“Sleep”over

I tried building a fence by putting little sticks in the ground but the chickens paid no attention and walked right through; guess I’ll have to try harder. There is something planted in it at least. I separated the hunk of lemon grass in my courtyard and moved half to a garden berm hoping there’s enough roots for it to survive.

In addition to pancakes today, I made coffee cake so I could take it with me to Kristen’s tonight, who is a PCV (Educ) in Endasak. It only took approximately 1.5 hours to walk there with her after I got a lot of use out of the unusually fast internet today. Kristen showed me the path to take so I don’t have to walk the longer and slightly more dangerous way by road. She and Dana also find it to be a good path to run. Along the way, I learned just how lucky I am out at my site but also to be more cautious. Although just a little lower in elevation, Kristen has mosquitoes – not many but I still think one found me tonight. She has also seen 2 small black mambas in her courtyard. We aren’t supposed to have snakes but it turns out that the just aren’t really common (they are killed as soon as people spot them). They are still here and we need to keep an eye out for them (they are very poisonous). Honestly though, I prefer the snakes to mosquitoes because they are less annoying and easy to avoid…there just isn’t any repellent for them.

At Kristen’s we made pasta for dinner and watched the movie “Sherlock Holmes” (but not on her computer because she *doesn’t* have one). Then we met up with her counterpart (another teacher at her school) and his wife to go to a church. Different people would get up and sing, the pastor talked for awhile, and I struggled to stay awake. We “rang” in the new year and shook hands with the people around us wishing them a “Happy New Year” (Heri ya mwaka mpya). Of course no one has the same time on their watches so there was no countdown. It was just, “hey, it’s 2011 now, happy new year”. There was more singing and around (after?) 0:30 (12:30am), they had the guests introduce themselves. I was tired when we got there around 22:30 (10:30pm) and now had to speak in Kiswahili. Great. I stumbled through it but we left soon afterward so I soon collapsed happily in bed.

Sitemates

Today I played a little Suzie homemaker with washing clothes and using the jiko. For breakfast, I made peanut butter pancakes (as if I don’t eat enough peanut butter anyway). Our cookbook said that you can make jam by boiling down the meat of a watermelon – no sugar needed. I tried this after deseeding the meat but I think it would work a lot better if the fruit is ripe (i.e. red meat not light pink). Then I made Baylor’s bread which contains vegetables. It smelled great but tasted like it was missing something (maybe a longer rise lol).

However, Uma made great bread and gave me a couple of pieces when I met up to walk with her towards Endasak this afternoon. She was meeting up with Dana (PCV Environment in Endashwold?) and we met her and Kristen (PCV Education in Endasak) on the road. For Peace Corps, we are stacked on top of one another. Uma and I are a 25 minute walk from one another and Kristen and Dana are just as close to one another. From my house, Kristen is only about a 1.5 hr walk and Dana is on the way. Beyond them is Lauren (Environment), another few km down the main road, and Duncan (Env) is a little further on still (towards Babati, not Katesh). In the other direction from my site (away from main rd), Megan (Health) is a little over an hr in Barjomot. The other 2 in Hanang District are Justin (Health) in Katesh and Charlotte (Ed) way over on the other side of the mountain.

Tonight I saw my kitty shimmy up the open edge of wall between my choo area and the rest of the courtyard. He’s still little so I didn’t know if he’d be able to get down on his own but he wouldn’t come to my outstretched hands; eventually he found a way down. I’m also excited to have seen my first meteor (aka shooting star) tonight. I wonder if I’ll be able to see more here than in the States with a clearer sky…

Salemia – Greeting

When I go up to the orphanage, I keep being asked where my friend is and when I will bring her. Uma and I went there today but there was a bit of miscommunication and Sr. Valentina was at the hostel across from my school. We waited an appropriate amount of time during which we had tea with a snack (full breakfast really) and Uma was able to meet some of her future students (she’ll be teaching all 4 forms of math). So as not to be rude, we went up to see Fr. Magnus who was happy to see us. He served us shots of a sweet Spanish wine (it was only ~11:00) and talked about things like the Benedictine missionary history in Tanzania. As we left, he lent me a book he wrote (since I can read German).

Although Uma had to go home to bake the dough she had rising, I decided to stop at the hostel to say “hi”. Sr. Valentina was working on the 2010 income and expenses report with another sister and (I think) a priest. With the sister, I learned what a liability is (loan given or received). They made me stay for lunch and the priest explained to the other sister that it can be useful for foreigners to know what is going on at the hostel and where the nuns live because they can explain it to people back home. Don’t worry, just as I am not here prosthelytizing, I will not ask you to send money here. Well, we finished up the meal with a papaya so I was able to get a couple of seeds. Sr. told me to start it indoors and transplant it so I’m hoping I will soon have a papaya tree.

When I got back to the school (aka across the dirt road), I tried to get the key to the computer room to use the computer. My headmaster wasn’t home and his wife and house-boy could not find the key I needed. Even when she called him, he had her give me the keys to the old (& broken) locks that I returned yesterday. Oh well, it gave me a chance to play with his 5-year-old daughter. While I waited for them to try to find the key, Anna and I messed around slapping each other’s hands.

I’ve had my kitty a scant month and couldn’t get it to use the basin I bought to go to the bathroom. One would think he would be used to going outside but he won’t; I’ve been thankful for the concrete floor. Turns out he wouldn’t use the basin filled with dry grasses but used it right away when I put soil and crushed (mud) bricks in it. I didn’t have to train him, he just started using it. Yay!

(Jedi) Master Amanda

In order to go to my post office town of Katesh, I have to catch a really early daladala. I wanted to get a seat so I made sure I got to the village at 05:30 (before light). I waited awhile and didn’t see anything. A few people stopped down the street a little later and I noticed they were sisters (nuns) when it was light enough out. I joined the sister who was traveling and waited and waited for the dala. While waiting, I learned that she is heading back to Karatu; seems there is a group of the sisters there, which is close to some of my PCV friends and Ngorongoro Crater (visit in the works?). It got to the point where I thought there might not be a dala today. Normally the dala drives back and forth between the villages until it is full around 06:30 and heads down to Endasak. Today we didn’t even see it until we saw it coming around 07:00 – packed to the brim. Somehow the 2 of us squished in the already overflowing dala and stood for the ride to Endasak.

I am expecting a few large envelopes from home. Though none had arrived in Katesh yet, the post office lady was at least kind enough to check not only my school’s PO box but also the PCV one, which was quite unexpected. Since I hadn’t been online for a week and a half, I spent a ½ hour at the café and found out that my MS from Utah State has officially posted. I am a Master!

Other than buying my usual peanut butter and such, I expanded my cooking equipment today by buying a chapati rolling board (tortilla-sized wooden circle with dowel), woven basket (for sorting rice), and a cast iron skillet (for cooking chapatti/tortillas/pancakes and probably made from used car parts).

Orion?

The sun was out again so I was able to wash my other bedsheet as well as get a lot of work done on my garden. I finished my swales so the garden is now surrounded by a moat, I mean water control system. One seedbed is also dug and I used the double-dig method we were shown during training; the average depth of worked soil is just more than a Nalgene. I’m waiting to plant the seeds until I can erect a chicken barrier (aka fence) since they keep wandering through and like to lay down in the soil I’ve already worked. I don’t want them digging up or eating my seeds.

Two girls from the hostel came by today to learn some Form 4 chemistry. I had told them I could teach them a little about soil chemistry because some of the topics are covered in the NYS Earth Science Curriculum. I tried to explain the 3 basic types of rocks (ig, met, & sed) and some other things. For some concepts, like the relationship between soil properties and infiltration orate, I used the garden to explain (in this case pouring water on the dug seedbed and the packed path between).

Kitty caught another mouse today and I’m thinking of naming him Orion after the hunter in Greek mythology. I would name him after a cobra because he seems to only be able to hunt things that are moving but I don’t know any names of cobras.

It’s a Game of Cat & Mouse

Yesterday was also a little wet and cloudy but I had part of a song from Annie stuck in my head: “The sun’ll come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there’ll be sun…” And it did! This meant I was able to clean my bedsheet from the kitty pee and dry it outside.

Sr. Valentina wanted me to come for lunch again after church and wondered why I got there so late (~2:45). Well, the mass was ~3 hours long, mostly because the priest talked for at least 45 minutes during the homily. I definitely miss the homilies back home. When I left the orphanage, 3 of the girls escorted me but instead of turning around partway, they came all the way to my door. I hope they weren’t expecting to some in because I didn’t invite them in. Not only is the place not particularly tidy, I use most of my chairs like shelves or small tables so they are covered in books and fruit.

I enjoyed my leftovers from last night and ate on the desk again. I’m thinking this set-up will stay and maybe my eating will get into a healthier pattern rather than eating food as it comes off the stove or stuffing myself as I stand or eat from my lap while sitting.

My kitty enjoys catching things but I think he has more fun when they are alive. Tonight he kept batting around an insect, playing with it for awhile before finally eating it. Later I saw him with a mouse in his mouth! Woohoo! My rodent problem should soon be a thing of the past! I’m very glad he caught it but did he have to eat it under my bed just as I was going to go to bed? I didn’t feel like lying above him while he crunched away so I waited until he was done. How can he always be crying for more food when he eats so much?

