To market, to market...

...to buy a kanga!  Kangas are the pieces of cloth that African women use for absolutely everything - for clothing, for wrapping and carrying babies, for sheets, for balancing pails of water on their heads - you name it, they do it.  And so when we went to the outdoor market, I was not surprised to see many, many kangas for sale.  And lots of other stuff, too.  Shoes (made from old tires!), cattle, pots and pans, chickens, jewellery, dried fish, clothes (sewn on old treadle machines right out in the open) and the list goes on.  It made for some pretty colorful photos.

One of our group, Cheryl, bought some shoes for our driver, Adriano's, children.  Here's Adriano showing Father Joachim the shoes.  He was so grateful.  Father Joachim came along as our intrepretor and "haggler".  It is the custom in Tanzania to barter, and we Westerners are really not that good at it!  Besides which, we had no idea of the value of some of the things there.

Here are some of the colorful kangas.  Look closely...

...and you"ll see the one that got away!!!

Arlene, another one of our group, had been to Ussongo last year and helped out in the medical center.  She helped deliver baby Julie, and she invited us along to meet the family one year later.  

With Arlene is Sister Happiness (yes, that's her real name!) who was also there when Julie was born.   Here are Julie's parents.

The family live on a farm some distance from Ussongo.  It was hard to tell exactly how far, since we left the so-called road and drove through fields to get there.  It was reminiscent of a drive with Grandpa Schan.  They have a small, three-room brick house ("sitting room" with two chairs, which they brought outside for us, a small bedroom, and a storage room.  This is Julie's mother in their home.  

The cook house sits perpendicular to the home, connected by a fence.  It was pitch dark in there, with a small fire going, and another small storage room.  They have no electricity and no running water.  There were chickens and very skinny dogs hanging around the yard, and children herding cattle just beyond the yard.  

They had quite a nice garden, with corn (maize), cassava, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes.  

Relatives and friends appeared out of nowhere to see the white strangers! 

All in all it was a very informative afternoon.  The grandmother presented Arlene with a gift of two live chickens, which she had the children chase down and then bound their legs with strips of a rag.  We also received a bag of rice, some eggs, and some tomatoes.   Tanzanians are a very generous and hospitable people, and I was constantly amazed at their willingness to give from the little they own.  We could take a lesson!

Thanks for checking in yet again!

Chandra

More about Ussongo

Our second day at Ussongo involved much church attendance!  Father Chuwa has two masses at the home parish, and then goes to two mission parishes.  Father Joachim presides at up to another four missions.  It is amazing to see the faithful come out in such numbers.  The first mass at Ussongo is at 6:45 am, and is mainly attended by the students of the school.  650 teenagers - boys on one side, girls on the other - all in school uniforms, is quite a sight.  The second mass is attended by the villagers.  The women are all decked out in their most colorful, fashionable outfits, and the choir is amazing.  This is the inside of the church, before mass.  

I couldn't help thinking that Madeline Weinmeyer would have loved being part of this parish!  (An inside joke for a couple of church ladies who will remain unnamed!)

I didn't get a shot of the statue of the Virgin Mary surrounded by flashing Christmas lights, but you get the picture.  Many plastic flowers and glittery decorations - the glitzier, the better, it seemed.  

These are the pews.  Comfort is not a big consideration.

 At the weekday masses, the musical accompaniment is provided solely by three drums.  The just pound them, and everyone sings and breaks into harmony - it makes the hair on your neck stand up and gets your toes tapping!  How church should be, methinks.

During and after the first mass, there are many children waiting outside for the second one to begin.  They absolutely love to have their pictures taken, and often jostled for a spot right in front of the photographer.  Many speak only Swahili, but know how to say "take my picture" in English.  They also love to see themselves on the camera screen.    They are also often toting younger siblings, even in the traditional "kanga" wrapped around their back.

After the second mass, and after breakfast, we loaded into the "vans", and headed off for Mwisi and Bongomela, two of the small villages with mission parishes.  We were treated like royalty!  Everyone wanted to see us and touch us and have their pictures taken with us.  In fact, one young entrepreneur with an antiquated camera seemed to be charging for such photos! 

