July 30, Staying at Glenn's House

So! I am now at Glenn's house in Kongei, which is fairly close to Lushoto. We took a "koaster" (van form of a bus or taxi) and I accidentally lost my phone on it. Fortunately Hannah, Sam, and Ezra got Glenn's "save the phone from the bus" call before the koaster pulled away. They got off around 10 minutes after us, so I'm glad they got my phone back for me! VERY CLOSE CALL. And makes me realize how attached I have become to my little brick of a phone.

We had a nice walk to Glenn's village. It was around 5 km, which would have been much nicer if I didn't have a bag of books to carry. Not just a duffel bag full of books, but a bag with broken straps. I bought it last weekend but it's too heavy and the straps broke. It was very awkward to carry.

Lushoto is very pretty! The air is so nice, too. Has that cool mountain feel. Apparently my village is a little further out and warmer, which is nice. I got kinda chilled while we were staying in Lushoto yesterday. Glenn has electricity and a pit latrine that's outside the house--I hope to have a similar set-up, but I won't find out until Wednesday. I have a feeling I will be without electricity, but I'm actually not too bothered by that. I just hope it feels cozy and homelike. All I know for now is that it's a duplex with a pit-latrine and room for a garden. Gonna grow some vegetables! (Also, apparently my town is full of limes and avocados. GUACAMOLE FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS!)

So, about my trip yesterday:

I met up with Sam at 7:15 and we took a dala to the bus stand. We were there over an hour early, but the bus didn't come until 9:45. (It was supposed to depart at 9:00). There was a good group of us all going on the same bus because it kept going all the way to Moshi. I bought some fried rice balls and cashews for the road, and PJ showed up and got me some water, too. Such a good LCF. The medicine that I'm taking to kill my parasite has been making me dehydrated among other things. I feel super sick to my stomach and have the worst headache every time I take them.

My favorite thing about taking travel buses is that vendors come running up to your window and shove things in your face whenever you come to a rest area/stop. I'm used to seeing gum, cashews, and drinks being sold, but yesterday there were also people selling bags of oranges, boxed up chips, and corn. Basically, they bag the oranges next to the road, and come swarm your bus when you're driving by in the hopes of selling you them. They were pretty cheap, but I had no use for that many oranges personally.

We missed our bus stop so we had to back track about 20 minutes on foot to take a koaster or  "koasta" to Loshoto. The curvy, winding road leading to Loshoto is set along a ridge of the mountain, and there were several times it felt like we were going to drive off the edge and fall to our deaths. I'm still not used to being on the wrong side of the road, and because the road isn't quite big enough for two cars to fit, it was really scary every time we passed another car or bus. Counter-intuitive and also just frightening. It reminded me of being in Italy since those cliff-like areas are fairly common there, too. We were also crammed in  there, and I was feeling sick from the medicine I'm taking, so I think I had turned green by the time we were at the top. Amy told me I lost all the color in my lips, so I guess I wasn't looking too hot for a while there.

Lushoto is a really cool banking town. We got some AWESOME chipsi mayai (potatoes fried with eggs--kind of like a potato omelette of sorts) with fresh vegetables on top. It was a huge plate for 1500 shillings (Like 90 cents in US money), so Amy and I split one. I also tried a yummy plantain, potato, and beef stew. It was rich and delicious! We also got to watch some of the Olympics/stay at this really sweet guesti (hostel/motel of sorts). We got a discount rate as PCVs, but it was still very pricey.

I also had a hot shower for the first time since I left Philadelphia. It only lasted about 1 1/2 minutes, but it was seriously glorious. My body has never felt so warm and clean. My feet are also far less dirty here somehow. Only mildly tanned by dirt rather than filthy.

Our hosts are Brittany, Glenn, and Ezra. Brittany also can't have gluten, and Ezra can't have dairy, so I bonded with them about food problems. Glenn is really cool. He's currently sitting here playing some guitar. I'm jealous! I wish I had brought a guitar with me. Today they all helped us set up bank accounts since the bank the PC uses does not have any branches in Tanga. Really convenient, right? It was a long, boring process. I felt sick most of the time...it wasn't fun. For lunch I got chicken cacciatore...it was okay. I'm glad I mentioned my allergies because the lemon chicken dish I originally ordered had butter, flour, and peanuts in it.

 In any case, I'm very pumped about who will be in my area for the next two years. (Or for part of the next two years, anyway!!) Fun group!

Tomorrow we are going to a monastery to get wine in the afternoon. I am also excited about dinner: stir-fried veggies with rice and SALAD! We also had some dates which were delicious. The produce here is great!

July 29, Leaving for Tanga!

So, yesterday I had a good time hanging out with Katie, Sam, and Ryan for most of the afternoon. I also ran into some other wazungu, which was nice. Many people left yesterday, but a lot are also leaving this morning. I'm getting this blog post in before I go bucket bath/shave my legs/chow down for 5 minutes.

Michelle helped me get fitted for my dress! It's already made, just needs to be taken in an inch at the top. Super quick dress making! It has a cute black ribbon around the waist. I'm pleased. I went to try it on after dark so my host sister walked with me. We held hands (very common thing to do here, but only same-sex) and skipped a bit. We also had a race, which my host parents thought was hilarious. I'm hoping to be remembered for my antics if nothing else.

