I have been living at my site in the village Chiungutwa for about two weeks now. So far everything has been going well. When I first arrived to my site, I had about 20 people waiting to greet me at my house. There was a short meeting and introduction of the main people of the village, and then I was left alone to unpack and get situated.
My house is pretty cute. I was lucky to have previous volunteers before me b/c they left furniture, books, sporting equipment, etc. I have one bedroom, a kitchen, and a living room. In my courtyard I have a tropical straw hut in the middle, and my choo and bathing area and a small storage room. My house is located next to the primary school, so every morning I wake up at 6:30am to kids sweeping the school grounds. One big bonus of living next to the school is the kids fetch water for me which is a huge chore. I also have no excuse to become lonely b/c I only need to step outside and immediately have 100 kids pressed up against me. Tanzanians, especially children, adore Americans here to the point that I feel like a celebrity here. I've already had several marriage proposals b/c I'm white so therefore I have money. I'm getting used to bartering prices for everything...although I can't say I enjoy it yet. Constantly I get overcharged b/c I'm American, so I always have to be careful.
I have a counterpart who the village designated to help introduce me to village officials and help familiarize myself w/ life in Chiungutwa. Chiungutwa consists of about 5000 people. The majority is Muslim; therefore most people are fasting now for Ramadan. There are Christians also, and I attended a Catholic mass last Sunday. For the most part I could guess what the priest was saying just b/c the mass followed the same routine as mass at home.
I had a kitten for about two days, but it ran away.
My neighbors' kids (mostly the teachers' kids) come over to play cards on my porch or to use my Frisbees. My 8 yr old neighbor has taught me how to fry peanuts and assisted with making chai and washing my dishes. I have a housegirl who comes over Monday and Friday to cook supper and Wednesdays to clean. It's crazy how long it takes me to do simple tasks. I sweep almost everyday b/c it's sandy and windy here and I leave my windows and doors open for light and ventilation. Cooking here takes awhile. I cook by a charcoal stove everyday and usually make a meal of rice n beans, or potatoes, spinach, tomatoes, onions and chai. I've made bread and popcorn as well. I have to boil n filter water everday for drinking.
Well, that’s all I have time to write for now. Like Cory said, I have to travel about an 1hr to get internet and it’s not always reliable. So please send snail mail! I love to get letters and any photos you can send. Take care! ~ Love Kristi
Friday, September 4, 2009
Life in Chiungutwa
Monday, August 31, 2009
Kristi's New Address
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.
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 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.
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