I've been getting some comments that I haven't updated my blog in while. Alas, this was for a reason. Last week I dropped my computer off of my bed which broke the internet stick that plugs into my usb drive. Finally, after trekking to the mall to get a new one, I have new, faster, but more expensive internet.
I dedicate this post to my lovely friends Anamarie and Kenny, who are engaged to be married! :)
Kenny proposed upon her arrival home in the airport. Yes, I did know about this ahead of time, and it was nearly impossible to keep the secret while she was here!
The rest of our week was lovely. I had some class, but we've had continued missing professors for all but two of our classes. My internship at the nursery has been completely cancelled. I'm not sure what's happening for the school, but I'm worried about the kids. I found out today that I'll be working for a group called "Wonder Welders" which actually has a website you can check out: http://www.wonderwelders.org/. I visit thursday to find out what I'll be doing. It's certainly not what I expected, but I know I'll enjoy it.
This meant that Anamarie and I got another chance to go out and explore the city together. We say a few different areas and attempted to figure out with daladala goes where. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Along with a few others we've taken a few other excursions to find yummy and cheap places to eat. It's been a fun adventure. There's nothing better than exploring a big city with a good friend.
Believe it or not, I actually have had homework. I guess that's why they call it study abroad. We had a take home quiz for Swahili today. I'm feeling a bit frustrated. I feel like I'm far behind everyone else in the class. I remember feeling like this constantly with French. But then I remember I've only been learning for 2 1/2 weeks. Languages really are not my thing which is too bad, because I love learning them!
I will be returning to updating every few days again so I have some more interesting things to say. Until then, I bid you adieu!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
We've got cabin fever
It's driving us insane! I'm so used to just jumping in my car when ever I feel like I'm closed in. But here, it's a big, scary city and there's so much to be wary of!
Unfortunately, my internship has been cancelled for this week. I am so disappointed but apparently the nursery school where I was going to work is having their rent raised and can no longer afford it. The poor kids have no place to go during the day. :(
However it was probably for the best for me because my back was out again all day yesterday. It's hard for me not to panic about being here and if my back can actually handle it, or if it's just adjusting. It's just incredibly frustrating and there's not really a lot I can do about it. Anamarie and I were supposed to go out and do things on the town, but instead we were trapped in my room. I slept a lot in my drugged state and she had to keep herself busy. Worst. Hostess. Ever. I'm so glad she's been here though. She keeps my spirits high and helps me with anything I need. I am so lucky to have a friend like her.
Today we had our first full day of classes. We go to the same classroom for all of our classes so it gets a bit old. As you can see in the picture above, they are wooden fold up seats, which is not so comfortable. Today I had Swahili, African International Relations, our internship class, and a sociology class called Race, Ethnicity, and Gender. I'm also taking an East African History class. I think it'll be a good schedule. I only have once class Friday mornings which means I can take weekend trips if I'd like.
We decided to be adventurous this evening and go out to dinner off campus. We're getting a little tired of the rice and ugali already, so we wanted something new. We ended up going to this awesome Ethiopian place and had an absolute feast! It took three dala dalas to get there and then we took the taxi back, since it was dark outside. If you've ever had Ethiopian food, you've GOT TO! It's so filling and delish.
Tomorrow we're going to attempt to explore more of the city. Hopefully we won't get lost!
Unfortunately, my internship has been cancelled for this week. I am so disappointed but apparently the nursery school where I was going to work is having their rent raised and can no longer afford it. The poor kids have no place to go during the day. :(
However it was probably for the best for me because my back was out again all day yesterday. It's hard for me not to panic about being here and if my back can actually handle it, or if it's just adjusting. It's just incredibly frustrating and there's not really a lot I can do about it. Anamarie and I were supposed to go out and do things on the town, but instead we were trapped in my room. I slept a lot in my drugged state and she had to keep herself busy. Worst. Hostess. Ever. I'm so glad she's been here though. She keeps my spirits high and helps me with anything I need. I am so lucky to have a friend like her.
We decided to be adventurous this evening and go out to dinner off campus. We're getting a little tired of the rice and ugali already, so we wanted something new. We ended up going to this awesome Ethiopian place and had an absolute feast! It took three dala dalas to get there and then we took the taxi back, since it was dark outside. If you've ever had Ethiopian food, you've GOT TO! It's so filling and delish.
Tomorrow we're going to attempt to explore more of the city. Hopefully we won't get lost!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
The famous anamarie has arrived!
