Now that Kristi has relocated, her address is:
Kristi Scott
Peace Corps Volunteer
PO Box 531
Masasi, Mtwara, Tanzania
She also wants to say that her internet access will be scarce and unreliable, but she would love to get letters and she will write back.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Excerpts from Swearing-In Ceremony at US Embassy in Tanzania
The US Embassy in Tanzania posted some photos and information about Kristi's recent swearing-in. They can be found at the following links:
Photos (Kristi's wearing a bright green dress):
http://photos.state.gov/galleries/65409/PeaceCorpsSwearingIn2009/1.html
Press Release:
http://tanzania.usembassy.gov/pr_08192009.html
Transcript of Speeches:
http://tanzania.usembassy.gov/sp_08192009.html
Photos (Kristi's wearing a bright green dress):
http://photos.state.gov/galleries/65409/PeaceCorpsSwearingIn2009/1.html
Press Release:
http://tanzania.usembassy.gov/pr_08192009.html
Transcript of Speeches:
http://tanzania.usembassy.gov/sp_08192009.html
Friday, August 21, 2009
Today I'm finally writing as a Peace Corps Volunteer rather than a Peace Corps Trainee. After eight weeks of intensive language training along with one week of technical training, all 32 of us swore in as PCV's (4 volunteers went back to the US). Technical training consisted of permaculture (doubled digging gardens, using local fertilizer, compost piles, etc), income projects such as jam making, HIV/AIDS info, and local trees and crops info. I had to pass an oral and written language exam and technical exam, and I'm happy to say that is all behind me.
Currently I'm in the town Lindi which is only 4-5hrs from my site in Mtwara (South East region of TZ). I'll be in the village Chungutwa, only 28K from the major town Masasi. I'll move to my site this Monday and meet the village board members. All I know about my village now is that I'm the third generation volunteer, since I had two volunteers before me previously and two who terminated early for family/personal reasons. Cashews are the main crop grown in my area. The weather is about mid 80's now, and this is the cold season. I've been told the summers are "bloody hot" but we'll see. It will probably take some getting used to. Ha, I thought I was cold blooded living in Nebraska. I'm sure the adjustment to Nebraska winters again will be even harder. Oh well, I have two years until I deal with that.
I'll try to briefly go over the last week I had in Kibanda (the village where I stayed with my host family through 8 weeks of training). Leaving my host family was really tough. On Saturday, my host family held a party at their house for the 5 of us volunteers in Kibanda and our host families and village board members and neighbors. The women came over about two hours before the men to start on the beans, rice, and spinach. First the women picked out all the small stones in the beans and rice, and then started 2 large fires with large cement blocks supporting the pots. Even though the food prepartion was a lot of work, it was still a lot of fun because we were all working together and talking as we worked. We also scraped out 20 or more coconuts to flavor the rice. For the party, around 30 people crammed into our small living room. First out host family father's gave speeches about their mtoto (child/volunteer). It was really touching how much each volunteer meant to their host family. My family seriously considers me a member of their family. Baba thanked my family in America for letting me come to Tanzania and how disciplined I am. Afterwards my parents gave me a gift (a khanga) and as they gave me the gift they played music in the background and danced a bit. Then we all ate (with our hands which is starting to become normal to me) and danced a bit afterwards. Since my family doesn't have electricity, they strung a wire from a house down the hill to get electricity for the music.
The last night I spent with my host family was really special. Usually all my siblings eat outside and eat from a small plate. However, for my last night each sibling had their own plate as they sat around me in my family's living room. After we got done eating, every member of my family stood up and said something about how they were grateful that I came or that they enjoyed playing ball, learning Enlish, and then they said "kwa heri" which means goodbye. When it came to my Baba's turn I was already getting emotional, and when I saw that Baba couldn't even talk because he was fighting back emotion, I really started crying. Tanzanians don't like to cry in public, so Baba apologized to me for not being able to say his speech as he covered his eyes and eventually left the room. Pretty soon all of us had one hand over our eyes our head in our laps. I was laughing and crying at the same time. I then gave my own speech in what I could manage to thank them in my limited Kiswahili, and handed them gifts I had gotten for each of them. One of the things I brought from America was the game Memory which they loved (including Mama and Baba). The next morning my whole family woke up at 5:40am to take all my heavy luggage to the bus stand. My poor sister and mama carried my heavy luggage on their heads. Then we said our goodbyes. I got emotional all over again, but I was so happy to have had a great host family experience.