At each parish, the choir started singing and dancing outside the church, and continued until Father was ready and the procession into the church began.  We were always included in the procession, and given seats of honor at the front of the church.  After each mass, Father invited us to stand at the front and introduce ourselves.  He translated, of course.  After that, we were given gifts, which were always presented with song and dance.  It was very touching to have these people of relative poverty give so much.  

(Are you watching, Madeline?)

During the week, Father drove us to some of the other mission parishes to see the old church buildings and the ones he has had built in the thirteen years he's been at the parish.   Check out the stone pews in this old church, which Father says still holds up to 100 people for Sunday mass!

This church is about one year old.  The parish catechist and some of the children were on hand to greet us!

That's the old church in the background.

 I couldn't get enough of these happy faces!

And thus ended our first full day in Ussongo.  We collapsed into bed each night by 9 or 10, exhausted from all we had seen and heard and felt.  

Thanks for stopping in!

Chandra

Happy Mother's Day!

I'm interrupting my Africa saga to wish all you mothers out there a very special day.  There is one mother in particular that I must single out - mine!  

I've known her all my life, and I can tell you she is the best mom out there!  Here's a shot from when I was the only one, although I must say that didn't last long!

Now, five kids and five grandchildren later, she's still the best!

Thanks for everything, Mom.  We love you!

I can't end this post without mentioning another mom and grandma that we keep in our hearts.  We miss you, Marj.

Our boys have been so blessed to have such wonderful women in their lives.

Happy Mother's Day!

Thanks for checking in again!

Chandra

I'm Ba-a-ack!

I have returned - out of Africa, so to speak! It was an incredible and exhausting trip. We arrived home last Sunday evening, after 36 hours and seven flights. It seemed to take forever! Not quite as long as the trip there, though, as both our Air Canada flights were delayed, which meant we missed our connection in Zurich. So it was off to London Heathrow for a short detour, but we were soon back on track and on our way to Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania. Here is our motley crew in Toronto, I believe. We're still smiling, so it must be on the way to Africa! From Dar Es Salaam we flew to Mwanza, where we were greeted by Father Chuwa and his drivers. Fr. Chuwa is the big guy in the black jacket. More about him later!

Our mode of transportation while in Ussongo was usually Father's new Landrover, which seated five, and this older vehicle, which seated as many as would fit in the back plus an extra in the front passenger seat.



This shot was taken when we were riding in luxury. You should have seen it packed with suitcases and six bodies for the four-hour trip from Mwanza to Ussongo! Luckily Father took pity on us and we stopped a couple of times to see if our legs still worked. The first stop was at a convent near Mwanza, where the nuns had prepared some refreshments for us.

The second stop was at Shinyanga for a beer. The power had been out for most of the day, so it was warm beer. The Tanzanians often drink their beer warm anyway. It is also interesting to note that the large brown glass bottles contain 500 ml of beer!

After we arrived at Ussongo, we had a little time to check out our rooms and freshen up a bit before the evening meal.  The dining room was in Father Chuwa's house, which was just across a bit of a courtyard from the "guesthouse", a building with about 8 bedrooms, each with its own bathroom.   This was my and Anita's room.

The bathroom was interesting.  Just a shower head jutting out from the wall, with a squeegee propped up against the wall to move all the water to the drain.  A clean floor each day!

This is the dining room/living room in Father's house.

 

There was a gorgeous veranda along Father's house, where we spent a lot of time before and after meals, and to escape the heat of the afternoon.  It was probably my favorite place in Ussongo!!

After our first supper in Ussongo, Father Chuwa, his assistant, Father Joachim, and the workers, Maggie, Grace, Bertha, Devota, and Joyce, held a welcoming celebration for us, on the veranda, of course!  Most Tanzanian celebrations of this sort include a cake, which the hosts cut into pieces and feed to their guest on toothpicks!  It is quite interesting and amusing!  This was our cake, before the official cutting.

And here's the whole crew, minus the photographer!

That's it for now, folks.  I don't think my mind is working properly yet, as this post took two days to finish.  More later!

Thanks for stopping in!

Chandra

Happy Easter!

How can you tell that I have a million things to do?  By the fact that I am blogging on the morning of Good Friday, with a house to clean, bookwork to finish, windows to wash,  suitcases to pack, food to purchase and prepare, and seven people coming for lunch on Sunday.  But I'd rather not think about that!

