Mountain Conquered
Well it was a long long long long long trek, but eventually we made it to the top of Mount Meru. Everybody made it to 3,500m, an admirable effort. The going was tough, the slope was steep, the ground was energy sapping yet the 17 strong adventurers surged onwards and upwards. Was this the best display of human endurance ever known to man? Yup.
By the time we reached 3,500m some had tragically fallen victim to the dreaded altitude sickness, our very own leader and style guru Jon Gallagher was suffering. At 2 am in the morning 12 intrepid survivors embarked upon a 6 hour trek to the pinnacle /vortex/summit/climax of a wonderful trip. It was Dark and cold yet this did nopt deter the unit from reaching Rhino Point at 3,800m. Unfortunately we soon lost 2 people to the uncontrolable forces of nature. Yet 10 continued with the promise of a beautiful sunrise and view to challenge all views. By 8 am in the morning the ten were Ryan, Matt, Jim, martin, simon, Dave, Tim, Rozzy,Chris and Rabi. However no stunning view was forthcoming as the summit was shrouded in cloud with visibility at 5 metres!!! Oh well, we might have to go up it next year then.
Even going down the mountain altitude sickness attacked, but it didnt matter, the beast was conquered and everybody was thoroughly chuffed.
The view from the pitch aint too shabby
Monday, August 30, 2004
The Boys' Big Adventure
It was saturday afternoon at the end of a hard week painting at the Childrens home and remand centre. We had been treated to a display of African dancing and drumming by the Amani kids. We had been beseiged by the local paparazzi and it was time for some R&R. It was time for Premiership football.
An intrepid party set forth from the hostel in search of satellite TV. We tried all manner of reputable and not so reputable establishments- all to no avail. Babycham and Captain Darling were so fatigued they had to stop for supplies. Things were not looking good and the boys were on the verge of turning back. Then we were greeted by a young Tanzanian gentleman with the customary greeting of 'Jambo'. "We're looking for Premiership football, can you help?" was our desperate plea. "Follow me", he replied and so we did. We followed down many back streets getting further and further from the main road. Just as we began to think that we were completely lost with neither football or any way of returning to civilisation our luck changed. Ahead of us was loomed a bar with a beef carcass hanging in the doorway. We were ushered through the bar. At the far end of the courtyard were some imposing cast iron gates. Dare we peer into the void beyond? We were intrepid explorers far from home and on a desperate win or bust mission, so we did. And the sight that met us was like Cloumbus discovering the new world- it was pure joy my friends. Ahead, on a tiny TV was Chelsea V Southampton in full swing with local Tanzanian crowd roaring. We were found seats. We were given cool drinks to refresh our aching limbs. It was a little slice of heaven. Things got even better for Ginger Spice as Chelsea went 2-1 ahead. He celebrated with aplomb. He was the only one, until he was joined by a solitary Tanzanian who felt a pang of sympathy. Then, suddenly disaster stuck: A power cut. Tanzania's hamster wheels incorporated ceased its supply. What a cruel blow. The boys had journeyed. They had toiled. They had striven and thought they had reached the promised land. But it only lasted seven minutes.
But it was character building...
It was saturday afternoon at the end of a hard week painting at the Childrens home and remand centre. We had been treated to a display of African dancing and drumming by the Amani kids. We had been beseiged by the local paparazzi and it was time for some R&R. It was time for Premiership football.
An intrepid party set forth from the hostel in search of satellite TV. We tried all manner of reputable and not so reputable establishments- all to no avail. Babycham and Captain Darling were so fatigued they had to stop for supplies. Things were not looking good and the boys were on the verge of turning back. Then we were greeted by a young Tanzanian gentleman with the customary greeting of 'Jambo'. "We're looking for Premiership football, can you help?" was our desperate plea. "Follow me", he replied and so we did. We followed down many back streets getting further and further from the main road. Just as we began to think that we were completely lost with neither football or any way of returning to civilisation our luck changed. Ahead of us was loomed a bar with a beef carcass hanging in the doorway. We were ushered through the bar. At the far end of the courtyard were some imposing cast iron gates. Dare we peer into the void beyond? We were intrepid explorers far from home and on a desperate win or bust mission, so we did. And the sight that met us was like Cloumbus discovering the new world- it was pure joy my friends. Ahead, on a tiny TV was Chelsea V Southampton in full swing with local Tanzanian crowd roaring. We were found seats. We were given cool drinks to refresh our aching limbs. It was a little slice of heaven. Things got even better for Ginger Spice as Chelsea went 2-1 ahead. He celebrated with aplomb. He was the only one, until he was joined by a solitary Tanzanian who felt a pang of sympathy. Then, suddenly disaster stuck: A power cut. Tanzania's hamster wheels incorporated ceased its supply. What a cruel blow. The boys had journeyed. They had toiled. They had striven and thought they had reached the promised land. But it only lasted seven minutes.