Currently I'm in the town Lindi which is only 4-5hrs from my site in Mtwara (South East region of TZ). I'll be in the village Chungutwa, only 28K from the major town Masasi. I'll move to my site this Monday and meet the village board members. All I know about my village now is that I'm the third generation volunteer, since I had two volunteers before me previously and two who terminated early for family/personal reasons. Cashews are the main crop grown in my area. The weather is about mid 80's now, and this is the cold season. I've been told the summers are "bloody hot" but we'll see. It will probably take some getting used to. Ha, I thought I was cold blooded living in Nebraska. I'm sure the adjustment to Nebraska winters again will be even harder. Oh well, I have two years until I deal with that.
I'll try to briefly go over the last week I had in Kibanda (the village where I stayed with my host family through 8 weeks of training). Leaving my host family was really tough. On Saturday, my host family held a party at their house for the 5 of us volunteers in Kibanda and our host families and village board members and neighbors. The women came over about two hours before the men to start on the beans, rice, and spinach. First the women picked out all the small stones in the beans and rice, and then started 2 large fires with large cement blocks supporting the pots. Even though the food prepartion was a lot of work, it was still a lot of fun because we were all working together and talking as we worked. We also scraped out 20 or more coconuts to flavor the rice. For the party, around 30 people crammed into our small living room. First out host family father's gave speeches about their mtoto (child/volunteer). It was really touching how much each volunteer meant to their host family. My family seriously considers me a member of their family. Baba thanked my family in America for letting me come to Tanzania and how disciplined I am. Afterwards my parents gave me a gift (a khanga) and as they gave me the gift they played music in the background and danced a bit. Then we all ate (with our hands which is starting to become normal to me) and danced a bit afterwards. Since my family doesn't have electricity, they strung a wire from a house down the hill to get electricity for the music.
The last night I spent with my host family was really special. Usually all my siblings eat outside and eat from a small plate. However, for my last night each sibling had their own plate as they sat around me in my family's living room. After we got done eating, every member of my family stood up and said something about how they were grateful that I came or that they enjoyed playing ball, learning Enlish, and then they said "kwa heri" which means goodbye. When it came to my Baba's turn I was already getting emotional, and when I saw that Baba couldn't even talk because he was fighting back emotion, I really started crying. Tanzanians don't like to cry in public, so Baba apologized to me for not being able to say his speech as he covered his eyes and eventually left the room. Pretty soon all of us had one hand over our eyes our head in our laps. I was laughing and crying at the same time. I then gave my own speech in what I could manage to thank them in my limited Kiswahili, and handed them gifts I had gotten for each of them. One of the things I brought from America was the game Memory which they loved (including Mama and Baba). The next morning my whole family woke up at 5:40am to take all my heavy luggage to the bus stand. My poor sister and mama carried my heavy luggage on their heads. Then we said our goodbyes. I got emotional all over again, but I was so happy to have had a great host family experience.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
My Second Email Sent July 2009
Wow! I don't even know where to start. Again I have just a few minutes of internet time, and I could probably spend hours describing my experience here in Tanzania. I'll just try to describe the main things and see how much I can fit in.