Hockey finished with a bang around here.  The Midgets won the league championship, although it looked more like the Stanley Cup final, what with all the champagne and cigars.  That was a Friday night.  Then it was an early departure to Lloydminster for me, where Derek was trying out for a AAA spring hockey team.  After much driving and lots of waiting around a rink, he made the team.  Unfortunately, he has a very mean mommy who isn't going to let him play.  To be very honest, the caliber of hockey is not great, and it would mean a lot of time and money, which will be better spent at the Weyburn camp this summer.   While we were enjoying the amenities of the Border City, Clem and Stephen were in North Battleford for the AAA Midget spring camp.  Stephen arrived with just one skate, which caused a bit of a kirfuffle (I've never actually had to spell that word before - how did I do??) as the coach and some friends of his raced around trying to find a pair that would fit him.  They did, eventually, and Clem said Stephen had a great camp, if you don't count the ill-fitting skates and a broken stick.  He must have done OK, since they invited him back for the fall try-outs.  We also got a last-minute phone call about a junior camp in Weyburn next weekend.  He must have impressed someone else, too.  

Clem's nephew, Brendan, the Trident Splash guy of Speedo fame, was visiting in Kerrobert for a week.  He is such an incredible young man.  I really enjoy his visits.  He just came off a month-long run of the play, "East of Berlin", in Edmonton, and is now headed to the Banff Center of the Arts where he won a spot at a playwright workshop or some such thing.  We are also on the look-out for his new Diet Pepsi commercials, as well as a new sitcom, "Overruled", which will run on the Family Channel this fall.  But for all that, he is such a laid-back, down-to-earth guy, and we only learn all these fantastic things about him by accident!  

We had a surprise visit from Copper and her mom and dad last night.  We knew they were going to be around for Easter, but we didn't think we'd see them until Sunday.  Copper was pretty dozy when they arrived, as she had been almost asleep in the car, but she perked up after a bit and she and Derek had lots of fun goofing around.  She is quite the little ham!  Should be fun on Sunday with everyone else around, too.  

I have started packing for the big trip.  I leave next Thursday, and I am really starting to get excited.  It's hard to imagine being on a different continent half-way around the world, surrounded by such different cultures and languages.  I have done lots of preparation - research, vaccinations, etc, - so now I am just going to relax and take in the adventure and experience.   And try not to think about the mess that will greet me when I return to this place that will have been without a female presence for two weeks!!!   Deep breaths, girl, deep breaths...

Bye for now!  Thanks for stopping by!

Chandra

Hitting the Reality Wall...

...sometimes called "Davidson".  The Midgets went down hard to the Davidson Huskies this weekend.  The first game wasn't too bad, just 3 - 1 for them.  (Stephen assisted the goal!)  Our boys played well (Adam even got a shift!)  but they just couldn't keep up the pace into the third period.  Not that that bothered the crowd, though.  There were even more people there than for the first game, and the 50/50 was $1200.  Not bad for little old Kerrobert.  

And then we went to Davidson.  Three buses full of fans and players, the underdogs ready to take on the hometown favorites.  We cheered as hard as we could, but the Huskies' goal-scoring talents were just too much.  The Thunder storm fizzled and died, 8 - 3.  Our young team, with just two third-year players, couldn't keep up with a team half full of third years and just one first year.  However, I'm pretty proud of the team for getting as far as they did.  Next year, as we like to say here on the farm!

On a happier note, my cousin, Bonnie, and her daughter, Kaycee, came to the game and we got a chance to catch up a bit.  Stephen stayed with them two years ago when he went to a hockey camp, and he and Kaycee have stayed in touch ever since.  Sometimes they keep Bonnie and I in the loop, too.  

Derek was lucky enough to attend the Flames/Wild game with some of his team on Saturday.  It sounds like they had a ball.  He kept texting me - "This is so much fun, I should have brought my camera", "they've got booze in the van", "going into the rattle dome" (spelling error his!) - so I knew he was having a good time.   He is off to a summer hockey try-out in Lloydminster next weekend, although I don't think he will be able to play even if he makes the team.  The season is April and May, and ends just as we finish seeding.  And of course I will be gone for two of those weeks, so it makes it pretty hard to get him to practices and games.  Some other local boys are trying out, and have offered to take him, so I guess we'll play it by ear.  Clem is taking Stephen to a AAA Midget camp in North Battleford on the weekend, too.  Not sure how that will go, or even if Stephen wants to play at that level.  Adam is lucky enough to be the recipient of two tickets to the Nickleback concert in Saskatoon on Saturday, courtesy of his favorite uncle, who won them at work.   I don't even want to think about the logistics, and risks, of two 16-year-old small-town kids in the city on a Saturday night.  There are just some things I don't need to know. 

