Oh the fun of visas
Before I actually get started this week I am going to deviate-I know I do that a lot- and make a request for assistance. Rev. William Makali and his wife Martha would like to come stateside to see their daughter graduate college. This is not an FDM USA sponsored trip so he has to raise his money for the tickets. He currently has raised $1200 and needs $1800 more. If you can assist, please arrange to give your money or check to William while he is in the USA from May 12 to Jun 10. Thank you in advance for your generosity. Just because they are not on an official FDM USA trip they would still love to meet with friends and groups that have supported them in the past, just contact me to see what we can arrange.
One of the fun parts of my life here in Tanzania is the visa process. You cannot get a residence work permit in the USA, you have to apply for it in Dar Es Salaam which is no where near where I am. I have found out recently you can hire a guy to do all the Dar work for you. But not knowing that before I came over I decided the first year I am on basically a tourist/volunteer visa which is good for one year only before it has to be renewed but also requires I leave the country every 90 days. There does not seem to be a standard set for how long I have to be gone.
So as my first 90 days rolled around it was near Easter, so I made my plans so I could attend my church in Arusha-The Vineyard Church of Arusha- over Easter. The original plans were to go to Arusha for Palm Sunday to worship at the Vineyard and then spend part of the week in Nairobi and return in time for Easter at the Vineyard then head to Singida the following week. However if you are a missionary you must learn a word that I drilled into the first Peru Mission Team-fluidity. I think the non-engineers like "being flexible" but I prefer being fluid since a fluid must flow following certain rules that they cannot influence and it changes shape to fill the vessel it is constrained by. The change in flow came from two FDM USA board members coming to Tanzania. So now the plan was to come into Arusha, spend the night leave the next day to Nairobi for three nights then return in time Saturday night for Easter Services on Sunday. Then stay in Arusha for a week and wait on the board members to arrive. (my 90 day date was the Monday after Easter and I wanted to be safe that I would not run into Holiday weekend complications-oh how well that turned out {sarcasm noted}).
I have a friend in Nairobi who was part of my UM IVM training class and another who is in
Tanzania just below the border with Kenya who must also do the 90 day tango. So we all met in Nairobi. I stayed at a very nice hotel called Hotel Kipepeo. Rooms are very nice, clean. The wi-fi did not reach the 2nd floor but that turned out not to be a problem for me. Like most African hotels the windows don't seal tight so expect some mosquitoes and street noise. The rate for the location (heart of downtown) was good. So I go in check in get in my room unpack and get on my computer to contact my friend until I can get a sim card for my phone to work in Kenya. I notice it is not getting power. So I go through the checks. First thing I figured it was because I had to stretch the cord from the night table by the bed across the room to the desk for the computer which meant stretching it across the room door. Nope nothing. Checked the outlets they all worked. figured it must be the power supply going bad.
No time to work on it yet because I have to meet my friend for dinner at the Carnivore restaurant at 6 PM. I thought I would leave at 5 PM and have plenty of time. I called my cab driver and he picked me up and we started off. It was actually 2 hours and half with traffic. We spent 20 minutes in one roundabout. But I finally get there and it is like a Brazilian restaurant where they bring around different meats all night and cut some off for you on your plate until you signal you want to quit. Here the signal is lowering the flag in defeat. All the meat is roasted and there is soup and dessert but no vegetables really (a potato is brought out but not really acknowledged) Several hours later my friend and I relent and lower the flag for dessert to be delivered and yes I broke my sugar rules for a piece of brownie and ice cream. The trip home took 25 minutes. I highly recommend going here even though you will probably spend between $45 and 55 USD depending on how many sodas or real drinks you get.
Next morning I went downstairs to ask if the hotel could direct me somewhere I could walk to have it checked and possibly but a universal power supply. They would not give walking directions because it turns out they run a taxi service as well and wanted me to use them to go anywhere. Not knowing where anything was yet, I agreed this time. We did all the normal tests and the power supply was working but not the computer. They check it in to do work on it. Get a call about an hour and half later that the chip that regulates power to the battery and main circuit board is physically broken (I am assuming one too many piki piki rides or dalla dalla or buses). So they can fix it and I can pick it up tomorrow.
