Unexpected Challenge

The other weekend while celebrating the coming of a New Year with fellow volunteers I danced, laughed and enjoyed the company of wonderful people. The next morning I woke up with twenty-six bug bites on my right hand! World record? Probably not, but still quite the feet! My hand a was an itchy, swollen mess of raised, round, red bumps. I found humor in it, however... I mean, leave it to me to get that many bites in one night.

After saying goodbye to the other volunteers and as we set out on long, long bus rides home, something in me changed. There was something new. A new year's change, you might say....

Malaria.

After a day of feeling off and then a sleepless night with a fever and cuddle-party with the toilet, my community mate, Gretchen, took me to the hospital. It was am experience in health care that I had not expected and was not ready for in my sick/delirious state.

The crowded lobby had dozens of people scattered about with symptoms and issues ranging from missing limbs to screaming children. After trying to give my information, the man at the front desk handed my my file (a piece of cardboard with the name Patrik M. Shey) and ushered me to a seat. Looking around there was a pharmacy, a labratory, an empty swimming pool blocked off, two bathrooms and about six doors with a row of chairs outside each of them (I came to realize that each door was an office of a doctor and the chairs outside were the 'waiting rooms'). After about 10 minutes of nurses and patients coming in and out with no system or order or succession of patient, Gretchen thrusted me into the room just as an old man was rushing out encouraging me to ask for both a malaria and typhoid test! My relief and excitement to finally see a doctor was short lived. He was about 25 and knew very little english (strange because english is the langueage used in education from high school and on). After listening to his desire to move to America and an awkward conversation about 'why would you live in Dar es Salaam and teach in Mabibo' I finally said: "MALARIA and TYPHOID TEST"

He laughed at me and then we started playing a game of charades to try and describe my symptoms. It also became a Kiswahili lesson as he figured out what I was saying and then taugh me (in a call and response form on teaching-game) the words in Kiswahili. One word that he did not translate (and I appologize and slightly regret writing this already) was diarhea which he began to chant loudly, I would even venture to say that he was yelling it at me with a large smile on his face. Maybe he found it ammusing? I do not know. I was exhausted and annoyed at this point. He then scribbled down a few words and said: "you. go to pharmacy. go to lab. go to here."

So, I took the scribbled on piece of paper, faught my way to the pharmacy, elbowed my way into the pharmacy, bought the items needed to preform the tests, traveled to the labratory, gave blood, was sent to the bathroom for a urine sample, back to the lab, waited for my results and then went back to the row of chairs to wait in line to go over my tests. (I sat next to a beutiful Massi woman in her 70s or 80s and her husband.) People kept cutting the line and we just kept waiting. Finally the man at the front desk came, spoke a lot of Kiswahili and got me into the doctor who said.. "two parasites. Malaria. Take this to the phramacy, take pills and drink water, bye".

About $15 and a few busses later, I was home, in bed and being taken care of by my two wonderful community mates.

The days that followed were boring. Me on the couch, drinking water and trying to read a book. We had no electricity and it was hot, per usual BUT I made it through.

Days later I am feeling as good as new! My tolerance to malaria is stronger and while I do not feel ready to start teaching in two days, I am happy to say that my spirits are high and I am excited to truely begin both living AND working as a JV!

Overwhelmed by Karibu Culture

Welcome. Welcome to Tanzania. Come in. Come into my home. Feel at home. Find comfort here. Sit. Enjoy. What I have is yours. Share this with me. Eat. Eat more. Here is a Coke for you. A beer for you. A cake for you. A mango for you. A gift for you. Welcome. Karibu Tanzania.

This is what I am feeling one month in. Tanzanian “Karibu Culture” has provided an overwhelming sense of welcome over the past few weeks. That welcome has come in the form of home stays, meals sharing, greetings on the street and even the purchase, slaughter and cooking of a celebratory goat! Longstanding friendships with Jesuit Volunteers have established a name for the program and those who have served making this transition a bit easier and significantly smoother.

My days in Tanzania are not void of challenge, frustration, fear or discomfort, however. I have officially been immersed in a place that does not look or feel or smell or sound anything like the first twenty three years of my life has been overwhelming to say the least. That sense of immersion is kind of like the feeling of cannon-balling into an ice cold pool on the hottest day of summer… in that you feel everything, your body is in shock, your senses are confused and all you want to do is adjust, adjust, adjust so that you can enjoy the swim, have fun and move on with your day basking in the sun and sharing laughs. Immersion in this Tanzanian pool party of sorts has been interesting.

I feel as though I have jumped into this pool, I am still waiting to find my place in the pool party, the sting of the water is cold enough that I want out but at the same time refreshing enough to keep me in. This the party may feel awkward for a while but as I adjust to the language, the gender roles, the foods, the goat eating, the cockroaches and buffalo spiders, the drop toilets and bucket showers, the instant coffee and all that is new, I will slowly shift from being overwhelmed to being overly-enthused, overly-embraced and overly-excited!

