June.
Where do I even begin? I think I can safely say that this
past June was the busiest month I’ve had in this country to date.
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| Gonzaga Day 2014 |
It started out perfectly, with a Gonzaga Day celebration
that matched last year’s. My Standard 4 students sang “With My Own Two Hands,”
by Jack Johnson. While none of them is going to release the next hit single
anytime soon, they are definitely more adorable than any chart-topping artist
this summer. As always at Tanzanian celebrations, there was excellent food and
lots of dancing. It was so much fun and I will always cherish these memories
with students when we can enjoy being together outside of the classroom.
Immediately following the big day at school, my community and I hopped
on a bus which took us to Kahama, 16 hours northwest of Dar. This was our one
pit stop along our journey to Kigali, Rwanda. From there, we traveled another 4
hours to the border and four more from there to Rwanda’s capital city. Rwanda
is hands-down the most beautiful country I have ever been to. It lives up to
its name as “Land of a Thousand Hills,” which is breathtaking; there was a view
from wherever we were in the city.
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| View of Kigali city center |
When we arrived, we found our way to the Jesuit community
where we awaited the arrival of our Jesuit friend, Emmanuel, who was working in
Dar at the high school but is from Rwanda. We spent a week with him there,
visiting the Jesuit primary and secondary school there, meeting his family,
exploring the city, and taking a day trip to Lake Kivu, on the border of the
DRC.
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| Dinner with Emmanuel and his family |
After an amazing week learning about another unique part of
Eastern Africa, we headed back to Tanzania to welcome the first in our long
line of visitors from home. First was Former Jesuit Volunteer (FJV) Gretchen
and then Katie’s friend Jimmy. A few days later FJV Cat arrived, then my entire
immediate family, and then Katie’s dad. All of these visits (except Katie’s
dad, who came later) overlapped for just one day, which also happened to be the
wedding of our dear neighborhood friends, Mama and Baba Amos.
My parents and brothers arrived in Dar very early on the
morning of June 28th. There are no words to describe the feeling of
seeing them again after 18 months. It was weird and wonderful and I couldn’t
stop smiling. I sometimes still can’t believe that they were here. I am so proud
of the way they jumped right into my life here.
First of all, on the way home from the airport, we got
pulled over by the police. No joke. It was about 3:30 in the morning and my
friend was driving us in his van. There was no one else on the road and
suddenly this police man was waving at us to stop. So we did and one of them
came over to my window. Not knowing what they wanted or what to say to make
them happy, I started explaining in Swahili that my family had just arrived,
that I was a teacher and volunteer, etc, etc. After a few minutes they let us
go, without really explaining why they stopped us in the first place. What a
way for my family to begin their trip!
After a few hour's rest, we headed to the
church for the wedding mass of my friends. Then later in the evening, we hopped
into 3 bijajis (small open cars used as public transport): myself with my
parents and Christopher; Daniel with my community mates Erin and Alyson, and neighbor/co-worker
Coltrida; and in the third, Katie, Jimmy, and the FJVs Cat and Gretchen. When we reached the hall for the reception,
we were welcomed into a typical Tanzanian celebration, full of music and
dancing, speeches, soda, champagne and beer for the obligatory “cheers”,
excellent food, and lots of gifts for the married couple. It was a perfect
crash course in Tanzanian culture and my family quickly embraced it all!
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| Mama and Baba Amos leaving the church after the ceremony |
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| Me with Amos and Donny (children of the couple getting married) before the wedding ceremony |
Next, my family went on safari for just a few days. While we
were all excited to see the animals and visit the Serengeti, the real gift for
me during that time was having nothing to do or be responsible for except being
with them. It gave us time to catch up and rediscover our family dynamic while
enjoying the most incredible trip we probably will ever take together. It was a strange balance, honestly, having my
family, with whom I have shared the last 24 years, be in this place that has
been especially mine for the last (almost) two years. Talk about worlds colliding! But it was wonderful; they were patient with me and
I did all I could to include them in this beautiful place I now call home. We also had an amazing and knowledgeable safari guide that made
our experience that much richer. Not to mention, speaking with him in Swahili
and surprising all the other guides with our conversations was a lot of fun.
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| My family on safari |
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| Hanging out with the Jesuits |
When we returned to Dar, we began the part of the trip I was
most excited about. We visited the Nandi’s, my host family, who have really
taken me in as one of their own children since the day I arrived, spent some
time in our neighborhood with Mama and Baba Amos (whose wedding we went to) and
their children, had mass and dinner with the Jesuits, visited some of my
favorite students who stay at SOS Children’s Village, rode a dala dala (the
public bus), and had two incredible, full days at school with my co-workers and
students. My students had heard so much about my family before they arrived,
that my family didn’t even have to introduce themselves to my classes! My
Standard Four ducklings were so excited and there are no words to describe the
joy I received from watching my family interact with my “children.”
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| The Nandi Family |
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| Dad reading Flat Stanley to my Standard 4B ducklings! |
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| Introductions at assembly with all 530+ students |
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| Hanging out with Standard 4B |
I am beyond grateful for all my family did and sacrificed in
order to see my life here. I am impressed by and admire the way they were up
for any and all adventures. It is such a gift that my two worlds have now
overlapped. I like to say “my American family and my Tanzanian family are now
one.” When I go to school each day, my co-workers and friends ask about my
parents and brothers, not because it’s the polite thing to do but because now they
know them and genuinely love them. And now when I talk to my family on the
phone and I describe something, they have a real sense of it in their minds
because they have seen it and experienced it. I am so very grateful for the time each of my families was able to spend together. It's really an amazing gift which I will always cherish.
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| The teachers and staff of Gonzaga with my family |
As I look now to the future of returning to that home in
America, I know that I will have four people, who love me and can understand
what I’ve experienced, gently helping me
re-navigate the home I used to know.
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