It's such a joy to have her here! How cool is she for coming all this way to visit?! It actually was the perfect time for her to come. I'm just starting to get a grasp on things here and we took a trip this weekend! Classes start this week, but everything is pretty crazy with "African time". Everything takes longer than it should and it's pretty chaotic. Therefore, we don't actually have a schedule for our classes because the professors haven't actually committed to the course at all. This life takes a large amount of patience when coming from a rushed and orderly American perspective. It really forces you to think outside of the box as well as your comfort zone. People in my program are getting pretty uneasy about it. They keep asking, "when are our classes?!!" and our director responds with, "I'll let you know when I know." It doesn't bother me too much, but it is just different, like so many other things here.
I'm currently sitting on my balcony, where the internet is at its fastest. Anamarie is asleep on my floor and my room mate also is attempting to catch up on her internet life. Oh Millenials... I should go to sleep to be fresh for my first day of school, but I want to update on the past few days before I begin to forget.
My good friend Poly is one of the student leaders for ciee. He is just fantastic and a wonderful hhuman being. He helped me find a good taxi to pick up Anamarie in. Her flight came in at 11 pm so I wanted to make sure we'd be safe. He actually even came with me and stayed with me while we waited for her flight. She arrived, safe and sound, full of life and vigor as usual. It was nice just to see her smiling face in a land that is so far from home. We chatted the whole way home while I heard her stories about Corsica and France and I relayed some of mine from here. When we got back, we simply crashed. Both of us were extremely exhausted. I feel bad because I don't have good accommodations for her here, but that's just me being a silly hostess and I know she's doing just fine.
Anywho, the next morning we rose early and boarded a bus with the rest of my group to a town called Bagomoyo, which is about an hour north of Dar. This town was a huge trade post back in the day and is also the home of the first church and mosque in Eastern Africa. We visited both, which of course was a highlight for me. We also visited a museum about the slave trade in Eastern Africa, which is not often discussed but is very important to this area's history. I recommend doing some research on it if you aren't familiar with the history. It's truly fascinating.
We also toured around visiting various German forts and even a compound where rebel soldiers from Mozambique once were housed during its revolutionary war. We also visited a mosque and a graveyard from a 14th century village that has been preserved all these years. Super cool. The architecture was very interesting because it was a definite mixture between Tanzanian, Arab, and German. I was nerding out because I love history stuff like this, but I think others thought it was pretty boring. I bought a poster at the "first church" which has all of the golden rules from every religion around the word and their scriptures in swahili. I'm very excited to own it. Following another long day, we returned to a very nice hotel where Anamarie and I got to share a room of our own and have girl's night. We watched the only thing on tv, which were Mexican telenovellas dubbed in English. What's pathetic is that we were actually getting into it.
The next day we rose early (they never let us sleep in here) and drove to a gorrrrgeous hotel with a wonderful beach. Now, I'm not usually one for beaaches, but we've been to two since I've been here and I'm in love. I spent the whoooole day in the water. The sand bank was shallow enough that we got walk out a long ways and jump through the waves. There was also a buffet which was, by far, the best buffet I've ever seen. Yeah, I know you're all jealous. Why don't you just hop on a plane to visit? :)
I'm going to head to sleep now and I know I haven't posted the picture website yet, it just takes a long time with African internet. I am working hard on it. But here's one! LOOK HOW TAN I AM IN TEN DAYS!
I'm currently sitting on my balcony, where the internet is at its fastest. Anamarie is asleep on my floor and my room mate also is attempting to catch up on her internet life. Oh Millenials... I should go to sleep to be fresh for my first day of school, but I want to update on the past few days before I begin to forget.
My good friend Poly is one of the student leaders for ciee. He is just fantastic and a wonderful hhuman being. He helped me find a good taxi to pick up Anamarie in. Her flight came in at 11 pm so I wanted to make sure we'd be safe. He actually even came with me and stayed with me while we waited for her flight. She arrived, safe and sound, full of life and vigor as usual. It was nice just to see her smiling face in a land that is so far from home. We chatted the whole way home while I heard her stories about Corsica and France and I relayed some of mine from here. When we got back, we simply crashed. Both of us were extremely exhausted. I feel bad because I don't have good accommodations for her here, but that's just me being a silly hostess and I know she's doing just fine.
