Team Wagonjwa is Back

Looking back at my last blog post, when I was looking forward to Thanksgiving and then World AIDS Day, I can't help but laugh a little at my optimism.

Last week, actually within two days of my last blog post, my whole team was stricken with different ailments that left us pretty useless. If I ever had wanted to know what it's like to be sick and sharing a bed with two other sick girls, now I do. I had some digestive-related problems that I will spare you the details about, one of my bedmates had a bacterial infection, and the other had a UTI and malaria at the same time. Fortunately we all had a good sense of humor about it, and we are all back in business now.

But while this was happening other groups were brilliantly implementing our ideas for World AIDS Day, and it was a great success. The Babati community helped create a "patchwork" banner full of phrases about how to help the HIV+ community and fight HIV. We had beautiful banners with HIV facts all around the field. Also, another group helped make a map of the world with stories and photos of HIV+ people on almost every continent. The football matches were extremely well attended, and we got almost 300 people tested just that day. I was only able to go for a little while, but I'm glad it went the way we had hoped.

And it has already come to our last week in Babati! I can't believe how fast things have gone by. This week is all about on-the-fly teachings about HIV and advertising for our last Babati testing date, at the busy bus stand on Thursday. We're also arranging a pool tournament and a dj to go along, so it should be great fun. Then it's closing dinner in Arusha, and off to a week of fun in Zanzibar! More on this to come!

Think I Can Use "Black Friday" as a Bargaining Tool at the Market?

Hey! So we've now finished our first work week in Babati, and gotten so much done! My group is working on two specific projects on top of as much teaching and talking to people as possible.

The first is something I hope my blog-reading audience (all 5 of you) can help out with. There is an HIV+ Support Group, UPENDO, that has worked with SIC in the past, and will be working most closely with my group. Ideally we will set up some kind of theatre-related project with them, but we are limited in time. What we're definitely doing is helping them get started on a "Kuku Project" - building a sustainable chicken coop that will be an ongoing source of nutrition and funds long after we leave. For a little more information see our facebook event - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=187077402527&index=1 - or comment here or email me and I can tell you anything you might want to know about chicken coop materials or the HIV+ group and their work here in Babati.

The second is Babati's World AIDS Day celebration. We're working together with a committee at the hospital, which means all of our decisions need to be approved by them, which makes things tricky on limited time. But there's going to be a dj and theatre performances and speakers and a big football tournament (always a huge draw, we've learned), and all sorts of other events. We're trying to make it really interactive, and playing with a "patchwork" project where we make a picture out of messages of support for HIV+ people, ideas for how to fight HIV, and reasons why people should come get tested. Hopefully we can turn the art we make that day into a present for UPENDO. We have lots of other ideas like this, and it's all happening really fast because we just started working this week and the event is on Tuesday.

One thing that helps is that Gerald, one of our teaching partners, is actually from Babati. Therefore he knows who to talk to and where to go for literally everything we might need. Joseph, our other teaching partner, has been in Arusha since break because Mama Joseph had appendicitis and malaria and was having surgery. He is on his way here now though, and thankfully I believe Mama Joseph is ok. I've really missed him, and it will be good to have him back.

I hope everyone in America had a lovely Thanksgiving. We are celebrating tomorrow, and I'm sure it won't be the same but nice nonetheless. For now, I'm thankful that you're reading this!

My Awesome Break

So for the past week we have been on break, and it was maybe the best week ever. Let me pick up where I left off two entries ago in Jinja, Uganda.

After I got back to camp from town, our first activity was the bungee jump. I was definitely the most nervous of the 11 of us that jumped, so I decided to go last so I could watch everyone else first. Still I was shaking like a fool when I got up there, and the guy in charge told me he would teach me a "different technique for folks who are a bit nervous". So instead of putting my arms down before the jump like everyone else, the two guys up there held my arms and I leaned forward and they counted down from 5 and then basically I "bungee-fell" when gravity took over. But it was awesome and beautiful and I'm so glad I did it. Some girls in the group took advantage of an offer of a free jump if you went naked, but I'm afraid I'm not that brave.

So then we were in the mood to celebrate, and had a few drinks at the camp's bar. Most people went to bed early that night, but my friend Lissette and I made friends with a couple of raft guides who were going to a casino in Jinja that night. So of course we joined them, and it turned into a fun night - I won enough money in blackjack and roulette to pay my tab back at the camp's bar! But I probably stayed up later than I should have, because the next day we had to raft class 5 rapids bright and early in the morning.

There was no worry about me being tired, though, because the rafting definitely woke me up. The thing about the Nile is that the rapids are huge and all the rafts flip over and knock you out, but the water is deep enough that you know you're not going to hit any rocks or the bottom. Also there were 5 kayakers following the rafts and rescuing people who got knocked out. At first I didn't really know what to expect, but soon I realized that flipping in rapids is actually awesome. The two days of rafting went by really fast. Our guide the second day was this bad-ass man named Tutu who we now know as the King of the Nile because he reached into the water at one point and pulled out a large fish with his bare hand, stood up and hollered "I GOT A FISH!". It might be the most impressive thing I've ever seen.