So, off to my village this week. I'm N.E. of Lushoto. I will be teaching English forms I and II. That's about all I know...

For now I will be staying with Glenn Holzer and meeting up with Ezra & Brittany as well. I'm excited to meet all the PCVs/party with my PCT crew.

July 28, Major Headache

So, my head is killing me today. Not sure if it's from the parasite meds or dehydration. Probably both. In any case, I did laundry and cleaned my room. I'm going to hopefully get fitted for another dress (this one will have normal sleeves I hope!) and then go into town. I'm hoping to catch some of the Olympic action, but so far they have just been watching music videos all day here, so I will need to find a sports bar I guess.

Anyway, the more I think about the test, the more I think about how I made stupid mistakes. I'm sure I passed, but I probably didn't do as well as I should have. Oh well.

Yesterday they had some really awesome drummers come before announcing our sites. It was fun to dance around. Then they had the "wisest man" of the group (Doug) pick one of 47 post-it notes that were covering all of our photos. The post-its were placed around a Tanzanian map, and once you were picked, Hilda would read a short description about your placement. It was crazy because the staff had joked that it would be nearly impossible for Doug to pick his own picture, but he did! I died of laughter.  I also almost died waiting to find out if I would be in Tanga. There was only one more post-it left for the region, and I really wanted Tanga or Mtwara, so I had a pretty epic/happy/ecstatic reaction when they called my name.

People are leaving today/tomorrow for site visits. We will shadow current PCVs for a couple days, and if we are going to a new site (like me), we will spend 3 days chilling out with our Mkuu's (headmasters) at our site. People who are replacing current PCVs will just stay with the person they are shadowing the whole time--kinda jealous of that situation. But I am psyched to be at a new site. I was told to bring a bathing suit because my group will be going to Tanga (on the coast). I'm excited!! Unfortunately, my bathing suit is in the bag I left in storage in Dar es Salaam (like everything I ever need....). Underwear are just going to have to do.

Anyway, time to go do things. Packing tonight for my week adventure!

July 27, Site Announcement

I'm falling asleep as I write this, so I will keep it brief. I got medicine for my parasites, but they are still fatiguing me...7 days of treatment and I should be okay.

I am going to be in a village near Lushoto in Tanga. I am very excited as that was the region I wanted to be placed in. I'm in the "wild west" of the region according to Lonely Planet...no idea what that means. I am 18 kilometers from Amy and 20 kilometers from Sam. Hannah is also very close by, so it should be a fun group! Our banking town in Lushoto, which is 44 km away from me. I will write more tomorrow. Very exciting day, although not everyone is happy with their sites!

July 26, Saying Goodbye to the School

So, today PJ came 3 hours late, but redeemed himself by bringing a cake. It was pink and apparently tasted more like a muffin with frosting than anything (much to Sam’s delight since he likes muffins more, but not to Aly’s at all), but I’m glad my hinting worked. I can’t eat cake, but Michelle and Aly have been talking about wanting one forever, so I have been encouraging PJ to get us one for about a week now. In reward for my altruism, I got an apple. Life is boring as the allergy queen. I did have several vitumbua (fried rice balls from heaven) since we will no longer be seeing that vendor lady every day. I will miss those 100 shilling balls of joy and fried stick-in-your-gut happiness.

I taught my last class at St. Denis. I went over will vs. going to, which is difficult to explain and, in retrospect, probably not terribly important. We also had an awkward goodbye speech/gift giving with the teachers, and then again with the student body. Tracy had to give a mini-speech in Swahili, and we all spoke a little in English to the kids.

While standing at morning assembly, I also saw that any students that showed up late would get hit on the hand twice with a stick. Others were punished more heavily for other offenses, but I didn’t stick around for that. Morning assembly ran 15 minutes into class time, and then I had to wait for students to stop taking desks and chairs in and out of my classroom. They look like ants in the morning, going to a fro, carrying things over their heads….

I felt sick most of the day. The chipsi we had for lunch didn’t sit well with me at all for some reason. It might be in part because of my nerves. I usually feel sick here (probably because of my parasite), but today was just particularly bad.

In any case, I took a family photo today, which the PC will print and frame. I think I might print off other photos as well since I’ve taken so many. I also went to the little vegetable stand to get cabbage (SCORE!) with my host sisters. Priska ate a mango the entire way, which was surprisingly funny to witness.

Tomorrow is the big day! I’M SO EXCITED/NERVOUS/SCARED/ANXIOUS. My perfectionism is on for the exam, but I’m mostly thinking about placement. Hoping for less bug bites tonight—I look like a leper because I keep scratching and re-opening scabs, then getting new bites. It’s a problem. I’m going to wind up with staff if I don’t start using Band-Aids or something to keep from scratching. But it’s like I never heal even if I don’t touch them for weeks! 

July 26, I have Entamoeba Histolytica Cysts!

So, I got a call today from the PCMO (Peace Corps Medical Officer) telling me that I still have a parasite. I think I had worms, which is what I saw visually, that were treated--which is why I now know I have Entamoeba histolytica cysts. I have been feeling kinda of sick/fatigued, but I haven't had some of the other symptoms which is good. (Aka no bloody diarrhea)

I am being sent drugs from Dar so that I can be treated. I got the parasite from contaminated food or water, so I assume the other people in my CBT could have it without knowing. (Not sure what food or water I got it from.)