Anywho, the next morning we rose early and boarded a bus with the rest of my group to a town called Bagomoyo, which is about an hour north of Dar. This town was a huge trade post back in the day and is also the home of the first church and mosque in Eastern Africa. We visited both, which of course was a highlight for me. We also visited a museum about the slave trade in Eastern Africa, which is not often discussed but is very important to this area's history. I recommend doing some research on it if you aren't familiar with the history. It's truly fascinating.
We also toured around visiting various German forts and even a compound where rebel soldiers from Mozambique once were housed during its revolutionary war. We also visited a mosque and a graveyard from a 14th century village that has been preserved all these years. Super cool. The architecture was very interesting because it was a definite mixture between Tanzanian, Arab, and German. I was nerding out because I love history stuff like this, but I think others thought it was pretty boring. I bought a poster at the "first church" which has all of the golden rules from every religion around the word and their scriptures in swahili. I'm very excited to own it. Following another long day, we returned to a very nice hotel where Anamarie and I got to share a room of our own and have girl's night. We watched the only thing on tv, which were Mexican telenovellas dubbed in English. What's pathetic is that we were actually getting into it.
The next day we rose early (they never let us sleep in here) and drove to a gorrrrgeous hotel with a wonderful beach. Now, I'm not usually one for beaaches, but we've been to two since I've been here and I'm in love. I spent the whoooole day in the water. The sand bank was shallow enough that we got walk out a long ways and jump through the waves. There was also a buffet which was, by far, the best buffet I've ever seen. Yeah, I know you're all jealous. Why don't you just hop on a plane to visit? :)
I'm going to head to sleep now and I know I haven't posted the picture website yet, it just takes a long time with African internet. I am working hard on it. But here's one! LOOK HOW TAN I AM IN TEN DAYS!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
My room mate's clothes blew off the balcony
This is very amusing to watch her. She keeps saying, "how does this happen!?!" I explained to her that when you don't attach your clothes to the string, they can blow away. Oh the joys of privileged white girls washing clothes by hand. We have some fun.
I just did a load of laundry myself. It's interesting...all these small things we barely think about at home have to be the center of our attention here. Planning when and how to do laundry is a complicated task. First, is the water working? That saves you half the time and you can use more water. I won't bore you with the rest of the details, but it's an interesting experience instead of just throwing it in the machine.
Today was an epic day. We left at about 9:30 and went on a tour of the city of Dar. It was nice to get off of campus for a bit of exploring. It's funny that after less than a week, the campus is starting to become familiar. I can't even begin to describe how much we saw today. We didn't get back until 9:30 pm. We saw a collection of nice hotels that we can visit for a bit of home/first world comfort. I bought a tanzanian soccer jersey at a little shop near there. There are wonderful pools and brunch on Sundays! I might have to give into that once in a while. Then we went to a few other shopping areas. None of us are really buying anything since we're spending so much time here. It's hard to explain that to people so instead you just say, "Kesho" which means, "tomorrow". This is sort of the polite way to say, "absolutely not". It's pretty funny.
Next we basically walked all over the city. We say lots of mosques and churches and saw different parts of town that have a variety of cultural and religious historical backgrounds. We went to a fish market where I saw fish I didn't even know existed, like lobsters that are blue and white. Crazy! We had lots of delicious food today and ended with dinner at a good indian restaurant. Everywhere we went there were fruit stands and we tried all kinds of fruit. My favorite one was a custard apple. deeelish! They're all funky looking but yummy on the inside. Seeing how these people live their day to day lives was just fascinating. Some of these fishermen have so much strength and it's incredible that they don't have more injuries. It was also a day that we saw very different class systems. It's pretty incredible to see the vast gap of wealth. We passed by massive hotels and giant embassy houses, then we were amongst fishermen who barely make enough to live.
I'm in the process of uploading all of my pictures to a picasa album. I will post them as soon as they're done!
<3
I just did a load of laundry myself. It's interesting...all these small things we barely think about at home have to be the center of our attention here. Planning when and how to do laundry is a complicated task. First, is the water working? That saves you half the time and you can use more water. I won't bore you with the rest of the details, but it's an interesting experience instead of just throwing it in the machine.
Today was an epic day. We left at about 9:30 and went on a tour of the city of Dar. It was nice to get off of campus for a bit of exploring. It's funny that after less than a week, the campus is starting to become familiar. I can't even begin to describe how much we saw today. We didn't get back until 9:30 pm. We saw a collection of nice hotels that we can visit for a bit of home/first world comfort. I bought a tanzanian soccer jersey at a little shop near there. There are wonderful pools and brunch on Sundays! I might have to give into that once in a while. Then we went to a few other shopping areas. None of us are really buying anything since we're spending so much time here. It's hard to explain that to people so instead you just say, "Kesho" which means, "tomorrow". This is sort of the polite way to say, "absolutely not". It's pretty funny.