Since jumping into the pool party that is my life here, I have seen a lot and felt a lot. Many of the emotions were expected (I miss check-ins with family and friends… and Panda Express orange chicken) while other experiences have shed light onto new realizations, new understandings and new definitions of life, love and literally everything. For example, I have realized that children are the same where ever you go in the sense that they are goofy, loving, excited, interested and ADORABLE. The children here, however, have one other quality: adaptable. These kids make soccer balls out of used socks and race cars out of cookie boxes and bottle caps. They spend hours playing and fighting, talking and running with seemingly few cares about their conditions in the heat, the dirt and the poverty BUT then there is a total switch and all of the sudden they are running fruit stands, carrying jugs of water twice their size and all of this with a greater understanding of community and what it takes to be a child, be a member of a family and be a part of the Tanzanian people. Children are just one example of this redefinition and re-appreciation.

Throughout the past four weeks I have been very fortunate seeing and experiencing new people, foods, places and aspects of Tanzanian life. As the second year volunteers prepared to head home to the states, I was able to experience goodbyes that outlined just how impactful and meaningful their roles in this community are. Relationships with students, coworkers, families throughout our neighborhood, Jesuits, parishioners and even random strangers on the street displayed how integral and meaningful those two have become. I then went on a home stay, met an amazing family, cooked some Tanzanian dishes, attended a surprise birthday party and started to see how those JVs were invited to and were able to form such genuine and beautiful relationships with those around them.

Two weeks in, we said goodbye to Dar es Salaam and the neighborhood that we live in, Mabibo, and traveled to Tanga for a retreat with the greater JVC-TZA community. There volunteers from Dodoma, Moshi and my community shared in stories, meals and reflections that outlined ways to support and grow together as one larger community spread out all over Tanzania. As a large group we also spent Christmas in Mabibo and New Years in Dodoma with adventures in between including movie watching, beach chilling, botanical garden picnicking, cultural museum visiting, ice cream eating and so much more. It was also with this group that I partook in eating a goat that was given to us in thanks for our work and commitment of two years. While overwhelming at times to be surrounded by, reflecting with and discovering our places within Tanzania, we grew a lot as a large group and even more in the one-on-one friendships. I love these volunteers.

Returning home to Mabibo, charged with a new energy, excited to start a life here and feeling held by my community and the network of JVs that I just left, Cat and I embarked on our first real adventure using Kiswahili to purchase food and materials to then make a whole dinner from scratch. It was the first time that I truly felt like a Jesuit Volunteer in a different country. Amidst handfuls of people simultaneously laughing at my Kiswahili and helping me along, I felt like I was a part of something greater, something growing, something that is both mine and theirs, something that is what it is and will become something that I will love simply because it is. This is it, a communion, a process and the start of Tanzania and me growing one step closer.

Looking forward:

Possibly my greatest challenge and ultimately greatest purpose here begins in one week. I start work. My first time to be up  in front of students, to be in charge of students, to discipline, to lead, to be inspire learning. Next week I will begin working at Loyola High School teaching in pre-form one Oral English, pre-form one Values and form one Religion. What does that mean? I am not sure. I have several outlines of past JV curriculums, a very helpful network of teachers and administrators and A LOT of excitement. All in all, I am sure it will be great but the task of teaching English to children who only know Kiswahili is daunting. Schooling in this country mandates that high school and beyond be taught in English while primary secular schools teach in Kiswahili. These children are being pushed into a new school, a new degree of schooling and a new language. As one who has experienced the reverse (Kiswahili immersion as an English speaker) I feel for these students. It is scary. While I am working to achieve a level of competency that will allow me to communicate my basic needs, they are working to further their education, their possibilities and their potentials in an academic arena. Both of these are daunting, both will require a lot of patience!

New Everything

Karibuni Tanzania! Welcome All to Tanzania!

Highlights: (if you are not as interested in ALL of my thoughts, emotions and ramblings)

• Two long, safe flights got me to Africa
• Day 1: beer with the Jesuits
• Kiswahili is awesome but going to be really hard to learn!
• Loyola High School better get ready for the craziest oral English/creative writing/Religion/Values teacher… ever?
• Sorting rice and beans before you cook is a long process
• Transportation here is crazy and an adventure to say the least
• The Sisters of Charity do amazing work all over the world, including here in Dar
• I got a crazy shirt made out of neon yellow fabric
• The beaches are beautiful
• It is hot here. For real, very hot.

Wow, what a week this has been! It is hard to believe that just one week ago I was sitting in Heathrow Airport waiting to board a plane to Africa. The week have been fun and intense and crazy and exciting and inspiring and daunting and silly and so many things! Emotions are running high and the sweat is pouring… everywhere!

As the plane entered Tanzanian air last Sunday a wave of emotion rushed over me. The fear, the excitement and the unknown overwhelmed me. Through the big blue skies and billowing white clouds I saw the tip of Mt. Kilimanjaro as we began out dissent. Just as I look for Mt. Rainier on flights to and from Seattle, this new mountain, this different mountain, this monument of a mountain welcomed me to this beautiful country.