But it was character building...
Thursday, August 26, 2004
Tanzanians Hail Celebrity Navs
The team have reached celebrity status here in Moshi as their exploits have been spread along the airwaves the length and breadth of Moshi. In fact interest in the lads is snowballing out of control. "Things have been pretty hectic" claimed Simon, aka Barbie, "But its been great." Other Navs were less positive. "Yeah, fame is great for about a week", moaned Chris James, aka Moneypenny, "but then it just gets too much and by then you are stuck with it." Team coach Chloe is trying to get the team to keep their feet on the ground despite all the attention. "My job is to keep the media away from the team and keep them focussed on their task: Painting the Childrens home and winning sundays crucial match against the International School of Moshi. All the rest is just garnish."
The boys have one day left of painting and a football tournament to organise before the crucial encounter on Sunday. Things have been going well at Amani and the Remand centre but the lads know they must finish well. Many friends have been made and lessons learned, but the boys hope that one lesson that will be learned is how to finish off those chances in front of goal. Old man of the team Galls said, "I would love to score on sunday both personally and for the team. The old legs aren't what they used to be when I was a lad. This could be my last tour. I will sit down with the family after the game and we will discuss the future. But it is important that we finish on a high note going into the all important domestic season."
The lads are expecting a welcome when they get home commensurate with their new found status...
The team have reached celebrity status here in Moshi as their exploits have been spread along the airwaves the length and breadth of Moshi. In fact interest in the lads is snowballing out of control. "Things have been pretty hectic" claimed Simon, aka Barbie, "But its been great." Other Navs were less positive. "Yeah, fame is great for about a week", moaned Chris James, aka Moneypenny, "but then it just gets too much and by then you are stuck with it." Team coach Chloe is trying to get the team to keep their feet on the ground despite all the attention. "My job is to keep the media away from the team and keep them focussed on their task: Painting the Childrens home and winning sundays crucial match against the International School of Moshi. All the rest is just garnish."
The boys have one day left of painting and a football tournament to organise before the crucial encounter on Sunday. Things have been going well at Amani and the Remand centre but the lads know they must finish well. Many friends have been made and lessons learned, but the boys hope that one lesson that will be learned is how to finish off those chances in front of goal. Old man of the team Galls said, "I would love to score on sunday both personally and for the team. The old legs aren't what they used to be when I was a lad. This could be my last tour. I will sit down with the family after the game and we will discuss the future. But it is important that we finish on a high note going into the all important domestic season."
The lads are expecting a welcome when they get home commensurate with their new found status...
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Its A Game Of 2 Halves
Soweto Stars 3 Navs 1
Well the first half was 35 minutes and the second was 50. In the confusion Navs conceded 2 goals. It all started out so brightly, as early on Navs were bossing midfield and playing some sweet passing moves. A nifty through ball released Das Puffin who raced onto it and unleashed a furious thunderbolt into the top of the net. For the first time on the tour Navs were in front. The boys went delirious. The girls at the side of the pitch went delirious. The Africans looked on bemused. Everything was going well until a lofted ball caught Navs out at the back.
In the second half the boys gave everything, in the vain but logical thought that the second half would be the same length as the first!!! Tiredness was really beginning to show as the seven games in 8 days took their toll. Conceding 2 in the last few minutes was scant reward for the boys who performed like gladiators and really showed their character, "Im so proud of them" choked a tearful Galls "they were like young lions out there, but sometimes in life the Zebra has his day." The return match is on Thursday, hopefully Cloe, Sambuca and Captain Darling will be back to full fitness as we attempt to defeat Soweto for the first time in our history.