So I've been living in a village of about 2000 people called Kibanda for about 4 weeks now and I really enjoy it. Kibanda is in the Tanga region, close to the larger city of Muheza (also the name of the district/county) and is close to the Indian Ocean. Kibanda is beautiful! It's very tropical and mountainous. Everything is bright green with bright orange, purple, and pink flowers scattered about. The soil here is very orange here, which definitely shows on my white feet! We have random showers every other day, but there's never much wind or any lightning/thunder like we have in Nebraska. Although with the tin roofs, it sounds like we're in a hurricane sometimes. It's so strange to be surrounded by trees of coconuts, bananas, papaya, oranges, Jack fruit (google this..the fruit is enormous!). Just the other day I watched as one of my brothers climbed up the extremely tall coconut tree in my host family's backyard with a machette in his hand and hacked down at least 10 coconuts for my mama to use for supper. My family really got a kick out of my expression when seeing this. I'm definitely eating well here. I don't eat dessert but I'm constantly eating fruit. I pretty much eat the same thing but it's still good: coconut rice, fish, spinach, beans and ugali. Sardines are also common and cow stomach.
The house I'm living in is very nice compared to the others. Most houses in my village are made of clay, but my house is of brick. My host family has a bunch of random furniture and concrete floor. There's 6 rooms in the house. Mama does the cooking outside by using cement stones to prop up the pot and fire. It's so different how closely these people live to nature compared to what we do at home. The windows have no glass panes, just screens and bars for security. They wash their dishes outside on the ground with water that they have to haul from at least a mile away. I've helped with this chore several times, and people really get a kick seeing a white girl try to balance a bucket full of water...with a lid...and still spill. :) I actually enjoy it, and I'm getting a little better at it. I'm just so amazed by how strong these women are here. They'll be carrying a huge pile of wood on their head, and have a baby wrapped to their back. Actually, I saw a woman walk past the school doing just that, and yet her husband was walking next to her not holding a thing. That's how it is here. Men's work is the decision making...I guess.
I'm getting used the squat toliet (choo). It's a short distance from my house and I feel comfortable using it. It's also wear I take my bucket baths which I don't mind at all either. My mama always heats the water up each night, so I'm getting pretty spoiled. Whenever I walk into the choo with my oil lantern and close the door behind me, I don't look to see if I'm sharing the choo with other creatures, but how many creatures I'm sharing the choo with. So far it's just been large hard shelled bugs the size of my thumb. At first I'd try to kill them all before I'd even start to bathe, but now I realize they don't bother me so I won't bother them. Ha, the only time I freaked out was my first morning at my homestay when I woke up to a cockroach the size of my entire thumb underneath my pillow. Now I tuck in my mosquitto net securily around my bed so that I don't have to worry about any bugs or mice which hang out on the tarp which serves as my ceiling. I also have a family of little lizards that hang out in the living room. What I've just described to you probably sounds awful, but really your perspective of things change...such as the lizards are eating the mosquittos, so I'm fine with them hanging out on the wall. I've been spraying my room for bugs, so I haven't had that many issues with them. I'm definitely getting a cat though when I'm on my own to eat the mice.
My host family is amazing and has made my adjustment here come so much easier. Baba Salum (host dad) is 35, big, and laughs a lot. He speaks a little English, so the first few days I wasn't completely helpless, although it felt like guesstures trying to act out everything in order to get your message across. Baba is very patient with me and speaks clear and slow kiswahili so I can get it.
Mama Zayada is 31, small, skinny, and pretty. She is quiet and hard working. She doesn't speak english, but I'm getting to know her better know that I have a little more kiswahili down. Kaka Mohammed (brother - 17 yr), Kaka Abu (12yr), Dada Sarah (9yrs), Dada Mwanaima (12 yrs), and Kaka Athmid (1.5 yr and so cute!) My family laughs a lot and is so patient and understanding!
Darn it! I'm out of time. Thanks so much for all your responses! Keli and Tabby, I got your letters and love them! Thank you. I'll try to send you letters as soon as I get the time. Mom, I also got your letter and sent one off today. Thanks so much for the pictures Keli and mom. The host fam really got a kick out of that.