Next we basically walked all over the city. We say lots of mosques and churches and saw different parts of town that have a variety of cultural and religious historical backgrounds. We went to a fish market where I saw fish I didn't even know existed, like lobsters that are blue and white. Crazy! We had lots of delicious food today and ended with dinner at a good indian restaurant. Everywhere we went there were fruit stands and we tried all kinds of fruit. My favorite one was a custard apple. deeelish! They're all funky looking but yummy on the inside. Seeing how these people live their day to day lives was just fascinating. Some of these fishermen have so much strength and it's incredible that they don't have more injuries. It was also a day that we saw very different class systems. It's pretty incredible to see the vast gap of wealth. We passed by massive hotels and giant embassy houses, then we were amongst fishermen who barely make enough to live.
I'm in the process of uploading all of my pictures to a picasa album. I will post them as soon as they're done!
<3
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
I'm afraid it happened...
My back went out today. I woke up got dressed, then suddenly I couldn't walk. I think it's because I slipped on some water yesterday. I didn't fall but it jarred things a bit. I had an idea that I wasn't going to tell anyone about my back so no one would worry about me...but that's out the window. I missed going to the American embassy, but it was alright. I think my back needed the rest after needing to get used to everything.
So my day was spent studying swahili and chatting with a few people. Pretty boring so I thought I'd tell you about some other stuff.
The food of Tanzania is really interesting. The main part of the meal is a starch, mainly rice, fries, chipati bread, or a dish called ugali. Ugali is made out of maize and it's almost the texture of play-doh. It's good, just rather bland. You use it to pick up food with your hands and is a staple. Much like other places in the world, you only eat with your right hand. Eating with your left is considered extremely rude. There is a huge Indian influence here so many of the meats are cooked tandoori style and there are lots of curries. One of the most popular dishes is called chips myyai. It's basically fries cooked in eggs. Sounds bizarre but people eat it all the time!
But the fruit, ohhhhh the fruit. It's delicious. I generally don't like tropical fruits, but the mangos and pineapples are so good. There's nothing more refreshing than having that on a hot day. We have fruit salad with most meals and they include other things like cucumber and advacado. Interesting, n'est pas? There is often stewed vegetables or other starches served with it as well. My director said that many people get the Tanzania 25, meaning you gain 25lbs. But with the stairs I'm climbing and the distance I'm walking, there's no way.
Tomorrow we're going on a walking tour of Dar, which should be awesome. My back better be up to it because I don't want to miss it! A few of the girls and I are watching Bridesmaids and eating peanut butter sandwiches. All in all, a great evening.
So my day was spent studying swahili and chatting with a few people. Pretty boring so I thought I'd tell you about some other stuff.
The food of Tanzania is really interesting. The main part of the meal is a starch, mainly rice, fries, chipati bread, or a dish called ugali. Ugali is made out of maize and it's almost the texture of play-doh. It's good, just rather bland. You use it to pick up food with your hands and is a staple. Much like other places in the world, you only eat with your right hand. Eating with your left is considered extremely rude. There is a huge Indian influence here so many of the meats are cooked tandoori style and there are lots of curries. One of the most popular dishes is called chips myyai. It's basically fries cooked in eggs. Sounds bizarre but people eat it all the time!
But the fruit, ohhhhh the fruit. It's delicious. I generally don't like tropical fruits, but the mangos and pineapples are so good. There's nothing more refreshing than having that on a hot day. We have fruit salad with most meals and they include other things like cucumber and advacado. Interesting, n'est pas? There is often stewed vegetables or other starches served with it as well. My director said that many people get the Tanzania 25, meaning you gain 25lbs. But with the stairs I'm climbing and the distance I'm walking, there's no way.
Tomorrow we're going on a walking tour of Dar, which should be awesome. My back better be up to it because I don't want to miss it! A few of the girls and I are watching Bridesmaids and eating peanut butter sandwiches. All in all, a great evening.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Running water!
Yes, we have it today. What a luxury! Flushing toilets, showers....ahh, what a life! We are now on day four of learning swahili and I'm making some progress. Languages are just really not my thing, especially when the pressure is on to learn it. One of my primary concerns is learning it for my internship.
