A few words about water

It's the dry season now, and there is a water shortage in Morogoro.  The authorities have taken to rationing by supplying only certain areas of the metro area with water at any one time.  The water went off in our homestay house late Sunday morning, and was off for 36 hours.  It went on for 12, and then went off for 3 days.  Our family is used to this, and prepare for it.  They, have a 1000 liter water storage tank in the yard and many buckets in the house.  When the supply is interrupted, they use the reserve.  It's a large family, though, and they run a catering business out of their home, so it's a little worrisome when the water stays off for very long.  This time, the big storage tank was emptied after 2 1/2 days, and they made do by obtaining extra water from another source.  The water went on again this morning, and we all ran around filling up every container we have.  Mama says that she is thinking of buying a 5000 liter tank, so they aren't caught completely without water.  The dry season doesn't end until at least November, and sometimes not until January.

Teaching Internship

We have started our teaching internships at a local school.  I will be teaching English to Form I students--equivalent to high school freshmen.  It is a different experience from teaching in the U.S. in several significant ways.

The first difference strikes a teacher the moment he or she walks into the room.  The students all rise and say, "Good Morning, Teacher!" in unison.  The teacher responds, "Good Morning.  How are you today?"  The response is "We are fine, Teacher."  The teacher then says, "I am fine, too.  You may be seated."  The students do not behave perfectly, of course.  In many ways they are just like young teenagers the world over, but they do seem to have more respect for teachers and adults in general than students in the U.S.

The school itself is only 4 years old, but the classrooms we teach in have dirt floors.  The windows do not have glass or screens and there are no doors in most doorways.  The roof of the building is tin, and the rooms are open to the rafters.  It's the dry season, now, but I'll bet that the noise is deafening when it rains. There is a large chalkboard in each classroom that covers one wall.  The students' desks are wooden, with attached benches.  The class I teach has about 55 students, but the two other Form I classes have 80.  There are apparently only 10 Form I English textbooks in the school, so the teachers have to write everything--including reading assignments--on the board.  There is one permanent English teacher at the school, so he is more than happy to get Peace Corps trainees or student teachers from local universities to help out for a few weeks.

This is a government-funded school in what could be called a suburban area of a mid-sized city.  Mark and I will most likely be placed in a school in a rural village.  The country does not have nearly enough government resources to fund its growing education needs, and that is part of why we are here.   

Me in my kanga

Safari!

Actually...a mini-safari.  Our training class had a break weekend, and went out to Mikumi National Park.  We pooled our shilingi and rented 2 buses to take us there and drive us around.  We stayed at the Genesis Hotel (nice, includes breakfast, but has no hot water) outside the park.

Giraffes, gazelles, warthogs, zebra, elephants, baboons, and hippos (very cute, the way they shake their ears after surfacing from under water).  Sadly, no lions.  I'm sure they were there, but they aren't active in the afternoons.

This week will be busy and stressful.  We have our Swahili mid-terms (oral and written) and start our teaching internships at local Tanzanian schools.

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.