Manga!

As I was going to bed after mass last night, kitty decided to pee on my bed. It was 01:00 and got on my sleeping bags and both sheets – all of my sleeping gear (except my camping pad). I wiped it off my sleeping bag as best I could and tried to soak up any on the mattress pad. In order to not get any possible residual pee on me, I covered the post with a bandana and put my camping pad more to the other side of the bed. I have no blankets so I had to improvise and used a kitenges & kanga (pieces of cloth) to cover myself. Then I slept for a few hours but woke up around down wondering how my family was doing at the Schulz Christmas Eve celebration.

I had some time before mass so I finished baking the rest of the cookie dough (peanut butter oatmeal) and the loaf of break (wheat) because I ran out of time last night. Mass was a little longer but oh well, it’s Christmas. Sr. Valentina had invited me for lunch afterwards so I spent a couple of hours at the orphanage with her. She tried to get me to stay for dinner but I wasn’t sure if Uma had anywhere to go and I had food at home I wanted to make.

Although Uma didn’t end up being able to make it (she got my message a little late due to phone charging issues), I did have a very nice meal. With the olive oil and Italian herbs, I was able to make a proper tomato sauce that I paired with spaghetti (for some reason imported spaghetti is available in my village for only 1500Tsh, ~$1). The bread and an inherited candle completed it (thanks for the candle idea Prof. K!). The pasta was a taste of home and perfect for Christmas as I usually have some pasta on Christmas Eve (I’m part Italian). As if the cookies weren’t sufficient, I was craving a chocolate peanut butter cake – so I created one without using any eggs (used baking powder instead). Needs a little work but it came out okay and was definitely edible.

I went to mass in a nice outfit but lounged most of the day in typical Christmas fashion in my moose pajama pants; it was very comforting. There were probably a lot of people on the cell network and I think that’s why I kept getting network error messages when I tried to call my grandparents. My parents were able to get through though and had even figured out Skype! They chatted with my brother first and could see him some of the time because he has a camera in his laptop. We were surprised at the sound clarity using Skype because I could hear my parents fine and they could hear me. Compared to a calling card, it is much cheaper. Probably even cheaper if I had a computer and only had to pay for internet but oh well. I was exhausted by the time I got to talk with my parents but really glad I got to.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I’m Dreaming of a Wet Christmas…

Since Sr. Valentina is now back at the orphanage, I went to visit today. I met some of the children and learned that not all are true orphans. Some children have a parent still alive but the parent cannot care for others because s/he is drunk or mentally unstable. There are also a few children who are mentally handicapped and are at the orphanage because their parents did not take them back during the school holiday (they go to school in Singida). However, there are about 40 children who live at the orphanage where they have a few cows and a very large “garden”. Actually, most of the land around the 2 buildings (1 for girls, 1 for boys) is planted with a food crop, especially banana trees. Sr. Valentina planted the trees and I am told it is because she is Chagga (from up near Kilimanjaro) and bananas are a staple crop for them. Many PCVs, especially teachers, will pay school fees for a student out of their monthly living allowance. Sr. Valentina said she would find a good student for me to support, probably a girl. By going through her, I can remain anonymous but still ensure that the student is taking their studies seriously (threatening to stop paying school fees is a great motivator here).

In true Christmas fashion, I baked a lot today but still need to finish tomorrow. I made bread, peanut butter oatmeal cookies, and Snickerdoodles (cinnamon & sugar coated cookies). I’m just bummed I couldn’t get into the computer lab today because the lock was changed. It appears that they needed to get into the room while I was “not available” this week and I must have had the only key – they had to cut/break through a steel lock loop and remove the lock in the door (2 locks total). I would have given them my key if I’d known they didn’t have one.

Christmas Eve mass was at 22:00 (10pm) so it was dark out and a bit scary walking to the church. I realized I should have taken the slightly more traveled route and hoped that any people sleeping on the side of the path (my light beam caught one) would stay there. It had also rained so the slippery mud was a bit of a challenge to walk in but I made it to the church. I tried to think of the rain as being like snow back home on Christmas. At the beginning of mass, the church bells were rung and the sound really seemed to signify the joy of the occasion. The church is decorated in white and yellow with a nativity to the side of the altar that has banana leaves arched over it. Though the typical Christmas carols I’m used to were not sung, there did seem to be a Kiswahili version of Gloria in Excelsis Deo that I enjoyed. Quite miraculously, the mass was a little shorted than the regular masses I have been to here; maybe because the priest is different. After mass I had more trouble navigating down the muddy hill but I ended up following a group of people and found a better route to the church.

While walking today, I couldn’t help but sing Christmas carols to myself…at least those parts I could remember.

Masai Country

Never did hear back from PC about the trip until late Sunday so of course I couldn’t officially go. Luckily my close friend *ahem* Manderz does not have the same restriction and was able to take advantage of the opportunity. She told me all about it and I will relate her experiences here. (She is a dead ringer for me so you may think it is me in the pictures).

Manderz woke up early, biked to her friends to drop off a key so her pet could be looked after, and went to the 07:00 mass at the hostel. After chai (i.e. breakfast), she got into the Land Cruiser with Fr. Magnus, Sr. Valentina, and Patrisi (driver). They took the backroads way to Dareda so Manderz was able to see more of the countryside. From Dareda, they continued to Babati then turned towards the north again with the first stop at a tiny little church just off the road near the Monduli area. They were quite late but the people were very happy to see them. The tiny church was packed with Masai women and children…and one man not counting Fr. or the other minister guy. Manderz sat next to a bunch of children toward the front who seems intimidated by her; probably the first white person they’d seen up close. In true Tanzanian hospitality, they were invited to a nearby little shop where Manderz, Fr. Magnus, and Sr. Valentina were given chai and chapati.

Following the snack, they were directed to a small group of houses way off the main road where some sort of transition celebration was taking place. The men were standing straight and jumping in place in a (stereotypical) Masai dance when they arrived and were introduced. Someone asked if they had a camera and took pictures of Fr. Magnus, Sr. Valentina, and Manderz with the group of Masai. Manderz even had a beaded disc from one of the women placed around her neck and thinks she was proposed to by at least one man. Even out here they were served sodas as they visited but had to finally move on to Meserani with a gift of a goat for the home for runaway girls run by the sisters where they stayed for the past 4 nights. The girls are 17 or younger but were being married off. I have heard that life for Masai girls and women is very hard. The girls at the home wanted to continue their studies rather than get married. Apparently a couple of the girls are technically married. To some, 17 may not seem too young to be married (*cough* Utah) but girls here (and kids in general) tend to mature much slower than in America and Manderz noticed the same is true for these girls; they still look like girls, not young women. Right now the girls are at the home caring for the animals and garden because the schools are on break. I am told that most will return to boarding schools when it is over.

Most the next 2 days (Mon-Tues) was spent going back and forth between Mbuyuni, Nanja, and Meserani to supervise some construction. A primary school and Benedictine hostel are being built at Mbuyuni where they helped to build a church recently. Near Nanja is a new church that will be receiving a catechist at the beginning of next year (2011) and the living quarters are still being finished. Between the 2 days, Manderz was asked a lot for things by local children (Mbuyuni), learned how to bargain better (& acceptable prices for some souvenir items), and saw a few methods of rainwater control. The souvenirs (necklaces, bracelets, carved soapstone bowls, and paper artwork) will be sent to a sister in Luzern (Switzerland) who will sell them and send the profit back to the projects here in Tz. On the Benedictine hostel & school near Nanja are gutters that lead to large cisterns to collect water when it does finally rain; it’s still teaching us. Also near Nanja was a tree planting project that is helping to control erosion and well placed concrete troughs that direct water to a big cistern in the ground. Being an Earth Science nerd too, Manderz noticed how the rift valley was much broader up there with many little triangular cinder cones and a large composite volcano in the distance, Mt. Meru.

Wednesday was shopping day in Arusha. While the Land Cruiser got a couple of new tires, Manderz went with Valentina and Fr. Magnus to Shoprite. She said it was really weird to be in a western style supermarket after 3 months away. Just at the entrance there were toys like remote control cars for people to buy as Christmas presents. Although there were many wonderful things to choose from, Manderz didn’t want to impose on her ride and just bought a juice box, packet of soup, Italian herbs, and 250mL of extra virgin olive oil. The last 2 were crucial as they were given to me as a Christmas gift (I’m part Italian). After Sr. Valentina and Patrisi picked up some notebooks and pencils for some local school children (to encourage them to go to the government school and not the Muslim school), they made a stop at a safi bookstore. There was a large selection of books, including many in English, and Manderz picked up the NECTA (National Examination Council of Tanzania Association) exam books for Chemistry ad Physics for me as well as a Standard 1 science book so I can practice Kiswahili in my general subject. Fr. Magnus then bought them some delicious samosas from a nearby bistro (it must cater to tourists b/c Manderz said it looked like one you would find in America or Europe). On the way back to Meserani, they stopped at the Archdiocese complex on the outskirts of Arusha so Fr. Magnus could stock up on wafers. Apparently not only is the church large, but there is a good size community of sisters there; not sure about brothers.