I went walking around some to try and find an exchange bureau but it is not like Arusha where they all sticks signs outside of a small room with a cage for the teller to sit. You pretty much are going to a bank and they require your passport and the money to be new enough to change. The exchange rate at the time was 86 Kenya Shillings to USD which means roughly 20 Tanzania Shillings to a Kenya Shilling. Calculating what to spend on things is going to be fun. Needless to say I think I got taken for my first two taxi rides by about 300 shillings extra for each trip and I never used that driver again.
So with enough money in hand to have some fun, the computer not going to be ready until this afternoon and my friend at work until at least a little after lunch what should I do. So I decide it is time for a boda boda (their word for piki piki). Maybe now is a good time to tell you Kenya Swahili is not Tanzania Swahili. So what I struggle to say is even less understood here. Fortunately most people actually speak enough English for their job. So taxi and boda boda drivers normally can figure out what you want and how to tell you the cost. Always ask before getting in or on the mode of transportation. So I take the boda boda to the area called Karen (I think for Karen Blix from Out of Africa fame-her museum is in the area). I specifically am heading to the Giraffe center for orphaned giraffes. --Mom tune out for a moment--My guy flew all the way there. I was freezing cold at 10 AM because he went so fast on the highway. Then he could pick a path between all the stopped vehicles really well.
So we get to the Giraffe center and I check to make sure Barnabas is still with me in the satchel. He is but breakfast may revisit him any time now-told him not do the sausage after having eaten at the Carnivore the night before. The center is very nice. It is on the Rothschild plantation who was the originally rescuer and namesake of one type of giraffe that is at risk. Basically you go up and they give you pellets to feed the giraffes that have come up to the deck. You are on an elevated platform to see eye to eye with the giraffes. You can also put the pellet in between your teeth and they will kiss you for it. Barnabas loved that part. I also did the walking tour over their normally area to hang out when not at the public display area.
After this I met my friend at what is basically a mall for lunch and got some really good pizza. This was after my new boda boda driver had a flat tire and we both had to walk across the road construction to get there so he could get a new tire. In his defense he did not ask for extra money for the flat but he did want he whole amount and since he got me very close to the building I agreed.
We then went a botanical garden for weddings that did not have many flowers, but was really pretty and peaceful so we hung out for awhile before going back to town to eat at an Ethiopian restaurant to meet our other friend from Tanzania.
We had a great night talking about different things and discussing our work and the concept of This is Africa (from Blood Diamond). Off to the hotel again. Next morning my friend from Tanzania helps me walk to the computer repair shop since she spends a good bit of time in Nairobi. They are closed for Good Friday which is a national holiday. Call him and he will meet me at the shop tomorrow to get the computer.
So off for more adventures like the Elephant orphanage which they basically bring the elephants down to feed them and talk about them in front of a large crowd for about an hour. So it is difficult to get pictures without others in the background. Of the two I prefer the giraffe center but both are not expensive and if you can arrange to do them both in one day (the elephant orphanage is only 11-12) it really is fun and educational. I had no idea that many elephants were orphaned from ivory poaching, falling into wells and because they were too small to keep up with their mom.
Off to eat again with our friend from Angel House in Tanzania before she has to head out. Got to eat a different kind of pizza this time and it was once again very good. Then some downtown adventures trying to go to the top of the Kenyatta International Conference Center which looks out over all of Nairobi. Closed for Good Friday but I was given a chance to dance in part of the Kenya Tourism video but I am pretty sure they want people to come to Kenya so they will cut me.
Next adventure is the City Park where you feed the monkeys and they actually climb up on you. It was very interesting because of the day off, there were a lot of families just hanging out, kids getting their faces painted, balloon animals, food, monkeys were a little scared, even a makeshift (homemade looking) mechanical swing ride. It was a lot of fun. I admit the monkeys stole a bag of peanuts from me twice and none from my friend. I actually saw one drinking from a water bottle they stole.