Fun wiki article for you. I'm kind of entertained by this whole thing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entamoeba_histolytica

July 25, Weirdness

So, today I was surprise-observed. I wasn't supposed to be observed until tomorrow, but I found out as I was going to class. Anna totally caught on to the fact that I didn't have a lesson-plan sheet filled out. I tend to write out my lesson plan in full in my notebook, but I find the one-sided, tiny-boxed, dinky little sheets they give us to be relatively futile since I have to write out a larger plan for myself anyway. Regardless, I have it filled out and will be turning that in on Friday.

I finally have learned 90% of the noun-agreement chart. I HATE NOUN CLASSES. Swahili is a very simplistic language in a lot of ways. For instance, adjectives hardly exist. Good, beautiful, cute, and nice are all just "zuri". Tall and long are both "refu". Yet, there are multiple ways to say "this" "that" "these" "those" etc. thanks to noun classes. Basically, everything sounds like a Dr. Seuss book because nouns agree with their adjectives, possessives etc.

For example:

Hawa ni mbwa wangu watatu wazuri wasafi. = These are my three nice, clean dogs.
Hiki ni kiti changu kizuri kikubwa ambacho nilinunua. = This is my nice big chair that I bought.
Hivi ni viti vyangu vizuri vikubwa ambavyo nilinunua. = These are my nice big chairs that I bought.

In anycase, on my way home from school some students offered me a sunflower in a very strange manner. They also touched my hair and offered to carry my books. And shouted "madam" at me a bunch of times to get my attention. It was odd.

I did manage to have an actual conversation with my host mama when I got home! We talked about my exam/where I'm going next week. She wanted to know where I'll be staying...I'd like to know as well!

July 24, Lack of Teaching Inspiration

This week is a hard week. We have our final written exam Friday, which is the same day we find out our site placements. We also still have to teach this week. I am seriously lacking in inspiration right now--I'm going to teach the future tense, but I just feel like even the games I come up with are boring. Hopefully it's just a sentiment, but I'm feeling largely uninspired by my internship right now.

My host mama knew where I walked/with who today. She asked me what I was doing once she got home. (She came home after me--not sure when she saw me) I told her that I enjoy walking. As a CBT we went on a journey to get cookies, so I guess we were noticeable as a pack of wazungu.

Some weird/interesting* things that have happened lately:

1) A male student stopped in his tracks as he was walking and while looking at me, but not necessarily talking to me, said "God forgive me, for I have sinned." Speculate as you like.
2) My feet have been itching like crazy, even though I don't have any new bug bites. I'm wondering if I got into something when walking that irritated my skin?
3) Michelle has a rooster at her house that I like to call Foghorn Leghorn. He is the living incarnation of the cartoon. She also has an attention-starved cat that she gives love to. It rubbed itself against my legs quite a bit this afternoon.
4) PJ keeps yelling at us for not socializing enough with the other student teachers. We will no longer be at St.Denis as of Thursday, so this issue should naturally resolve itself then.
5) Passion-fruit juice is pretty amazing.
6) PJ calls condoms "Survival Jackets." I think it's hilarious and now have adopted the phrase.
7) PJ also uses the word "hammering" to describe drinking & sex. This is also hilarious.
8) Today a grasshopper literally flew into PJ's hand when he was going over directions with me. It was a shame it wasn't a cricket, because Tracy spent the greater part of the afternoon copying over her Swahili version of Pinocchio. Jimminy (spelling?) apparently was underrepresented in the tale.
9) Sometimes I say the word "Kiswahili" wrong. This is majorly unfortunate. I've also noticed Tanzanians say "Tanzania" differently from one another.
10) I HAD RICE, GOAT, AND PUMPKIN LEAVES FOR DINNER. Such a nice change from the rest of the week. Beyond exciting. I also had cabbage for lunch. What a day!

July 23, HOLY CORN

So, today I came home at around 4:00 pm. I'm SO glad I did, because I got to witness the biggest corn shucking party of my life. I have never seen so much corn before. It reminded me of watching kids play in the sandbox because of how deep the kernels went. They explained that it will be made into ugali once pounded down into a flour-like substance. There was also a heaping pile of pumpkins, in addition to a large pile of sunflower seeds--those will be used to make sunflower seed oil, which is very common here.

I also had a blast with Priska in my room. We had a dance party, she did my hair, she did my makeup (very interesting experience. Blue eyeliner to the eyebrows. Blush all over my entire face. Different colors of eyeshadow on each eye), and we played around with photo booth. Overall, a very fun day. I also got to wear a headscarf for a while, decked out with some shades. Then Priska rocked the look. She is a major camera whore--she hops in every photo I ever take. I laughed super hard when I was taking pictures outside. She's a riot. LOVE IT!

I'm sooOOOOO nervous/excited/anxious about finding out my site placement. I WANT IT TO BE FRIDAY. There are many rumors, but nothing can be believed until they tell us.

