the school they seek to establish. In doing so, they have offered steady employment to many local young men and at the same time have been given opportunities to share with them their own love for Jesus. We are so grateful for the opportunity to see firsthand their work and to witness their joy in doing it. Though not without hardship, God has granted them overflowing joy and passion in following him.


Friday, July 17 - We visited the school site. We were able to walk through each room and really visualize what it will be like when completed. It was amazing to see the progess made even during the 2 1/2 weeks we were there. Many times when we drove past (which was quite often since the school site is close to their home) we noticed changes and progress.

View of the school as you enter the property. Standing near the entrance to the building.
Jason proudly shows off the area where he and the other staff will have offices. He is excited to move his "work space" out of their home.

Standing in the future computer lab. Wiring is done and grant money from the German government has been received to purchase the computers.

Looking at the side of the building that will house the auto mechanics part of the school.

I think Jason is hoping to begin teaching Microsoft Word (in Swahili!!) sometime in January. It's exciting to think of how this opportunity will enrich the lives of his future students.

It's humbling to think of all the milestones that have been passed in getting to this point in only one year. I remember the hassle the team went through even in acquiring the land and receiving permission to build - all accomplished without having to offer a bribe! God has been faithful through it all and now we continue to pray that he will provide those students that need to be there, whose lives may be touched and enriched through the opportunity to learn and grow.

Out of Africa

It was a once in a lifetime experience to be sure. And if it truly doesn' t happen again in my life, I can at least say, "I've been there, done that." I've spoken swahili (well, maybe a total of six words) to Africans in Tanzania, I've been on safari, and I've tasted freshly made sugar cane juice. I've ridden on a dala-dala and watched ostriches mate. I've purchased hand-made jewelry from the Masai people and spoken to a woman who birthed her child all alone in a hut. I've shared my binoculars with Tanzanian school children and watched women prepare chapatis. I've seen people who can't even imagine the wealth of America do back-breaking work and yet laugh and smile more than many of the people I know. I've hugged long and hard a son, daughter-in-law, and grand daughter whom I hadn't seen in over a year. These are bits and pieces of the recent trip Jim and I took to Africa. I hardly know where to begin in trying to blog about this amazing experience, so I guess I'll just try to do it in bits and pieces, a few memories at a time.

The Adventure Begins . . .

July 14 - We departed from Cedar Rapids airport to begin a more than 24 hour trek to Dar es Salaam, and then on to the island - Zanzibar, that is.

Here we are with our luggage at the airport in CR, ready to begin. Two of the four suitcases we brought (200 pounds of stuff altogether) were filled with food and other items that Jason and Roxanne are unable to get so far away.
Two continents and more than 24 hours later, we made it to Dar and had a happy reunion with Jason, who we hadn't seen in a year. We spent that first night in a guesthouse in Dar, and then boarded the ferry (dubbed puke boat by Roxanne) to head over to their home in Zanzibar. The ferry ports in Dar and Zanzibar are a nightmare - people running up to take your luggage or offer a taxi, sell bottled water or cashews, other people walking, riding bikes, pulling wooden carts full of goods, dashing back and forth in front of traffic, cars, mopeds, horns honking, etc. We were so grateful that Jason had made the trip to Dar to meet us and accompany us on the ferry and through the port. Crazy stuff!

We finally arrived at Jason and Roxanne's house and were happily reunited with Roxanne and Annikah. What a joyous time that was!

Roxanne presented us with Survivor buffs - as we had jokingly referred to this trip as our own "Survivor Experience." They were even personalized for Bibi and Babu, the names we were called throughout our stay - kiswahili for grandma and grandpa.

We ended our first day with dinner out at an "Italian" restaurant right on the water. Jason and Roxanne were treating us to celebrate the birthdays, Mother's Day, and Father's Day that were unable to celebrate together this year. What a wonderful introduction to life on the island. Eating al fresco at dusk (the sun is up from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM every night, since Zanzibar is right at the equator) gave a romantic feel to our first dinner on the island.

More to come ...

Another Baby to Love

Well, he finally arrived this morning, Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 4:49 A.M. His name is Joshua Mark Dillman, and he is Jorie and Mark's third little boy. Well maybe not so little - he weighed in at 9 pounds and 7 ounces and measured 22 inches long!! We have been waiting on pins and needles - we wanted to meet him and to be able to help out awhile before we leave for Tanzania on July 14.

Here he is with his mommy. What a little sweetie!

His two big brothers were really excited and proud to meet him.

And of course, Gma Rho couldn't wait to hold him. He really does feel like a big boy already! We are so blessed - now we are the proud grandparents of three boys, two girls, and one (?) on the way. What a joy to welcome these new precious lives into our family.

Brothers

Joel and Silas have been spending some extra time with me this week as Jorie is trying to get last minute things done before Baby Dill #3 arrives. Yesterday they had fun playing with my junk boxes, those wonderful collections I gathered in my early years of teaching second grade for my "Math Their Way" lessons. Now the boxes provide hours of fun for my grandkids. They had fun with my button boxes yesterday and decided to pin on as many as they could. Here is my picture of the Button Brothers. Jorie had taken them for haircuts the day before, and I thought they looked so cute in their summer "do's" that I asked them to pose for pictures. I told them to hug each other, and they got so silly -- you can tell how hard they were laughing in the second picture.

The boys are such great friends (most of the time). I hope they have as much fun when they add one more brother or sister to the mix!

Signs of Summer

I love summer - enjoying the outdoors and watching things bloom and grow. Here are a couple examples of some flowers we're enjoying this year.