A post from July..

This is a blog entry I wrote almost 2 months ago back when I thought time for internet was easier to come by… still thought I’d post it

July 2, 2010

Hamjambo Rafiki Zangu!

So it turns out that I’m living in the ‘sticks’ of Tanzania for the next two months so it is actually going to be faster for you to communicate with me by the good ol’ postal service than through the internet. Strange reality. Today we have come to Tanga aka “the land of plenty” to stock up on the essentials such as toilet paper, phone vouchers, and peanut butter so I’ll take this opportunity to update you a little on my new life:

My village is gorgeous. Red dirt, green trees, mud houses, visible mountains, and humbling stars. We, Peace Corps TZ Trainees (PCTs), are here to learn Kiswahili and how to survive in a rural Tanzanian village. I live with a family of approximately 9 none of whom speak a word of English. That has been the biggest challenge so far but the loneliness and awkwardness are good motivators for me to learn Kiswahili. My Bibi (grandmother) and I have developed a great game of charades that allows me to communicate basic necessities. I eat a lot of oranges (I’ve been averaging 5 a day—I’m hoping the Vitamin C intake will counterbalance the insane number of germs and bugs I ingest everyday), corn, and rice. I’ve been craving some protein, cheese, chocolate, and anything not cooked in a bucket of oil (literally my family buys their oil by the 20 L bucket). I live in a mud-brick-cement mix house with a tin roof. There are four rooms, I have one all to myself. The bathroom is a thatch enclosure in our backyard with bug-infested pit latrine and no toilet paper or water (again, germs germs germs). I have lots of chickens but the roosters must be doing their jobs because I have yet to see any eggs (I would kill for a cheese omelet right now), some cows, goats, cats (who are also doing their job—I have yet to see a rat!), and ducks. My favorite is a baby calf that thinks he’s a dog and likes to curl up next to us on the ground. The people in the village are extremely friendly and I feel safer here than I do in the States. We have a month of intensive language training and the second month is filled with mostly technical training. We’re split up into groups of five right now but we all come together once a week for some kind of technical training. Yesterday we learned to ‘permagarden’, which was actually really fun! The first week of village life was really rough but I’m beginning to figure out how to be happy here. I love living in such a beautiful area and I like my family a lot!! Living in such a different environment definitely intensifies emotions and there are mornings when I’m ready to hop a plane back to America and afternoons where I can’t get over the fact that I live in such a gorgeous area with such warm people.

Love to all back home!

Katie