Cynthia goes to Africa

Where I'm at now...

2009-04-14T20:59:00.000-07:00

It's been a very long time since I've posted here. Since I'm no longer in Tanzania, it seems silly to continue posting here.

I do have a new blog though it's not as personal in nature. It's a website dedicated to anything design. Check it out at www.inspireling.com

weird

2008-09-04T20:45:00.000-07:00

weird:

that the streets are so smooth
that it's not dark at 7pm
not to hear kids yelling mzungu
to be able to understand almost everyone around me
to be sitting in Mr. (Zippy) Echo again
using tap water
to not think twice about eating lettuce
to be using interact
not going to Christine and Jeremy's for dinner every night
to be riding large buses where everyone does whatever they can to avoid contact
to not smell b.o. all the time
to have fast internet
to feel secure without grills, alarm systems, dogs or guards
not having geckos as housemates
to be using Canadian money again
seeing girls walking around wearing pretty much nothing
to be part of the majority again
not getting up everyday with work to complete

bittersweet

2008-09-01T03:49:00.000-07:00

My heart is heavy and levitated.
Excited and devastated.

I leave today.
I arrive tomorrow.

nane nane

2008-08-28T08:03:00.000-07:00

This is an entry I meant to write weeks ago but I decided to wait to get images from Jeremy before I posted.

Nane Nane is a holiday. It's the eighth day of the eight month. Saba Saba is also a holiday, the seventh day of the seventh month.
At Pamoja we don't usually celebrate national holidays but this time we decided to plan a day out. Around Chai Time (10:30am) Joy, Sig, Jeremy, Christine, Jacob, Natasha, Davin and I headed out to the "paragliding" hill for a picnic. The view from the hill is incredible (see the pic with mine and Jacob's backs). We had a great lunch and played on the hill. Jacob played with his piki piki (motorbike) toy, I spun him in a few circles, Natasha crawled around and got filthy, and Sig, Davin, Jeremy and I took turns flying a kite. When the kids started to get tired we packed up and they slept while we drove another 30 mins. to the Snake Park. The attendant there surprised us by giving us a residence rate. It's normally $10 US per person but the Residence rate is 1000 shillings (about $0.85)! I think my favourite parts were a) seeing the huge constrictors b) Natasha trying to grab at the "holding" snake and put it in her mouth (that's where everything these days) and c) watching Jacob ride a camel with his mom. After leaving the Snake Park we drove into town and stopped for yummy gelato and then we headed home. It was a perfect relaxing day... I wish there would have been more of these. :)

Lake Manyara & Ngorongoro Crater

2008-08-27T03:42:00.000-07:00

Last week, Joel, myself and our new friend Carly went on a two day safari. It was pretty incredible. The pictures speak for themselves.
Note: I didn't have some fancy SLR, just my basic digital. My maximum zoom is what I could see with my own eyes. So not particularly amazing shots like Joel but what you do get is an idea of how close we were to some of these animals.

Nipe Jibu on set

2008-08-08T08:25:00.000-07:00

Over the past few weeks I've loaded a bunch of "on set" pictures to facebook. Even if you don't use facebook you can view the photos by clicking here. Enjoy!

changing of gears

2008-08-07T06:34:00.000-07:00

This week has almost felt alien. No running around. No time pressures. No last minute problem-solving. No details to maintain. No set dressing, props, hair, makeup or costumes to worry about. No people and their emotions to juggle. *sigh of relief

We finished shooting last week, a day earlier then expected!

Now, it's time to shift gears. For the past two days I've been creating my latest and last newsletter (link to the right). And for the next 25 days I will be designing the movie title, Nipe Jibu and the DVD case, and applying similar design elements to the disc, menus and the website. I'll also have much more time to keep this blog up-to-date. :)

flying

2008-07-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

Yep, I just might be becoming an adrenaline junkie...
Maybe that's a little extreme but I am loving the adventurous opportunities that keep cropping up.

Since I've never been paragliding before I went tandem with an experienced glider named Par. As, did everyone else - Brad, Joel, Rebecca (Par's daughter) and Jeremy. I was elected to go first. I strapped the harness on, was attached to Par's who was attached to the chute. We turned and faced the chute while Par got it into the air and then we quickly turn around as the chute is picked off the ground. It sounds good in theory but it's never so smooth... unless you are by yourself. We got dragged just a few feet the first time. The second time, we got dragged backwards about 50 feet over thorn bushes and a few rows of corn before finally getting off the ground, only to go back over those same bushes, etc. before we lifted high enough. We didn't get overly high but we got going fast! We almost landed in a few rough patches but would always manage to find another thermal that would take us back up. Our landing was picture perfect until I lost my balance and we tumbled backwards. :) Regardless, it was incredible!

Shooting Day 40

2008-07-16T09:21:00.000-07:00

We have shoot 82 of 105 scenes. 10 Days of shooting left! We are all eager to complete this step of the process. I can't speak for the videographers but the rest of us are just praying we'll make it through without dropping the various elements that we are holding quite precariously. It is by the grace of God that we have made it this far.

On Monday we shoot the third largest scene. Scene 26 - Nipe Jibu which takes place in the market.

Preparation:
• For the dance sequence: Teana, our choreographer from Madagascar, and Nadine held 2 practices over the past two Sundays.
• For the music: Months before the song was written by the Sowers. Weeks before the song is programmed and vocals recorded by JoAnna and Mike. The file is exported at this point to use for the shoot
• For the set: Joy and I went to the market on Saturday (after a morning of shooting) to buy tonnes of fruits and vegetables.
• For the cast: The Leads and 30 extras were called 2-3 days in advance with the date, time and costume requirements for shooting.

Day of Shooting:
• Joy, Nadine, and I begin gathering props and decor to dress the set (which is down a steep hill) at 7 am. At the same time Sig is gathering and setting up the equipment. Davin is also up early as he is in town for his first pick up of people at 7:30 am. (It's worth noting that Davin is driving standard with a cast on his right foot.)
• Angie begins makeup as soon as the first extras show up (around 8:30am).
• Tamu, one of the major characters arrives with the wrong hair (rasta instead of cornrows) and only half her outfit. This matters because we've already shot the scene which happens within a few minutes (in the movie) after this one. We put a hat on her hair and accept the fact that there's nothing we can do about this continuity problem.
• All of the females that have been at the two practices either cancel or don't show up. One of the young girls, with a singing part, does not come.
• Around 9 am (if I remember correctly) Brad and Joel arrive on set to set up the cameras.
• After a bit of last minute running around we begin shooting just after 10 am. with about half the people that showed up for the practices and about a dozen people who have never seen the dance before.
• Around 11 am we stop for some chai. Around 1:30 pm we stop for rice and beans. Anna and Ebenezer (two of the leads) arrive in the early afternoon as they are needed for the end of the scene. Angie does makeup for the two. Daniel, our german friend, is also around capturing footage for "in the making".
• We complete the major scene around 4:30-5:00. Nadine and Davin head off to bring people home. Joel, Brad, Sig and I stay back to shoot about 20 mins. of footage of "rain" to cut into the scene we just shot. Sig, Joy and I begin tear down immediately following. With the help of the staff we have everything up the hill and in the props room or the main house by 6:30 pm. or so.

Introducing... Chai Pepe

2008-06-24T12:23:00.000-07:00

Chai Pepe is one of 12 sets from Nipe Jibu, it appears in 20 different scenes. I began designing the set by exploring any visual ideas Nadine had while writing the story. I combined these thoughts with my design ideas which came from my understanding of the character who owns the cafe, observations of materials and styles in the area and of course my "western" influence. I did a few rough sketches to make sure Nadine was onboard with the design and then moved onto drawing it up on the computer. Jeremy introduced me to SketchUP so I downloaded and learned it. Once I had it drawn up in SketchUp I could move in the 3D space in any way, add measurements and export as 2D graphics (see first part of image below). I provided Sig and Davin with these drawings and they used to them determine material needs and to figure out construction (the picture in the middle of the image is from mid-way through construction). The last step is Set Dressing which takes place a few hours before shooting at the location. If I have to do the Set Dressing by myself and make every detail look the same as it did (ie. if we shoot Scene AA on Thursday and we finish the scene the next Monday) then it takes me about 2 hours to set it up.