"We will win on this tour" said Navs starlet Rabi Salifu "otherwise I will never wear clothes again." The incentive is clear for all the boys.
Off Field Antics
Amani kids home is in excellent shape compared to last years visit, it is really encouraging to see the progress that has been made. Each child now looks after a vegetable plot in what was once just a dusty piece of earth.
We set to work straight away painting the bedrooms and tomorrow we will begin work building an outdoor classroom. As usual the kids mucked in and joined in the fun much to the amusement of Pips who was constantly wanting her paintbrush back.
Painting also continues apace at the Remand Centre although there was a near mutiny from the boys as Galls disappeared with the teams pies! Naughty Galls. In fact you wont recognise him hes put on 3 stone.
Soweto Stars 3 Navs 1
Well the first half was 35 minutes and the second was 50. In the confusion Navs conceded 2 goals. It all started out so brightly, as early on Navs were bossing midfield and playing some sweet passing moves. A nifty through ball released Das Puffin who raced onto it and unleashed a furious thunderbolt into the top of the net. For the first time on the tour Navs were in front. The boys went delirious. The girls at the side of the pitch went delirious. The Africans looked on bemused. Everything was going well until a lofted ball caught Navs out at the back.
In the second half the boys gave everything, in the vain but logical thought that the second half would be the same length as the first!!! Tiredness was really beginning to show as the seven games in 8 days took their toll. Conceding 2 in the last few minutes was scant reward for the boys who performed like gladiators and really showed their character, "Im so proud of them" choked a tearful Galls "they were like young lions out there, but sometimes in life the Zebra has his day." The return match is on Thursday, hopefully Cloe, Sambuca and Captain Darling will be back to full fitness as we attempt to defeat Soweto for the first time in our history.
"We will win on this tour" said Navs starlet Rabi Salifu "otherwise I will never wear clothes again." The incentive is clear for all the boys.
Off Field Antics
Amani kids home is in excellent shape compared to last years visit, it is really encouraging to see the progress that has been made. Each child now looks after a vegetable plot in what was once just a dusty piece of earth.
We set to work straight away painting the bedrooms and tomorrow we will begin work building an outdoor classroom. As usual the kids mucked in and joined in the fun much to the amusement of Pips who was constantly wanting her paintbrush back.
Painting also continues apace at the Remand Centre although there was a near mutiny from the boys as Galls disappeared with the teams pies! Naughty Galls. In fact you wont recognise him hes put on 3 stone.
Monday, August 23, 2004
Referees and Injuries cost Navs dear...
OK. The boys are still with out a win, but their exceptional circumstances my friends. A mounting injury crisis has ripped the heart out of the team (or more accurately the bowels of the team) and some of the refereeing has been dubious to say the least. This may sound like sour grapes but I feel I must get this off my chest by summarising some of the decisions:
-Galls fouled in penalty area. Ref awards free kick then only makes defensive wall retreat 2 yards. Galls not amused.
-Onloan striker Brown fouled in penalty area with match in balance. Ref waves play on. Navs lose 8-1. No one amused.
-Martin (aka Rascal) has perfectly good goal disallowed for offside. Martin not amused.
And there have been many more such examples. But we fight on friends. We are down but not destroyed. Hard pressed on every side but not crushed, Perplexed but not in despair. Bruised but not broken. We will sweat blood for the cause and we will win a game before we return to our native shores. In fact, we will not leave Tanzania until we have a victory under our ever loosening belts...We will make Britain proud.
Footballing aside, we have arrived in Moshi and begin work at Amani Childrens home and Moshi Remand Centre tomorrow morning. We are looking forward to getting stuck in to some serious painting and building work. We will keep you posted!
OK. The boys are still with out a win, but their exceptional circumstances my friends. A mounting injury crisis has ripped the heart out of the team (or more accurately the bowels of the team) and some of the refereeing has been dubious to say the least. This may sound like sour grapes but I feel I must get this off my chest by summarising some of the decisions:
-Galls fouled in penalty area. Ref awards free kick then only makes defensive wall retreat 2 yards. Galls not amused.
-Onloan striker Brown fouled in penalty area with match in balance. Ref waves play on. Navs lose 8-1. No one amused.
-Martin (aka Rascal) has perfectly good goal disallowed for offside. Martin not amused.