We went to eat at the Jockey Pub that night and had another good night of discussing a variety of topics and yes many of them were related to mission functions and how to best explain the things we have learned here.
Back to the hotel. Next morning I start calling the computer shop at 8 AM and then walk over. Eventually I had to go check out of the hotel and then went back. I made the street guards so nervous they kept calling the guy too. No answer. Now I am a little worried. Finally decide to meet my friend at the hotel where my shuttle departs for lunch so I can make the 1:30 boarding. She agreed to go and pick up the computer and we checked to see how much to put the laptop on the shuttle by itself (pretty close to the price I paid for transport). And I headed back to arrive at Arusha at 7:30 PM. It was pitch black and I got a dalla dalla to the drop off point near William's house. The road to their house was still partially flooded and all mud. They were very worried that I had gotten in so late to their house.
The next day the guy with the computer store called me to say he was working on Monday even though it was a holiday again. So my friend picked up the computer a day early and dropped it off at the shuttle place for the next morning shuttle. I was waiting eagerly at the Impala hotel for the shuttle to arrive afraid it may have been stopped for customs and taxes at the border. But no it arrived in good working order. The only really bad thing I can say other than the cost to repair of ($75 including the shipping) is that I missed a chance to SKYPE with the most of the family and some friends on Easter.
Can't wait for my next trip there. Though next time it will most likely be through Angel House to visit with some more friends from IVM training who will be there right about the time my next 90 days is up. But were it not for the visa requirement I probably would not have had the fun I did.
BTW: You can view all the photos at facebook
One of the fun parts of my life here in Tanzania is the visa process. You cannot get a residence work permit in the USA, you have to apply for it in Dar Es Salaam which is no where near where I am. I have found out recently you can hire a guy to do all the Dar work for you. But not knowing that before I came over I decided the first year I am on basically a tourist/volunteer visa which is good for one year only before it has to be renewed but also requires I leave the country every 90 days. There does not seem to be a standard set for how long I have to be gone.
So as my first 90 days rolled around it was near Easter, so I made my plans so I could attend my church in Arusha-The Vineyard Church of Arusha- over Easter. The original plans were to go to Arusha for Palm Sunday to worship at the Vineyard and then spend part of the week in Nairobi and return in time for Easter at the Vineyard then head to Singida the following week. However if you are a missionary you must learn a word that I drilled into the first Peru Mission Team-fluidity. I think the non-engineers like "being flexible" but I prefer being fluid since a fluid must flow following certain rules that they cannot influence and it changes shape to fill the vessel it is constrained by. The change in flow came from two FDM USA board members coming to Tanzania. So now the plan was to come into Arusha, spend the night leave the next day to Nairobi for three nights then return in time Saturday night for Easter Services on Sunday. Then stay in Arusha for a week and wait on the board members to arrive. (my 90 day date was the Monday after Easter and I wanted to be safe that I would not run into Holiday weekend complications-oh how well that turned out {sarcasm noted}).
I have a friend in Nairobi who was part of my UM IVM training class and another who is in
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| The charger cord stretched from power outlet to desk |
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| The meat roasting at Carnivore |
Next morning I went downstairs to ask if the hotel could direct me somewhere I could walk to have it checked and possibly but a universal power supply. They would not give walking directions because it turns out they run a taxi service as well and wanted me to use them to go anywhere. Not knowing where anything was yet, I agreed this time. We did all the normal tests and the power supply was working but not the computer. They check it in to do work on it. Get a call about an hour and half later that the chip that regulates power to the battery and main circuit board is physically broken (I am assuming one too many piki piki rides or dalla dalla or buses). So they can fix it and I can pick it up tomorrow.
I went walking around some to try and find an exchange bureau but it is not like Arusha where they all sticks signs outside of a small room with a cage for the teller to sit. You pretty much are going to a bank and they require your passport and the money to be new enough to change. The exchange rate at the time was 86 Kenya Shillings to USD which means roughly 20 Tanzania Shillings to a Kenya Shilling. Calculating what to spend on things is going to be fun. Needless to say I think I got taken for my first two taxi rides by about 300 shillings extra for each trip and I never used that driver again.