In the coming weeks I'll introduce you to other sets as well.

2008-06-23T13:14:00.000-07:00

In the summary below I mentioned that a few of us went to Moshi on Sunday, June 8th. I really like it. It's smaller then Arusha but it's got a great vibe to it, the people are very friendly and there aren't so many tourists.

Here are a few photos:

Another long update

2008-06-22T06:39:00.000-07:00

May 27 - Ruth pulls out of the lead role. As mentioned in a previous post, Ruth's sister died a few weeks ago. Ruth is the only financial responsible one in her family so she now has to support her parents and her sister's children. Working on our project would only offer 2 months of stability. Her boss, from the job she was quitting, offered her a raise. She made a tough choice to honour her parents. We'll miss her.
Same day - Liz W from Kenya is called to replace Ruth. We have been in contact with Liz ever since her audition because she offered to come volunteer full-time in any area of the musical. She had been trying for her passport to come ever since the auditions. Just a few days before the phone call from Nadine with the news that she was being called up into the Lead Role, Liz had given up hope in getting her passport. After the phone call, she went to the office the next day and demanded to see an officer. She sat there for 10 hours and finally got in. Wouldn't you know, the officer knew her uncle, who died in '89, and promptly issued her passport.

May 29 - Liz W arrives at Pamoja
Same day - Reshooting begins
Same day - Back to square one for costuming for the Lead Role (about 24 outfits including a wedding dress). Since we have such a small budget I have to work mostly with the clothes that the actress has plus a few custom designed/made outfits. Even though it was a lot of work to redo I like the new costuming better. (The character is a little quirky so she wears some "unique" things).

Around the beginning of June - Conner, who recently returned to Tanzania with his new wife, has offered to help us 3 days a week. He's really skilled in video-related things. It's awesome to have him on the team.
Around the same time - Christelle, of the Sower's (the band doing all the major songs and programming for the musical) announces that she is expecting her third child. We're obviously very excited.

June 1 - We are invited to attend the Children's Service at a local church, Patendi. The Children's Department there is headed up by one of our worker's, Martina. The Pastor's Wife, Anna, is one of the Major Characters in our movie.

First week in June - David, who plays Kilele, experiences a death in the family. He is unavailable for about 5 days. We have to reschedule everything for the week.

June 8 - JoAnna, Davin, Joel and I meet up with Lis in Moshi. We spent the day by walking around town in the morning, hitting up a great local joint for lunch and then heading out to a Lutheran Cathedral in the middle of nowhere for a tour and a hike.

June 14 - JoAnna, Davin, Lis, Joel, Brad, Angie, Boston and I go camping overnight at Par and Miriam's place so that we can wake up and attend the Motorcross Race the next day. But not before crashing the Russell's and sleeping in their tents. We were given a tent with no poles (even though there are 2 other fully functioning tents available)!

June 15 - We wake up early, eat some french toast and watch our friends race. I spent the good part of an hour learning and helping to replace a tire tube. Apparently I need a better teacher because there ended up being 4 holes in the new tube! You can read a much more interesting account of the events at http://joelbentley.wordpress.com/2008/06/15/the-race/

June 19 - Lis from Moshi, is visiting. We head out to the ViaVia Club for some live Reggae. David, the dancer from Contagious who I mentioned in a previous post, now works there. Joseph and Cliff were there as well. It was great to see them again. We rarely see them now that they are no longer apart of the movie.

June 20 - Davin, JoAnna, Joel, Brad and I go to see IronMan.
Same night - On our way home, Davin who was riding a motorbike, is almost squashed between two vehicles. He skidded out and escaped with only a twisted ankle.

June 21 - Paschal, who has been hired to help specifically with Props and Sets and plays a minor role in the movie, goes for surgery for something to do with his large intestine.

the winds of change

2008-05-29T13:12:00.000-07:00

So the weather is getting cooler here. We're settling into "winter". The nights are cool. I wear long pants, a long sleeved shirt and use a sheet and blanket to keep warm... not too bad. It's amazing how I've acclimatized. The temperature drops to 18 and I'm grabbing a sweater!! (Thank you Richard for leaving yours here.) Someone the other day was telling me that it was unfortunate that I'm coming back in the fall and missing the summer. I'm actually really excited about it. I love the beginning of autumn, you know when the fall colours are at their brightest and it's still warm enough to wear a sweater and jeans. Love it!

This week has been crazy so far! On Monday, Ruth, our lead actress pulled out. We had already decided to redo most of the scenes from last week (we're on a steep learning curve) so the timing of getting a new lead, if we had to get one, was Monday. As mentioned in a previous post, Ruth's sister died a few weeks ago. Ruth is the only financial responsible one in her family so she now has to support her parents and her sister's children. Working on our project would only offer 2 months of stability. Her boss, from the job she was quitting, offered her a raise. She made a tough choice to honour her parents. We'll miss her.

Today, our new lead actress arrived. Her name is Liz and she's from Kenya. She came to Arusha to live with her sister when things became unstable in Kenya. She auditioned for the role and when she didn't get it, offered to come volunteer in any aspect for the movie. But first she needed to go back to Kenya to apply for a proper passport. It took her 6 weeks or more. She almost gave up, and almost took a new job but when she received a call on Monday, from Nadine, telling her that she would be the lead, she tried once more. After weeks of being told by the officers to "come back next week" she got an appointment with someone who ended up knowing her uncle (who died in 1989!) and she received her passport that day!

Today, was also our second first day of shooting. :) Since we've got a new lead, it was like day one all over again. I love that now both Joel and Brad are planning shoots and filming. They make a good team! Between the two of them I know we're gonna get some great stuff!

blast from the past

2008-05-25T21:14:00.000-07:00

Brad, his wife Angie and son Boston arrived safely! They had great travels and arrived with all their luggage.

Today, while working, Brad asked me if I still had nice handwriting. It's true I do. Funny that's what Brad remembers about me from Public School. See Brad and I were in the same grade at Grey Central in good ol' Ethel. We've had something like two hi-and-bye's since Grade 8. It's interesting to see where our lives have taken us to get to the point where we're now working on the same project in Tanzania! It's pretty cool.

I'm back... well I never really left

2008-05-23T04:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I haven't written in, like... forever! :)
So here's a quick rundown of the last 7 weeks or so. I'm sure I've missed things but you get the gist.

April 4 - Went out to the local cinema. It's been open for about a year. Our new friends Joseph & David joined us. We watched Sweeny Todd. It's an odd musical but I really enjoyed it.

April 9 - We cast our lead characters. Ruth as Ndoto, Ebenezer as Imara, Rita as Pekee, David as Kilele, Anna as Bibi, Rebecca as Nyota and Yaeli as Tamu.

April 10 - Joseph stops showing up to work to plan the choreography.

April 11 - Discover that Joseph (and David) haven't been coming because they've been practicing with their troop, Contagious, for a Dance Competition. It's cool with us because we assume it's a one time thing.

April 12 - The Dance Competition is tonnes of fun. They win. Plenty of gross, sweaty hugs all around.

April 13th - Ruth's boss refuses to allow her to take her months vacation (required by law) and a month unpaid leave so she can't be available when we need her. Ruth has to decide what to do.

April 17 - Turns out the Competition could lead Contagious to London, UK if they do well at the next 2 competitions (one in Dar es Salaam and then one in Nigeria). So Joseph, David and David's brother Cliff (cast as an important dancer) quit.
Same day - Goodbye dinner for Justina at Khan's.

April 18 - Justina leaves. It's a sad day.

Same day - Kilele's role is recast with a different guy also named David. The schedule is completely reworked because it originally was centred around the other David's work schedule.

April 19 - Jo, Davin, Richard and I take the 12-2 am shift at the Russel's 24/7 Prayer Event.

Same day - All the Lead Characters gather in the Studio. Reality sets in... filming starts soon!!!

April 20 - After a week of practicing every night the Sowers plus Nadine, Jeremy, JoAnna and Skylar lead worship at Zion Temple in Arusha.

April 21ish - Ruth makes a tough decision to quit her good paying job.

April 24 - I finally finish the latest newsletter and send it out.

