Research

This weekend I attended a workshop at my institute turns out they want to do more research here so they were talking about writing a proposal, coming up with an idea, collaboration, etc. At the end of the discussion it was our turn to come up with research topics that people were interested in. Some research topics were more like projects like getting a better road to the university (a civil engineering project), but some were very good like sustainable renewable energy...it seems everyone all over the globe is interested in this topic. Some other ones were more social in nature like preventing poverty, having a better infrastructure in Tanzania, preventing HIV/AIDS, etc. As I participated I realized I am not in a normal PC assignment: the people around me are all educated, they all are able to eat meat every night with their meal, they all have progressive thinking and optimism that they will succeed in life and that they can achieve higher goals, etc. In a way my assignment doesn't have the frustrations that most volunteers are facing but at the same time I have the little ones like things not getting done in time, things that are comitted to get done are not always executed, etc. I don't know whether to be happy or sad about this..in one aspect it would be nice to be able to have little and make a big change (though how realistic a big change would be is very uncertain..but at least a small change would be nice)..but in another it is nice to be here and to know that there is this side to TZ..that there exists people who have such thinking to want a better way of life and who are willing to execute in order to achieve their goals. And it is refreshing to see that the stereotype of Africa being undeveloped is not entirely true. If someone told me to live here for good, I probably could do it though I would miss my family back home.