Sikukuu (Holiday)

Happy Holidays folks! You know it's Xmas here when you smell pilau (spiced rice dish) spices from the jirani (neighbors). It is a food made here during the holidays. As I walked out of my flat to buy maziwa (milk) from the soko (market). The smell hit me in the face..in a good way. And as I walked I asked people Habari za Xmas? Which means literally news of Xmas..or how is Xmas. And prices for things go up here during Xmas instead of the sales that you get in the US. But I was still your happy little volunteer feeding my fellow jirani cookies and cakes (it was mango bread made with pilau spices). A few days prior some volunteers came over my place and we cooked lasagna and mango crisp (mangos are real cheap..5-10 cents each here..yup be real jealous..pineapples are 50 cents) on a kerosene jiko (stove) as there was no umeme (electricity). But do not be too jealous of the awesome fruit prices, as making lasagna here is a major feat in itself. It requires making ricotta cheese from scratch (boil milk and add lemon juice), making noodles from scratch(yummy in my tummy), and making the sauce from scratch. The only thing we had to buy was grated cheese (which almost tasted like the ricotta we made). We also went over the home of a Canadian gal who runs an NGO out here in Mbeya for a mini Xmas party complete with Secret Santa exchange. But umeme has returned and with that a volunteer who is from Korea whom I have been hanging out with. I also have met an awesome TZ gal who lives in the flats next to mine. We had some pretty interesting conversations about poor in TZ vs poor in US. Which is a foreshadow into my next topic about an interesting book I am reading which I received from a local PCV during a book swap called the Working Poor by David Shipler..about poor in America. It is interesting as they make comparisons about how poor kids in other countries can play with a tire for fun or other creative toys like taking bottles to a stick and adding wheels (which yes I have seen here in TZ) and us in America we need our Barbie dolls and Hotwheels no matter the income bracket. I am still reading the book but it shows that it is harder to be poor in America as most people live beyond their means in the States and most people have things (like cool toys, cable TV, etc) which in other countries they don't have these things even if they are middle class. Also that there are poor in America and that working hard does not necessarily mean that you get alot of money. Though being in TZ, at least I appreciate the fact that the US govt tries to help poor people with some assistance programs, they don't over here or if they do I don't see it. Anyways I am not done reading the book yet so I may be a bit premature in my assumptions as to the point of the book..but it is written really well. I do recommend it. I am going down to Tukuyu in Mbeya region for New Years Eve..till then have a great rest of the year!

Za leo?

Greetings are so important here. Most are surprised when I start talking to them and some of them don't answer back because they are surprised. A funny thing happened on the way to the market. I was walking with another Tanzanian and I said shikamoo to an old lady. She didn't respond so the Tanzania told her I said shikamoo..she looked up in surprise..because I knew that word. Yesterday on my way back from town I had many conversations along the way back home. Most of them ask where I am from and where I am teaching. The best conversation was when the security guards at the college started talking to me and trying to teach me Swahili. It was funny because the stuff they were teaching me I already knew but I tried to appease them by listening and pretending that I was learning from them. At the same time it can be time consuming to greet when you have to get somewhere fast. I feel impolite if I don't say hi because in this culture it is the thing to do..to say hi. Or when I need to get an answer fast, then I also have to take time to greet even though I want to ask a question and get a reply immediately. A totally unrelated market incident. I walked into mud so my feet were dirty. At the dala stop the woman selling fruit were so ashamed for me that they wanted to give me water to clean my feet so they offered me water that the fruit was in to wash my feet. It was a funny experience..you had to be there. Such sweet ladies. :)

The Stash..Viungo..

I found the stash..of viungo. Indian spices to be exact. If you are in Mbeya and want to know..let me know. :) I can buy toor dahl, dosa mix, etc. I am so happy..I don't have to make a trip to Morogoro or Dar to get these things. Of course finding Italian spices like basil still remains a chore. :) And I also found the Hindu temple here! An affair that is much smaller than that in Morogoro..and I thought Morogoro's temple was small.

Tools of the Trade

The man said to me, "Americans use machines for everything, in Tanzania we don't have them so things take longer". As I sat there amazed as the fundi (contractor) tried to drill a hole into cement with a hole punch (it is basically a tool that you pound a hammer on to make a hole), I found that we take drills for granted..well alot of things for granted. The simple act of washing clothes can take hours here since we do them by hand and in the States we just throw them in the machine and they are done. Why don't they use machines here? For one machines are expensive and secondly umeme (electricity) is expensive as well. So not using machines for things makes creativity important here. How can you get the job done without tools you used to rely on? Makes you think a little bit...at least for some things.

Project Engineering 101

I bet some heads perked up at this title. Yup..I am using stuff I learned in project engineering here. So what kind of things? Making sure things get done and on time, people meet commitments, they are enough resources and tools to get the job done, etc. Here in TZ they say sasa hivi which means right now..but really it is not right now as we Americans think of it, right now could mean 30 minutes to an hour later. The culture differs and the pace is different. Unfortunately I still have the American view of time as being important, but I hope to change that to adjust with life here. To learn patience and to slow down a bit..which is one of the reasons I am here out of many.

Whack on the head...