And there have been many more such examples. But we fight on friends. We are down but not destroyed. Hard pressed on every side but not crushed, Perplexed but not in despair. Bruised but not broken. We will sweat blood for the cause and we will win a game before we return to our native shores. In fact, we will not leave Tanzania until we have a victory under our ever loosening belts...We will make Britain proud.
Footballing aside, we have arrived in Moshi and begin work at Amani Childrens home and Moshi Remand Centre tomorrow morning. We are looking forward to getting stuck in to some serious painting and building work. We will keep you posted!
Monday, August 16, 2004
Hello Guys
Well we are all here safely. It took 24 hours to get here but it is well worth it. We got a guided tour round Dar on Saturday. Dar is quite busy but there are so many people standing around chatting, they take life so much slower and relaxed then us!!! We went to a fish market which was the busiest place in the whole of the city, adn the smelliest.
On sunday we went to a traditional Gospel church. There were atleast 500 people in the congregation. It started off well, with typical gospel singing, very energetic, cheerful and loud, even a few verses in English. Then it began to drag after an hour and a half. They like to make a whole day of it, it also takes longer because the sermons are delivered in English then translated into Swahili. We left after 3 hours becuase we had football training, in preparation for our first match tonight!!!
Where we are playing football is amazing, it is a focal point for the whole district, its where people come to socialise in the evening. Everytime we missed a shot, we had a bunch of litte kids go runign to get the ball, abviously they were doing this a lot.
We had a bbq at the Foresters in the evening and learned a bit more about rural Tanzania. Dar is really quite modern, with its cars and tap water and as i have been told how hectic it is. I think its going to be very different when we go to Moshi next week.
I had better go we have got some haggling to do,
Si & the rest of the guys
Well we are all here safely. It took 24 hours to get here but it is well worth it. We got a guided tour round Dar on Saturday. Dar is quite busy but there are so many people standing around chatting, they take life so much slower and relaxed then us!!! We went to a fish market which was the busiest place in the whole of the city, adn the smelliest.
On sunday we went to a traditional Gospel church. There were atleast 500 people in the congregation. It started off well, with typical gospel singing, very energetic, cheerful and loud, even a few verses in English. Then it began to drag after an hour and a half. They like to make a whole day of it, it also takes longer because the sermons are delivered in English then translated into Swahili. We left after 3 hours becuase we had football training, in preparation for our first match tonight!!!
Where we are playing football is amazing, it is a focal point for the whole district, its where people come to socialise in the evening. Everytime we missed a shot, we had a bunch of litte kids go runign to get the ball, abviously they were doing this a lot.
We had a bbq at the Foresters in the evening and learned a bit more about rural Tanzania. Dar is really quite modern, with its cars and tap water and as i have been told how hectic it is. I think its going to be very different when we go to Moshi next week.
I had better go we have got some haggling to do,
Si & the rest of the guys
Hello again,
It's been a busy few days for us (James, Ryan, Rhona and Rozzy) - we managed to escape from the internet cafe of our last jounal entry by the back door and then fled from our pursuiants successfully.
The next day was our safari - we had an 8 seater jeep all to ourselves and it was amazing. We saw elephants, giraffes, zebra, baboons, monkeys, mongeese, wildebeast, warthogs and much more. It was an amaizng day.
We then went to Zanzibar and spent some time there, maingly on the beach. It was fantastic - we satyed in tradition huts right on the beach - white sand, palm trees, blue water. We went snorkelling from a dhow and saw some cool fish. A great few days off.
The other 15 guys got here on Friday night and we met them on Saturday - I think Simon's going to take the journal-writing baton from now onwards so I'll leave it to him to tell all of you about it. It's kind of strange going from 4 people to 20. But nice too - great to catch up with everyone.
Rhona, Rozzy and Pippa all went off to Morogoro this morning - they're teaching some children there for a week before re-joining the guys.
As for me, I'm off home early on Thursday (3 days away!) for my sister's wedding, so I'll leave you in Simon's capable hands from now on. See you in 4 days!
J
It's been a busy few days for us (James, Ryan, Rhona and Rozzy) - we managed to escape from the internet cafe of our last jounal entry by the back door and then fled from our pursuiants successfully.