They headed back to Gitting today but it took them forever as Fr. Magnus made sure the construction projects were taken care of (including some small things at the girls’ home) and the workers were paid. There was quite a bit of lightning to the south and they hit some rain but most of the rain had occurred before they drove through so the roads were very wet. Patrisi proved to be an excellent driver as he maneuvered around/through deep puddles and up slippery mud banks.

She also wanted me to note that traveling with an Austrian meant she was served much non-Tanzanian fare like pickles, macaroni, sardines, and fruit cake (a good one, not like the horror stories you hear this time of year).

Happy 50th Birthday Mom!

Can’t believe you’ve had 70” of snow already in December. Enjoy!

Fr. Magnus

I went to mass this morning at the hostel and the priest was white! Father Magnus is originally from Austria but came to Tanzania back in ’59 – before my mom was even born. We chatted for a little bit after mass, mostly in English. So this is the priest the sisters keep mentioning.

At home, I skinned and cooked some peanuts. I put them in a little water with a bit of salt and boiled them. When the water had evaporated, they had a milky sweet taste. Definitely have to try this again. I also dug swale #3 but it was really slow going; probably didn’t help that the slope created an optical illusion so I though the placement should be one way while looking downslope but another when looking upslope. It doesn’t really matter but I can’t help my perfectionism sometimes. Other foodstuffs I made today were corn tortillas and chocolate cake. They could use a little work to get right but both came out aright.

This evening, when I went to use the computer, I was summoned to the hostel. Fr. Magnus invited me to accompany him and Sr. Valentina to a home for runaway Masai girls and some other projects they are involved with along the road to Arusha. Sounds like a possible avenue for a secondary project; “great” thinks I. Except they are leaving tomorrow morning after the 07:00 mass at the hostel. I sent a text to PC asking for permission to go and made plans to depart while I waited for a reply. Kitty needs more than just dried fish the next 4 days – baking powder biscuits – check. Kitty needs someone to feed him – Uma is willing – check. Mom’s 50^th birthday is tomorrow – e-card sent – check. 2^nd master needs the schedule typed – check. You get the idea. Still waiting for a reply text.

Scan + Chemicals

I’ve been trying to get this form filled out for Peace Corps to take money out of my readjustment allowance to pay off a small school loan and need to get it sent in and approved asap. The post office is a long trip and the electronic pdf from PC gave us cannot be filled in on the computer. I tried e-mailing the information but was told I had to fill in the form – print, fill out, scan, and e-mail. Dear PC office, do you realize how difficult this can be in a small village? Miracle upon miracles I was able to get it working. It only took me a couple of hours too, which isn’t bad in the States and I had to contend with the power sometimes getting so weak the computer would shut off. I just hope they approve it quickly so my bill is paid.

I have a stocked chemicals room! I can’t believe it! Met up w/ my 2^nd master and he showed me the lab and store room and gave me keys to them. The lab has sinks but no pipe from them to the trough in the floor. Something to think about when giving safety lessons. The storeroom has dozens of containers of chemicals so I made a list of them that I can reference when making lesson plans. There are also stands, burettes, flasks, and test tubes. It’s a veritable mecca of supplies. There are also various dead critters like crickets and lizards…and it’s not a biology lab.

Tonight I used some beans I cooked to create some bean burgers. They could use a little work but I didn’t use any egg to hold it together and they tasted great when I added Buck’s Seasoning. Good ol’ Buck’s. Kitty was playing with something and I thought he finally caught a mouse or small rat. Nope. Seems he caught a bat, probably the one that flew in the house last night. Apparently he likes catching flying things because he’s always catching insects and eating them. I’m still proud.

Print

I dug the 2nd swale today for my garden and it was much easier since it hasn’t rained in a couple of days. As I was working, a guy stopped by to give me unsolicited advice. He had just finished his degree in Agricultural Science and seemed to assume that I know nothing about gardens. I’m pretty sure he thought my swales and berms were meant to keep out chickens or something. I tried explaining how the water is routed around the garden and given a chance to seep into the ground but he only seemed to understand a little. When he left he said he would come by again sometime to advise me. Um, thanks buddy.
We have a water shortage right now, which doesn’t make sense because it rained heavily on Monday. Luckily I should be able to last a few days on what water I have and not have to wait 30 min to fill up part of a bucket at our trickling pipe.
There is a printer in the computer room that I tested today. It printed! I find it amazing that I am out in the middle of nowhere and can print…at least from Word, still can’t get it to print our PCV contact sheet from Excel…
Uma made cinnamon rolls yesterday and offered me some. I biked over there for a double treat of delicious rolls and good conversation. So glad I have my bike to make the trip easier/faster and for a taste of home.
For some reason the electricity wasn’t working right tonight (weak so only some lights outside work) and a bat flew in the house. Outside, I’m pretty sure I saw an owl land on the roof of my choo but it flew off as I went to grab my glasses. I’d never seen a wild owl before (through no fault of Snapper’s) so I’m pretty stoked.

Mopping

Jovin left today but my headmaster is back from the conference in Arusha; he made sure to let me know when I was in the computer room. I let him know that I put the antivirus program on and there weren’t any problems. He seemed satisfied.
Much of my day was spent cleaning. Not only did I wash clothes (remember I do this by hand), I fully cleaned my concrete floors. First I swept the whole place out. Then I made use of the bleach I’d bought and “mopped” the floor in sections. Mopping consists of swiping a cloth back and forth across the floor in small arcs; it is also by hand. It felt good to finally clean my floor and disinfect it.

Beans, Beans, the magical fruit…

On my first night at site, I was told not to buy beans, that I would be given some from the school. 2.5 weeks later, I finally got some when I asked my 2nd master about it again. I now have a half bucket of mixed beans to sort and cook. Along with the beans, I was given some crushed dried corn (not sweet corn, this is maize). My 2nd master was excited that I wanted to try making the Tanzanian beans and corn dish (makande maybe?). It seems rather simpler and I think I just have to boil the two together for a few hours, add a little salt, and eat. We’ll see.
My neighbor Jovin, the only neighbor I really know, is leaving tomorrow. He had expressed an interest in setting up an e-mail account so I showed him mine and explained all the different parts like Trash, Spam, Forward, Reply, etc. Of course when we tried to set up his account through Yahoo we kept getting error messages so he knows how to use it but doesn’t actually have it yet. It was after 19:00 (7pm) when we decided to call it quits and a little late to start cooking. He has been living with some students who were making dinner and he offered me some. In Tanzania, it is not common for male/female relationships so we have to be very careful about spending time with members of the opposite sex. I figured now it was a good time to go over because I had not visited yet (Tanzanians are big on visiting) and he is leaving in the morning so I don’t have to worry about him (or anyone else) getting the wrong idea and expecting more. Instead of going to the house that is the other half of my duplex, we went to the next house down. It was quite nice inside with linoleum floors, a couple of couches, and a TV. I hadn’t really watched TV since homestay so I was kind of glued to it. Plus, it takes a lot of concentration to understand anything and I was trying to figure out the news.

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your Garden grow…

I started my garden today and it started raining a couple minutes later. With the rain, the soil is very wet and sticky, which I found difficult to hoe. I am starting with the swales (ditches) on the perimeter for water but only got about halfway through main the first on (out of 4 sides). As I dig out the swales, I use the soil to create a raised berm (long mound) that I can plant perennials in when I can find the plants (like aloe vera, lemongrass, etc). When done with the perimeter I will start the seed beds, which I will “double-dig”. This means I will dig down one hoe length, move the soil, and dig down another hoe length. By breaking up the soil to this depth, the plant roots can go deeper so they don’t grow to the side as much and compete with neighboring plants. Plus the loose soil allows better infiltration and storage of water in the seedbed. The packed soil of the walkways around and between the beds will direct water to the seedbeds so they end up getting more water than just direct precip and slow hillslope flow. All of these concepts are part of the permagardening method we learned during training. Except I think it is going to take me a lot longer than I thought to build my garden. Like lighting my charcoal jiko now in the damp air takes forever because the matches won’t even stay lit.

MacGyver: Multi-purpose Emergency Card

My Clarke’s shoes offer pretty good cushion and support but arre not ideal for walking a lot, say 30 min to church. On my way this morning, I got a blister that rubber raw and started bleeding. This means not only was it painful, it was also visible. Folding my sock wasn’t enough and there weren’t any good leaves around to try to put between my sock and heel. I felt a little like MacGyver as I went through the measly contents of my purse: .5L water bottle, keys, prayer book (borrowed), and PC cards. The laminated PC Emergency Contact numbers was the best thing I could come up with. I stuffed it in my sock and was able to make it the rest of the way to and from church, though a little painfully. Around the school today, a tractor came and plowed the fields (the school grows beans). Guess it’s officially time to start planting.

Sloth Speed

I just want to say that when ya’ll complain about a slow computer or Internet connection, remember this. I was on the computer tonight for 8 hours just to download and install an antivirus program. I actually ran out of things to do on the computer while I was waiting. The computer wasn’t even in dire need of it but it’s all the headmaster really seems to ask about with respect to the computer. Maybe he’ll be happy now and I can get back to trying to fix the other problems with the computer.

