This past week I have been on my site visit. I was assigned a secondary school called Itandula (ee-tawn-DOO-luh) in the Iringa region. So on Saturday morning a group of eleven trainees got on a bus at the bus stand in Korogwe to go to Iringa....about 3 hours later than scheduled. The bus system here is pretty spotty. Things run late pretty consistently and we are told to expect the unexpected (one group had their bus break down and they were stranded without AC for an hour in the desert). Our bus was pretty crowded and pretty hot most of the way, but one thing that helped ease the painful 9 hour trip was the hour and a half of it spent going through Mikumi National Park. It was later in the evening and the lighting was awesome and we saw giraffes and wildebeest and hippos and warthogs and zebra and gazelles and a big stork-like bird and.....I think that's it. After that, it cooled down a little and we finally got into Iringa town (Iringa town is the capital or Iringa region, typical in Tanzania) around 9 pm.
When we got off the bus we were greeted by a group of volunteers who had been waiting for some new friends since the last new group of volunteers arrived this past February! They were as excited to see some new faces as we were to get off the bus. Along with being there to greet us, the volunteers had reserved our hotel rooms at a place they like to stay and they ordered pizza!! You might like pizza; you might even LOVE pizza, but you really don't understand how much until you really can't have it. And to have pizza after a couple months of rice and beans (even weird Tanzanian pizza) is.... Difficult to describe.
And of course a couple beers were in order as well. I miss American beers too, maybe more than pizza even..
One of the volunteers who met us at the bus stop was Julie, who is an environment volunteer and has been living in the house that soon will be mine for the past two years. She completes her service and will head back to the US about the same time I will be swearing in as a PC Volunteer (September 12). But during site visit, she showed me the way to our village, Ikimilinzowo (heh...good luck) and introduced me to some neighbors and other villagers throughout the week. We got to the village (about 2 hours south and then 15 minutes east of Iringa town) on Sunday at around 5 o'clock. Julie had picked up some cheese (also quite rare in Tanzania) in Iringa town as well as some bread, so when we got to the house we only had to grab a few things at the small market in the village before heading back to the house and starting to cook.
My new home has no electricity and no running water and only 3 rooms. Not too uncommon for Tanzania. I knew this after site announcements as I said in that post but I don't think it set in until I was actually in it. I freaked out a little bit. We were cooking grilled cheese over a small jiko (tiny stove) by candle light and it hit me: this is the next two years of my life. What have I gotten myself into?? Just in the nick of time, my parents' call came through and I got a little comfort talking with them. I tried to hold it together so mom wouldn't worry too much, but inside I was not so cool.
After the call and a belly full of grilled cheese I went to bed with a headlamp wishing I was at the Brotel overdosing on Parks and Rec and Skinny Love.
Then the strangest and most unexpected thing happened: I woke up. The sun was up. I still had all of my limbs. And it was even kind of nice out! I don't think I've ever felt so good just from waking up. I got out of bed, still a bit surprised, and stepped outside. The sun was out and the crisp southern highlands air bit just a little, just like it does in the Northwest.
That day I went to my new school, Itandula, and met my second master and an English teacher who will be my counterpart. Both were extremely inviting and excited for me to be there. And it was very obvious that they really need me! There is only one other science teacher at the school now. They showed me around the school and let me give an introduction in Swahili to the students at the afternoon assembly. Walking home that afternoon felt so good. I survived the night, I was able to communicate with the people at my school and the weather was beautiful.
It also is really good to feel needed, which is a feeling I don't think I have experienced much until now. It really reminded me of why I am here. I came to experience a new culture and to see the world but more importantly, I came to help these kids have a chance at improving their condition, furthering their education and being "successful" (whatever that may mean for them).
The second night at site we had a visitor, Nikki, who is my closest site mate. She lives in a village about half an hour from me (so I'm told). She came over and the three of us shared life stories over candle-light and chipsi. We listened to some American music and I shared a little bit of The Harm with them as Nikki shared her drama and musical history with us.
She will make a good site mate, especially after I set up my recording studio. I think I'll call it "The Choo."
For the rest of the week I did a combination of getting used to, and checking the safety of the house, finding out more about my school, exploring the area, and meeting other villagers. It was really nice to have Julie with me as a guide and as a survivor of sorts. She is proof that one can survive in Ikimilinzowo for two years and come out in one piece.
I spent four nights at my site and then headed back up to Iringa for a night before making the long trek back to Korogwe to finish up training. In Iringa town I met back up with the other trainees from my and other nearby regions (Iringa, Mbeya, and Njombe) as well as some other volunteers. One of these volunteers was a fellow Olympia High School grad, Willie, and another was the sister of my pal Will from UP, Emily. It was a little odd seeing a familiar face so far from home but it was nice and it was no surprise. My parents invited Willie's parents over for dinner at our place a week or so before I left and I believe they have met since then to have parent talks (or whatever they do) in each other's company.
^^That's me with Emily (Will's sister)^^
After having some nice food and getting some rest in Iringa town we were as ready as anyone ever is for the 9 hour bus ride back to our training site and host families in Korogwe. More giraffes and elephants on the way back. Drinking lots of water. Windows that didn't open. No AC. Booty sweat. Ridiculous speed bumps. Blah blah blah.... All the way home. And even though it was the same stuff I had been eating for the last month and a half, it felt so good to have some authentic, home-cooked, Tanzanian rice and beans!
Oh! And I had some shirts made while I was gone! More on that later.
^^ Me and Baba matching! ^^
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