So with enough money in hand to have some fun, the computer not going to be ready until this afternoon and my friend at work until at least a little after lunch what should I do. So I decide it is time for a boda boda (their word for piki piki). Maybe now is a good time to tell you Kenya Swahili is not Tanzania Swahili. So what I struggle to say is even less understood here. Fortunately most people actually speak enough English for their job. So taxi and boda boda drivers normally can figure out what you want and how to tell you the cost. Always ask before getting in or on the mode of transportation. So I take the boda boda to the area called Karen (I think for Karen Blix from Out of Africa fame-her museum is in the area). I specifically am heading to the Giraffe center for orphaned giraffes. --Mom tune out for a moment--My guy flew all the way there. I was freezing cold at 10 AM because he went so fast on the highway. Then he could pick a path between all the stopped vehicles really well.
 |
| Barnabas gets a giraffe kiss |
After this I met my friend at what is basically a mall for lunch and got some really good pizza. This was after my new boda boda driver had a flat tire and we both had to walk across the road construction to get there so he could get a new tire. In his defense he did not ask for extra money for the flat but he did want he whole amount and since he got me very close to the building I agreed.
 |
| Friends from the United Methodist IVM program |
We had a great night talking about different things and discussing our work and the concept of This is Africa (from Blood Diamond). Off to the hotel again. Next morning my friend from Tanzania helps me walk to the computer repair shop since she spends a good bit of time in Nairobi. They are closed for Good Friday which is a national holiday. Call him and he will meet me at the shop tomorrow to get the computer.
Off to eat again with our friend from Angel House in Tanzania before she has to head out. Got to eat a different kind of pizza this time and it was once again very good. Then some downtown adventures trying to go to the top of the Kenyatta International Conference Center which looks out over all of Nairobi. Closed for Good Friday but I was given a chance to dance in part of the Kenya Tourism video but I am pretty sure they want people to come to Kenya so they will cut me.
Next adventure is the City Park where you feed the monkeys and they actually climb up on you. It was very interesting because of the day off, there were a lot of families just hanging out, kids getting their faces painted, balloon animals, food, monkeys were a little scared, even a makeshift (homemade looking) mechanical swing ride. It was a lot of fun. I admit the monkeys stole a bag of peanuts from me twice and none from my friend. I actually saw one drinking from a water bottle they stole. We went to eat at the Jockey Pub that night and had another good night of discussing a variety of topics and yes many of them were related to mission functions and how to best explain the things we have learned here.
Back to the hotel. Next morning I start calling the computer shop at 8 AM and then walk over. Eventually I had to go check out of the hotel and then went back. I made the street guards so nervous they kept calling the guy too. No answer. Now I am a little worried. Finally decide to meet my friend at the hotel where my shuttle departs for lunch so I can make the 1:30 boarding. She agreed to go and pick up the computer and we checked to see how much to put the laptop on the shuttle by itself (pretty close to the price I paid for transport). And I headed back to arrive at Arusha at 7:30 PM. It was pitch black and I got a dalla dalla to the drop off point near William's house. The road to their house was still partially flooded and all mud. They were very worried that I had gotten in so late to their house.
The next day the guy with the computer store called me to say he was working on Monday even though it was a holiday again. So my friend picked up the computer a day early and dropped it off at the shuttle place for the next morning shuttle. I was waiting eagerly at the Impala hotel for the shuttle to arrive afraid it may have been stopped for customs and taxes at the border. But no it arrived in good working order. The only really bad thing I can say other than the cost to repair of ($75 including the shipping) is that I missed a chance to SKYPE with the most of the family and some friends on Easter.
Can't wait for my next trip there. Though next time it will most likely be through Angel House to visit with some more friends from IVM training who will be there right about the time my next 90 days is up. But were it not for the visa requirement I probably would not have had the fun I did.
BTW: You can view all the photos at facebook
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