On to Iringa

We arrived in Dar on the 9th around 4 pm and were greeted by one of our students, Juwata Mponzi . We had viewed the two U tube tapes of Susan and Steven Vinton while waiting in the NYC airport and after dinner at the FPCT center (where we always stay in Dar), Dan thought a woman we passed in the walk way looked like Susan. It was Susan and the whole family was there. We spent almost two hours talking to Susan and Steve – very helpful and educational. She told Dan that the students will expect him to be in a shirt and tie –that he o/w will have problems gaining their respect. (LOL!) Dan stated, ”I don’t have a tie with me! I never wear them at home!” She conceded with, “Well, with your age and size, you should not have a problem gaining their respect.” My guess is that he will be the Rodney Dangerfield of the computer science department.
Susan teaches students in their village as well as working with patients with aids. She has learned a great deal about health care from a Finnish physician who comes to their area (Mafinga) quite regularly. The Vintons have invited Dan and me to come to their village – for me to spend time with the Finnish doctor and Dan to spend time at the schools. It turns out that Mr. Mpenda Kazi (who was the biology teacher from the Madesi school) who participated in the “science fair” with our group last summer in Kising’a) is now enrolled in Nursing School in Morogoro. (Mpenda Kazi literally means “loves to work” in Swahili – go figure! It’s a good thing he loves to work if he plans to be a nurse in Africa. Tanzania makes the nursing shortage in the US look like a walk in the park). I am very eager to spend time with this physician- learned a great deal of low cost techniques of dealing with wounds and intestinal diarrhea prevention in that short period of time. They even knew of a physician who comes through Iringa every couple of months for the purpose of cervical screening.
Don Fulz and Gary Langness got in later that night and the four of us traveled with Dennis Ngede to Iringa the following day. Our housing arrangements are not yet completely set up so we are staying in one of the spare bedrooms in the BegaKwaBega Office.
Dan and I went over to Tumaini University this afternoon. We met with the woman who set up our work Visas and also the dean of the science department and the head of the IT department. Hopefully, in the next couple of days, we will get our living arrangements established and thereafter more reliable internet connections. The people at the University were able to give Dan some indications of what he may be teaching and presented some possibilities to me as well. Although that idea the Karen Mielke has of staying home and taking care of my husband does have merit. Cooking will be more work here than at home and this morning I had to show him where he had put his toothbrush. They are providing us with a vehicle, so that will definitely make life simpler. Tomorrow is a national holiday so we probably will not find out anything about housing until Wednesday. Friday, the medical group arrives, so I will probably be spending the week with them out at Ilula.
Dan ran into Blastus, Godfrey and Bariki this morning walking through town. Godfrey had been teaching and now is enrolled in business school in Iringa with plans to still go to college in linguistics. Anna is evidently graduating from form 6 in the next few weeks. I am eager to find out about her future plans/dreams. We had a nice dinner with Bariki at Lulu’s.