Also, I'm pretty sure I just sustained some electrical burns when trying to get my computer to charge. I battled with the outlet/my power converter, and now my thumb is definitely messed up. Hands have been officially electrocuted.

July 23, Dreams About Placement

Last night I had a dream that I was placed in the Mtwara region of TZ (I am hoping for Tanga, but I'd be pumped to be in the South, too!). It felt so real. I woke up feeling even more anxious and wishing I could squeeze it out of the PC office. Sigh...torture.

It is really chilly again this morning. There is a huge difference between the temperature at 6 am and 3 pm...it gets much warmer. I got eggs for breakfast, which was nice. Lately I have been just eating potatoes and oranges in the morning, so it was good to get some protein in my body.

The abrasions on my wrist got worse over night. Stupid laundry. I'm glad mine aren't as bad as Tracy and Sam's...they have some intense hand wounds. I may seriously consider paying someone to wash my sheets once I'm at site. I probably won't actually do that, but part of me is tempted. They take forever to wash, and that's WITH help.

I'm taking pictures for Tracy tonight. The PC is printing off family photos for us (with us in the picture). I need to have someone take a picture of my family, too, since my camera seems too hard for people to use.

July 22, Proposals and Things

So, I forgot to mention I went to the market today. Got a duffel bag and made friends with a vendor. He complemented my Swahili even though I messed up and responded to one of his questions the wrong way. I'm trying at least.

On my walk back home one of the student teachers caught up with me. He didn't remember my name, but told me that "it is as beautiful as I am" once I reminded him my name is Jade. He is one of many student teachers who has proposed to me/the other girls in my CBT. It's not really who we are, just that we're American. I think they just want us to stay here with them, but I'm not sure what's so appealing about Americans. Guess we're exotic.

Dinner was the same....again. Ugali. Beans. Spinach. We did have chicken which was really exciting!!!  I had multiple small pieces, and my host mom made sure to give me extra greens since I ran out of everything else before I managed to eat all of my ugali. It definitely needs something to accompany it, so I'm glad she dished out more beans for me!

I also had a photo-shoot with the kids who were chilling in my house tonight. They laughed a lot, and so did I, and it was quite a bit of fun. My host sister still can't manage to use my camera. I am not sure why--I try to explain what to do, but the camera won't focus with auto-focus on, and is super blurry with auto-focus off. I should take a picture of the amount of corn kernels that got shucked out--there's like a barrel full or something crazy like that. So much produce! I had some of the squash today for a snack. Very, very delicious.

July 22, Laundry Day Sucks

So, today was another day of humiliation on the laundry front. This time I actually started getting some skin irritation, but my hands have held up a lot better than other peoples. They laughed extra hard when I pretended to cry. And then told everyone they could that I had pretended to cry because I'm bad at scrubbing.

I drew more pictures with my host sister Priska. She came in with the box of crayons, but seemed to prefer my pencils, so I guess I will give her those, too. It was a fun activity...much better than doing chores.

Came to town and saw plenty of wazungu again here at Oasis. Pretty uneventful day otherwise...aside from hearing rumors about site placements. I'm so nervous!!! We find out Friday!!!

July 21, Shoulder-Pads

So, last night we went back to Camel Pub as a big group. They ended up charging us about 30,000 extra shillings on three separate bills. Tempers flared, we paid the extra, and then PJ stayed after to talk to the manager. Apparently a staff meeting is being held there today to address the problem. He said some of the patrons wanted to pick a fight with us, too, but I’m not sure if he meant a physical one or not. I don’t think we will be going back anytime soon…

I need to really buckle down and study tomorrow. I have been slacking off/not learning what I need to be learning this week. I’ve been feeling quite tired and somewhat sick, and I just need to force myself to review grammar/vocab.

We only had ½ a day of training today. (AMEN! But seriously…) I received the outfit I had made—I burst out laughing when I saw myself in the mirror. Literally. The shoulders are insane. I feel like a line-backer or something. I’m going to try pinning them down so they are a bit less intense, even though it is the style to have big shoulders here. The skirt fits well. It hugs my booty a little, but not in a bad way. Amanda said that she will help me out, so hopefully I can adjust the shirt so it’s a little less intense.

In other news, we have a TON of corn, sunflowers, and grapefruit at my house. Piles and piles and piles outside. I need to take a picture tomorrow because I am truly amazed by the amounts!

All three of my packages arrived today! I was excited, but jealous of other people who got boxes of food and things. So far the mail system is working for me, though! (knock on wood.) Also, a happy birthday to my grammie back in the US! It’s her birthday today. Wishing I could be there for some lobsters and potato salad. I’d kill for an American dinner right now. 

--

Also, today I gave my host sister Priska some crayons and a notebook to draw with. She seems pretty happy about it! It was nice to give them back something since they're so hospitable. I wish I had better gifts to give them....oh well. 

July 19, Tickle Wars

Dongle is now credited! So, I forgot to mention a couple fun details from the past couple days.

1. Camel Pub’s slogan is “Where you are mostly welcome”. I think this is hysterical.

2. Sam showed us the Phish “meat-stick” dance. It was pretty awesome. We also did the Macarena for PJ.

3. Choo roach is gone. Or on vacation… Either way my parasites and I can now go to the bathroom in peace!

4. I got a “high-intermediate” score on my midterm LPI in Swahili. Much better than I thought I’d do and I’m skeptical that I really can speak that well.

