September 29, Bought Some Cashew Nuts!

So I'm lucky that the bus out of my village started this morning...it was looking bleak for a while, but they did actually get it running by 4:40. It sounded like it would fall apart at any moment the whole ride to Lusho, but I made it without breaking down!

I have been practicing eating small amounts at a time, in addition to limiting my water intake around meals to avoid vomiting. (It's become a problem again.) Our PCMO, Dr. Makwabe, is on board with my diet plan, although part of me wonders if something  else is going on in my stomach. Hopefully everything will be resolved soon if I stick to my veggie platters!

I tried to buy a gas stove but the store was closed for prayer all day. I'm hoping it will be open tomorrow! I did get some storage containers for food and a couple other house-hold things.

Hannah is by far the best at socializing with everybody here in Lushoto. I have a hard time being loud enough when I'm greeting people sometimes. It's hard enough for me to say hello to everyone I pass, let alone say greetings super loudly. Amy is also very good at being social, but not quite as exuberant. Sometimes I feel like I am too shy and reserved. I just tend to get a lot of unwanted male attention, so I'm kind of hesitant to be overly social to a lot of the guys here. It's just so hard to navigate the female-male relationship dynamic...

September 28, Lessons to Be Learned

It's 7:00 in the morning, so nothing interesting has happened today. Nonetheless, I think I will use my battery time to write about lessons we can learn from TZ. I am tempted to also write about what they can learn from us, but everything I have typed out so far sounds a bit cynical, which isn't my intention, so I'll start with what we can learn. Note: Some lessons I personally feel may be a bit over-the-top to truly be adopted by Americans, but we can still take the core lesson from their cultural values/practices!

Things Americans Can Learn from Tanzanians:

• It's good to laugh. Don't take yourself too seriously--Laugh at yourself, and don't be afraid if others laugh at you, too.
• French fries should be served omelette style whenever possible. Seriously. Chipsi mayai. Best. Food. Ever. 
• Respect your elders.
• Share. Yes, that thing you hated doing in preschool. It's okay to let others use or even have your things. They are just THINGS.
• Let your children have some freedom. Living life is about making some mistakes and getting hurt occasionally. Don't keep your kids in a plastic bubble.
• Don't make breast-feeding a sexual or scandalous activity. It's about feeding a child, not about ogling someone's boobs.
• Swim in a ninja-turtle outfit. Seriously. Just try it, it will be fun. 
• Don't let time control you. Roll with the punches a little bit. 
• Embrace your inner-urge to hit the repeat button over and over again, so long as you truly do love that song. 
• Make toys out of trash. Get creative with your recycling abilities. Water bottles make awesome cars, and the caps even roll like actual wheels. 
• Live in the moment--life can be very short, so enjoy it while it lasts. 
• Buy custom-made items. Support your local economy rather than Wal-Mart. 
• Say hello to people when walking down the street. 
• Make rice fritters (vitumbua). They are delicious. 
• Don't be too afraid of the outside world. Cockroaches happen. 

Alright, my internet bundle is running low, so that's all for now. Off to Lushoto tomorrow--electricity ahoy! 

September 27, Good Second Day of Teaching!

Today was a really productive, encouraging day! I started off by doing laundry and sweeping my house. I turned down a man trying to give/sell me vitumbua, and had some nuts for breakfast. Delicious and nutritious.

I taught for 80 minutes rather than the 40 minutes I had planned. (The schedule said that "Physics" would be taught starting at 11:40 so I planned accordingly. Silly me. I confirmed today that there are actually no permanent or temporary science teachers of any kind at my school.) The kids were very eager to answer questions, and they listened well, so it was good!

I went to the market with Saumu and got rightly-priced produce. When I came back I went to see my mkuu in her office. She gave me NECTA and Class statistics for my library project, talked to me about my health, helped me arrange a potential Kiswahili/Kisambaa teacher (JB's wife--I'll find out tomorrow if she'll agree to tutor me), and told me she'd help me buy couch cushions. She also gave me permission to go to Lushoto to get a gas stove this weekend. This makes me feel far less guilty about leaving site again since she told me it's important to get it ASAP.

