Bad Fail (lowest grade you can get on the Tanzanian grading scale)

            I don’t have too much exciting news to post, unfortunately, because we have officially fallen into the routine of classes and schoolwork. We will still have four hours of Kiswahili for the next two weeks, which should be pretty intense because starting next week we will also start our Ecology and Human Evolution classes. I think next week we will be in class from 8 until 4:30, with an hour break for lunch. I’m excited to start those classes but a little anxious that I will never leave campus. Luckily we have some sweet weekend trips coming up, including excursions to Bagomoyo and Zanzibar. Oh and tomorrow we are planning on going to some goat races. I’m not entirely sure what that means but the theme is “wild wild west”, so it is bound to be interesting.

            Over the past week or so I have mostly been doing homework and relaxing. I have made a few trips to Mwenge and the mall, but that’s about it. The most memorable moments were when we witnessed a monkey swipe some guy’s doughnuts in the cafeteria (it was so slick), and when we went out to eat at an Indian restaurant last Friday. On the dala-dala ride back to campus around 10 pm we passed a little icecream stand on wheels, and one of our group members yelled “ICECREAM!” out the window. Much to our surprise the vendor took off in his mobile booth and weaved his way through the traffic to catch us at a red light. Of course Bob (the guy who yelled) had to buy ice cream at this point because this guy’s performance was truly impressive. I also went to Mwenge to teach English again this week, and it was quite fun.  

Today we had our second Kiswahili test, and I sure hope that it went better than last week… I got a whopping total score of 65. Fortunately the Tanzanian grading scale entails that anything above a 70 percent is an A, so I got lucky on that one. I think we are all starting to get a little bit burned out on Swahili class, but we can now have conversations which is cool. I have made a fair number of faux-pas so far... like "I am from two chapati", "my parents are very difficult" and I accidentally tell my tutor that I am drunk every time I try to say that I understand. I'm working on it. 

Yesterday we had our first official malaria victim. That sounds really sinister, but she is now on a bunch of pills that should nip it in the bud. It was also determined that she has three parasites, which is a bummer. I have been feeling pretty healthy so far, only with the occasional stomach issues, which unfortunately is all too familiar.

Last update: I am making some progress on my research project idea. My working research question involves education and how the local village schools affect/conflict with traditional Maasai views and education. The initiation ceremonies are going on, so it could be cool to compare the purpose of the ceremonies to a traditional western education. I think the topic of education could take me down several different roads, so I am open to any suggestions or related topics…

I suppose I ended up writing more than I had thought, which is probably a good thing. Again, I would love to hear from anyone who is reading this blog… Sometimes I get pretty homesick so it is always nice to get a little slice of home. In fact, I went out a restaurant called “Chicken Hut” and went to see the movie “The Watch”, both of which are activities that probably would not have happened if I were in the US, but felt strangely comforting. Until next time!

(Most of the pictures I took this week were of the monkeys on campus)

Shikamooo mama

We have now almost completed our first week of intensive Kiswahili classes, and boy is it intensive. We have Swahili class four hours every morning, and often we go overtime. In theory, we are supposed to have two hours of lecture, and then two hours of discussion with small groups and Swahili tutors. So far our lecture has been much longer than our discussion sessions, but in any case it is exhausting. The teaching style is really different here than from what I have experienced in the U.S., and I am doing my best to adjust. We have learned very little structure and grammar, but there is a strong focus on vocabulary and common phrases. Our instructor also makes sure to emphasize words that we should NOT mispronounce, like “jambO” (hello), because “jambA” means to fart. The most important aspect of the Swahili language that I have been able to determine is greetings. There seems to be an infinite number of different ways to greet someone, and there are separate greetings depending on whether you are talking to someone who is older or younger than you. Before any conversation starts, we are told to exchange three or four greetings of “hi how are you?” back and forth using different words until you are absolutely certain that the other person is doing well. Another major difference between Swahili and English is that when telling time they use an entirely different system. In Tanzania, the day starts at 6 a.m., so in Swahili 6 a.m. would be written as 12:00. So when it is 3 p.m. for us, they say that it is 9 p.m. (or saa tisa kamili mchana). Anyhow, it is confusing but we have been practicing a lot. I am pretty terrible at Swahili at the moment, but I am looking forward to when it all sinks in and I can have real conversations. We have quizzes every Friday so I am a little bit nervous for tomorrow.