The next day was our safari - we had an 8 seater jeep all to ourselves and it was amazing. We saw elephants, giraffes, zebra, baboons, monkeys, mongeese, wildebeast, warthogs and much more. It was an amaizng day.
We then went to Zanzibar and spent some time there, maingly on the beach. It was fantastic - we satyed in tradition huts right on the beach - white sand, palm trees, blue water. We went snorkelling from a dhow and saw some cool fish. A great few days off.
The other 15 guys got here on Friday night and we met them on Saturday - I think Simon's going to take the journal-writing baton from now onwards so I'll leave it to him to tell all of you about it. It's kind of strange going from 4 people to 20. But nice too - great to catch up with everyone.
Rhona, Rozzy and Pippa all went off to Morogoro this morning - they're teaching some children there for a week before re-joining the guys.
As for me, I'm off home early on Thursday (3 days away!) for my sister's wedding, so I'll leave you in Simon's capable hands from now on. See you in 4 days!
J
Friday, August 13, 2004
Saturday, August 07, 2004
We're now all in an internet cafe and we're under seige. I made the cardinal error of buying something from a tourist shop and the vultures descended, smelling blood. We are now surrounded on all sides by people hoping we'll buy something who have followed us without leaving for quite a while. We've ducked in here for refuge and have been here 10 minutes and they're still waiting for us. We even tried pretending to be French to shift them. No luck.
What a difference from the quiet of Uroki where we were stared at by people cos we're white, but no-one tried to sell us anything and everyone was very polite. We completed our last lesson yesterday and made our way to Arusha today. We were really sad to say goodbye to everyone. If you'd said I'd spend my last night there sitting in a circle singing Edelweiss with 2 teachers, the school matron, the captain of the football team, and several other students, I wouldn't have believed you. So much of what has happened in the last 2 weeks beggars belief. In a good way.
Anyways, everyone's well, Ryan's beard has progressed, and we're off on a day's safari tomorrow! Exciting stuff.
Rhona's busy seeing if there's a back door to this place so we can escape, so I'd best go and help her. Hope you're all OK.
J
What a difference from the quiet of Uroki where we were stared at by people cos we're white, but no-one tried to sell us anything and everyone was very polite. We completed our last lesson yesterday and made our way to Arusha today. We were really sad to say goodbye to everyone. If you'd said I'd spend my last night there sitting in a circle singing Edelweiss with 2 teachers, the school matron, the captain of the football team, and several other students, I wouldn't have believed you. So much of what has happened in the last 2 weeks beggars belief. In a good way.
Anyways, everyone's well, Ryan's beard has progressed, and we're off on a day's safari tomorrow! Exciting stuff.
Rhona's busy seeing if there's a back door to this place so we can escape, so I'd best go and help her. Hope you're all OK.
J
Thursday, August 05, 2004
OK, so there was this rooster/cockrel which seemed to live outside our house and he didn't just crow, he SCREAMED. Every morning, noon and night, starting early (around 4am). We were joking one day about how we'd like to kill him because he was the mosty irritating thing I've ever known.
I say was cos the funny thing is he's now dead. We ate him for tea 2 nights ago. And he tasted lovely. And our sleep has improved immensely.
We're still in Uroki, teaching away. It's funny how you getr used to things very quickly. Seems like we've been here ages and have taught classes for years.
We're well, been enjoying some walks around the village, and have mastered (finally) the Tanzanian art of greeting people. A tricky business at the best of times.
On Saturday we went to some Waterfalls which were AMAZING and on Sunday we went to a Jubilee at a convent which was amazingly long - almost 5 hours, all in Swahili. Think graduation ceremony but without people you know, in a differenmt language and 3 times as long. However, we got to try Blackcurrant Fanta afterwards for the first time so every cloud has a silver lining.
Off to Arusha on Saturday for a day Safari on Sunday and then to Zanzibar on Monday before we meet the 15 or so others flying out on Monday.
Hope you're all well, see some of you soon!
I say was cos the funny thing is he's now dead. We ate him for tea 2 nights ago. And he tasted lovely. And our sleep has improved immensely.
We're still in Uroki, teaching away. It's funny how you getr used to things very quickly. Seems like we've been here ages and have taught classes for years.
We're well, been enjoying some walks around the village, and have mastered (finally) the Tanzanian art of greeting people. A tricky business at the best of times.
