I really want to talk a bit about my day at home with my sisters here. It was so much fun!
They saw that I have a digital camera so on Tuesday night Kalista decided we would have a photo-shoot of sorts on Wednesday. They got all dressed up -- make-up, hair, fancy clothes, the jewelry I bought them. When I got home from class they were all ready to pose and have fun. Kalista says that she really likes fashion so this was quite exciting for her. I can't wait to show these pictures to everyone when I get home.
After our photo-shoot we went to the nearby market to look for some things for the girls. I was going to buy them both a present and Kalista said she wanted a jean skirt and Lili wants a new pair of shoes. They told me they were excited to be going out with a mzungu. haha We walked all around but my presence is rather prohibiting when shopping because all of the local market sellers will now give us the "mzungu price" instead of the local price, so we didn't find any good deals on their presents. Looks like they will have to do some shopping on their own later. But they did help me buy a cheap kanga! I hid in another store while they did the bargaining and I got it for the same price they would.
After our shopping we went and grabbed lunch at the mall that is nearby. The power was out all over the area so a lot of the stores were closed, but amazingly the one small cafe and the grocery store were two of the ones still up and running. We ate together and the waitress was asking about how I know Swahili and what I was doing here in TZ. A bit later we went to the grocery store to do some browsing and the girls both saw some lotion that they liked so I picked that up for them. And of course some bubble gum. =)
We stopped on the way home to buy some "ndizi" which are like bananas, but maybe not? I think perhaps they are just bananas that are not quite ripe, but they use them here to make a stew-like meal. Kalista was planning to teach me how to cook Tanzanian style. We picked up the ndizi and some other vegetables and at home I helped her chop them all up. I think she took about 60 pictures of me cooking with her because she thought it was hilarious. Unfortunately half of the pictures either capture only my torso and hands which are cutting something or my face, but usually not both together. I got to mix it all together and do the stirring on the little mini-oven like thing they have. It is basically two burners on top of something that looks like a micro-wave and it sits on the counter-top. Nonetheless, it works quite well and I made quite a good dinner if I do say so myself. I didn't got to make ugali, but I'm hoping maybe tonight or tomorrow if I have time before leaving on Saturday.
The rest of this week is just the last minute things we are doing before leaving Dar. Last night we all were together for a great dinner over our professor's house and today I am going downtown with my class. Friday is the good-bye dinner with all of the families together, so that should be quite exciting too. Really though, I can't believe I am leaving Dar already. I'm finally really comfortable here (other than when I see a huge bug or take a slide in the mud in Savei) and it has gone sooo fast.
Time for class now. I'll write again early next week I think after arriving in Mwanza.
Kwa herini!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
If I may continue....
Sorry for the lack of organization. The first part of this entry is below this one, but I had to leave the internet cafe and continue it today. =)
I think in the last entry I got up to Friday evening. We returned from our historical tour around town to get dinner and just hang out at our hotel. Dinner also took over two hours and they continuously messed up our order. The food was also really over-priced at this hotel. I paid 10,000 Tanzanian shillings for my dinner (about $8.50) and in Tanzanian prices, that is a huge rip-off. I can get dinner around here for $2 generally, although I usually eat at home with my family. Friday night we just all sat around and talked - the day had made us quite exhausted as usual.
Saturday morning I got up early to go sit and read on the beach for a bit. I am reading a fabulous book right now entitled "Do They Hear You When You Cry?" It was written by an 18-year-old woman from Togo who fled her country to escape female genital mutilation and being forced to marry a 45-year-old man who already had three wives. She's an excellent writer and I think it has quickly become my favorite new book. She came to the US to get asylum, but ended up sitting in prison for three years until finally in the end her legal team was able to succeed. Nonetheless, it's really intense, but made for some good beach reading.
In the early afternoon we left to see two more historical sites. The first site, the Kaole Ruins, marks the very first place people developed around Bagamoyo. It started as a large Mosque put up by the Arabs who were coming here to trade from Zanzibar. It was built in the 13th century and the area developed more in the 15th century as trade took-off. It was so exciting to be around something so old and important - not quite like anything you can find in the US. We all had turns to make a wish at this one site that was supposedly built by someone related to Mohamed? I unfortunately missed that part of the story...
After the ruins we went over to the first Roman Catholic church ever built in East Africa. It was constructed in 1878 my some missionaries from France who obtained permission from the Zanzibarian Sultan to break ground. It was huge and really amazing - nothing around here quite compared to the architecture, which was uniquely Roman Catholic. This was also the site where the body of Livingstone (British African explorer/missionary) was kept for one evening before it went onto to Zanzibar and eventually to Westminster Abby in London in 1874.
We had some free time after this so we did what else, but a little shopping from the local sellers. I got some pretty earrings, but not much else this time. I realized I really became a bargainer when I turned down buying a skirt I really wanted because the woman would not lower the price another $0.85. It wasn't about the $0.85 - it was a matter of getting the price I wanted despite being a Mzungu. She wouldn't budge, so I left.
That night we had dinner at a different restaurant down the beach which was much much nicer and even a bit cheaper. More hanging out followed, but another early night on account of our exhaustion. We spent a bit more time on the beach on Sunday morning, but left in the afternoon to come back to Dar.
On Sunday I went to go see a movie. South Africa is developing all over Sub-Saharan Africa and they recently put up a mall and movie theater within walking distance from my neighborhood. It's rather unreal. You walk just 200 feat off of the dirt roads and homes without running water into this mall that could literally fit in perfectly in Kansas (maybe minus the few Africa-related stores.) We went to go see "Meet the Robbinsons" and most of the crowd was little Indian children. Indian people have a large population here and do a lot of the trading. Their children learn to speak English early, but most African children don't seem to speak any English other than "Hi. How are you?" as they like to ask us in their accents which I adore. It was hard to describe how I felt sitting there in a movie theater in the middle of Dar. It was just odd...
Monday I went back to class, but after that I went downtown and then shopping in the carvers market here. I got some great earrings and some really, really cool salad spoons. The work they do is amazing and would certainly cost much, much more in the US. I had a small shopping spree yesterday and also bought a t-shirt, a kanga, some wooden door signs for home and some bracelets. =) I want to get my souvenirs before I leave Dar this Saturday!
Today I am going back home in a few minutes. My host-sister is going to teach me how to cook "ugali." It's really hard to describe and tastes like nothing we have in the US, but it is a major Tanzanian staple. I'm hoping to be able to make it when I get home. Afterwards we're going shopping again because I would like to buy my two sisters presents for helping me out so much.
Time to go now. Hope everyone is still well! Miss you!
I think in the last entry I got up to Friday evening. We returned from our historical tour around town to get dinner and just hang out at our hotel. Dinner also took over two hours and they continuously messed up our order. The food was also really over-priced at this hotel. I paid 10,000 Tanzanian shillings for my dinner (about $8.50) and in Tanzanian prices, that is a huge rip-off. I can get dinner around here for $2 generally, although I usually eat at home with my family. Friday night we just all sat around and talked - the day had made us quite exhausted as usual.