The bus back from Uganda was an experience - our bus broke down somewhere between Nairobi and the Kenya-Tanzania border and what would have been a 17-hour bus ride turned into a 23-hour bus ride. At least I could read when the bus wasn't moving. Even people with no touch of motion sickness couldn't read for most of this trip because the bus literally bounced off the unpaved roads and you couldn't hold a book still if you tried. So we had a lot of time to think and talk and play MF or K.

Originally I was going to do the all-out $400 two-day safari to Ngorogoro Crater and Manyara, but after having all of my valuables stolen, reevaluating and talking to friends, I decided to go with a group doing a $100 one-day safari through Arusha National Park instead. I have absolutely no regrets about that decision - there were four of us, and we saw probably over 100 giraffes, plenty of zebra, baboons, colbus monkeys (these are really cool), a huge lake literally covered in flamingos, buffalo, warthogs, and much more. Plus we got to do a "walking safari" which was essentially a hike where we got to walk with a guide carrying a huge shotgun for protection and literally walk right by the animals. He only pointed the gun once, when about 15 warthogs sprinted out of a hole about 5 feet away from us. They were going the other way, but it was startling.

Also I had one more day than the 2-day safari folks to play around Arusha. I ate good food, used the internet, and went out to a legit nightclub, where I had a lot of fun.

So now I have a new home in Babati! It's actually very close to where we stayed during orientation and our Babati weekends - my family is adorable and the house is really nice and I know I'm going to love it! Plus I have an awesome group - I get to keep my teaching partners Joseph and Gerald and also have my friends Lissette and Annie, who are two of my favorite people here. The interesting part - Lissette, Annie, and I all get to sleep in one big bed. We're excited.

More can come later since I now live within walking distance of internet! Another volunteer program here this summer lived in the same homestays, and we think they were spoiled since they all have electricity and are so close to computers and such. And in a way I will miss the calm of the villages, but I'm definitely not complaining.

10 Things I Miss About Qash

So here goes with what I was going to write last time:

Spending six weeks in Qash village was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done, and I am so glad that I got to do it. I could say 100 things I will miss, but I'll try and keep the list down to 10. In no particular order:

1. My homestay family. By the end of our time in the village we spoke enough Swahili to carry on a somewhat reasonable conversation with our family, which was awesome, because I learned things about them in the last couple weeks that probably would have been cleared up on the first day if we had spoken the same language. Like one of the girls living there was actually their cousin, and they had another daughter who came home from boarding school in our second-to-last week there. They were truly sad to say goodbye. I'm especially grateful for everything they did for us. I thought it would be a lot of work living without electricity or running water, but when our mama or dadas always boiled water for tea and baths, made our food, washed our clothes, and even brought us kerosene lamps at night, I realized I was actually a little spoiled.

2. Joseph and Gerald's homestay family. Because we lived pretty far from our schools and the boys lived pretty close, we ended up spending most of our lunches and planning time at their house. We probably got to know their family as well as our own since we always had translators available. Mama and Baba Bakali and their kids Bakali (in his early teens), Nju (probably around 10), and Hussein (2) became friends of ours. Mama Bakali bakes and sells these donut-like things called mendazi, which we grew to appreciate very much. She also likes to test our Swahili by asking us questions and seeing if we could respond, which I actually found really helpful most of the time (other times it was frustrating).

3. Our pool tables. Because young men are one of our target at-risk groups, we tried to find the best ways to reach out to them whenver we could. In a village with no electricity, young men tend to play the most pool. This was also an excuse to start a Team Qash pool tournament. When I got to Qash I was a terrible pool player, and I can't say that has really changed (I lost the tournament). But I did have a lot of fun in the process. There were two pool tables in our village, and we definitely preferred one but did a lot of on-the-fly teachings at both.

4. Chulo, Rama, and the guys at the pool tables. Chulo ran the duca where our favorite pool table sat outside. I think I mentioned in an earlier post that Chulo and I would give each other lessons in Swahili and English, respectively, as we hung out at the duca. I think I should clarify that these were not so much "lessons" as they were times when we sat around and pointed to things and tried to say them in both languages. I didn't really get to say goodbye because apparently he was sick the last week, so I'm sad about that. Rama was just always around Chulo's. Rama has been through enough school where he speaks a dangerous amount of English. He liked to ask us questions in English, and it would be hard to know if he understood the answer, because no matter what he would nod. During our Community Day football tournament he walked around with me all morning convincing people to get tested, which made for some interesting Swanglish speaking. We like to joke around and say "Tuko pamoja kama samaki na maji" ("we are together like fish and water"), and when I said goodbye to him he told me he meant that from his heart. It was sweet. He also made me promise that I would tell my friends in America about him.

5. Kamjingijingi. This is the traditional African dance group that I sort of joined. We went and did some teachings with them early on in our time there, and got them to come to perform at our first testing day. These mamas are great - welcoming, funny, and talented. On that first testing day I joined their line for a little while and learned some moves. Since they said I cheza vizuri sana (dance very well), they actually brought me a uniform to dance with them on Community Day, which I did for hours in the blazing heat, and it was awesome. Then on our last day we came back to do one last teaching with them and they gave me the uniform as a gift. I told them I would tell everyone in America about them too.