April 26 - In the wee-hours of the morning, Joseph is recognized as a member of Contagious and mugged. He puts up a fight and saved himself by putting his hand between his neck and a knife. His hand is sliced open. They say it'll be a year or more before it's back to normal.

April 29 - Davin's sister met an American girl, named Leah, on the daladala and directs her to us. She came and brought along her German friend Daniel. Leah is now helping with props and Daniel will perhaps help out as second camera man.

May 1 - Leah has a connection to a man named Taifa and brings him along for the day. Taifa is a dancer and will be helping Nadine with some of the smaller choreography sections.
Same day - Joel our cameraman arrives exhausted after 3 days traveling. We're late picking him up because there's a tree across the road and so the back roads need to be taken.

May 2 - 5 - Nadine, Joel and I hop on a plane to Zanzibar where we join the rest of crew who left 2 days ago.

May 3 - Richard heads back to Canada but not before his boat to the mainland takes triple the time it should and forces him along with a dozen others to miss their plane. Richard misses his first day of classes.

May 5 - We arrive home after a great vacation in Zanzibar.

Same day - During the night the "Exterior of Bibi's Duka" set falls flat because of the heavy rains. It is rebuilt using concrete this time, rather then mud.

May 6 - Paschal is hired to help us with calling people, taking messages and designing props.

May 7ish - Ruth's sister suddenly dies.

May 8 - Snail-mail! Yippee. My first piece of mail in months! Thanks Michelle!

May 10ish - A local restaurant owner puts us in touch with Tina, a Malagasy woman, who has opened a Dance Studio in town within the past few months. She is an amazing choreographer and has agreed to plan all the major dances before she leaves for the States in 8 weeks.

May 14 - A stagetruck, and integral prop, is found for us to use throughout shooting.

May 15 - First day of shooting. A night scene. The set looks great. It sinks in that we're actually doing this.

May 16 - Second day of shooting.

May 17 - Attempt to shoot but it's raining too much.

May 19 - Third day of shooting. Tonnes of rain! We're sliding in mud everywhere. We manage to get 6 of 8 scenes shoot.

May 20 - We cancel the rest of shooting for the week to give us time to regroup and completely revise the schedule because Ruth has to complete her contract which means she's not available until June 1.

May 21 - The schedule is completely revised. We begin shooting again on Monday.

May 22 - Word of increased witchcraft is being broadcasted. People are going missing even during the day. We've been confined to our base unless we're leaving in a vehicle.

May 23 - Brad, Angie and Boston arrive tonight!

updated link

2008-05-08T23:29:00.000-07:00

sorry... the link for April's Newsletter hasn't been working. I've updated it so it works now!

I promise to write soon about what's been happening around here!

Until then,
Cynthia

what do you do...

2008-04-09T10:35:00.000-07:00

when you have two great people to choose from for the Lead Male role of a movie? This is proving to be a very hard decision. Would you please please pray for clarity on this decision?

thanks!

Cynthia
~one love

set design

2008-04-08T22:30:00.000-07:00

So things are progressing with the building of the sets. It's so awesome to see them in real world. As they come close to completion I will begin to dress them. :) I'll post pictures as I go.

guy smiley

2008-04-07T09:49:00.000-07:00

Both yesterday and today a bunch of us got talking about children's shows we used to watch. With most of us being Canadian we of course talked about Sesame Street, Mr. DressUp, Fred Penner, and more. oh, man old school television. Gotta love it!

Oh, and we brought back some old school group games, too. I don't know if any of them have names but you know the ones I'm talking about. You know the one where everyone sits in a circle and then an instruction is given like, "everyone with brown eyes move one seat to the right" and then you end up with someone with almost everyone on their lap? Haha, fun times with big people! Oh, and then at a restaurant the other night we brought back, "honey, if you love me". If you don't know this game, here's how it goes: One person says to another, "honey, if you love would you please please smile" and then that person has to respond, "honey, I love you but I just can't smile" without cracking a smile! Some people are so good at it that you've gotta get real close, or touch their face or sit on their lap. I'm not one of those! Haha, I can't even finish saying, "honey" before I crack up! My instant response to a smile is to smile back. I clearly have no self control when it comes to smiles! Funny, because when I was a kid I was often reminded by teachers and family to smile, now I can't stop!

28 hours later

2008-04-03T09:56:00.000-07:00

ok, so after 28 hours this is the completed work. I've watched it so many times now the only thing I see are the mistakes. :)
It's a video I put together to show at The Embassy/Elevation of what Nadine, Richard and I are doing here in Tanzania. Here's the link: what_we_are_doing.mov
Hope you enjoy!

call backs

2008-04-02T22:47:00.000-07:00

After the auditions that were held last weekend we have selected a number of people to come for call backs. The call backs for the 3 major roles happen tonight. Then we need to decide who will be cast. This probably won't be an easy decision. Please pray that there is obvious choices for each role and that our team will be in complete agreement.

auditions!

2008-03-27T23:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, auditions started!
We held our first auditions at a church here in Tengeru. Today and tomorrow we have open call public auditions in Arusha. We have no idea how many people to expect so we've planned for hundreds. We're hoping to cast all our major and minor characters as well as extras from these auditions. Please pray for us as we go through the auditions and for the casting decisions that will be made following all the auditions.

Thanks!

Cynthia
~one love

it's got a name

2008-03-25T00:03:00.000-07:00

so our Musical finally has a name:
Nipe Jibu
(pronounced Nee-pay-Jee-boo)
... it's swahili for: Answer Me.
It's a line from one of the major songs.
We've registered the domain.
Now I get to design the look of the title.
Eventually I'll design the jacket and cd, too.

Maasailand

2008-03-22T16:48:00.000-07:00

Last week Friday at 12:30pm my friends Justina, Nadine, Davin, Richard, JoAnna, Joseph and myself headed down our road to catch the bus that would take us three quarters of the way to Maasailand. The bus ride was hot but uneventful. After almost 4 hours we got off the bus, where we met a few Maasai friends and their pastor. Along with half a dozen Maasia, we piled into the cab and back of the pastor's truck and drove deep into the country. After close to 2 hours of driving on gravel, sand, and riverbeds we arrived just a few minutes behind Jeremy, Christine and the kids, at the camp of our Maasai friends. Amongst a crazy mix of Swahili, Ma and English we set up camp and ate frozen hamburgers (the person on duty didn't think they needed heating) on buns with tomato and mayo (nice selection, haha... I don't like either). I was so hungry by this time that it really didn't matter. A few Maasai women prepared Chai made with goats milk to finish off the meal. After a little while we were invited to join the Maasai in worship and prayer. I arrived at the area by myself and as the firelight lit the area I saw about 75 Maasai, young and old, Little Natasha was strapped to the back of an old woman, Jacob was dancing around, my friends were holding children's hands as they all circled around the fire. It was beautiful. An older woman grabbed me by the hand to drag me into the circle and on my way I pulled in my Tanzanian friend, Joseph. It was awesome to share this experience with someone who felt just as out of place as I did. He also translated for me whenever Swahili was spoken. Oh, it was wonderful.

After a night of virtually no sleep, Saturday morning arrived. After a small breakfast of granola and muffins we went off on a walk to the office of MAPED which is currently being built. MAPED is an NGO made up of Maasai who are working to educate their people about Aids, Women's Rights, and other cultural issues. We arrived back at camp by noon and filled ourselves up on tortillas, peanut butter, jam and bananas (well, not bananas for me) and rehydrated. In spite of the insane heat, at 1:30pm we headed out again to visit 5 of about 25 huts within the Boma. We were joined by a number of Maasai children who took turns hold our hands, running and skipping. Basically, the huts are mud structures with a grass roof. As you move through the open doorway you enter the first room where there is a small fire lit in the middle. Off this room there is another space. As you duck through the doorway the first thing you notice is a tiny window which allows abit of light into the room. After your eyes adjust you can make out stools, a water filter, a few cups, an a few hard surfaces where people would sleep. After a few moments the women of the hut would bring in Chai and we would be told a bit of information about the family which lives there. It's so hard to keep track of all the names and families and figure out which women are wives to which man. I gave up rather quickly. After all, since I don't speak Ma and very little Swahili I couldn't communicate much. It's incredible to experience friendliness, affection and acceptance from people of another world without being able to verbally communicate. After a bland spaghetti dinner and some really good Chai, we again joined the Maasai in worship and prayer around the fire. This time we were asked to introduce ourselves and then we were taught how to dance... the Maasai way. Man, none of us got it. The way they shake their shoulders is impossible. We had a good laugh at ourselves, as did the Maasai. Probably, the funniest was Joseph because he's black and the choreographer for the Musical, but even he couldn't manage to get the movement down.