5. We have been majorly skimming through things this week. We have done like 4 units or something, but I definitely haven’t processed anything lately.

Anyway, today I had a ½ hour-long tickle war with Priska. It was pretty fun, but I eventually just wanted to sit peaceably so I ended it. I also had her do my hair—she gave me lopsided pigtail buns. I was shown off around the house. Pretty fun afternoon aside from all the homework I had to do.

The highlight of the day, however, was PJ telling a story about this time he was at a train station in Dar es Salaam. In short, he got tricked by a man claiming he was trying to sell a bunch of gold, and lost two smart-phones and a bunch of money in the process. I laughed until my insides hurt. Apparently he was easily fooled because they drugged him by shaking his hand—not sure what kind of drug they have here that can be absorbed through the skin, but it sounds sketchy.

I really want a back massage. And for my stomach to feel better—I have been feeling pretty crappy. I did get an apple from Michelle today, though, which was nice.  She usually gives me fruit at chai, which makes me happy. I guess her host family is very generous with the fruit giving, and she passes the good karma along.

--

Also, see this article. It's been pretty big news here: http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=43810

July 19, I have a parasite

So, lot's of updates, but so little dongle time. For some reason it won't transfer credit onto mine anymore as of yesterday, so I'll try to be quick.

--I have some kind of parasite. I've been feeling pretty sick, called the doctor, got meds, should be in the clear by Sunday. The other PCVs who have been here for a while joked that eventually I'll learn to view parasites as pets. Awesome. Meet Bob & Squiggles.

--We went on a walk-around the market yesterday as a CBT. I got some awesome fabric and I'm going to have a dress made. The one I already had made here should be ready soon--I'm very excited!! Tracy also got fabric, and Aly and Michelle have been having things made the whole time.

--Sam found/bought a Grateful Dead Flag that he found in the market. It was an exciting moment.

--I was woken up yesterday at 5:40 to the sound of my host sister crying/screaming bloody murder. I'm not sure what she did, and how much I should comment on it, but she was being physically punished. I just wanted to run out and hug her, but I awkwardly sat in my room unsure of what I should/could/would do. Not my favorite way to wake up.

--I really miss American food. I have been eating a steady amount of ugali. I am hoping for rice soon....

--I bought a watch. Not sure yet if it actually can keep time. Only time will tell. Badum-sh.

--Went out to Camel Pub for Kristina's bday. The owners wanted a picture of us so they could advertise the bar. Pretty funny.

--Gretchen observed my lesson today and gave me a lot of really positive feedback!! I felt really encouraged/pumped up by her commentary. My kids also really liked my mouse-stuck-in-a-basket story. (Thanks to Mel, fellow PCV, for that). Many of them said the rat shouldn't help the mouse out of the basket because the mouse would eat the rat. I've seen TZ rats so now I'm wondering just how big these TZ mice are....

--Gretchen also gave all the English teachers these big color photos to use as writing prompts. They're pretty cool, though very old. I'm excited about it.

July 16, Battle of the Choo Roach

Last night a cockroach emerged from the lid of the choo (pen: ch-ohh = pit latrine/toilet) and scuttled onto my foot. This is the second time he has disrupted my ability to pee in peace. Then, this morning when I went to get my towel from the door, I saw choo roach again! He scurried away before I could do anything about it, but I have a feeling he will be back. The bathroom is quickly becoming a battleground of girl vs. roach.

In truth today was more a battle of the flies. I got home at 4:00 and helped peel some spinach stalks. I also learned how to make ugali, which was exhausting, but cool. (I learned while some random guy sat next to me. He kept asking my mama questions. She told him not to call me "mzungu" because I resent the term--yay host mama!--and explained that he should speak to me in Swahili since I'm learning the language pretty quickly. It was nice of her.) It's been hot today and every two seconds a housefly has seemed to land on me. They're all over--on me, on the food, on the ground.... I can get used to the bugs being around me, but having them land in my bug bites is just terribly annoying. Seriously. I feel like I'm a piece of dead meat when flies start just making my legs their new home...

In other news, I accidentally walked in on my bibi (grandma) when she was bathing. She accepted my apology. I'm not sure why the bathroom door was open.

Also, my neighbors/family think it's hilarious when I "dance" to the music coming from the voucher stand. Today they all died laughing when I joked that I "always" dance. Basically I just bob along to the music, but I'm happy to be the source of their entertainment. It's inevitable, so I prefer being the one who starts the joke.

I also saw my school's morning assembly today. Kids who were in trouble lined up in 2 rows and kneeled on the ground. They were then hit with a switch on the hand/butt. Most didn't make a sound, but a couple shouted when they were hit. Here at home the kitten was also hit a couple times after it daringly nabbed a fish head from a pot that was sitting on the ground. I will give the cats credit for having a lot of spunk. Often they get booted or swatted, though I do think my family genuinely likes having them around.