I made gazpacho and it was delicious! Okay, well, I made something similar to it. I didn't have all the ingredients I needed because they weren't available at the market today. After bathing (It was a super hot bucket bath! Oh, and I'm getting really good at using my charcoal jiko!!) I went over and talked to my mkuu and her nieces. They gave me an avocado to eat while we chatted, and my mkuu and her nieces didn't try to make me eat the dinner they'd prepared. It was great! It would have been a perfect day if I didn't have a number of different stomach problems. My no-vomitting streak ended tragically after I finished eating my gazpacho. A lot of wasted vegetable chopping, but I'm not letting my health problems affect how nice today felt! It's the first time I've truly felt productive in a while, so I'm very excited.

Also, I was complimented on another one of my African-style outfits. I need to have more made since they really seem to appreciate "the effort I'm making to integrate".

ALSO THERE MIGHT BE ELECTRICITY AT MY MKUU'S HOUSE BY JANUARY. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT MEANS MINE TOO BUT I WILL DREAM!
---
School Statistics/Why WE NEED A LIBRARY:

Number of students: 196--Even though that doesn't add up? 

Form 1: 22 Boys; 34 Girls; Total of 56 

Form 2: 17 Boys; 24 Girls; Total of 41

Form 3: 21 Boys; 26 Girls; Total of 47

Form 4: 20 Boys; 28 Girls; Total of 48

Capacity for students per school buildings/classrooms available= 480 

Student: Teacher Ratio: 65:1

Subjects Taught: English, Civics, Geography, History

Subjects Missing: Biology, Physics, Chemistry, KiSwahili 

In 2011 22 out of 52 students failed their NECTA final exam. That means they cannot go on to higher levels of education. 24 students scored "Division 4", which means they can go on to trade schools, but not university.

September 26, My Day Part Two

So, today a bunch of my female students came over to sweep my yard...which means they swept my dirt for me. After sweeping they asked for water. (It is common here for people to do you favors if they want something in return. Fortunately for them I can spare the water.)They also asked for food so I let them try macadamia nuts. Later a group of about thirty of them came to invite me to netball. I declined because I am not really feeling so hot. They all stayed for about a half hour and taught me some words in kisambaa. They also looked at my photo album and PST magazine.

The outfit I wore was a big hit today. I have on one of the African style blouse and skirt combos I had made here. Blending in slowly but surely. Well....a little.

September 26, First Day of Teaching

Today I taught my first class. It could have been better, but I guess it could have been worse. They don't really understand English, nor did they seem to want to stay quiet when their fellow classmates were introducing themselves. Not all the students have notebooks, so that is going to be another obstacle. I didn't expect them to have any books, but universal notebook use would be nice for giving out assignments.

It is going to be interesting using non-physical punishments with students who are used to getting beaten. I am hoping tomorrow will go better and that I will feel better about things.

Most of my students are between 14 to 15 years old, though some are older. Most seemed to have around three siblings, but that also varied. Many like to play netball and football. Dancing was also popular amongst the group. Most of the girls wear white headscarves, but a couple just had on the maroon and white uniforms. I noticed many of their sweaters have holes in them, which is interesting because Tanzanians are big on keeping their clothing nice. I think my village has a lot of poverty problems. The students can't afford a graduation ceremony and many families do not contribute school dues. Lack of parental funding means less resources and no lunch for those students who don't pay. I am actually not sure if they are serving lunch this semester. I haven't scopped it out yet.

I ate stewed tomatoes and macadamia nuts for lunch. I wish I had more protein sources, especially since nuts are hard to come by and cost a lot. Meat tends to be fatty and overpriced, and without refrigeration I question how safe it really is to eat. I may have to just get over that, but eating steak that has been broiled to death just isn't my thing. I do like the chicken here so I may look into whether or not I can get individual pieces here in town. I admit fully that I haven't explored the meat options here, so I should probably do that. That, or just live off of eggs forever.

My students enjoyed the pictures I showed them of home. I wish I had more. Some also came to my house and asked for water. I didn't have any drinking water available aside from the stuff with my rehydration salts in it. They ended up just scooping some water out of one of my green big buckets. I have two large buckets I use to keep water in, but that water is in no way clean. I told them that, but they didn't care or seem to understand why I would suggest drinking water was different.

On that note I love my steripen and the filter it came with! Best gift ever.

