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It’s been a while. 11 months in country and time is flying. The days feel long but the months are short. I’ve been doing well and keeping busy: traveling, starting new projects, and chasing my dreams.
Since my last post I have been all over Tanzania. I was able to visit Dodoma, the capital of Tanzania, Morogoro for training, Dar es Salaam for more training, Zanzibar for a day trip, Kilimanjaro to see a big mountain, Iringa for pizza, and Arusha to play a round of golf. Each region has a distinct flavor but I wouldn’t be able to pick a favorite so far—aside from Njombe, my home. Variety is the spice of life, and my life has been beyond spicy.
“A shepherd may like to travel, but he should never forget about his sheep”
I returned to Dar for the first time since I arrived. Having been immersed in Tanzanian village life it was a shock to return to a city where you can find anything under the sun. They recently finished high speed rail between Dodoma and Dar which I had the privilege of riding. In the train station they have a KFC and across from the KFC is the only escalator I have seen in the country. As I was eating my first chicken sandwich since being in the US I got to sit outside the KFC and people watch. People would line up for the escalator and wait a dozen steps before they built up the courage to step on an escalator for the first time in their lives. There is a stark contrast between watching an escalator and living without electricity in my village. Riding a bus from the village and looking out the window for the 16 hours into the city I can see the full gradient of development. I wasn’t alive during the early 1900s but living in Tanzania feels like the early 1900s plus cars and cellphones.
“Sometimes, there is just no way to hold back the river.”
My physics class recently finished their optical instruments unit so I brought in my camera for them to look at the lens and play around with. For most of them it was the first time they had ever held a camera and half of them thought I was joking when I held it out for them to pass around class. I’ve found even the simplest physics demonstrations commands attention in the classroom. To start our thermal expansion unit I superglued a piece of aluminum foil to a piece of paper. When you hold it over a flame it will bend because the aluminum expands but the paper doesn’t. The students thought it was one of the coolest magic tricks ever. Of course when I handed out a few to the students to try themselves they set the paper on fire but they were engaged nonetheless.
A few weeks ago I was seriously ill due to Covid vaccine side effects. For three days I had a high fever and stayed in bed. I hadn’t been this sick since my second week in Tanzania, but this time I had friends and language skills. My close Tanzanian friends brought me food and water and were relentless in checking in on me. It was a true display of neighborhood kindness. Even after I recovered it felt like half the village was checking in on me when I went to buy groceries.
Part of the reason I’ve taken so long in putting out this blog post is because I was in a bit of a slump. Life was beginning to feel rhythmic and monotonous. I felt like I knew what I was getting out of everything and that wasn’t exciting to me. I felt like I knew how a class lesson would go, how a movie would end, how a book would end, how I would feel if I played a video game, pursued a new relationship, or walked down a path I’ve been before. I felt like I knew the outcome of everything I was doing and that took away the excitement of doing anything. But that’s ridiculous. The truth is that I have no idea how things will turn out no matter how many times I do them. Maybe this is insanity, maybe this is naïveté, doing the same things and expecting different outcomes. I am comforted and excited by the unknown. Taking educated guesses as truths is when I lose my excitement.
“It is the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”
The turning point that brought me out of my slump was reading The Alchemist by Paul Coelho. It’s a beautifully short story that reads like a biblical parable and teaches about making the necessary sacrifices to follow your dreams and realize your own personal legend, the journey along the way being as important if not more important than the destination. As cliche as it may sound, the way in which it was delivered to me made it all the more important to appreciate my own journey and those unknowns that I foolishly accepted as truths. This is a part of the journey on the way to my dreams and the universe will help me realize them. Icarian hubris is often used as a caution to warn people away from flying too close to the metaphorical sun. To this I say, at least Icarus got to fly high for a minute.
Speaking of Icarus, I want to take a moment to make a late Father’s Day appreciation post. I am who I am because of my dad. Movies, video games, fishing, cooking, sports, my most favorite things to do I love to do because of my dad. These are just the some of the activities that define me and shape my life and I have my dad to thank for that. This is not even to mention how he’s shaped me in philosophy as a coach and my approach to life. I appreciate it and I don’t think I ever say it enough.
“I laughed and he laughed and we parted the best of friends.”
We hope you’ve enjoyed this performance of “Ryan’s Blog” brought to you by Audible. Thanks for reading and my apologies for taking so long to put this blog out. Leave a comment and a like If you made it to the end. Feedback is always welcome and if you have any questions about my life never hesitate to reach out and ask! See you next month (hopefully)!
Love,
Ryan
P.S. yes, I had a mullet for a week