6. Our Peer Educator group. When we got to the secondary school we learned there was already a peer education group in place. For about a week we thought their name was "White Wine", which we thought was a strange name, and learned later that it was actually "Y to Y", short for "Youth to Youth". We had high hopes for the group, and my number one wish for Qash is that the group is sustainable and actually does teachings about HIV after we leave. They helped us plan and advertise our last testing day, which ended up exceeding all expectations. On our last day we had a little ceremony where we gave them certificates and our SIC curriculum and posters, so they have everything they need to keep it going. They will also have the help of our SIC Field Officer, Waziri, who will come to visit them regularly and encourage them to be active.

7. Wilson. I can't talk about the PEs without bringing up Wilson. As their chairman, he is very much the driving force behind the group. He is like 18 going on 30 - he is really smart and ambitious, and has a sort of politician's charisma. We're as likely to find him in the teacher's office as the classroom, because he's always sort of taking charge of something. When we want to meet with Y to Y, Wilson organizes the other students and pulls everything in line. He's really a natural leader, and we like to joke that he's the future president of Tanzania. On an unrelated note, he's in love with me. This may sound like exaggeration, but he's actually said in front of me that he wants to marry me. Also one time when I casually said I liked the papayas from Mama Bakali's tree he went into town and bought me a 10-pound bag of fruits and veggies. Once Mama Bakali asked in front of him if I would marry Wilson if he moved to America. I told Wilson he would have to ask me again after he got to America. I'm not holding my breath since he has 3 and a half years of secondary school left. But he was really sad when we left, and said he's going to try to visit us in a few weeks in Babati.

8. Primary school kids. Teaching primary school every day was absolutely a highlight of the trip. The kids here are very well behaved, even in classrooms with 70 kids, and always excited to play review games. They have these little cheer things here called "pashas", where you rub your hands together and say "pasha pasha pasha - CHOMA", which actually means "heat heat heat - FIRE", and then you do something creative at the end. Joseph, one of my teaching partners, is known as the Pasha Master, because he's really good at coming up with pashas. A crowd favorite is the Coca-Cola pasha: After the "Choma", you open the coke (chhh), drink it (glug glug glug), and relax (aaahhhh). We managed to teach the kids a lot, and they loved us, so it was always fun.

9. Testing days. Having HIV testing in town is the most fun, because you get to walk around with megaphones and try to convince people to come and get tested. People always invite you into their houses to talk, even if they say they don't want to get tested. It's really fun, though, because we arrange little activities and since the bulk of the advertisments are done we get to generally enjoy ourselves. Also the SIC coordinators and leaders usually come hang out and help, and they are awesome too so that's always fun.

10. Greetings as we walk down the street. In all of our villages, as you walk down the street people always want to talk to you. It's not the same as in town where people yell "mzungu!" and leave it there. Instead, kids would yell "mzungu" but follow it up with other greetings: "Karibuni!" or "Shikamoo". Also, I'd say an average of 50 people would talk to us on our 45 minute walk each way every day. When I got back to Arusha, I was surprised people didn't really want to talk as much.

I could say so many more things, but my time is about up and I must finish up.

One last thing - http://sichange.org/2009/11/vp4-update-shikamooni-to-our-families-in-qash/ - Here is my team's entry in the official SIC blog - it looks like it got cut off, but has some good details in it.

Since I Left Qash

Before I left the village on Saturday I wrote out what I was going to write here, since I have so many things to remember about life in Qash. But events since that time seem more urgent to blog about right now, so I'll work backwards, and maybe write a little bit later in the week about Qash.

We all left together from the villages, and with a quick stop in Babati we were on our way back to Arusha. We were all in shock at seeing multiple-story buildings and traffic and other white people, so it was an adjustment. Mostly we were excited to go to this restaurant/bar that serves things like pizza and salad and grilled cheese, because there's no such thing as cheese in Babati. So after a glorious meal, we were hanging out in this bar and playing pool and dancing, and things seemed to be going well. Three of my friends were playing a game of pool in a secluded corner, and I left my purse with their purses, letting them know of course, while I went to dance (the dance floor was super crowded and I was worried someone would reach in). While they were turned away, though, someone reached in the window, stole my purse, and ran away. So that's when the night turned bad. I spent hours talking to security guards and people near the area, and nobody seemed to know anything.

Luckily, the security staff is pretty corrupt and deals with criminals, so I was able to get back my driver's license and credit cards, but have lost my ipod, camera, and SIC cell phone. I've offered a reward for the rest (the #1 thing I want back is actually my camera's memory card, since it has pictures of everything since Amsterdam), but we'll see if that works out. Thank God my passport was back at the hotel.

I got some more rough news from home when I called my mom to tell her about the theft and she told me my grandpa passed away. He lived 87 great years and will be missed. I wish I could make it back for the funeral, but my thoughts are with my family now.

