I arrived from Paris on Wednesday, February 16th, camera not in hand, so I deeply apologize for no pictures. My camera is in a taxi, a hotel room, or a plane somewhere. To those of you who know me well, this won’t surprise you; it will just disappoint you, because it is beautiful here! I hope to post pictures soon.
Getting through customs was no problem, both of my bags luckily arrived in one piece and with all of their contents. I exited the airport and quickly found the young Tanzanian boy with the sign “KIA Lodge, Jessica”. I was so happy to see my name!
We traveled the 3 or 4 minutes to the KIA Lodge, where I met Caroline, the old volunteer coordinator (me being the new one). We had breakfast, chatted, and our speed taxi picked us up two hours later. The speed taxis are notorious for driving very fast, so you can just say “pole pole” and they will slow down, or so I’m told. Caroline, who is German and very good at speaking Swahili, took care of all of the telling.
We arrived at the clinic a few hours later, where I met the staff, most of them English-speaking with the exception of some of the cleaning staff. I’ve been telling them I’ll practice my Swahili soon…
My first dinner included an interesting pizza-like pie and cabbage salad. Tanzania apparently does not have the same baking traditions as Paris. This may prove better for my health, but I’m guessing in a couple months, I would kill for a good pastry.
Talking about killing, the director of the clinic, Dr. Frank, today drew a line to describe his philosophy in life. On one end of the line, he wrote Gandhi. On the other end, Rambo. He said he used to try to live his life in the direction of Gandhi, but currently, he keeps bouncing back to Rambo. So if anything goes wrong, he kind of wants to kill someone. Just like I might kill for a chocolate croissant in a few months.
So far, I’ve had two social outings. The first to a bar called Happy Days, which has American-style food – grilled cheese, hamburgers, mac & cheese, and really large beers – I’ve tasted Kilimanjaro so far. I think all light beer drinkers would approve. I met the local guys who Caroline hangs out with after work and it proved similar to hanging out with a bunch of boys from the states.
My second outing was to a restaurant everyone calls “Ashley’s” only because the girl who owns it is named Ashley. It might have a different name but no one really seems to know it. The place has really delicious drinks and food. Last night was Margaritas and Burritos night for all the expats around in TZ. I feel like I should be eating food fermented from the ground like on Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmerman, but instead I’m eating delicious burritos with good cheese and guacamole. I think we all picture Africa a lot differently than it actually is. I haven’t met one person without a cell phone.
Next week we leave for Mobile Clinic, which involves bringing the clinic at FAME to the bush. (I’m really excited for the squat toilets. I’ve heard they’re great for your thigh muscles.) I’m going to be put to work in the lab. At this point, it sounds like I’ll just be taking names and recording test results, but hopefully in a couple months, I’ll learn enough to run a few tests myself. I looked at gonorrhea under a microscope today. I don’t think I want it even though I learned it’s very treatable.
So far, so good. I miss my family and friends a lot. I had my first realization yesterday that I am very far from home, home basically being the entire United States since my loved ones are spread from end to end. I started craving sushi. I hear the chocolate cravings begin after the first month (hint, hint, dark chocolate with almonds sounds pretty good right now).
Jessica Coulter
FAME Medical
P.O. BOX 351
Karatu, Tanzania
I’m sure I’ll have a lot to write after the mobile clinic next week. I have yet to truly rough it here in Tanzania. I feel a little spoiled so far, but I’m sure that will change when I move out of the volunteer quarters next month and into my own space. I also have to learn how to drive on the other side of the road and in some muckity muck when I get back from Mobile. That will be interesting…
I love you all so much. Being far away from home gives me the chance to remember how special all of you are.