Saturday morning I got up early to go sit and read on the beach for a bit. I am reading a fabulous book right now entitled "Do They Hear You When You Cry?" It was written by an 18-year-old woman from Togo who fled her country to escape female genital mutilation and being forced to marry a 45-year-old man who already had three wives. She's an excellent writer and I think it has quickly become my favorite new book. She came to the US to get asylum, but ended up sitting in prison for three years until finally in the end her legal team was able to succeed. Nonetheless, it's really intense, but made for some good beach reading.
In the early afternoon we left to see two more historical sites. The first site, the Kaole Ruins, marks the very first place people developed around Bagamoyo. It started as a large Mosque put up by the Arabs who were coming here to trade from Zanzibar. It was built in the 13th century and the area developed more in the 15th century as trade took-off. It was so exciting to be around something so old and important - not quite like anything you can find in the US. We all had turns to make a wish at this one site that was supposedly built by someone related to Mohamed? I unfortunately missed that part of the story...
After the ruins we went over to the first Roman Catholic church ever built in East Africa. It was constructed in 1878 my some missionaries from France who obtained permission from the Zanzibarian Sultan to break ground. It was huge and really amazing - nothing around here quite compared to the architecture, which was uniquely Roman Catholic. This was also the site where the body of Livingstone (British African explorer/missionary) was kept for one evening before it went onto to Zanzibar and eventually to Westminster Abby in London in 1874.
We had some free time after this so we did what else, but a little shopping from the local sellers. I got some pretty earrings, but not much else this time. I realized I really became a bargainer when I turned down buying a skirt I really wanted because the woman would not lower the price another $0.85. It wasn't about the $0.85 - it was a matter of getting the price I wanted despite being a Mzungu. She wouldn't budge, so I left.
That night we had dinner at a different restaurant down the beach which was much much nicer and even a bit cheaper. More hanging out followed, but another early night on account of our exhaustion. We spent a bit more time on the beach on Sunday morning, but left in the afternoon to come back to Dar.
On Sunday I went to go see a movie. South Africa is developing all over Sub-Saharan Africa and they recently put up a mall and movie theater within walking distance from my neighborhood. It's rather unreal. You walk just 200 feat off of the dirt roads and homes without running water into this mall that could literally fit in perfectly in Kansas (maybe minus the few Africa-related stores.) We went to go see "Meet the Robbinsons" and most of the crowd was little Indian children. Indian people have a large population here and do a lot of the trading. Their children learn to speak English early, but most African children don't seem to speak any English other than "Hi. How are you?" as they like to ask us in their accents which I adore. It was hard to describe how I felt sitting there in a movie theater in the middle of Dar. It was just odd...
Monday I went back to class, but after that I went downtown and then shopping in the carvers market here. I got some great earrings and some really, really cool salad spoons. The work they do is amazing and would certainly cost much, much more in the US. I had a small shopping spree yesterday and also bought a t-shirt, a kanga, some wooden door signs for home and some bracelets. =) I want to get my souvenirs before I leave Dar this Saturday!
Today I am going back home in a few minutes. My host-sister is going to teach me how to cook "ugali." It's really hard to describe and tastes like nothing we have in the US, but it is a major Tanzanian staple. I'm hoping to be able to make it when I get home. Afterwards we're going shopping again because I would like to buy my two sisters presents for helping me out so much.
Time to go now. Hope everyone is still well! Miss you!
Monday, June 25, 2007
Weekend in Bagamoyo and other stories...
So, lots to talk about since it has been a while. This past weekend we traveled to Bagamoyo to do some sight-seeing and some beach-ing, but first a few more commentaries that I wanted to mention.
On Thursday night before leaving the next morning, I came home a bit early and it was just Lili (my sister-in-law here) and I who were at home. I was sitting in my room and Lili came in to ask me for some assistance. Lili is 23-years-old, but I soon realized she could barely read or write Swahili, let alone any English. Lili was attempting to fill out an application for seamstress school and she didn't understand many of the questions and couldn't spell many of the words. She would say something aloud, I would write it, and she would copy it on the application. She wrote in pen and then tried to erase what she had written incorrectly, which of course didn't work, and she ended up practically tearing the form in half. Yet she was adamant that she do it herself and when I suggested that Neema (my host mom) could help her, she seemed quite upset.
I do hope she is going to be able to get into the school. I often wonder what these two girls, one 23 and the other 20 (our "domestic assistant"), will do in the future. I assume they'll someday get married, but I don't even know how they meet people. They stay in the house most of the day. Kalista told me about herself a bit and informed me that her parents had passed away when she is young, so how she ended up where she is is somewhat understandable given her circumstances. But Lili's background is more surprising. She lives here with her brother who has at least an undergraduate college education. He is a successful accountant who can support his family, yet his sister can barely read and write, not even her own address. Education and gender equality in TZ does quite evidently have a long way to go.
The next morning the rest of the Georgetown students and I, along with the students here from Princeton, all got on a bus to Bagamoyo. Bagamoyo is about 1 1/2 hours north of Dar and was the former capital of Tanganyika when the German's were in charge of the country. It served as a pit stop for a lot of trade that was coming from the interior out to Zanzibar, especially for the slave trade. The name Bagamoyo memorializes this - it translates roughly to something like "broken heart" or "forgotten heart."
After arriving we went right to the tour of town. For being the capital city not that long ago (early 20th century) Bagamoyo is quite small. It has only recently become a tourist spot. Attempting to get served lunch in Bagamoyo with a group of 25 white people takes at least 2 hours almost anywhere you go. That took up a decent part of our afternoon.
After that we saw the original trading post in town. Scientists are still trying to prove its use as a slave trading stop and elders around town apparently still remember it being such. They were some remains of ceramics and jewelry that were obviously brought from abroad that constituted their "museum." Although the city is in the process of applying for a World Historical Site title from UNESCO, much of the sites and things being preserved are not in good shape at all.
We continued to walk around town to see the old Fort. The guide described it as uniquely Swahili because it had so many composite styles. It was first built by the Arabs who ruled Bagamoyo long before Europeans arrived. On top of that the Germans added certain rooms to it when they took over, and then the British. At one point it was owned by Indians who added the unique Zanzibar style door frames. Later the TZ government used it as a prison until the 1970s. Next we saw the old German Boma and walked down to where the main market was held. Lots of people were just hanging out around here, probably wrapping up their days of fishing or selling fish in the market.
It was really quite amazing to see the men at work fishing and fixing up their boats. People were all along the coast, women sitting with children, young kids playing soccer at the edge of the ocean and many counting or carrying fish in huge buckets. I was a little freaked out because I knew we'd probably be eating that exact fish for dinner, but then again, at least I know it's fresh...
Our hotel was quite nice, or at least for the standards I've quickly gotten used to. I realized when I talked to me mom on the phone that my expectations for lodging have changed dramatically. She said quickly "oh go enjoy your once weekly, hot, running-water shower" when I said "actually we don't really have that here." Nonetheless, I described this hotel that has no hot water (and a rusted out tub), no tv, quite a few holes in the mosquito net I was sleeping under, and a floor that was made of paper, as "nice."
Just found out the internet place is closing. I'll have to continue my tales tomorrow because I definitely still have more to say about Bagamoyo and some of the cool shopping I did today in the carver's market. Oh and Andrew and I have our visas for Egypt!