Today I am in Uganda! I am bungee jumping today off a cliff overlooking the Nile (assuming my nerves don't fail me), and the next two days I will spend white water rafting in the Nile. The place's slogan: "Better to be scared to death than bored to death". Right. We survived the 17-hour bus ride and are all excited to be here. More on this later!

A Few More Little Thoughts

Since I wrote on here when I got to Babati on Friday, I've thought of a couple of anecdotes I think I need to include here.

Let me start with the mchawi. We first learned this word on the waterfall hike, when our guide seemed to leap over mountains without trying. It means "wizard", and in our Harry Potter/fantasy world we thought it was a hilarious word to know. I would sometimes tell little kids "Mimi ni mchawi," just as a joke. Then I went along on a patient visit to a 9-year old girl who has HIV, and who still thinks her mother died because wizards were jealous of her. I learned then that Tanzanians actually take wizarding seriously, but I didn't realize quite how serious until this week. Apparently in Majengo, a neighboring village to Qash, wizards were caught wizarding around someone's house, and were captured in the village office and have been sentenced to die. "Wizarding" in this case apparently consisted of flying in on a bucket, and placing cursed dead bats around the house. Therefore yesterday for Halloween I dressed up as an mchawi (basically a witch costume but instead of a broom I carried a bucket, which I tied around my back the same way they hold their babies here). I have realized, though, that saying I'm an mchawi isn't as funny as I first thought.

Also the hippos! Last Babati weekend I did probably the most dangerous thing I've ever done and went out in a canoe to look at hippos. This is particularly dangerous since hippos are very violent and known to overturn boats. It was totally worth it, though, to see the hippos poking their heads up and snorting and carrying on with their hippo antics. Most of the hippos live on the far side of Lake Babati, away from the town, but there was one baby hippo that was estranged from the family and had been hanging out closer to town. Unfortunately the baby hippo was killed last week, and Babati town had a hippo-meat feast, which frankly I'm glad I missed.

Last night's party was crazy, and while the teaching partners still don't really understand Halloween, we all had fun together. Today I'm going to have lunch with one of my teaching partner's actual family, so I'm excited about that.

Thanks for reading again!

A Busy Two Weeks!

Hello again from good old Babati! Everytime we come back from the village Babati seems bigger. Even the paved road is a shock to my system. Funny that just a few weeks ago I was saying Babati is a pretty small town. Since Qash has no electricity, running water, or nice amenities like mirrors anywhere, coming here feels like I'm in NYC.

So we've had a busy busy couple of weeks up in Qash! We had our first testing date this Wednesday, and we got 166 people tested. We are also working together with surrounding villages, and many have been tested there too. We have two more testing dates in Qash itself (one is actually on the border with another village and 2 teams are working together), and 2 "Community Days" where all of Qash ward will come to the biggest city for a football tournament ("soccer"), and performances, and testing. So we are still busy, with advertising and teaching and training our peer educators.

We've had a lot of trouble dealing with our secondary school teachers, who sometimes just send the class to another school, or have all the girls in the school take pregnancy tests, or schedule other things while we're supposed to be teaching or planning with our peer educator group. They just don't think to tell us sometimes, and we've had to do a lot of last-minute plan changes. Also our peer educator group is inconsistent with attendance, so we are trying to restrategize with that. Meanwhile we've only got two weeks left in Qash!

A note on my trip from the village to Babati: we took a "dola-dola", which is like a minivan where they squeeze 20 people inside (literally), and it's really cheap but it gets you where you need to go. We had two flat tires on the way, and there was a goat sitting under my seat headbuttiing my friend Abraham (a teaching partner) the whole way. At least its legs were tied up!

Tomorrow is Halloween and us Americans are showing the teaching partners how it's done! They don't even understand the concept of wearing a costume, so it should be interesting. We go back to the villages on Sunday afternoon, and so we get to party it up right now :)

BIG congrats to my sister Sarah on her engagement! So happy for her and Jon!

Loaded with Qash!

I have so much to say in this post, I will probably have to extend my time at the internet cafe. Let me try to start from the beginning:

I found out on the last day of Orientation that I was assigned to Qash village (we are all in Qash ward, but in 5 different villages). My team is made up of 3 American women and 2 Tanzanian men. The women are also all USC Trojans, so we are fighting on against HIV. I live with Ilana, who I have mentioned before since she met up with me in Amsterdam, and Jen, who also graduated this year and is awesome. A 45 minute walk into town takes us to Joseph and Gerald, our Tanzanian teaching partners. I can't say enough about what good teachers they are, how much fun we're having, or all that we have already accomplished. I guess I'll start by describing life in Qash.

If you ever want to know how it feels to be a celebrity, try moving to a rural village in East Africa. Kids (watoto) follow us everywhere we go, and usually just stare at us. I have lost count of the marriage proposals I've received from perfect strangers. Groups of teenage girls call my name and then just giggle when I turn around. It's hilarious.