I am not feeling well, but I am doing okay. I am hoping my headache and nausea will subside if I drink enough ORS (Oral rehydration salts) over the next couple days. I am having salad for dinner and trying to think of some good recipes that fit my diet. If you have suggestions please leave a comment or send me an email. I need recipes based around the following foods: cabbage, spinach, tomatoes, carrots, avocadoes, onions, cucumber, zucchini, and eggplant. Note that the recipes shouldn't involve using oil or butter. Raw oil is okay, but nothing can be cooked in oil or fried.

September 24, I Fainted in a Market

So, today I have been laying in bed for the larger part of the day. This morning we got up and had some breakfast at Tumaini. Later on I went with Sarah to the market to pick up some khanga, kitenge (cloth used to make dresses, curtains etc.), and housewares. I got some nice fabric to hang in front of my doors (very African style, plus it should make things look a little prettier in my house). I also picked up a wash basin and some kitchen items. Right around paying for a refugee bag (to carry things in) and a water scoop I started to feel extremely nauseous. I realized I was about to pass out and managed to sit down, but then tried to get up for some reason. I failed at walking, hit the wall of another duka, and blacked out. The Tanzanians were quite concerned by this whole thing, so apparently they got me a stool. Sarah told me that I sat down on it, but then face planted into the ground, getting my face and dress all dirty in the process. I regained consciousness after a little bit and talked to the doctor on the phone. Thankfully Sarah was there, so things ended up fine! In any case, I'm guessing the fainting spell has to do with being overly dehydrated. I may or may not have to go see Dr. Makwabe in Dar. I have a feeling I will just be able to go back to site tomorrow--that's my hope anyway. It all depends on whether or not my other sickness symptoms resolve themselves tonight, but I'm hoping a good night's rest and some water will do the trick.

Anyway, for now I'm enjoying the comfy blankets here at Tumaini. I'm drinking oral rehydration salts and eating a couple bananas. It's nice to have good company, and I've had some very nice Facebook chatting tonight, so I'm happy.

Hanging out with Sarah has been GREAT. It's really great to hear about Zambia and how it compares to Tanzania. It's also just nice to see a friend from home, especially someone who is so laid back and fun to be around. I also got a package today. I am SOOOOO HAPPY! I got a steripen! And a bag of gluten-free pretzels! And an oven-mit! I feel so loved. My mamma is the best. Packages are the best thing. Little pieces of home just make being here a lot easier somehow. (Hint-hint: Send me letters!)

September 24, Thoughts on Blogging

I have recently been contemplating whether or not I should continue this blog. My intentions behind keeping a blog are pretty simple:

1) To let friends and family know what my new life is like.
2) To keep a diary of sorts for this whole thing.
3) To let other potential PCVs know a little of the inside scoop.

I have found, however, that it is hard to honor all three objectives. I have the following issues with blogging:

1) I can never really post the whole story. I wouldn't want a negative entry to affect my relaionships here if someone from my village read my posts. I also don't want to get in trouble with Peace Corps. And it's hard to express the positive things in a way readers can actually understand since usually the up-moments are very simple.
2) I don't have the internet time or speed to tell the whole story anyway. This also leads to spelling errors etc.
3) In allowing everyone to read my blog, certain people don'tknow me well enough to know my sense of humor. I have a good head on my shoulders and I am precautious as a rule. Nonetheless, blogging about my interactions here has been leading to worry and some concerned criticism. This is hard to deal with because I want to include the funny or sketchy things, but I don't want people to assume I am putting myself in danger. Dealing with men here is difficult, but I try to find the humor in the ridiculousness that ensues sometimes.
4) I appreciate people being concerned about my health, but I don't like making people worry. I have had stomach problems for years, and from working with kids I am used to getting sick. Peace Corps will take care of me, and I also plan to put my foot down and enforce my new diet.
5) Subjectivity is hard. I write opinions and not hard facts.

Anyway, I do think I will blog despite the issues. I like to write and keep people involved and informed. For now I am off to breakfast.

September 23, Chilling with Sarah Flynn

I can't get internet to work on my computer, so I am using my kindle. I will keep this short and sweet.

Sarah Flynn is visiting me here in Lushoto. She just finished her two years in Zambia as a PC health volunteer. We are friends from home, so I am super psyched. Anyway yesterday I met two people in Lushoto who were named Abuu and Jasmine. Aladdin and Jaffar must be missing....

Today Hannah, Sarah, and I ended up walking to the Irente Viewpoint. Beautiful walk to a beautiful view. We got a ride back in a truck from two guys who work out of Mombo. They were very nice people. It was also cool to check out the jams and such they sell at Irente Farm. They even have sour cream there!

