Firstly, apologies for any spelling errors in any of the previous posts. Checking grammar errors isn’t high on my priority list of things to do in Africa. Also, apologies for any repeat phrases like ‘full day in Africa’, this seems almost too surreal to be true that I have lived in Africa, halfway around the world from pretty much everything familiar, for two weeks, and counting. I’m also not quite sure how to structure the blog, so bear with me as I deal with internet outages, ATMs that are randomly shut off for the day, water that goes out for multiple days on end, and bush babies yowling at 3 a.m. - all things that I’ve encountered within the last week. Makes life in the States seem pretty darn dull, huh?
Anyway, last Monday was our first day of class in a foreign country and we eased into things with a four-hour Kiswahili class. There was some confusion over what time the class was supposed to start, where, and even if we were going to have class, so some of us showed up a bit late to the classrooms as per the instructions of Dr. Roberts. We were immediately ushered into our classroom by a very willing and enthusiastic man that I would come to know as mwalimu (teacher). Aldin, our teacher, is an absolute hoot! He’s very excited about having us learn Kiswahili in the birthplace of the language, Tanzania, where Kiswahili is taught, spoken, and learned in its most pure form, unlike that stuff that they call Swahili in Kenya, all according to Aldin. Our class is structured in the following manner: classroom instruction from 8:30-9:30 by Aldin, 5 minute break where we usually prepare for the Kiswahili mini presentation (a few sentences) that we have to say on a certain subject after the break, then another hour of classroom instruction from 9:35-10:30 and then we go off with T.A.’s for the next two hours of class. If by know your mind is reeling as you contemplate the 4 hours of Kiswahili, imagine how we feel with this new type of immersion learning! It’s really not that bad at all, in fact, I really enjoy learning a lot. After class, some of us went to the cafeteria for the usual lunch of wali (rice) with some sort of protein or veggie. Even after so little time of living here, I’m starting to pick up on the dishes at the caf with the least amount of bones or stones in them. It’s a pretty rewarding feeling, let me tell you. And, the fruit venders are also not trying to charge us that extra 50 shillings for the fruit since they know that we’re sticking around for a while! Believe me, being able to call the fruit venders’ bluff is such a great feeling. After lunch, we went to get internet, relaxed, and then had an evening meeting with Dr. Roberts at Hill Park to discuss weekend excursions, academics, etc.
The next day was pretty much the same as the first with breakfast and lunch at the cafeteria before and after Kiswahili class. After lunch, we headed to the classroom for our first day of our Research Methods class. How did I ever handle 6 hours of class per day back in K-12? But seriously, having several hours of class spread out on different days of the week in college has definitely spoiled me. After class, Caleb and I ventured to Mlimani City (the mall area) in search of flash cards. Mission impossible. I am convinced that there are absolutely no notecards/flashcards to be found in Dar es Salaam, maybe even in Tanzania proper. After the trip, we went via dala back to the cafeteria for dinner.
Wednesday was the same as the previous two with breakfast and lunch at the cafeteria before and after Kiswahili. Instead of having Research Methods, we went to the U.S. Embassy in Dar. After going through all of the security things in an air-conditioned building, we waited out in the grassy courtyard (grass is a big deal here!) in preparation for our meeting with the ambassador. This new embassy was built recently after the older one, which was hyper-accessible and located in the middle of the city, was bombed. The new embassy is also equipped with a fountain made to resemble the pool at the base of the Washington Monument in D.C. ’Rob’, the ambassador, arrived shortly and we sat in a seminar room listening to his talk about how America protects its interest abroad, namely democracy and the African version of the American dream, and how the U.S. pumps massive amounts of money into struggling countries, specifically Tanzania – all without ever asking the people’s opinions. To be fair, Rob was only the interim ambassador and had been in Tanzania for two months, only to be leaving in a few weeks. In summation, Rob was definitely a politician. A plus of the trip was the presence of totally Americanized bathrooms, a real treat especially since there has been no running water in our dorm since Monday morning. After the Embassy, we went to the National Museum of Tanzania. The museum itself was definitely representative of Tanzania and its culture, which is to say that there were no guards around, exhibitions were unprotected, and exhibitions included short descriptions at best. But all in all, it was just perfect for our group and the day’s pace. A highlight for me was seeing the casts of the first hominid footprints that were found at Laetoli. After the museum, we got caught in Dar’s rush hour. When we finally arrived at a restaurant, we were starving. We decided to go to Dar’s best Ethiopian restaurant, called Addis in Dar. We ate by candlelight in one of the best group meals of the trip – both in company and food. Dana, Matt, Linnea, Caleb, Stacey, and I shared a variety of dishes, from spiced pumpkin to savory and spicy meat dishes, all served with the characteristic Ethiopian bread (resembling a really flat pancake that tastes like sour dough).
