Africa's sleeping giant

Interesting article from the BBC about Tanzania politics.

We had our mid-term exams this weekend. They don't actually count but it shows you what you need to work on. We haven't received our results yet from both the written or oral tests. I think they went well for me...pretty basic stuff...not much vocab....but that doesn't mean I can slack now!

We had our first ET (Early Termination) from our PC group. Brian will be on his way back to the USA this week. I don't know the details so I won't write anything more than he will be missed (especially as a computer teacher which are greatly needed in this country at the moment.)

There was a roach infestation in our room. Not "da kine" roaches in Hawaii (the big ones) but small ones. There was a family of them and they were apparently eating dried toothpaste on a piece of table cloth. We killed them all (pretty nasty) but they're gone now! I've seen a gecko in our room but they eat mosquitoes so I just let them be. We're protected by our mosquito net at night so I'm not worried.

Bekah and I were walking down the hill to go to a restaurant with the rest of the gang and this mzee (old woman) started to yell and us and wave her very long stick. She was missing her front teeth so we didn't understand her very well. Apparently she was yelling at Bekah for wearing trousers and pointing at my skirt and telling her to wear a skirt.

I'm putting up more pictures so check them out!

free weekend!

This is the first free weekend we have had since coming to TZ. Our younger sister is being confirmed in the Catholic church so there are many relatives around. Russ and I are in town today to get her a gift.

Many other of my fellow PCTs are hiking up the mountain this morning. It would have been nice to go but we do have another free weekend coming up and perhaps Russ and I can climb it then.

I have learned that Tanzanians love to sing and dance. Last night with some relatives we all just danced around the porch. Baba got out the loud speaker and blasted music so that we could all get into the beat. It was great fun and I've never seen my family that happy.

I'm trying to upload some more pictures so check them out. Sorry they are not organized very well...I'll try to do more if I have time.

Flashback:
I remember flying over the Sahara Desert on the way to TZ. It was incredible! All you could see from the plane was sand in these intricate designs created by the wind. Now I realize that I have not heard a single plane overhead. I thought something was a plane in the sky at night because it was so bright but I think it was a planet. Thanks David - we're looking forward to getting the star chart!

We've had at least a dozen shots by now...yellow fever, hep a, hep b, td, rabies 1,2, and 3, meningitis, etc...I think we are just getting two more and then we'll be good to go anywhere in the world from now on!

Our contact information is in the column to the right. =)

Devil Cat

The weather continues to be great here. It gets hot from 12-3 then it cools down. We received our first batch of mail yesterday. Clayton got a package or two and a dozen letters, Jeska got about three letters, Jen received 2 letters...Russ and I combined = 0! Where's the love people? ;)

Kiswahili is still difficult...

We have no more chicks at home...I guess eagles or cats ate them...so we had mama chicken for dinner last night. Our host mama said she's going to show us the whole process of killing the chicken then cooking it so I'll let you know how that goes.

The mountains behind us are on fire...still. You can see the red glow at night.

We had an encounter with a devil cat the other night. Russ and I were sitting outside at night, right before dinner, and the gate to our yard was open. We hear this cat give a really awful 'miao' but not an "I'm hungry" miao or a "pet me" miao. Me, being a cat lover, was saying, "kitty, kitty" and just then mama came running towards it carrying a potato or something and chased it down the path and didn't return for a good five minutes or so. Apparently there's an old woman who does witchcraft and owns those devil cats, which are bad luck, so they are not wanted around our house.

Next week we start teaching for "real" at our schools. I did micro-teaching this week and I improved and think I'm ready for the classroom. This will give us lots of practice before we get to our post site.

My sister in my family made me some clothes (two skirts, blouse, bag, and hair band. Pictures to come soon...

Fish - I love fish. Growing up in Hawaii our family ate loads of fresh fish and rice. The fish in TZ is fresh, but you get served the whole fish - eyes, bones, etc. It's good, but I don't like eating the bones. I do however like the "sardines" now...cooked in curry...I eat those whole fish...(bones are too small...)

Perhaps tomorrow we'll be able to buy a cell phone.