DEO

On this lovely cool and rainy day, I went with my headmaster to Katesh to meet some official. First, we had some breakfast at a place that had the TV tuned to CNN or some other English speaking news channel. Although I had trouble seeing and hearing it, I did learn that Frankfurt Airport was canceling flights due to snow. I wondered how the Köddermanns are doing in Wiesbaden and imagined Klara and Vincent playing in the snow. Travelers may be upset but I bet the kids are having a blast.

After eating, we walked a ways up the hill to the district government building (or something to that effect I think). We spent all of about 5 minutes there so I could meet the District Education Officer (DEO) and I think his 2^nd in command. That was it; I couldn’t believe it. I had to get up at 04:45, ride a daladala for over 2 hours (& pay for it), and walk in mud through the rain just to say “hi” to some guy. And then my headmaster said something about running a few errands and finding another dala to Endasak where he’d try to bum a ride to Gitting. Wish I could do that. Instead, I was left to myself to fill the day in Katesh before my daladala headed back.

Not wasting the opportunity, I dropped off a letter at the post office then decided I would try PCV Justin’s house (really close to PO) to use the choo (bathroom). Justin still wasn’t back from training but his buddy (counterpart?) Benny was taking care of the place and invited me in for chai. I tried to refuse since I’d had breakfast maybe 1.5 hours before but him and his friend though it was necessary because it was “cold”. He also had his friend get some fried dough shaped like a doughnut (but not as good). At least I got to use the choo before I left and I’d effectively killed ~1.5 hours out of the rain. To pass some more time, I went to the Internet café for a ½ hour before doing my shopping. I need to make a calendar of teaching topics (Scheme of Work – SOW) but when I tried to buy the notebook at the stationary store for just this purpose, I couldn’t because the kid/young man didn’t know the price. Say what?! It was a little frustrating seeing exactly what I want but him not selling it to me. He did know the price of the cheap notebooks so I could at least get 3 of them to start writing notes for my classes in them. I had more luck at the safi duka where I found bleach and a dustpan! Now I can properly clean…and survive because I have more peanut butter.

I’m glad I had the foresight to bring my journal because I sat on the daladala for around 5+ hours – mostly waiting to leave Katesh; not very comfortable but still somewhat productive. On the ride today I noticed a person sitting/sleeping in a culvert and at least one culvert not really draining. The daladala also hit a goat or dog without any apparent concern from the driver. As I returned to the school, I met the 2^nd master, who gave me a whole stack of books for Physics and Chemistry. They should really help me in my preparations for teaching.

Chem + Physics

I met with the head-and 2nd-master today informally and found out that they want me to teach Chemistry Forms 1 & 3 and Physics Form 1. This means that most fo my students will barely understand English. The concepts aren’t difficult but conveying them will be. In a way, I’ve already started teaching. A girl, who stays at the hostel across the street, wanted some help with Chem & Physics. I agreed thinking that she had questions or topics that she doesn’t understand. Rather, it seems that she wants me to teach her Form 4 material that she will be covering in the coming year. I admire her enthusiasm to learn but I can’t just teach her the content off the cuff, esp. the Physics because it’s been longer since I’ve have it. I’m doing the best I can and tried telling her that I would go through any questions she had form Forms 1-3 but I don’t think she understood. Now if she wanted to learn about Astronomy and Geophysics (end of Form 4) rather than electricity and magnetism, that’d be another story. I’m used to teaching Earth Science topics.
I may have missed mass yesterday at the hostel but I made it today. My headmaster was also there with his wife and daughter (5 years old) and the sisters made us stay for chai afterwards. They also fed us maandazi (~sweet hunk of fried dough) and chapatti (like a breakfast tortilla) while we conversed with a sister and the visiting priest, who spent some time in NYC (studying at Fordham I think). Because they fed me something I didn’t bother to cook anything at home so I was able to do a quick turnaround and go back for Adoration. When I went to leave, I was asked to wait and chatted with a couple of the sisters in broken Kiswahili and English. I had to wait because Sr. Jacinta baked me a loaf of bread – a full loaf! It was like a loaf of French bread and I enjoyed some before bed; it was warm and delicious.

Kitty

A few days ago, I got my kitten that I had requested. Actually, my secondmaster tried giving it to me before but he left the door of the courtyard open when he let it out of the bag (no I’m not being facetious, he really did carry it in a sack) and it ran off. For the past couple of days, I’ve been hearing constant meowing and figured out it was coming from my neighbors. He was trying to get the cat a bit acclimated before giving it to me. I felt bad it was stuck in the kitchen (like mine, a room separate form the house) so I went to fetch it. They coaxed it out of hiding with some food and handed it to me whereupon it started madly scratching/clawing to get away. I tried adjusting my grip but it jumped down and ran away. Luckily it trapped itself in the chicken coop next door where I was able to grab it. I tried using a kanga to protect myself a little but it was fighting for its life. In addition to the scratches, it bit me well 3 times. I tried putting the kitty in my “kitchen” and it ran out into the pouring rain. I could not quickly chase it back in and decided to take care of the blood dripping from my hands. Anyway, I was able to get the cat into the house eventually and into the other bedroom (my rodent room) but it just would not let me anywhere near it. That is, until today when I brought home dagaa – very small dried fish. Slowly I coaxed it closer to me and out of the room. Then I waited for it to come to me. Within an hour or two, I was able to tentatively pet it. Although it’s still skirmish, it has started taking to me. For now, I call it SC for scaredy-cat because it frightens easily and will sometimes have the straight, shaking tail like cats in Halloween decorations.

Being the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (that Mary was conceived without original sin), I wanted to go to mass. I thought Sr. Josephine said half past five (17:30) but it turns out that it was five o’clock (17:00). I was late. However, not everyone at the hostel was at mass so I was sat down and given chai (tea) with a small snack, as is the custom here. When mass was over, I was leaving and they let me know that there is Adoration at eight (20:00). Although I missed mass, I was able to get some praying/devotion in. There’s always tomorrow to try to go to mass.

Banking Town: Babati

The daladala picked me u in front of the school as planned and it took nearly 3 hours till we arrived in Babati, my banking town. For much of the ride, I held a small boy on my lap and did my best to keep his head from hitting the side of the dala on the bumpy road. Not the most comfortable ride but he was cute.

I was surprised as the road turned to paved as we got to Babati. My goal was to buy a bike and I needed to take money out of the bank to do this. The ATM didn’t work when I tried so I waited for the bank to open. Never having been in a bank in Tz before, I had no idea what I was doing. I ended up having to go through the line 3 times because I needed forms and my account # (not the same as on the ATM card apparently). At least they gave me my money.

Babati may have a paved main road but it still only has one place to buy a bicycle. There were ~2-3 dozen used bicycles and very few had my requirements: mountain bike tires and gears. I tried a few out and settled on one that they said they would do “maintenance” on (aka fix) before I came back to buy it. So I went off and did the rest of my shopping. At the market, I found an assortment of spices, pineapple, and green beans! These are impossible/hard to find in Katesh, much less my village. I got some other vegetables at the market as well and found a plastic grater (like my host family had) at one of the stores. At the safi duka (really nice store – still really small), I was excited to get not only peanut butter but ground cinnamon, oats, powdered milk, whole wheat flour, and plastic clothespins. I figured I would just go back to the daladala and wait after I picked up my bicycle so I tried to get something to eat beforehand. I asked for chapatti – they were out, I asked for maandazi – they were out. I tried to order lunch food – there was none (I think not ready yet). I asked what was available and was told “figo” was. When I said I did not know what it was, he said it was figs. Alright, I think, I’ll try it. It was not figs. It was a plate of pieces of liver, I think (maybe kidney?). Well, I don’t get meat when I cook for myself so I guess it’s what I needed.

I head back to the bike place and the bike seems to be in good working order, gears and all. With the bike, I bought a rack for the back, which they installed, and a lock. As a bonus, the guy gave me these very colorful things to put in the spokes that look like giant rainbow pipe cleaners. Um, thanks buddy.

I found my daladala okay but it did help that they saw me coming from about 30m away and came to get my bike to put on top. Once the dala was full and we headed into the hills outside of Babati, I realized that it had rained and was continuing to rain here. You think paved roads are dangerous when wet, try dirt roads with some clay. It was scary. Somehow we made it back to Endasak, where we waited to fill up with people again before continuing. As we headed down the road, we passed the road to Gitting. Now I had been told that the same daladala will take me from Gitting to Babati and back to Gitting. At this point I’m afraid that I might end up in Katesh and have to spend the night there so I ask them to stop. I figure a 2 hr walk in the rain is more desirable but I’m told that the dala will take me back to Gitting – after going to Katesh. The result was a couple of hours added to an already long trip. It was dark when we got back to Gitting but they did drop me off at the entrance to the school. Then they made me pay a full extra fare for transport of my bicycle. Why didn’t they tell me this in Babati?! I tried asking, I tried negotiating/bargaining but I got nowhere. I am not looking forward to taking the trip again; going to Katesh in tiring enough.

