So, now it will have time for my second report.
Life in Moshi takes place slowly. You get to know many people here always. Since we each day the same route to the Red - Cross-run office, know a people on the way now and even greet always very friendly. want to join tour or something - but it does when you just have a little lunch in the city herumlaeuft here, since one is really addressed by all sides, always check it on safari \\ Kilimanjaro. Once they realize, however, that you are not a tourist, many are still very interested in what and where we work here and it can usually not at all believe that we will stay here one year. The other volunteers we have met otherwise remain mostly only for 3 - 6 months.
Life in Moshi takes place slowly. You get to know many people here always. Since we each day the same route to the Red - Cross-run office, know a people on the way now and even greet always very friendly. want to join tour or something - but it does when you just have a little lunch in the city herumlaeuft here, since one is really addressed by all sides, always check it on safari \\ Kilimanjaro. Once they realize, however, that you are not a tourist, many are still very interested in what and where we work here and it can usually not at all believe that we will stay here one year. The other volunteers we have met otherwise remain mostly only for 3 - 6 months.
the moment, here in Moshi really very busy, because the elections are imminent (31 October). Everywhere there are posters that people run with T-shirts and Kangas (the blankets of the women) of their preferred candidate and around all the time driving around cars that operate via unit speakers plus a huge pit on the roof of her car in order then to be able to play campaigning. In Germany, actually unthinkable, but here as normal. The music and the spoken word is it really so loud that a conversation is impossible in the near. We have not even the bad luck that our neighbor is an important political member and also has such a car. Although it is sometimes really interesting, if loud then turn off the music and the total number of people gather in front of our house, dance and celebrate their party. However, sometimes a bit annoying when the Music then once in the middle of the night and then goes off for no longer think some time to sleep. Luckily on Sunday then everything is over and these problems are no more.
2 weeks ago we were on a Saturday the wedding of the sister of our neighbor here. In retrospect, it has been found that there was no wedding, just a farewell event for the parents, but it was still entertaining, as everything runs very differently than we do. When we arrived, the bride and groom were not even there. The room was constructed to the very front was a kind of stage with lots of plants, colorful lights and 2 chairs and table (all very richly decorated, so it seemed pretty cheesy). Left and right of the stage sat the parents and each family of the bride or the groom. The chair of the guests were then constructed as in the theater - in rows with 2 courses in between. Very back of the room then the buffet was set up.
Because really anwar lights everywhere, and someone ran many ventilators moderated by speakers, the current has not participated and three times (once even almost for an hour) has failed. But the people, the concern in any way. This is apparently a very normal situation. After the third time they will also always includes a generator turned on and left out all the lights and fans. So the wedding went with music, light and the Moderator of the photographer further. Oh, and the colorful lights on the stage could not be missing too. The really very beautiful bride was then brought out all of the women dancing, the groom was sitting among the guests. As the gifts were handed over, you had to stand in line in blocks. Another striking feature is that dancing is generally very much more than a German wedding for example. Actually, every time the music was on, the women and men went forward and just have a little dance. The little children were missing, of course not, have, just as the Great, among others wobbled busy with her bottom. As a conclusion, there were still typical African food (chicken, plantain, rice, a kind of spinach ...)
Last weekend we visited then the other two volunteers, Luke and Jonathan, of Tanga, where they are used in the year. With them we have done quite a lot of the 3 days and so for the first time our own region met here right. Besides a little sightseeing in Moshi - Town (which mostly only eigtl of souvenir shops and other "shopping area" was here) we went on a date with a red - even after cross-member Marangu (outskirts of Moshi). After about an hour we arrived at Kilimanjaro - National Park. Since it with us but $ 60 admission (we wanted to stay there only a few hours) was too expensive, we have - then two visits in the same area lying water situation - with the Guide. One of the waterfalls was so high that you swim at the foot of it was even possible, what the guys have also done the same. As a girl in Africa because it is reinzuhüpfen rather difficult times in their underwear, so I unfortunately had to give. The area was simply fantastic. They did not like the middle of Africa, but felt more like the middle of the jungle. In one of the waterfalls had the people there even a small Chagga - built Museum (Chagga is one of the indigenous peoples), in which one - in addition to very old traditional figures - also saw a cave in which the people hidden in earlier attacks.
Since we now participate for four weeks here at the Red Cross, now an overview of our work.
(similar to districts in Germany) in the various districts, there is always a certain number of volunteers. They are locals who voluntarily sign up just for this work. Each of these volunteers also has a certain number of patients, after which he must look several times a month and also partly takes care of them. These patients (AIDS - patients, diabetics, very old people, people with asthma usually ...), no matter how ill live, all with their families at home. They only come in the extreme Emergency, because the families can not afford (something like a health insurance do not - everything has to be paid themselves) a standard treatment (as one would do it in Germany for many of them) to fund. The families maintain and take care very good care of their families and do the same things for them that are incurred barely so. . In general, the family is here in Tanzania always comes first. The work of the volunteers is to look after these patients and, if required, to tackle with. Some volunteers have even patients who educate, to whom they distribute drugs / condoms / pills, etc., Family planning run (among other things: what there are measures for prevention?). All this work is very time consuming because they must run to each individual patient (part 1 -2 times a week), which takes several hours. A car has actually none of them because they are too poor. The whole effort is very admirable because they can, first, only some 10 € a month, on the other hand all this in addition to their normal work (care for the children, household, go to work ...) do. All what these volunteers must also be recorded in writing (which I have distributed to drugs? How many new patients do I have? How many have died from my old one?). These reports are published monthly by the Red Cross collected. This takes place in such a way that will meet all the volunteers at the end of the month at a local medical center, members come from the Red Cross with them about their past experiences and how much even the talking, they pay for and take the reports to them in the office to evaluate. Plays a rough structure, which the Red Cross here - in addition to climate projects and other things - makes Sun
Our work was the last few weeks is that the different "fields" go out to collect the reports and (create any statistics) this then evaluate. Twice we were allowed to walk around even with a volunteer personally to the patient to visit, which was really really interesting, because this results sometimes in the very traditional mud huts go in and then the first time see how poor these people really are. The whole family and all their animals live there together in a confined space. But the people are happy despite their poverty, very hospitable and happy when you're up watching. Once it was pretty awesome, because we visited AIDS patients and among them a young boy (6 years) was - quite sad to see such a thing, but you will get used to it over time. But we see much of the area if you walk around going on.
So still very much going on here, one is almost always really busy. It is and remains just very interesting! The language is unfortunately not going ahead as fast, but will be practicing diligently and reasonably so that it works soon!
Until the next entry, and again many greetings in the home!
Kwaheri!
Your Feli
Update: Here are the pictures (click)
