Miezi Mitatu (Three Months)
Afrika ya Mashariki (East Africa)
The prospect of spending three months in East Africa somehow makes the rest of the semester here seem pale in comparison. Still, with only a couple weeks of classes left for the year there is much to be done between now and May 31st, when I fly the coop. Before I hit isolation-lockdown mode with finals I thought it would be a good use of my time/way to procrastinate to sketch out the summer for those playing along at home.
Mombasa, Kenya & Iringa, Tanzania
JUNE & JULY: MOMBASAMombasa is the second largest city in Kenya. Located on the Indian Ocean this island city has been an important center of trade in the region for centuries. The Intermediate Kiswahili program I'm is based here. It sounds like our program will be located in the Old Town (in my head, a place that looks like an Indiana Jones fight/chase scene through an 'exotic' market . . . we'll see how reality plays out), which I would imagine is along the bay on the right hand side of this picture. Of course, having never been there, I could be completely wrong.
It will definitely be interesting to see what life in this coastal city will be like. Most of my experience in Afrika ya Mashariki so far has been with Christian Communities in towns and villages several hours inland. I'm sure Islam will have a greater presence here, so that will add an interesting dynamic. Plus, being near tropical beaches just south of the equator will undoubtedly have some, ummm, cultural differences (?) worth exploring. Plus, I hear one of them has some black and white colobus monkeys that hang out there. As far as class locations go, this one doesn't sound half-bad.
AUGUST: TANZANIA
After my class ends in July I'm hoping to connect with a fellow Yalie in Kenya for a few days of wazungu fun. Following that, it is over the border I go as I work my way to my African home away from home in the Iringa region of central Tanzania. While in the Iringa area I'm planning on volunteering with the Bega Kwa Bega partnership between the Iringa Diocese of the ELCT and the Saint Paul Area Synod of the ELCA, helping out with the Ilula Health Center initiative, possibly the Water Project, practicing my Swahili, and visiting friends in Tungamalenga.
This will be my fourth visit to the Iringa region and I'm truly looking forward to it. It will be a completely different experience from my previous visits in that I'll be traveling solo instead of with a large group and that I'll be spending a few weeks in the area instead of a few days. All together, this will be the longest amount of time I've spent in Afrika ya Mashariki and rivals my semester in Bali as the longest time I've been out of the US. While I like to think I 'know' Africa already, I'm pretty convinced that this experience will bring me face to face with the fact that there is so much more to learn. We'll see where it goes from there. . .
After my class ends in July I'm hoping to connect with a fellow Yalie in Kenya for a few days of wazungu fun. Following that, it is over the border I go as I work my way to my African home away from home in the Iringa region of central Tanzania. While in the Iringa area I'm planning on volunteering with the Bega Kwa Bega partnership between the Iringa Diocese of the ELCT and the Saint Paul Area Synod of the ELCA, helping out with the Ilula Health Center initiative, possibly the Water Project, practicing my Swahili, and visiting friends in Tungamalenga.
This will be my fourth visit to the Iringa region and I'm truly looking forward to it. It will be a completely different experience from my previous visits in that I'll be traveling solo instead of with a large group and that I'll be spending a few weeks in the area instead of a few days. All together, this will be the longest amount of time I've spent in Afrika ya Mashariki and rivals my semester in Bali as the longest time I've been out of the US. While I like to think I 'know' Africa already, I'm pretty convinced that this experience will bring me face to face with the fact that there is so much more to learn. We'll see where it goes from there. . .
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