My sister got married today! It was definitely a great experience. I learned Muslim weddings are quite different than any other I've seen thus far. The actual ceremony was very private (and simple as my mama called it) where we did not attend. I did however go to the celebration last night, and it was wonderful! It was so nice to be a part of a cultural tradition. When I arrived, everyone in the family was sitting on mats, helping sort rice, to prepare for the food to follow. After we finished helping, all my sisters lined up, and danced around my sister getting married. Briefly I want to highlight the best part of the experience: the children who helped celebrate. They marched through the village playing drums, and dancing. They ended under a tent, and sat in rows, doing various dances, and singing several songs, paying tribute to my sister getting married. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen! (I wish I could've taken pictures, pole sana!!) I have about 15 minutes left of internet, I just wanted to put up all these blogs and this quick paragraph. On Saturday I find out my SITE! get excited, because I am. Happy Birthday to ME!!! (and HAPPY THANKSGIVING, I love you all!!)
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Mud Roads and a Tanzanian Bus Don't Mix
We have been here for 4 weeks (or so my
friends say about 33 days)!! Peace Corps Tanzania acknowledges how
intense language training is 6 days a week, 8 hours a day and gave us
a weekend of relaxation on the beach. And by gave I mean allotted
for the weekend in our schedule, we did have to pay for it :) With
the luxury of internet this weekend I am able to post the few blogs I
typed on my computer. I am currently in the most beautiful place,
with the ocean as my view from my bed. I laid in my hammock all day,
undisturbed by mosquitoes because it has a net, and watched monkeys
play! I took advantage of the warm salt water and have been swimming
numerous times. The best was the first night when everything was
luminescent from the full moon! No man made lights needed....just
the moon :)
The only update I have is that life is good! I am looking forward to making an American meal for my family next Sunday and my birthday gift, which will be site announcements on November 26th. I have not even the slightest idea of where I will be but I am sure of this: it will be beautiful! Tanzania is the most beautiful place...there are coconut and orange trees galore, and each day I wake up to see mountains in the horizon. I have freshly squeezed orange juice from mama every morning so have no worries, I'm getting my Vitamin C. Sadly oranges are almost out of season, but then it will be PINEAPPLE time :)
Last bit of news is about language. Swahili is kind of difficult for me. I have been doing pretty well learning and being able to write is pretty simple. But when it comes to forming sentences orally it is a little difficult for me. But no worries, I'm where I should be according to Peace Corps...I just want to be better so that I can communicate! Like I said earlier, “pole, pole.” Well that's all I've got for now. I'll probably post again right before swearing in, when I go back to Dar.
Although I typed a blog earlier today, I had to tell this story before the details faded from my memory (although it is pretty unforgettable). We left our mini vacation 30 minutes late meaning we had 30 less minutes of sunlight to travel. We thought nothing of it until the roads were so muddy from rain that we couldn't get through. The first hill we slid around, the second, we didn't quite make it. We were on two buses, and we watched the first go up and slide back down. It was quite possibly the funniest thing I've seen thus far. After it reached the bottom, so many Tanzanians came from the village to help. The plan was to continue to give it gas but the end result was everyone getting off, giving it a push, and then it was a race to the top. We all walked in front of the bus without thinking in order to make it to the top, the bus couldn't stop once it got started; we began running to try and beat the bus to the top, but it was pointless. We all had to quickly jump into the shrubs to avoid being hit. Once we made it through the first few hills with a combination of gas, sliding tires (hands in the air like it was a roller coaster) and pushing we met our next hurdle. Not only did one of the buses get stuck, but the battery died. We had to take the battery from our bus out, and give it to the other bus. Needless to say in the best way I can describe, our journey home took about 4 hours and it should've taken no more than 2. It was quite an experience and we all were able to first hand see why Tanzanians don't travel during the rain season. Paved roads are far and few between. It was definitely a welcome home, welcome back to real life experience, haha. Vacation finished! (My friend took video so hopefully I can steal it or pictures to share!!)
Side note: Responsible Tanique went into the ocean with her Ipod (probably a lost cause but it's in rice), lost her neck pillow (sign 123210 it was not meant for me to have one, and lost a pair of shorts! I only brought 2 pair with me so I'll have to be extra careful with the remaining pair! However, all in all it was a VERY successful weekend with the monkeys and the Indian ocean.
Today, November 14th I made chapati!! I was pretty happy because everyday I just watch and today I actually made it. My mama told me now I have Tanzanian food to take back to America and that made me smile. So now I have to share a little bit of Tanzanian culture with my family when I come back home and make you all chapati, haha! Look forward to it, it's tasty!