We had delicious chipsi both yesterday and today. Amy and Ezra joined us for lunch today, actually. The chipsi bwana missed us. I got a big hug and two cheek kisses. He also gave us invitations to a primary school graduation that had been left in his possession. We were invited by the guy who founded our schools, but we didn't actually go see them graduate.

Very chilly here tonight but the weather was great today. Interesting pencil sharpener here at Lawns....sodomistic and Australian.

September 21, Two Months Until My Birthday

Yesterday night was pretty fun. Pam has a super SAFI house by the ocean. I got to dance (Gangnam Style--Youtube it). I jumped on a trampoline and then lazed around on it. There was a delicious salad. All in all, it was a fun time with good friends. Jeff, Charles, Glenn, and Matt were particularly good bros last night. And, as usual, I had a blast dancing with my crazy girls.

Plus, I just love spending time near the ocean. I wish I lived closer sometimes, though I am also happy up in the Usambara mountains. Tanga is the best region by far.

Today has been pretty low-key. Hannah lead a Fuzzy Furry Bunnies Positivity Session. Now I'm half-listening to a session on Female Empowerment. I'm hoping to go to the safi duka today to get some food for the next month. I'm going to try an anti-inflammation diet to see if it will make my stomach problems better. I'm hoping my mkuu will understand, because I'm not going to be able to eat any food they try to give me for the next several weeks. I have a history of stomach problems and I think my food issues are being exacerbated by the way food is cooked here/the kinds of food I'm forced to eat all the time. Everything is cooked in layers of oil, simple carbs are the primary food staple, and sugar is abundant. So, in an effort to not get super-sick all the time, I'm going to have to lay off the vitumbua.

Basically for two weeks I will stick to the following foods (assuming I can get such food/get the Tanzanians to understand I can't cook or eat like they do): Lean meat, fish, nuts, steamed/raw vegetables, and eggs. After two weeks, I will also add in small amounts of fruit, and some oatmeal if things seem to go well. Then after a month I should be able to add potatoes, beans, rice, and corn back into my diet. I'll also eventually be able to cook with oil as well, but probably will need to lay-off the chipsi unless I'm out in Lushoto. That chipsi-mayai is worth a stomachache.

I hope my diet plan works, because I am nervous about the feasibility of doing an anti-inflammatory diet here. It's just not something Americans really seem to understand, let alone Tanzanians. Plus meat is expensive, lean meat is hard to find, and fish is a bit sketchy a lot of the time. If the anti-inflammatory diet doesn't work, then I will have to fess up and tell the doctors I am getting sick regularly. I'm hoping that the diet will work, so keep your fingers crossed that a month of basically only eating salad and steamed spinach will pay off.

September 20, Team Lushoto

Yesterday the safi duka was closed again (curses!) so we ended up just hitting the beach. The weather was beautiful and the water felt nice. It wasn't crowded at all, so we had plenty of space to ourselves. It was a big group, so that was perfect! Then we went to a pizza parlor for dinner. I got salad, calamari rings, and a couple tequila shots. Later on John let me steal some of his mango, and Amanda and I split some chipsi-mayai. The salad/squid were both a bit short in supply, so I was still hungry after dinner. It was a fun night, though. Sang along to some ukelele music that a PCV named Dave was playing. He even knew songs by Flight of the Concords. I got excited.

I also got two of my packages that have been sitting in Dar for weeks. LARA BARS, KIND BARS, AND SESAME SEED BARS HAVE OFFICIALLY MADE MY LIFE COMPLETE. I miss American food so bad.

Today the Super Regional Conference started. It's pretty cool because we have more freedom than I've ever had at a Peace Corps function. We pick the sessions we want to attend, and can leave in the middle of sessions if we get bored. It's an awesome set-up. I am taking advantage of the liberty and spending my time doing some internet stuff. Earlier today Team Lushoto wore crazy shirts and took photos. I uploaded pictures, in addition to sharing some pictures of last night's hair-cutting session. (Amanda cut Hannah's hair at 11:00 pm last night. It was her first time cutting hair. Good times. Solid decisions.)

Tonight we are all getting dinner at Pamela's house. She runs a med NGO here in Tanga and is a former PCV. I am currently chilling out with Anna and rocking out to some tunes. I love electricity.

