A long post for those that are interested

                I took a chair facing the rising moon. But this was not just any rising moon. This was a blue moon. And although it would be nice to transport back to Kentucky for an evening, it was nice to fully appreciate a blue moon in this new continent. It will be the only blue moon while in the Peace Corps. As I let my pupils soak in the reflection of the sun, Megan exclaimed her regret for taking a chair that faced the other way. In my right hand I hold a box of white wine from the Dodoma region of Tanzania. It’s my second time having wine in the country and although the bitterness makes me flick my tongue against the roof of my mouth I am impressed with the taste knowing it comes from the semi arid region of Dodoma.

                Three other volunteers and I are contemplating what to order from the outdoor food court called the Foridhari Gardens. We are in one of the wealthier towns in Tanzania called Tanga, where a decent amount of tourists visit. I have started calling the food court “The Garden” just to give it a little sense of New York City and home. I wonder who will take the stage tonight.  Or maybe I should rephrase that into “who will stay on the stage tonight?” After finishing a Tanzanian “burger” the blue moon quickly fades to black as rain clouds move in. And that’s when the show starts. Rain drops sends the tourists and others to an overhang. But the Tanzanian women that work the food court continue working their shifts as if nothing has changed. Some women that were working under the overhang walk out into the rain to help the others. Their facial expressions show only the slightest hint of recognition of the water from the sky as they leave the sheltered area.

                The night continues on to one of several night clubs in Tanga. Aside from the demographics of the crowd and the music selection, once inside it is hard to tell you are in Tanzania. It could be London, New York, or any other hip city. Lights blink and spin around while conversation making becomes nearly impossible as near deafening tunes start playing. A fellow American who is with a non-profit outside of the Peace Corps attempts to introduce himself through the loud and dark room and then offers to buy me a drink. I feel my vocal chords wearing thin as I introduce myself through the music.

                Larry and I see eye to eye on several issues. Most notably, we see Africa as an opportunity and not a problem. That may sound very trivial but it is actually quite profound. Prior to arriving in Africa, I looked at Africa on a world map the same way any other naïve outsider would. I would think “the dark continent, AIDS, Malaria, poverty, drought, starving children, The Lion King, and good marathon runners.”  But here Larry and I are in one of several clubs in Tanga. Other stores in the area sell used electronics and one of the region’s main Toyota dealership of motorcycles is just down the road. Further up around the bend, gated house with nicely landscaped yards overlook the bay. The streets are clean and nicely landscaped in some parts of town. There are several town parks with large shade trees and benches underneath. Of course only a small minority of Tanzanians live this way but it does exist. For those that don’t have gated houses and personal cars, a cell phone is only about 20 U.S. Dollars and used ones can be bought for as little as $5. Given that you don’t sign up for a plan, but rather use a “pay as you go” voucher system, it is more uncommon to see a Tanzanian without a cell phone than with one. Frequently they will “beep each other” or give one quick ring to their friends to signal that they don’t have enough voucher credit to call but that they would most certainly enjoy a phone call from you on your voucher!

                Many Tanzanians also have televisions and lights in their houses. I am not sure of the break down percent-wise but I would imagine about half of Tanzanians have electricity and/or running water in their homes. Many houses that have electricity still have charcoal stoves for cooking. I have not found out why Tanzanians prefer to stay on the charcoal stoves and not make the switch to electric. The charcoal stove in without doubt the item to use for baking items but I cannot see the advantage of using charcoal over electric for heating up water to cook some ugali or beans. I guess Tanzanians are probably not thinking about carbon dioxide emissions as much as I am but at the same time forests are not exactly plentiful here anymore. I would imagine at some point it would be a money saver to switch from charcoal to electric.

                So how do all these items give Tanzanians opportunity? Electricity allows for charging of cell phones which opens up lines of communication between the whole country. TV commercials advertise, among many other items, different degree programs in health, tourism, and agricultural science. Paved roads allow for greater distribution of goods, including news papers. Although I have only bought and read one news paper in country (there is an English and Kiswahili version of the paper), it was packed with both news articles and informative articles. Perhaps it was that newspaper that really made aware that Tanzania is not a problem that needs to be fixed but rather a land of opportunity.

                The paper had a full section on drought resistant practices of farming such as rain water capture, terracing, and other sustainable ideas. The article talked about a once poor and struggling banana farmer who implemented drought resistant strategies (permaculture, rainwater catchment etc.) to run his orchard. His yields increased to the point where he could fully support himself and his family. (His monthly income rose to 200,000 shillings, which is about 4/5ths the monthly salary of a public school teacher here). Other neighbors supposedly laughed at this farmer when he initially implemented this strategy. It looked way different and the initial set up of the new garden beds was more work than the traditional planting techniques. However, after neighbors continually watched yields improve, people started mimicking and asking about how to better terrace the land and implement rain water catchment to help grow crops.

                It is not the concept of sustainable farming in this story that shows the opportunity here but rather the social fabric of the village that quickly soaked up the knowledge after they recognized it was working. When you have a financial structure that is on the fringes of capitalism and still largely invested in the old ways trading and self sufficiency, knowledge moves more freely and there is more transparency into the production and maintenance of goods and services. Here in my village, I can walk to the thatched roof hut next to the benches under the mango tree and watch the bicycle mechanics of the village work on the bikes and perhaps drink a soda and talk to them as I watch them work. At the guest house this past weekend in Tanga some people were working on a car with the car parts scattered all over the front porch of the guest house. I leaned over the railing and watched them for some time as three men worked. Not only does this “open workshop” method make it so that working men don’t need to pay for a trade school to learn, but it also allows for strategies and information to move more freely.

                I recently listened to a “This American Life” podcast by NPR about the joint car plant between GM and Toyota called NUMMI. In short, the NUMMI plant became a huge success at a time when the American automobile industry was in great decline. Similar to the sustainable banana orchard, the NUMMI Plant made the same cars as surrounding plants but in a way more efficient and with fewer defects in the finished products. However, the new approach to making cars casted away the concept of seniority and other traditions inherent to union based organizations. It took years and in some cases decades to adapt the “NUMMI” concept to American automobile manufacturers. By that time, it was too late.  The Podcast really made me aware of how important knowledge mobility and willingness to implement new knowledge is for continued success in any business. Africa’s social structure allows for knowledge mobility and their economic position and structure gives them motivation to implement new knowledge in fast and dynamic ways. This is why I see opportunity and not necessarily a problem that needs to be fixed. I have not been here long enough to know if I will agree with my own current opinion/ observation further out in time but you need to start somewhere.

AIDS is still prevalent here. Malaria took the life of a young student at my new school last year. There currently is some political instability. Many people struggle with poverty. But you can get those news stories on BBC or in the New York Times. Things are far from perfect here but I really wanted to use this particular blog post to balance out the image of Africa that the media may have imprinted in your head. I think back on one of Peace Corps quotes that they have on their website that goes something along the lines of “Part of Peace Corps mission is to show each other how our similarities are far greater than our differences.” 

                I imagine with time some of these ideas and perceptions will change. The more I learn the language, the more I will be able to understand the subtleties in culture. For now, thanks for reading and kwa heri!