The next morning we had a small breakfast of a few muffins. There was granola but no bowls because they didn't get washed of the spaghetti as promised. Our entire team, but one who was busy socializing, helped out with packing up camp and then we were off. Six hours and a cold shower later I was feeling clean and reflecting on a great weekend.

wealth of apples

2008-03-11T19:00:00.000-07:00

Every time I head out of the gates of Pamoja it's inevitable that I'll hear kids holler the phrase, "Give me my money". Unfortunately, it seems to be the second phrase learned after "Good morning, teacher."
Notice the possessive? Give me MY money. Sorry, honey I don't have your money. Partly this is a grammar mistake, partly this is a state of mind. Wealth is not considered the same here as in the western world. Let me use apples to explain.
There are 3 apples, I have 1 apple and you have 2 apples. If I want to have 2 apples, I go and find the apple tree and pick 1 more apple. With the mindset here there are 3 apples, ONLY 3 apples. If you have 2 apples and I have 1 apple but want 2 apples then either you have to give it to me or I have to take it from you. Interesting, eh?

step by step

2008-03-09T11:34:00.000-07:00

... is so not my style of learning.
even more so when the steps require co-ordination.

Our new choreographer, Joseph and his friend, David have been trying to teach us some hip-hop moves. Oi! I love hip-hop music and I can definitely groove to it but actual moves... not so much. I can not remember more then 8 steps at once and I'm incredibly uncoordinated. I'm not actually that bad... no one else sees it though because as soon as I think/know someone is watching I instantly get "stupid" and then I get frustrated that I feel this way and can't do anything about it. It's like there is a switch in my brain that flips off. I was told that I just need to get over my self-conscienceness and be myself. I AM myself and you know, I'd love to stop being self-conscience, but I can't seem to stop that switch from flipping so I avoid any situation where this could happen. But this makes Cynthia a boring person and who wants to be friends with Boring and Uninteresting? So what the heck am I supposed to do? Why do I care?

How did learning a few steps turn into an identity crisis? :S

visual aids

2008-03-06T21:17:00.000-08:00

All right so I've got some photos up on Facebook so I thought I'd post the external links here for those who don't use it. There aren't a lot of photos because it's quite hard to upload on such an unstable, slow internet connection.

Enjoy!

Pictures from October 15 - December 15th - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22902&l=dc989&id=510596859

Pictures from December 16 - February 15th - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=25232&l=a13c9&id=510596859

the day

2008-03-06T11:41:00.000-08:00

So I was talking with Justina, one of the girls on my team about our blogs. I was mentioning that I don't blog very often these days because I sit in front of a computer 8 - 5:30 everyday so I don't much feel like sitting in front of the computer yet again plus how exciting is it to read about someone sitting in font of their computer all day? For me the days seem to come and go as I design sets, oversee the set building team, design costumes, and plan decor and props. I've never been one to talk about work I don't know why. It's not like it's a secret part of my life. It takes up at least a 1/3rd of my life so why not share? So I'm going to do my best to share about the work I'm doing... why not?

Today, I spent my day working in SketchUp. It's a free software from Google that I'm using to draw the sets. There are 17 sets all together, 10 of which need to be designed and built. All of them need to be drawn in SketchUp so they can be exported into FrameForge for Storyboarding and Shoot Design. So far I have 9 out of the 10 designed and 9 of the 17 in SketchUp. Today I completed completed "Mama Tamu's House" set in SketchUp, "Wedding Dress Shop" set in SketchUp, worked on "Wedding Banda" set in SketchUp, worked on determining which props need to be found, built, or bought by the Set Construction Team, and sent out descriptions and files of a few of the sets to our Cinematographer, Joel, who is still in B.C. so that he can start planning Shoot Design.

We have a new face around here. His name is Joseph. He's our new Choreographer. He's an awesome dancer and I have no doubt that he'll do a fantastic job!

Today, Davin purchased the last of the red 1'x6" red dirt pressed bricks that he'll used to build the "Chai Pepe" set. It's exciting to see my ideas and designs actually become reality... it's a little nerve wrecking as well. :S There's 10 weeks to build the sets before we begin shooting. Yikes!

sitting on a cloud

2008-02-20T22:25:00.000-08:00

Today I'm sitting on a cloud...
a wonderfully comfortable office chair!

Christine and Jeremy's container finally arrived from Canada after 4 months. Inside, amongst a lot of other things, was 13 office chairs. So all of us who work in the Video Studio received an upgrade from patio chairs to office chairs!

I don't think I have EVER had a good supportive comfy chair. It's everything I've imagined. :)

life as a musical ?

2008-02-20T11:01:00.000-08:00

I've heard people say that they wish their life was a musical. I have, in the past, thought that these people were a little off their rockers (no offense).

but now

I think I understand it a little....

after watching musical after musical,

over and over again.

Moulin Rouge
Phantom of the Opera
Rent
Hairspray
Grease
Chicago
Highschool Musical
DreamGirls
My Fair Lady
Bride and Prejudice
Across the Universe
Sound of Music
Wicked (Soundtrack)
Lion King (Soundtrack)

I've also been watching other movies for inspiration:

Amelie - Study of Artistic Elements
Stranger Than Fiction - Study of Graphic Elements
Water - Study of Artistic Elements
Stomp the Yard - Study of Dance
Step Up - Study of Dance
Finding Neverland - Study of Artistic Elements
Memoirs of a Geshia - Study of Artistic Elements
The Devil Wears Prada - Study of Antagonist
Hitch - Study of Dialogue and Humor

musical

2008-02-08T11:32:00.000-08:00

Ah, I'm fully immersed in the world of magical musical movie making.

Yep, you're right...

I AM in Africa.

The Project:
The fear of the Spirits of the ancestors seems to be one of the biggest strongholds in East Africa. People - even Christians are afraid to move on - afraid to make changes because of what these spirits will do to them. Even among church leadership this is still a very real issue. If you try to educate someone about how this fear does not need to dictate their lives it does not work. Change has to happen in the heart. Seldom do we listen to a sermon twice but we'll play a song over and over again. With this thinking we know we can use the strengths of the African culture being song, dance and storytelling to bring hope to the people. Through this musical love story (as all musicals are) we're going to sing a message of freedom, beauty, truth, life and JESUS into the hearts of all East Africans!

The script is completed. Currently, the dialogue is being written in Swahili by Lucy who is from Kenya. Five out of fifteen feature songs have already been written by a Congolese band. They are awesome. God has given them the same vision as we have otherwise we never would have been able to afford them. They have a contract with Groove Studios in Australia. The sung dialogue, background music, and connectors are being written by JoAnna who is here from White Rock, BC. I am the Production Designer. Davin, a Namibian is coming in a couple weeks to build the sets. The choreography is being done by a Rwandan local celebrity by the name of Daddy. Joel, who is also from White Rock is coming in May to be our Cinematographer and Editor. But we still really need a secondary Final Cut Editor, a Sound Guru and someone to do the Lighting.

We'll be filming and recording from May - August this year. If anyone is looking for an excuse to come to Tanzania and help out for 1-4 months please let me know!! :)

latest newsletter

2008-01-31T09:34:00.000-08:00

... incase you haven't noticed my newest newsletter is available.
Just click the yellow tab to your right.

interesting

2008-01-30T11:26:00.000-08:00

Fleas like white paper
- that's how you find and kill them.

Mosquitoes carrying malaria do not 'buzz'
- weird, eh.

Borax and honey kill ants
- we often have little troops of tiny ants running around. This mixture gets rid of them quite effectively.

