Some differences...

Grass:   There isn't any, to speak of, in residential yards.  The only "lawn" I have seen is on the grounds of a restaurant frequented  by white people.  Grass lawns 1) are expensive, and 2) harbor pests, like snakes.

Mosquito nets:  We sleep under a mosquito net, as malaria is widespread here in Tanzania.  What I didn't realize is that the nets should not just drape gracefully over the edges of the mattress, but must be tucked in under it on all 4 sides.  This makes it more challenging to get in and out.  Now I know what "fighting your way out of a mosquito net" really means.

Toilet paper:  The Peace Corps supplies us with housing and most of our meals.  They also give us a spending money stipend during training of 7000 Tanzanian shillings per person, per day, for other meals, toiletries, and general spending money.  Toilet paper costs 1000 shillings per roll.

Animals:  They have to earn their keep in a poor country.  Dogs and cats are not pets.  Our homestay family has a couple of dogs who patrol the courtyard at night and are kenneled during the day.  Occasionally people will have cats to keep the rodents in check  This household does not own a cat, for which I am grateful, as I am allergic.  However, I can see their value, as I suspect a mouse has visited our room, at least once. 

Homestay

After the first introductory week, each Peace Corps Trainee (or Trainee couple) lives with a family in the area of the training center.  This is to provide them with an immersion experience in the language and culture of the country.  Mark and I are staying with a family who has a catering business, so we are eating very well!  Ours is a middle-class family with electricity and running water--when there are no power or water supply interruptions, as there have been a number of times during the week we have been here.  Hot water is provided by means of an immersion heater in a bucket, and we can scoop the desired amount into another bucket, mix it with cold running water, and use it to bathe.  Trust me, this is luxury living, compared to what conditions will be like in the areas we will likely be posted.

Our host family's home is in a walled compound that contains the working part of the catering business--a covered area with 5 wood burning BBQ grills, and an open area and verandah where rice cleaning and vegetable chopping are done.  The property also has 2 cows (fresh milk and yogurt!) as well as papaya, tangerine, lemon, mango, and avocado trees.

We walk about a mile to the training center over dirt roads and paths, greeting and being greeted by neighbors along the way.  We are grateful for the exercise and for the friendliness of the people.  The training center itself has a beautiful backdrop of mountains, as you can see from the picture below.

We've arrived!

We have arrived alive and well in Dar es Salaam, after a couple of long, long flights  Peace Corps staff met us (all 47 new education volunteers) at the airport and took us to a conference center where we are staying for a few days.  That first night, we were given malaria medications and told to take them every day.  The next day came rabies and hepatitis B shots; Friday, typhoid.  (That one hurt!)

As well as medical preparations, we've had instructions on food safety and water treatment.  We've also had intros to Tanzanian culture and Swahili--including the use of "choo" (latrines).

The conference center is a calm oasis in the bustling city.  Sunday, for the first time, we were taken in small groups to see some of that city.  We boarded dala-dalas--small buses that are generally overcrowded--and rode downtown.  We walked around and were able to shop for items we will need during the next phase of training when we each stay with a host family.  Most of the women in the group bought kangas--colorful and infinitely useful pieces of cloth that can be a skirt, sarong, towel, shawl, or many other things.  (Photo of me in my kanga to follow at a later date).

Note:  It's good to be an older person on a dala-dala.  People offer you their seat.