Hello everyone!!!
After 35 hours of flying, lay-overs and getting through Tanzanian customs I finally made it! I met up with Nicole and Michael (the other Morogoro volunteers) and Tyler (one of the Zanzibar volunteers) at the Amsterdam airport. (I got to watch old episodes of HIMYM and the Big Bang Theory on the plane so that helped the time pass quickly!)
We met up with YCI staff at the airport in Dar Es Salaam and they drove us to the Safari Inn. After walking down a sketchy alley (which looked WAY better in the daytime) we met up with Stephanie and Evan (the other Zanzibar volunteers) and the rest of the YCI staff. We spent two nights in Dar. During the day we did training on things like Power and Priviledge, Swahili lessons, Tanzanian culture and how to stay safe and healthy in Morogoro. For the first few days I was worried because I just couldn't seem to get excited. Now I think it was a combination of nerves and jet lag. I just felt like all my emotions were dampened. Now I'm doing much better although I certainly still miss home and all of you!
On Wednesday we said our goodbyes (it's surprising how quickly you bond with people when they're the only ones who understand your language) and we took a bus to Morogoro. The bus was like a greyhound, although more squished and with Jet Li movies playing on the TV. Whenever the bus stopped people would come running up to the side yelling for us to buy whatever they were selling. We got to watch a beautiful sunset on the drive.
By the time we arrived at our homestay family it was dark. Makho and Godfrey (the Morogoro YCI staff, both local Tanzanians) introduced us to each family. Nicole and I are staying with a very nice family and sharing a room (and a bed so hopefully we get along!) and Michael is staying with a family next door.
In our family only the son speaks english but it's been interesting trying to communicate with the mother, father and sisters suing our limited Swahili, gestures, laughter and smiles. They've treated us very well and Nicole and I are trying to convince them to let us help them cook and clean.
Mostly we've been eating fish (samaki) (with heads attached!), rice (wali), ugali (a corn-based doughy mass), spinach and chipsi (french fries which you can buy from local food stands), as well as a variety of fruit. We've been able to convince the family that they don't have to let us eat first so now they put all the food out and all the women eat with their right hand out of the communal bowls (using your left hand is very rude!). I'm also learning to deal with squat toilets, mosquito nets, bucket shows, hand laundry, giant cockroaches, flies and mosquitos although none of these are as bad as I was expecting! (Katie L, I'll resist saying it) ;)
Usiku mwema (Sleep well!)
This is the view from the roof of our hotel in Dar. I'll try to add more pictures later.
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