On Thursday night before leaving the next morning, I came home a bit early and it was just Lili (my sister-in-law here) and I who were at home. I was sitting in my room and Lili came in to ask me for some assistance. Lili is 23-years-old, but I soon realized she could barely read or write Swahili, let alone any English. Lili was attempting to fill out an application for seamstress school and she didn't understand many of the questions and couldn't spell many of the words. She would say something aloud, I would write it, and she would copy it on the application. She wrote in pen and then tried to erase what she had written incorrectly, which of course didn't work, and she ended up practically tearing the form in half. Yet she was adamant that she do it herself and when I suggested that Neema (my host mom) could help her, she seemed quite upset.
I do hope she is going to be able to get into the school. I often wonder what these two girls, one 23 and the other 20 (our "domestic assistant"), will do in the future. I assume they'll someday get married, but I don't even know how they meet people. They stay in the house most of the day. Kalista told me about herself a bit and informed me that her parents had passed away when she is young, so how she ended up where she is is somewhat understandable given her circumstances. But Lili's background is more surprising. She lives here with her brother who has at least an undergraduate college education. He is a successful accountant who can support his family, yet his sister can barely read and write, not even her own address. Education and gender equality in TZ does quite evidently have a long way to go.
The next morning the rest of the Georgetown students and I, along with the students here from Princeton, all got on a bus to Bagamoyo. Bagamoyo is about 1 1/2 hours north of Dar and was the former capital of Tanganyika when the German's were in charge of the country. It served as a pit stop for a lot of trade that was coming from the interior out to Zanzibar, especially for the slave trade. The name Bagamoyo memorializes this - it translates roughly to something like "broken heart" or "forgotten heart."
After arriving we went right to the tour of town. For being the capital city not that long ago (early 20th century) Bagamoyo is quite small. It has only recently become a tourist spot. Attempting to get served lunch in Bagamoyo with a group of 25 white people takes at least 2 hours almost anywhere you go. That took up a decent part of our afternoon.
After that we saw the original trading post in town. Scientists are still trying to prove its use as a slave trading stop and elders around town apparently still remember it being such. They were some remains of ceramics and jewelry that were obviously brought from abroad that constituted their "museum." Although the city is in the process of applying for a World Historical Site title from UNESCO, much of the sites and things being preserved are not in good shape at all.
We continued to walk around town to see the old Fort. The guide described it as uniquely Swahili because it had so many composite styles. It was first built by the Arabs who ruled Bagamoyo long before Europeans arrived. On top of that the Germans added certain rooms to it when they took over, and then the British. At one point it was owned by Indians who added the unique Zanzibar style door frames. Later the TZ government used it as a prison until the 1970s. Next we saw the old German Boma and walked down to where the main market was held. Lots of people were just hanging out around here, probably wrapping up their days of fishing or selling fish in the market.
It was really quite amazing to see the men at work fishing and fixing up their boats. People were all along the coast, women sitting with children, young kids playing soccer at the edge of the ocean and many counting or carrying fish in huge buckets. I was a little freaked out because I knew we'd probably be eating that exact fish for dinner, but then again, at least I know it's fresh...
Our hotel was quite nice, or at least for the standards I've quickly gotten used to. I realized when I talked to me mom on the phone that my expectations for lodging have changed dramatically. She said quickly "oh go enjoy your once weekly, hot, running-water shower" when I said "actually we don't really have that here." Nonetheless, I described this hotel that has no hot water (and a rusted out tub), no tv, quite a few holes in the mosquito net I was sleeping under, and a floor that was made of paper, as "nice."
Just found out the internet place is closing. I'll have to continue my tales tomorrow because I definitely still have more to say about Bagamoyo and some of the cool shopping I did today in the carver's market. Oh and Andrew and I have our visas for Egypt!
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Day to day in Tanzania
Nothing too overly exciting is going on this week, just more of seeing the city and getting to explore Dar. Yesterday we went to Slipway, a local tourist hot-spot, which has some marketplaces to buy things at. I bought some really nice jewelry and got pretty decent prices, but I can definitely get things cheaper in the local markets. We also had lunch there which was a nice treat - I had real pasta. So far anything that is described as Italian that I've tried in Dar has been a culinary disaster.
I also got my grade back from my first Swahili test. I got an 86 and was a little worried until I heard the Tanzanian grading scale. 70-100 is an A, 60-69 a B, and 50-59 a C. I think we need to adopt this scale at Georgetown! It would certainly make my life a little more relaxed.
Today we went to check out this gender advocacy group in Dar, the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme. We heard a brief presentation and got to ask some questions and I found it really interesting. It was started in1993 in order to get Tanzania engaged in the Beijing Women's Conference and has grown from there. It is a pretty progressive and critical force in the country yet it can't/it refuses to take a stance on abortions and GLBT rights. Being homosexual and getting an abortion are both illegal in Tanzania (as in many African countries save South Africa) so there really is no movement at all related to these issues because as the presenter explained, the government would very openly squash this form of advocacy. It was interesting to see the unique ideology that the center took on (Nyerere-esque socialism and anti-imperialism) and how they worked with the local women's and youth groups around the country. I wish I had the chance to check it out more, but we had to go. I plan to look into it further in the future.
I think tomorrow I am heading to the Egyptian embassy to attempt to get a visa. Hopefully Andrew and I will not be stuck in the Cairo airport for a week! Wish us luck!
I also got my grade back from my first Swahili test. I got an 86 and was a little worried until I heard the Tanzanian grading scale. 70-100 is an A, 60-69 a B, and 50-59 a C. I think we need to adopt this scale at Georgetown! It would certainly make my life a little more relaxed.
Today we went to check out this gender advocacy group in Dar, the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme. We heard a brief presentation and got to ask some questions and I found it really interesting. It was started in1993 in order to get Tanzania engaged in the Beijing Women's Conference and has grown from there. It is a pretty progressive and critical force in the country yet it can't/it refuses to take a stance on abortions and GLBT rights. Being homosexual and getting an abortion are both illegal in Tanzania (as in many African countries save South Africa) so there really is no movement at all related to these issues because as the presenter explained, the government would very openly squash this form of advocacy. It was interesting to see the unique ideology that the center took on (Nyerere-esque socialism and anti-imperialism) and how they worked with the local women's and youth groups around the country. I wish I had the chance to check it out more, but we had to go. I plan to look into it further in the future.
I think tomorrow I am heading to the Egyptian embassy to attempt to get a visa. Hopefully Andrew and I will not be stuck in the Cairo airport for a week! Wish us luck!
Monday, June 18, 2007
Zanzibarrrrr
Wow - I can probably sit here and write for hours about our weekend excursion. Zanzibar was fabulous so I will just write as many details as I have time to include.
We started out on Friday morning at 6am to get on the ferry. The boat was really big and actually quite nice. It's about an 2 hour trip so by the time we got through immigration it was around 10. Although Zanzibar is technically the same country as the mainland which we all think of as Tanzania because of their history of independence, you have to go through immigration and bring your passport with you so I got another cool stamp!
