I've now been in Tanzania for over two weeks, and I still don't think it's really hit me yet that I'm here long-term. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that training has been really intense.
I wake up every day to the sound of roosters - which was really cool at first, but now I just wish they had snooze buttons. They do not. We have training sessions six days a week, usually from 8am to 5pm. There's sessions on all sorts of things - lots of Swahili lessons (fun word: pipi means candy), but also input on teacher training, cross-cultural trainings (ie; don't sniff food when eating as its an insult to the chef), medical sessions (ie; malaria nets are your friends), and safety and security sessions (mainly common sense and a good time to go through swahili flashcards). After sessions all day, I spend about an hour walking /navigating the public transport system (I use the term loosely - more on that later) to get back to my host family. Then I'll either help my host mama cook (outside over a pile of charcoal bricks), play card games with my host sister and brother (I taught them Egyptian war - which they love), or if I'm feeling ambitious, language homework. After dinner, we'll all usually sit around the dinner table and I'll attempt to communicate in my broken Swahili. Miming, repetition and odd sound effects have become a mainstay of most of my conversations here. My host family doesn't speak any English, which I was hoping would mean my language skills would improve really fast. So far, the main improvement I've seen has been in my acting skills. I joke, but in reality my Swahili is coming along nicely - it's the fastest I've ever learned a language. The Peace Corps language training program is top notch.
So that's what I've been doing....I guess I should give a bit of attention to the question you're probably all wondering - how is Tanzania? The short answer is so far, so good. The people are warm and friendly and generally willing to be patient and helpful as I slaughter their language. Well, either that or they'll just laugh at me. But that's to be expected.
The city I'm in now is a regional capital and is nestled at the base of these rally gorgeous mountains that always seem to have clouds covering the tops of them. I'm going hiking up there tomorrow (yey!) The family I'm staying with lives in a village outside the city. I say 'village' without knowing exactly what that means, but that's what my family refers to it as, so it's the the word I'll go with. Regardless, it definitely has a 'village' feel. Everyone seem to know each other and greets each other in the streets. Chickens and goats roam about, in between kids playing soccer in empty fields and women in brightly colored fabrics carrying water on their heads. My family lives in a house built from cement with a tin roof - which sounds awesome when it rains. There's no running water or electricity, though there are some families that have those. Next week I start teaching at a secondary school in the community where my family lives as part of training. I'll only be there for about a month, but I'm excited to get back into a classroom and finally be working with Tanzanian students.
My time at the internet cafe always seems to go by very quickly, so this will have to suffice for now. OH, if anyone wants a postcards from Tanzania, you should let me know (just leave a comment below) and I'll make that happen. On the flip side, if anyone feels compelled to mail me anything, here's the address:
Melinda Cobian, PC Trainee
Peace Corps Tanzania
PO Box 9123
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
So this post got written about 2 weeks ago, but the power went out while I was at the internet cafe and I haven't been able to get back since. Lucky for me, blogger saved all this for me :)
I almost forgot to mention - I chopped my hair off, it's super short like I had it in high school. Sorry Jess. But Africa is really hot, and the nightly bucket bath is infinitely easier this way. Thanks for the fb love Erika - it totally reminded me that I used to have long hair. And that I have amazing family and friends.
"Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes that call me on and on..."