I do realize now that many things that I used to think are important or not so important. Priorities have shifted a bit..I have gained perspective. I know now that I can live simply and be happy. We want alot but we can live on what we have...which is common sense but sometimes we need a good whack on the head to realize that it is true. And this I have learned from umeme..the whack on my head so to speak. :)

The return of Umeme

So umeme (electricity) has return to my humble abode in TZ. Humble is not really a good description as my abode rocks. I spent Independence Day and Eid going to the local market in Ikuti, talking to the bibis (grandmas) at the sokoni (market), visiting jirani (neighbors) in my flat complex, learning Swahili, and visiting a co-worker's home. Most of the teachers here have gone to mark exams so I am left here all by my lonesome. I found that Ikuti has nice cheap produce but for alot of produce the markets in Uyole is much bigger and cheaper. Parachichis (avocados) are cheap here but nazi (coconuts) are expensive compared to Morogoro.

My new address

This is the school address but I can receive mail here, please start sending mail here:

Anita Ramamurthy, Peace Corps Volunteer
MIST
P.O. Box 131
Mbeya, Tanzania
Via Air Mail

Remember to keep the weight to under 4 lbs and use padded envelopes..the smaller the package the better..no custom fees!

Why I haven't yet communicated...

Went to Dar and walked around. Saw the Hindu temple there as well as the Indian district. Spent Thanksgiving dinner eating Lebanese food in Dar..had a good falafel! Next day took the long bus ride (12 hours) to Mbeya and arrived to no mattresses in my new home. Instead I got to stay at a safi hotel for the night called Paradise. Next day went shopping in town for some things and then met another volunteer who lives nearby for a Thanksgiving dinner. We didn't have power in all of the Southern Highlands (Mbeya had not had power for a week!) and all of a sudden the power came on...we had alot to be thankful for on a belated Thanksgiving day. Had a tour of the place where I work met some PhD's in engineering. Everyone is so nice and friendly, hope it stays that way. Living here has a nice feel with the kids playing outside and the mountain view from my new flat. I will post pics up as soon as I get more furniture. :)

Now there is no power again. It is amazing how much you can do with no power- we won't get power back for a whole month (a transformer is down and it affects the whole Mbeya region) which means I have to have help carrying water up 3 flights of stairs, I use candles during the night time, and that I use a kerosene stove for cooking. We have a generator at school so I have a place to charge my cell phone and very rarely use the internet. The staff that I work with is amazing full of such smart people and the families of the apt complex have been taking care of me. They really want to let kids from neighboring schools tour the facility to encourage them to grow up to be engineers. I really enjoy everyone I work with so far. There is the most amazing mama there who is full of life..she is like a mother to me already. And 2 16 year old girls who have become my friends. People here seem to have two jobs..the farm and their present job as teachers. Nearby there is mchicha and matembele growing (2 types of greens which people here eat). They have given me furniture to use and I wake up each day with the beautiful view sipping chai. Tanzania has an independence day on the 9th of Dec. So I will return back to school on the 10th. Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday season. We all have alot to be thankful for. Kwa heri.

PCV- It's official...

So we are officially PCVs. These past few days consisted of leaving our homestay families, getting ready for swearing in today, and meeting our headmasters of school. Leaving our families was sad. I can say at least for me it was really like leaving a mother. :) I will try and keep in touch though.

The next part was meeting our headmasters. I met my head of department (computer department), as my school is pretty large. He seems like a cool guy and I am excited about teaching and living in Mbeya. We will be traveling together from Dar to Mbeya tomorrow.

Then we have swear in which to the families was graduation of sorts. Some volunteers put on a rocking skit which we all took part in. Then another volunteer said a thank you to the families in Kiswahili which I thought he did well at. We also had speeches from various officials. It felt long as the room was hot but it was like a typical graduation type thing.

The cool part was that the swear in oath we stated is the same oath that our new president will state when he comes into office. Apparently it's the same oath that military personnel and foreign officers state when representing our government.

Overall it was good to see our families and finally feel closure with the first chapter in our PCV experience. Looking forward the next one! Kwa heri till I am in Mbeya. You can check for swear in pictures, in the Swear In folder at: Swear In Pictures

Bustani kwa miasha bora..garden for a better life

Today we learned about permaculture and how we can develop gardens in our communities as a way of making a sustainable food source. It was an interesting topic as the guy who taught it was very passionate about it. I definitely learned alot and feel ashamed of my paltry little tomatoes plants that somehow grew in the Northeast with my obvious lack of knowledge on what the heck I was doing. We learned about double digging, creating a bed, and how to space out seedlings..to make a garden with only a jembe (hoe) as a tool! We also learned how to create a compost pile. I hope to have a garden at my site..that is if I actually have land. On another note pretty soon mango season will hit us over the head..it's in December! And one more note..kiti moto (translates to hot seat) is the term for pork here, because if you eat pork and you are Islamic you will be in the hot seat. On my way to school here I passed an interesting sign..Pata Kiti Moto Kwa Afya..get pork for health. I don't know what to think of that being the vegetarian that I am, but I did take a picture of it.

