Cyclical time

It's the bumblebee time of the day again.
Every day at this time they come to visit. I can hear their deep drone from inside the house as they circumnavigate our roof. Not sure what it is about the roof that they are so attracted to, nothing flower-like about it. It is nice to have little guests humming away every day.

Another cyclical event in the house is the ill-fated tower of termite.

They keep building, and I keep knocking them down and relocating the builders outside. A few days later, I find a new tower growing grain by grain out of little holes in the enamel hardened dirt floor. Tenacious little guys.

In the realm of cyclical events, we cannot forget the monsoon rains. Every afternoon a torrent comes. Usually we are holed up at home working or spending time with friends who are also waiting out the storm. The day before yesterday we waited it out under the awning of a little bakery with a couple school kids. I splurged on a round of tiny muffins for all of us as we watched the deluge and waited.

Today's medical news is pretty interesting. I visited the local Montessori compound where they have a school, nunnery, little store that makes cheese and jam, and the best medical clinic in the area. The head doctor worked in Southern Tanzania in the 70's with a Chinese acupuncture doctor. He was impressed at his ability to use needles to take away pain in a very short period of time. The Chinese doctor trained him in some basic techniques, but he hasn't been able to practice them since due to lack of supplies and support. We exchanged numbers and I will give him a call soon see if he is interested in renewing his studies and/or having me treat some of their difficult patients. 

Now it's time for another cyclical occurrence, the afternoon nap. There is a puddle of sunshine on the couch that is calling my name.  

This is the Africa I dreamed about. 

We made it out of hellish Dar es Salaam yesterday and into the mountains. It's amazing up here in Lushoto. Forested, lush, calm, and cool. It seems like a paradise after the past month and a half in the city. This morning I spent 30 minutes watching a horned chameleon cruise around and eat bugs. He was so tame and friendly that he would crawl up on our hands and hang out, looking up curiously with his swiveling ball and socket eyes while gently balancing on his little two toed mitten feet. After that entertainment I sat on my bed and looked out over the greenery and meditated for a bit. Much to my amusement a trio of white breasted crows did an aerial dance with three large brown hawks in front of my window. I think I'm home.

Eastern Usambara Two Horned Chameleon

There are about 30 different Chameleons in Tanzania. They make up an odd bunch, with varied horns and head gear, different sizes and colors. I highly recommend you do a google photo search of African Chameleons. There are quite a few different ones up here in Lushoto. I will try and get a few to pose for your pleasure. 

On a walk through the forest we were followed by a flock of inquisitive Silvery Cheeked Hornbill.

I'm feeling much healthier now that I'm out of the heat and pollution. Nothing like cool mountain air and relaxing daily hikes through monkey filled forests to clear the city from the lungs. It was getting pretty bad in Dar. I guess it's usual to have to go through some levels of hell to make it to the more paradisiacal places. Not quite a trip through Dante's inferno, but a close human approximation.  Dar is the one of the fastest growing cities in the world right now. With no infrastructure, no running water for 80% of people, no housing, no trash collection, poor sanitation and sewage, no medicine and extremely expensive food you can imagine the chaos and suffering that ensues. Yet the exodus continues as almost an entire generation of youth swarm to the city. I shudder to think what it will look like in 10 years without an intervening miracle. 

Lushoto on the other hand is the polar opposite of the city. As I type this there are two brightly colored tiny tropical birds with long curved beaks doing a little mating dance on my window grate. I love this place. I've started treating a few patients. It seems that most everyone has health issues, which is status quo for having a human body. The difference is that they don’t have much access to medicine, and typically they can’t afford to see doctors or pay for the drugs they prescribe. Average yearly income here is $300. Gas prices are more than $5 per gallon and food prices aren’t all that much different than in the US. Needless to say I keep meeting wonderful people who have learned to live with all sorts of health problems that are totally treatable. I would describe some of these but I will spare the squeamish, as well as my own stomach, which is working on a big breakfast of banana pancakes made with cassava flour, finger millet flour, bananas, cow fresh milk and organic yellow yolked eggs. Even the food here is better. You can see it growing in little farms covering the mountain sides. Everything tastes so fresh and vital.  

Hanging out with my new friend. I like his hands.

A master of disguise

So far we have been too busy settling into our new house for me to do much leg work for the education project. Even so I have a few leads on some healthcare practitioners to train in acupuncture and TCM. There is one local doctor so far who wants to learn a little acupuncture and moxa. I have also started teaching a few patients how to treat themselves with moxa and next week I'm going to go visit a few tiny village clinics to show them some simple moxa techniques they can use for TB and immune compromised patients. We are off to a great start.