Two year olds hear and repeat everything
- One day Jillian, who's in her twenties, told Jacob that she was too old and tired to sit on the floor to tie his shoes. He said "oh". A few days later, at church, when someone asked about Jill he pipes up, "Jillian old and tired". He's quite the kid.

apple heaven

2008-01-29T18:39:00.000-08:00

As I was working away on Set Design today, I caught myself with my Macbook on my lab, a Macbook Pro in front of me and just behind it a 23" flat panel monitor and I thought, uh I'm in Africa?! I've never had a setup this sweet!

Lately I've been keen on granny smiths and all natural peanut butter. It's the ultimate snack.

ants in my pants

2008-01-27T23:12:00.000-08:00

So the other day I closed the iron gate on my door, padlocked it, closed and locked the wooden door and as I finished locking it I noticed that an army of ants had swarmed into the entry way during the moments it took me to shut and lock the door. I proceeded to grab a shoe and smush the horde of about a hundred. I watched for awhile and it seemed as though the ants were no longer coming in. I went to bed. In the morning when I went to leave my apartment I noticed that there were no new ants. Ok, so the invasion of the night before must have been some weird and hopefully isolated incident. I was thinking this as I openned the door. And to my shock another, but smaller, herd of ants began to come in. At the same moment, right at eye level, about 4 inches infront of me, on the door frame I noticed a gecko... flattened like a pancake being consumed by ants. Well, that solved the mystery.

I've been unsettled lately. I really enjoy being here. I'm doing the work I came to do. I'm committed to complete the work to the best of my ability. I am determined to make the most of my time here in Tanzania but I'm restless. I don't know what my future holds in Canada but I'm really eager get started and begin to find out. Right now, 7 months feels like an eternity to wait. :S

so how's this...

2008-01-16T18:37:00.000-08:00

I got a facebook request the other day to join a group that proposes that the whole world turns off all their electrical equipment, lights, air conditioners, etc. for an hour at 8 pm on some particular Thursday (I don't remember the exact details). I find it kinda funny because to think that the electricity will be working at that particular time and date is assuming a lot, and then to not use it... that's silly. Even now, we are without electricity and have been for the past 27 hours.

prayer request

2008-01-15T23:10:00.000-08:00

I would like to ask you all to pray for my friend, Lucy.
She is Kenyan and has been required by her family to return to Nairobi from today until Friday for her Grandmother's funeral. These three days are reported to be the days of planned opposition protests/rallies. Please pray that Lucy and her family are protected against the violence and for the borders to remain open so she can return to Tanzania.

phew!

2008-01-15T10:40:00.000-08:00

Thank the Lord!
My Volunteer Visa has finally been appoved only 6 days before my Visitor Permit expires! Please pray that it now arrives quickly!

missing today

2008-01-13T07:29:00.000-08:00

- warm apple fritters from the farmer's market
- caesar salad
- hearing snow crunch beneath my feet
- riding the city buses
- honey garlic wings
- my comfy red couch

inbox

2008-01-06T21:19:00.000-08:00

I recieved my first two pieces of snailmail a few days ago! :D It was marvelous!
Thank you Judy and Aunt Corrie & Uncle Ernie!

expanding

2008-01-05T18:00:00.000-08:00

JoAnna and Richard have arrived! :) JoAnna is from White Rock, BC and Richard is from Waterloo, ON.
Pamoja now has 6 adults under the age of 30 volunteering full-time. It's awesome to be in the company of such talented people. Of course, Sig, Joy, Jacob (1) and Natasha (3 months) are great, too!

a sunburnt Christmas - the real deal

2008-01-04T21:30:00.000-08:00

So this time I won't cop-out with a vague posting. :)

I had a wonderful Christmas here in Tengeru at Pamoja. In the morning we headed to the DikDik which is a hotel about 20 mins away that has a really nice outdoor pool. We swam and played for about 4 hours. It was alot of fun especially with Nadine and Jeremy trying to learn how to do back dives. I learned how to jump dive and do a front flip off the edge of the pool. Seems I maybe getting more adventurous in my old age :) I also managed to receive my first real sunburn since arriving in Africa.
The final preperations of Christmas dinner were completed in the dark as the hydro went out around 5 pm. It became the joke of the evening to thank Tenesco for the gift of no power (Tenesco is the electricity provider). Dinner, by candlelight, was fantastic followed by Ice Cream Sundaes. Yum!
Unfortunately, the evening ended on a sad note as I desperately tried to connect with my family through Skype without success. :(

a sunburnt Christmas

2007-12-26T11:32:00.000-08:00

As I signed in to blogspot to write this post I had the intention to write about Christmas Day here, in Tanzania. Now, that it's 20 minutes later and I'm finally signed in I no longer have the energy to describe the wonderful day. Normally, when I don't end up writing a complete post I save it as a draft and send it out later but that is not the case tonight. I won't have an opportunity to go online during the next 6 days as I'm leaving in about 9 hours to go to Tanga to play in the ocean. :)

I'll write all about it when I get back!

Happy New Year!

hmmmm

2007-12-17T12:33:00.000-08:00

I find it interesting/ironic/whateveryouwanttocallit that for the past 6 weeks 10,000 members of The Writers Guild of America have been on Strike! And here we are, in Africa(!), WRITING a Musical. :)

excerpt

2007-12-13T11:21:00.000-08:00

Excerpt from my most recent E-mail Update:

Though I have met a few missionaries who work 2-3 hours per day. I am not one of them! Every missionary/volunteer here (there are 6 of us) typically works weekdays 8:00 - 5:30. Weekends are for church and play. My major role out here at Pamoja is to be the Production Designer for the Musical Drama. As the script and musical numbers are still being written, my role has yet to come into play. In the meantime I'm learning what it is to be a Production designer, I'm designing the interior decorating and furniture for 3 apartments and the video studio, I'm painting 2 wall murals, I'm working on 5 different graphic design projects, I'm helping with data entry and I am now completely overhauling their accounting practices to streamline with Quickbooks. In a few weeks I'll begin storyboarding and by mid-January I will begin designing and building the sets and costumes for the musical drama. It's going to be very interesting work!

You may think that it is somewhat unusual for a mission in Africa to be working on videos. I asked the Director here to share with me about the movement of the ministry into media. He explained: "Africa is ripe for new forms of media, especially video! Although literature is still highly honoured, with the influx of the new technology, the time has come for the Church to fill the gap by producing appropriate videos. We have felt directed to "go for the heart", using the strength of Central Africa culture in music, dance, and story-telling, while not neglecting 'the mind'. We have produced 4 children's videos with a vision to produce many more. We produced, Yoeli, an animation dealing with the issues of Fear and Faith. Also, we are in the midst of producing a Swahili Musical Drama DVD dealing with one of the toughest issues in Central Africa, the Fear of the Spirits of the Ancestors. We have a core of young people gathering from the West and Locally to write the plot, do the storyboards, write the music & lyrics, do the choreography, produce the dialogue and get the project onto DVD and into the community."

If you are not receiving Email Updates from me and wish to be added to the list please let me know.

Tanzania Time

2007-12-09T09:20:00.000-08:00

So it's 10 o'clock, but is it? If you didn't specify a Tanzanian may show up at 4 o'clock, 6 hours late! Why?
Tanzanians start determining the time as the sun rises, assumed to be 6 am. So 2:00, is really the second hour which is 8 am. Now, most Tanzanians know the "European Time" and if you're white they assume, you are using that system. Things get complicated when a white person uses the Tanzanian Time system, without specifying, and the Tanzanian is assuming they're using the "European Time" system.
I've determined that countries are like people... full of quirks!

Pineappley

2007-12-07T13:35:00.001-08:00

The things I've learned about Pineapple:
- they taste a zillion times better here
- you can NOT freeze raw pineapple
- cooking the pineapple can rescue it from certain death (aka over ripe)
- you can use pineapple in many things: muffins, cookies, cake, sauce, smoothies, jam, pancakes, etc.

all the reports...

2007-12-04T11:00:00.000-08:00

... of snow. I do NOT miss winter but I DO miss the snow, especially at this time of year. I miss those times when you're walking and suddenly the night feels very still. The snow is lightly falling, sparkling in the street lights, gathering on the Christmas lights, the scent of burning wood stoves fills the air, and you can't help but to think how great our Maker is! :)

The seasons are reversed here. We are heading into summer, the hottest time of the year. Right now, we're averaging 30 degrees plus mild humidity. It will get hotter and more humid over the next 2 months before it cools down again.

