August 2014 Newsletter

It has been a few months since I posted a newsletter, sorry for that. Thankfully I've been keeping up with the weekly blog posts, but its not the same.

If you would like to read my August newsletter a PDF can be found here: Found in Translation 8/2014

If you would like to receive an email when a new newsletter is available please let me know and I will add you to my distribution list.

The Eids of Tanzania

Tanzania celebrates all Christian and all Muslim holidays. Yay for a plethora of public holidays! Since Ramadan is ending we have Eid Al-Fitr off this week. In October we will have a day off for Eid Al-Hajj.

While it is nice to have a handful of holidays throughout the year, the Eids are a bit of a challenge for one reason: we never know on which day they will fall.

The Eids fall on the first of the month, which is based on the moon. I have heard that the Imam who determines the new moon for Tanzania (maybe he lives in Dar Es Salaam?) must see the moon before being able to declare it the New Moon and therefore, the holiday. This means that we usually only know not to go into work the night before (or in many cases the morning of).

A couple of years ago it seemed like all the Eids fell on the weekend, even if it was expected to be on Wednesday, it got delayed until the weekend. Maybe it was really cloudy several days in a row where the Imam lives?

Last year there was great confusion when I came into the office and only half of the ex-pats were present, and none of the Tanzanian staff. Everyone else had figured out that it was a holiday, but we didn't actually get the official notification until 10am, the day of the holiday.

About a month after that I thought I had sorted it out. I heard the announcement in town, I asked my guard, I was quite sure that I didn't need to go into work the next day. I woke up to the mosque singing with more gusto and volume than normal, which only further confirmed that it was the Eid. I turned off my alarm and slept in. Later on in the morning I received a text from my friend asking where I was and why I wasn't at the office. What???
Almost everyone, even the mosque, had gotten it wrong. It wasn't the holiday.

This week the office calendar said that Eid Al-Fitr is either Thursday or Friday. However, last week we found out that it is either Monday and/or Tuesday and/or Wednesday. There is some confusion as to whether it is a two-day holiday or one-day. A poll at the office gave mixed responses regarding the duration of the holiday, but the majority vote is two-day holiday.

In conclusion: today, Monday, we are working. Any two (or one?) of the remaining days this week we will have a holiday.

*If you were confused about the information provided in this post, don't worry, it is normal. The Eids of Tanzania can be confusing, but hey! its the end of Ramadan, let the celebrations begin...at some point in the next 4 days.

I'm Home!!!

I made it back to Musoma and back to my house!!!

Ok, that picture is from a year ago. I'll get some new pictures, maybe even video and give you all a proper tour of my home later on.

I am still working on getting internet working and setting everything in order so that I am fully back into the swing of life here. I did get back to Musoma in time to go out and play soccer on Sunday, which is one of the staple activities of my week. So I definitely have made a good start at getting back into the swing of things.

Top 5 (things I'm looking forward to)

A couple weeks ago I made a list of the top 5 things that I am going to miss about being in the States. I think it is only fair if I now list the top 5 things that I am looking forward to about being back in Tanzania.

Once again, getting to see my friends and “family” in Tanzania “goes without saying”.

5. Walking everywhere.

I live across the street from the office, and a 15 minute walk from the main market area of town. I can walk to get almost anything/everything that I need.

4. My house.

I only got to live there for 4 months before coming to the States. I’m excited about getting back to my bed, my coffee maker, my pots and pans…pretty much everything.

3. The market.

I am excited about getting to walk up to the market and get fresh produce. I love deciding what meal to make based on the most unique produce at the market on a given day. Oh, by unique I mean that there is a butternut squash, or pumpkin, maybe a particularly beautiful or large eggplant.

Mama Happy's stand.

2. Putting my training to use.

After studying in Dallas for a couple months, I am keyed up and ready to put that training to use.

1. My normal.

The nice thing about being back in my house, walking around Musoma, working at the office, and going to the market is that it is my routine. That is my normal. I am about to get back to my normal.