Two of my favorite South American flowers growing together on the edge of a wetland rice paddy. This intertwined entheogenic pair is Morning Glory (Ipomoea tricolor) and Angel's Trumpet (Brugmansia). I wonder if the locals know that these bushes induce visions. 

2/28/13

Despite my good intentions, I don’t seem to get the opportunity to blog or use the miracle of Skype to call anyone from home that I’m missing. Our power has been going out pretty much daily, sometimes for several days at a time. We asked about it and were told it was accidental, but it keeping going off and coming back on right on the hour or half hour. Alas my digitally powered pen and technologically enhanced voice are silenced. The one power company here has been getting millions and millions of dollars from foreign donors and the government to update it's infrastructure over the past few years. Apparently most of that has gone into bonuses for the CEOs, paying for their company supplied mansions, and paying for their own personal state of the art power generators at these mansions. Reminds me of our bank bail-outs. The government just announced that the incompetence of the power company might bring the entire country to a new state of financial ruin within the next few years. Without a complete overhaul of the current system things look dire. Luckily they have been in negotiations with the World Bank, who will of course step in to save the day and give a mountain of money to make it all better. That is if any of that money ends up going where it is intended for. The World Bank will require their usual stipulations that the Tanzanians open up the energy market to “competition” with foreign companies. Have you ever seen an ant compete with an anteater? All I can say is, something’s gotta give. A city haphazardly built somewhat attempting to mimic the northern European model cannot function without power.

 My air conditioner and water don’t function without power and meanwhile I've been down yet again with a heat and toxin related illness. It arose after spend all night without power, awake, sweating in the heat and breathing in thick suffocating clouds from a giant trash fire. I've got a nasty rash-like heat induced something all over my neck, thick yellow mucus, nausea and dizziness. Fun stuff. Thankfully I've got a giant box of yincare to keep the skin stuff at bay and I happened to bring along the perfect Chinese herbal formula for my current conundrum. I love Chinese Medicine.

I haven't searched out an herbalist around these parts. It's not easy in a city of 4 million with no infrastructure to find a decent herbalist. There certainly isn’t any nature around from which to pick herbs. I also discovered during my research that the form of herbal medicine here in Dar es salaam has an interesting belief system. They feel that leaving their herbs on trash heaps and compost piles until it starts to rot makes it more potent. This isn’t just metaphorical, apparently they actually aim to supercharge the herbs. It relates to the observation that life comes from death. I find it an interesting philosophy, but I have no desire to take their medicine. Luckily up in Lushoto (mountains) they have a more sophisticated herbal tradition and some good healers I have been invited to meet. Just need to hold in there a little while longer.

The local water supply. It runs outside of our compound, and our waste water flows into it. I was a bit startled the first time I saw a neighbor dipping in for drinking water. 85% of the city has no running water and relies on ditches like this or local water taps that seldom work.

Tuk Tuks are the easiest way to get around, but incredibly dangerous. These guys drive like madmen. 

I don't know when we can leave yet. We are waiting for Mariko to get her residence permit. Unfortunately it is an epic endeavor. There are mythical trials including evil witches (can also be spelled with a B), corrupt petty bureaucratic warlords, constantly changing riddles and requirements, and astronomical fees that raise day by day with no warning. Poor girl has had to go there 5 times so far and every time they are incredibly mean and rude and corrupt. Maybe today we will find out when we can leave town. We should have found out yesterday but they decided to add on a new $50 fee only payable in US dollars and didn't let anyone know or post anything about it anywhere. Yep, interesting times, learning patience and learning what it's like living in the bureaucratic heart of one of the world poorest and most corrupt governments.   

Hanging out at the local corner store. The pineapples and mangoes are delicious.

This is the little tiny closet sized shack of one of my neighbors. Their 2 1/2 year old boy is my buddy. Every time I walk by we wave at each other and smile and laugh. It's nice to have a friend. He has a little car made of a plastic water bottle and another little water bottle boat he sometimes plays with in the gutter. They don't have room to sit in their house, and it's all corrugated metal so it is probably hellishly hot, so they use the dirt street as their living room. It's nice to see them out there braiding hair, playing, resting and preparing food. A very domestic scene. I hope my little buddy finds a way out of the shanty town.

A few old masks from the wood carvers market where Stoney came from. 

Che Guevara and Bob Marley, patron saints of Tuk Tuk drivers and motorcyclists.

Stay Tuned... good developments, brighter days, and the beauty and culture of Tanzania begin in our next episode.