On Saturday we went to some Waterfalls which were AMAZING and on Sunday we went to a Jubilee at a convent which was amazingly long - almost 5 hours, all in Swahili. Think graduation ceremony but without people you know, in a differenmt language and 3 times as long. However, we got to try Blackcurrant Fanta afterwards for the first time so every cloud has a silver lining.
Off to Arusha on Saturday for a day Safari on Sunday and then to Zanzibar on Monday before we meet the 15 or so others flying out on Monday.
Hope you're all well, see some of you soon!
Saturday, July 31, 2004
Greetings once again!
Haven't got long so will type what I can. We've now moved to a totally different place, a school on the slopes of Kilamanjaro! It's pretty strange seeing the mountain top every day. It's in the middle of no-where with no internet, so I'm now in a town near(ish)by.
It's been a surreal week - we've eaten manure by mistake, Ryan's been hacked on the fottball pitch and has many cuts and grazes, we've learnt to never again play consequences with Tanzanians and we've taught and planned more classes than I care to remember.
The highlight for me has to be Tuesday, when we were told we were doing "Bible-Club" for the students and had literally 5 minutes to prepare a 40 minute long "service" thingy, complete with songs and talk. It came off OK though (I hope).
We weren't sure what we'd be doing before we got here, but we're teaching English and RE. Some lessons have gone down a treat, others like a lead baloon. But it's fun (if not tiring).
Everyone here is really friendly and we're all enjoying the weekend (we can get up at 7.15am rather than 6am...).
That's all for now, hope you're all well, hopefully update again in a week or so.
J
(PS - Karen - can you e-mail me to update me on GTTR if there's anything to report).
Haven't got long so will type what I can. We've now moved to a totally different place, a school on the slopes of Kilamanjaro! It's pretty strange seeing the mountain top every day. It's in the middle of no-where with no internet, so I'm now in a town near(ish)by.
It's been a surreal week - we've eaten manure by mistake, Ryan's been hacked on the fottball pitch and has many cuts and grazes, we've learnt to never again play consequences with Tanzanians and we've taught and planned more classes than I care to remember.
The highlight for me has to be Tuesday, when we were told we were doing "Bible-Club" for the students and had literally 5 minutes to prepare a 40 minute long "service" thingy, complete with songs and talk. It came off OK though (I hope).
We weren't sure what we'd be doing before we got here, but we're teaching English and RE. Some lessons have gone down a treat, others like a lead baloon. But it's fun (if not tiring).
Everyone here is really friendly and we're all enjoying the weekend (we can get up at 7.15am rather than 6am...).
That's all for now, hope you're all well, hopefully update again in a week or so.
J
(PS - Karen - can you e-mail me to update me on GTTR if there's anything to report).
Friday, July 23, 2004
Habari! It's James here again (the others all voted me in to write this - sorry!).
Tanzanian greetings to you all from Dar es Salaam. It's Friday here at 3.30 in the afternoon - perhaps less hot than last time but more humid. All having a WONDERFUL time here, Africa and Tanzania is amazing.
Yesterday we had our first Swahili lesson - Ryan, Rozzy and Rhona are all practically fluent by now and I can just about buy a mango and a cooking banana and stop the bus (an essential skill). We went to visit a guy called George who lives in Bugaruni (said Boogarooni), which is one of the poorest areas in Dar es Salaam. It's a pretty shocking place - 4 families (and families here are MUCH bigger than in the UK) to a very small house, glass-strewn dirt streets, kids playing football with a ball of rags tied together...
However, George and his family were amazing, and we all had a fantastic day. Never experienced such generosity and hospitality. He gave us a Swahili lesson and then told us we could now teach his kids... SO I had to come up with a quick history lesson. I decided to tell them the Legend of Troy. However, having studied Ancient History and not Classics I've never actually read it, but I managed to describe the film pretty well... Ryan taught them to play Hangman and the girls taught them Scottish dancing and the Moose song. We all sang and laughed and played til pretty late with his amazinbg family, it was amazing. Such fantastic food too - really nice.
George live and works in Bugaruni, trying to help the people there. It's pretty inspiring, espcially since he's one of the few who don't have to live there, yet he chooses too.