4th of July!!!

I have always enjoyed the 4th of July in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Since I was very little my family would bike along Riverside with a simple picnic and set up somewhere along the riverbanks to watch the fireworks show.

Over the years we have grown and so has the fireworks show. We now have a canopy that we set up, we have a large amount of BBQ and other delicious food that we bring, and many camp chairs.

Other than the adorable little girl in the helmet, you can notice in this picture a wagon hooked to the back of a bike (which is my parents' tandem bike). It was incredibly loaded down with the "essentials" of a 4th of July picnic.

Heading out to Boulder/Veterans' Park for the 4th of July fireworks show. My brother-in-law is pulling a trailer with two of his kids in it. Just to date that trailer a bit, I rode in it before I could ride a bike.

I wanted to spend a 4th here in the States before returning to Tanzania. I was truly blessed when nearly all my siblings and half of my nieces and nephews were able to be in town. We have always biked to the show because we live right on Riverside, and since the cops shut down traffic for the show we get to ride our bikes down the middle of one of the busiest Tulsa streets.

Interestingly, I wasn't feeling as much pride and gusto as I was used to this time around. I think after living in an International community, I found some things cheesy that in the past I may have termed 'moving'. I am very grateful to be an American, I have so many advantages in my life because of my nationality. I just really love a few other countries too. America is no longer the only country that I love.

Sparklers and glow sticks were fun, the food was delicious and we had such a sweet and wonderful family time together.

Then the fireworks started, coordinated with patriotic music over the loud speakers. At "the rockets red glare", a burst of red lit the sky. At "bombs bursting in air", it really looked like bombs were going off (in a beautiful way). I started to get some more gusto for my country at that point.

Then the Marine Corps Hymn started playing. There are a lot of military in my family, mostly Marines. They MUST stand at the Hymn, so when that came on, my brother-in-law, younger sister, and aunt all stood at attention (considering that everyone is sitting to watch the show, those who stand, stick out a bit). That, for some familial reason, got to me and I started feeling even more pride.

I don't get it, but even when I'm not feeling hyper-patriotic, just play the right songs, shoot fireworks into the air, and it all comes rushing back. I am so grateful that I got to spend this holiday with my family and that I got to participate in the longest standing Odom family tradition.

Top 5 (things I'll miss)

I leave two weeks from today for Tanzania!!!

As I start saying my 3-year-long goodbyes I am reminded of the things that I will miss about life in America. Obviously my friends and family will be missed most of all (but shouldn’t that go without saying?)

…hm, have you noticed that those things that “go without saying” are usually stated? I just said missing family “goes without saying”, yet I said it, yet it “goes without saying”, yet I said it…I could keep going on that line of thought, but I’ll spare you the tedium.

So, here are the top five things about the States that I will miss.

5. Blending in.

This is the fifth because I actually don’t mind standing out a bit. Blending in is quite nice, but sometimes I wouldn’t mind being noticed. I’ve definitely enjoyed not sticking out like a sore thumb though.

4. Online shopping

I have been able to make most of my furloughing purchases through Amazon and it gets delivered on my doorstep two days later (most of the time). Instant gratification! I haven’t had a car while in the States, so I have loved having access to almost everything online.

3. Coffee shops.

Need I say more?

2. Running trails.

I will definitely miss the general understanding of what a runner is and why they are running. Instead of pinches, pokes and rocks being thrown, I get a friendly wave.

And the number one thing that I will miss:

1. Sushi, tender meat & ice cream.

Goodbye tuna (salmon, I won’t miss you), goodbye Id (In the Raw), goodbye steak, goodbye Blue Bell Cookies & Cream. You all will be missed, I will think of you fondly and remember you always.

Ok, that may not actually be the order. I went back and forth between the running trails and sushi (et. al.) being in the #1 spot, but I still get to run in Tanzania, sushi (et. al.)…not so much.