The only update I have is that life is good! I am looking forward to making an American meal for my family next Sunday and my birthday gift, which will be site announcements on November 26th. I have not even the slightest idea of where I will be but I am sure of this: it will be beautiful! Tanzania is the most beautiful place...there are coconut and orange trees galore, and each day I wake up to see mountains in the horizon. I have freshly squeezed orange juice from mama every morning so have no worries, I'm getting my Vitamin C. Sadly oranges are almost out of season, but then it will be PINEAPPLE time :)
Last bit of news is about language. Swahili is kind of difficult for me. I have been doing pretty well learning and being able to write is pretty simple. But when it comes to forming sentences orally it is a little difficult for me. But no worries, I'm where I should be according to Peace Corps...I just want to be better so that I can communicate! Like I said earlier, “pole, pole.” Well that's all I've got for now. I'll probably post again right before swearing in, when I go back to Dar.
Although I typed a blog earlier today, I had to tell this story before the details faded from my memory (although it is pretty unforgettable). We left our mini vacation 30 minutes late meaning we had 30 less minutes of sunlight to travel. We thought nothing of it until the roads were so muddy from rain that we couldn't get through. The first hill we slid around, the second, we didn't quite make it. We were on two buses, and we watched the first go up and slide back down. It was quite possibly the funniest thing I've seen thus far. After it reached the bottom, so many Tanzanians came from the village to help. The plan was to continue to give it gas but the end result was everyone getting off, giving it a push, and then it was a race to the top. We all walked in front of the bus without thinking in order to make it to the top, the bus couldn't stop once it got started; we began running to try and beat the bus to the top, but it was pointless. We all had to quickly jump into the shrubs to avoid being hit. Once we made it through the first few hills with a combination of gas, sliding tires (hands in the air like it was a roller coaster) and pushing we met our next hurdle. Not only did one of the buses get stuck, but the battery died. We had to take the battery from our bus out, and give it to the other bus. Needless to say in the best way I can describe, our journey home took about 4 hours and it should've taken no more than 2. It was quite an experience and we all were able to first hand see why Tanzanians don't travel during the rain season. Paved roads are far and few between. It was definitely a welcome home, welcome back to real life experience, haha. Vacation finished! (My friend took video so hopefully I can steal it or pictures to share!!)
Side note: Responsible Tanique went into the ocean with her Ipod (probably a lost cause but it's in rice), lost her neck pillow (sign 123210 it was not meant for me to have one, and lost a pair of shorts! I only brought 2 pair with me so I'll have to be extra careful with the remaining pair! However, all in all it was a VERY successful weekend with the monkeys and the Indian ocean.
Today, November 14th I made chapati!! I was pretty happy because everyday I just watch and today I actually made it. My mama told me now I have Tanzanian food to take back to America and that made me smile. So now I have to share a little bit of Tanzanian culture with my family when I come back home and make you all chapati, haha! Look forward to it, it's tasty!
Indirect Communication at Its Finest!
Today was a very interesting day for me
and I could not wait to write about this experience. I am currently
living in Bagamoyo where there are three other Peace Corps Trainees,
not including myself. We live in a pretty conservative village,
where those of us who are women have strict, protective mothers.
Considering these things, we probably shouldn't have stayed in the
village over, Mkanyagene until 6:30, but we did. In our village we
don't have many amenities and we decided to take advantage of that
after getting out of class at 5. We all knew getting home right
before dark could go over well or not, but to what seemed our
knowledge, our families were excited to see us that evening. Going
to sleep thinking everything was fine, and my mama was pleased with
me, I woke up the next morning, continuing on as if it was another
normal morning. However, to my mama, she could not wait to tell my
mwalimu (teacher) in the morning of my late arrival the previous
night. Unknowingly to me, my mama expressed her frustrations with me
with my teacher, and proceeded to wave me off to school, telling me
to have a great day, acknowledging I would see her later. However,
as soon as we began to walk to the dala dala stop to get to the next
village, my mwalimu informs me of her frustrations. To say in the
least I was shocked was an understatement. While it has been
expressed to us in so many ways that Tanzanians are indirect, this
was my first experience with such. Instead of saying anything to me,
my mama went straight to my teacher. My first thought was instead of
smile and talk to me like everything is normal, why not tell me?