Hostel

I’m down to just a few pieces of charcoal so I couldn’t wait for others to get back to me on appropriate prices for it. Instead of heading straight for the village though, I decided to visit the hostel across the street. I am very glad I did. Sister Josephine welcomed me in and is one of 2 sisters that run the hostel for ~100 girl students at my school. Right now the order of sisters is having a retreat because the students are on break. I felt at home there and enjoyed talking with Sr. Josephine as we drank tea I actually like and ate real bread. When I asked where to buy charcoal, she said she bought it from someone who stopped at the hostel but she has plenty now so she sold me a large bag. Now I don’t have to find a place, try not to get ripped off, or figure out how to get it back to my house. I also mentioned wanting to go to Babati tomorrow. She called the daladala so it’ll pick me up in front of the school so I don’t have to walk to the village in the early morning darkness. Before I left, she lent me a small book with the basic Catholic prayers and mass in Kiswahili so I can learn it. I’m excited and expect it to prove as useful as my books from World Youth Day in Germany.

Water

I was mildly sick again this morning (diarrhea) and suspect the fresh cut tomatoes from lunch yesterday. It’s hard to remember not to eat anything fresh when eating out.
On my way to mast this morning, I passed a sister (nun) from the hostel across the street and she asked my when I was going to come visit. Honestly, it hadn’t occurred to me to go visit but I’m looking forward to it now. Speaking of visits, Uma came over today to use the computer (i.e. Internet) and brought me chocolate cake. Seems we both like to bake :-).
My major domestic task today was washing clothes so I had to fetch water for the first time. This is not so bad since the school has a pipe and uses a hose to fill a couple of large tanks with spigots. When there is enough water, I merely have to fill my buckets from the tanks and carry it ~200 m to my house. Though when there isn’t water at the pipe, I’m not sure where I go but I will probably have to walk to the village pipe. Also need to learn how to carry a bucket on my head; can’t see coming to Africa and not learning.

Katesh Tour + Moonlit Bathing

Met PCV Megan (Health) today in Katesh and she showed us around. There is a PCV who lives in Katesh but he is at in-service training (IST) right now; we went to his house anyway to use the bathroom. She also took us to the post office, (I was able to mail a letter to Chris), the bank we want to switch to, the Internet café, and our official consolidation point (if we have some major crisis and need to evacuate). Along the way she tried to point out the good places to eat and shop so we feel a lot more familiar with the place now. On our way home, Uma and I had to wait in Endasak for a few hours for our daladala to fill up. Then it hit an animal on the road back to Gitting. It would have been better if we had walked from Endasak.
A summary of other things for my first week at site: My mkuu (headmaster) has called a lot just to check on me. Thankfully it has waned a bit but I think Salome (PC Safety & Security) scared him pretty good. He also has really bad timing and has called twice while I’ve been bathing. Among he foods I made were pirogues, bread, and English muffins. Tough the foods were fun to try to make, I think the highlight of the week has to be bathing in my courtyard. My bafu (room used for bathing) has a smooth cement floor that my wet flip-flops sometimes suction to. Not only is it dangerous, it has a lowish ceiling and the light doesn’t work. My courtyard, on the other hand, is fully enclosed by walls that people cant’ see over or enter (without much effort) and the view is significantly better, not to mention better lit. It’s great .

"enroll"

So I’ve been trying for a few days to “enroll” my modem with the phone company but could not get it to work. Once I enroll, I will have 8GB to use for 30 days. Instead, I’ve been paying using vouchers, which is expensive. Today I was finally able to enroll! Of course it was after I had used the internet (and most of my voucher) but now I basically have a month of unlimited internet, as long as the computer keeps working. Then I talked with my grandparents for a few minutes this evening. A good day all in all I think.

SYRACUSE!

Another long walk today but this time I walked in the other direction with Uma to Endasak, our market town. We picked up some fresh veggies and some garlic too. To sort rice (i.e. check for rocks), we bought large woven saucers. On our walk home, we passed a couple of kids and one was wearing a Syracuse shirt! I tried to tell him that I come from near Syracuse but he just stared at me. I don’t think he understood.

Escarpment

The first couple of days this week consisted of Uma and I seeing one another’s homes, more cleaning, and some time on the computer. Unfortunately, only one computer works and the other 5 do not; I just hope it keeps working. The rain has also come but it stopped by mid-morning so I went for a walk. I did not know where I was going, I just walked down the road my school is on towards the escarpment (opposite direction of village). When I started to head downhill, I knew I’d reached the valley between me and the escarpment. At that point, I turned left and ended up looping around a small hill but was able to find my way back to my road. In all, I walked for 3 hours – I have no idea how far but was happy to see the escarpment from a closer view.

Although the computer worked fine yesterday, it wouldn’t work right today. I was told that no one had used it in the meantime. Luckily Enoch (a computer guy in our training class) was able to tell me what to do to get it (mostly) working. Of course, now the CD-ROM drive is disconnected so it still needs some work.

1 Match – I’m AMAZING!

Walked to church with my mkuu, his wife, and 5-yearold daughter. I think the seating is mostly by gender so I sat with my mkuu’s wife for the nearly 2 hr service I didn’t really understand. It’d be shorter if the priest didn’t like to talk so much (he appears to be on a soapbox) and if all announcements weren’t read at the end of mass but the latter is in place of the paper bulletin common in the States. In addition to the language, I couldn’t figure out how people get up to get into line for collection and communion. It was similar in Kihonda and I can’t figure out any pattern to it.

After mass, I had to go to my mkuu’s house for lunch; it was ugali like yesterday but with spinach as a side rather than meat. I made the mistake of saying I like church music while there. I thought he meant the music at church…and he did, sort of. I was subjected to several songs on a Christian music video before I could leave. I continued my attempt at cleaning but made more of a mess because I went through some of the things Zach left (the PCV who was here before). However, I did have a great accomplishment today. I lit my charcoal jiko with only 1 match!! It’s hard enough getting the matches to stay lit, much less the dry sticks and grasses. I’m sure I’ll never do it again but it still feels like a hole-in-one.

My Abode

I did not want to spend another night with the decomposing lizard so I needed to clean it up. For some reason, I expected it to be somewhat dry and stiff. What I found when I moved it was a filling of maggots. Yummy. I quickly scraped as much as I could onto the broken plate from the garbage pile and threw it out back before returning to spray the remaining maggots with insect killer spray. The ants took care of the rest of the job so I didn’t have too much of a mess to clean up. There was some more cleaning but I don’t have much in the way of cleaning supplies (broom, dustpan, or bleach) so there is still much to be desired.
Ok, my house. I live on the NE side of Mt. Hanang, an inactive/extinct volcano, and the house faces it. Only thing is, I don’t have the key to the front door because the teacher, who stayed there temporarily after the other PCV, has it and is gone for break. I enter through my courtyard, which is the closest door to the school anyway. Inside the house, approximately half is the main room with table & water buckets and the other half is split between the 2 bedrooms, each of which has a bed. In addition, there are 5 wooden chairs and a small desk from the school and a bookshelf. The other PCV had hung some string up I the bedrooms so I will able to dry clothes inside when it rains as well as hang my clothes up (no hangers though). Outside is my courtyard with 2 rooms on the side for cooking (the “kitchen”) and storage. At the back are 2 small rooms for the toilet and bathing. The choo (toilet) has a hole in the concrete floor and the bafu (for bathing) has a smooth floor with a hole out the back corner to drain the water. My house is duplex style so I can hear my neighbor through the walls and over the courtyard wall but he cannot see into my courtyard. This means there is no need to close the choo door if the courtyard door is closed; though the view isn’t quite as good as the outhouse I used in the Adirondacks this past summer (whose door wouldn’t close).

INSTALLATION COMPLETE: WHERE the HECK DO I SLEEP?

Left on the bus at 06:00 again, this time traveling on dirt roads because the highway is still under construction (being supervised by the Chinese). After a few hours, we disembarked and our bags were loaded on the top of the local bus to Gitting – a daladala (large van). Then we went shopping at the safi duka (store where you can buy things like peanut butter & powdered milk), another store, and soko (market). We bought some basic supplies like a jiko (charcoal stove), a couple of cooking pots, 2 spoons, 2 mugs, a plate, a large wooden spoon, and some fruits & veggies. Then Uma & I were placed in the van where we sat for awhile, not really knowing what we were supposed to do or where our mkuus had gone. Around noon, the conductor took us to a nearby place to eat lunch and we’re pretty sure our mkuus had just been there the whole time drinking in the back room. After eating, we waited for a couple more hours for the daladala to fill and we finally headed out of Katesh. Only we didn’t go straight to Gitting. Instead, the daladala takes the main (dirt) road to Endasak, where it drops people off and waits to fill up again for the trip on the side road to Gitting. At least the van dropped me off at the school with my bags and I didn’t have to walk from the village of Gitting; thanks mkuu.

I am now officially at my site and installed. Upon arrival, I met the second master, who went w/ me to the village once my bags were in my house. The village is actually 2 separate villages separated by a distance of only about ¼ mile. We went to Gocho, which is just slightly closer, where I bought matches (quite useful for getting charcoal lit), rice, sugar, salt, flour, baking powder, peanuts, and cooking oil. Now I have enough to be able to cook so I can eat.