September 19, Morning Ramblings

Last night we were mobbed by adorable, friendly children at the movie showing we went to outside of Tanga. They had a projection screen and speakers and planned to play a movie called "Chumo", which is about malaria. The showing didn't actually work (power blew out and the sound was having problems anyway), so apparently they're doing it again tonight. The group of us had a good time interacting with the children, but I don't plan on going again. The little guys were adorable, but I had enough of the twelve year-olds hitting on me. We did see a bunch of the PC staff, including my LCF named PJ. They're all here because the new training class for Environment/Health is coming in very shortly. I am gunning for a health volunteer in my village! There's a pretty good chance I could have a real site mate, so I'm really hoping that's the case.

We got dinner in the city at around 9:00. I got a fruit plate and split some chipsi mayai with Amy and managed to keep all of it down--YES. Then I came back to VETA and we took some more obnoxious photos with my PhotoBooth program. So far we've been pretty tired/low-key/irritable as a group. I think it's partially the heat, partially the long training days. I've personally been bummed about my bf not being able to be here. Plus my health still being a bit sub-par. I think that's just how it's going to be until I can get my diet on track, but I am doing better than I was when I had the double-infections, so I'm happy. Regardless, hopefully a dance party will happen soon. I am down to boogie. And act crazy with Amy, Amanda, Hannah, and Anna in particular.

Today is our last day of malaria training. Hopefully tonight will be interesting so I'll have something better to post. So far all I've done today is battle with a khanga. I decided I'd rather just wear a mismatched outfit (purple skirt and a TZ jersey) than deal with trying to get that khanga to wrap around my body the right way. It's super stiff and just won't conform to my hips properly. I am off to breakfast!

September 18, Training

So, not much to report, really. We got some good Indian food as a big group last night at Raskazone, which is a nice restaurant down by the water. I have been continuing to have food troubles, in addition to a cough, but I am handling the heat better than most people! I love the hot weather here! Everyone is pretty exhausted, and dizziness has been a fairly common problem amongst the group due to dehydration.

We went on a field trip today to ask local dukas/dispensaries/schools/people about malaria and its prevalence here. Apparently they shoot people up with valium if they have complicated malaria (cerebral problems), which is interesting. My group went to the dispensary. Impressively, it only costs 1000 shillings at that dispensary to register, be tested, and get malaria medicine. Usually it's more expensive. Tonight we are going out to a village to watch a video about malaria and answer questions. I've been annoyed by the lack of non-glutenful food they've been serving, but I can't eat much anyway, so I guess it's not a huge deal. There's another girl (Amanda) who can't have wheat, either, so really they should pay more attention. Oh, Peace Corps programs.

September 16, Indian Ocean is Love

Today I had some more delicious fruit from one of our favorite bwanas, and also enjoyed some chipsi mayai with Chelsea. We met up with her at the Haunted Mansion a little before noon, and I ended up going to the beach with her later in the day. It was super packed and men kept trying to get us to give them swim lessons. It was really fun to hang out with her, since I've only been able to one other time. I love going to the water. It's beautiful, warm, and pretty clear for being a bay. I am so glad I can get to the ocean. I miss it whenever I'm away.

Also, a kid was swimming in a ninja turtle outfit. I was jealous. I want that as my swim suit, too.

I'm sharing a room with Amanda, Hannah, and Anna. Jaha! Great group, and I'm super psyched to see the other people from my training class as well. Matt, Charles, Jen, Nic Wilder, Jeff, Amy, and Jack are also here. Jasmine will be joining us later as well. :)

Our malaria training starts tomorrow. I'm very tired and my stomach is feeling a bit upset, so I think I'm going to crash now. In closing, I have some other exciting news: I got my correspondence match and I will be communicating with a class from an elementary school in Maine! Woot!

September 15, TANGA TOWN

I'm going to keep this short since I have been up for about 22 hours now, and I'm getting tired. But the speedy internet and electricity are mighty exciting, so I'll give a quick Tanga update. I also have a bunch of photos to post, but that may be a project for tomorrow morning.

I am here in Tanga for our Super-Regional Conference/Malaria training. We will spend three days on malaria training, and two days on teacher training/presentations from volunteers. I'm very excited to see everyone and meet the other Tanga/Pemba/Moshi volunteers.