Shadow and Site Annoucements

Thanks for the bday wishes! I got them. :)

I spent the last week shadowing a fellow PCV in the Pare Mtns and then going to Dar for Site Annoucements. The Pare Mtns site is absolutely beautiful and the work she does is awesome. Her students are real smart as they are Form 5 and 6ers. I can definitely see the difference between them and the Form 1-4er's we taught in Morogoro. Her secondary project that week was to get the students HIV tested as HIV/AIDS is a problem in TZ- they call it UKIMWI over here. Later we met up with some other PCTs and PCVs to go hiking near a waterfall and to see another PCV's site. Then we headed out to Moshi to eat some Italian food, go dancing, and to catch the bus the next day to Dar. We stayed at Backpacker's Hostel in Moshi which was pretty clean and had real showers that were hot! :) My first hot shower in TZ, boy did it feel good.

For Site Annoucements: We had dinner in Dar and celebrated two bdays. Then the next day we had site annoucements. I am going to Mbeya to teach computers at a higher institution of learning (like a college). In case you didn't know Mbeya is in the Southern Highlands area of TZ so that means mountains! I am excited! And apparently there is lots of fruits and veggies there. Yummy. But it is similar to Seattle weather right now: rainy. Half the year is a very cold, dry season and half of it is rainy and less cold but overall it's much cooler than most of TZ. It can get to zero Celsius there! I would say about half our training group will be living in Southern TZ. After site annoucements we had a pre-Thanksgiving dinner at one of the staff member's house in Dar. It was absolutely beautiful house..I felt like I was in the US again.

On another tangent or two:

It is funny to finally meet people's whose blogs I have read before coming out here. It is interesting to finally meet the people behind the writing, some are different in personality than I expected and some are similar. It makes me wonder will the reverse happen when new trainees come next year?

Learning Swahili I find that a few things may carry over when I come back to the States like pole instead of sorry. Bei when someone calls my name. Haya when I want to say ok or when I want to end the conversation.

And here are some pics from shadow/site annoucement week:

Shadow Week Pictures

Piga Picha

Some photos of my time so far in TZ:

PC Tanzania Training Photos

Visiting other regions..safari njema..

The time is passing and slowly we will be off to our respective sites on Thanksgiving day. The beginning of next week is our final language exams so wish us luck. More ongoings of Morogoro include finally trying out Mama Pierna's which is an Italian Greek restaurant. I tried the pesto there and it is fantastic.

Also we visited local NGO's, one that we visited was Chadoye which uses traditional dancing and drumming to talk about HIV prevention and life skills here in Tanzania. It was interesting to visit and we got to dance to the drums at the end. Apparently they are having a performance on Tuesday and some of us are planning to go. We have secondary projects here besides teaching that we will implement, which include talking about life skills and HIV prevention as it can be a problem here at a young age (whether young gals sleeping with teachers/villagers because they are poor and need money or female circumcision). Also there are various other secondary projects to implement which include: helping villagers generate income, girls empowerment, building a library, etc. We learned how to do a Needs Assessment to find out what the community wants and needs which was interesting to learn how to do. I think this will be very useful at site and I hope to focus on girls empowerment, as women here do all the chores and end up being the ones that drop out of school.

After the exams next week, I will be traveling with another fellow trainee, he is also from Michigan. We will be going to the Kili region to shadow another education volunteer. Our first long distance trip on local transport in Tanzania..I am excited! Though I will definitely hate the sitting on a bus part. After that we are going to Dar (we will be there during my bday) for site announcements. All the possible places for the ICT volunteers (there are only 3 of us) seem great to me, I have no preference of one over the other, they will either be in Southern or Central Tanzania. We will also have a early Thanksgiving dinner while in Dar which will be nice considering we go to site during real Thanksgiving and will not be with the rest of the group.

Shinda

Obama has won! All around Tanzania today we were hearing people happy about Obama's victory as we walked through the market, when riding on the daladala, and when we visited the fundi who makes our clothes. For those who think that he has no ties with his family back in Kenya, do not think that way. It is a collectivist culture here and family is very important no matter any issues that one has. Therefore, the people of East Africa associate with this new president elect.

We were at the local expat hotel at 6 AM in the morning and we saw Obama's speech as well as McCain's. We noticed for once the headlines around the world were cheering at our new president elect. This is an important time in our country's history, Obama represents for many the ideals of America and of course it comes at a time when this nation's economy is how it is. I feel Obama has alot of work to do in his presidency, and I hope he can fulfill those shoes. I am sure he can. I wish him good luck.

Election Day

Walking around Tanzania you see lots of support for Barack. In case you didn't know his name means blessing in Swahili. Apparently his baba is from Kenya, his bibi lives there now, and they will have a party in the town where his father was from if he wins. I don't know if this is true..this is all heresay. It's amazing the support here and the fact that lots of Tanzanians know about American politics..though them knowing is not so odd..most countries know what happens in America. Lots of the people here hope Obama wins but at the same time don't think he will because he is black. I hope the American people can prove them wrong. I tell them it doesn't have to do with what color he is, it is the issues that are important. Here is an example of support for him that we saw walking around Morogoro:



On that note: Please vote today..no matter your choice as I am sure I have friends who's choice differs from my own..it is important. I voted by absentee from Tanzania. Tomorrow the people in our trainee group are getting up at 6 AM in the morning to watch the election results here in Morogoro. We are aware that Daylight Savings time has happened in the States. And here is a picture of the beautiful surroundings of the town of Morogoro just to invoke peace:

Halloween

So we sorta celebrated Halloween. I definitely didn't get into the spirit as I usually do..I do miss carving pumpkins. A few others made interesting costumes using their creativitiy. Some interesting observations here: The word tako means butt..so we can't say we eat tacos..otherwise we get people laughing at us. Also it's really interesting the amount of used clothing you see here. I see Michigan t-shirts on people who have no idea what Michigan is. :)

Next week we get to visit local NGO's that will be fun! I signed up to visit a NGO that focuses on teaching children about health issues using traditional methods like song and dance. I am pretty excited to visit.