Mzungu

In TZ, white people are called Mzungu (or Wazungu for many). We have been told that some children are just so excited to see us that they yell it out and it really doesn't mean anything other than a way to describe you. It's not meant to be bad but sometimes you really feel out of place when you hear the word under someone's breath as you walk into the market. Shopping in the market is quite an experience. No Cub Foods here. All the prices are jacked up when a Mzungu tries to buy something because it is thought here that all white people are rich. Well, we're volunteering and we get paid a little more than the average person here so we need to know how to use our money wisely. I bought 12 bananas for T.shs 700 (I got it down from T.shs 2000). I bought a kitenga (material) and my host sister made me a dress! Pictures to come in the following weeks...

p.s. Jen was bitten by a scorpion but she is OK.

KunyWa

Kiswahili is much harder than I anticipated. The words sound so similar...

Ninaomba maji kunywa.
I want water to drink.

Ninaomba maji kunya.
I want water to shit.

Sorry for the language but as you can see one little misprounciation and you mean something totally different.

This blog is for everyone to read!! Jen is not in my CBT so I only see her once a week.

Homestay is great! If I haven't mentioned it before.

We call going to the bathroom a "choo session".

Next week we are going to start micro-teaching. That means we will practice teach in our groups of 4 or 5 before we start teaching for real. But even this "real" teaching is preparing us for teaching when we get "posted" for 2 years - and we won't find out where in the country we're going until next month.

We found an ice cream shop that just opened up...and ice cream is really hard to come by if you're not in Dar...

I've gotten used to things like the power going out twice in a night...the water doesn't run sometimes...you just make do with what you have...

Shikamoo

Q: Shikamoo
A: Marahaba

In Tanzania one greats an elder with "Shikamoo" and the only reply is "Marahaba." I get "Shikamoo-ed" from children a lot.

Our host family is great. There is Mama (mom), Baba (dad), 3 dada (sisters), 2 kaka (brothers), and 1 house helper. Russ and I have our own room with a mosquito net. Our house has running water an electricity and I'm a pro at using a pit latrine.

The food is great! Potatoes, rice, ugali (corn mush), vegies, and meat.

Daily routine:
-Get up at 6:45 am (12:45 TZ time)
-Use latrine
-Eat breakfast (boiled eggs, bread, butter, chai)
-Russ rides his bike to school while I walk (we're in different training groups)
-Kiswahili classes
-10:00 am Chai (very British system)
-Kiswahili classes
-12:00pm lunch (rice, peas, potatoes, banana, chai)
-Kiswahili classes and TZ culture
-done at 5 pm
-walk home (10 minutes)
-play with children (ages 9-14), speak Kiswahili with them, have them laugh at us because we can't pronounce somethings and say the wrong words
-watch tv
-eat dinner at 8 pm
-go to bed

Today mama, russ and I went to the market and I bought some material to make a dress. There is a daughter in our family who is 25 and she can make me the dress. It cost about 3500 T.shs for the material and another 1200 T.shs for the zipper, lining, and thread.

Town is about a 45 minute walk from our house but we could use the daladala. Daladala...hmm...it's a bit difficult to describe. They are the transportation system in towns. There is no schedule and you kinda just flag them down on their route. It costs about 200 T.shs to get a ride to town, but you might wait for half an hour in the sun just for one.

All us PCTs tried to use the Internet yesterday because it was our only "free" day since we got to TZ but the system was down. Luckily it's back up today. I changed the timestamp on blogger so now the time should be correct.

I'm amazed at how long it takes to cook! All water that will be used in food and for drinking has to be brought to a boil so it kills the bacteria, etc. and that takes forever. That's why we eat so late at night.

Oh, this morning I washed my underwear! Baby steps, right? The house helper washed my regular clothes a few days ago but washing your underwear is very personal. When you hang them out to dry you need to put a cloth over them otherwise it's like you being naked outside.

I'm trying to upload some pictures to our gallery. We'll see how many I can get uploaded before my time is up!

Note to new PCVs: Save room for a lot of stuff the PC will give you once in country. I could fill another backpack with the learning books and medical kit (like a small toolbox) that PC gave us. Also, please tell your family back at home that you probably won't be able to contact them for about three weeks once you leave the US.