Blogs from Dodoma, Centre, Tanzania, Africa
April 21st 2012
Safari Hi everyone. It is now the 14th of April and Jeannie and I have just returned after a two week Easter Break where we spent one day flying to Ruaha National Park and one week driving through northern Tanzania visiting Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and Mt. Kilimanjaro in Moshi. We travelled with two other expats from Dodoma and although a little tiring from all the driving on some very rough roads the trip was wonderful. It is amazing how our little Rav4 is holding up on these rough African roads. Before we set out by car, our first trip was by air in a 6-seater Cessna with our friend Andrew from MAF at the helm, to Ruaha National Reserve for a one-day safari to see the magnificent countryside from a different perspective ... read more
February 18th 2012
It is now the middle of February and classes have started for the 2nd semester. The theology students have returned from their six week placements in the villages over the holidays and their three week personal holidays at their home villages. We’re looking forward to hearing how they got on with their placements and their shambas at home. While the students were away, we spent Christmas here at the college and then went on holidays with our friends Greg and Dariel from Canada, to Mombasa, Kenya and Zanzibar, Tanzania. Our Christmas was quite different this year. Without all the hoopla we both agreed it was very nice. We were able to focus on the birth of Christ and what that means to us. There were five of us Wazungu (white folk) left at the college so ... read more
December 15th 2011
Greetings from Tanzania! It has been a while since our last blog so we’ll try to bring you up to date by touching on some highlights of what’s been happening here in our lives at MTC and the surrounding villages. It is definitely a busy place, but the work and our experiences have been very gratifying. A Man Called Peter On Saturday, Oct 8th, Rob visited a local Compassion program with Peter Fumbi, his friend and student, and also our gardener. Peter studies at Msalato (MTC) during the week and volunteers his time on Saturday mornings at a local Compassion program. Peter is a very dedicated young man with a passion for helping disadvantaged youth in Dodoma. Compassion is a worldwide program started in South Korea with its head office now in Colorado Springs, ... read more
December 8th 2011
Dodoma, well not a great say about this place, quite, relaxed and a place to go if your hoping to get away from haste ling tourist touts. Dodoma is a small town in the geographic center of Tanzania and is the biggest for the area. It is the official capital of Tanzania, although Dar es Salaam remains the economic and political centre of the country. Many tourists are getting confused when they get to know that Dodoma is a capital city since Dar es Salaam is the biggest city in the country. It is a calm and harmonic town surrounded by rural areas and amazing landscapes. There are massive stones standing on each other, and you can wonder how come?! This town is in middle of nowhere in dry deserts and it is explains why Dodoma ... read more
October 4th 2011
Well, it’s been two months since we arrived in Tanzania and we have just completed the first term of the first semester of the school year here at Msalato. Each semester consists of two 7-week terms with a one-week break for rest and rejuvenation in the middle. Being our first experience, we looked forward to it. We had hoped to go to Zanzibar for a few days with some other ex-pats here, but that proved to be too expensive as we would have had to charter a plane from Arusha to pick us up and take us to Zanzibar and pay too much extra. So we made alternative plans. Charles and Mary Worsley, two retired Anglican pastors from New Zealand, were disappointed in the cancellation also and were planning to do something else in its place. ... read more
September 11th 2011
Lugala September 2011 On Sunday, September 11, 2011 we made our first trip to Lugala along with two students from the village, Wiston and Yowel and one of their friends, Baraka, and a colleague pastor Lynn Clarke. It was a full car load and one of the students had to ride in the back trunk compartment. However, the trip is only about 20 km on a good paved road. It was an incredible day. The road going into Lugala off the paved road was the first thing Rob noticed. It was no longer filled with potholes and bumps, but was very smooth – much smoother than the road going from Dodoma to Msalato. Then as we kept going, he noticed how much bigger the village seemed to be. It appeared more prosperous with many new dwellings. ... read more
September 4th 2011
Greetings from Tanzania, Habari za mchana (good afternoon in Kiswahili) We are becoming more and more comfortable in our new surroundings, and as a matter of fact, we may be enjoying it too much. The weather, the people, the social life, the country surroundings and the experiences have been just wonderful. Tanzania, with all its characteristics, is much more than we anticipated. There are many, many needs here, but the positive attitude of the people is so inspiring. Their smiles and friendliness are contagious. We have made many new friends; from students to teachers to members in the community. Teaching here is rewarding, but sometimes frustrating. Jeannie is finding teaching bookkeeping quite a challenge without a syllabus. And there are no textbooks for the students who are very shy and insecure about their English. Rob is ... read more
August 14th 2011
It has been a while since we last updated the blog, so we’re glad to finally have the time to get started. Since leaving Toronto on July 14th we have visited London and Paris. London is an amazing city with lots to see. We we’re amazed at the architecture and all the pubs. After work the pubs are packed to overflowing with lots of patrons standing just outside, drinking and socializing. We really enjoyed seeing the Tower of London, London Bridge, Westminster Abbey, and of course, Buckingham Palace. There is just so much history to see. We took a day tour to Leeds Castle, the White Cliffs of Dover, and Canterbury where we visited the Cathedral. Canterbury is a very unique little town with many narrow winding streets and the cathedral (the head of the Anglican ... read more
July 11th 2011
I går kørte vi fra Tarangire til Dodoma. Hvilket var en ret lang tur. Vi vågnede lidt i 6 om morgenen for at tage på safari (vi så foresten en løve-mor med hendes 2 unger. Det var en dejlig og lang tur. Vi ankom til Dodoma ved 8 tiden, hvor vi ikke spiste aftensmad på det hotel familien Hagen skulle sove. (Det vidste sig at det åbenbart to flere timer at lave en tør kylling og nogle triste pommes frites.) Så efter vi havde ventet i 1.5 time gik vi derfra uden at spise. Men vi sov godt hjemme ved Allan. Elizabeth. Vi var meget sultne, da vi kom i seng i går fordi der var ike hurtig nok mad på restauranten. Da vi kørte fra Tarangire til Dodoma var vi i 14 timer i bilen. ... read more
February 6th 2009
Dear Far Away Faithful Readers, We have just completed a 2 week training seminar and are ready to write grants and tackle some of the issues that the village survey pointed out as being of importance to their health and well-being. We have lots of work ahead of us. It was also a time to relax and renew acquaintances with 1/2 of our group. Everyone is still energized and ready to push their sleeves up and get to work. We also had a mini-vacation from chores as the training facility did the cooking, washed the dishes, did the laundry, emptied the garbage and tended the garden. But, we miss our site and will be happy to get back. We were able to find ice cream (several times) and mustard...2 items we can't get in Lushoto. We ... read more