I left my village at 4:30 this morning. I was supposed to be walked by someone since it's not considered safe for me to walk by myself into the village center that early in the morning, but the watchman didn't end up coming, and Emmanuel didn't wake up, so I walked alone. I ended up spooking myself on my way to the bus, and shouted "HABARI" at a stump. I felt pretty ridiculous, but I have a pretty vivid imagination, and it was pitch black, so I couldn't see very well even with a flashlight. Plus, that stump was probably more scared than I was once I yelled at it so abruptly. Once I got to the bus, no one was around except one man smoking a cigarette. I exchanged about five greetings with him, but it was only once I pulled out my phone to check the time that he realized I was white. Apparently my accent is good enough to pass for an African one in the right circumstances, at least! His tone completely changed once he realized that I was the mzungu-teacher. It was pretty funny, actually. He told me to go rest on the bus, and it was only once I stumbled onto the dark bus that I realized it was pretty much packed full of people. They were all just quietly sitting there in the dark. It was a pretty strange morning.

Once in Lushoto I grabbed some breakfast at Tumaini. I met a man from Kenya who complimented my Swahili and my effort to integrate into the local culture. At around 8:00 a.m I left for Tanga. I arrived in about 4 1/2 hours, which wasn't bad really. The travel time can vary from a mere 3 hours to a dreary 6 hours, depending on the bus and the trip circumstances, but I think 4 1/2 is pretty solid.

Anyway, I met up with Jeff, Amy, and Jack today. I met Jeff at the bus stand, and it was hilarious because they all assumed he was my friend once his bus pulled in (because he is white), which was actually very stereotypically true. I bust out laughing, actually.

Once together we had some delicious fresh fruit, fruit juice, and Indian food, so I ate very well today. It was a pretty chill afternoon. Lot's of chatting. I'm glad to be somewhere hot for a bit. Lushoto gets very cold. I did manage to buy a super soft fleece blanket here for 25,000 shillings, which made my whole day. It was a 20,000 shilling savings from Lushoto prices! I am pumped!

Anyway, I am staying at what we call the "Haunted Mansion" tonight. It is super cheap, but also has really crappy bathrooms. Jeff and I actually went to get drinks at this super-safi bar (where they were playing live reggae music) for the sole purpose of having access to a clean bathroom. Classy times. It was a super nice bathroom, and the music was awesome, so it was a sound decision. We were going to walk an extra half mile past our hotel to go to a different safi-bar, but the music caught our ears, so I'm glad we stopped.

I do have to say that it's been a little weird being in Tanga on an emotional level. I'm REALLY missing a couple of the people who were here last time, but aren't here now. Nonetheless, I am very happy to see all the other PCVs who are coming tomorrow! I'm bummed that my partner-in-crime isn't going to be able to attend the conference with me, but I'm trying to focus on the positives. I love my training class, and I think it will be nice to meet some new Health and Environment people. I'm also thinking a dance party is in store...and maybe some couch cushion shopping. :)

September 15, Re-Cap of Yesterday

Yesterday's entry wasn't a very good one because I wrote it on my Kindle in while sitting (mostly) in the dark, but it was a good day, so I'll re-cap briefly. I have decided to use bullet points because I'm tired and it's almost midnight. Plus I just LOVE lists.