We went out a hotel for lunch, the Pyramid Hotel in Stone Town, where we would stay for the second night in Zanzibar. We first went on the Spice Tour. Zanzibar has a rich history of trade because it is so rich in spices. We walked through just a few feet of the forest and there was tons of all these exotic spices all around us. I bought a basket of some spices to bring home and some natural perfume from the Langilang tree which we were told is used to make Channel No. 5. I bought a small bottle for about $2 so I think I got a pretty good deal. ;-) One of our tour guides climbed up a coconut tree and got us fresh coconuts to drink the milk and then they gave us purses and hats and jewelry made out of the leaves of the tree. There were little children all around who all tried to make the objects so we would give them money - it was really quite sad, but they were happy to see us and we took some pictures with them and made sure they at least had something from our tour group. Nonetheless, it was really interesting, but only the very beginning of our trip.
After that we got on our bus to go to the Eastern side of the island where we would stay for the night. We pulled into this small village and out of nowhere appeared our hotel which had on the side under it's name "This is really paradise" and I agree completely! We went swimming in the ocean as soon as we arrived and it really was clearer than the Caribbean. I can only hope my pictures will partially capture the beauty of this place. That night we had dinner and went to the nearby shady rhasta bar to listen to some African Rhasta guys play the drums. There were some interesting South African formerly British women hanging out with us and we got to have a beer with our professors. Lots of fun! Our rooms weren't quite the Ritz - a bit more hostel-esque conditions. 5 of us had one room with 5 beds all with different unmatching sheets. No running water and only one halogen light that blinked off and on while you were in the room, but it was only one night and it was survivable.
In the morning I woke up to go walk on the beach but was held up the first time by some beautiful little Zanzibarian girls. I was walking with my Ipod and my camera and they were certainly intrigued. I have Swahili music on my Ipod so here I was standing on the beach with about 10 little girls around my in Muslim clothing who were picking up sea shells (99% of the native Zanzibarian population is Muslim and the island was for a long-time ruled by Arabic governments, namely Oman). We all took pictures and they loved playing with my camera. I think I was there for at least two hours. They asked me for some candy, but I didn't have any so they asked for a pen. I went to get one and a few sheets of paper and they were ecstatic and at this point I think another 10 kids were around. They asked me to write my name and then theirs on the papers. I had so much fun just hanging out with them and now I know at least enough Swahili to talk to children!
After that I finally did make it out to the water which because of the tide going out had actually receded at least half of a mile. I took an extremely relaxing walk through the puddley sand and then got to the water. Local women were around farming seaweed which they sell (I haven't yet found out what they do with it) and I just stood in the water for nearly 20 minutes. It was completely peaceful and you really just feel like you are standing there in the middle of the Indian Ocean at the end of the world. There is nothing like it.
After a bit we got back on our bus to go to Stone Town. This is the main city in Zanzibar and the place of the past Omani government and later, the major port for the Slave Trade. We took a tour of the former slave auction sight and the slave chambers. It was really impactful and profound to be there. The city itself is just amazing and so alive with history. There are only a few big roads and the rest is all just little 3 foot wide spaces that exist between all the buildings. Good thing I can at least say "Where is the Pyramid Hotel?" in Swahili too. That afternoon we also toured the National Museum and had a look around. We went our for dinner and first listened to some local Zanzibarian music then we went to a rhasta bar. It is hilarious how many rhasta men there are on the small island of Zanzibar! Our Swahili professor came with us and he can certainly dance reggae.
The next day we got up to go snorkeling. Zanzibar is actually an archipelago of about 50 islands so we took a small boat out to Changuu island which used to be the site where they had the Zanzibarian prison. We took a tour of the old prison which is now a fabulous hotel and then we visited a turtle sanctuary. The turtles living there are huge, only second to the Galapagos, and are kept in the sanctuary to prevent their theft. I think I got some great pictures feeding them lettuce. =) After the tour we went back in the boat to go snorkeling. The water was fabulous and the fish and coral were so colorful and unique. I was so sad to have to leave Changuu island but we had to go back to do some shopping in the market and catch our afternoon ferry.
Back on Unguja (the local name for the main island usually just known as Zanzibar) we headed to the local market. I bought myself some Kangas (the local women wear Kangas which are super-comfortable and beautiful skirts) and a scarf. I walked with my friend Hannah who is here wish us from Colby university and we had a good time haggling with the vendors. They were all quite interested in how we knew swahili and we got a few questions regarding our marriage status and if we had children. Hannah said she had three kids in the hope she might get a lower price on the Zanzibarian soccer jerseys we were trying to get really cheap. I felt like people were starring at me the whole time and I think most of the men were. All of the local women wear the full hijab in accordance with Islam and many even wear the veil over their face so the t-shirt and ankle length kanga I had on were even a bit showy.
After some quick shopping we had to go back through immigration and get on the ferry. Since we took the late one in the afternoon we had to deal with some really rough waves and I think at least half of the people on the ferry had thrown up more than once. Thank god for my strong stomach, but even I was feeling queasy by the end! I literally had to step around children just sprawled on the deck of the boat laying in vomit. It wasn't a very pleasant end to the trip, but nonetheless, I would jump on the opportunity to visit Zanzibar again, but this time by plane.
I arrived back in Savei exhausted and had class again in the morning. Today we went to another local market in Dar and I did some more shopping. White people in this market is really rare so we got some good looks. You can't take any bags or wear flashy jewelry or it will get stolen, as was proved to us today. My friend Hannah was walking with just a tiny wallet in her hand and a thief grabbed it right from here. Hannah is pretty sharp and knew the Swahili word for thief (mwizi) so she started running and screaming after him and she got it back! I think first people were just amazed a mzungu knew swahili and was actually running for her wallet but then a bunch of people helped her and they were able to stop the man. It was quite the spectacle!
Anyway, I am still having a great time and I am almost wishing I didn't have to leave Dar to head to Mwanza for July, but I am sure it will have it's own adventures. We are heading to another beach next weekend and I am sure this week will be fun too. Happy Father's Day again Dad! And if Mrs. Rigol or Sarah is reading this, CONGRATULATIONS!
Love and miss you! (and I appologize for grammar mistakes or poor English, I don't have the time to proofread!)
We started out on Friday morning at 6am to get on the ferry. The boat was really big and actually quite nice. It's about an 2 hour trip so by the time we got through immigration it was around 10. Although Zanzibar is technically the same country as the mainland which we all think of as Tanzania because of their history of independence, you have to go through immigration and bring your passport with you so I got another cool stamp!
We went out a hotel for lunch, the Pyramid Hotel in Stone Town, where we would stay for the second night in Zanzibar. We first went on the Spice Tour. Zanzibar has a rich history of trade because it is so rich in spices. We walked through just a few feet of the forest and there was tons of all these exotic spices all around us. I bought a basket of some spices to bring home and some natural perfume from the Langilang tree which we were told is used to make Channel No. 5. I bought a small bottle for about $2 so I think I got a pretty good deal. ;-) One of our tour guides climbed up a coconut tree and got us fresh coconuts to drink the milk and then they gave us purses and hats and jewelry made out of the leaves of the tree. There were little children all around who all tried to make the objects so we would give them money - it was really quite sad, but they were happy to see us and we took some pictures with them and made sure they at least had something from our tour group. Nonetheless, it was really interesting, but only the very beginning of our trip.