An unfortunate coincidence involves my name. The Swahili language has much fewer vowel sounds than English, and the first vowel in my name confuses people here. Their "a" vowel is our "ah", and their "e" vowel is our "ay". So most people hearing me say "Becca", will either repeat, "Bahka" or "Bayka". At first I just laughed this off, because I don't really mind the mispronunciation. Until I learned that "baka" means "rape" in Swahili. So my new SIC nickname has become "Rape". In teachings, I make sure to have a teaching partner repeat my name after me so there is no confusion. But I think when I'm on my own here more I might actually introduce myself as Rebecca for the first time in my life. Shocking, I know.

My homestay family is adorable. My Baba (father) is a primary school teacher in the next village. My Mama does work from home as a tailor/seamstress, and is very sweet. Our dadas (sisters) are Alima (age 17), Alima (age 15), and Sham (age 12). Our kakas (brothers) are Hafidho (age 19) and Abudina (age 8). They are pretty strict Muslims, and the women are always covered up, but they are completely accepting and welcoming. Mama Hafidho (the Mama takes the name of her oldest son) is an excellent cook, too, and tries to get us to fill up at every meal. Every night is a struggle to try to communicate because of our language barriers, but we've been keeping vocab lists throughout the day in our notebooks that our siblings all love to read at the end of each day. They laugh at our preschool-level vocabulary, but I think they appreciate that we are trying.

Most importantly, we are making huge progress in our village. The first day we were there we started talking to a group of mamas coming from a funeral and it turned into a huge teaching with 60+ people listening. The second day we went to a football (soccer) match between the Secondary School students and the villagers. After the game we rounded up 125+ people on the field and did another impromptu teaching. We teach in the primary and secondary schools, which takes up all of our weekday mornings, and we are training peer educators in the Secondary School (a privilege unique to our village since people come from all over Qash ward to come to this Secondary school). I have made contacts with the Drama Club and am hoping to work with them over the next month. We also have been teaching this amazing women's drum and dance group, and meeting this group of young men at a pool table outside of our favorite duca (shop) almost every day. The duca owner, Chulo, also gives me Swahili lessons in exchange for English lessons.

Some interesting obstacles to what we're doing:

1. Not one duca in Qash had condoms in stock when we arrived. For the ones that were interested, we provided a free box for them to see if they draw any business in. However, many that were close to mosques said it was bad for business, and others declined without giving a reason. We've done condom demos during a few of our teachings, and most people say they don't know how they work. Our village dildo for demos is malariously large, by the way.

2. Here is the story we keep hearing: The Red Cross came to Qash earlier this year, claiming they would be doing HIV testing. But when people went for the test, they took half a liter of blood, and some people never found out their status. Others heard back 3 weeks later. Now, obviously it sounds like the Red Cross was collecting blood donations, but did a poor job of informing people what it was for and how the collection worked. Nevertheless, people are terrified to get tested now, because they think we might be doing the same thing. It's a myth we really have to fight when talking to people.

3. There is no government right now. This seems pretty ass-backwards to me, but a month before the elections on October 25th the local government just stops to campaign. So in meeting with village leaders trying to pick testing dates and plan community teachings, a lot of them said they hoped they would win so they could work with us. But we want to work NOW, so this is frustrating. But the elections fall two days before our first testing day (Oct 27th), so they will be a good opportunity to talk to people at the polls.

Despite these challenges, I love Qash. The villagers are incredibly welcoming and willing to talk to us, people want to know about what we have to say, and I feel like we've already made progress with our goals.

I have much more to say but I have to go! I was hoping to go on yesterday but there was no electricity in Babati until late last night. Hopefully it will work next time I'm here, on the 31st.

Nina hamasisha kuhusu UKIMWI!

Hello again from Babati! Orientation is coming to a close in 2 days, and we've gotten a lot done. One of my favorite things yesterday was a panel with HIV+ speakers from Babati who also provide care for HIV patients. It helped to remind us of why we're really here.

I have made good friends with the other volunteers and teaching partners, and it's crazy that in two days we'll be split up into different villages (though I'll have 4 or 5 others living in the same village).

Today we picked up the skirts we had made out of kangas and kitanges. This was particularly exciting because they were custom made for us, with fabric we chose, for the equivalent of about $8 per skirt. One of mine is a Barack Obama skirt, with Obama's face on the front, and two maps of Africa, one on each hip. Above his face it says "Hongera Barack Obama", and across the bottom it says something about him bringing peace to the world. I also have one with zebras and one that's a little more fancy with a pretty purple pattern.

Our cook for orientation, Mama Sia, takes very good care of us. She always tries to pile food onto our plates even when we try to pull the plates away. She usually cooks ugali, which is like a thick cream of wheat - like substance, or rice, and there is usually a serving of beans to go along. Vegetables are usually spinach or cabbage. We sometimes have this thick bread called chapati that is like a thick oily tortilla. One night I had chips miai (probably misspelled), which is like a french fry omelette. I am a fan. With all of this food, though, it's good that we are walking a lot too. Not eating meat has not really been a problem. Meat is so expensive here that it is rarely the main course. There are three volunteers who are vegetarians, and we've been told it should be okay with our homestay families.