• I woke up early, cleaned my house, and hung my mosquito net. Hammering into my ceiling is quite a chore, so I hope not to do it again!
• I went to the school, but was too early. I showed up at 8:00 like I was supposed to, but JB didn't come until about 8:45. They told me I was very "American" punctuality-wise.
• Mathias Chambitwe (I have been spelling/saying his name wrong. It's not Martius, but Mathias according to a paper hanging in the staff lounge. Oops. I don't feel too bad since he can't say my name, either.) and JB took me to each class so I could introduce myself. I wrote my name up on the board, and encouraged them to learn the "ade" sound since it's pretty common in English. Later on some students echoed my full name as I walked through town, which is neat. 
• I did laundry ALL ALONE (YES! NO ONE GAWKING!) and cooked myself popcorn for lunch. It was delicious, but I made way too much of it. 
• At about 1:00 Saumu came over and tried some popcorn. She ended up insisting I make beans to my dismay, but I do know how to make them TZ style now, I suppose. I enjoyed the freedom to decide what I was cooking for lunch, so the insistence I have beans for dinner was a bit off-putting. She's such a sweetheart, though. We have a lot of fun joking around together. I also taught her to use my camera, and we took silly pictures in my super-mzungu-looking hat I brought to keep from burning up in the sun. 
• I went to the market with Saumu and took pictures of a bunch of Primary School kids on my way there. They go NUTS to get their face in pictures/see the pictures on the digi-camera. They also are all learning to say my name and not "mzungu" or "Mchele", which makes me happy.
• I had an interesting photo-shoot with Anjelina once I asked to take her photo. Multiple outfit changes/matching outfit shots were taken of the pair of us. Matching khanga in different locations...it was pretty hilarious, really. 
• I ran into a bunch of my female students and got dragged across town/watched them play sports (every Friday they play netball or football I guess). Once it started getting late I went home to finish cooking the beans I didn't want to eat for dinner. I was feeling A LOT better physically, but still ended up getting sick once I did eat. I think I'm going to try changing my diet and insisting that I cook how and what I want for a couple weeks to see if that helps. I have had food issues in the past when I eat things that don't agree well with me. Everything is just so greasy and oily here, and my body never does well with such things. I think salads and lean protein meals are in order! 
• I burnt my trash. I'm glad I stuck around to watch it burn because it almost caught the grass next to the burn pit on fire. That'd be great, huh?: "Mzungu burns down school compound while burning trash." 
• I also packed and got ready for my 4:30 am departure for Tanga! AUTONOMY RULES. 
• I found out Chambitwe is engaged to a woman named Zawadi (literally: gift). I gave him a warm congrats. I'm very happy for myself as well, since I won't have to worry about any future proposals from him now! 
• I ALSO FOUND OUT MY VILLAGE IS GETTING ELECTRICITY. When they said they were "digging for electricity" I kind of laughed to myself. Then I found out they mean TO PUT IN POLES FOR ELECTRICITY. Soooooo exciting. 

September 14, Children Get Excited

Today was infinitely better tnan yesterday! I will write more tomorrow once I am using a computer.

I got to make popcorn for lunch. It was great. I was introduced to each class of students. I wrote out my name so now people will say it in town. The primary school kids followed me around and stampeded to have their picture taken. At one point forty of them surrounded me and kept trying to touch me. I just called it cute in my mind.

Basically I had more autonomy and I like that. Will post later. Autonomy is wavering and I am being taught how to cook beans TZ style. Ah well. At least I got to pick popcorn! And I am not sick anymore!! Or so I hope. Fingers crossed fr health.

September 13, The Bed Went Partly Missing!

Today was quite the day. I’m not going to go into nearly as much detail as I would like, as a favor to the world. Nothing terrible actually happened, but I still just had a hard time at multiple points throughout the day. Sometimes I can’t help but hate feeling like I’m not in control of my own life and my own daily actions. I’m so conspicuous here and everything I do and say has some sort of implication. I use white lies at times, but sometimes it feels like I can’t really do my own thing without offending someone’s hospitality or seeming “anti-social”. It’s an ironic problem to have—people are too giving, too nice, and try to help too much sometimes. I don’t know if that’s really comprehensible unless you’ve lived in such a hospitable culture, but it can be very overwhelming. It’s hard to say no when the person is really just trying to do you a favor, and it’s strange to insist someone not help you when they’re clearly going above and beyond the call of duty. I just haven’t been able to get my own rhythm and routine yet, and that’s what I think I need.

Anyway, I went with Anjelina (Mama Mwinji) to the fundi to get my shirt fixed, and then to the other fundi to pay for my bedframe and coffee table. She then invited me to her house for lunch at around 1:00 pm, though she hadn’t yet cooked anything. I tried to help cook once she came back from buying oil (I asked to go, but she told me to rest), but she insisted I just rest on her couch. She also insisted I stay to rest (slash take a nap) at her house for hours and hours after that. I was there until about 5:00, even though I really wanted to go to the market and expressed that to her. When we finally went to go to the market, I saw some of my male students walking by with pieces of my bed frame. Once outside, we ran into the fund as he was heading to my house, so that ruined my plans to buy loquats. (I had to go unlock the door so he could set my bed frame up.)

