JUST KIDDING!
I am completely in love with this life I am living. The country and countrymen and women are beautiful, kind, and hilarious. The trees, flowers, and birds are intoxicating. The breeze is warm and the people are friendly.
The strangest thing about being in Africa... is that it doesn't necessarily feel like I'm in Africa. You might guess (as I sort of did) that being here would "feel" like being here. On some level I would assume that I would feel far removed, even isolated- maybe like I was missing out from the bigger picture in some ways. On the CONTRARY. Being here- if only for a few days so far- I have been reassured that wherever you are feels like the center of things, and your reality is what you accept it to be. Cliche, corny, blah blah blah but striking and authentic as well. Seriously though, you wouldn't know this to be Africa.... except for the monkeys, banana trees, daladalas, swahili, and the fact that I'm frequently the only white person on a long busy road. Had I mentioned the monkeys? We saw two before I had been here 12 hours! And there's a banana tree at the gate of our hostel!
I still haven't slept through the night, and I have learned to judge my early morning wake up time based on what I hear outside. We have learned that the dark-thirty a.m. singing is part of the tail end of Ramadan (it ends on Monday/Tuesday)
Today was my second day of orientation with Global Service Corps but I feel like I've been there for at least a week. They do phenomenal work and the people I have met so far are all so unique yet sincerely kindred.
I can admit, I was worried.
The night and morning before meeting up with GSC for training my brain started to ramble a bit. I got back to my old "Who am I to do any of this?" narrative and I was prepared to ask to switch assignments if I was asked to "help" in supremely ignorant ways. Turns out, I did my research well, because they are a great program. My impression is that a lot of places just drop "volunteers" like toy army men with parachutes, without much context or training. Thankfully, that's not the case here.
Yesterday we were introduced to the staff, given an overview of the projects, a tour of the city, and a two hour swahili lesson. Today we started the morning by meeting the most incredible woman you could imagine. She is a woman living with HIV who has no "job" but spends all of her days meeting with HIV positive groups and individuals about using nutrition to boost their immune systems and stay healthier for longer. She is paid nothing, lives on next to nothing, and redistributes any charity she is given. She was our first lesson.
The things she told us would crack your heart in two, and after she left I stared into my reflection in my tea cup for a while. What a lady, what hope. One of the other interns is a filmmaker and she's hoping to interview Mama Betty, so hopefully I'll get to see her again.
Our second lesson of the day was a brief history of Tanzania, given by the in-country director who happens to be a UVM grad from the 70s.
We sat at a long table for a beautiful outdoor lunch by the main road. Laughing, talking, eating. Have you ever had soured milk? Ummm....
After lunch we met with the leader of Women In Action, a women's empowerment group that gives sex education, raises awareness about gender violence, and combats the recently outlawed female genital mutilation by working with the male leaders of tribes, families, and church groups. Outstanding.
Then we had more Swahili lessons and now I'm about to go for dinner with the program- the best pizza in Tanzania they tell us... oh boy. Haha.
All in all I am thrilled beyond words to be here. And everything changes tomorrow! Tomorrow we move out of Arusha to live with our homestay families in Kerungu (sp?) I will spend the rest of this week learning about vaccinating chickens for New Castles' disease, bio-intensive agriculture, water storage, integrated pest management, and more more more! I'm nervous as all hell to move into the homestay, but I'm sure it will be as great as they say.
SO. Here's something new:
Because I'll be switching off between camping out in the bush and living in my homestay, I'll most likely only have internet on the weekends when I come into town, or on an evening when I come in to Arusha for dinner or something. I can still get mail at the address I listed...
AND (drumroll pleeeeaaase.....)
I have a cell phone! I think texts are fairly cheap, and calls might not be so bad either. If you want to give it a go my number is 0755213144
Keep in mind there's a 7 hour time difference!
Okay, then! I'm off to dinner and hoping that you are having a fabulous morning! :-)
<3
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