Gosh there's so much to say. Maybe I'll list a bunch of random things real quick. Women here breast feed alot, so you see boobs everywhere, there's not the sexual stigma of the breats here like there is in America. My family tried pop rocks, and laughed a lot. My family washes dishes on the ground outside. Dirt doesn't seem to scare people here like it does in America...there is no 5 minute rule here when something hits the ground. I've seen the Indian ocean 3 times, and it's beautiful! I'm actually at a small weekend resort with the rest of the PCVs and am enjoying the monkies, ocean, and palm trees...and somewhat American food like cheese and omlettes. It's amazing how great it is to taste the familiar things again. I jumped roped with a bunch of girls using just long weeds tied together and it worked great. They laughed a lot to see a white girl jump. It's attractive to be big here, which I think is the goal for my host family to fatten me up. The weather here is about 85 degrees, but this is there winter season, so I see people with heavy winter coats on, mostly in the morning and at night when the temp dips to low 70's....And I thought I was cold blooded! I've helped kill a chicken, and actually my host family killed a chicken for me the first night since that's tradition to serve a guest chicken.
Okay I need to stop. I told you it's endless, I've got so many things to tell you all every day! Please write, it's so good to get letters and internet is not reliable or easily accessible. I miss and love you all! Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers. I've definitely been relying on God more than I have my whole life! Okay take care! Hope to talk to you soon!
So I've been living in a village of about 2000 people called Kibanda for about 4 weeks now and I really enjoy it. Kibanda is in the Tanga region, close to the larger city of Muheza (also the name of the district/county) and is close to the Indian Ocean. Kibanda is beautiful! It's very tropical and mountainous. Everything is bright green with bright orange, purple, and pink flowers scattered about. The soil here is very orange here, which definitely shows on my white feet! We have random showers every other day, but there's never much wind or any lightning/thunder like we have in Nebraska. Although with the tin roofs, it sounds like we're in a hurricane sometimes. It's so strange to be surrounded by trees of coconuts, bananas, papaya, oranges, Jack fruit (google this..the fruit is enormous!). Just the other day I watched as one of my brothers climbed up the extremely tall coconut tree in my host family's backyard with a machette in his hand and hacked down at least 10 coconuts for my mama to use for supper. My family really got a kick out of my expression when seeing this. I'm definitely eating well here. I don't eat dessert but I'm constantly eating fruit. I pretty much eat the same thing but it's still good: coconut rice, fish, spinach, beans and ugali. Sardines are also common and cow stomach.
The house I'm living in is very nice compared to the others. Most houses in my village are made of clay, but my house is of brick. My host family has a bunch of random furniture and concrete floor. There's 6 rooms in the house. Mama does the cooking outside by using cement stones to prop up the pot and fire. It's so different how closely these people live to nature compared to what we do at home. The windows have no glass panes, just screens and bars for security. They wash their dishes outside on the ground with water that they have to haul from at least a mile away. I've helped with this chore several times, and people really get a kick seeing a white girl try to balance a bucket full of water...with a lid...and still spill. :) I actually enjoy it, and I'm getting a little better at it. I'm just so amazed by how strong these women are here. They'll be carrying a huge pile of wood on their head, and have a baby wrapped to their back. Actually, I saw a woman walk past the school doing just that, and yet her husband was walking next to her not holding a thing. That's how it is here. Men's work is the decision making...I guess.
I'm getting used the squat toliet (choo). It's a short distance from my house and I feel comfortable using it. It's also wear I take my bucket baths which I don't mind at all either. My mama always heats the water up each night, so I'm getting pretty spoiled. Whenever I walk into the choo with my oil lantern and close the door behind me, I don't look to see if I'm sharing the choo with other creatures, but how many creatures I'm sharing the choo with. So far it's just been large hard shelled bugs the size of my thumb. At first I'd try to kill them all before I'd even start to bathe, but now I realize they don't bother me so I won't bother them. Ha, the only time I freaked out was my first morning at my homestay when I woke up to a cockroach the size of my entire thumb underneath my pillow. Now I tuck in my mosquitto net securily around my bed so that I don't have to worry about any bugs or mice which hang out on the tarp which serves as my ceiling. I also have a family of little lizards that hang out in the living room. What I've just described to you probably sounds awful, but really your perspective of things change...such as the lizards are eating the mosquittos, so I'm fine with them hanging out on the wall. I've been spraying my room for bugs, so I haven't had that many issues with them. I'm definitely getting a cat though when I'm on my own to eat the mice.
