Incredible Day with JGI in Dar...Really...

We had a quiet weekend after our whirlwind tour of Kigoma. We all agree that we miss the Kigoma kids somethin' fierce (just like Sandra must be missing her Joburg girls). Because Andy and I both suffer from a malady fed by the need to have constant new experiences, we love the ever-changing make-up of our programs and students, but don’t get enough time with any of them. (I just looked up from my computer to see Andy getting ready to join Gabriel in the pool to cool off after a hot day in Dar. Andy is wearing blue and brown striped board shorts with a peach and blue checkered Western shirt. Only he could make that look cool…)

We toured Dar a bit yesterday and headed for the heart of the city. It was quiet, given that it was Sunday. We meandered along the coast (much polluted and very full of garbage), and through the city streets. Dar is an interesting mixture of new concrete buildings and old colonials. It was serendipitous, after stepping over a dead rat, to hear the call of the rat-poison guy on his bike behind us. He has a pre-recorded message imploring apartment dwellers to buy his poison. I mention all of this only to shed light on the fact that this is still an emerging economy (doing quite well, actually) and that there are problems that our students are addressing in their public service announcements this week.

That said, we love Dar. It is alive with music and pungent, savory smells of roasting meat and burning leaves. Everyone here has been extremely friendly. They have ready smiles and if you greet them in Swahili (Mambo, Jambo, Habari za Masabuhe) they respond with laughter and a hearty handshake. Again, love it here.

Felix and Erasto (our JGI hosts) picked me up last night to go to a small bar by a huge hotel to discuss the week and our expected outcomes. After much discussion, the conversation turned to Hollywood. Felix LOVES movies and all things tinsel-town. He even took a day trip last year from San Francisco (there for a JGI meeting) to see the Hollywood sign. I told him that I used to work at 20th Century Fox and he immediately sang “Da ta de daaaa…da de da ta da daaa ta de da” (the opening music to any Fox film). We spent the next hour discussing movies. I think I might have ruined the magic for him. He had not heard of stunt men and body doubles. He was almost aghast. But, by the end of the night, he thanked me profusely for opening his eyes to an industry he has always held dear. It was great fun. (And, I quickly got used to the four or so rats who made mad dashes across the floor in search of dropped martini olives. I don’t mind them at all…)

We got up early and had coffee, then Erasto and his sparkling white and infectious smile picked us up in a JGI SUV. We headed down Old Bagamoyo Road and passed two Tanzanian Presidents’ homes, and hit the JGI offices. We passed by Jane Goodall’s Dar home. Today is Columbus Day, and any organization working with USAID celebrates along with us Yanks. So, most Tanzanian workers at the offices were off doing whatever Africans do to celebrate Columbus discovering America.

Erasto and Felix showed us around, then the students arrived. So, here goes... They are totally amazing. There are 5,000 student members of Roots & Shoots in Dar, and these 25 students were chosen to participate in our digital arts program. They are smart, fun, and FAST! They quickly mastered the software, and then quickly understood that we are making public service announcements about coastal issues. They played with the Flip cameras and took some really good digital photos. A few of them went off to Jane Goodall’s house and the coast to get pictures for their movies.

We loved how far the students came in Kigoma, and it was quite satisfying to watch their progress. Because our Dar students are exposed to more technology, they have an advantage that means they can move quickly through the process. I would explain how to use the cameras to one kid, then he or she would run to others and teach them how to use the cameras on his or her own. When we explained about the 90-second PSAs, the understood immediately. One kid asked, “How do we create something that will really capture peoples’ imaginations?” It was a brilliant day.

We also told the students that we were leaving the computers, and they cheered enthusiastically. It truly is amazing what five laptops can do for a community.

The best part of the day came when we announced the video pen pal program. Erasto told our wonderful kids that they would be “flying to America on the computers this Friday to meet new friends and talk about things they share in common…” I am so excited for the kids to meet one another. We’ll film welcome messages on the Nokia video phones this week in both Louisiana and Tanzania. Paul Wolf will post his kids’ messages on YouTube, and we’ll do the same here. Both sets of kids will get to meet each other online, then REALLY meet, in real time, on Skype. (We're doing the same with Lori and Claire Dillon in Chicago when we go to Ghana next week.) Skype allows you to “dial” a number, then the webcams show each location what is going on in the other. We Skyped Ben the other day from Joburg and I was astounded to be talking to him, and watching him in his room in Seattle, with no delay what-so-ever. This is going to be amazing. They’ll chat, share their movies, and undoubtedly make new lifelong friends. So, to Paul’s students (I know Paul is sharing this with you), the students here in Dar es Salaam are SOOOO excited to meet you. They know all about Hurricane Katrina and want to know more about how this has affected you. You’ll love them, just as sure as they’ll love you. We can’t wait for Friday!

Gabriel has made many PSAs and had some great advice for our very advanced students. They are going to write skits, poetry, songs, etc. for their 90-second films. He will introduce the concept of getting your point about pollution across through humor. “Hey, let’s grab that fish and wrap it in a discarded plastic bag! Fish LOVE that! I see them wrapped in bags and napping on the beach all the time!” etc. I think we’re about to get some of the most amazing films we’ve yet seen.

We’re excited to see all of the kids again tomorrow. The JGI team here in Dar are all so much fun and welcoming.

We have the best jobs in the world (have I said that before?).

More tomorrow! E

P.S. Another outstanding moment today happened when two of our students showed up three hours late. Normally, I would think, “Oh boy, now we have to catch them up, and how the heck are we going to do that?” Turns out our other students had so mastered Premiere that THEY taught the newcomers…in a matter of minutes…how to use Premiere. The photos on Shutterfly of the guy with his arm around the younger kid (holding his hand on the mouse) will illustrate this magical moment.