I have now been in Tanzania for almost two weeks. So far everything has been really great. The weather, once you get used to it, is really nice. The heat can be intense but you get used to sweating constantly. So far my favorite part has definitely been the beaches, Kipepeo was great and next weekend our group is going to Bagamoyo beach which is supposed to be even more beautiful. We are staying overnight there and I believe we get to see some traditional dancing.
This past weekend a bunch of us went to a local restaurant/bar called Udasa. They put a big screen tv up outside and show movies and Africa Cup games. Quite a few other students go so it’s been a good way to meet some interesting people. Everyone is very friendly and comes up to talk. I try to use Kiswahili, but so far all I really know how to do is say hello and how are you which makes for limited conversation. But most people around the university speak fairly good English although most also think it is pretty funny to talk really fast so I have absolutely no idea what they are saying.
I am staying with the Kimambo family. They are all really nice, I am living with another student as well, named Jasmine from Colorado College. We have two host sisters, Sia who is 4 ½, Sarah who is 9, and Sam who is 15. Sia speaks no English whatsoever, and probably thinks Jasmine and I are pretty stupid considering we cannot understand even the simplest questions. But we are both starting to understand more and more. Sarah and Sam can both speak very good English and are a big help with our Kiswahili. We also have a live-in “house-girl” who is always around and takes care of the kids. She speaks no English either so sometimes it can be a bit challenging. The family also employs a driver named Elvis, he is very cool and laughs at me and Jasmine a lot because we always butcher our sentences when trying to talk to him. My host mama and baba are not around all that much, they work a lot and Dada (which means sister and is what we call the housegirl) takes care of the kids and the house. All in all it’s been really nice, good food, they gave us mosquito nets and a fan so our room is not quite so hot and we probably won’t get malaria.
Speaking of malaria, during orientation we were told that there is a real strong possibility that a good number of the group will get malaria. 80% of the last group got it, and it really isn’t that big a deal. People here get it all the time and don’t seem to really mind too much. You just gotta take your meds and you’ll be fine. That was really great to find out. But I guess it shouldn’t freak me out too much because they are very good at dealing with it.
That’s about all that’s going on here. I’m still working on putting some pictures up, but it’ll probably take some time. Most people on the trip have digital cameras so there’ll be a ton of pictures. We’re trying to put up them up on a website or something, so I’ll let you know when we figure it out. Hope everyone is doing well!