December 31, 2007 by Stephen Day.

12/31/2007 7:34 PM

            It has been a quiet two weeks here at Msalato.  The English program concluded with graduation on December 20 and shortly thereafter Msalato became a ghost-town.  I enjoyed spending time with those students and getting to hear their learning process.  Many of the Tanzanian staff members at Msalato have returned to their villages to work their shambas. 

            Christmas was nice and quiet.  I had invitations from three Tanzanians to join them; however, previously I was invited to have lunch with a fellow missionary and a few others.  Also, I attended the Christmas morning service at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Dodoma.  It was a lovely service and I had a wonderful time at lunch.  My father recently asked me how Christmas was celebrated in Tanzania.  It is important to note that the country is about 1/3 Christian, 1/3 Muslim, and 1/3 indigenous beliefs.  Christmas was quiet, but there were plenty of secular elements of the holiday.  I spotted several plastic Christmas trees for sale in town and even saw an inflatable Santa.  Most businesses appeared to be open on Christmas, but I got the clear impression that all the Christians were in church.  The Kiswahili services at the cathedral were very well attended – in fact there were seats set up outside the main door and speakers for the overflow crowd. 

            Since Christmas I have been working on a few projects here, but otherwise, it has been very quiet.  Most of the other wazungus (those of European ancestry) I know are in Kenya at a conference.  Also, I learned that the car I have been driving has a serious mechanical problem – the lower suspension/control bar is cracked.  That would be somewhat easy to replace if the car was a Toyota or a Range Rover; however, the car is a Ford (the international version of the Explorer), so parts are a bit rare.

            Well, I look forward to going to language school because it means getting to see a different part of the country and, hopefully, I will learn some Kiswahili.  One thing is for sure – I have never been more eager for a semester to start in my life.

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December 20, 2007 by Stephen Day.

I finally got my pictures onto my site. You can see them at http://stephencday.com//Tanzania_First_Six_Weeks/index1.html

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December 14, 2007 by Stephen Day.

12/14/2007 3:56 PM

I am uploading a lot of pictures and they can be viewed at http://stephencday.com/Tanzania_First_Six_Weeks/index.html They might not be up yet, but they will be soon. The first 50 or so have been up on a different page for some time, but there are plenty of new ones.

I am really enjoying my time in Africa. It is definitely rainy season. The past week or so it has rained every day for at least a couple of hours. The drive into town has become a lot more interesting… there are mini-lakes along several parts of the road that have formed in the low points. It is not quite as hot as it was at the end of November or the first few days of December. Things are pretty quiet at Msalato because there are only seven students living here and a many staff members have gone home to their villages to work on their shambas (farms).

The seven students living here now are in a three week English course. They meet every day in the library for lessons and I hear them working as I am in “my office.” I have sat in on a few of their lessons and gotten to know them somewhat. Quite a nice group of men – there are no female students. The purpose of this course is to prepare them for an English examination to determine if they can begin work as pre-diploma students. Their tests will be at the end of next week. The pre-diploma period lasts five months, a full semester, and will focus on improving the students’ knowledge of English, the Bible, theology, and computer skills. This is a necessary step because most, if not all, of the students have been out of school for decades and many do not have a secondary education.

The education system in Tanzania is not very good. I am still learning about all of the terms “Standard 7,” “Form 4,” etc… It appears that the system is based on the British system, which I know nothing about. Basically, the founder of modern Tanzania focused on improving the education system and adopting Kiswahili as the national language. The president chose to pick a national language to unite the different ethnic and cultural groups that populate the country. He also tried to improve education by providing universal free primary education; however, it is not really all that free because there are uniform and other fees that must be paid at nearly every primary school in the country. Secondary education is far from free and is, in fact, very expensive. I have read that around 5 or 10% of primary students continue on to secondary school (that is not say that even those who do continue even get a degree).

At Msalato Theological College there are three different programs for theological students. First, there is Haduma (I am uncertain of the spelling), which is a three year theology program taught in Swahili. Graduates of this program receive a diploma, not a degree. The second program is Diploma, which is identical to Haduma, but the courses are all taught in English. Finally, there is a small Degree program which is also three years and designed for students who intend (or hope) to pursue studies in theology outside of Tanzania. Currently there are 104 students at Msalato – five are degree students and the rest are split between the Haduma and Diploma programs. There is also a secretarial school at Msalato that teaches basic office, typing, and computer skills to students.