This weekend people from my group came over and we made American food. Like guacamole, pico de gallo, chips, pizza (5 types including roasted garlic and eggplant), and real chocolate chip cookies! Apparently you can make chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar they came out alright...a little moist. The sugar here in TZ is similar to the Sugar in the Raw in the States. 2 more weeks till we find out where we'll be in Tanzania for the rest of our 2 years!

Msimu

BTW..right now is the season of short rains. When the rain hits during this time it hits hard. But when there is no rain it is absolutely beautiful outside. I heard that the Northeast got hit by a big storm..how weird. And it's already Halloween in the States? That is amazing..I would never know.

Hakuna Umeme..

What if there was no electricity? Well I can tell you the things I have done with no electricity. One day we made sambusas which are similar to Indian samosas. I can officially say that I know how to make them. We made them with potato and pea filling. And the trick to the dough is to add oil which is similar to chapati dough except uses white flour. Then we fried them on a charcoal stove. So for those of you who actually do visit me..let's make them! You definitely need to do this one with someone else. Sorta like making dumplings. There is a Tanzanian woman next door who was married to an Indian guy. She taught me how to make them..next I want to learn how to make alu parathas.

The other thing I just did the other day without electricity was teach computers. How? Well I taught computer theory. It wasn't too hard. Explain about the different parts of a computer and point to them. And then give them definitions of different security issues. Thursday will be my last day internship teaching. And then in a few weeks (3 to be exact) we will be at our sites. Scary prospect, huh?

This weekend some volunteers may come over for dinner. We'll be making American food with electricity hopefully using my mama's oven. Chocolate chip cookies, chips and guac and the American favorite pizza (with mozzerella cheese..sorta fake stuff).

On a random note as I was walking home from school I saw two guys hold hands. I would never see that in America but here all it implies is friendship. If only there was no stigma attached to a simple act.

Oasis..

So this week has been a week of changes. In that change we went to Oasis Hotel for dinner. This was my first experience of Indian food in Tanzania and I can tell you that it was good. The malai kofta was alright but the palak paneer here was fabulous. The best part of it all was that when I said I wanted spicy they made it spicy. :) And I had garlic naan..yum. As we walked home there was fireworks for Diwali. On our way to Oasis we had a funny daladala ride with a old Tanzanian man who was just talking random stuff..maybe a bit crazy..but it was fun. :)

Elections

As I am slowly learning a little bit about the Tanzanian system of things, I must tell you guys about the most important thing. I finally got my absentee ballot! The funny thing was it came in a Priority Mail envelope..as if that means anything here in TZ..ha ha. :) I mailed it immediately upon arrival..it costs $3.50..3500 shillings..so the guy I voted for must win! Just kidding. I discussed the elections with my mama's friend who is very well educated. He is a Tanzanian man who used to be general manager for a telecommunications company in TZ. He spent 8 months in Japan which is awesome. That was the first deep conversation I have had while coming here..it felt great. :)

Mwalimu

That is what I soon will be after training and as I am interning as a teacher I am amazed at how they learn with so little resources. The computer lab at the secondary school is made up of Windows 95, computers with differing keyboards (German, US, etc) which can be confusing for the students, and 300 MB hard disk space. It made me realize how far technology has gotten since then and how far behind it is in that school. Yet at the same time I know that just because it’s Windows 95 doesn’t mean that it is any worse than Vista. Every form (it’s like grade in the States) is learning the same thing like what is a computer, what is a mouse, etc since the school just got computers. Even though it would be more fun for me to teach programming, these basic things are essential as most Tanzanian families do not own computers. If they do have exposure to computers most likely it would be in the internet cafes in town. The States doesn’t have internet cafes like they do here because most families own computers or can access computers through public resources like libraries. The only problem is they don't understand how to type or what is meant by a right click of the mouse. The syllabus instead focuses on definitions. They first need to learn typing and using a computer. The school we are student teaching it isn't taking the national exams yet. I think they may start to take them next year.

Teaching is going ok but at the same time frustrating. We have 40 minute periods only once or twice a week. I definitely have to slow down my English but that is alright with me. Though sometimes students understand the concept but just don't talk because they are shy (which I can totally relate to). When I see a student get a concept they didn't originally understand it makes me so happy. We end our teaching next week. We are currently teaching Excel in Form 2 and teaching why technology is important in the real world in Form 3 for O levels. I think I like teaching, but I do miss programming. Maybe I will create a program to teach typing in my spare time..who knows. We'll see.