Walking down the street, kids usually yell "mzungu" at us, as if we were unaware that we are white people. Our Swahili teacher told us to respond with "mafrica", but it feels a little funny to me to yell "black person!" My favorite response is "Eco wapi?" (where?).

One of the teaching partners has fallen ill with malaria, and it is a sobering reminder that we need to be careful. However, our new favorite phrase regarding African humor is "malarious". As in, is that funny? No, it's malarious.

I'm not sure I'll make it back to the internet cafe before I leave Babati, so if I don't have an entry for a little while don't worry, I will on my first weekend trip.

Babati town!

Hello! The past couple of days have been filled with class, and we have learned a lot, as well as had the opportunity to practice teaching and planning lessons.

We wake up around 6:45AM, eat breakfast at our hostel, and then rush over to class by 8AM (it takes around 15 minutes to walk there). We have Swahili first, while our Tanzanian teaching partners have their own class. We had been warned that people compliment you by calling you fat or heavy, but my first real experience with this was when our Swahili teacher picked me up, threw me over his shoulder, and announced to the class that I was very heavy. When we laughed, he thought we didn't understand, and ensured me that I was, in fact, very heavy. He definitely meant it as a compliment, but it was definitely a little off-putting.

We then have classes until 1PM, an hourlong lunch break, and then more classes until 5PM. The internet cafe closes at 7PM, and a lot of shops close by 6PM, so we have to hurry to get things done. Then we eat dinner at 7:30PM. Usually we go to bed pretty early (around 9:30), but last night turned into a dance party after dinner, since we all decided to have a few beers. The dance party, which lasted about three hours, consisted almost entirely of one song being played. It's a very popular song here now which we call the "Beep Beep" song, because the refrain goes "Beep Beep, move out the way", before switching back to Swahili lyrics. The Tanzanian teaching partners love to dance, and they know all the words. All of us basically know the words since we probably heard the song 40 times last night.

Since I've had a request to say a little more about the structure of the program (shout-out to Lizzi), I'll take a moment to do so. There are 16 American volunteers, 10 Tanzanian teaching partners, 2 American coordinators (former volunteers), and one Tanzanian coordinator. Leading the orientation is our Volunteer Program Manager Dan (who is awesome and Australian), and our Orientation Leader Harriet (who goes by Harry and is a doctor and British). Dan knows most about what our villages will be like, and Harry is our HIV Bio expert. The majority of American volunteers majored in something health or biology related in college, so I am kind of an outsider. On the other hand, I've been told many times that they will value my theatre experience for creativity in lesson planning, and that they really try to get a mix of majors.

We really have an awesome group. We can have fun together, but it's also a really smart group of people and we can get a lot done in class. On Sunday we'll find out how we're being divided into 5 groups for our times in the villages. We'll all be in the Qash ward, which is about an hour away from Babati town. Each group will have 3-4 volunteers and 2 teaching partners. I'm excited to find out who I'll be partnered up with, but I know we'll have biweekly meetings as a group to check in. Tomorrow is a day off, which is much needed especially after the revelries of last night and today being a long day.

Got to go but thanks for reading!

It's All Nzuri

The last couple of days have been action-packed, so I have a lot to talk about in not much time.

To start from where I left off, on Thursday morning we went for a hike outside of Arusha that was about 8 miles long, much of it steep hills. To say it was stunning is an understatement. Our guide, Rogers, has hiked Kilimanjaro 40 times, and is planning to do it in 2 days next year (it takes most people 5-7). He also taught us a song to learn our numbers in Swahili that is stuck in everyone's head. The hike took us to this enormous waterfall, and most of us jumped in the water and climbed up to a place you could stand behind it, and it was phenomenal. And muddy. And a tough hike - I am still sore.

A little sad news from home got to me the evening after the hike - my dog, Casey, had to be put to sleep. I cried a little bit in the internet cafe and a lot of people looked pretty concerned, and all I really could say was that I was "nzuri" (good), mostly because I can't say much else. It was sad but I saw it coming and it sounds like she needed to be put out of her misery.

Yesterday morning we took off to Babati, where we are doing the rest of our orientation. It is a small town with one paved road, and we have classes every day in the school house. Our Swahili teacher, whose name is Kessy, is amazing. We're still not very good, but getting there. We've also had classes about HIV/AIDS, the reproductive system, and culture in Tanzania. Our Tanzanian teaching partners are doing the classes with us (except Swahili), and it is interesting to see their perspective.

Tonight we have a talent show after dinner. Our group is already becoming very close, and everyone is getting along really well. We talk openly about learning how to pee in the "choo" (essentially a hole in the ground), and having dirt on everything we own no matter how often we clean it. But the people in Babati are very friendly, and it's nice in comparison to Arusha, where everyone assumes you're a tourist. Now we're just those mzungus (white people) who use the classroom every day.

I'll try and post more soon!

Ni napenda Arusha!

Hello from Arusha! I got in last night safely, after a good flight. I had hoped I would see Mt. Kilimanjaro on my descent, but it was already dark. I'll see it at some point though.