Todaywe went across town to buy bus tickets and walked through the biggest market ever - there were huge holes in the road and Ryan was a bit scared of them but I managed to steer himclear of falling in any or being hit by a bus (which is surprisingly easy to do).
Have fairly bathed in DEET so no mosquito bites as yet (unlike Ryan) although I've surely cursed myself by saying that.
Have rambled on long enough and said little of use, but I hope you feel a bit more informed. For the guys coming, we all HIGHLY recommend Merril type trianers (mine are "OutdoorScene" brand and were about 1/3 of the price and do as well) - they are absolutely amazing and get some if you can. Also, heat and mosquitos not a big prob at all, and look forward to sharing the amazing time we're having already.
Take care all,
J
Tanzanian greetings to you all from Dar es Salaam. It's Friday here at 3.30 in the afternoon - perhaps less hot than last time but more humid. All having a WONDERFUL time here, Africa and Tanzania is amazing.
Yesterday we had our first Swahili lesson - Ryan, Rozzy and Rhona are all practically fluent by now and I can just about buy a mango and a cooking banana and stop the bus (an essential skill). We went to visit a guy called George who lives in Bugaruni (said Boogarooni), which is one of the poorest areas in Dar es Salaam. It's a pretty shocking place - 4 families (and families here are MUCH bigger than in the UK) to a very small house, glass-strewn dirt streets, kids playing football with a ball of rags tied together...
However, George and his family were amazing, and we all had a fantastic day. Never experienced such generosity and hospitality. He gave us a Swahili lesson and then told us we could now teach his kids... SO I had to come up with a quick history lesson. I decided to tell them the Legend of Troy. However, having studied Ancient History and not Classics I've never actually read it, but I managed to describe the film pretty well... Ryan taught them to play Hangman and the girls taught them Scottish dancing and the Moose song. We all sang and laughed and played til pretty late with his amazinbg family, it was amazing. Such fantastic food too - really nice.
George live and works in Bugaruni, trying to help the people there. It's pretty inspiring, espcially since he's one of the few who don't have to live there, yet he chooses too.
Todaywe went across town to buy bus tickets and walked through the biggest market ever - there were huge holes in the road and Ryan was a bit scared of them but I managed to steer himclear of falling in any or being hit by a bus (which is surprisingly easy to do).
Have fairly bathed in DEET so no mosquito bites as yet (unlike Ryan) although I've surely cursed myself by saying that.
Have rambled on long enough and said little of use, but I hope you feel a bit more informed. For the guys coming, we all HIGHLY recommend Merril type trianers (mine are "OutdoorScene" brand and were about 1/3 of the price and do as well) - they are absolutely amazing and get some if you can. Also, heat and mosquitos not a big prob at all, and look forward to sharing the amazing time we're having already.
Take care all,
J
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Hi all!
It's Wednesday evening and we're (James and Ryan) in an internet cafe at the university, just rushing off an entry before heading back to the fruit man to buy a banana-potato and then running in to avoid the attack of the mosquitos at dusk.
We're all well, got here almost without incident, but we're still a bit tired and disorientated.
Africa is amazing, and I love it so far.
Layla Mathers (one of the Navs staff here) is looking after us and we've just been seeing round Dar es Salaam today. It's about 28 degrees centigrade and humidity is quite high but I'm not finding it bad at all - quite nice even.
The plane on the way was AMAZING - a TV screen in the back of every seat with a choice of about 10 films or 18 computer games. And the food was pretty good too. Thumbs up to Emirates. By the way, if any of you guys coming out here next month want to set-off your carbon emissions, you can buy trees to soak up your plane-gas at www.futureforests.com so your flight is carbon-neutral.
Food is cool - had fish and banana soup last night! Lovely fresh fruit everywhere, mangoes are lovely.
Struck by the poverty already - lots of people live in shack-style things along roads, 20% employment, 44 years life expectancy, 1 in 5 infant mortality, HIV/AIDs a big prob. At the same time, there are quite a few rich White people with HUGE houses. Weird.
That's all from me - Ryan wants a rubber suit with inbuilt air conditioned suit brought out to remain cool during football but also to bouce off any 14-year-old girls coming his way (so far he almost fell over in the bath and impaled himself on the taps but that's it). Speaking of the bath, have to wash in a bucket which is kinda fun but REALLY time consuming. Especially if your name's Rhona... :o)
The girls say "hi", they're well apart from being woken up at 4am by some guy calling Muslims to prayer.
