Another Family

I'm just now starting to settle in to my life as a Peace Corps trainee here in Tanzania. After two days of vague orientation and a few vaccinations at the office in Dar es Salaam, we came to Morogoro, a few hours' bus ride west of Dar, where we began some survival language training, got to know each other better, ate delicious Tanzanian food and drank lots of chai, and prepared to meet our host families here in Morogoro.

We moved into our new homes on Monday the 22nd, which was a very exciting and somewhat scary experience as we had very little Kiswahili capabilities and no information about our families before moving in with them! One bone, they dropped us each off in front of gates to our houses and we hauled our overloaded baggage as we struggled to greet our families politely in Kiswahili (greetings alone can take a few minutes, and that's before you get to "My name is..." and "I come from...").

Though I was prepared for a bustling household full of small children with a bucket for a shower, a squat toilet outside of the house, and a charcoal stove, I found a much different home awaiting me. Not only does my family have TWO normal toilets inside the house and a real shower (cold water only), but they also have a large TV, sound system, a Play Station 2, and a cell phone/mp3 player. I have a mama, a baba (father), a kaka (brother) who is almost 10, and two dadas (sisters, although I don't think either is really part of the family- they just live here) who are 13 and 23. Everyone except for the 23-year old dada speaks very good English, although they try to speak Kiswahili to me as much as possible to help me learn. I understand more and more every day.

The whole family is very sweet to me- even my dada who doesn't speak English points and smiles and helps teach me the language. I think we could become friends as we become more and more able to communicate. Most nights, Mama likes to come into my room to sit with me and chat and sometimes helps me study a little before bed.

I have class during the day with a small group of other trainees for the science education program. We have 4-5 hours of Kiswahili every day and have begun our education studies (the education system in Tanzania, how/what we will teach, etc.). We have a chai break every morning from 10 to 10:30, which is lovely. We love the fact that Tanzanians take a break in the middle of the morning every day to have tea for a half hour!

In the afternoons after lunch, we have been wandering around our area of town, practicing our Kiswahili with the locals, orienting ourselves to our community, grabbing a cold soda in the shade, and getting our feet very dusty. We've also been to the center of town a couple of times, which is very interesting. The outdoor markets are full of fruits, vegetables, rice, beans, and lovely fabrics. Getting to town is very interesting as well- we take small buses/ vans called daladalas which are quite old and break down now and then. I think they're meant for about 10-12 people, but I've never seen one with less than 15 people in it. Yesterday's had approx. 30 people I think!

Morogoro is a beautiful area of vibrant colors- green tropical plants, red dust and bricks (that deep, full red of the Southwest of the US), and blue skies, with big, majestic, jagged mountains at the edge of town. Though none of the streets have names (at least no signs) and few of the stores have signs, I am beginning to be familiar with the community and the town. Despite the minor frustrations of living in a new environment with a new family, I am enjoying myself and excited for what is to come!