Then I realized the culture is completely different. However the
next hurdle was this, and that of my own culture: when I return home
after school, now that mama knows I know she is frustrated, will she
smile and talk to me like it is all fine or will we talk about it? I
was at conflict because in America we are blunt. If I'm not happy
with you, I'll let you know and vice versa. I was unsure of how to
receive my mamas response to me when I returned home. This time was
she still frustrated or was she being genuine. I had no idea and
after thinking this through all day, I asked my mwalimu. He told me
because she knows he addressed it with me today that she would be
fine. That the situation was finished. And from then I realized
that while being indirect with other people won't be difficult for me
because I can be passive, having people be indirect with me is going
to be a lot more difficult than I thought. I am the type of person
that wants/needs to know if there is a problem so that it can be
solved.
Aside from this small difference however, my mama and more importantly my family is wonderful. On Saturday I will be taking my dada (sister) with me to teach a local primary school to perma-garden. I am excited to be able to pass the valuable lesson of gardening to youth who can hopefully pass it on to parents, friends, relatives, etc.
Aside from this small difference however, my mama and more importantly my family is wonderful. On Saturday I will be taking my dada (sister) with me to teach a local primary school to perma-garden. I am excited to be able to pass the valuable lesson of gardening to youth who can hopefully pass it on to parents, friends, relatives, etc.
Where am I Again?!?
It's been about 19 days exactly since I
left Virginia to start this crazy Peace Corps journey. I'm not sure
if I can sum up the past 19 days, but I'll do my best. I should
start by first off saying I have had access to internet 2 times in
the past 19 days for 30 minutes. Maybe that will give you an idea
about how frequent my blogging will be. When I initially landed I
was quite excited. So excited I listened to Storms in Africa by Enya
as the plan landed. Youtube it :) My initial feelings were
happiness, anxiousness, curiosity, and slightly whole. I was anxious
and excited to experience the daily routine and life of a true
Tanzanian, looking forward to staying with my host family, and I must
say, quite excited to sleep under my mosquito net. Little did I know
my mosquito net would become my best friend and the next best thing
here in country. During my first few days at Msimbazi Center, which
is where we were lodged for 6 days before heading to home stay in
Muheza, I experienced my first bit of anxiety no one could relate to.
No matter where we went, until I spoke and people heard my accent,
they assumed I was Tanzanian. While different from India in that
Africans have seen African Americans, after speaking to two
Tanzanians in the internet cafe, it is not known to all that an
African Americans heritage can be unknown and trace extensively in
America. When asked where I was from “originally” my new friends
were not able to understand that for as far back as my family could
trace, my heritage lies within America. The final comment was “all
of us are from Nigera or here!” This was an interesting moment
because since birth I have always wondered my heritage and since
being here am comfortable with being American.
From Msimbazi we headed to Muheza. We all live in different villages with a small group called our CBT. I am in a village with three other FANTASTIC trainees who are like my family! I love them :) My village is Bagamoyo and it is really close and small. In less than 10 minutes of starting to wash clothes or even walk somewhere other than your house, everyone, including the other trainees hear about it before you can tell them :) Our village is unique from all the rest because we have sand while all the others are the infamous red clay. This is where I am currently staying, studying Swahili all day (8-5) from Monday to Saturday. (School is at my house!) It is quite the intense day and I have from 5 to 6:45 before the sun goes down to bucket bathe, help with dinner, and study. Yea right? I don't miss electricity until I think about all the things I could be doing after the sun goes down with a little bit of light. But the funny thing is Tanzanians generally take things, “pole, pole” which means “slow, slow” and I'm slowly starting to learning I don't have to do a million things in one day. Time is no issue here. (Although my mama wakes me up a 6am to start the day every morning). We get together as a large group (there are 41 of us!!!!) anywhere from one to three times a week :)
I have intensive Kiswahili training, but also do training for my technical job as a health educator. I am really looking forward to it. Yesterday I learned from a brilliant guy, Peter Jensen, how to build a perma garden. It is so rewarding to not only learn, but I will be teaching it to primary school children next weekend, building one at my home and hopefully teaching it to villagers. It is a method intended to provide a sustainable structure for gardening in this climate with dry, humid seasons. It captures and allows you to control water. If we as volunteers are able to share this with villages, we have the potential to have a direct impact on nutrition, specifically PLWHA (people living with hiv and aids).
Quick message about my homestay family: I have a million kakas and dadas (brothers and sisters). It seems everyone that comes to the courtyard or house is my brother, sister, aunt or uncle. I have two bibis (grandmothers) who are always here, and a wonderful mama and baba. My mama is so protective of me, won't let me walk to the end of the road without Jamesi (another volunteer) if no one familiar is in sight. I am slowly adjusting to my new rafikis (friends), ie creatures around here. You see something new and sometimes a little more scary every day. Interestingly enough, I think last night I received more ant bites last night than mosquitoes the entire time I've been here. Without looking in my can before dipping in my bucket, I unknowingly dipped my can full of ants in water, and then poured over my body. I reached to my back because I felt a bite, and looked at a hand full of ants! Me screaming MAMA followed, and without realizing I put all the ants in my clean water, we used the water to remove them. (Reason number 918203 as to why electricity at night is slightly beneficial, lol). Needless to say we finally removed them and I took another bucket bath. I have also befriended the rats living around my room, and luckily I have seen no buibui (spiders).
