Life As I Know It

"Okay, guys, repeat after me: 'Anal Sex.'"

Welcome to teaching sex-ed to a group of 53 preteens. Friday was "Graduation" so they're all done with our program, and I've got to say, I'm really proud of them. They had puberty, menstruation, anatomy, reproduction, pregnancy, and HIV prevention down pat by the end of it. They were curious, hilarious, and full of personality.

I love teaching! I loved running at them yelling and waving my arms when they weren't paying attention, I loved singing with them to wake them up, I loved making them say the words they were shy about all together at the top of our lungs. I loved answering their questions, and I love that they are so well equipped now. I'm going to miss them.

This week I'm teaching another group of kids from 8pm-Noon every day. In the afternoons I'm going around to various NGOs I've contacted and researched. My plan is to bat my eyes and/or badger them into letting me ask a few questions.

Last night was Halloween but instead of going to the wazungu costume party at Maasai Camp Jenna and I went to our favorite restaurant- Spice and Herbs, the Ethiopian place with the great terrace- and had a good meal. Originally I was going to go to the club dressed as a Mzungu (white zinc on the nose, cargo shorts, hiking boots, sun glasses, etc) but we had gone out dancing on Thursday night and we were tired.

Thursday night at the club pretty much satisfied any remote need of ours to go clubbing in Arusha. Locals can't afford to go out, and those who can are going to try and pick up white girls. Overall, it's not much of an experience- unless of course I get a desperate need to meet 100 girls like myself and listen to bad remixes of American hip hop. Nah, we're sticking to local bars and people's houses. Tonight we're planning to cook dinner for our work friend Thomas.

On Friday after work we all trooped over to the Njiro shopping complex to investigate. The grocery store was nicer than some of the ones I've been to at home, with just as much selection and every American brand you could imagine. They had shredded cheese, deli meat, jim beam, pet food, and pasafiers. That may not sound all that appetizing, but the fact that it was in the middle of nowhere Arusha, Tanzania was a shining beacon to globalization at its most extreme. The mini-mall also has a movie theater and an outdoor patio where waiters from at least six different restaurants bring you menus for Indo-Chinese, Indian, Mexican, Italian, and Sushi. It was nothing short of ridiulous. I've been eating rice and beans for seven weeks so to say I was a bit overwhelmed would hardly do the madness justice. I can't even imagine what I'll feel like when I go back to the states. Granted, Mary Ellen's potato and cheese burrito ended up being chips (french fries) in a tortilla... but my spinache ravioli in red sauce was scrumptious.

I do not like or reccomend Arusha.

I love Africa, and I've met some great people... but Arusha can kiss my mzungu butt. It's intensely and overtly racist and sexist, and although it has been an enormous learning experience that I am very grateful for, that doesn't mean for one second that I particularly like this city. I loved living in the villages and I'll breathe an enormous sigh of relief when I leave here to go travel.

On that note, I don't especially want to leave Africa. I keep thinking over and over again how much it costs to get on the continent, so the prospect of leaving before I've seen more of it is a little discouraging. Although I maintain that I used my early weekends and afternoons after work to the best of my all-by-my-onesome ability, it's still frustrating to know what I'll be leaving. I have great friends that want to go on adventures. I've been offered two weeks of free lodging in Zanzibar this December in exchange for working at a cross-cultural music festival that will benefit a microfinancing NGO. My friends are planning an at-cost safari to the Serengetti with a guide we know and I could go along if I was still here. It's tough to say "No, I can't" to all of that.

BUT (because Nicola says, "everybody has a but") I'm getting excited for Kenya and I'm hoping to climb Mt. Meru here in TZ. The truth is after 7 weeks of being harassed about booking this safari or that one, and which parks have I been to, and yadda yadda yadda, I've been essentially turned off to the idea of exploring Tanzania on my own. I'm going to Kenya, dude. There will always be more to see, and I just want to get the heck away from Arusha for a while.

I keep sending postcards, let me know if yours gets there safely. :-)