Tanzania Immersion

Faith’s reflection: 

A year ago Katie and I started working on this immersion and since then it has been nothing but beautiful chaos. Communication with our partners in Tanzania was a little difficult due to the distance but the lack of knowing what to fully expect and the trust that we placed in what was “meant to be” served us well. When we met our Holy Cross partners in Moshi, Kitete, and Arusha, we were greeted with nothing but genuine hospitality and boundless generosity. We had language lessons, were immersed into their kind culture, spent time with native families, were welcomed with a traditional dance from the Masai people, saw majestic animals in their natural homes, and went to masses that lasted well over an hour (6 hours to be exact!). Our group formed a lasting bond that taught us how to be open and provided us a space of comfort in the most challenging times. There were tears caused by difficult realizations and laughters caused by priests dancing in the rain. Asante sana forever to all those that helped make this trip happen and for those that this trip would have not been the same without. 

 

Katie’s reflection: 

May 2019 was a beautiful and transforming experience for us as immersion coordinators, as well as for our staff and students! 

We centered ourself in the local culture, language and cuisine. We embraced ceremonies celebrating various sacraments of the Catholic Church. We encountered women leaders who are transforming the rights of women in Tanzania and the world. Our days were filled with joy, laughter, tears, sadness, tiredness, inspiration and blessings. We experienced so much kindness and inclusion in one place! We are beyond grateful for the opportunities the University of Portland had to connect with our brothers and sisters in East Africa. Our hearts are forever touched by our encounters with the people of Tanzania. Here is to many more years celebrating and cherishing our time in Tanzania.

 

Poem (written collectively as part of a closing reflection by the Tanzania Immersion participants): 

I will always remember the sight of rolling hills of green full of life
The rushing wind hitting my face on our long journeys to faraway places
Exploring a new place and learning new things while creating memories
Awe, wonder, surprise
Surrounds me as I look at the countryside through my window
Feeling the vast landscape, so lush and green, I can hear mother nature’s heartbeat
Feeling the mighty presence of the mountain even though we couldn’t see it
Mud that is like caramel color paste
Which makes houses that are simple yet livable
The people are what make them a home
No matter how much they own, they got each other
Because it takes a village
But it also takes one
And if you are that one, anything is possible

After its long anticipated arrival, the safari arrived. While it meant it was one of the coolest experiences of the trip, it also meant it was wrapping up.

We got to indulge on one of the main tourist attractions of Tanzania and it didn’t disappoint. We started our safari (which in Kiswahili means “journey”) in Tarangire. When we arrived at the starting point we were greeted by these cute little monkeys that seemed very accustomed to the presence of humans yet still weary of them. The first warning our driver gave us before we got out of the car was to close our windows because; “they’re very sharp and fast. If they see snacks in the car they will get them.” Taking a quick bathroom break, walking around the area and just letting it sink in that we were possibly about to encounter the big 5 was a lot to digest and take in. You could feel the excitement in the atmosphere and the small encounter with the monkeys was just a small taste of what was about to come. A little into the drive we encountered a herd of “tembo” (elephants) enjoying their lunch. They were about about 15 ft from the car and were completely unfazed by our noisy Land Rovers and our excited squeals. One of the highlights of the day was when we finally got to see, mostly hear, some female “simbas” (lions) hunt and kill a pumba (warthog). While it was hard to witness, as the Lion King would say “it’s the circle of life.”

We continued to see more animals from Twigas (giraffes) to swala (Impalas) and colorful birds, when we took what we thought would be an uneventful lunch break our guides warning about the monkeys, like a prophecy, came true. When we got to our picnic site, we noticed how persistent and fearless the little guys were. How, regardless of us shooing them away they really wouldn’t flinch until our guides intervened. By the end of lunch we thought we had outsmarted them until our group got distracted and in a matter of seconds a chocolate bar and some biscuits were stolen. While that commotion was going on I (Paula) looked away from my lunch to see what was happening and when I turned back there was a monkey sitting in front of me making direct eye contact. Thinking he could get some dessert too, when I screamed at him he didn’t even flinch so I packed what I could and ran. When I looked back, there was a chocolate wrapper on the ground and one happy monkey.