After that we got on our bus to go to the Eastern side of the island where we would stay for the night. We pulled into this small village and out of nowhere appeared our hotel which had on the side under it's name "This is really paradise" and I agree completely! We went swimming in the ocean as soon as we arrived and it really was clearer than the Caribbean. I can only hope my pictures will partially capture the beauty of this place. That night we had dinner and went to the nearby shady rhasta bar to listen to some African Rhasta guys play the drums. There were some interesting South African formerly British women hanging out with us and we got to have a beer with our professors. Lots of fun! Our rooms weren't quite the Ritz - a bit more hostel-esque conditions. 5 of us had one room with 5 beds all with different unmatching sheets. No running water and only one halogen light that blinked off and on while you were in the room, but it was only one night and it was survivable.
In the morning I woke up to go walk on the beach but was held up the first time by some beautiful little Zanzibarian girls. I was walking with my Ipod and my camera and they were certainly intrigued. I have Swahili music on my Ipod so here I was standing on the beach with about 10 little girls around my in Muslim clothing who were picking up sea shells (99% of the native Zanzibarian population is Muslim and the island was for a long-time ruled by Arabic governments, namely Oman). We all took pictures and they loved playing with my camera. I think I was there for at least two hours. They asked me for some candy, but I didn't have any so they asked for a pen. I went to get one and a few sheets of paper and they were ecstatic and at this point I think another 10 kids were around. They asked me to write my name and then theirs on the papers. I had so much fun just hanging out with them and now I know at least enough Swahili to talk to children!
After that I finally did make it out to the water which because of the tide going out had actually receded at least half of a mile. I took an extremely relaxing walk through the puddley sand and then got to the water. Local women were around farming seaweed which they sell (I haven't yet found out what they do with it) and I just stood in the water for nearly 20 minutes. It was completely peaceful and you really just feel like you are standing there in the middle of the Indian Ocean at the end of the world. There is nothing like it.
After a bit we got back on our bus to go to Stone Town. This is the main city in Zanzibar and the place of the past Omani government and later, the major port for the Slave Trade. We took a tour of the former slave auction sight and the slave chambers. It was really impactful and profound to be there. The city itself is just amazing and so alive with history. There are only a few big roads and the rest is all just little 3 foot wide spaces that exist between all the buildings. Good thing I can at least say "Where is the Pyramid Hotel?" in Swahili too. That afternoon we also toured the National Museum and had a look around. We went our for dinner and first listened to some local Zanzibarian music then we went to a rhasta bar. It is hilarious how many rhasta men there are on the small island of Zanzibar! Our Swahili professor came with us and he can certainly dance reggae.
The next day we got up to go snorkeling. Zanzibar is actually an archipelago of about 50 islands so we took a small boat out to Changuu island which used to be the site where they had the Zanzibarian prison. We took a tour of the old prison which is now a fabulous hotel and then we visited a turtle sanctuary. The turtles living there are huge, only second to the Galapagos, and are kept in the sanctuary to prevent their theft. I think I got some great pictures feeding them lettuce. =) After the tour we went back in the boat to go snorkeling. The water was fabulous and the fish and coral were so colorful and unique. I was so sad to have to leave Changuu island but we had to go back to do some shopping in the market and catch our afternoon ferry.
Back on Unguja (the local name for the main island usually just known as Zanzibar) we headed to the local market. I bought myself some Kangas (the local women wear Kangas which are super-comfortable and beautiful skirts) and a scarf. I walked with my friend Hannah who is here wish us from Colby university and we had a good time haggling with the vendors. They were all quite interested in how we knew swahili and we got a few questions regarding our marriage status and if we had children. Hannah said she had three kids in the hope she might get a lower price on the Zanzibarian soccer jerseys we were trying to get really cheap. I felt like people were starring at me the whole time and I think most of the men were. All of the local women wear the full hijab in accordance with Islam and many even wear the veil over their face so the t-shirt and ankle length kanga I had on were even a bit showy.
After some quick shopping we had to go back through immigration and get on the ferry. Since we took the late one in the afternoon we had to deal with some really rough waves and I think at least half of the people on the ferry had thrown up more than once. Thank god for my strong stomach, but even I was feeling queasy by the end! I literally had to step around children just sprawled on the deck of the boat laying in vomit. It wasn't a very pleasant end to the trip, but nonetheless, I would jump on the opportunity to visit Zanzibar again, but this time by plane.
I arrived back in Savei exhausted and had class again in the morning. Today we went to another local market in Dar and I did some more shopping. White people in this market is really rare so we got some good looks. You can't take any bags or wear flashy jewelry or it will get stolen, as was proved to us today. My friend Hannah was walking with just a tiny wallet in her hand and a thief grabbed it right from here. Hannah is pretty sharp and knew the Swahili word for thief (mwizi) so she started running and screaming after him and she got it back! I think first people were just amazed a mzungu knew swahili and was actually running for her wallet but then a bunch of people helped her and they were able to stop the man. It was quite the spectacle!
Anyway, I am still having a great time and I am almost wishing I didn't have to leave Dar to head to Mwanza for July, but I am sure it will have it's own adventures. We are heading to another beach next weekend and I am sure this week will be fun too. Happy Father's Day again Dad! And if Mrs. Rigol or Sarah is reading this, CONGRATULATIONS!
Love and miss you! (and I appologize for grammar mistakes or poor English, I don't have the time to proofread!)
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Driving in Dar...
The roads in Dar are like nothing you've ever experienced, well, riding the dala-dalas specifically. The dala-dala are the buses that most people here use to get around. I take one every morning to get from my neighborhood to class and it costs me about $0.20 (maybe .18). The buses have hilarious names on them, often relating to God or Jesus in Swahili or sometimes other things like "Black Boys" or "Russia." Nonetheless, they're usually the size of a very large van, properly holding maybe 12 people. But in the dala-dala there is a guy who works the door and collects his fees and his real job is to get as many people as possible into each dala-dala. Sitting on people's laps and breathing down some one's neck is a common occurrence. Often people stand between the seats or on the side where people get in and out (I've down this a few times now) just next to the door.
Twice now I've gone into Dar-proper riding the dala-dala and this experience is even more exciting. The streets of Dar are insane. There are no traffic lights and cars basically just fight for the right of way. They drive on the opposite sides of the ride like they do in Europe so it is even more confusing for me to look at. Additionally, a lot of people walk in the streets because there usually aren't proper sidewalks, but pedestrians certainly do not have the right of way. I've seen numerous almost bus-pedestrian incidents, including myself once. In town getting on a dala-dala requires strength. To get on or off you need to be able and willing to push everyone else out of the way if you want to get on or otherwise you are just not getting on that dala-dala because they will absolutely push you to get their spot.
So what do I think.... It's hilarious! People always look at us because we're "wazungu" and they get a laugh at us all trying to get on the bus. Anyway, it's always an adventure. Maybe I will only think this as long as I haven't yet been robbed....
What else is new?
Yesterday I went to the US Embassy with another Georgetown student, Edwina, where we gave a presentation on US Culture to some Tanzanian students who are coming to study at US Universities over the next year. The event even made the East African newspaper! It was pretty funny and we had to talk about personal space, the US concept of time, dating, holding hands, homosexuality and a whole host of other things. We gave out our emails to many of the students so I am anticipating some great emails...
