Dar Filming and Drawing Day

I started the day with a frantic search for cash. I got up at 5:30am and started walking. I did not return until Noon. That said, I had quite an adventure through the hot, muggy, and aromatic streets of Dar. I still owed $650 for the hotel in Kigoma. When I went to check out last week, I came to find out that they don't accept credit cards. It was a big hotel, so I just figured they would. As I spoke with the manager, I learned that they did, indeed, accept credit cards, but the problem was that the machine they received (FIVE YEARS AGO) still wasn't working...or they couldn't figure out how to use it...or they hadn't plugged it in. In any event, they would take travelers checks, Tanzanian shillings, or American dollars. I had already given Augustino all of our American cash, so I used my remaining traveler's checks, but still owed $650. He copied every piece of identification and paperwork I had, then told me to get cash in Dar and go to their headquarters and pay it off. The real problem is that I didn't plan well for Tanzania. We are paying for all of the kids' food and transportation. Silly American Erik assumed I could get receipts from them, then expense them, then pay everyone 30 days later...just like in the States. The issue is that they don't have that kind of cash sitting around, so in order to pay the people who bring the food and transport the kids, you have to pay them right away so that they can continue to provide services. We were successful in wiring money last week, but it such a long process that I hope I can deal with this myself, right away (our home office has been super responsive to all of our needs, but things take a few days, given that we're in Africa...a few days we don't have...).

So, I need about 2 million shillings right now ($2,000). My credit card company, Chase, had put a hold on my card, even though I called before I left and let them know that I would be in five African countries for two months. Also, I have an international limit on my ATM card. All that to say that after five hours of trying every ATM (there are about five here) over and over, I'm sure all African banks think I'm up to something nefarious. Was able to get 600,000 shillings from Gabriel last night...his bank must trust him more. I called Chase last night and begged them to stop putting a hold on my account. "No problem sir, you can get up to $10,000 per day from the ATM!" I went immediately to the bank after that call. Nope, not one red shilling. Will try again today.

During my ATM journey, I walked for about six hours through the streets (we didn't start with the kids yesterday until 2:00 because they had exams). Although I was frustrated with Chase (I hope someone from Chase is reading this), I had a great time walking past miles and miles of street vendors (didn't have my camera...dang). Huge baskets of rice, beans, fish, chicken, tomatoes, avocados, shoes, shirts, leather sandals, etc. lined the sidewalks. They burn garbage and grass in small berms about every 100 feet or so. The smell of thousands of people, burning trash, sweet rice, savory fish, and juicy mangoes is a mixture I came to love. Boys were carrying HUGE loads of clothing, food, bricks, paper, plants, and anything else you can imagine, on their heads. There is no way I could even carry one coffee cup on my head for 10 feet. The women had their laundry on their heads, and young school-children topped their skulls with books and plastic jugs of water for the day.

I bought some new clothes at one shop. I am going to donate most of what I have now to the kids in the orphanage. Basically, I packed as though I was going to be sleeping in tents and carrying tons of water and food. My pants are all Safari cargo, and my shirts are the same. I have finally tired of looking like, well, like I'm on Safari. I stick out like a white person on vacation, and I just hate that! So, I look normal again and feel more like me. I got a great shot of my favorite shop-keeper...I buy Coca Cola Light from him every day. He wants me to tell my friends to come and rent a room from him. So, come if you like! Dar is amazing.

I got back to the hotel at Noon and we left at 12:30. I paid part of the food bill at JGI (I fear the woman who cooks the food won't be able to feed herself unless I get some cash today), then the kids all started filming and drawing artwork for their PSAs.

Sada (the wonderful Muslim girl in the photos) and her team are making a PSA about mercury in fish and how industry her is responsible. I went and bought her some fish for her story. She went to Jane Goodall's house (the yellow house with the dark brickwork in the photos), and cooked one. The other fish she left raw. Their story is about a fish who talks to a man right before the man eats him (the fish). The man and the fish talk to each other (tongue-in-cheek...these kids REALLY understood Gabriel's speech on making a serious matter funny to get your point across). The fish says how much he loves being filled with mercury, and the man suggests that he is looking forward to eating the nutritious metal poison. They end their PSA with a call to action imploring industry to clean up its act, asking people to write to government and industry officials, then to go to http://www.rootsandshoots.org/ to find out more.

Many of the kids are drawing pictures to use in their movies...oil run-off on the streets, pouring cleaning fluids down the drain and then to the sea, bad agricultural processes, illegal fishing, erosion, etc. They'll lay down a track for the narration. They're using voice-recorders to do that. Brighton, a diminutive, shy and extremely articulate young man, sat with Andy in the only quiet place we could find yesterday...the back of a Land Rover. He recorded himself about ten times because he is, well, a perfectionist. They all are, and we couldn't be happier!

Gabriel filmed the kids' calls-to-action for the end of their PSAs, and Andy, James, and I helped the kids get their pictures, Flip videos, and narrations onto their computers. These films are going to be stellar. Many of them will speak in English, but some are more comfortable in Swahili, so we'll run sub-titles. (Oh, we're learning a ton of Swahili. When we get home, if we say, "Mambo!" (Hey there!), you say, "POH!ahhhh." (Right on!). Street slang, but fun.

The real excitement came when Andy, Paul Wolf, and Julian tested Skype in the afternoon. Andy's computer was open in our classroom, and Paul's was open on a desk in Louisiana. They made the connection, then there was Paul's face right on our screen...our faces showing up on his screen. Our Tanzanian students excitedly rushed to the computer when they realized that they had live, American people to watch and talk to. Paul brought some kids over and our kids all waved and shouted. Friday is going to be SOOOO cool!

Today, I continue my search for cash, then we work with the kids on music and titles for their movies. Tonight we bring food and cameras to 150 orphans outside of Dar. I'm sure we'll have some stories from this outing tomorrow.

I can't believe we leave in two days (Saturday morning at 5:25am...yikes). This trip is going WAY too fast!

More tomorrow.

E