Mambo Vipi!
I won't give a play-by-play of the Safari like I had originally intended to do... I'll just write a little while I still have the luxury of internet access before the program starts.
So, here's the big picture of my trip at this point, for those of you who don't know: Tomorrow (Saturday) my program starts officially. We'll be having our opening dinner together with all the volunteers (the 4 stragglers will be arriving tonight), staff and teaching partners (the Tanzanians who are our age, college educated or in the process of being educated, who will be teaching alongside us in the villages). From then on our two-week orientation will begin. We'll be staying at a nearby Agricultural College while having a Swahili intensive course and intense teaching and HIV/AIDS courses. The idea is that they teach us a LOT so we can teach a little (but still be able to answer the tricky questions or provide more information to those who can digest it). After that, we'll each be moving in with our teaching partners to our first village for five weeks, doing our magic, and moving on to another village for five weeks--doing the same thing--before the program end.
I've been told that the villages are in Maasailand and that some of them will be Maasai villages. I'm not sure how that works, but information gets to us a little late and sometimes broken around here. Maybe if I end up in a Maasai village I can take photos of them without having to pay... >_> :P
As for lifestyle, I'm still under the impression that most of us volunteers won't have running water or electricity, but we do have weekends off to come into Arusha, visit hospitals and patients with AIDS, or visit orphanages (which comes HIGHLY recommended by a friend of mine who just returned from TZ). On those weekends I may have the oporunity to use the internet, depending on 'the plans'.
In town, people (especially the 'flycatchers') know us as American volunteers and constantly see us as a selling opportunity. I've decided that saying "hapana, asante" (no thank you) does not serve me as well as just making eye contact and waving my hand, 'no', because I have to say it so much... and it has started becoming an unconscious mantra, even when I'm fishing for something to say in Swahili to a friend or friendly person.
Many of us girls picked up the skirts we'll be teaching in today from the tailor's. I feel more belonging in the town wearing one of them, plus it's not so hot as wearing pants (it's beginning springtime here).
Finally, I want to thank everybody who just joined the blog-readership and for each and every one of you who is thinking of, and treating and praying for and with me. I value your support.
Baadae,
Carrie