My host family is amazing and has made my adjustment here come so much easier. Baba Salum (host dad) is 35, big, and laughs a lot. He speaks a little English, so the first few days I wasn't completely helpless, although it felt like guesstures trying to act out everything in order to get your message across. Baba is very patient with me and speaks clear and slow kiswahili so I can get it.
Mama Zayada is 31, small, skinny, and pretty. She is quiet and hard working. She doesn't speak english, but I'm getting to know her better know that I have a little more kiswahili down. Kaka Mohammed (brother - 17 yr), Kaka Abu (12yr), Dada Sarah (9yrs), Dada Mwanaima (12 yrs), and Kaka Athmid (1.5 yr and so cute!) My family laughs a lot and is so patient and understanding!
Darn it! I'm out of time. Thanks so much for all your responses! Keli and Tabby, I got your letters and love them! Thank you. I'll try to send you letters as soon as I get the time. Mom, I also got your letter and sent one off today. Thanks so much for the pictures Keli and mom. The host fam really got a kick out of that.
Gosh there's so much to say. Maybe I'll list a bunch of random things real quick. Women here breast feed alot, so you see boobs everywhere, there's not the sexual stigma of the breats here like there is in America. My family tried pop rocks, and laughed a lot. My family washes dishes on the ground outside. Dirt doesn't seem to scare people here like it does in America...there is no 5 minute rule here when something hits the ground. I've seen the Indian ocean 3 times, and it's beautiful! I'm actually at a small weekend resort with the rest of the PCVs and am enjoying the monkies, ocean, and palm trees...and somewhat American food like cheese and omlettes. It's amazing how great it is to taste the familiar things again. I jumped roped with a bunch of girls using just long weeds tied together and it worked great. They laughed a lot to see a white girl jump. It's attractive to be big here, which I think is the goal for my host family to fatten me up. The weather here is about 85 degrees, but this is there winter season, so I see people with heavy winter coats on, mostly in the morning and at night when the temp dips to low 70's....And I thought I was cold blooded! I've helped kill a chicken, and actually my host family killed a chicken for me the first night since that's tradition to serve a guest chicken.
Okay I need to stop. I told you it's endless, I've got so many things to tell you all every day! Please write, it's so good to get letters and internet is not reliable or easily accessible. I miss and love you all! Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers. I've definitely been relying on God more than I have my whole life! Okay take care! Hope to talk to you soon!
First mass email sent in June 2009
My journey to Tanzania began June 14th with staging in Philadelphia for 2 days. There I met 34
other Peace Corps volunteers (PVC) . There are 11 men and 23 women. We
have 2 married couples in our group (a younger couple and an older
couple in their 60s). The PCVs are from all over the states, Colorado,
Alabama, Wisconsin, Washington, Louisiana, etc. Most volunteers range
from 22 to 31 yrs old. All the volunteers are really nice and I've
enjoyed training with them. I know I have a good support system with
my peers and my training staff.
A few interesting things happened during the flights. At the JFK
airport in NYC, one of the girls in my group was told her ticket had
been refunded and that she had no reserved seat on the plane. This
poor girl was in tears, but after a bit of communicating with the
airline and the Peace Corps, a new ticket was issued and we were good
to go. However, this wasn't the end of the drama. As we boarded the
plane, we noticed that we were missing one volunteer. The pilot made
an announcement that we would wait...and wait we did! The volunteer
could not be found (we later found out that he had backed out at the
last second). So we were delayed 2 hrs just to get his luggage off the
plane and wait in the long line of planes ready to take off. Then it
was a 6.5 hr flight to Amsterdam. We then flew from Amsterdam to Dar
es Salaam which took about 11 hours. I definitely took advantage of
watching movies for the last time in the plane and I enjoyed talking to the two
women sitting next to me - one younger Sweden woman was going to do
research for her master thesis and the other woman from Calf was to do
missionary work.