On other note: I can't wait for pineapple and mango season in December! I will be buying them frequently when I get to site. :) If they are available. Also my favorite soda is Tangawizi..a ginger soda that when you breathe in while drinking makes you cough..potent like wasabi. We also just had our mid exams this past Friday. :) I know I probably did better on the writing than on the oral, but that is life. :) We changed language teachers as well. We got write in ballots so I am definitely voting yet I haven't received my absentee ballot from Michigan. And Diwali will be the end of this month. And I got a dress made here with the local kitenge fabric. It is a wrap style top, a head scraf, and a pencil skirt with a flared bottom. I think it's pretty cute, new clothes just in time for Diwali! And on that note, the Hindu temple in town is having fireworks so I might go for that. Apparently there is an alright Indian restaurant in town which I will have to check out sometime as well, it's called Oasis. Some of the volunteers have already checked it out. We will find out where we are going to be posted near my bday (Nov 18th) in Dar. So I will finally be 28 then! Finding out where my site is will be a bday present for me! :)

My name is a wimbo in Tanzania...

Two interesting things about names. My American mother's name is uma, in swahili that means fork. :)

Another interesting thing. Apparently there is a really popular Tanzanian Bongo Flava song called Anita by Matonya. It was real popular last year for a few months which explains why people's eyes light up over here when I tell them my name. So thank you mom and dad for calling me Anita...just kidding. The song is about a husband telling his wife (named Anita) to come back home (she's staying at her parent's place). Apparently she leaves to her parent's place after learning that he is cheating on her from other people. In the song he says I would never cheat on you, all those other people are lying and I only want to be with you. It's basically a love song with an interesting beat.

Here is a link to the video if you want to watch, unfortunately I can't as the network is to slow here so tell me what you think as I have no idea what it contains. It's probably not as good quality as the States as most music videos here aren't as good in production quality.

Video of Anita by Matonya

On how to make coconut milk….

I have learned a lot about cooking here in Tanzania and at the same time I have taught my mama some things as well. To make coconut milk: First grate coconut (kuna nazi). Here in Tanzania they use the same grating device that they do in South India to grate coconut. A wooden block with a sharp serrated blade protruding out of it. Put the grated coconut in a bowl and add enough warm water to make a paste with the coconut. Then take put a colander over a bowl and put the coconut in the colander. Squeeze the coconut into the colander, what falls into the bowl is the coconut milk. Add more warm water and repeat squeezing the coconut into the colander. Interesting enough huh? Some other useful things is to using a mortar and pestle to mash garlic and ginger. Also, cutting a tomato in half and then using a plastic grater to make a tomato sauce by grating the side without the skin. That’s it, there is your Tanzanian cooking lesson for now. I find that a lot of Tanzanian cooking has no measurements- like most cooking around the world. I find that my taste buds are the true measurement here. Here is my favorite recipe so far in TZ, so simple yet so flavorful:

Peas (njegere) with coconut milk.

You need peas, coconut, tomatoes, and onions.

Make coconut milk as above. Grate the tomatoes to make a liquid, like a tomato sauce. Cut onions into thin rounds. Add oil, and onions into a sufria (saucepan). Add peas with tomato sauce. Cook till peas seem cooked (these are much firmer peas than what is found in America). Then add the coconut milk and heat till warm. Fresh coconut milk tastes better than that canned stuff in the States..it is also a lot more watery than the canned stuff.

Surviving in Tanzania

Some survival skills you need to know here are how to take a bucket bath, use a pit latrines, to use a charcoal stove, wash clothes by hand (without a machine) and then dry them on the line, to mop the floor with a rag, cut veggies without a cutting board, peel veggies without using a peeler- just a knife, bury or burn your trash (there is no curbside pickup here), carry various heavy objects on your head, do things (like brushing your teeth, washing your hands, etc.) without running water, and to cut grass using a machete (no lawn mowers here). Also it helps if you are strong enough to fetch water. But no worries you will learn most of these things if you have been here long enough. I am still learning many of these things (luckily I have been exposed to many of these things when I visit my relatives in India) but I have been given the stamp of approval at washing my clothes by hand. :) Look at how many things we take for granted in the States and there are more things as well. Like there are no school buses. Some children walk for 2 hours just to get to school! That is if they can't afford public transport. Yes, people get their daily exercise just living life here as opposed to having to do additional stuff. No wonder they think I am crazy when I go running just for fun.

Star TV

So the favorite show among my housegals is a novella (soap) from the Philippine's called Till Morning Comes (Darating Ang Umaga). It plays on Star TV. I wonder if you can find it on YouTube. :) Nothing too thought provoking in this post.

Chakula cha Marekani..kupika pamoja na wamarekani

We made pizza for the first time today. It turned out pretty good considering we had to make the dough and sauce from scratch. We made it at my mama's house because she has an electric oven. Here is a picture with a fellow trainee modeling our creation.

Shikamoo

As I run down the street saying Shikamoo I felt as I truly belonged- passing the elders and having the young people stare at me like I am crazy because I am running for fun. A daladala stopped thinking that I was running toward it. People on bikes were offering me a lift thinking I needed one. But pretty soon all that speculation will stop, pretty soon they will accept me for who I am…just a girl running in the street.

Miasha..life..

