1 Comment
Billy, Margaret, Bill and Grace just landed in Dar es Salaam! They will arrive to Dodoma early tomorrow morning and we are so excited to see them! We will celebrate Christmas here in Dodoma and then fly north to Kilimanjaro for our safaris in Serengeti and Tarangire National Parks and the Ngorongoro Crater before returning to the US on January 4. Maria and I find it difficult to believe that our time here in Tanzania is coming to a close. We won't lie ... when we arrived almost four months ago, there were multiple times in which we were not sure we could do this. We were convinced that we would never learn to navigate our days and the Tanzanian systems and conventions (including government requirements, Swahili, currency and commerce, crazy traffic patterns, new foods, electricity outages, water scarcity, critters of all sorts, and the Tanzanian extended greetings and handshakes!) Now, as we are saying our "goodbyes," it is truly bittersweet. We have made so many wonderful friends, learned so much about Tanzania, and about ourselves. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to conduct research at DCMC hospital and clinic, teach people in every decade from ages 4 to 64, including in the Anatomy and Physiology course at St John's University (Liz's teaching approval finally came through!), volunteer at One Planet Primary School, travel around Tanzania and Kenya, attend the UNFPA Nairobi Summit, and make so many wonderful friends. We look forward to returning to the comforts of home (that we will never again take for granted) and to seeing all of you! Asante Sana, Tanzania! You will always have a piece of our hearts, so this is not Good Bye ... It is "Until next time!"
Back in September, I completed the paperwork to get approval from the Tanzanian Commission on Universities to teach here at the university. This included my PhD thesis and all diplomas and transcripts (no kidding) going back to high school (!!!!).
The university has not yet heard back on whether I have been approved to teach. This is now week four of the semester (semester started later, but that's a different story) so the regular instructor for the anatomy and physiology course is teaching the course we were supposed to be teaching together. I feel badly about this but have done all that I can and now must just wait. In the meantime, Maria and I are hanging out, playing cards, hauling water, going to the market, living our simple little life. We have decided that, "Everything is simple here, but nothing is easy." We plan to eat Chinese for Thanksgiving :) with the Pattersons from Tennessee. We are grateful for the many things that we have been able to do. We are grateful for our friends here in Tanzania, especially the Pattersons, and all of our loved ones back home. ️ Margaret, Billy, Grace and Bill arrive in 26 days! We are so excited to see them!! We'll all go on safari in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater and then head home. |
Maria and Liz
We are spending fall semester 2019 in Dodoma, Tanzania. Archives
December 2019
Categories |