Lastly, tonight I met two new "kaka". I'm so confused by my family dynamic. I'm starting to think that Jackie is not actually my host sister--or maybe my host mama isn't the mama of the three kids living here...or...well, honestly I'm not sure. Tonight she introduced them as "Jackie's brothers". Not sure what the blood line is, but I'm not too worried. The two brothers were very perplexed by my ability to speak any Swahili, but they still gave me a hard time about not eating enough and being "too quiet". Ah well.

July 15, Ready for Site Placement

So today was another good day. I did laundry, which was frankly exhausting. My arms are still sore. It took me forever even though one of the house dadas started helping me about half-way through. I had a lot of clothing to get through because I had no time to do laundry last weekend. So much work! I really admire these girls--they seem to do it so seamlessly. I'm still pretty bad at doing it quickly or with any style. No children crowded around to watch today, but one guy did come over and sit with me for a while. He was nice so I didn't mind. He asked me questions about what I knew how to do and laughed when I said I could ride a bike and drive a car. People seem to be incredulous whenever I say I can do basic things, which kind of undermines my confidence, but it doesn't bother me too much.

I also swept, mopped (by which I mean dragged a wet rag around my floor by hand), and organized my room. Additionally, I sprayed some of the anti-bug spray around the corners of my room. Pretty sure I saw a lot of things running when I did it...hopefully they are dead now.

I also went to town with Sam today and met up with Katie after a couple hours. I think I'm going to look at their Vermont photos so I know who they are talking about when they discuss St.Mike's. We also ran into other PCT people while in town, which was nice. I had chipsi mayai with toppings (onions, jalepeno peppers, ketchup etc.) which was pretty awesome.The internet didn't work at Oasis, however, so no skyping was possible.... sadly.

I think I accidentally gave a teenage girl a death stare today. She called me "mzungu" in a really condescending voice and I raised my eyebrows at her in disgust before really realizing it. Sometimes I miss blending in...it'd just be nice to be able to walk without getting a ton of attention from everybody. I responded nicely to everyone else I met, and greeted lot's of people before they said anything to me, so it wasn't like I was being anti-social today. Sometimes I just hate feeling like people are mocking me, especially people who are younger than me, and she definitely got a glare that expressed that sentiment.

I got some dates today at the grocery store. So good. I think there might be an increase of them because Ramadan is coming up, but I'm not sure. I shared them with Katie and Sam. The other PC people are daters (date-haters), so they didn't eat any. I did find a little worm in the bottom of the package once we had eaten about half of them. Mmmm protein.

In anycase, this week is going to be another long one. I just want to know where I'm going to be placed!!!!! Less than two weeks until I find out. Hopefully in a warm, coastal spot, but who knows!

July 14, Good Day

I got a 92 on my written midterm exam--I'm happy! Better than I thought I did! Now I just need to find out how I scored on my oral LPI--probably a very different story.

Yesterday we went out to Camel Pub with our LCF (Language and Cross-Culture Facilitator), PJ. It was a lot of fun! I had Redd's in a bottle for the first time, rather than in a can. Later we met a big group of PCT people at a different bar closer to my village. I joked around about it being a white-person convention since we were the biggest group there by far. There was also a student-teacher games session and after-party hosted by the school I'm interning at (St.Denis Secondary School). I stopped by before going home at the party since it was pretty much two doors down from my house. There is a bar called "Extraction Point" really close by, and that's where they hosted it. The electricity was out again, though, so everyone had to use candles, lanterns, and cell phones to see. Tonight it's been on since I got home--not sure how that works, but I'm just going with the flow.

Today was a good day. I enjoyed the training sessions and we got out early. WOOHOO. Then we went to a place nearby to hangout and celebrate Kristina's birthday. Some people from my CBT went to get cake, but apparently the restaurant they went to didn't have any. My CBT is kind of obsessed with cake and ice-cream.

Saw some extra big cockroaches today, but found myself adjusting well. Last night I did choo-ga (pit latrine yoga) in an effort not to pee directly over the biggest cockroach I have ever seen. It was right where I normally would go, but I was afraid that it would fly up at me. I ended up squatting in a very strange way to avoid any sort of unpleasant surprise.

Also, I have discovered a delicious type of fried rice-ball that I can actually eat! The grease is a little hard on me, but they taste like donuts. I'm pretty excited about it. I also got to eat cabbage twice today which really excited me. AND we had chicken wings at the CCT. It was a great day.

July 13, Friday the 13th

Will it be my lucky day?

I'm thinking maybe it will be my unlucky day because since 5:30 someone in my house has been hitting the snooze on their laughing baby alarm. It's gone off multiple times and takes a couple minutes of hee-hee-haw-haw-haw-haw-heeing before they will shut it off. Driving me a little bonkers. There is always an amazing amount of noise at night. Last night music was blaring from the voucher stand and some car was going around with a megaphone announcing stuff at like 11:00 pm. (There is a phone voucher stand right in front of my house--super convenient!)

Today we will be having our exams in the morning, then we have the option of participating in a staff football game (soccer). There is also a welcome party for all the student teachers from 6:00-8:00, but I might go out with people from the Kihonda CBT instead. I am really looking forward to the weekend!

My internet was going beyond slow this morning, but seems to be working a bit better now. Unfortunately I have to actually get up soon and take my bucket bath. I hope the water is good and hot.  A lot of the time it's luke-warm at best, and that just makes me cringe when I have to dump it over my head. It gets very chilly at night here, so taking a cold bath at 6:30 is royally unpleasant.