After enjoying the sights of more animals, we headed to our campsite for the night and got to bed for an early morning. We set out for the Ngorongoro crater before dawn. The Ngorongoro crater was once a volcano the size of Mount Kilimanjaro that collapsed on itself and is now a natural sanctuary for wildlife. We saw hundreds of zebras, wildebeest and flamingos. We were blessed with the opportunity to see two male Simbas and the luckiest thing of the day was to see two rhinos. We got to see some hippos, water buffalos and enjoyed the sunny day in the crater. After a full day of safari we began our way back to Moshi.

Kwaheri wanyama, we’ll be back! Asante sana. (Goodbye animals, we’ll be back! Thank you so much)

Paula and Brittany

We spent Friday the 17th on a 5-hour car ride from Moshi to a small, rural village called Kitete. The village is so remote that most people in the city of Moshi have never heard of it. If you try googling it, it doesn’t exist. The car ride (the parts that we were awake for) was beautiful; we drove past Masai villages, monkeys, camels, the Great Rift Valley, and Lake Manyara.

St. Brendan’s parish, where we stayed in Kitete, is on top of a hill (almost like the bluff) with an amazing view of the lake and surrounding hills. When we arrived, we were greeted by Brother Morris (also known as BroMo, pictured on the right in his swaggy Tire Rack sweatshirt and bucket hat) and a massive lunch. After stuffing our faces, we showed up to mass two hours late. But don’t worry, we got there in time for communion and the last two hours of mass (in Swahili). After mass, we were invited to share a meal with the community. We were still full from lunch #1 (and breakfast and snacks in the car) but we ate anyway. As our host mom lovingly said, “You’re in Africa, you’re allowed to be fat.”

After church, we had a bumpy ride back to St. Brendan’s to tour the vocational secondary school behind the parish. In the evening, we had soup and bread while we waited for the bishop to arrive. Thinking this was our dinner, we filled up. Two hours later, the archbishop showed up and we had dinner #2, this time, it was a full spread (yes, we counted: 6 meals, 1 day). This weekend was special in Kitete because the archbishop was making his yearly visit. Over the weekend, 124 couples were married and 344 people were confirmed. We were there for all of it. Additionally, it had been four years since the newly built church was consecrated and we were a group of 14 visitors–Fr. Sebastian was excited to point out the theme of 4’s. On Saturday, we attended the weddings. 5 hours later, 124 couples were married in the Catholic Church and our group became a choir. Mama Mo composed her first song in Swahili, Asante, and we performed the song during mass and introduced ourselves (this was the only part in English). The entire mass and celebrations were televised on national TV. Afterwards, we watched the newly weds feed each other cake and had the opportunity to feed each other wedding cake, too. All the sitting in church left us pretty restless and looking for movement. When there was no dancing after the weddings, we took it upon ourselves to start a dance party outside the pastoral residence. It began with Yeudith’s tiny speaker, but 20 minutes in, Fr. Sebastian ridiculed our quiet music and brought out a 3-foot tall speaker. We danced for three hours, rain and all. The music brought out priests, brothers, seminarians, the women who cooked our delicious food, and even a bride. It was a great bonding experience, and a highlight of the weekend. We also have a great Swahili playlist now.

The next day, we attended 344 confirmations. This time, we came prepared. We brought water, snacks, journals, and books to help us through the 6 hour ceremony. Some of the younger confirmandi performed a song and dance. We again performed a song for the congregation; we sang Sia Hamba, a South African folk song about marching with God. We had lunch after mass with the priests and bishop, and then laid low until dinner. This time, the party was inside. We danced and played musical chairs all night (we heard that some priests even stayed up until 4am). As Fr. Sebastian said, “In the Western world, you think therefore you are. In Africa, we dance, therefore we are.”

