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!