Ready but a bit "stuck"...

Ready but a bit "stuck"...

Dear readers,

It went all so smoothly... concerning training and exams, despite the delay caused by

Air Traffic Control letting us hold sooooo long....

They like to protect other incoming aircraft, that's not bad but Amsterdam Schiphol

is as 3 times busier...

Enfin, now I am awaiting the licence...

Lot of paperwork needed to be delivered for issuing this!

Logbook, pictures, applicationforms, medical, IR test results etc. Last thursday 31st october everything was brought to the TCAA. They said they would issue the licence the next day. But the next day there was nobody to sign the licence.

I'd already expected a delay so I didn't book the ticket to Nairobi yet.

Tanzanian Civil Aviation Authority building in Dar es Salaam

Last monday we went again to the TCAA.

Yes everything was in order but an inspector needed to review the paperwork

and was not in.. Tomorrow!

Tuesday everything seemed to be in order, but Martin Liganga the Ground Ops Officier noticed when he was receiving the licence an endorsement was missing. 

And ofcourse the person who could rectify the problem was also not in that day...

The next day @ 9:00 AM he would be there.

I was brave and booked a flight to Kenya for departure on thursday....

Don't want to lose too much time, they need me in Sudan!!!

That following day I waited and waited, finally Martin Liganga called that he had the licence

although they had said they'd wanted to see my other logbooks...

But he got it any how! Thank you Lord!!

It was hot that night and no power we had dinner by candle light, nice for a change!

Had almost forgotten how that was...

I couldn't get to sleep that night, took a cold shower to cool down and

was missing my ventilator...

But thankful I can take that flight to Kenya with that licence!!

Pole, pole!

People who speak Swahili, will recognize this immediately. ;-)

It is used quite a lot here!

It means something like, slowly, take it easy, take your time for things,

and that's exactly what I am doing.

Slowly starting the process of getting my Tanzanian licence current.

As I stated in my last blog I need that for conversion to a Kenyan licence.

I will have to some exams here and again also in Kenya.

Pole pole...

Last thursday, I went to the TCAA (Tanzanian Civil Aviation Authority) here in Dar, 

It costed me a  whole day... First got stuck for 2 hours in traffic, then spent 2 hours 

in the office of the TCAA and again 2 hours on the road again to the MAF-office.

For your info: The distance between MAF-office and TCAA is "only" 25 kilometers.

                

During the time spent on the road, I have seen all kind of strange manoeuvres...

Maybe they were not strange, but I forgot how it was... ;-) 

                

But it is survival of the fittest! Just push it... and your luck with it...

If you do it with some care and know the gaps you can merge 

reasonably quick into a moving lane.

But sometimes traffic comes to a stand-still especially at crossings.

and then it takes some time to get moving again.

Pole pole...

Tomorrow I have to fly again, "familiarisation-flying" but the pilot I do the training 

with got a text-message that he possibly would have a "medevac"  (medical evacuation)

of 4 patients. I could go along as a medical escort, we will see... 

               

The training can wait.

I hope something can be arranged for those patients.

Pole pole!

We can cause ourselves so much stress easily.

Not necessary at alll! Don't you think?

Time is relative, and will go on, ofcourse we have to set goals and so

but if something is not working out the way we planned it, many times it causes anxiety and

unnecessary stress and we lose not only time but also our patience and even we lose control...

I have been confronted again with this and learned again that we shouldn't stress out!

Certainly not when it is self inflicted!! Sometimes a step back is necessary, 

and slowly getting ahead might be better then forcing things ahead!

Pole pole!

That makes me think of wise old Solomon who wrote a lot about time. 

"What do workers gain from their toil?"

Do we not live our lives with asking too much of ourselves?

I would say: take it easy and especially try to look for the meaning of your life!

Pole pole!

I found it, already a long time ago, when I was a teenager... and live my life with the 

knowledge that I don't have to arrange everything and have ultimate control,

but can seek for advise and rest by the Source of life!

                 

Wish you all the Best, take it easy, 

do everything: Pole, pole!!

Until the next blog!

Warm greetings from

   Herman in Dar es Salaam

It was november 1998... Ever since Marjan and I met each other, we felt like we could do a lot more in our lives especially serving overseas!

 Africa was always in our hearts. And next to that I always was attracted to aviation, although it seemed far away to ever be a pilot!

As a teenager, I was always moved by the stories of Jan en Roberta  Zwart, the first pilot-family sent overseas with MAF-Netherlands to Colombia and Ecuador Later (South-America).

I couldn't foresee at that time that we would live in Tanzania some 10 
years later and serve MAF from 1998-2006.

Arrval in Dodoma Tanzania november 1998.

Again some 7 years later, Mission-work has still our heart.

The moment has not yet come though to live again in Africa...

But MAF asked to help out since there is a need of experienced pilots. I guess I do count as one... ;-) Marjan and I felt guided to say yes to this request.
This will mean that I will be working 12 weeks per year for MAF.
But will travel most of the time on my own.

But I am glad the whole family is behind me and it is possible in these modern times to have contact with Facebook, Skype, you name it!

And as you see, I started a blog to tell you all about my experiences in Tanzania and Kenya. The first week (from the 21st of october), I will be in Tanzania to get my old Tanzanian flying licence valid again.
This is necessary to get a Kenyan licence where they need me more especially for the "Sudan-flying".

South Sudan is in development since it is the newest nation on the globe.
After the civil war there is a lot to do!!

Click here for more info about MAF en Sudan.

I'll keep you posted!!

Herman