The One Where We Were “Warmly Welcomed” (written 9/5/2012)

Monday morning my alarm went off at 4:15.  It was time to get up and get to the bus station.  The bus went from Dar Es Salaam to Mbeya and took a total of 13 hours but the 4 of us living in the Mbeya area made it through.  We were met by a man (although now I am convinced that he is an angel) named Kita.  He is a Tanzanian who grew up in a village near Kafule and he has worked with WorldTeach before.  He now lived with his wife and two sons in Mbeya.  Ashley (our field director) asked him last week if she could give out his phone number so that if we were even in Mbeya with questions we could call him.  He took it upon himself to meet us at the bus stop, take us to our hotel, show us where to get dinner, and then accompany us all the way to our villages. There is no way we would have made it without him; he truly is an angel. 

The ride from Mbeya to Kafule was also long and interrupted by the fact that we had to stop at about 10 district officials’ offices to sign their guest books and introduce ourselves.  We also had to drop off Sarah and David at their house (they will be living about 3 hours from us).  The last few hours of the drive were truly breathtaking! We drove through the mountains, paralleled the river that divides Tanzania and Malawi, and then arrived at Kafule Secondary School.  Breathtaking is the only word that comes close to describing the view from the school.  It is absolutely incredible! Mountains in every direction, the most vibrant green trees (banana and evergreen right next to each other, who knew?), red dirt, blue sky; it’s gorgeous!   I got to meet a handful of students (who were there studying, this is school vacation after all, certainly not a time to fall behind in your studies).  They were so polite; Madam Carly is what they called me.  I told few of them that I was here to teach mathematics; their response: “thank you.” So sweet and sincere!!

Then we finally made it to our house.  I was a little confused when we pulled up because there were about 8 people here already.  I introduced myself to them and they said that they are fellow teachers at the school and that they were here to drop off groceries and cook us dinner.  They had pots of warm water ready so we could shower, candles for us and a bag of bottled waters.  We arrived at the house at 6 and they stayed until about 10.  Their English was good but they spoke mostly in Swahili.  I didn’t care.  This house was so full of laughter and joy! They all seem to be about 20-30 years old, pretty evenly split between guys and girls and they seem to have so much fun together! I am so excited to get to know them better. 

After they left Dahlia and I went on a spider killing rampage throughout our house.  They are enormous here! I have a feeling I am going to be getting over my fear of spiders over the course of this year.  And then we finally made it to bed. 

Shortly after we woke up this morning Stela, one of the school teachers, came by to bring us eggs and help us light the jiko so we could cook breakfast.  After breakfast we spent most of the morning unpacking and then Kita came by to make sure we were settling in alright.  He helped us hang our mosquito nets and a clothes line and then he gave us a bunch of practical advice on living here.  I was thanking him for everything that he has done for us and he looked at me and said, “we have this proverb: birds of a feather stick together.  So of course I am here to help you with whatever you need” he is planning another trip back in 2 weeks to make sure we are doing alright.  That is the attitude that everyone here seems to have in Kafule.  Everyone we meet tells us that we are “most warmly welcomed” here in the southern highlands.  I am getting the sense that life here is going to be challenging but the people seem incredible and if nothing else, I am surrounded by the most beautiful environment.