Week 8: Recreational Research

Holding on while letting go

Although we left our research site during the seventh week, that doesn’t mean that our research stopped, albeit we didn’t do all that much research on pain and palliative care during the eighth week. This week was our cool down week; tying up loose ends while in the country and treating ourselves to a bit of fun before we returned home. 

In a surprising turn of events, we found ourselves in Saifee hospital, adding to our list of different hospitals in Dar es Salaam that we have been able to visit. Here we saw our friend Timo who was injured on Saba Saba in the freak accident. He had been recovering in Dar since the beginning of the month and we met him at Saifee for his weekly check up. It was a brief visit before he went into physical therapy but it soothed our souls to be able to say goodbye to Timo, one of our very first friends here in Tanzania. 

We ate a final lunch with Erick in Dar, saying farewell to the man who we had eaten countless meals with, drank and bonded over chai and wine nights, and are eternally grateful for his hospitality. Erick shared his life with us, taking care of us when we couldn’t take care of ourselves. We will miss him. 

Nonetheless, we move forward, knowing deep down that we will find our way back to the magic of Hidden Valley and the friendships we forged through our research. 

Upon traveling to Zanzibar, we continued our routine of people watching, subtly flexing our ethnographic muscle that has become rugged with use. Our trip to Zanzibar this week was a reward for our months of strenuous research, and since we had been to the island last year, we took it easy, knowing that we didn’t need to see everything. Our first day we took a taxi over to the East coast of Unguja, enjoying the quiet beauty of Jambiani beach. With journals in hand, we enjoyed several cups of coffee overlooking the turquoise waves, watching couples stroll hand in hand, dogs gallop after tennis balls, and local entrepreneurs selling their wares. 

As a way to remember our trip and truly reflect on the impact this research hs had on us, Lucy and I captured a narrative that we hoped would remind us of our time here. We chronicled the people we met, events we attended, and the food we ate. Through a dozen coffee shops and cafes in Zanzibar, we narrated our 2 months of work for our future selves to reminisce on. 

Back in Stone Town, we knew it was important for us to go back to the East African Slave Trade Exhibit. Last year, we arrived at the museum 10 minutes before closing and hastily sped through a very important monument. This year, it ws important to me that we go back and fully read about the history of Zanzibar in the global slave trade, acknowledging the present day impacts that still persist. If you are ever in Zanzibar, it is imperative that you visit this museum. 

We finished up our holiday snapping photos of the cats of Stone Town and gathering the rest of our miscellaneous gifts. 

We flew back to the mainland on a quick and easy 20 minute flight, a delicious alternative to the turbulent 2 hour ferry journey to the mainland. That night, we stopped by the Slow Leopard in Masaki to say good bye to Dr. Strong and the students who had recently arrived in Dar. Last on our long list of goodbyes was steady Soloman. The next day we visited him and his black lab Elsa at his compound in Masaki, then went to lunch at a delicious Malaysian restaurant for a final meal. 

On our exhausting journey home, we traveled from Dar es Salaam, to Amsterdam, then Detroit where we slid through customs, only being asked “why are you doing research on palliative care when Tanzania doesn’t have any?”. Finally our last leg landed us in Tampa where we were greeted by my roommate and her freshly decorated car, welcoming us back to the good ol’ USA. After grabbing our long awaited Taco Bell, we dropped Lucy at home, recorded the 27 hour travel time and kept chugging toward Gainesville. Watching the sunset over Payne’s Prairie was an excellent conclusion to our days of travel. 

After a brief sleep deprived stop in Gainesville to move out of my college house and drop my bags off, I was on one final flight to Syracuse, NY with only the essentials to get through a few weeks before returning. Finally, after 39 hours of total (but segmented) travel, I was back where I started, and happier than ever. 

Acknowledgements

Grateful is an understatement. I cannot be more thankful for the support I received throughout this entire process, starting back in January. I would like to thank Dr. Strong, Dr. Tabitha, and Mama Mere for being so supportive of our research goals and ambitions. To my parents, Ben, Will, Kat, Ellie, MB, and countless other friends, thank you for supporting me and encouraging me to go big despite the magnitude and “joblessness” of my dreams. To the PCVs, including the Bens, Madeline and Sarah, thank you for the fun we had and the ability to relate to other outsiders living it up in Tanzania; keep doing big things. 

To everyone in Tanzania, including Erick, Jerry, Ahmed, James, Solo, Maria, Kiangi, Timo, Tito, Mama B, and Devotha, thank you for housing up, feeding us each morning, providing a fun and safe space to spend our down time, and treating us to adventures throughout our time there. Our cultural immersion and connection to Tanzania would not have been possible without your conversations over chai and impromptu sunset drives. May we meet again.

To Edson, Ema, and Rachel, thank you for slowly warming up to us and taking Lucy and I under your wings. Our jokes and conversations helped soothe the enduring ache of studying palliative care. Truly, our research would not have been possible without your help in handing out questionnaires and translating the words we didn’t know or couldn’t hear. 

Lastly, to my dear friend Lucy, thank you for going on this crazy adventure with me. Although it may not seem like it, Lucy and I started the summer without a strong bond, flying blind into a new survival situation. Once we arrived to Tanzania, we found our personalities and attitudes complimenting each other nicely, with unspoken communication and a steadfast understanding that whatever we did, we did together. We became know as the "dual factor authentication" girls, always needing both of us to agree before going somewhere or doing something. Lucy, thanks for stepping up when I couldn't, translating when my language skills didn't suffice, and always keeping me grounded through the unexpected. This research endeavor would not have been the same with anyone else and I am grateful everyday that we got to experience this summer together. There is no one else I would rather have braved eight weeks with, than you.

Every soul that crossed my path taught me so much about who I am as a person and what I want out of life. This trip and this research would not have been possible without the warm reception of new friends and opportunities provided to us through shared meals with strangers. You all have left a collective handprint on my heart that I will carry with me through my life. 

To anyone who has taken the time to read this far, don’t forget that you can craft your own reality. Keep working hard, dig deep to reach your goals, and know that hope hovers in dark corners, you just have to turn on the light.