Wednesday, January 30, 2008

On The First Day There Was Fright, and it was good.

The next step in getting to the dream is to get a Passport and Visa.
The passport I had, the Visa I didn’t. I have to check and see if I need a letter from the school in order to get the Visa, Tanzania is getting more selective in who teaches in their country now.

I am fortunate that I live near a major university, my Alma Mater, Michigan State University. Within MSU they have a travel clinic which assists travels in being current on their vaccines while traveling to different parts of the world.

Their website was very helpful. http://www.travelclinic.msu.edu/beforeappt/index.html
It also has links to the Center for Disease Control, CDC, website which has all of the agonizing details and hazards of traveling to a third world country.

Wow is there a lot of material. Did you know the Traveler’s Diarrhea as an acronym? TD, who knew?

In summary what I have learned so far about visiting a third world country is: Don’t eat anything that hasn’t been cooked to sun surface hot and served to you at that temperature. Don’t eat any fresh fruits or vegetables unless you, yourself, wash them in clean water and then peel them yourself. The knife at that point has been contaminated and you must then disinfect that somehow, I am thinking more boiling water for at least 1 full minute.
Never eat anything from a street vendor, just smile and keep on going. Don’t drink any water ever. Only drink bottled water or water that you put through a nine-point disinfection regiment. Apparently the filter systems on the market are ok, but you have to analyze the “pore size”. Microns matter. Mosquito netting is a good thing especially if it has some insecticide infused in it, but all of the websites want you to contact them directly for pricing. What is up with that? I’ll let you know if I have to buy in bulk and if they price according to income level or country in which you reside. The good news through all of these days of cramping, bloating, and loose stools is that beer and wine appear to be safe to drink. As long as you don’t pour them into another container and never add ice. Drink them straight from the bottle or can, whipping off the can or bottle with alcohol preps first.

OK, I must admit that the CDC website was a little scary and not too shy on the, Oh My God, are you kidding me, scale. Thank goodness I decided to call the MSU travel clinic and set up my first appointment right away. The steady and non-hysterical voice on the other end of the phone was very reassuring and when I told my destination was Tanzania there was no intake of air or “are you sure” response so I felt mollified. My first appoint is in two weeks and they said they could draw blood to see what I was immune to and therefore could stream-line my vaccines, amazing.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

In the beginning their were children singing, always.

Have you ever dreamed of a place where you have never been? Or of a people whom you have never met? I have; over and over and over. It began in my twenties I would sleep and hear children singing and giggling in between the words, which were not English words. I would always smile back and feel as if I were home. As time went on I could see their faces: bright, yearning, hopeful, and beckoning. As I attended college and later raised my own children I came to realize who these children were…..my future students. You see I am a teacher by profession and a searcher of soul fulfillment by destiny. With my children mostly raised, I still have a 16 year old at home, my dream is about to become actualized. I am excited and curious to see if the dream and the reality are the same.