I really need to buy a watch. None of the classrooms have clocks, and I don't really want to use my cell-phone while teaching. There is also a never-ending shortage of chalk and erasers. Yesterday I forgot to bring my own chalk, so a student went and rounded some up for me. We use a sponge as an eraser in Form 1A, but it actually works better than the real erasers given to us by Peace Corps. It's like a big loofa-like sponge, and it does a pretty good job. I'm still adjusting to writing up on the board. I have to monitor myself because I don't write uniformly. I change my A's and write certain letters in CAPS, but I have done fine so far in terms of keeping things uniform. Maybe this will transform my writing sloppiness! Most kids don't have a book, so what you write is what they have to learn from. No pressure or anything, right?

July 12, PJ ate dinner at my house

So, today I taught Form 1A and they were SO much further ahead than Form 1B. We played "smack that" (boys vs. girls relay race of sorts) and they really seemed to like it. I felt good about the lesson overall. In fact, when I had them write sentences, one girl wrote a really cool story about going to Nairobi. It was kind of fairytale like and I was very pleasantly surprised by her level of creativity! Girls typically speak up much less here, so this student is definitely exceptional.

I took my written LPI today. I know I made some mistakes but I'm not sure how many there really were. We get them back on Saturday. Tomorrow is the oral LPI--I'm nervous, but glad it will be over soon. I just want to be intermediate-mid, but I have a feeling I haven't reached that level. I did a lot of flashcards today, though, so I am working on it!

PJ came over for dinner at my house tonight. He is going around to all the houses in our CBT group. (PJ is my Swahili teacher.) It was nice to talk in Kiswahili and English. I got most of the Kiswahili conversations which made me feel good. He asked why we were laughing in class so much today. It was just a pretty hilarious day. At one point we were doing flashcards and PJ held up a card of someone pooping into a pit latrine. Aly asked what "shit" was in Swahili, and PJ responded "Look in your dick!" He meant dictionary, but it still made everyone bust out laughing. There were several other hilarious things (we talked about health and body today, which leant itself to a lot of joking), but they were probably moments that aren't funny out of context.

Today the electricity was out from 6 am to 6 pm. Now it's back on. For a while my computer charger stopped working and I got really worried, but it seemed to work a 1/2 hour ago.

Hoping to receive some mail/email/news from home soon!!

July 11, No Power

Tonight is the third night in a row we don’t have electricity. I think it came back on last night, so I don’t think it’s permanently gone, but I’m not exactly sure why it’s not here anymore. My family doesn’t really have many lanterns, so I ate by flashlight after the solar light the Peace Corps gave me died. I haven’t charged it lately, so tomorrow I need to stick it in the sun.

Today I started teaching for the first time. I found out 1 hour before the class that they wanted me to do a lesson on the past tense, but I was allowed to teach how and what I wanted!! I observed a lesson at 8:00 that morning. Teaching was interesting—the students didn’t understand things that I assumed they would, and got things I thought would be hard for them. For instance, one mistake a bunch of them kept making was to always say “I ___” even when switching pronouns. “Elizabeth I washed” or “She I went”. They looked at me like I had three heads when I asked them to work in groups and write a story about their friend’s weekend. I tried explaining they could make up anything they wanted to say, but I guess that concept is pretty foreign to them. An interesting mistake they made was confusing talking with taking. “I talked my bag” was written down by several of the students. Strangely, they seem to know some big vocabulary like “dust-bin”, but don’t know what talk means. Fortunately that’s one of the verbs I know in Swahili so I was able to translate.

I will be teaching tomorrow and taking the written part of my Swahili midterm. I’m nervous and kind of disappointed in myself preemptively. I really should know more by now. I have learned quite a bit, but it’s hard to buckle down and study after being in class all day. I get tired even when we aren’t doing anything strenuous, and I do try to spend at least a couple hours around my host family. Tonight I studied some vocab with Priska, which was fun. I like when I can use studying as a bonding activity!

Before going home today I went out to get a drink/chill-out at a bar down the road. When we got there a woman came up and welcomed me, kissed me on both cheeks, and hugged me. Then she sat down at our table and started talking to us in English. She had a toddler with her that she was breastfeeding periodically and she took my Reds (4.5% alcohol) out of my hand and gave it to the baby. Then the baby kept grabbing for my drink and crying when I wouldn’t give him more. She stole my drink a couple more time and also gave the kid sips of beer.  She assured us she wasn’t crazy or part of the free-masons (they think they’re a secret society of devil worshippers run by Jay-Z and Rihanna for some unknown reason.) She was pretty drunk and decided to buy us drinks even when we repeatedly said no, no thank you, we can’t, we need to go home soon, our families wouldn’t approve etc. We ended up leaving the drinks she bought at the bar since we needed to go home and study/didn’t want to send a wrong message. I’m not sure if it would have mattered, but Sam made sure to refuse the beer that she opened for him (with her teeth no less!) and I left mine with her as well.  It was pretty funny because she kept telling Sam to marry me, and she explained to me he hadn’t married me yet because we’re from “Europe”. Tanzanians seem to be kind of obsessed with marriage status. In fact, she went from calling him my “boyfriend”, to “husband to be”, to “husband” in the course of about five minutes. I didn’t argue with her because I didn’t think it would be worth the hassle of explaining. I still need to invest in an engagement ring for future times when marriage comes up and I don’t have another male volunteer with me. It’s easier to turn down proposals if you can visually back up the fact you’re “taken”, or so I’ve been told. For now I’ll hope being around male volunteers will keep people mostly at bay, although it definitely hasn’t worked as a full-proof plan so far.