There were 7 of us SIC people on my flight, and we found each other at the airport (it was pretty obvious who we were). Once we got in, we had to fill out forms for entry, which became exciting when the airport had a momentary power outage. In no time we were through and being welcomed by our SIC coordinator. We crammed into the van, with our luggage tied to the roof, and had a 45-minute ride to the city of Arusha, where we met most of the rest of the volunteers.

This morning we went to the bank to get money, had a meeting about health and safety, and had a lot of free time to explore Arusha. I went to the Massai market, full of booths with vendors saying "Caribu" (Welcome), and "Come look at my store". Mostly everyone here speaks English, especially since it's where safaris take off. People try to sell you things on the street everywhere you go, and they are happy to help teach you a little bit of Swahili as you go. All the people I've met have been friendly and welcoming. The city is all a few main roads, so it's easy to get around. We always go in groups anyway, and some people who have been here longer have shown us around.

We have an awesome group of volunteers. I thought I would be the youngest, but there are 3 others who are still in college. We played a game of "pass the dildo" to get to know each other - we've all got to get used to them to show how to put on condoms. Plus it was funny. Everyone is incredibly nice and smart, and it's nice that we're all in the same boat.

Right now I'm at an internet cafe and "Hot Bread Shop", where none of the bread is actually hot, but I hear it's good. Tomorrow we have an all-day hike in the foothills of Mt. Meru that apparently is pretty hardcore. Then the day after that we head to Babati and orientation! I'm so excited for everything! Also, my cold has almost completely gone away, so no worries about that.

Until next time!

Today's my last day here!?

Time really flies when you're in Amsterdam! I feel like I've done a lot, and yet I'm just starting to feel like I know my way around.

Saturday morning, before Ilana got in, my walking tour friends (Fi, Ian, and Katie) and I went and wandered up to the Jordaan, to this fabulous open-air market, and then rented a paddleboat to explore the canals for an hour. Then I went back to the hostel, met up with Ilana, and we went to the Anne Frank House. This was something I had really wanted to do - it's crazy to imagine 8 people sharing that small space for so long. It also made me want to reread the diary.

We then met up with Katie for dinner and walking around the Red Light District. It's definitely a part of the Amsterdam experience! I feel sorry for the women, but my walking tour guide from the other day insisted that they enjoyed it. I'm a little skeptical, but went down to gawk anyway.

Yesterday morning Ilana and I went for a walk and a coffee in Vondelpark (really close to where we're staying and very nice). We then checked out the Van Gogh museum, which was great but waaay too crowded for my tastes. Especially in front of the really famous paintings, there would be an enormous crowd and you almost felt pushed out of the way before you could actually get a look. In hindsight, maybe we should have done this one on a weekday.

Then we met up with Katie at the Heineken Experience and took their tour, which includes 3 free beers and is a lot of fun. I never noticed that the all of the es in their logo were "smiling"(tilted), but now it seems obvious. After the Experience, we went and took a boat tour of the canals (this time not paddling ourselves and we got to see more of the city).

I can't believe I'm actually going to Tanzania tomorrow! It seems like this trip has flown by. I woke up this morning feeling a little sniffly, and I don't know if it was mostly because the room I slept in was a little stuffy, but I know I need to take care of myself today.

My next post will be from Arusha!

Hostel Life, and Amsterdam

Hi again from Amsterdam! The last couple of days have been lots of fun.

The hostel I'm staying at, the Hotel Annemarie, is great fun. Every time I've been in the reception room I've met new people, and they're all travelers/backpackers without a lot of money but with a ton of excitement about seeing new places. It's great.

When I checked into the hostel the other day and got my bed assignment, I found I had a friend curled up on my bed - Andy. Andy is an adorable, playful black and white cat. I have since learned that establishments here are considered much cleaner if they have a cat because it means they don't have rats. Luckily I love cats - I don't know what they would do if someone were allergic.

My first night here I made friends with a group of Englanders from Northampton, and they were very nice to include me in the fun. One brilliant thing they introduced me to was "Stroop-waffels"(syrup-waffles) - these chewy sugary wafery treats they have everywhere here. I'm sure they're horrible for you, but they are amazing. Another friend I met that night was Lucien, otherwise known as Tiberius (the name actually suits him, if you can imagine), an Aussie who worked three jobs for a year to save money for his 6-month trek across and around Europe.

I literally spent the first day aimlessly wandering around, which was fantastic. A ton of people you meet on the street want to talk to you, because it's a really friendly city. I haven't had a chance to speak a word of Dutch because literally everyone speaks English, especially in big tourist areas. That's okay because I'm focused on learning Swahili (Nafahamu kiswahili kidogo = I understand Swahili a little bit).

Yesterday I did a free walking tour, and ended up making friends with Katie from Portland, and Ian and Fe from Australia. We all continued hanging out after the tour ended, and I'm meeting up with them again this morning. I'm excited because Ilana (who's also coming to Tanzania and blogging at http://ilanastanzanianadventure.blogspot.com/ ) is coming this afternoon. With her here, we can hit up the big museums and take a canal tour, things I've been waiting to do. Then Tuesday morning we're really off to Tanzania!