It's definitely very different to be heading into the Christmas Season and the New Year in warmth! It's just not the same but it's GOOD and I'll enjoy it while I have the chance.

can't wait for the day

2007-11-30T22:36:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been working with the new-ish Accountant. Her name is Anna and she speaks English very well. Today, while we were working she says, out of no where, "I can't wait for the day when I can see my Lord in Heaven, when there will be no more pain, or death, or troubles." It reminded me of a Cross Movement song that I've listened to numberous times. I began to sing the chorus for her and she smiled real big and said "Yes, Yes."

[Chorus]
One day I won't cry no more
Can't wait for the day when people won't die no more
Daddy's won't say, bye no more; lie no more
In the streets bullets won't fly no more

Won't feel no pain no more
Won't have to push, pull, won't have to strain no more

Won't have to walk lame no more
Won't have to play the game no more.

One day we takin off baby and ever since the Lord saved me
I've been waitin for the day we can say, it's all gravy
It's all crazy tryin seeing to see life when its all hazy
How can I persist to do right when I'm all lazy?
Feel me? Too much pain it all ails me
Vexed, cause I can feel the effects of the Fall daily
The pain in my chest it strong, let's get on
Come Lord, quick, bring on the eschaton
End the search, start the new earth, flex your true worth
Honor your Son, let Him come, perfect the new birth
And We don't gotta prove that God is cool
Just know when God is through no more godless rule
So I'm anxious to praise the Ancient of Days
My brain's still amazed at how I can see that pain is a phase
Soon to be eclipsed at the Son's return
When we get what He gives and not what we've earned

[Chorus]

There's coming a day that'll be much better than now
No more hurts. no more work by the sweat of your brow
No more drunk drivers drivin all out of control
No more flats and being stuck on the side of the road
Believe me, no more turning on the T.V
Seeing kids say, for the price of coffee you can feed me
In fact, no more anthrax in the mail
No jail, no blizzards, no twisters, no hail
It'll be the end of rain and the end of planes
Being highjacked and flown into window panes
It'll be nice just, imagine a world that'll be righteous
No more Middle East crisis
No more drugs, and no more thugs and pimps
No more beat-downs, and no more getting mugged for timbs
No need for ramps cause no need for wheel chairs
No need for weaves cause you'll feel your real hair

[Chorus]

[Bridge]
One day when this life is over we will live forever
together with our king

Christ is the Rock and believe me the Rock's steady
He drops heavy, so stop screaming I'm not ready
God said He's coming like a thief kid so peep it
He'll creep it's meant to be unknown like a secret
This is what many are having beef with
Gods rotiseree style can make a brothers teeth grit
Cause He's quick but according to our concept of speed
Looking at man He thought about the depth of our need
So what this means is, He's not slow, the King is
Waitin to bring kids into Christ where real Bling is
So they can sing His praise because they've seen this
God spill His blood to show love at its zenith
He proved He cut for them
Look what He gave up for them
Paid His life since you can't pay bucks for sin
Justice then teamed up with longsuffering
Big ups to Him who gave you and me time to trust in Him

[Chorus]

oh shit handles

2007-11-29T13:17:00.000-08:00

... you know... the handles above the door in a vehicle? I always thought they were rather silly feature. They're pretty much useless on the paved roads of america. Let me tell you, they are useful here. The roads here are BUmPy! Picture a gravel road that hasn't had any maintence in years. Gigantic potholes, pumps, and stones makes for a very rocky ride. Holding the "oh shit handles" gives the body extra stability so you can avoid having your shoulder, elbow (and sometimes head) from constantly bashing the door. Yep, not a bad feature at all. :)

inthia

2007-11-28T11:42:00.000-08:00

... from the mouth of an 22 month little boy. His name is Jacob and arrived with his parents and baby sister just over a week ago. Everyone here loves him. He has learned to greet people with "Shikamoo", which is the typical greeting to anyone older then you. I'm afraid Jacob may learn Swahili faster then I will. It's really not going so well for me. Christine, Jacob's mom, is also learning Swahili so I'm hoping we can learn together.

skype is a wonderful thing!

2007-11-27T22:26:00.000-08:00

I talked to my sis for 2 hours on Sunday night, absolutely free! It was great to hear about life back home. I'm not homesick at all but I do miss my peeps and a few other random things.
If you use Skype (and you SHOULD!) feel free to add me: cynchathought and talk to me. If you'd rather email, then, I guess that's ok. haha. :)

Cynthia

life's a party, so it seems

2007-11-23T00:27:00.000-08:00

A friend wrote me today and said that my life in Africa looks like a party! haha. Yes, I do have a bit of a social life but I DO work. As mentioned in a earlier post I typically work weekdays 8:30 - 5:30. Weekends are for church and play. My major role out here at Pamoja is to be the Production Designer for the Video Musical Project. As the script is still being written, my role has yet to come into play. In the meantime I'm learning what it is to be a Production designer, I'm designing the interior decorating of 3 apartments and the video studio, I'm doing graphic design work, and I'm helping with data entry and developing some new accounting practices.
This week I was finalizing the interior decorating designs for the video studio and one of the apartments. In the livingroom I have two colours joining each other on one wall. Rather then using a hard line between the two colours I'm going to paint a design which will move from one colour into the other. This is the design (minus the copyright of course). It's going to be hard work especially with all the circles but it'll be awesome when it's done!

The broken clock...

2007-11-20T01:15:00.000-08:00

...is a comfort, it helps me sleep tonight
Maybe it can stop tomorrow from stealing all my time
I am here still waiting though I still have my doubts
I am damaged at best, like you've already figured out

I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing
With a broken heart that's still beating
In the pain there is healing
In your name I find meaning
So I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on
I'm barely holdin' on to you

The broken locks were a warning you got inside my head
I tried my best to be guarded, I'm an open book instead
I still see your reflection inside of my eyes
That are looking for a purpose, they're still looking for life

I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing
with a broken heart that's still beating
In the pain is there healing
In your name I find meaning
So I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on
I'm barely holdin' on to you

I'm hangin' on another day
Just to see what you will throw my way
And I'm hanging on to the words you say
You said that I will be ok

The broken lights on the freeway left me here alone
I may have lost my way now, haven't forgotten my way home

I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing
with a broken heart that's still beating
In the pain there is healing
In your name I find meaning
So I'm holdin' on, I'm still holdin' on, I'm holdin' on
I'm barely holdin' on to you

- Lifehouse, Broken

chicken on the curb

2007-11-18T10:47:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday, Nadine, her friend, Rudy and I went out for dinner. As I sat outside on a bench, hunched over a table of the same height, eating chicken with my fingers, with loud chanting coming from Mosque down the street, in a place that is an auto repair shop by day and a restaurant by night, I thought about how primitive and haphazard so many things are done here, which is so contradictory to many of the standards that I expect (and sometimes demand), and yet I can't help but find the beauty in it!

all sorts of things

2007-11-15T21:44:00.000-08:00

Well, I've been here for a month already! It's really hard to believe.
I work from 8:30 am - 5:30 pm most days, with a 20-30 min Chai time at 10:30 am and Lunch from 1-2 pm. I keep busy doing all sorts of things. One of my tasks is to decorate 3 living spaces so that guests and missionaries can feel at home. All the furniture gets made on site by Saidi, the carpenter. Below are 4 pieces I designed. Sig and Saidi will take my designs and figure out how to make them. Cool, eh?

oi!

2007-11-15T16:00:00.000-08:00

Why is the power always out whenever I want to shower?

happy medium

2007-11-14T03:54:00.001-08:00

4 days in Africa: I get a marriage proposal (though thoroughly unwanted).
4 years in Canada: Not one date.

Anywhere in between would be fine.

Mt. Kilimanjaro

2007-11-13T12:02:00.000-08:00

enough said! :)

you can't tell me God doesn't have a sense of humor!

2007-11-08T20:00:00.000-08:00

Look at these things!

They're bush babies. I haven't seen one yet (they're nocturnal) but I hear them all the time. They sound like loud babies. At times like a crying baby, at other times like a laughing baby, and sometimes like a screeching baby. Every time I hear them I can't help but chuckle to myself.

m & m's...

