Move Along

-Apt. 524-

Sitting on the floor of my all-but-empty apartment [why didn't I think to leave a chair for tonight?] it is hard to believe that I'll be inhaling the diesel exhaust and tropical sweat of Dar in less than a week's time. 

Listening to the distorted sound of my stereo reverberating off of my walls, now utterly stripped to their institutional barrenness, it is even harder to believe that this couple hundred square feet has been my home for the last two years. 

The Orange and White Uhauls and Yellow Penskes dashing around the streets of New Haven mark the season as effectively as the robins and sparrows darting to and from their nests. 

Boxing, Prepping, Packing . . . Moving in every sense of the word.

Friends graduating. Friends scattering. 

To Cali and Chicago, Canada and Congo.

All of the Disparate Points between.

Then there is me. Off to East Africa. Again.

Change is in the air.

Come September, the Haven will different.

After Ilula, I will be different.

And life rolls on. . .

The Road Ahead

-This Way to Ilula-

Only 9,800 miles to go until Ilula and plans are starting to fall into place. 

The visit with the travel doctor was painless - apparently I've been shot up enough with exotic diseases for my last few trips abroad that I'm good to go for the next few years.  I did the deed and dropped the cash on anti-malarials again. They still aren't covered by the Yale Health Plan so it was a sizable chunk of change to cough up. Still, in the grand scheme of things I'd rather be coughing up cash than, say, chunks of my lungs or suffering from psychotic hallucinations. The only new twist, given my extended stay in a hospital setting, is the need to pick up a couple face masks and a box of latex gloves to protect against exposure to TB and those pesky blood-borne pathogens.

On the travel front, Wed,  June 4th I fly from New York to Dar es Salaam, by way of a brief late-night stop over in Dubai. I'll be landing in Dar es Salaam, for all intents and purposes the capital of Tanzania - sorry Dodoma, just as shops are closing up for the day. Depending on my mode of transit inland [the ever-trusty, diesel-belching Scandinavia Bus, or hitching a ride with church folk] I'll spend a day or two in Dar. As far as big African Cities go -not that I have that much experience- Dar is pretty decent. Minus the run-in with the mwizi in Kariakoo, I'd dare say the city is growing on me.

From Dar it will be the all too familiar 8 hour ride to Iringa: bombing through Mikumi national park, resting somewhere near Morogoro before heading past the Uluguru Mountains and up the escarpment that leads to the southern highlands. There will be the right-hand turn off at Ipogolo and the final ascent up the bluff to Iringa town where the church spires and grain towers will read like a welcome sign.

I'm still not exactly sure what the summer will hold on a day to day basis and that is why I'll be spending the first week in Iringa. I'll pick up a simu [phone], settle my finances, and meet with leaders at the Diocese, Tumaini University, and Bega Kwa Bega office to finalize the plans. I've got a few ideas and tentative plans but also know flexibility and adaptability are key at this point in the game. 

Once things do get set, I'll hop a local bus and take the 90 minute trip east to Ilula. Then the adventure begins. . .

Tena [Again]

-My Room With A View: Trading the Indian Ocean for the Udzungwa Mountains-

Tanzania Oyee! [Oyeee!] Tanzania Oyee! [Oyee!]

In just over three weeks I'll be heading back to Tanzania for my second full summer there. My fifth visit in seven years and what will be my longest consecutive stay in one place . . . 10 weeks at Ilula Lutheran Hospital. If Ilula sounds familiar,  it is because I was there for part of a week last year shooting an informational/fundraising video for the Saint Paul Area Synod. If you want to get an idea of what life at Ilula is like, you should check it out.  

Where last year my primary aim was to study Intermediate Kiswahili in Mombasa, Kenya the objective this summer is to learn about/practice Pastoral Care in a Clinical setting. In less technical jargon, I'll essentially be training and working as a Chaplain with my peers in the ELCT. I'll be living in a guesthouse at Ilula for most of the ten weeks that Ill be in-country, shadowing/working with the Chaplains there, and doing some studies/reflective exercises with church leaders back in Iringa. While untraditional to say the least, this project should satisfy ordination requirements in the ELCA -should that be in the cards- while allowing me to further my own interests in African and Global Christianity. 

With less than a month before I head out there is still a lot up in the air. The plan of action outlined above is more theoretical than concrete. In all honesty, I have some wasiwasi [worry] about it all, previous experience tells me that plans will somehow [luck? providence? divine intervention?] fall into place once I hit the ground. While having a goal/guidelines in mind, being able to go with the flow will be key. Although I've been to the Iringa area several times, I've never done anything like this; I'm definitely taking another leap of faith into the unknown. . .

What makes it feasible is knowing that I do not leap alone. This is a move I'm making with support, both financial and in spirit, by people here in Connecticut, Saint Paul, Wisconsin, and Tanzania. As a close friend  just wrote, "[I] have a calling to work in Africa . . . in at least some capacity, and it seems that others recognize that as well." While I have a case of the pre-trip jitters, I think the primary feeling I have is deep humility in the face of, and great thankfulness for, all of that support. 

Salaam. -p

Two-Thirds

-Another Beautiful Tree . . .of Doom-

It struck me the other night - well, last night if you want to be technical - I've been a student for Two-Thirds of my life. It is true; do the math. 1+12+4+3 = Two-Thirds of my life. Crazy. Most of my time on this planet has been as a student. 

No wonder I'm itchin' to get back to not being one.

Coincidentally -or not- I also just passed the two-thirds mark for my time here at YDS. A year from now I'll be doing the tassel flip, handshake shuffle. It will be a very good dance to do, though -truth be told- I'm not quite ready to be done just now.