Once alone back at my house, I tried to start settling in. I am replacing a PCV who Eted (early termination – aka quit) a few months ago and he left several things behind. I am grateful for the extra things, like some books and cooking things, but am thinknig it will be harder to clean. He left 2 large bags in the bedroom that hid a little surprise from me at first. When I moved them, I discovered a partially decomposed or eaten lizard. In the guest room, one corner is heavily littered with rodent feces. This presented me with my first major problem: Where the heck do I sleep?? I felt like sleeping in the main room but the hassle of trying to get the wooden bed through the doorway was too much and I didn’t feel like sleeping on the floor where insects and arachnids could more easily crawl over me. Cooking tonight was a breeze in comparison so at least I ate good food – yay for vegetables!

INSTALLATION: Day 1

This morning I was up at 03:30 so we could pack the vehicles and get to the bus station before 05:00. Since I couldn’t send my packages yesterday, PTO Brian was kind enough to take them and money for postage so they should get to their respective recipients in time. Thank you thank you thank you Brian.

Andrea (CD) was in charge of the group on my bus and acted a bit like our mother at the bus station, in a good way; we were her children. We got our bags loaded, paid a little for excess baggage, said our good-byes, and loaded the bus. The 4 of us (Uma, Justin, Mike, & me) sat near one another but next to our respective mkuus (head of school). I was dozing off before we left the lot, which took ~45 minutes as all of the 06:00 busses tried to depart. I had bought a package of plain small muffins before we left that I ate with some fruit from dinner yesterday and a juice box & cashews my mkuu gave me. Though I slept much of the way, I was awake when we went through Morogoro and it felt a little bit like going home because it is so familiar now. I’m glad I was tired enough to sleep most of the time because I think it was less awkward for me than being awake sitting next to my mkuu for 10 hours, sleepy head bobbing, mouth agape, and all.

At the “lunch” stop, I decided to use the bathroom after Uma. Only I didn’t find the one she referred to and the line for the one out back was really slow. Now I almost missed the bus on the way to Shadow because we didn’t realize that the bus only stops for a short time (~10 min) and I did not want this bus to leave without me. Rather than waiting for my turn in line and risk missing the bus, I followed some other women to the back side of the choo and proceeded to pee right there on the cement. I really did not want to miss the bus. Only in Africa.

In Singida, it was just me, Uma, and our mkuus left. We found a hotel really close to the bus stand and (over)paid a guy to push our large bags there on a cart. Uma & I decided to share a room since it was plenty big enough for both of us, had its own bathroom, and the bed was bigger than the one we shared in Mikumi anyway. Eventually our mkuus got us for dinner and “helped” us order. We couldn’t quite figure out if they’d already eaten of not because they ordered a plate of meat and ugali that they ate from with me (Uma is vegetarian) but they seemed to partake of it like a snack. Being Thanksgiving back home, I was grateful to be able to talk to my mom and sister a little today. Happy Thanksgiving.

Oh Sweet Glorious Food: Swear-In & Thanksgiving

I’m officially a Peace Corps Volunteer! 38 of us were sworn-in this morning at the US Embassy in Dar es Salaam (we only lost one during training due to a program change she didn’t like). To get into the embassy, the guards (locals) were having us individually sign-in. Then
Andrea, our Country Director (CD), arrived and was rather miffed because the guards have the guest list and having ~120 people sign-in individually would take forever. I think they learned not to mess with Andrea.
Our ceremony was in the main hallway of the embassy and was kept to 1.5 hours so as not to disturb the workers’ whole day. It was covered by ITV, a popular news channel here, though we didn’t get to see it. The guest of honor was , the minister of Tanzania Institute of
Education (TIE), who gave a speech after Andrea. Us soon-to-be-volunteers led the audience in the Tz & US national anthems then we all went onto the stairs facing them and performed a song in Kiswahili set to the tune of the Beatles’ “I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends”. Paul accompanied all songs with his concertina (like an accordion), which was really cool. He then gave our speech in Kiswahili with Mindy, doing the English version, to finish our portion of the entertainment, I mean ceremony. Ambassador Alfonso Lenhardt (retired 2-star Army general & whose wife I sat next to during the ceremony) gave a short speech and swore us in as Peace Corps Volunteers. We were then officially PCVs. (Although we swore-in as Peace Corps Volunteers, the written statements we signed actually read “Peace Cops” J)
The ceremony was all well and good but the snacks at the reception were the best part of the whole thing. We had tender, marinated shish-kebabs and scrumptious samosas (meat & veggie filled pastry dough triangles). Then they served us the congratulatory cake. It was so good, I couldn’t help myself and had 2 pieces. In fact, I’m pretty sure most of us newly minted PCVs had more than one serving of the snacks served. We also took our CBT group pictures and the guys did a mustache picture to commemorate their brilliant pan to (almost) all grow mustaches for swearing-in. Not to be left out, us girls took a picture in which most of us are sporting finger mustaches – mustaches drawn on our fingers.
During our break between events, PC graciously drove ~6 of us to the Zain store in the middle of the city to buy modems or take care of other issues. If I really do have a computer or 2 at site that work, I will also have Internet. Cross your fingers. I also needed to go to the post office to send out a couple of 50th birthday packages but the Zain store workers were too slow to have time for us to stop at the main PO. Instead, one of the PC staff had the PC driver drop off the others at Msimbazi then directed us to a nearby PO. Unfortunately, this PO is really small and does not have Customs forms. The person working was able to tell me how much each should cost to send so I will have to ask someone from PC to send them with some cash I give them. I very highly doubt I will have a chance to send them once I leave for site early tomorrow morning.
After most of us had changed clothes and some had shaved, we headed to the ambassador’s residence for Thanksgiving dinner. To be sure, the place was beautiful outside (where we ate) but let’s be real, we mostly cared about the food. For our 2 months of training, we were hoping and praying that we would get served Thanksgiving dinner on the day we swore-in because we will be traveling on the actual Thanksgiving Day. Some people lusted after specific foods but I think many of us just wanted some good “American” food. We were not disappointed.
Among the foods served at dinner were green salad, fruit salad, corn, mashed potatoes, chicken (turkey is imported & extremely expensive), cranberry sauce, and rolls. I had a food baby from just dinner but still went up for a plate of dessert: pumpkin pie, apple pie, vanilla ice cream, brownie, and cookie. If I could gurgle like Homer Simpson, I would. Oh man was it good. They even had us take fresh fruit and extra desserts for later (esp for traveling tomorrow).
Back at Msimbazi, I packed up my bags again and was glad I’d left a small box of things at PC-HQ that I won’t need for awhile (including a few heavy books). Then I hung out for awhile and got some pics from the events today on my jumpdrive. Eventually I went to bed for a few hours of sleep. It’ll be weird not seeing everyone for several months.

HOS

Yesterday we spent at PC-HQ where we went through the Volunteer
Handbook (aka condensed rules and regulations) and ate some delicious
food. Afterward we played some Ultimate Frisbee; I was happy to be
running around again.
This morning, we met our Heads of Schools (HOS). Mine looks like he
stepped out of a 70’s cop show with his mustache, glasses, and
straight face. Seems he has only been at the school for a couple of
months so he is also new. Turns out that Uma is really close to me
though! Our HOS say it is 1km but based on my experience, it is
probably a few km. Anyway, it’s still wicked close for PCVs.
We were set free this afternoon and I was with a group trying to find
a Zain store (cell phone company) to buy wireless modems. We were
given directions and kept asking people on the street but never found
the place. We even tried directions from the website – we found the
address but no store. In the end we walked for at least a few miles
but I do know where Kariakoo is now (supposed to be good for spices
and other things). When we returned to Msimbazi, we found out that a
few other PCTs were able to call the store, which sent out a rep who
sold them modems. Dang. Just to note, we did try calling but got
nowhere with the automated system.
While hanging out tonight, I was sitting looking at my pictures of
home. Different people looked at them with me and I was told that both
my mom and dad are hot (by a guy and girl respectively). 

Good-Bye Kihonda

After church, it didn’t take me long to pack up my remaining things.
A few things I left for my family and they were, again, very grateful.
Then I waited to be picked up. And I waited some more. It was a bit
awkward for me just sitting around waiting to leave, knowing I would
soon be saying good-bye, but the kitty did provide some entertainment.
At one point it was biting its tail and ended up doing a somersault.
Once picked up, we ate lunch at CCT and then headed to Dar and the
Msimbazi Centre. It was a little weird saying good-bye but I am
looking forward to going to site.

Packing Up

Last night and this morning was spent packing my big bags so PC could pick them up today. All I knew was the PC would come sometime after 11:00 to get them; I got tired of waiting around. By 14:00 (2pm), they still had not come so Ezra and I headed to town to get a few things. I had bought earrings earlier in the week and went back for more to give as presents and bargained a better deal. Woohoo! We bought some chocolate and 20-in-1 movie DVDs for our teacher too. In honor of Tim, who is Chinese and jokes about kung-fu, one of the DVDs was kung-fu movies – some Jackie Chan even. We also ran into other PCTs who were out shopping. Most notably (tall) Lisa was out and bout looking great. I learned that she had come down with malaria right after having food poisoning during Shadow. She was our first malaria victim. The juice box she was drinking was the 1^st thing she’d had in days but she looked and sounded wonderful. Definitely recovered from the car crash feeling of malaria. For those who don’t know, our malaria prophylaxis pills are not 100% effect against malaria so we can get it even if we are taking our pills.