Normally they use motorcycles to transport big bulky things like bedframes, but since I’m a Mzungu they wanted to charge me literally 10x the price to do so. I was told my “students would help” around noon, so I didn’t worry too much about it. I later found out at around 5:00 that my students weren’t getting me a better deal, but actually taking my bed piece-by-piece from the fundi’s shop to my house. I felt really bad they had to carry such heavy stuff 1 ½ kilometers, but I guess the one plus is that it was very culturally appropriate of me to demand such a thing. Teachers get an odd number of perks here, and students carry stuff for them a lot it seems.

In any case, two pieces of the bed went missing for about an hour at around 5:00 this evening. I’m not even sure what really transpired. All I know is that at the very least I’m now sitting on my bed in its nice NEW frame, all by myself. Getting my bed and table here was at least something that was accomplished today, though for about 2 hours I was worried that part of my bed had literally gone MISSING. (It arrived via bike after a while, but I’m not sure why there was a long detour, and why they wouldn’t really explain what was happening.) 

I will also note my coffee table has legs that remind me of the stools in Beauty and the Beast. I think it could potentially start walking around my house. I would like a teapot, chipped tea cup, old-school clock, feather duster etc. to match. (Saumu and I also jokingly now call my coffee-table my “meza-kiti” or “table-chair”. We all sat on it awkwardly while the fundi put my bed together, and Saumu died laughing when Anjelina and I danced around the house. She laughs like only a young teenager can. So giddy, and clearly so uncomfortable with my own accepted inner-awkwardness. It's great. I thought about Sam a lot when I showed her dances like the "Macarena" later on. He does a really good meat-stick, but I forgot how to do it, so I didn't break that one out.) 

Dinner was...interesting...some sort of potato-like substance that I've never seen before. The avocados were really good, so I had a whole one basically. And I had multiple cups of tea, which was great. Those girls are too kind to me. They're going to teach my to make vitumbua when I get back from Tanga, and they'd pretty much bend over backwards to accommodate me all the time if I'd let them. I've told them I want to cook for myself tomorrow, and I will be potentially teaching/at the very least being introduced to students, so I hope I get a little autonomy. Only time will tell I guess. 

Two pluses from the day:

1) Children have started shouting "Jadey" when they see me. Not "Mzungu", not "Mchele", but my name!!

2) They spell my name "Jedi"...like in Star Wars.

September 13, Children Dig for Exercise

This morning I woke up feeling better, and then within an hour realized I wasn’t actually feeling as well as I had originally thought. I’m still battling dizziness and abdominal pain, unfortunately. It’s frustrating because I really need to do laundry, but I just don’t really feel up to it today thanks to my general feelings of lethargy. I did have a vivid dream that my mother came to Africa with her friend Cynthia. They surprised me in the dream, and I really thought it was real until I woke up and realized the timing didn’t make any sense.

Anyway, I had an interesting conversation with Saumu over breakfast. We discussed TZ names, which tend to be a bit off-the-wall sometimes. I have heard of a lot of people being named after days of the week, and met a couple people with ‘interesting’ names: Papa (father in many languages), Mazuri (Good, pl.), Cheka (Verb: to laugh) etc.

Saumu (her name when attached to ‘kitunguu’ means garlic) also told me about the following names: Apparently the fundi who is building my furniture is named Kisu (knife). There is also a teacher named Jembe (Garden hoe), and a student named Kitunguu (Onion). There are also Traditional, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, and English names used here: Siwema, Luka, Pedro, Anna, Imma, Emmanuel etc. It’s a very interesting mixture for sure. (I’m a name dork, so I find this to be truly fascinating.)

The primary school children (there are a TON of them—when I came back to site on Tuesday I was overwhelmed walking through the crowd of primary school children huddled around the outside of the school buildings) are all out on the hill with garden hoes, digging up soil to plant corn. Apparently it’s not a learning activity, but is primarily being done for “exercise”. That’s what Saumu told me anyway. 

I am waiting until noon to go into the village center. I am getting my bed (hopefully) and maybe some food from the market to cook with tomorrow. I'd like to make some fruity oatmeal and popcorn for myself, but Saumu said she might be "teaching me to cook" tomorrow, so I may be stuck making traditional foods instead. I also need to decide when I'm leaving for Tanga. Our super-regional conference is coming up, but I could use an extra day to go couch-cushion shopping etc. I'm not sure what I'm doing yet, but I'll figure it out tomorrow depending on how my body is feeling. I don't want to travel while feeling sick to my stomach again.