Dar es Salaam Diary

OK, so there hasn't been any blood (so long as I don't keep scratching my mosquito bites), but there has been a considerable amount of sweat (no air-conditioning! see previous post regarding living near the Equator), and yes, there have been a few tears...

Today is my fourth day a full-time employee at HakiElimu. So far, it has been... challenging. My first day began with the Monday morning meeting -- a two-hour long, full staff meeting conducted almost entirely in Kiswahili. (Kiswahili is the more correct/P.C. term for Swahili, as I currently understand it.) Needless to say, I felt a bit out of my element. Unfortunately, things did not really improve when I got back to my office (which I share with three others). Rakesh (HakiElimu's executive director) had warned me that people mainly speak Swahili around the office, but I still don't think I was totally prepared for it. My officemates all speak very good English, but not only were they not speaking much English to me, they weren't really speaking to me at all.

I was still feeling somewhat frustrated yesterday when Rakesh called me into his office for a meeting. He asked how things were going, to which I meekly responded "fine." But he pressed a bit more, saying, "that was a pretty unconvincing fine" which unfortunately induced a bit of blubbering on my part as I explained how things had not been entirely and completely wonderful thus far. He responded by giving me a substantive assignment, and also reminding me that adjustments are always rather difficult, even when language is not an issue.

Anyway, despite these initial difficulties, I remain extremely excited about working at HakiElimu. Yesterday was also the first day for a new arrival to my department (the Policy Analysis and Advocacy division) -- a guy named Kajubi, who may in fact become the manager of our division. Currently Rakesh serves as de facto manager, but since he is also HakiElimu's executive director, he is stretched a bit thin. Kajubi's arrival afforded Rakesh an opportunity to talk to both of us a bit more about HakiElimu, our role here, as well as some broader comments on the state of civil society in Tanzania. I can honestly say I found the conversation not just interesting but inspiring. In outlining his broad vision for HakiElimu, Rakesh said that without meaning to be presumptuous, what he really wants to do is plant the seeds of a social movement. While certainly many of my former colleagues at CBPP might have similar goals, it was exciting to hear my boss be so explicit. Basically, his vision is a Tanzania where the citizens are truly engaged, in terms of having the confidence and ability to make the decisions that affect their lives.

But back to the day-to-day stuff... There have been some interesting commonalities as far as work goes. Once again, I have been blessed with officemates who are fond of working long hours. I have been the first one out of the office every day so far, tho I have managed to get here before them. And given that work starts at 8, this has been quite a feat! Indeed, today I arrived at 7:28 AM. But my newfound punctuality if probably largely a result of this weather -- it's hard to sleep in once the sun comes up and it starts to get hot.

Yesterday I also participated in another familiar office ritual: cake for someone's birthday! Tho the singing was in Kiswahili, and there was somewhat more clapping. And then the day before, we gathered for a meeting that was called to announce the departure of our IT person, Connie. Again, it was all in Kiswahili, but I kind of got the gist that she was telling everyone that she was leaving. But then she kept talking and then began to cry. And then a number of other women around the room began to cry. So I was of course thinking that she had revealed some terrible tragedy, which was forcing her to leave. But no, I was assured by another colleague, that she had simply been offered another job, and her tears were simply related to her sadness at leaving HakiElimu. So that seems like a good sign...