I'm still alive and well

So I bet you're all wondering where in the world I've been and what I've been up to for the past 6 weeks or so. I'm sorry I've been terrible about blogging and sending updates lately. Internet time has been limited (and still is), but I hope those of you who read my blog have gotten updates through parents or other friends or emails or something. This will have to be a quick update, with more to come later (I'll start writing on my computer at site then bringing already written updates to send online when I come to town- the trouble has been that the power generator at my school only started working last week and it worked for about 4 evenings of two and a half hours each before it broke again; there's no other way to charge it in my village, though I can at least charge my cell phone for 30 cents at any barber/salon since they all have solar power, that is if it's sunny out).

First of all, I'm doing really well. There's certainly no need to worry about me. It's definitely a roller coaster of emotions and experiences, but for the most part, things are good. And they're improving, little by little. Every day, I learn more and more Kiswahili and speak more fluently. I find myself expressing thoughts and concepts more easily (especially "I can't give you money because I'm a volunteer and I only make enough to feed myself. I am here to teach at the secondary school..." and so forth).

Also, since school has started, I've talked a lot to the four other teachers and I hang out with them in the office and outside of school every day. I've started to really like them and enjoy their company. The women are still a bit reserved; they like to talk to me but they don't always have a lot to say. The men, who live on either side of me in our own little "neighborhood" (3 houses on the other side of the school apart from the village), are a lot of fun and talk to me much more. They're comedians at heart and they seem like pretty decent guys- one is 23 and the other is 25. They help me with my Kiswahili every day and get a kick out of teaching me their tribal languages (each area in Tanzania is dominated by a tribe with its own language in the same family as Kiswahili but also very different). Even last night, we all walked to the village to get our phones charged and then sat in a "bar" drinking hot milk. When our phones were finished charging (by power generator), we walked/tripped home in the dark, laughing the whole way, and then they invited me to join me for a late night dinner before bed since they had cooked a chicken that day. So it's nice to have some friendships beginning with people my own age.

I do wonder what the villagers think of me, though, always hanging out with men. Is that a bad thing? I never had to think about such a thing before. I think I hang out with them just because men are more confident and so they aren't afraid to come talk to the American and even practice their English sometimes. I guess I'm sort of an "honorary man" in some respects, though- I have a good education, I'm strong and confident, I wear pants when I go to town, I'm not married yet and live on the other side of the world from my parents- these are characteristics women just don't have, for the most part. But anyway, many more thoughts on gender issues to come...

As for school, it opened two weeks ago and I've succeeded in teaching all of two classes of two periods each. And I think that might be more than the other teachers have done. Not even half the students have shown up yet, either, which is the main reason we haven't taught yet. It takes a long time to register everyone and get their school fees (most students have trouble coming up with the $20 required to enter the classroom for the year) and then wait for them to clean up the school environment before beginning with studies. So I sat in the teachers' office at my newly claimed desk for most of the time, chatting with the other teachers (so fun to finally get to know them!) and preparing my order of topics for the year and lesson plans for when I actually start. I also took it upon myself to make the school timetable listing each teacher's schedule for the week. I loved it, since it was like a big complicated Sudoku puzzle to me, and I think the other teachers were glad to be rid of the work! Classes should pick up soon, which I'm really excited about because I can't wait to get to know the students and have them get to know me. I'm technically scheduled for 48 40 minute periods per week, though the school only offers 42 periods per week, and Peace Corps recommends we start with no more than 24 periods per week. So I'm working that out. I'm teaching Forms 2 and 4 Biology and Chemistry, and I really like a lot of the topics covered in these subjects for these years, so I don't want to give any of it up... We'll see.

Otherwise, I'm slowly integrating into my community, meeting people, trying to remember people I've met before, making friendships with the teachers, and continuing to work on my cooking and baking skills with a charcoal jiko (sometimes the banana bread turns out perfect and delicious, and other times the brownies turn out with the bottom 3cm as burnt blackness stuck to the bottom of the pot). I've been taking a lot of naps because of all the activity and stress of being constantly confused about what's going on and what I'm supposed to be doing, but I'm pretty happy these days and starting to settle into life here.

So that's all for now I think- I'll write about funny stories, my Christmas and New Year's celebrations, school, teachers, thoughts, etc. and post them within the next month. I'll continue working on writing letters to everyone and would love to receive mail here! Love you all!