Oh - and there's monkeys wild running about!!! They're like squirrels or rats in Britain. SO cool. No rabid dogs yet, but quite a few stray ones.
Take care y'all, will try and write again in a few days.
James (and Ryan)
It's Wednesday evening and we're (James and Ryan) in an internet cafe at the university, just rushing off an entry before heading back to the fruit man to buy a banana-potato and then running in to avoid the attack of the mosquitos at dusk.
We're all well, got here almost without incident, but we're still a bit tired and disorientated.
Africa is amazing, and I love it so far.
Layla Mathers (one of the Navs staff here) is looking after us and we've just been seeing round Dar es Salaam today. It's about 28 degrees centigrade and humidity is quite high but I'm not finding it bad at all - quite nice even.
The plane on the way was AMAZING - a TV screen in the back of every seat with a choice of about 10 films or 18 computer games. And the food was pretty good too. Thumbs up to Emirates. By the way, if any of you guys coming out here next month want to set-off your carbon emissions, you can buy trees to soak up your plane-gas at www.futureforests.com so your flight is carbon-neutral.
Food is cool - had fish and banana soup last night! Lovely fresh fruit everywhere, mangoes are lovely.
Struck by the poverty already - lots of people live in shack-style things along roads, 20% employment, 44 years life expectancy, 1 in 5 infant mortality, HIV/AIDs a big prob. At the same time, there are quite a few rich White people with HUGE houses. Weird.
That's all from me - Ryan wants a rubber suit with inbuilt air conditioned suit brought out to remain cool during football but also to bouce off any 14-year-old girls coming his way (so far he almost fell over in the bath and impaled himself on the taps but that's it). Speaking of the bath, have to wash in a bucket which is kinda fun but REALLY time consuming. Especially if your name's Rhona... :o)
The girls say "hi", they're well apart from being woken up at 4am by some guy calling Muslims to prayer.
Oh - and there's monkeys wild running about!!! They're like squirrels or rats in Britain. SO cool. No rabid dogs yet, but quite a few stray ones.
Take care y'all, will try and write again in a few days.
James (and Ryan)
Monday, July 19, 2004
Well the first 'batch' have departed! Rozzy, Ryan and James should have taken off from the airport by now and are (hopefully!) meeting up with Rhona in Dubai before travelling on to Dar-es-Salaam. The plan is to stay in Dar for a few days before going up to Uroki to do some teaching in a secondary school there. So kept checking this page to see how they are doing. The rest of the gang depart on the 12th - so please pray for their last minute arrangements, including managing to fit everything into their suitcases!!!
Karen (official blogger on behalf of the guys!)
Karen (official blogger on behalf of the guys!)
Thursday, July 01, 2004
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Ok so what is this all about? Well in July last year a group of students from the Navigator Student Groups in Glasgow and Birmingham visited Tanzania to support and assist with three main projects. Firstly we spent time in Dar-es-Salaam with a group that assists street children in coming off the streets, by encouraging them to participate in football teams and teaching them life skills. The group then continued up to Uroki School, where we delivered sports lessons as well as teaching English, Religious Studies and citizenship lessons. Finally we visited the Amani Children’s Orphanage in Moshi, where we decorated and painted several of the buildings as well as developing friendships with and encouraging the boys who are resident there.
Since our return, we have been continuing to raise funds for the orphanage and support the other projects that we visited in everyway possible. This summer we returning to further the work we began. The Amani orphanage currently only has 1 room for the 60 boys to sleep in. The team will therefore be involved in clearing the ground and carrying out preparation work for an extension to the building.
So if you want to keep up with our progress keep checking this page out! And please leave us comments with any other wierd, bizarre and encouraging messages you can think of!
Since our return, we have been continuing to raise funds for the orphanage and support the other projects that we visited in everyway possible. This summer we returning to further the work we began. The Amani orphanage currently only has 1 room for the 60 boys to sleep in. The team will therefore be involved in clearing the ground and carrying out preparation work for an extension to the building.
So if you want to keep up with our progress keep checking this page out! And please leave us comments with any other wierd, bizarre and encouraging messages you can think of!
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