It is very warm in Tanzania (mid 80s), especially since this is their
winter, and very humid b/c it is by the coast. I am currently staying
at a hostel ran by nuns in the missionary. There are Tanzanian students studying
everywhere in the courtyards of the missionary. Everyone is extremely
nice and friendly, and always say Karibu (welcome!). There are palm
trees and bright orange flowers outside the buildings and in the court
yards.
Where I am staying I have my own sink, shower, bed and toilet which
is awesome. Otherwise, I will not likely have running water and I
have already got to experience a squat toilet which I will have to get
used to. PCV only drink bottled water and brush our teeth with boiled
water. I have been waking up at 4.30am every morning b/c I can hear
Muslims praying in a Mosque near by (they must use a loud speaker). In
the evenings I can hear women and men singing, and the harmony is
beautiful. Some of the PCV and I will try to go to a mass before we
leave so we can listen to them sing.
The food here is good. I eat fried sweet bread (like a doughnut but
without sugar) and fried banana, and for lunch and dinner we have
rice, smoked chicken, oranges, beans, etc.
Today I got information on the host family I will be staying with for 9 weeks starting Tuesday. I'll be in a town called Kibanda and living with Mr. and Mrs. Salim S. Muungia. It is a Muslim area in Tanga. That's all I know. It is supposed to be really hot! I can't imagine what it will be like in the summer! I'll be living in that same village with four other volunteers and we'll have training everyday except for Sunday on safety, Swahili, culture, and environment projects. I will have to walk quite a bit with the other volunteers on Fridays to meet at a center point where all the other volunteer train together once each week. I'm really looking forward to meeting my host family. Hope it all goes well. We were warned that the Mama will try to overfeed us bc that is their way of showing appreciation to a guest and it is attractive to be large here b/c that's healthy (people who are skinny usually are ill w/ HIVAIDS). So I might be darker but I probably won’t be any skinner when I get back. I was also told that I shouldn't be surprised if I end up sitting at the head tables for weddings, funerals, and other ceremonies just bc I'm American. The staff said we might have to make impromptu speeches...ha!
Training so far has gone well. I know some greetings in Swahili, but I have a long way to go. I washed my clothes by hand today in the sink and a bucket with a bar of soap. Fun fun.There's a wedding going on right now where I'm staying and we can peep through the outside walls. Lots of lively music and some people are wearing dressy suits and dresses like us, but others are wearing traditional clothing and big hats.
Oh, yesterday I saw a ton of bats flying over us as we were playing frisbee. I'm guessing they're pretty common. Tomorrow I will tour Dar es Salaam with a small group of volunteers and buy a Khanga and toliet paper (I guess toliet paper is a luxury here, I never thought about that...).
Okay, my time has run out. Sorry this is written so poorly and so long. Hope to talk to you soon! I should have access to the internet during training, but I’ll be a lot busier and have a new family and culture to get used to. Ha, this should be interesting but I’m definitely looking forward to it. Thanks for keeping me in your prayers!
other Peace Corps volunteers (PVC) . There are 11 men and 23 women. We
have 2 married couples in our group (a younger couple and an older
couple in their 60s). The PCVs are from all over the states, Colorado,
Alabama, Wisconsin, Washington, Louisiana, etc. Most volunteers range
from 22 to 31 yrs old. All the volunteers are really nice and I've
enjoyed training with them. I know I have a good support system with
my peers and my training staff.