2007-11-07T21:42:00.000-08:00

a little taste of home.
Thanks Nadine!

roommate

2007-11-07T08:27:00.000-08:00

I have a new roommate. His name is Mr. Gecko. He eats the bugs. He is fondly named in honour of Mr. Echo, of LOST. :)

blogging issues

2007-11-06T08:15:00.000-08:00

I'm finding it difficult these days to blog. Basically, I meant to describe my experiences but I find that there is so much that I wanted to write about but I can not seem to find the time to put all my thoughts into words. As the days pass the task becomes even more daunting.
I've decided to take a new approach. I've decided that instead of trying to document everything as it happens. I'm just going to share stories, funny conversations, things I miss, things I'm learning, etc. These entries will usually be short but they should be more frequent and therefore more interesting to you. :)

I've completed another newsletter, be sure to download it.

Cynthia
~one love

I have arrived!

2007-10-19T13:21:00.000-07:00

My travel adventures began well Tuesday morning. My friend Derek got me to the Buffalo Airport in plenty of time. The plane left its' gate on time. The ride was only to take 45 minutes including taxiing but then the plane got held up in two different "holding patterns" and we landed in Detroit one and a half hours late. I stepped off the plane knowing I had moments to catch my next plane. As I got off the plane at Gate 79 the customer service attendant nicely told me that I had to get to Gate 37 in 5 minutes. Yikes! I ran so hard, I really did not think I was going to make it. I made it, barely, the plane doors were closed right behind me. Phew. But alas my luggage did not grow legs and got stuck in Detroit. I landed at the Amsterdam Airport 10 minutes before boarding call of my next plane. It was very fortunate that the plane I had to catch was only 6 gates away. The flight to Kilimanjaro was uneventful and I arrived right on time.

After waiting through the Visa line and filing a missing luggage report, Nadine, her father, and I headed out and arrived at Pamoja Ministries by 10 pm. Perfect!
Thursday morning I woke up to new surroundings... a new life for the next 10 months! More on that to come later! (It's getting late.)

Cynthia
~one love

14 days to go!

2007-10-01T21:58:00.000-07:00

Wow! I depart on Tuesday, October 16th at 5 pm. I can't wait! I am looking for a ride to the Buffalo Airport so if you're able to help me out please let me know.

123 days later

2007-09-25T09:36:00.000-07:00

After 123 days in Port Stanley I'll be heading back to Waterloo on Friday night for a few weeks until I depart for Tanzania. I'm really looking forward to it!

This Sunday (Sept. 16th)

2007-09-10T10:01:00.000-07:00

I'll be speaking briefly, during the morning service at Blyth Christian Reformed Church, about the work I'll be doing with Pamoja Ministries. If you're in the area it will be a great opportunity for you to hear first hand about the projects I will be working on. There will also be an opportunity for you donate to my mission if you choose to do so.

The next "Cynthia goes to Africa Newsletter" will also be available at that time.

A great day!

2007-08-13T10:54:00.001-07:00

Saturday came and went with a flash.
The BBQ & MOVING Sale went over very well. Read all about it here.

Notice that I've updated the Percentage raised on my Fundraising Goal. There's still aways to go but it's slowing coming together. Praise God.

I'm leaving in October!

2007-08-07T12:28:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a long time in coming but I finally know when I can leave. I had to wait to find out the dates of my last MRI and follow-up appointments before I could determine when I would be leaving. I now know that my last appointment is on October 4th which means I can leave anytime after that date. Now, the search is on for decently priced ticket :S

BBQ & MOVING SALE

2007-07-30T17:46:00.001-07:00

Now, that I've got the OK from the doctors to go to Tanzania I am back to fundraising full force. You are invited to a BBQ & MOVING SALE on Saturday, August 11th beginning at 9 a.m. at my parent's place (map) .

Thank you for your prayers!

2007-06-27T17:48:00.000-07:00

I have GOOD NEWS!

My appointment at Mount Sinai with Dr. Ezzat went well. Praise God! The growth on my pituitary gland is treatable. All tests indicate that it is benign (non-cancerous). They also needed to make sure that the only thing the growth is secreting is prolactin and not the growth hormone. They're screening me for Acromegaly (execess growth hormone), as a precaution, but I don't have any symptoms indicating this problem so it's not really a concern. The size and location, around the internal carotid artery, is not creating any complications. The medication that I have been taking since February is working. My prolactin levels have dropped significantly, to normal levels, and should begin to shrink the growth. I need to continue taking this medication for the foreseeable future. Yikes, they're expensive... but I'll take that over surgery any day! :) I will also have to go for regular MRIs and blood tests throughout the coming years to monitor the growth and ensure that the medication continues to do it's job.
I have to go for an MRI in August and another follow-up at Mount Sinai a few weeks later as my first "monitoring" appointment. After that I won't need to go for another MRI for about a year. Guess what that means? I can FINALLY nail down the dates for my mission trip to Tanzania! Yippee! ... more on that to come.

Until then,
Cynthia
~one love

10 days

2007-06-16T00:05:00.000-07:00

So, I've been waiting for June 26th to arrive for what feels like forever. Even though I've only known about this appointment for about 3 months, it really started 8 months ago. Living in this limbo of uncertainty hasn't always been easy. It'll be nice to finally know exactly what's going on, so that I can get on with planning for the upcoming year volunteering in Tanzania. :)
I'll be sure to post about the results. In the meantime please keep me in your thoughts and prayers.

Cynthia
~one love

twilight from my backyard

2007-06-03T20:00:00.000-07:00

"It's in these serene moments that I know that it's "right" that I'm here. I don't like to use the word "right" but I can't think of another way to describe it. "Right" implies that there is a wrong and a choice but for me there was no question, I knew from the moment my trip was to be delayed that I would be here, writing to you. God's fingerprints are all over the timing of all that has gone on for the past few months. And it is in that timing that I will go to Africa."

Cynthia
~ one love

it's been too long... accept my apologies

2007-05-25T19:21:00.000-07:00

Hi there!

To anyone still reading this blog... thank you! I apologize for the 7-8 week absence. A lot has been going on and I have left my blog (and you!) out of the loop. But I'm back and I promise to post much more often.

In my last update I indicated that I am postponing my leave date until August. August may turn into September depending on the price of plane tickets between the two months.

In my last update I also indicated that I have been diagnosed with a tumor on my pituitary gland. I am going to see Dr. Ezat at Mount Sinai on June 26th. He will be determining the nature of the growth and if I need any further treatment. Please continue to pray for healing upon my body.

In timing with the anticipated leave date of May 16 (which changed as indicated above) I finished up my job at The Embassy on April 27th. The last few weeks there were very busy with trying to finish up some outstanding projects and training multiple volunteers to do various aspects of the Office Administration role that I was vacating.

So what's a girl to do for 4 months while she waits for clearance (health-wise) to move to Africa? Well, she moves 2 hours away to help her parent's at their new store. So after a hectic week and a half of packing, and visiting with friends I moved to Port Stanley. Since arriving here on May 6 I have been keeping very busy with store planning and merchandising, filling in at the store, setting up accounting practices, researching product lines, buying trips, grocery shopping, laundry, making meals, organizing my room, chatting online with friends, reading and walking. Now that things are stabilizing I'm again focusing effort on raising more funds to volunteer in Tanzania for the year. So expect to hear more from me on that front. If you'd like to support me financially please click on the Support tab and follow the instructions there.

Ok, so that was a quick summary. Stay tuned...

