I did it. I bought the ticket. Three months from today, I'll be somewhere between here and Amsterdam, on my way to Tanzania, likely after whoever the lucky soul who takes me to the airport at 6am pries my hands off of the door handle (I'm anticipating a last-minute, "Oh God...what have I done?" moment)! And...while it took some convincing to get Visa to allow me to actually
buy the ticket (three phone calls and at least five purchase attempts...apparently they didn't believe that little old me would buy such an item, sheesh), it's done. Either I'm going or there's going to be one very expensive empty seat on those flights!
I'll fly from PDX to Minneapolis, then on to Amsterdam and finally Dar es Salaam (where I'll have to hotel it up for one night before meeting my group on Saturday, July 10th). I'll drag myself home via a slightly more direct route (Dar es Salaam to Amsterdam to Portland) on August 9th.
I've learned a lot more about Bagamoyo and Tanzanian education in general. Only about 50% of children attend the "mandatory" primary grades (about the equivalent of K-4 in the US). These grades are taught in Swahili (a skill that I'm sure will render me quite marketable upon my return) and focus on the basics. Secondary, taught in English, is not mandatory and roughly 5% of children attend. Of those 5%, most are male. I recently read a blog of another CCS volunteer currently in Bagamoyo. She's at a school of 600. Only 42 are female. Most classrooms function on few to no supplies. Amazing.
Bagamoyo went into sharp economic decline after its status as the capital of German east Africa as well as a major seaport was taken (the depth of the water at low tide and the natural bay in Dar Es Salaam to the south was too attractive) in the early 20th century. Most of its 30,000 residents survive on less that $1 per day. Humbling, indeed.