A few interesting things happened during the flights. At the JFK
airport in NYC, one of the girls in my group was told her ticket had
been refunded and that she had no reserved seat on the plane. This
poor girl was in tears, but after a bit of communicating with the
airline and the Peace Corps, a new ticket was issued and we were good
to go. However, this wasn't the end of the drama. As we boarded the
plane, we noticed that we were missing one volunteer. The pilot made
an announcement that we would wait...and wait we did! The volunteer
could not be found (we later found out that he had backed out at the
last second). So we were delayed 2 hrs just to get his luggage off the
plane and wait in the long line of planes ready to take off. Then it
was a 6.5 hr flight to Amsterdam. We then flew from Amsterdam to Dar
es Salaam which took about 11 hours. I definitely took advantage of
watching movies for the last time in the plane and I enjoyed talking to the two
women sitting next to me - one younger Sweden woman was going to do
research for her master thesis and the other woman from Calf was to do
missionary work.
It is very warm in Tanzania (mid 80s), especially since this is their
winter, and very humid b/c it is by the coast. I am currently staying
at a hostel ran by nuns in the missionary. There are Tanzanian students studying
everywhere in the courtyards of the missionary. Everyone is extremely
nice and friendly, and always say Karibu (welcome!). There are palm
trees and bright orange flowers outside the buildings and in the court
yards.
Where I am staying I have my own sink, shower, bed and toilet which
is awesome. Otherwise, I will not likely have running water and I
have already got to experience a squat toilet which I will have to get
used to. PCV only drink bottled water and brush our teeth with boiled
water. I have been waking up at 4.30am every morning b/c I can hear
Muslims praying in a Mosque near by (they must use a loud speaker). In
the evenings I can hear women and men singing, and the harmony is
beautiful. Some of the PCV and I will try to go to a mass before we
leave so we can listen to them sing.
The food here is good. I eat fried sweet bread (like a doughnut but
without sugar) and fried banana, and for lunch and dinner we have
rice, smoked chicken, oranges, beans, etc.
Today I got information on the host family I will be staying with for 9 weeks starting Tuesday. I'll be in a town called Kibanda and living with Mr. and Mrs. Salim S. Muungia. It is a Muslim area in Tanga. That's all I know. It is supposed to be really hot! I can't imagine what it will be like in the summer! I'll be living in that same village with four other volunteers and we'll have training everyday except for Sunday on safety, Swahili, culture, and environment projects. I will have to walk quite a bit with the other volunteers on Fridays to meet at a center point where all the other volunteer train together once each week. I'm really looking forward to meeting my host family. Hope it all goes well. We were warned that the Mama will try to overfeed us bc that is their way of showing appreciation to a guest and it is attractive to be large here b/c that's healthy (people who are skinny usually are ill w/ HIVAIDS). So I might be darker but I probably won’t be any skinner when I get back. I was also told that I shouldn't be surprised if I end up sitting at the head tables for weddings, funerals, and other ceremonies just bc I'm American. The staff said we might have to make impromptu speeches...ha!
Training so far has gone well. I know some greetings in Swahili, but I have a long way to go. I washed my clothes by hand today in the sink and a bucket with a bar of soap. Fun fun.There's a wedding going on right now where I'm staying and we can peep through the outside walls. Lots of lively music and some people are wearing dressy suits and dresses like us, but others are wearing traditional clothing and big hats.
Oh, yesterday I saw a ton of bats flying over us as we were playing frisbee. I'm guessing they're pretty common. Tomorrow I will tour Dar es Salaam with a small group of volunteers and buy a Khanga and toliet paper (I guess toliet paper is a luxury here, I never thought about that...).
Okay, my time has run out. Sorry this is written so poorly and so long. Hope to talk to you soon! I should have access to the internet during training, but I’ll be a lot busier and have a new family and culture to get used to. Ha, this should be interesting but I’m definitely looking forward to it. Thanks for keeping me in your prayers!
Disclaimer
I have to post a quick disclaimer that the views and opinions expressed in my blog are mine and not of the Peace Corps. Also, I am going to attach my last two mass emails in this blog so I can try to avoid repeating myself and to allow those who I had forgotten to send the emails to earlier have a chance to read.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
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