Oh, the power just came back on. I think it has something to do with a problem in the neighborhood supply. Our neighbors were without power today too I think, but I still need to figure out what’s happening exactly. It is good practice for being at site since I doubt I will have any electricity there. It’s 9:30pm now.

In other news, my host sister and mother ate with me tonight, which was nice. My baba came in shortly after and asked me some questions about America and about what I’m teaching at St. Denis Secondary School. I’m craving papaya even though I know I don’t actually like it. I think I’m just dehydrated again. I forgot to drink most of the day. I need to do better about that.

Baadaye!

July 10, Mwizi

I am supposed to teach the past tense using material from “English Language for Secondary Schools Book One.” I thought I would share the passages/sentences that are in Chapter 9, which introduces the simple past tense. They get progressively weirder, so if you have a short attention span, skip to passage two.

Passage #1: Jacqueline was born in a family of four children. She was born in 1985 and studied at Mwakaleli Secondary School. She was very intelligent. She always did very well in class. Most of the time she came first in examinations.

            One day, her mother asked her to go to the nearby shop to buy eggs. Jacqueline did as her mother asked her to. After a while, she returned home with five eggs. Then, her mother asked her to fry the eggs in a frying pan for her younger sister. She agreed and began preparing the eggs so that she could fry them. All of a sudden, she smelt a foul smell. Afterwards, she realized that one of the eggs was rotten. She took it and carefully put it in a dustbin.

            After that, she rushed to the shop and angrily told the shopkeeper to give her another egg or the money with which she had bought the rotten egg. Interestingly, the shopkeeper gave her another egg. Jacqueline went back home and continued preparing the eggs. Later, she narrated the story to her mother who, in turn, praised her for her courage and for the immediate reaction.

Regular verbs:

1.     Asha helped me to clean the room before she left for school.

2.     The car stopped suddenly.

3.     Julius killed the snake with a stick.

4.     Ntuta opened the door and went out quickly.

5.     Halima studied at this school ten years ago.

6.     He died of AIDS because he did not use condoms.

Passage #2 (the end of the passage, the beginning gives details about his outfit what he was buying at the market etc.):

As the seller was busy looking for the change, a certain young man came to the kiosk and stood near me. I thought he was a customer too, even though his appearance shocked me. He wore ragged clothes which had holes. A few minutes late, the seller returned. As he was handing me the change, that young man left the place quickly. I took the money and put it in the pocket which had the phone. To my surprise, there was no phone in the pocket. Quickly, I turned and caught sight of the young man, fading into the distance.

            “Thief! Thief! Thief!” I shouted unconsciously, pointing to the direction which the young man had taken. All at once, people from all corners of the market came out. Some carried stones in their hands. Others carried sticks and empty bottles of soda. And yet others had knives.

            The young man tried to run as fast as he could but his skinny legs failed him. He threw the phone when he saw angry people racing after him. But unfortunately for him the angry people reached him and started pounding him with the weapons they were carrying as if they were pounding cassava leaves in a mortar.

            “Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me!” the thief cried. However, people went on beating him mercilessly. Blood gushed out of his body. In fact, blood flowed from his nostrils, mouth, eyes, and other parts of the body. One muscular man stabbed a knife into the thief’s eye, and then he took a wheel from somewhere and put it around the thief’s neck, ready to burn him. But the thief was lucky. Three police officers appeared. They saved his life at last!”

July 10, Home Early

Today we finished early—mostly just a language day/some people actually taught classes. I won’t actually be teaching until Thursday apparently. Tomorrow I will observe an English lesson, and then I will teach the class the next day. I’m kind of happy about that so I can get a better idea of how much the students know/comprehend.

I’m feeling pretty tired today. I actually passed out after lunch for about 10 minutes and woke up when I started drooling on myself. Pretty awesome! This week is kind of a big deal since we have a midterm language exam and our internship. I’m nervous for both, and both are now on Thursday. Woohoo!

My internet is being impossibly slow right now. Slug-paced. It’s because I paid for the hourly plan last night (for 200 shillings…like 20 cents), but still have access today. There’s a glitch in the airtel system that enables this to happen—basically 1 hour becomes 24 hours, but after the first 1 the speed is severely compromised. It’s almost unusable right now, but I did manage to upload 160 photos last night, so sometimes the Internet works quite well.

They’re making sweaters right now…I can hear the sound of the little weaving machine they use. I need to go out and actually socialize. Lately I haven’t been around as much as I should be.

I’m anxious to find out our site assignments even though we won’t until July 27^th. I’m very curious where I will be going and who I will be close to/if I will be near any other volunteers. TZ is pretty big, so we will be spread out.

Will write later! Hopefully with more interesting things to say!