I’m back in Chicago after a nearly 6-month absence. Not only am I back in Chicago, I am staying for two weeks. This is both unheard of and very welcome. I like the Windy City. After two weeks in London and three weeks in Tanzania, coming “home” means a lot to me. Familiar streets, smells, [...]
Archive for the ‘faiths act’ Category
The sheikh is my best friend
September 1st, 2009
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“The sheikh is my best friend,” shotus Father Mpinge. My site-partner Hafsa and I smile, too. The sheikh-in-question is actually the imam of the largest mosque in town. Mpinge is the parish priest of St. Francis, the largest Catholic congregation. We didn’t expect such a statement from him. As it turns out, the priest and [...]
Zanzibar is a real place
August 30th, 2009
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Note: This is my first post using QuickPress! YAY! For years I’ve heard of this mythical island out on the Indian Ocean off the coast of Tanzania. It’s called ZANZIBAR, and it’s quite nearly as awesome as I thought it would be. Zanzibar is 99% Muslim, which is a bit of a departure from the [...]
Bed net + mosquito = malaria?
August 24th, 2009
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Asma is sitting in front of me on a hospital bed holding her son Abdalla’s hand. He’s lying down, semi-conscious, with a chloroquine drip in his arm. She’s wearing a black abaya with gold feather trim at the sleeves. She’s absolutely beautiful. Abdalla was sick – vomiting and in pain – so she took him [...]
Making Small Talk
August 21st, 2009
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If I could choose a superpower to have whilst traveling, it would be the ability to speak fluently the major language(s) of the area that I’m visiting, and to have a solid grip on all the various cultural practices of its people. I’m skilled with languages as it is, but absorbing them takes time that [...]
Mosquito Poop
August 21st, 2009
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I am looking at a small village. It’s about 70 feet on a side, complete with a variety of mud and brick homes, trees, grasses, and dozens of mosquitoes. And a technician with a slew of interesting gadgets. Oh, and no people. This “village” is actually a mock-up; a to-scale version inside a greenhouse (itself a massive [...]
Interfaith Livin’
August 20th, 2009
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I was called upon by our team boss to lead the group during today’s “early morning interfaith spiritual reflection”. Since we’re all young people of faith, I suppose it’s only natural that we learn a bit from each other by sharing something from our own tradition. To be honest, it took a lot of thought [...]
Ours is a brand new game
August 17th, 2009
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Our team rolled out of Ifakara town this afternoon heading…some direction – I’m not sure where – and drove more than a few kilometers out. We headed down another very bumpy road to a small village hidden in something approximating a small forest. The homes were very scattered, and almost all were underneath very tall [...]
On the Kilombero River
August 15th, 2009
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After a quick breakfast, our team headed out this morning to the Kilombero River, the body of water that separates Kilombero District from its neighbor. One of our friends from the Tanzanian Training Centre for International Health came along to find some river guides; we made a deal and climbed into two massive dugout canoes. [...]
Welcome to Tanzania!
August 15th, 2009
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After a very long day of travel we touched down in Dar es Salaam and made our way to a guest house for the night. The accomodations were comfortable – always a good thing to have as you adjust to a new place. In the morning we took off for Ifakara in the south central [...]