I can't wait to put up pictures. I haven't taken any because they tell us to get to know the family before pulling out electronics. I will however take many before leaving, and will post them. My house is cement although most in my village are clay. The front room is one of the village dukas (stores) and there is a short hall that leads to my room and outside. Outside is the choo, bucket bath area and kitchen. I try to help my mama cook almost every day. Mostly I just watch and study at the same time. We have a jiko charcoal stove. Its like 6in x 6in and about 6in in height. It sits on the ground; most days my mama also cooks on a stove made from stones and wood. Wood and corn cobs provide the heat to cook but that method smokes A LOT! I wash my clothes every Sunday and because my mom only lets me wash when I don't have school, I find myself recycling the same few shirts. I don't want to hand wash more than 3 skirts and 3 shirts at one time. Haha!
From Msimbazi we headed to Muheza. We all live in different villages with a small group called our CBT. I am in a village with three other FANTASTIC trainees who are like my family! I love them :) My village is Bagamoyo and it is really close and small. In less than 10 minutes of starting to wash clothes or even walk somewhere other than your house, everyone, including the other trainees hear about it before you can tell them :) Our village is unique from all the rest because we have sand while all the others are the infamous red clay. This is where I am currently staying, studying Swahili all day (8-5) from Monday to Saturday. (School is at my house!) It is quite the intense day and I have from 5 to 6:45 before the sun goes down to bucket bathe, help with dinner, and study. Yea right? I don't miss electricity until I think about all the things I could be doing after the sun goes down with a little bit of light. But the funny thing is Tanzanians generally take things, “pole, pole” which means “slow, slow” and I'm slowly starting to learning I don't have to do a million things in one day. Time is no issue here. (Although my mama wakes me up a 6am to start the day every morning). We get together as a large group (there are 41 of us!!!!) anywhere from one to three times a week :)
I have intensive Kiswahili training, but also do training for my technical job as a health educator. I am really looking forward to it. Yesterday I learned from a brilliant guy, Peter Jensen, how to build a perma garden. It is so rewarding to not only learn, but I will be teaching it to primary school children next weekend, building one at my home and hopefully teaching it to villagers. It is a method intended to provide a sustainable structure for gardening in this climate with dry, humid seasons. It captures and allows you to control water. If we as volunteers are able to share this with villages, we have the potential to have a direct impact on nutrition, specifically PLWHA (people living with hiv and aids).
Quick message about my homestay family: I have a million kakas and dadas (brothers and sisters). It seems everyone that comes to the courtyard or house is my brother, sister, aunt or uncle. I have two bibis (grandmothers) who are always here, and a wonderful mama and baba. My mama is so protective of me, won't let me walk to the end of the road without Jamesi (another volunteer) if no one familiar is in sight. I am slowly adjusting to my new rafikis (friends), ie creatures around here. You see something new and sometimes a little more scary every day. Interestingly enough, I think last night I received more ant bites last night than mosquitoes the entire time I've been here. Without looking in my can before dipping in my bucket, I unknowingly dipped my can full of ants in water, and then poured over my body. I reached to my back because I felt a bite, and looked at a hand full of ants! Me screaming MAMA followed, and without realizing I put all the ants in my clean water, we used the water to remove them. (Reason number 918203 as to why electricity at night is slightly beneficial, lol). Needless to say we finally removed them and I took another bucket bath. I have also befriended the rats living around my room, and luckily I have seen no buibui (spiders).
I can't wait to put up pictures. I haven't taken any because they tell us to get to know the family before pulling out electronics. I will however take many before leaving, and will post them. My house is cement although most in my village are clay. The front room is one of the village dukas (stores) and there is a short hall that leads to my room and outside. Outside is the choo, bucket bath area and kitchen. I try to help my mama cook almost every day. Mostly I just watch and study at the same time. We have a jiko charcoal stove. Its like 6in x 6in and about 6in in height. It sits on the ground; most days my mama also cooks on a stove made from stones and wood. Wood and corn cobs provide the heat to cook but that method smokes A LOT! I wash my clothes every Sunday and because my mom only lets me wash when I don't have school, I find myself recycling the same few shirts. I don't want to hand wash more than 3 skirts and 3 shirts at one time. Haha!
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