We had a beautiful, warm, sunshiney day here today.  Plus 7, they said.  Our yard is a mucky mess, but I love it.  I am definitely ready for winter to be over.   And so are my windows.  They are getting washed as soon as I can get a round to-it.  I swear.  But first I am off to start packing for the big trip.  Now that hockey is almost over and the music festival is done, I can concentrate on Africa a little more!  

Thanks for checking in!

Chandra

We won!!

The Midgets won the Provincial Northern Final series!  It was an amazing game Saturday night. There must have been 500 people in the old barn.  What a night!  Arborfield was up 2 goals from the first game, and they scored early in the game to put them up by three.  But the Thunder turned on the heat and won the game 5 - 1.  I cheered and hollered more than I have all year, and even scared my little brother, Rob, who came out to watch his nephews.  (Well, nephew, since Adam didn't even get one shift.  But that's another post for another time!)   When I was done cheering, I cried.  I was so proud of the team for playing so well.  And they were so happy!

So we are off to Davidson for the Finals on Sunday, after they come here for Game 1 on Friday.  Should be another great series, if my heart can take it!

We also got to meet baby Avery Victoria on Saturday.  Bobbi had everyone over in the afternoon to get a look at Don & Tracy's first, and she is a cutie!  They did well.  Don is one proud papa, and can he ever swaddle that little thing.  She's going to be fun at the reunion this summer.

So that's it for today.  I have a hockey game to arrange.  I can get you in for free if you want to come!!

Thanks for stopping in!

Chandra

On a Bus Heading North

Adam, Stephen, and I , and 40 other hockey-crazed people, hopped on a charter bus yesterday headed for Arborfield, a village of 200 people about about half-an-hour northeast of Tisdale.  Yep, you're right, that would make it a five-hour drive from Kerrobert.  The Midgets played Game 1 of the Provincial semi-finals.  They lost.  They gave it a pretty good try; in fact, it was 3 - 1 for us going into the third period.  But they fell apart.  That's the only way to describe it.  A number of factors were involved, but they basically just quit playing the way they can play, and the Arborfield/Zenon Park team won 5 - 3.  It was a pretty quiet bus ride home.  Except for the exceptionally good pizza we had delivered to the bus (you gotta love Saskatchewan small towns!) which had everyone oohing and aahing (and belching and, well you know...).  We got home about 2 o'clock this morning, sure that we can beat them when they come back next Saturday.  Time will tell!

Meanwhile, we have another league playoff game at home when Wilkie comes to town on Tuesday.  We won game 1 of this round 7 - 4, and we have high hopes of going on to the league final.  We beat out Wilkie in the third round of Provincials, so this is something of a grudge match. They are a good strong team, which makes for a good hockey game.  

Derek's team is done for the season.  They easily won their league division championship, and did the obligatory skate around the ice kissing the trophy.  All very NHLish.  Derek's team lost out early at the Tier II tournament in Saskatoon at the end of February.  It was a close game, though, and they played well.  Another little attitude adjustment, which was somewhat necessary!

Stephen didn't make the zone team.  We had a look at the final roster and Clem is questioning the evaluators' decisions a bit, since Stephen had a really good camp, but I guess they were looking for something else.  Anyway, his performance at camp won him an invitation to a AAA Midget camp in April, so someone else must have seen what Clem saw.  

Adam has been spending quite a bit more time at home these days.  He's 16.  'Nuf said.

The school and town have gotten just about as excited about our Africa trip as Anita and I have. The school is having a hot dog sale and some popcorn sales to raise money to send a donated shipping container of books to the school in Ussongo where we will be staying.  The library and the drugstore are also taking collections.  What a great group of people! 

The weather has turned much more spring-like.  The days are getting longer and I am loving it. Clem has mixed emotions, as it just means his work is about to start again!  Around and around we go!

Thanks for stopping by!

Chandra