One of the hurdles at Msalato is money… The fees for theological students are rather high (around $1,000 US per year) considering that the luckiest parish priest in the Diocese of Central Tanganyika earns about $10 US per month. Not surprisingly, almost all of the student fees get paid for through the generosity of donors in the West (and the East – Australia and New Zealand are big supporters).

Internet access at Msalato for the past two years or so has been provided through the generosity of a parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta who gave more than $10,000. That money was used to setup a link between Msalato and McKay House (the diocesan headquarters) in downtown Dodoma. McKay House had an internet connection from the local phone company (DSL, for my fellow geeks) and shared that connection with Msalato via wireless antenna (Wi-Fi) at both ends. Well, the money used for that connection (about $350 a month, I think) ran out at the beginning of November. So why can’t Msalato get its own connection to the phone company? Well, we are about fourteen kilometers outside of downtown Dodoma, which is about nine kilometers past the maximum distance that a DSL connection can be operated.

Why can’t Msalato use the connection that I am using to access the internet? Well, first, let me explain how I am accessing the net. The antenna that used to connect Msalato to McKay House has been turned a degree or two to point at another service provider MAF Tanzania, which connects to the internet via satellite. However, they do not have enough internet service to provide service to the whole campus of Msalato. Also, even if MAF did have enough, it would be too expensive – it costs $50 US a month per computer (additionally – you have to pre-pay in a minimum of three month increments).

How can Msalato get internet access? The only viable connection option left to Msalato is satellite internet. This is a very expensive option. Purchasing a new satellite dish and required equipment costs about $3,000 US and installation costs $750 US. Additionally, service for approximately ten concurrent users is $450 US a month. Also, the speed of that connection is very, very slow by Western standards. The aforementioned $450 package provides a total of 256 KB download speed. Back in the States you can get from the phone or cable company internet access with about twenty times that speed to your house for about $35 a month. This is not an insult on Africa or Tanzania… just the facts about satellite internet access.

Oh well… its not a big deal. The students here are learning more about their faith and how to serve their fellow man. I am honored to play a small part in helping to train the leaders of the Anglican Church of Tanzania. The people here are so loving, faithful, and welcoming. It is a wonderful honor to be here with them.

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December 13, 2007 by Stephen Day.

12/13/2007 10:48 AM

            Finally, I have once again been connected to the information superhighway.  The internet is back at Msalato (well, at least for me and my silent partner).  We paid a hefty fee for get access for the next three months ($50 US a month plus 20% tax) from MAF Tanzania.  I will be using this connection for professional and personal use. 

            It is almost chai time so I can’t write too much, but I wanted to let everyone know I am okay and should be a lot more communicative now.  Also, I will hopefully post within a few hours to let you all know the address where you can view a few hundred pictures I have taken in the past few months.  Well, I am off for now.

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December 13, 2007 by Stephen Day.

11/30/2007 8:34:03 AM

            First, I would like to thank those of you who commented or contacted me after I posted my last blog entry about my little traffic incident.  It has been nearly two weeks and all is well. 

Yesterday was the last day of exams at Msalato, so students have been headed out to the homes to work on their shambas (farms).  Rainy season has yet to settle in, but it is getting hotter here, which is supposedly a sign that rain is imminent. 

As for the future, I will be teaching three courses during the “fall” semester (which begins in mid-February for all you northern hemisphere folk).  For the diploma students I will be teaching two three-hour church history courses – one on the Reformation-era and the other on modern church history.  I will be teaching a one-hour youth ministry course for degree students.  Also, I will be teaching pre-diploma students sixteen weeks about computers for two hours a week.  After Easter, I will also be teaching pre-diploma students about the bible for two hours a week. 

            Starting next week I will be helping the secretarial school at Msalato by helping to lead a computer skills course which will last three weeks.  Those classes will take place from 3:30 to 6:00 pm, the absolute hottest time of the day, during the hottest time of the year.  It could be a long three weeks…

            Today I am going into town for several hours.  First, I will be going to the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, in Dodoma, to help with a computer problem they are having.  Then I am off to MAF to hopefully pick up the equipment I need to connect to the internet from Msalato.  This will provide me with a connection that I can use for personal and professional use.  I am really looking forward to having access here… it has been a little over a month since there was some reliable internet access at MTC. 

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