Tomorrow I am heading to Zanzibar for a group trip with all of the Georgetown students and also all of the Princeton students who I am studying with in the intermediate class. I've heard so many great things about Zanzibar so I am really hoping it is nice and that we have enough time to see everything. I'll write about it when I return. It's getting dark now here (I am 7 hours ahead of US Eastern time) which means I really need to get back to my house.
Hope everything is well!
Twice now I've gone into Dar-proper riding the dala-dala and this experience is even more exciting. The streets of Dar are insane. There are no traffic lights and cars basically just fight for the right of way. They drive on the opposite sides of the ride like they do in Europe so it is even more confusing for me to look at. Additionally, a lot of people walk in the streets because there usually aren't proper sidewalks, but pedestrians certainly do not have the right of way. I've seen numerous almost bus-pedestrian incidents, including myself once. In town getting on a dala-dala requires strength. To get on or off you need to be able and willing to push everyone else out of the way if you want to get on or otherwise you are just not getting on that dala-dala because they will absolutely push you to get their spot.
So what do I think.... It's hilarious! People always look at us because we're "wazungu" and they get a laugh at us all trying to get on the bus. Anyway, it's always an adventure. Maybe I will only think this as long as I haven't yet been robbed....
What else is new?
Yesterday I went to the US Embassy with another Georgetown student, Edwina, where we gave a presentation on US Culture to some Tanzanian students who are coming to study at US Universities over the next year. The event even made the East African newspaper! It was pretty funny and we had to talk about personal space, the US concept of time, dating, holding hands, homosexuality and a whole host of other things. We gave out our emails to many of the students so I am anticipating some great emails...
Tomorrow I am heading to Zanzibar for a group trip with all of the Georgetown students and also all of the Princeton students who I am studying with in the intermediate class. I've heard so many great things about Zanzibar so I am really hoping it is nice and that we have enough time to see everything. I'll write about it when I return. It's getting dark now here (I am 7 hours ahead of US Eastern time) which means I really need to get back to my house.
Hope everything is well!
Monday, June 11, 2007
Pwanini (at the beach)!
My friends and I went on our little get-a-way this past weekend to the beach. Going to the beach is not a really popular thing for Tanzanians it seems, and I don't think many of them know how to swim (my host parents do not), but with the recent increase in tourism, hotels are popping up along the coast. We went by taxi about 30 minutes north of Dar es Salaam to a hotel called "White Sands." The rooms were quite cosy and only $100 each! I love how cheap things are here! In the US the hotel would surely have been a lot more. The accomodations were really quite nice! The best part of the whole weekend might have been the hot, running water in the very long shower that I took. I'm getting used to the bucket-shower idea, but you just never quite get that really clean feeling we're all accustomed to in the states, not to mention that there is no way to wash conditioner out of alll of my hair with just a few cups of water.
We spent Saturday lounging on the beach and taking in some sun. Tanzania lies on the Indian Ocean and it's really, really warm, but not quite as clear as the Caribbean. But from what I've heard, the water off of Zanzibar, which is where we are going next weekend, is as beautiful as any other beach in the world. Our rooms at the hotel had a/c which is dearly missed here by the Americans in TZ, so we spent some time just sitting in our rooms also. We had lunch and some beer on the beach (that is legal here) and had dinner at the hotel's restaurant. The foods not to bad, but I wouldn't exactly come to Tanzania for its cuisine. On Sunday I actually got a pedicure! My feet, well, they've gotten a little dirty since I've arrived. To get through my little neighborhood you walk down a rather long dirt road which is always abound with puddles (the rainy season just ended) and in the begining I was having a very hard time not getting covered in mud. My host-family kept looking at me like I was some unfortunate child who was playing in the mud...
We returned Sunday in the evening and I was hoping my host-mom and the rest of the family would have returned but they are MIA, so it is still me and Lili, my non-english speaking host-sister-in-law. =) I think that my host-mom's flight may have been delayed or something and I'm hoping she will be home today. When I got home last night, the power went out, but only for a brief time. After panicking for a second or two I was able to dig through my things and locate my flashlight. Then I just sat and akwardly talked to my host-dad in Swahili (he's trying to enforce the no english rule on me) about the weekend. A lot of the power here is hydo-electric so it isn't happening often since the rainy season is just ending, but apparently it happens a lot more at different times of the year.
I met a new friend in Savei, the neighborhood that I'm living in. Her name is Lati and I think she is about 3 or 4 years old. One day I was walking back home and I heard "Mzungu" and then "hi" coming from a little girl. I turned around to wave and she came running over and just jumped on me! So I picked her up and we talked a little bit. I can manage talking to small children at least! We were chatting and I went to start walking and she followed me all the way to my house, which isn't so close. Surprisingly to me, her parents barely noticed that a stranger was walking away with their daughter. We were told by our program directors that "it is okay to pick up small children here" and they really mean it. haha So Lati and I were in my little compound talking and then I tried to walk her back, but she just wouldn't leave me side. Eventually her dad came (or someone in her family) and had to take her back home but she was crying terribly. She is so cute and I hope I get to see her again soon! I'm glad I brought those extra Georgetown presents so I can give her something to play with.
In a few minutes, Andrew and I are going to venture into the marketplace with his host-second-cousin-removed, Aveet, who lives with Andrew's host-family. Hopefully I will buy myself some beautiful Kangas and possibly some other souvenirs for my favorite readers! Miss you all (but loving Tanzania)!
We spent Saturday lounging on the beach and taking in some sun. Tanzania lies on the Indian Ocean and it's really, really warm, but not quite as clear as the Caribbean. But from what I've heard, the water off of Zanzibar, which is where we are going next weekend, is as beautiful as any other beach in the world. Our rooms at the hotel had a/c which is dearly missed here by the Americans in TZ, so we spent some time just sitting in our rooms also. We had lunch and some beer on the beach (that is legal here) and had dinner at the hotel's restaurant. The foods not to bad, but I wouldn't exactly come to Tanzania for its cuisine. On Sunday I actually got a pedicure! My feet, well, they've gotten a little dirty since I've arrived. To get through my little neighborhood you walk down a rather long dirt road which is always abound with puddles (the rainy season just ended) and in the begining I was having a very hard time not getting covered in mud. My host-family kept looking at me like I was some unfortunate child who was playing in the mud...
We returned Sunday in the evening and I was hoping my host-mom and the rest of the family would have returned but they are MIA, so it is still me and Lili, my non-english speaking host-sister-in-law. =) I think that my host-mom's flight may have been delayed or something and I'm hoping she will be home today. When I got home last night, the power went out, but only for a brief time. After panicking for a second or two I was able to dig through my things and locate my flashlight. Then I just sat and akwardly talked to my host-dad in Swahili (he's trying to enforce the no english rule on me) about the weekend. A lot of the power here is hydo-electric so it isn't happening often since the rainy season is just ending, but apparently it happens a lot more at different times of the year.