Bedankt!

Got to Amsterdam!

Hallo!

My last couple of days in London were a whirlwind, but I'll try to sum them up.

I spent most of Monday walking from the London Bridge to the National Theatre, stopping at the Globe, St. Paul's, the Tate Modern (my favorite here was the "Poetry and Dreams"section), and then I got to see Tony Kuschner's adaptation of Mother Courage and Her Children starring Fiona Shaw with the BADA kids. This was incredible. I was first introduced to Mother Courage as a freshman in Text Studies, and I didn't really understand it at the time. I was really blown away by this production, whether it was because of the updated text or Fiona Shaw's incredible presence, or the sort of rock and roll twist they put on it.

Tuesday I walked down to the British Museum and looked around. I got really excited about the display of the kangas from Tanzania and Kenya in the Africa section (I will be wearing these soon). Then I caught the matinee of "The 39 Steps", which was absolutely hysterical, with amazing physical comedy. I got a student ticket for 15 pounds and ended up in the front row of the mezzanine - not bad! Then I went back to Allison's apartment, where we had an epic reading of "The Duchess of Malfi" (they had to for class, but I had a lot of fun with it).

Then, bright and early this morning I left to catch the tube to the train to the ferry to the train to get me to Amsterdam! It was a lovely trip, and I met a very friendly Dutch girl who, upon being asked what she thought I should do here, drew me a map of her favorite areas. She had been in London for a job interview and was hoping to move in with her boyfriend there. Then, after I spent literally the entire day with her, she found out she got the job as we were on the train back here!

I am now checked into the Hotel Annemarie (where I have FREE internet). I made friends with a few British kids and will be going out to a cafe with them shortly. So excited to explore here!

Just be sure to look the wrong way when crossing the street

Hello! This weekend I had a great time exploring London.

On Saturday, I headed down to where the BADA students live and got to hang out with USC people as well as their new BADA friends, who have now adopted me. We walked around Theatreland and then the National Gallery, and then I went to meet my friend Toni and her mom at the London Eye for dinner at Wagamama. Then I accompanied the BADA folks out to "their" pub, the Duke of York, which is about a block away from their flat.

Since I had been in London about 5 years ago, and done most of the typical tourist things then, I wanted to just spend more time walking around and experiencing life in the city. Yesterday morning I went to church at Westminster Abbey, and was astounded by the boys' choir. Last time I was here I had paid to get in as a visitor, and got to see all of the historical tombstones and walk around the entire place. Going to church you don't necessarily get to stare at everything, but just being in there and listening to the choir is amazing (and free!). I then wandered around Westminster, then walked from Big Ben up to BADA (passing Queen Victoria's memorial, Buckingham Palace, the Wellington Arch, and the Marble Arch. I went with Allison and two of her friends, Emily and Tori, to Regent's Park, where I helped them work on their sonnets, and then we ate at a place called "The Honest Sausage". Allison and I then went up to Camden for a little shopping, and ended up riding this sketchy British Ferris Wheel on the back of a truck (scary! but fun.). It was a lovely day.

Gotta check out of my hostel - more coming soon!

Day 2 in London!

Hello from the Ace Hotel in West Kensington, where I paid one pound to use the internet for half an hour.

Yesterday morning I got into Heathrow around 7, after a pretty uneventful flight. My favorite part was when they served the vegetarian meal first, and the poor omnivores around me looked on enviously. After landing, I then had to wait in line to "cross the border" for about an hour before I was free to hop on the tube and head to the hostel.

After dropping off my stuff, I spent a good part of the day just walking around through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park before meeting up with Allison (my friend who is studying at BADA here this semester). I realized how difficult it is to not have a cell phone here when she got caught up in class and couldn't make it on time, but we eventually got everything straightened out.

Last night we went to see a production of a couple scenes from the Beijing Opera's version of The Merchant of Venice. It was fascinating but hard to follow, and I'm ashamed to say that I was so tired at that point I dozed off through part of it. But I got a good night's sleep and am slowly overcoming jetlag.

This morning I had breakfast with my friend Toni from USC and her mom, and we are meeting for dinner tonight. Also, I'm going to go see some museums with Allison today.

Until next time, cheers!

Welcome!

Hello and thanks for reading the very first post on my new blog! This entry will probably be the least exciting, since my adventure has yet to begin, but I wanted to try this out first while I was still in America.

In case anyone is reading this who doesn't already know, I am leaving in about 16 hours to go to London for 5 days, Amsterdam for 6 days, and then Tanzania until December 18th! I'm going to Tanzania with a group called Support for International Change (sichange.org), and will be living in 2 different rural villages working on HIV/AIDS Education. I'm really excited and up for the adventure.

I created this blog so that I can keep my nearest and dearest (you?) up to date on what I'm doing. I hope you enjoy it!

Right now I have been up all night planning and packing, and am almost ready to go, but it's a good thing I have an evening flight. So I'll keep this entry short and sweet, and will hopefully be updating from London shortly!