            Other than Swahili classes, we haven’t been up to much else. People have been practicing a lot outside of class, which I think is helping us learn faster. We are taking research methods classes as well, but that class only meets twice a week for one or two hours. The deadline for our research topic is approaching, but I am still pretty lost and need to do more research before I make any decisions. Last night a small group of us went to the woodcarving section of Mwenge (the big market), because some years back someone started a volunteer opportunity where students come to teach the woodcarvers (or anyone else who shows up) English, and then we get to practice our Kiswahili. Some people have been going every evening all week, but it was my first time and it was awesome. I didn’t really know what to expect but I had so much fun. All of the guys (there are hardly any women) are really friendly and eager to learn, and are super patient with our broken Swahili (and shoddy English grammar lessons). I hope that I can go a few times a week because that was the most fun that I’ve had in a while. That’s really the only big news from the events of this week, I am looking forward to the wikiendi. I would love to hear about anything that is going on back at home or elsewhere! 

Americans on a Boat

I can’t believe this time last week I was on a plane flying to Tanzania. I am finally starting to feel at home here and I am really stoked about starting Swahili classes tomorrow! It will be awesome to be able to converse with people beyond “hello” “how are you?” and “cool!”. Today I had my first experience in the ENORMOUS open-air market called Mwenge, which is about a 15 minute Dala-Dala ride from the university. This market is probably the size of an entire neighborhood and sells just about anything that you could imagine. It was pretty intimidating at first but it ended up being a lot of fun to browse around and haggle with the vendors (even though I was probably still getting ripped-off). People were really friendly and offered to hold my stuff and helped us find the items that we wanted amongst the giant heaps of clothing. I only bought a couple of things but I plan on going back and really going to town on the clothes and souvenirs. I only brought a few items of clothing with me to Tanzania, and given the heat I have already sweat through most of them and it is getting pretty uncomfortable. Plus, it’s always fun to buy new things.

            Yesterday was quite a journey. We went to Bongoyo island, which is off of the coast in the Indian Ocean. It was a 2 and a half hour journey to get to the island, but it was SO worth it. The island had white sand, turquoise water, and cool wildlife like crabs and eels. It felt amazing to lounge in the sun and float in the warm water. On the ferry ride back to the mainland our poor little motor was having a lot of trouble. About every five minutes it would give out and the high tide was flooding the engine. The choppy waves made a lot of people sea-sick and we kept joking that we were probably going be stuck there all night. Luckily we had some Dramamine and mars bars to get us through. Our drivers were amazing though and somehow managed to revive the engine every couple of minutes so we made it back in about an hour, even though it only took us 20 minutes on the way there. All 22 of us squeezed into a 15-seat Dala-Dala for the bus ride back, so we developed a long chain of lap-sitting so no one would have to stand. When we got back we all went to dinner and right in the middle of the shower frenzy the power went out. Luckily the plumbing system is not connected to the electricity so we just showered in the dark and then went to bed. (Pictured below is us squished in the Dala Dala). 

Tonight we had a debrief at our director's house just discussing the week and any issues or concerns that we wanted to voice. It was helpful to hear the other kids in my group talk about culture shock and some ethical issues that we have been thinking about, and I think we will figure it all out over time. Well I better post this incase the electricity goes out again, but I hope everyone is doing great and feel free to shoot me an e-mail about what you have been up to! My email is manda1010@gmail.com, or you can just Facebook message me :)

Almost one week!

Hello again from Tanzania! We have been in Dar for almost a week now and I think I am finally starting to settle in here. We are all getting the hang of things on campus and trying to get all the things we need before classes start.