I met a new friend in Savei, the neighborhood that I'm living in. Her name is Lati and I think she is about 3 or 4 years old. One day I was walking back home and I heard "Mzungu" and then "hi" coming from a little girl. I turned around to wave and she came running over and just jumped on me! So I picked her up and we talked a little bit. I can manage talking to small children at least! We were chatting and I went to start walking and she followed me all the way to my house, which isn't so close. Surprisingly to me, her parents barely noticed that a stranger was walking away with their daughter. We were told by our program directors that "it is okay to pick up small children here" and they really mean it. haha So Lati and I were in my little compound talking and then I tried to walk her back, but she just wouldn't leave me side. Eventually her dad came (or someone in her family) and had to take her back home but she was crying terribly. She is so cute and I hope I get to see her again soon! I'm glad I brought those extra Georgetown presents so I can give her something to play with.
In a few minutes, Andrew and I are going to venture into the marketplace with his host-second-cousin-removed, Aveet, who lives with Andrew's host-family. Hopefully I will buy myself some beautiful Kangas and possibly some other souvenirs for my favorite readers! Miss you all (but loving Tanzania)!
Friday, June 8, 2007
mambo! poa!
Signing in from Dar!
Hope everything in the grand-old USA is going well. I'm certainly doing fine here in TZ! I'm getting to appreciate the country more and more everyday and I'm meeting so many nice people! You would not believe how welcoming people are and everyone really takes the time to ask your name and what it is you are doing here. So okay, obviously I stand out a bit, but you can tell it is part of their culture to take time to meet people and say hello to your friends even if you are in a hurry. For class we had to walk up to random students and ask them in Swahili about themselves. It seems so intrusive and I think most US students would be like "ah I have to run here or there," but none of the people we sat and talked with minded at all. Well, my new friend just started to respond in English after I had to keep asking her to repeat herself. =)
Another thing we've all noticed is how nicely people dress here on a daily basis. I have a problem keeping my feet clean and I keep landing myself in mud puddles, but all the women are wearing heels and nice dress shoes! I'm completely impressed. Guys are always dressed in nice button downs even in the 85-90 degree weather. (Well they consider this winter and think it's rather cool outside so I've caught people with coats in the morning.) I am adjusting to the heat, but I still need my fan to sleep!
The last few days have actually been pretty busy and that is why I haven't made it to the internet. I have class everyday from around 9-12 the in the afternoons I've started doing some adventuring. One day Andrew and I and two other Georgetown girls went to Mwenge which is not far from the University. It is a little shopping area and it has a lot of woodcarvings and things I haven't bought anything yet, but I know I'm planning on getting myself some "Kangas" which are the skirts women wear here. They are really just a piece of fabric that you wrap and tie around yourself, but they are so comfortable and there are some really beautiful ones!
The day after we went to Mwenge (which is not so far away), Andrew and I decided to be really adventurous and go into the city. BA lost my bag, so I was planning to go to their office to ask them to reimburse Gtown for the money they had to give me to take the taxi to the airport and back. We took the "dala-dala" (the bus system here) to the main bus "terminal," if I may, and went to the main drop-off down town. I think I was nearly trampled getting off the bus! There are so many people and they all went to get on the one bus so although I was trying to get off, they were all just pushing me so they could get through the door first. Pushing and shoving to get on a dala-dala is totally allowed, even older men to younger girls, so I had to just muscle my way through the fray as Andrew more-or-less got trapped waiting on the bus. Nonetheless, we were able to get off, and after some walking around and asking a couple of people for directions, we found the office. This was tiring and we had a stressful journey back to survive, so before we left, we stopped for a drink at the nice hotel right across the street. =) It's amazing how cheap things here are (a HUGE bottle of water is maybe $. 55-.60) but the hotel was really expensive comparatively. You could tell by looking around it seemed mostly to be filled with European tourists and business people. We may come again to enjoy the a/c. =)
In my host home, things are going well. My host-mom and her son and the "domestic assistant" are away for the week (my mom is in Nigeria for a conference related to her work) so I am just at home with her sister-in-law who doesn't speak a word of English except for "net" which I heard her say today when she saw me playing around with the mosquito net on my bed. But we have been talking! I was drinking some water from a bottle and it is called "Kilimanjaro." She told me that she is originally from that area and belonged to a "tribe" called the Changa. That was her mother-tongue before she learned Swahili. She said she is Christian (although I could not understand what denomination she told me) and that back around Kilimanjaro, many "wazungu" (white people) visit her church there. She has been helping me out a bit with me Swahili homework and she's being so kind to me. I know already that I will miss my host-family when we all travel to Mwanza at the beginning of July.
We've got some good plans for this weekend too. This evening we are supposed to be going to a club to listen to some music in Dar. Our professor with us here knows someone who knows the band. All connections here seem to be made by someone who knows someone who knows about something. =) Then on Saturday all of the Georgetown students and I are going to the beach and staying together in a hotel for Saturday night. It should be fun and hopefully relaxing! I'm excited!
Looks like I will be writing again sometime next week when we get back. Miss you and please leave comments for me!
Hope everything in the grand-old USA is going well. I'm certainly doing fine here in TZ! I'm getting to appreciate the country more and more everyday and I'm meeting so many nice people! You would not believe how welcoming people are and everyone really takes the time to ask your name and what it is you are doing here. So okay, obviously I stand out a bit, but you can tell it is part of their culture to take time to meet people and say hello to your friends even if you are in a hurry. For class we had to walk up to random students and ask them in Swahili about themselves. It seems so intrusive and I think most US students would be like "ah I have to run here or there," but none of the people we sat and talked with minded at all. Well, my new friend just started to respond in English after I had to keep asking her to repeat herself. =)
Another thing we've all noticed is how nicely people dress here on a daily basis. I have a problem keeping my feet clean and I keep landing myself in mud puddles, but all the women are wearing heels and nice dress shoes! I'm completely impressed. Guys are always dressed in nice button downs even in the 85-90 degree weather. (Well they consider this winter and think it's rather cool outside so I've caught people with coats in the morning.) I am adjusting to the heat, but I still need my fan to sleep!
The last few days have actually been pretty busy and that is why I haven't made it to the internet. I have class everyday from around 9-12 the in the afternoons I've started doing some adventuring. One day Andrew and I and two other Georgetown girls went to Mwenge which is not far from the University. It is a little shopping area and it has a lot of woodcarvings and things I haven't bought anything yet, but I know I'm planning on getting myself some "Kangas" which are the skirts women wear here. They are really just a piece of fabric that you wrap and tie around yourself, but they are so comfortable and there are some really beautiful ones!