That is life..here. No water, electricity goes and comes, malaria and HIV are prevalent. But there is also the beautiful kangas, the great music, the interesting dance. Life. It is everywhere. I realize how much of it I take for granted as I sat there today contemplating whether I should take two baths a day so as not to use the water that we have. It can be brought by filling buckets at the neighbor’s house but it is a tedious task. It is amazing how much water we use in a given day and how we don’t realize it till we are without. Lot of things are like that. Little things that I never think about in the States I think about now. Like using a charcoal stove. That is so hard and it takes so much time to cook little things. So many shortcuts we have in life over there and here we have none yet people still work full time jobs and manage to get things done. I should mention that most of the people doing the housework here is still the women and some of them do work full time. Amazing, but alas that is life.

Pamoja na daima..together with always (from a Vodacom commerical)

Habari za wiki? Nzuri sana.

Basically I just asked how is your week and I said mine was very fine. Yes I have to start writing with a greeting too. Things have been great here yet I am getting kidogo homesick but that is normal for everyone. I have that marathon mentality right now where I just got to get through these initial few months and I will start feeling like it’s home again.

But it is home here and that is what I wanted to start my post with. It’s community. You see it here all over. Last week we celebrated Eid in the fact that we got a day off from school. Most people get 2 days off but that was alright. My mama and I tulienda kucheza musiki (we went dancing) to celebrate. But that night some kid in the neighborhood got in an accident. The neighborhood all came together to comfort the mama and the neighbors all went to see the kid in the hospital even after they found out that all the kid has was a broken arm. When our neighbor has water and we don’t, they let us use their water. When we have a fridge and a neighbor doesn’t, we let them use our fridge to keep the sodas cold. You may see that in some parts of the States but chances are you won’t. You definitely see independence in the States..that is our culture. I admit, I am that way. But here I see that community is important- it is alright to depend on another. That is why I am guessing they greet one another- to create that community. It’s something I can get used to and it is very comforting.

Daladalas

How many people can one fit on a daladala? 20? 30? A daladala is a small minivan used for transportation or a small bus. They try and put many people in one as they can. Some interesting positions I have seen. A daladala is my main transport into/out of town (besides walking 3 km).

In town today I visited a Hindu temple. Interesting how a culture that doesn’t exist in a society still has a place. They were celebrating Navarati, a Hindu holiday. It was a tiny one room temple and it was amazing how welcoming they were though neither of us spoke the same languages. I also have found various shops with Indian spices supplies. My one true happiness was finding cilantro! I made some guacamole with that find. Someday soon my fellow trainee and I plan to make pizza for our host families. Stay tuned for updates!

Dunia Duara..go wherever you go, but you'll return to the same old place...

Sorry but I haven't been on the internet for a week. It's funny how a week seems like a long time when I used to check my email every few hours daily! Please send me your emails, snail mail, and phone calls! I can probably get to the internet about once or twice a week at most. Here is a recap of the recent busy week with the highlights but the structure of what I am trying to write is pretty disorganized, so please forgive me for that. I am also warning you all that this is a long post. I will try and put up pictures of the school sometime later.

We went to Morogoro and were greeted with some dancing to the drums (kucheza ngoma). Morogoro is a nice small town 3 hours from Dar, comparable to Cusco in Peru or Xian in China yet a bit smaller than those. Pretty dusty, warm in the afternoon, and cool at night as it is dry season. Currently there are very few mosquitoes but I have been applying repellant every day just in case. In the main town there are internet cafes and some modern conveniences. I have seen some Indians and Arabs immigrants, expats from various European countries, and local Tanzanians.

After settling into Morogoro, we started our learning of the Kiswahili language pole pole but little by little it is coming along. Our first few days we learned greetings. Greetings are very important in Tanzania. It is proper to greet everyone you see with a greeting dependant on their age and how many one comes in contact with. Right now we are learning present, past and future tenses as well as verbs to describe daily activities. It's funny how far people come along in language when being immersed in it.

We also have learned a little about the Tanzanian school system. There is primary and secondary school. So in all there are 13 years of schooling with people starting at age 7. There will soon be pre-primary which will start students at age 5. Primary school is taught in Swahili and secondary school is taught in English, which can cause some language barriers in secondary school. Secondary school is broken down into O level and A level. As a computer teacher, I will be focusing on a level (grades 12-13) or I will be placed in a Teacher’s College (training teachers). In order to get to A level they have to pass a national exam after O level, very few people in the country pass. I will try and explain more as I learn it but that is the basics for now.