 (walking through the university)

            Over the past few days we have been doing orientation-like things, like going to talks and filling out paper work (we just got our university of Dar es Salaam ID cards, which was quite exciting). Yesterday I had my first Dala-Dala experience (which no, is not a fun way to say money). Dala-Dalas are the public transportation vehicles around here, which, although small, can pack in an absurd amount of people and they run all over the city. We were told to watch our things closely because you get really up-close and personal with the other folks riding the Dala-Dala. I rode out to the Milimani mall yesterday, which is pretty much a western mall that you could find in any metropolitan area of America, except that we were the only westerners within sight. There is a Walmart-like store called “game”, where you can get pretty much anything that you would need, from toiletries to food. We also went to a cultural center yesterday, which entailed watching a “traditional” African dance where at the end they force you to get up and dance with them. I’m not sure how authentic the whole experience was, and there are always some moral questions about exploiting the culture that is on display. Never the less, it was entertaining and the dancers were talented.

(Garrett and one of the dancers getting friendly)

            We started our first class today, which is research methods, taught by our Program Director Molly. We brainstormed and discussed ideas for our research project, and talked about the process that will be involved for our preparation. I am thinking about doing a project related to the relationship between animals and the Masaai people, but I will have to do a lot more thinking and research before I start making any decisions. Being all Anthropology, Ecology and Biology majors, many of our projects may overlap and some of us may be doing projects together or in conjunction with each other.

            I have been going jogging in the mornings because my jet-lag and the Ramadan morning prayers have been waking me up early anyhow. We have been going in groups and always get some stares from the morning workers who laugh at the white people running around in shorts. After my run this morning we returned to the dorms only to learn that the water was turned off, so I got to take my first (and I’m sure not my last) bucket-shower of the semester. We save jugs of water in the laundry room just for these occasions.

            I don’t have any more major updates for now – my mind is still spinning since our arrival, but slowly things will start making more sense. Right now I am sitting under a huge Baobob tree where you can get internet on campus, so I’m feeling pretty good about life right now. 

Arrival!

Hey guys,

I am safely in Dar es Salaam and just as sweaty and exhausted as I had imagined. August is actually winter in Tanzania so this is only the beginning of the heat. With that being said I am so thrilled to be here and excited about the upcoming four months. I am here with ACM (Associated Colleges of the Midwest) and there are about 20 of us students on the program. We are staying in the dorms at the University of Dar es Salaam and are paired up in rooms ranging from the 3rd to 6th floors. We arrived late on Monday night and went straight back to the dorms to pass out. Our rooms are pretty nice and are accompanied with our own balconies to dry laundry and mosquito nets. The only downfall is the bathroom, which doesn't seem to have any lightbulbs or toilet-paper, and the toilets don't seem to exactly flush. There is also no hot water, but I don't mind at all because it is so dang hot.

Yesterday morning we awoke at the crack of dawn to the morning prayers at the local mosque and the resident rooster. We had breakfast at the cafeteria on campus and had fruit and chapatis for about the equivalent of one US dollar. After breakfast we had a campus tour (which is HUGE, by the way) and after lunch (which is a whopping portion of rice with an assortment of vegetables and sauces) we had a talk regarding campus security. We had the evening to chill out and I think a lot of us took really long naps, and after dinner I promptly went to bed.

Today I felt a little bit more lively and in the morning we had a discussion about gender roles and other cultural to-dos/taboos, and in the afternoon we went to a museum and experienced the town fish market. Being downtown is over-stimulating and I think will be much more manageable once we start taking Kiswahili classes. We have already learned some key phrases such as greetings and how to say "thank you", but I am looking forward to when we can actually converse with the local people. Every one we have met so far is really nice, although I do feel very awkward and out of place when we walk around in our huge group of white students, otherwise called "mzunga". I think though as time goes on I will grow more accustomed to being a conspicuous foreigner and learn how to embrace it.

(the beach next to the fish market)

Well that's all for now, over the next few days I am going to work on getting a feel for the campus and adjusting to the climate and overall environment. I forgot to mention that there are Vervet monkeys just running around the campus, which I was super stoked about but the Tanzanians seem to view them as squirrels or something equally as mundane.

Hope all is well with you guys!!

Love,
Amanda