After town I was able to pick up my mom’s birthday present: a skirt, blouse, and matching bag made from a kanga. The kanga was poorer quality than I thought but at least the bag is good if the skirt doesn’t fit. Jordon’s mama still wasn’t done with making my outfit (it was supposed to be ready Thursday) so I went to the internet café. The only computer available wasn’t working so I tried to get it working. The thing has a couple of Trojans still but it is doing better. I left instructions with the guys on what to do to try to get rid of them because it was dark and I had to get going. On my way home, I stopped to get my outfit and waited with Vero and Jordon for a couple of hours until it was finished. I felt bad about being away from my family on my last night with them but didn’t want to walk in the dark more than necessary.

When I finally got home and had eaten dinner, I gave my family the last of my gifts for them. Before I left home, I went to the Farmer’s Market and picked up 3 wooden whistles, a glass ring, and a few sticks of flavored honey. From the NYS Fair, I gave them 2 “I ♥ NY” pins and a ruler with pictures of the US presidents. In addition, I gave them my map of the US, a fun-size packet of M&Ms each (thanks mom!) a glow-stick (thanks dad!) and a kanga I picked up in Njombe. My family was very thankful for the gifts, however small they may seem to many Americans. The family also received a framed picture of me with them, courtesy of PC, which was dropped off when my bags were picked up. As an added treat, I gave Simon a small bottle of vanilla flavoring because he likes to bake (& the whole family benefits).

OPI

I’m pretty sure my first oral proficiency interview (OPI) a few weeks ago was better than today. Both were taped and I think the first would sound better if listened to I totally blanked at the beginning and it took me most of the interview to recover. Maybe I’m tired from yesterday, maybe I haven’t used Kiswahili enough since our CBT ended (2 weeks ago). Anyway it was awful.

Tonight was our CBT Farewell party and us PCTs were glad they gave us some beers because the alcohol helped us deal with the awkwardness. We had to sit at a head table with a bunch of chairs to the side in front of us, facing the space in front of our table. At least our teacher Anna sat up there with us. After a delicious dinner of pilau and fried chicken and such, 2 men danced to a few songs. There was also some awkward dancing by us and some of our family members. I was glad some of my family got up to dance because it made it a little easier – definitely not like a dance in the US unless its your first dance in grade school. Then the gift giving began. One of us would be introduced with a song and our families would come up to us in a line, give us a hug and a few presents. Although we really wanted to go out together to have a drink to assuage the awkwardness*, we went home with our families instead because they just gave us this party and gifts. When I got home I opened the presents. My sister gave me a kanga (already cut and trimmed) and Mama gave me batik fabric! The fabric is bluish-green with large white giraffe print on it; it is the same print many of my fellow trainees have, but a different color. I love it and am really glad I didn’t find batik to buy before.

*Note: For those who don’t know me, I don’t drink much alcohol and am against using it as a coping mechanism; wanting alcohol should give you an idea of just how awkward it was.

Shorts!!

For our permagardening session, Peter said we could wear shorts because we are within the confines of CCT. My legs felt so wonderful and free! I just wanted to hop, skip, jump, and dance; so I did a little. Amazing how energetic I felt just by removing the lower half of my pants (and the kanga wrapped around my waist).

Half of us worked on the garden today and the other half (talking OPI today) will finish it tomorrow. A permagarden is a combination of the concepts of permaculture and gardening. It is a sustainable and more productive way to grow food. Not only can we build a permagarden for ourselves at site, we can teach others how, especially people living with HIV/AIDS. The initial labor output is high to build the swales for water control and to double dig the seed beds but the result is higher production and less work in the end. The idea is great and can be accomplished with local materials, namely a hoe (& rake if you are lucky) and native plants (you just have to find them). In addition to the plants in the seedbed, the perennial plants along the berm (between the seedbeds and swales) are edible too. On the outside of the garden, other plants can be placed to grow into a natural fence or to provide more food, like papaya. I’m excited to get started on my garden though my friends won’t be around to make hoe jokes with ;-).

Bake-Off

PC staff decided to give us Saturday off so they packed today full of sessions and quizzes that, if we “fail”, will not stop us from becoming volunteers. As you can imagine, we all studied really hard and were worried.

I finally made chocolate chip cookies for my family! The only substitutions I had to make were honey mixed w/ sugar for brown sugar and for chips I cut up 2.5 Cadbury baking chocolate bars. After slowly cooking just 6 cookies at a time, I got tired of it and put the remaining dough in the pot for a large coolie pie thingy. Turned out great and was much faster than making individual cookies. While I was making the cookies, Simon was making cake. He loves to make it so I gave him a translated recipe for the chocolate bundt cake I had made before Shadow. With these sweets, this family is going to be hyped up on sugar!

Simulation

To test our abilities to deal with situations we might encounter when out on our own, PC brought in people from the bus company, Immigration, Police, and teachers. Each station was 7 minutes and we had to deal with a situation given to us. I feel I did fairly well but couldn’t stop laughing when describing to the Police how I was robbed. I explained that the man tried to hit me but I dodged and that he was wearing some crazy color combination like orange pants and blue shirt J. I think he was also short and fat and maybe even had one eye. There was no way I could keep a straight face while describing my thief. At the bus station, I “bought” my ticket just fine but did not understand what the guy said when he asked if I am married (he asked most girls). I really need to learn the words because it is a pretty common question here (much like in Utah).

Money Matters

Eric was feeling better today after a good nights’ sleep so no need for the hospital. His eyes are much better and he will be back with us again tomorrow. Our whole week is at CCT so PC will pick Eric up in the morning so he doesn’t have to deal with the stress of riding the daladalas.

Today we learned about giving and lending money. Compared to many Tanzanians we make more money and it is consistent income. Plus, everyone assumes we are rich because we are white (& Americans). Therefore, we will be asked for money a lot. As part of the community, we are expected to participate in events. For things like weddings, you first get a notice asking you to contribute. If you contribute, you will likely get an invitation to the actual event. NO contribution, no invite. People will also ask us for loans, whether or not they really intend or are able to pay you back. We got some tips on smart lending and how to politely say no. PC is trying to make sure we budget our money so we can take care of ourselves; not give it all away.

New dress

Up bright and early for our bus ride back to Morogoro. We did not take the same bus line as our trip down but we did have some issues with our tickers the past couple of days. The bus that Eric and Lisa had reserved our seats on is now broken. On Friday, we found out our reserved seats had been transferred to another bus line but it costs more. I paid the extra bit for Eric and Lisa, who hadn’t arrived yet, but was told to pay more than I should have. Luckily it only took Eric (w/ concussion) and me about 15 minutes to get the situation sorted out yesterday. In contrast to our other bus ride, I felt relatively safe. It wasn’t a great ride however. We endured hours of religious music videos (we can’t figure out why they don’t just sell CDs) and a really old film about Jesus based on one of the gospels. The ride was also really bumpy, which made me feel bad and was probably one of the worst things possible for poor concussed Eric. He is not going to CCT tomorrow and is headed to the hospital if he is not feeling better when he wake up. Hopefully he will be better with just some rest.

My dress is done! My sister here picked it up while I was at Shadow. It seems a little tight in the shoulders but will probably fit a little better when I lose some of the weight I’ve gained and/or stretches from washing.

Kitenges galore!

Megan and I headed out this morning to look for kitenges, which are pieces of patterned cloth. Specifically we were looking for Batik (like a monocolor tie-dye) but we found lots of other kitenges we likes. By the end of the day, I’d bought 4 kitenges to have clothes made. 2 are red-based because my mom like me in red and I couldn’t find any in Morogoro. I also bought a cool kanga to use as a wall-hanging; it is the same one I saw hanging at the RPCV’s house last night.

Eventually we met up with the others and had lunch at one of the favorite spots. Most of us had the “special”: Chipsi Kuku – potato wedges with fried chicken. Then Marilyn showed a few people the local sto (where PCVs leave tings when they COS) while Ezra and I picked up some things at the market for the bus ride tomorrow. Those who went to the sto came back with some great books (the sto acts like a library) so Ezra and I went down to check it out. There was a great selection and I borrowed the books “Trekking in East Africa” and “The Tree Where Man Was Born”.

We met up with the PCVs again today to celebrate Trudy’s 50^th birthday. Our Shadow group had masala for dinner and it was great but I’m glad I split it with Megan because it was a large serving.

Party

W packed and cleaned this morning since we leave the village today. I had enough time before teaching to go for a run. It felt great to exercise but I’m really out of shape. During my lesson for the Form 3 Chemistry, I talked about caves because I was trying to explain what limestone is, since it is used as part of the process for extracting metal. I was excited and a few students may have even understood what I was talking about. Then at the end, before leaving, I asked if they had any questions at all. I told them about the snow back home and even tried to describe lacrosse because they asked about sports. I explained that lacrosse is a local sport where I am from but it is spreading and my (2^nd) cousin even came to Africa with someone who was teaching the sport to kids in Uganda. I tried to make them feel special that lacrosse has come to Africa when it hasn’t even spread throughout the US. They mostly looked confused.