Speaking of which, I visited the site where I'll be working today. One of the directors drove me and three other people across the city to our locations. First we visited a school where two of the ciee students are working. It was a wonderful experience just to tour a school and see all of these smiling faces. We walked into a classroom of about 200 7th graders and they stood at attention and recited together, "Hello! How are you?". It's amazing how something so simple can be so powerful. My heart was warmed and for the first time since being in the hot weather of tanzania, I got chills. It's an odd thing to describe. These kids were just so happy to see us and were incredibly curious about who we were...almost as curious as I am about them. We introduced ourselves in our limited Swahili."My name is Emily. I come from America in the state of California. I am a student." But they were attentive and wonderful. As we drove out of the school compound, they began running after us shouting, "BYE! BYE!!!!!" It was adorable.
Then we drove to my internship, which I will be doing with one other person. She was also my room mate at the hotel and we get along really well. Every Tuesday and Thursday I will leave campus at about 7am to take two daladalas (buses) to a tiny nursery school in a very run-down off the road street of Dar es Salaam. The director let us into a small compound that consisted of a small open area and a fairly large room with a smaller room off the side. About 30 three-six year olds gazed up at us as we walked in, and once again my heart melted. There's no outside place for these kids to play and there is one small fan in the corner of the room that simply moves around the hot air. But here are these adorable children smiling without a care in the world and they are being put into my hands.
We talked a bit with the director about what we would be doing. There is one teacher, named Scholastica. How awesome of a name is that for a teacher? We will basically be free to do what ever we want. This internship will be how ever much we are willing to put into it. For me and my cohort Andrielle, this is a lot. We're so excited and have many plans. Apparently the last CIEE student who worked there raised enough money to do a lot of repairs on the building. It's a lot to live up to, but I'm hoping to be as much of a help as I can. I also want to get my swahili pretty good because it's so hard to communicate with annnyone. These kids will know little or no english, but I'm responsible for teaching them! Ah! I've already started working on a lesson plan with songs and games, but if you know any good websites for teaching resources or perhaps any games or lessons you may know, please let me know! I'm scared but I know I can do it. Plus, I adore kids, so I know this will be fantastic.
Alright, must go study swahili! Love and hugs.
Speaking of which, I visited the site where I'll be working today. One of the directors drove me and three other people across the city to our locations. First we visited a school where two of the ciee students are working. It was a wonderful experience just to tour a school and see all of these smiling faces. We walked into a classroom of about 200 7th graders and they stood at attention and recited together, "Hello! How are you?". It's amazing how something so simple can be so powerful. My heart was warmed and for the first time since being in the hot weather of tanzania, I got chills. It's an odd thing to describe. These kids were just so happy to see us and were incredibly curious about who we were...almost as curious as I am about them. We introduced ourselves in our limited Swahili."My name is Emily. I come from America in the state of California. I am a student." But they were attentive and wonderful. As we drove out of the school compound, they began running after us shouting, "BYE! BYE!!!!!" It was adorable.
Then we drove to my internship, which I will be doing with one other person. She was also my room mate at the hotel and we get along really well. Every Tuesday and Thursday I will leave campus at about 7am to take two daladalas (buses) to a tiny nursery school in a very run-down off the road street of Dar es Salaam. The director let us into a small compound that consisted of a small open area and a fairly large room with a smaller room off the side. About 30 three-six year olds gazed up at us as we walked in, and once again my heart melted. There's no outside place for these kids to play and there is one small fan in the corner of the room that simply moves around the hot air. But here are these adorable children smiling without a care in the world and they are being put into my hands.
We talked a bit with the director about what we would be doing. There is one teacher, named Scholastica. How awesome of a name is that for a teacher? We will basically be free to do what ever we want. This internship will be how ever much we are willing to put into it. For me and my cohort Andrielle, this is a lot. We're so excited and have many plans. Apparently the last CIEE student who worked there raised enough money to do a lot of repairs on the building. It's a lot to live up to, but I'm hoping to be as much of a help as I can. I also want to get my swahili pretty good because it's so hard to communicate with annnyone. These kids will know little or no english, but I'm responsible for teaching them! Ah! I've already started working on a lesson plan with songs and games, but if you know any good websites for teaching resources or perhaps any games or lessons you may know, please let me know! I'm scared but I know I can do it. Plus, I adore kids, so I know this will be fantastic.
Alright, must go study swahili! Love and hugs.
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