Cynthia
~one love

a change in timing

2007-04-09T19:07:00.000-07:00

During the past few months I have indicated to everyone that I would be leaving in May for a year to Tanzania. Unfortunately, my leave date has been bumped to August. I've had the opportunity to explain to a few people why this is and so now I share it with you:

Let me start at the beginning. Back in November I went to see a doctor because I had acute pain around my mid-section. I was sent for bloodwork and an ultrasound. The doctor was unable to determine the cause of my pain. There was no concern because this sort of pain and lack of diagnosis is fairly common. The blood test on the other hand revealed elevated levels of prolactin (completely unrelated to the pain... which I haven't experience since). I was sent to an Endocrinologist in January. She sent me for a Field of Vision test and a Triple Bolus test. These tests indicated that I had a small growth on my pituitary gland. By the beginning of February my doctor decided to start treatment with medication rather then waiting on the MRI. My doctor indicated that the best case scenario would be that I could leave for Africa in May with enough medication to last the year. But that changed last Monday when I received the results of another blood test and my MRI. The medication is effectively lowering my prolactin which is great but those cells accumulated to a larger mass then expected. I have a 13 mm growth on my pituitary that is partially wrapped around the internal carotid artery. It is large enough to be considered for surgery, but may not necessarily need it. It is very rare, but there is a chance that it could be malignant. So, I am being referred to a renowned pituitary specialist at Mount Sinai in Toronto. It is very unlikely that I will get an appointment before May so I had to be realistic about the timing and chose to move my leave date. I will still be going for a year... just leaving a little later. I know without a doubt that God has called me to Africa and so I will go!

White Elephant Sale debrief

2007-04-08T23:07:00.000-07:00

My last fundraiser, the White Elephant Sale, went well. There were a lot of great donations made so there was plenty of neat stuff to buy. Click here for a few photos of the event. With an attendance of about 30 people I made $290. This has brought me up to 20% of my financial goal. It's awesome! I'm really blown away by the financial and moral support I have received from family and friends (and even some strangers)! I still need to raise about $11,000. It seems like a daunting amount but I know with your support it will come together. Every little bit counts! even $5 - $10 a month will mean a world of difference. Donations can be made payable to "Elim Fellowship" with "Cynthia Project Account" in the memo line and mail to: Cynthia DeWit, 817-57 Union St. E., Waterloo, ON N2J 1B9.

Fundraising Event - March 25

2007-03-17T19:30:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

As you all know I'm raising funds for my missions trip to Tanzania. I'm slated to leave in two months! This means the pressure is on to raise funds. :) So come on out to a...

*- WHITE ELEPHANT SALE! -*
Come on out to this fantastic sale of gently used items. You'll find clothing, cds, jewelry, household items, shoes, furniture and more!
When: Sunday, March 25 beginning at 2:30 p.m.
Where: at the Fox's, 46 Westwood Cres., Kitchener (map)

Who knows you just may find the perfect accessory, or a cd you've always wanted or maybe you'll find that thing-a-ma-gig you've been looking for. Refreshments and homemade cookies will also be available.

Another way for you to support me is to contribute items to this sale. If you have anything please let me know.

Hope to see you soon,

Cynthia
~one love

Swahili Lessons

2007-03-11T16:48:00.000-07:00

They have begun! It's going to be tougher then I thought but with a bit of effort I think I'll get a handle on it. I'm not too bad at pronouncing words which I learned using my Lonely Planet guide. My friend Nadine has started to teach me how sentences are framed and spoken. It's alot to take in at once. During the next week I have to learn 10 verbs and 10 nouns and then she'll teach me how to use them with different tenses, prefixes and pronouns. I hope to have the basics down before I leave because it's going to make my transition just a little easier. Maybe by the next time I see you (unless it's tomorrow) I'll be able to speak a few sentences! :)

Cynthia
~one love

PS. I go for an MRI tomorrow. Please pray that the test goes well and the results are favourable.

T - 11 weeks or so

2007-03-03T07:35:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy week.

I've been working hard finishing up a few remaining Freelance Projects. The money I make from them will be going straight into the trip. Even though I love doing freelance design work I'm giving them up so that I can focus entirely on planning and preparing for this year-long trip! I know the time is going to fly by and I'll be on the plane before you know it!

This week, I'm working on researching venues to show a movie entitled, Engata. It's a documentary, which Nadine was apart of this past year, about the Maasai people who are a nomadic tribe within northern Tanzania. Nadine and I are hoping to bring it to a local theatre... more about this to come!

I'm also putting together another fundraiser. It will be a White Elephant Sale (ie. a luncheon and gently-used-items sale) to take place on Sunday, March 25th at 3 p.m. (Location: TBA). If you have anything to contribute please let me know and I'd be happy to take the items off your hands.

This past week I had some more blood work done and I get the results on Tuesday. Please pray that I get good news!

Until next time,

Cynthia
~one love

progress!

2007-02-22T19:17:00.000-08:00

So things are progessing. One fundraising event under the belt and 2 or 3 to go!
Read all about the Fundraising Dinner here

Nadine arrived in Canada this week! We'll be spending quite a bit of time together planning, praying and she'll be teaching me Swahili. I've tried learning on my own but it's not going so well. :S

This week I took a good chunk of time to clean up some remaining freelance projects. I'm looking forward to having them completely finished so that I can focus 100% on preparing myself spiritually and physically for this trip.

I found out a few days ago that I am able to issue tax receipts through Elim Fellowship... this is good news! If you're considering supporting me please check out the Support page.

That's all for now...

Cynthia
~one love

the excitement is building!

2007-02-16T11:57:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is my first fund raiser!
There's a lot to do between now and then to pull it off! It's going to be fantastic. I'll be sure to post pictures early next week.

If you're coming out tomorrow I'll see you then! and if not hopefully you can come out to one of my fund raisers in the future.

Cynthia
~one love

Things are shaping up!

2007-02-07T19:45:00.000-08:00

A few RSVP's for the FUNDRAISING DINNER have trickled in. If you're planning on attending please contact me by Feb. 12th! My sister and I are busy planning out the decorations, food and logistics to make this event come together. It's going to be fabulous! You don't want to miss it!

I sent out my first mass email about this venture. I'm so excited! I received many positive responses. My first response was from a cousin who I don't see very often so it was cool hearing from her. I'm going to be missing her wedding while I'm away but she's got a great website so I'll be able to see pictures of the big day.

I've added a few more prayer items. Please click on the Support tab to have a look.

Cynthia
~one love

Dinner Fundraiser is 13 days away!

2007-02-04T17:24:00.000-08:00

Come support Nadine and I, plus enjoy some great food!
Tickets are $30. Please RSVP by February 12th by contacting me at 519-589-9918 or dewitcynthia@hotmail.com.

♥ & $$

2007-01-30T20:57:00.000-08:00

"How you handle your money reveals your heart.
If God has your money he knows he has your heart." - Keith Green

At the end of last week I got a letter from the Government stating that my income from 2005 was adjusted and now I owe them almost $1,000 by Feb. 5. (I'm contacting my accountant to figure out what happened). This was a pretty harsh blow because that's about how much money I've saved from my freelance projects to pay for my round-trip flight to Tanzania. Obviously upsetting. Well, I don't have money, but God knows my heart and I just have to continue trusting that God will provide.

Cynthia
~one love

another week closer!

2007-01-25T22:33:00.000-08:00

This week has been a tough week. Alot of stress and lack of sleep. I'm working really hard to complete all my remaining freelance projects so that I can focus on preparing for this trip. The Fundraising Dinner is coming up in 3 weeks and there's so much to do yet! It's going to be awesome! Check out the "Fundraising Events" page for all the details. RSVP beginning on Saturday.

As things gain momentum be sure to check back here often and keep up-to-date!

Cynthia
~one love

the weeks are flying by...

2007-01-21T21:55:00.000-08:00

... and I'm sure the next few months are going to go by fast as well.

I do intend to post here more often and I will.

I have updated some more information on the "Support" Page including my fundraising goal and more prayer items.

I would also like to announce the first Fundraising Event taking place on Saturday, Feb. 17th. Click here for more information.

just over 4 months to go!

2007-01-06T19:27:00.000-08:00

With just over 4 months to go the plane tickets are being quoted. It looks like I'll be leaving around May 17th with a week layover in Germany. :)

I have updated some information on the What I'll Be Doing, About Me and Support Pages.
I have added a prayer item click here to view.

Cynthia
~one love

and so it begins!!

2006-12-30T18:28:00.000-08:00

Hello first time viewers!

I know you're all first-timers because I've only had this site up and running for a few days. :)
Today, I had the opportunity to share with a number of my relatives about this opportunity to serve in Africa for a year. It was very encouraging! A few of my relatives have been in Africa doing missions in the past. (Kendra, Uncle Andrew... if there are others let me know because I'd love to talk to you!) It was really awesome how receptive and encouraging my relations were. Thanks guys!

Cynthia

~one love