The day after we went to Mwenge (which is not so far away), Andrew and I decided to be really adventurous and go into the city. BA lost my bag, so I was planning to go to their office to ask them to reimburse Gtown for the money they had to give me to take the taxi to the airport and back. We took the "dala-dala" (the bus system here) to the main bus "terminal," if I may, and went to the main drop-off down town. I think I was nearly trampled getting off the bus! There are so many people and they all went to get on the one bus so although I was trying to get off, they were all just pushing me so they could get through the door first. Pushing and shoving to get on a dala-dala is totally allowed, even older men to younger girls, so I had to just muscle my way through the fray as Andrew more-or-less got trapped waiting on the bus. Nonetheless, we were able to get off, and after some walking around and asking a couple of people for directions, we found the office. This was tiring and we had a stressful journey back to survive, so before we left, we stopped for a drink at the nice hotel right across the street. =) It's amazing how cheap things here are (a HUGE bottle of water is maybe $. 55-.60) but the hotel was really expensive comparatively. You could tell by looking around it seemed mostly to be filled with European tourists and business people. We may come again to enjoy the a/c. =)
In my host home, things are going well. My host-mom and her son and the "domestic assistant" are away for the week (my mom is in Nigeria for a conference related to her work) so I am just at home with her sister-in-law who doesn't speak a word of English except for "net" which I heard her say today when she saw me playing around with the mosquito net on my bed. But we have been talking! I was drinking some water from a bottle and it is called "Kilimanjaro." She told me that she is originally from that area and belonged to a "tribe" called the Changa. That was her mother-tongue before she learned Swahili. She said she is Christian (although I could not understand what denomination she told me) and that back around Kilimanjaro, many "wazungu" (white people) visit her church there. She has been helping me out a bit with me Swahili homework and she's being so kind to me. I know already that I will miss my host-family when we all travel to Mwanza at the beginning of July.
We've got some good plans for this weekend too. This evening we are supposed to be going to a club to listen to some music in Dar. Our professor with us here knows someone who knows the band. All connections here seem to be made by someone who knows someone who knows about something. =) Then on Saturday all of the Georgetown students and I are going to the beach and staying together in a hotel for Saturday night. It should be fun and hopefully relaxing! I'm excited!
Looks like I will be writing again sometime next week when we get back. Miss you and please leave comments for me!
Monday, June 4, 2007
bragging?
Two days in a row - exciting. We had our first class this morning, but I was with the beginners class today so I really didn't learn anything new quite yet. I think tomorrow I will go to the intermediate class with some kids from Princeton and hopefully the teacher guy will give me better instructions than he did the first day on exactly what building it is on campus so I don't need to walk another 2 miles looking for it. The campus really is HUGE and if you don't know where you're going, you're going to be in some trouble.
After that we had our embassy "security briefing." More or less, the guy just wanted to emphasis how much money the US gives to TZ because he pointed out that no one knows how amazing the US is and all the great things we do. Okay, I agree on some levels, but we really didn't need to hear about it there. Then a woman just told us about some safety stuff - "so I guess you know about Malaria?" Well yes, we talked about that before we got here, it would be a little late now, don't you think? Anyway, some of the girls hit on a Marine and they talked about coming for "Thirsty Thursdays" which apparently the marines hold each week at the embassy. We asked what they did and the guy told us they just stand at the door all day doing nothing. Sounds like a pretty easy post to me... But I don't think we'll be going. You have to be 21 to drink because it is technically on US soil. haha
Nights are a bit boring because it is not very safe to be out after dark so we have to head home. Right now, no one in my house speaks English, so it's a tad bit challenging for me. (my host mom is in Nigeria and will not be back until Sunday) I think this weekend the other Georgetown students and I will be trying to get a bit of an escape and heading out of town a ways to the area with the safe beaches. We're going to get a hotel so we can all take a regular shower too. =)
Time to get going now - hoping everything is well at home!
After that we had our embassy "security briefing." More or less, the guy just wanted to emphasis how much money the US gives to TZ because he pointed out that no one knows how amazing the US is and all the great things we do. Okay, I agree on some levels, but we really didn't need to hear about it there. Then a woman just told us about some safety stuff - "so I guess you know about Malaria?" Well yes, we talked about that before we got here, it would be a little late now, don't you think? Anyway, some of the girls hit on a Marine and they talked about coming for "Thirsty Thursdays" which apparently the marines hold each week at the embassy. We asked what they did and the guy told us they just stand at the door all day doing nothing. Sounds like a pretty easy post to me... But I don't think we'll be going. You have to be 21 to drink because it is technically on US soil. haha
Nights are a bit boring because it is not very safe to be out after dark so we have to head home. Right now, no one in my house speaks English, so it's a tad bit challenging for me. (my host mom is in Nigeria and will not be back until Sunday) I think this weekend the other Georgetown students and I will be trying to get a bit of an escape and heading out of town a ways to the area with the safe beaches. We're going to get a hotel so we can all take a regular shower too. =)
Time to get going now - hoping everything is well at home!
Sunday, June 3, 2007
nyumba mpya
I got back to the airport for my bag so I've got 10 minutes on the internet. I've moved in with my family and they are really nice. We live in a small neighborhood called Savei and Andrew is down the street. It is about a mile from the main part of campus. My host mom, Neema, is a professor at the University of Dar es Salaam and her husband is an accountant, but he works 100 miles away so he is only home on the weekends. They have a baby named Mathew and a sister-in-law and a domestic assistant also live with us, but they do not speak English at all, so I am getting to practice my Swahili a lot! There are some things to get used to, like the bucket showers and when the water doesn't run every other day so the toilet doesn't flush on its own, but my home is quite nice.
We start class on Monday and I will be in the intermediate level with some other students from Princeton so I am very anxious and excited to meet them and have some other Swahili learners around me. Our group went into Dar today by dala-dala (their "bus" system) and we got to see the different market places and some places to eat. It wasn't busy because it is Sunday, but we stopped at basically South Africa's "McDonalds" which is spreading all over Africa. The food was good, but not quite authentic. At home my family cooks for me. The first evening we had chapati (a pancake-like bread) and fish. They do not use forks here so you have to pick the fish off the bones with your hands. =) It's a bit odd at first, but really it's not hard. I even ate rice with my hands. haha...
Generally, we have to stay home after dark so I've been studying up and doing some reading and just getting adjusted so far. What is amusing is that they just recently built a huge Western-style mall just up the street from our neighborhood (Thank you South Africa!) with their version of a target and a huge supermarket. Oh, and air conditioning. We've been there three times already. It's not so authentic, but it's a welcome transition tool for me right now.
Time is running out so I will write again soon!
We start class on Monday and I will be in the intermediate level with some other students from Princeton so I am very anxious and excited to meet them and have some other Swahili learners around me. Our group went into Dar today by dala-dala (their "bus" system) and we got to see the different market places and some places to eat. It wasn't busy because it is Sunday, but we stopped at basically South Africa's "McDonalds" which is spreading all over Africa. The food was good, but not quite authentic. At home my family cooks for me. The first evening we had chapati (a pancake-like bread) and fish. They do not use forks here so you have to pick the fish off the bones with your hands. =) It's a bit odd at first, but really it's not hard. I even ate rice with my hands. haha...
Generally, we have to stay home after dark so I've been studying up and doing some reading and just getting adjusted so far. What is amusing is that they just recently built a huge Western-style mall just up the street from our neighborhood (Thank you South Africa!) with their version of a target and a huge supermarket. Oh, and air conditioning. We've been there three times already. It's not so authentic, but it's a welcome transition tool for me right now.
Time is running out so I will write again soon!
Friday, June 1, 2007
arrival!
Hi everyone!
Just arrived in TZ. All is well except that one of my bags was left in London. It should arrive tomorrow. Will talk more soon!
Love,
Sarah
Just arrived in TZ. All is well except that one of my bags was left in London. It should arrive tomorrow. Will talk more soon!
Love,
Sarah
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