Currently I am staying at a fellow Tanzanian’s house who is not married at the moment but there are two house girls (sort of like maids) who are my dadas (sisters). She is a very welcoming hostess and her place has electricity which is very nice. There is running water but it is currently not working as there is a drought in the area so they carry it from a nearby well. It’s amazing how much I expected it to be like my grandmother’s old 100 year old house in India, instead it is more like my aunt’s place in Mumbai (except that it is a standalone house). I have my own room with my own private bathroom with a Western toilet! And a full sized bed with mosquito net! What luxuries! I do take a bucket bath and most houses do have pit latrines. The food they make is wonderful, as well as the fresh fruit juices. One night I got to help her make some avocado and passion fruit juice. It was yummy! Food wise I have had rice, ugali (spongy maize staple similar in consistency to mashed potatoes but tasteless), uji (sort of like congee but with millet), various types of beans, vegetable stews, eggplant, two kinds of spinach, cassava, chapati, fried dough, bagee, peanut butter with toast, milk, etc. Let’s just say for a vegetarian I have been eating pretty healthy. They cook on a charcoal stove which seems like a lot of work to me. My mama also has an electric stove but it looks like I will have an charcoal stove when I move into my place. Oh and she cooks with a pressure cooker! They have them here and she uses it for beans. They clean (sweep and mop) the house daily due to the dust build up as they don’t have glass windows since that would make the house hot, instead they have screens (to keep out bugs) and bars (to keep out intruders) on their windows. They also wash clothes and dishes by hand- no machines. Yet most middle class families have house girls/boys which are sort of like maids (for the daily cleaning), yet they are considered part of the family and usually live with the family. It hasn’t been to much of a shock as it is similar to the way of life in Indian. I am actually enjoying it here, I don’t feel as though I have to adapt too much.

My day consists of waking up, taking a bath, eating, going to school, having chai, having lunch, coming back from school, studying/playing, eating dinner around 8 pm, taking another bath, and then going to bed. They take bucket baths twice a day here due to the weather. I have been going to school from 8 AM to 5 PM, 6 days a week, but there are lots of breaks during the day for chai (around 10 AM) and lunch (around 1 PM). Pretty soon we will be interning at a school, that will be lots of fun. So far I have taken a look at the curriculum that I will be teaching. It is mostly on how to use the various Office products like word processors, spreadsheets, making a presentation, and making a webpage.

One thing to get used to here is Kiswahili time. Even though it is 7 hours ahead of Eastern Time zone they start their day differently here. 6 AM is considered 12 AM, 7 AM is considered 1 AM, and so on, so to get the Kiswahili time from the real time you need to subtract six from the real time. The reason for this is that they start the day at sunrise and they end the day at sunset. If you ask someone for the time here they will give you it in Kiswahili time, this will take some getting used to but one day I will get used to it.

Some other interesting things are that they drive on the left, unlike the States, but that is something I won‘t take long getting used to. And most roads aren’t paved in town. Most women wear long skirts here but I have seen a few wearing pants. There is no real dominant religion on the mainland but in Zanzibar island it is predominantly Muslim. Yet, everyone gets Eid as a holiday and I can hear the call of prayer in the morning (evening though I am on the mainland). Also, the women and men carry heavy loads on their heads sometimes just balancing it with no hands! Hopefully I can master that someday.

So far my first mini taste of an adventure was going to Morogoro town. We walked into town (about 4 km) but it was getting later in the evening and we wanted to be home before dark, so we wanted to take a daladala (a minibus/minivan). We went to the daladala stand, but one of the guys looked at us foreigners and told us to take the taxi (thinking we were rich). We refused and took another daladala with some nice women who helped us with saying the right thing to shushe (stop) the daladala. Oh independence..it feels so good to explore somewhat on our own. It was also nice to be able to greet everyone on our way into town and surprise them that foreigners know something besides jambo (which is not the proper thing to say).

Well that is it for now. Kwa heri! Tutaonana baadaye!

Dar Es Salaam..Cell Phones..

The sights and smells of Dar are similar to what you would find in any other city. The peddlers on the street selling their goods, the street food, the shops for various things, and just everything you would want. Our adventure consisted of many but for me it was to get a SIM card. I ended up getting a SIM using Celtel or Zain which is one of the major carriers in this country. I took a quad band phone from the States, had it unlocked by asking TMobile (my US carrier), put it in the new SIM and it worked. Basically most plans over here consist of you buying a SIM card for 2000tsh (2 US dollars) and then after that paying as you go though incoming calls are free! I have 1000tsh on my phone but it’s for emergencies., it is 3tsh/second for a call and it’s pretty cheap to text (which is what many people do here).

If you want to call me a cheap phone company is http://www.nobelcom.com/ and it’s about 9 cents per min. Write me an email if you would like my phone number at neeta.cita (at) gmail (dot) com.

In Dar es Salaam..

Karibuni! I am in Dar es Salaam safe and sound with the rest of the group (and all our luggage too). After a long flight we got in last night to cookies, apples, and juice. Dar pretty similar to Chennai in terms of sight, feel and smell. I feel like I landed in India especially looking at the structure of the buildings.

Today we got an intro to Peace Corps TZ as well as safety/medical info. We finally got our medical kits so I didn't need to bring all the meds. :) Also it looks like most of us will have electricity in our sites. We'll be in Morogoro on Friday. Till then..bye. :)

Start sending your snail mail now. :) There is no excuse as my address is to the right of this blog.

JFK..to TZ

So we are off and ready! We are currently waiting in JFK for our flight. Remember that I won't be able to contact for a few weeks, so hope to write to you soon after that. 3 more hours till our flight. I am excited!
Here is a pic of our group in Philly:

We're off...

So the moment we have all been waiting for is finally here. I will be going to Tanzania for 27 months. I have been at staging at Philly the past couple of days which has been nicely put together. It was basically sessions on development, culture, and other aspects to prepare us for our service- pretty deep and interesting discussions and topics. The group is amazing and all of us seem to have pretty common goals. We are all math, science, and engineering majors and will be teaching either IT, math, or science to secondary school students in Tanzania. We are supposed to get a vaccination and then we are off to JFK for our flight to Tanzania. I will be in Dar es Salaam for a few days, followed by Morogoro for a few days before beginning my official training. Please call my cell before 5 PM today EST if you would like to talk, otherwise see you in two years.

