October 4, 2:00 in the Morning

Well, I'm awake at 2:12 am. I talked with my doctor back home a little before 12:30 am to get some advice about what to do with my body. I'm being sent some probiotic supplements and protein powder since I really haven't been getting any better over the past week. (Part of me almost wonders if I've been getting a little worse.) Anyway, apparently it may take up to three months to get my body back on track. The theory is that the combination of greasy, fried, carby foods and the onslaught of illnesses/antibiotics has led me to the unhealthy state I'm in now. In short, my body is very angry at me.

My doctor did tell me to cut out nuts for now since the oils in them can also be irritating to an inflamed stomach, though I will be able to add some oatmeal into my diet soon. I also think I'll have the occasional banana now and again starting next week. I do feel pretty frustrated, however. It's hard enough completing this kind of diet in the states, but in TZ it's very difficult. I bought sweet potatoes on Monday and they were already covered in an inch of mold today. Plus I have to avoid being anywhere near the staff room during lunch since it's very difficult to explain that I have even more food restrictions than I originally stated. (I told them no peanuts, milk, wheat, or chocolate the first day I got to site--so many allergies!) There also just isn't much vegetable variety, though I am blessed to have cheap avocados available. In other news, I'm going to try buying meat on Friday. It's going to cost me a lot, and I'm probably going to have to buy more than I'll feasibly be able to eat in a day. I guess I'll give some away to my mkuu. It's times like this I miss refrigeration and stuff like deli chicken and smoked salmon.

Anyway, today teaching went well. I went over their tests (average score was 35%, which is passing by TZ standards, but still sad) and explained the Present Simple vs. Present Continuous. I even explained the rules out in Swahili so they'd really understand. We played a couple games to practice making correct sentences, and at one point they randomly burst into the song "If you're happy and you know it." They sing a different version here with a "ha-ha" sound as the second verse. (Apparently Tanzanians only can feel happy, because the only thing that varies in the song is the action being made, not the feeling being expressed.) I taught them the "If you're sad" and "If you're angry" verses as well, which they thought were pretty funny.

My gate was finally finished today! It's very hard to close but I'm ecstatic to have more privacy. While my my male students worked on the gate door, my female students came by the groves to my actual door. Some even entered, but I'm not a fan of that. I was in the middle of cooking spinach in my kitchen, so I wasn't terribly hospitable. Once I finished cooking I did give out some water (I taught them they must say "PLEASE" when asking for things) and then gave Siwema an English lesson. I think about 15 students watched me write down grammar exercises, and many of them participated in the practice exercises I did with her. I did an "Is this sentence correct or not?" exercise from one of my teaching books.

Saumu came over to visit a couple times today, and I went over to her house at around 7:00 to have some tea and chat. My mkuu is gone, but I really do love those girls so I decided to visit anyway. They're total sweethearts and always very chatty. Kibena asked for my phone number, even though we live pretty much right next to one another.

OH, I found out that Juma (JB) will be moving along with his wife into Emmanuel's house. His wife is going to be my Swahili tutor, and JB is probably going to be my counterpart, so this is good news! (Team JB-JB in action!). I am really starting to enjoy site more. I have much more space, I'm able to cook for myself and choose when I bathe, I get social interaction but also time alone, and I really do enjoy lesson planning. I'm hoping that being in the Peace Corps will help me narrow down what I want to do for graduate school/work once I'm back stateside. I am interested to see how I end up liking teaching over the next two years. So far I think things could be going better in the classroom, but I do like coming up with creative ways of teaching grammar, vocabulary etc.

In short, things are going a lot better for me in my village! I'm feeling good about being here and actually really want to stay the two years. Sometimes it's hard not to daydream about America, but my school really needs my help, and I do feel productive. My library project is getting going, and based on my Form I kids interest in drawing, I'm also starting to think of ways I can channel their artistic creativity.

I am very frustrated about my health, so I hope it doesn't take a full three months for me to feel better. I really want to start exercising, so I might start doing some yoga if running is overly fatiguing. For now I'm going to keep eating heaps of vegetables, small amounts of meat, and hopefully some fish once it makes it in the mail. (My mom is an amazing woman and she's sending me salmon, tuna, and chicken packets in the mail. I can't wait to have more than just eggs for protein!) On the plus side, it is pretty cheap for me to get food since I eat a very small amount every day. I do hope soon I'll be able to eat and drink more. There is a bag of gluten-free pretzels sitting in my kitchen with my name on it, so I can't wait until I can have some.

Also, I'm about 100 pages into "Into the Wild." Sometimes I wish I was a little less inhibited, but I am glad not to have "itchy feet"....