The Beginning

 October 4, 2009

Have you ever found yourself in a place in life where you never expected to be?  Well I am there.  I have given up the life I knew, sold my house and car, left my job, said good-bye to my family and traveled halfway around the world to a land I can barely imagine.  Many times I wonder if have I lost my mind?  What am I doing here? I am 48 years old and I have joined the Peace Corps!

Things could be worse but I believe in making the most of every opportunity.  After one week in country, Peace Corps dropped me off at my host family's home and said "kwa heri."  My family does not speak English and I do not speak Kiswahili, but I know how to smile, point, and nod my head.  I will live here for the next 8 weeks.

Truthfully, I really like my host family.  Victoria, the mom, is my age.  Agness (24) is her daughter and Diana (14) is related somehow.  They are teaching me how to live (survive) in Tanzania.  We have a great time sitting on the mat on the floor in the kitchen each night, laughing at my Kiswahili or their English mistakes, but still, managing to communicate. Diana and Agness do the cooking and they feed me very well.  Rice, beans, greens, ugali (stiff porridge or maize meal, the consistency of mashed potatoes), or green bananas.  I can now eat with my hands like a native Tanzanian.

There are so many new things to learn.  In Tanzania, western toilets are a rare luxury, but squatties serve the same purpose.  However, I missed the lesson on the etiquette of rinsing with water so I sneak in my own TP.  It is rather warm here in Africa, so who needs a hot water shower anyway?  I can bathe with 1/4 of a bucket of water or less.  I have not actually seen myself in a mirror in weeks, but I think that I probably still look the same.  I comb my hair and brush my teeth every day.  I also try to keep myself looking neat and presentable.  I wash my clothes outside in a bucket on Sundays and I wash my undies in the bathroom every night.

It is pretty here in Morogoro.  Mountains surround us.  The weather is surprisingly nice, warm and dry.  Each night there is a wonderful breeze that blows through my room and keeps me cool as I sleep beneath my mosquito net.  Sleeping under the net reminds me of the forts I would make when I was a child.  Very comforting and cozy.

 

I attend training (language, cross-cultural adjustment, education, etc.) classes every day at a nearby school with three other volunteers.  The entire cohort of education trainees meets at a central training center every Friday.  Next week I will begin my practice teaching.  I will be teaching Form 1 (9th grade US) chemistry.  Students here take each science class every year, so it takes four years to complete high school chemistry.  I have to do lesson plans, long range plans, and all that beginning teacher stuff, but I am looking forward to being in the classroom again.