I may not have email contact the first two weeks or so. PC told us to tell everyone "no news is good news". Please don't get worried. I will be safe.

Procrastination..

So I finally finished packing last night. Not everything fits so maybe I will visit my parents in between to get the rest of my stuff, or maybe that gives them an excuse to visit me. :) I will be off to Philly in a few hours! The start of my journey has begun.

Vote

As this is election year, if we want to vote we need to fill out the form at FVAP. My first time voting from overseas. This should be interesting. The good thing is that I am officially a Michigan resident and that is supposed to be a swing state this year.

Poetry That Defines Me

Here are some poems that define me at this point in my life:

Curiosity by Alastair Reed

Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Snail mail me and remember to put "Air Mail"...

Please write to me and send me lots of snail mail the first few months. For letters and packages be sure to put "Air Mail" on the front. Thanks in advance for anything you may send!! :)

My address during service (till 2010):

Anita Ramamurthy, Peace Corps Volunteer
MIST
P.O. Box 131
Mbeya, Tanzania
Via Air Mail

So I am stealing a few ideas from my fellow trainee Rebecca here about packages:

1) As I may have to pay a duty on packages that are too heavy, please keep the weight to around 5 pounds maximum.

2) Padded mailing envelopes seem to have the best arrival success rate.

3) When filling out the international declaration slip, you don't necessarily need to write exactly what is in the package. Certain contents are more likely to be stolen, so just writing "educational materials" or "feminine hygiene products" may ensure the package's safe arrival.

4) Again, on the international declaration slip, please do not declare the total value of the items as any amount over $10, regardless of the actual total value.

5) Other random helpful hints: write religious phrases on the packages, include "sister" before my name when addressing the package and/or use red ink & be sure to write "Air Mail" on the package.

6) Please remove as much of the packaging that the item(s) come in as possible before shipping them. It'll help reduce the weight for you & waste for me.

7) Any packages over 4 pounds cannot be mailed 1st class, but must be mailed priority. The post office has "flat rate international" boxes that may be cheaper for heavier packages, otherwise, keep them under 4 pounds & send them 1st class.

8) Finally, sending several small care packages throughout the year does much more to boost morale then one large package once a year.

Staging Info

So it looks like I finally got my staging information. I will be leaving Michigan to go to Philly on Sept 14th. We will be spending 2 days in Philly to go over logistics (team building, fill out forms, immunizations, etc.) and then on Sept 16th we fly out of JFK to Tanzania. We are going JFK to Amsterdam and then Amsterdam to Dar es Salaam. Looks like it's actually for real! I am so happy! :)

PC Timeline: From Application to Staging

Here is my Peace Corps Timeline for those of you currently applying. I have more details on the process but I didn't want to post everything. If you have more questions feel free to email me.

August 29th- Submitted my application and got the recommendations in. Requested Africa and Asia as my regions. Requested Information Technology, Business, and Health as my job choices. I was working as an engineer for 6 years after my undergrad before I applied for the Peace Corps and I volunteered as ESL instructor outside of my full-time job. Attended an info session a year before at UConn. My undergrad was in computer engineering at Michigan.

Sept 4th- Got a packet of forms to fill out before the interview. Fingerprinting, loan obligation, and background check stuff. I had a mortgage and student loans.

Sept 11th- Mailed in the forms and fingerprints.

Sept 20th- Interviewed in NYC. Had to fill out a vegetarian questionaire to see how strict of a veggie I am.

Sept 21st- Nomination for Computer Science in Africa for Sept 2008.

Sept 28th- Received the medical packet. Made appts with the VA Hospital for free medical examinations. Had insurance cover my dental exam.

Oct 30th- Submitted the medical and dental packet.

Nov 7th- Dentally cleared.

Nov 29th- Medically cleared.

Jan 23rd- Got an email and call from the placement office. They asked me questions about my vegetarianism and what other jobs I would be interested in.

Jan 24th- My Toolkit said an invitation would be mailed out.

Feb 1st- Invited to Tanzania for Sept 2008! My job function is to teach computers to secondary school students.

Feb 4th- Accepted my invite. Filled out forms for a no-fee passport and had to send in my old passport. Also filled out a visa application for Tanzania.

March 3rd- Got my old passport back. Submitted it for renewal and to update my Indian visa so I can visit relatives if I have to.

March 24th- Sent my aspiration statement and resume. Also sent in official school transcripts.

April 4th- Got information on using Rosetta Stone for free and need to get 40 hours done before staging. Started Rosetta Stone very slowly as I was busy with packing up my life and work.

July 15th- Closed on my house. No more mortgage to worry about. Just my student loans which I can defer.

August 19th- Received my staging packet. Staging is Sept 14th in Philly!

3 months to go

3 months till I am in Tanzania. I found this link about Morogoro, the city where we are going to have PC training:

http://www.redoubt.com/TZTravel/morogoro.html

Some resources for ICT volunteers:

http://www.redoubt.com/TZICT/

http://www.wanafunzi.or.tz/