The prospect that greeted us this morning was that of no running water. It was soon to be the fourth day in a row without running water – of any kind- in bweni namba tatu (hall number 3). We had breakfast at the cafeteria and then went to Kiswahili class. Lunch again at the cafeteria and then Research Methods. After class, we decided to unwind by playing a pick-up game of Ultimate frisbee before hunkering down to study for our first Kiswahili test the next day. Favorite part of the day: the water coming back on later in the evening!
TGIF was definitely on our minds as we took our Kiswahili test this morning. After class, we went back to the dorms and relaxed, napped, journaled, and gave our brains a rest. Lunch followed our relaxation time and then Research Methods. After class, Linnea, Brittany and I went to get our hair braided with Hamida. We went via daladala to Mlimani City where Hamida lead us through some side streets to Survei, an all-purpose beauty salon. We took off our shoes before entering the small building and after much haggling and much petting of hair (the ladies petting the wazungu’s (white girl’s) hair, they set to work. There were about 10-12 ladies in the area and 4-5 ended up on both Linnea and Brittany’s heads of hair, while two were on my hair braiding in in the style called ‘yebo yebo’. After two and a half hours, the hair masterpieces were complete. All of us were very happy with how our hair turned out and left the salon feeling like African queens. When we got back to the dorms, Linnea, Stacey, Ian, Karma, Becca, Anna, Brittany, and I decided to hang out and chill as we waited for the others to get back from their dinner at a hole in the wall near Mwenge. When they got back, we played a slightly modified game of ‘spoons’ and also cribbage too. We all were tired from the week and tonight was the night to let loose and enjoy, and enjoy we did.
The next morning was our first weekend outing of the school year to Pugu Hills Nature Preserve. After a long and hot bus ride, and a 50,000 shilling bribe to the police later, we finally got to our destination. It was absolutely beautiful. There was an open-air large shack with areas to rest, a pool and a little eating area. The weather was fabulous and we all were happy. We went immediately into the pool and after cooling down, we ate pilau (brown rice flavored with spices, peppers, and meat) with chicken for lunch. From lunch we hired a guide to take us around the area on a nature hike. The guidebook described the place as a gem and a lesson of what not to do as far as conservation, but to us it felt like heaven or an oasis in the desert. We hiked through a gravel pit and some of us gave the workers our water, as they earn 6000 shillings per day (roughly $4) per day for working 10-12 hours in the hot sun. They cannot afford to take large jugs of water up to the gravel pit, so they work without any water in the blazing heat, the jua kali (literally, the fierce sun). When we got back, we grabbed dinner at the cafeteria and relaxed.
The first one bit the dust today – or rather, the first member of our group got sick. Shahid went to the hospital at 2 a.m. this morning with possible malaria; it ended up being a bacterial infection. Some f us went to a marine reserve today while others relaxed at the dorms, and still others (me included) went to the clothing market an hour away from the UDSM campus. Hamida took us and helped our little group to pick out fabric to make kongas (dresses and skirts). The market was covered and was very overwhelming in its size. Caleb and Noah got shirts decorated with batik and gold thread, while Katie got a pre-made konga and Abby and I got fabric to take to the tailors sometime within the next week. When we got back, we went to dinner at the cafeteria and hung out on the stoops of our dorm before calling it a night.
More to come next week on our activities this week! Email or comment with any questions and whatnot and I would be more than happy to answer! Also, because of the lack of computer (courtesy of a London thief), my updates will be sans pictures. But here’s the plan, I’ll post them all when I get back, with brief descriptions at that time. Kwa heri!