The plane landed safely without any problems and as I looked out the window to see the new place I would call home, the windows began to fog. I thought I was breathing too close to the window but, no, the steam came from outside. The humidity begins. I stepped off of the plane and experienced it for myself for the first time. Yes, I started sweating a week ago and have, for the most part, not stopped sweating since. (if you have plans to visit me, this is not the time of year to do it. Apparently in July is gets cold and dry… cold being in the 70’s but hey, that sounds great. I have not see our thermometer go below 81 degrees and I do not even WANT to know the degree of humidity.)

Sunday consisted of settling in, unpacking and going to mass. We went to the 4pm children’s mass. Picture 100-150 children sitting around the front of a huge church led by a German Jesuit and two adults leading songs. (Squirming, singing and dancing.) These kids loved it. Towards the end of mass the priest called us volunteers up to the alter to introduce Cat (the other 1^st year) and myself. Then Christen, Emily and Gretchen (current JVs) all spoke in Kiswahili to this crowd of excited, clapping, smiling children and told them who we are and where we will be teaching. It was really fun! Mass was hard to follow not only because of jetlag but it was the first time I had been immersed in an hour and half straight of Kiswahili!

It is an amazing language with a lot of passion and beauty in it. Greetings are huge here. Greeting vary depending on who you are and the age, occupation and so one of the other person. Then the time of day changes the greeting as well. Yes, I am learning. Yes, it is hard. Yes, YES YES! I cant wait to know more!!!!!

After mass the priest, Fr Visus, invited us over to the Jesuit Residence for a drink. I had my first Tanzanian beer (called Safari, a lager) with a bunch of Jesuits! Super. They are so nice and welcoming. The volunteers see the Jesuit residence as a second home and I can’t wait to become more comfortable and at home in that space. Goal = become best friends with a Jesuit.

The next day I went to Loyola High School to see where I would be working and to learn about the different classes I would be teaching. I was given the option between grammar and oral English/creative writing... oral eng/creative writing was my obvious choice. After the tour of the school Christen (a second year) took Cat and I to an orphanage and place of refuge for the disabled and elderly run by the Sisters of Charity, thanks Mother Theresa (Christen used this site as a second placement once she picked up the language and got a lighter teaching schedule). There my Kiswahili was put to test as it is expected to meet and greet every person in the compound starting with the elderly men, then women, then disabled girls, then disabled boys and then the orphan children. Aside from a little boy vomiting ALL OVER Cat, the visit went very well and I am excited to visit or maybe volunteer there more!

That evening we had guests over who are longtime friends of JVs (Baba Davie and Mama Davie and their son Ema). It was all in Kiswahili so I was pretty lost. I was in charge of the radio and making sure there was music. I took the name DJShea.

Wednesday we went into downtown Dar es Salaam to run errands and to see that part of the city. It is crowded, fast moving and full of sights, smells and sounds I had never experienced. On that trip I saw the Catholic Cathedral and the Indian Ocean, so I consider it quite the success. We took a Dala (a taxi van with 12 seats where they pack 25-30 people in them… seriously… so many people) back to the house which is in an area called Mabibo. That night we went to dinner at the Davie house. While we were there it rained and rained and rained so hard. Baba Davie kept saying that it was God’s way of saying that we (JVs) could not leave because we are family and were meant to stay there. It was nice but after about 3 hours of rain, against Baba Davie’s desires, we decided we would tough the weather. Haha.

Thursday Gretchen, Cat and I went to the market. You can get ANYTHING at the market. It was amazing. We bought dishes for Christmas because we will have many guests as well as a lot of fabrics. Cat got fabric to make skirts for school and I got fabric to make a shirt. It is going to be so sweet! I will also be able to wear it to school.

Thursday evening we had guests over again. Again, I was DJ.

Friday morning I had meetings with the head of the English Department (Janet) and then the Academic Dean (Fr. Shete) to discuss my role in the school and as an English teacher. We discussed in depth professionalism, curriculum, corporal punishment, extra curricular activities and a lot more. It was informative, inspiring and daunting! We then met up with some of Christen’s students and went to Coco beach which was about 45 minutes from the school. It was beautiful and relaxing. After that, we rushed back using several dalas to get to the Jesuit’s for dinner (we go there every Friday night).

This blog entry is so long. Ohhh geez. I wish I could go on and talk about food, my farmer tan, fixing a toilet, what is it like to enter into a house with two people leaving/two entering/one in the middle, all of the bright colors surrounding me, the anxiety of learning another language and so much more. I guess you are just going to have to stay tuned!

Congrats, you read all of that! Thank you.

Amani (peace),

Shea

Days Away

Here I am, in Edmonds, Washington in my childhood bedroom trying to pack and planning goodbyes. What am I excited about? Everything. What am I anxious about? Everything.

But, here is my blog. Not promising regular posts or anything too in depth but I hope that this becomes a place to share some of my adventures, excitements, fears, emotions, insights and maybe a picture or two.

I would also like to hear about your lives via email or letter!

Here is my address:
Shea Patrick Meehan
Jesuit Volunteers
Loyola High School
P O Box 1140
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Anyways, much love!

-SheaPatrick