Due to some confusion w/ the taxis, they were waiting for me when I returned from teaching and there were 2 instead of 1. We learned that it is important to know the language and be able to order a taxi by ourselves, not thorugh someone else. In Njombe, we met up with all the current PCVs for a party for those leaving (COSing). The party was at the house of an RPCV who is now working for an NGO. Her and some of the PCVs made spaghetti and garlic bread – with some mozzarella! Cheese is pretty scarce here so it’s generally considered sacred. We had a good time hanging out with the PCVs and we learned a lot to tell Jordon, Tim, and Philip who are coming to the region from our training group. Both Tim and Jordon are replacement sites so I found out a lot about the sites from the guys they are replacing. One PCV, who is coming to training next week, was trying to remember my name and was going through “M” names because 3/5 in our Shadow group have “M” names. For some reason he said “Matriarch” so I am now Matriarch too. We met a celebrity too! Jill, who is about to COS, is dating a guy on a really popular TV show here called Ze Komodi Show (not quite American comedy but beloved here). So yeah, we partied with a celebrity.

While leaving, I didn’t see the crossbeam fro the opening in the fence and I whacked my head. When Eric returned to the hotel on the next taxi trip, he said he did the same thing. Except Eric was running to catch the taxi and ended p on his back. He had good major motor control and his pupils were responsive so I let him go to bed despite the mild lateral nystagmus (little eye shake when following finger) indicating a concussion.

Cookies!!

I taught Form 1 Chemistry today and tried an activity with the students but they didn’t quite understand. I had them get into 2 lines; one boys, one girls. Then I would ask the first person in the lines a question based on the material covered. Only the students at the front of each line were supposed to answer and then both students would go to the back of the line. A few students may have understood but most didn’t seem to. It made me realize that I will have to teach my students how class games work because the students have not grown up with it - it is new to them. Marilyn observed me and said I’ll be fine teaching. More reinforcement doesn’t hurt.

The guys went for charcoal and beer in the village so were we able to make pizza again and try banana beer. The local brew smelled a little like bananas but was so fizzy from fermentation that I had trouble getting a taste, which was really yeasty when I did. To top off the pizza, I made cookies! I went with my favorite to bake: chocolate chip cookies. Only, Marilyn didn’t have any plain chocolate and it’s not available in the village. She did have some Halloween chocolate. For the first half of the dough, I made cookies with pieces of a Reese’s peanut butter cup, a Take-5, or a Kit-Kat. Then I mixed some (drinking) cocoa into the mix and finished by making cookies with peanuts and /or peanut butter. It took forever because I could only cook 5-6 at one time in a jiko (stove) oven that doesn’t quite reach the proper cooking temp. It was worth it though because the cookies tasted scrumptious and now I feel confident enough to make cookies for my host family.

Hike

Marilyn made French toast this morning; even I liked it and I normally don’t like it (I think she added a lot of cinnamon). While others were teaching today, I washed the large bin of dirty dishes – man we use a lot! This afternoon we all went for a walk to find this crevasse that Michael and Ezra had seen on their walk on Monday. On the way, there was a stick (bamboo?) so Ezra and Mike put it on their shoulders and Mindy hung off it like a tied pig. I’m sure the person who passed by thought that us white people are crazy. We passed a couple of young kids on the path herding goats and cattle. The path then lead down to a creek and we could see the kids come partway down the path to watch us. I’m not sure how private property works here butu we passed through a small farm (with lots of great veggies) and soon afterward noticed a fire in the small area. Hopefully no one thought that the white people passing through cause the fire. We did find the crevasse. It is just a split in the earth and it looks like a partial arroyo (deep ditch formed by heavy rains in dry climates) with a beginning. I’d like to know what cause the crevasse to form there. Was it the underlying geology or something else. To avoid the fire on the way back, we struck out in the general direction of Marilyn’s house. In the end, we made a loop as we found the road that passes through the village and connects to the road the school (and her house) is on.

Yesterday Mindy mentioned something to the effect of wanting alfredo. Today, we had pasta and I surprised her by making alfredo sauce using the parmesan cheese. Both it and the red sauce turned out delicious. For dessert, we had Bucket-o-chocolate. But some of it needs to cook longer. Oh well, it was chocolate.

Pizza & Wings!

Observed the Chem. teacher today and he gave a good lesson. I was glad I got to observe him because now I have a better idea of how my lesson can go since I am teaching the information to follow. Mike actually got all of his teaching in today so he is free the rest of the week.

The boys had as much trouble today lighting the charcoal as us girls did yesterday. We feel a bit redeemed. Once it was going, we made a tomato sauce which we used to make…drumroll please…pizza! We used Marilyn’s grated parmesan cheese that her sister had sent from America. For dough, Marilyn made her bread recipe and we just added various fruits and veggies for toppings w/ the cheese. With the delicious pizza, we ate salad made from Marilyn’s small garden. It was a spicy leafy mixture because the lettuce had already bolted (went to seed – makes it bitter) and there was quite a bit of mustard greens. We also drank some of Marilyn’s homemade wine. It was good but really strong. For dessert, Ezra and Michael ate toasted termite queens. The large insects were flying all over tonight so they each caught one, placed it near the coals to kill & crisp it, removed the wings, and chowed down. Maybe us girls will try it another night.

We slept in a little this morning because of our long day yesterday. Eric and Lisa took a small bus to their Shadow PCV and the rest of us (n=6) crammed into a taxi for the hour drive to Kinenulo. Since we were supposed to arrive in time for dinner yesterday, there was a ton of food waiting for us. After our delicious lunch, we met the head mitress of the school (Philip Mungulo Sec.,) who gave us a tour of the school. After meeting all the teachers at lunch (which we gratefully declined), Marilyn told us our schedules for the week. She tried to give Megan, our only Math person, her full teaching schedule for the week but it was cut down to a reasonable load. Mindy, Ezra, and I split up the Chem periods so we will observe tomorrow then each of us teaches 2 periods sometime during the rest of the week.

Later in the afternoon, the boys went exploring and saw a small crevasse in the earth that we want to try finding this week. When the boys were away, us girls tried to light the charcoal stove and it took us about 30 minutes to even get it started and stay lit. We didn’t tell the boys how long it took us. We’ll see how long it takes them tomorrow.

This evening we joined Marilyn at her Life Skills session. Today’s activity was coming up with responses to lines a student might hear to have sex. Some of the lines were hilarious, like, “Sex makes your boobs bigger.” Others were tougher ones to think of responses to, like, “Practice makes perfect.” The kids did a great job coming up with responses they can use if someone uses one of the pressure lines on them. We even got the boys and the girls to work together a little, which is really hard to do.

“Hail Mary, full of grace…”

“Experience traveling in Tanzania” – check. That was one of our assignments for Shadow this week and 9 of us definitely got our fill. The problems started before we even left Morogoro. Paul, a staff member, helped us find the bus when it arrived but when we boarded, there were people sitting in our reserved seats. Most of us just found random seats and 3 of us were in the middle back so we were able to pile our big bags at the end of the aisle. Then someone from the bus company realized there were too many people for the number of seats and we had to move to our assigned seats, which meant our large bags had to be placed between our legs or under the seats (they didn’t fit above). A few people (not in our group) ended up sitting in the aisle even. Lesson #1 when traveling: pack into smaller bags even if it means taking 2 bags instead of 1.

As we drove through Mikumi National Park, our bus broke down. Not only did the bus guys standing outside the bus look worried, people in passing vehicles also had the look of, “Oh man, they’re screwed.” Someone in our group said s/he saw a large, dark puddle under the bus. At one point, Megan saw a large section of the bottom of the bus on the ground below it as they attempted to fix it. After 1.5 hours, the bus was back together and limped to the town of Mikumi. We sat at the garage there for about 3 hours before we finally left.

Since we were now running very late, the bus driver decided he needed to drive very fast – on a very curvy road. The 9 of us looked at one another as we promptly buckled up (or made sure we were still buckled). If the bus went down the cliff, we had the greatest probability of survival. As you’ve probably guessed, we made it through ok but I was praying during most of it and am glad I’d gone to church before going to the bus station.

We aren’t supposed to travel at night but we had no choice. Gene and Paff got off at their stop to meet their PCV and the rest of us continued on to Njombe. At one point, there was a long line of stopped vehicles. Our driver didn’t want to wait but there want’ quite enough room to squeeze between the truck in front of us and the vehicle to the right. He tried anyway. The side-view mirror broke off and he kept going. That’s right folks, we had a hit-and-run.

COSing PCV Andy met us at the bus station in Njombe when we arrived at 23:30 (11:30pm) – 14 hours after we started but at least we were still alive. When we arrived, Andy said he would have recommended not taking Grazia Bus Lines; now we know for when we buy our return ticket to Morogoro. He put us in a couple of taxis and sent us to our hotel where Marilyn, my Shadow PCV, was waiting with water and some food for dinner/midnight snack. In summary, we were stuffed on a hot bus for 14 hours that broke down a half dozen times, defied physics going around turns, and had a hit-and-run. I can’t wait for the return trip.