Monday morning, we had breakfast and toured the vocational school more in-depth with BroMo. Students study the trades of knitting, carpentry, welding, brickery and masonry, hairdressing, electrical work, or tailoring. It was amazing to see so many young people with so many talents. Many of us ordered custom-made skirts and shirts from the students in the tailoring department. They were beautiful! After lunch, we watched the student women’s netball and men’s soccer games. In the evening, we introduced the priests to Uno cards and played rambunctious card games for the rest of the night.

Tuesday morning, we woke up at 7am to attend–you guessed it–another mass. This time, it lasted 30 minutes (as promised by Fr. Sebastian) and the homily was given in both Swahili and English. After mass, we packed up our things and said our goodbyes. This was the hardest goodbye of the trip. We bonded with the community at St. Brendan’s and truly felt the spirit of the nation.

On the way to our next destination, we had an exciting drive. The roads were especially muddy and hard to cross due to recent rain, and not even our trusty Land Cruisers were equipped to handle them. We skidded and lost traction driving up and down steep, rocky mud roads. Inevitably, the cars got stuck. Before we could get too nervous, about twenty people came to our rescue from their nearby homes. After lots of trials and errors and muddy shoes, the locals were able to push us out of a ditch and safely back on our way. It was a 10-minute ordeal. 

Without them, we’d probably still be there. To us, this was a crazy car ride; for the locals, it was another Tuesday. This is one of many acts of unconditional kindness that we’ve experienced in Tanzania. We have been blown away by the hospitality and love given so freely by the people we have encountered. We are looking forward to the experiences we’ll have and people we’ll meet in our last week!

Cat & Ariana

Jambo!

Over this past weekend we had the opportunity to have a home stay experience in various parts of the Kilimanjaro region. We split up into groups of two and three. Angie, Yeudith, and I were in the same group and paired up with a lovely family.

Our baba, Peter came to pick us up and brought us to his restaurant, located near the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro, where we stayed for the next two days. Everybody we met was so kind and welcoming, they truly made us feel a part of their family. Peter and his friends helped us with our Swahili and introduced us into his daily life.

On Saturday, we walked up to the gates of Mt. Kilimanjaro where we got a tour of the base and a beautiful view of the village.

Later in the day, our baba drove us to his home where we met his wife and two sons. His wife, Agnes cooked an amazing home cooked meal as we played UNO with the boys. She cooked us a meal, ndizi (banana stew), traditional to the Chaga people. The Chaga people live in the Mweka village. We got a glimpse into their daily life, which integrates a sense of brotherly love among all neighbors.

Driving down the muddy road, there was not a single person Peter did not acknowledge, from beeping his horn to pulling over for s short conversation. We passed an old woman whose conversation lasted a little longer than the others.

When we left, he explained that she was a life-long friend of his mother, so “There is never an appropriate time to pass her without saying hello and giving her shikamo.”

The next day we went to mass. Experiencing mass in a different country was quite interesting, especially since we didn’t understand much of the mass. The mass lasted a little over three hours and afterwards we ate lunch together.

After lunch we traveled back to the retreat center and shared our experiences with the rest of the team.

On Monday we will continue our Swahili lessons, can’t wait to see what else we learn! 

Kwaheri!

With love,

Angie, Yeudith, and Haley

After 2 days of travel we were received with generous hospitality by our hosts. We are staying at the Mwenge Retreat Centre with a breathtaking view of Mt. Kilimanjaro, though we haven’t seen it yet due to the clouds.  Our expectations have been totally blown out of the water. The incredible hospitality, amazing accommodations, and the warmth and kindness of everyone we have met so far has been overwhelming. We are taking it all in.

On our first day we toured Mwenge Catholic University (MWECAU) and met some MWECAU students who took us to the local market in the afternoon which was sensory overload, if not a bit challenging. We also visited Shah Industries, a family business that employs people with disabilities who are skilled artisans in many crafts with leather, wood, and other materials.  So many beautiful things to see and buy.

Today we focused on learning the local language of kiswahil with our excellent MWECAU professors and university student “rafikis” to help us practice. We laughed a lot as we stumbled over new words and phrases with plenty of embarrassing mistakes. 

 

We are off to Homestays for 2 days and will share about our experiences when we return.  

Kwaheri!