October 5, 2013
Ok. So I was looking at the calendar and I thought of a wild
idea. Today, October 5, I have been in Tanzania for 3 months. I was thinking
about everything that has happened in the last three months and where I am
now…blah blah blah… Whatever. Blah blah I’m going to write updates every three
months that hopefully will be a sort of “checkpoint” or “check up” or any
combination of words starting with “check” really… They’ll be here for you to
read, they’ll help me to figure out where I’m at… I don’t want to glorify them
too much, I haven’t even started writing it yet… I guess we’ll see what it is
when I’m finished.
“My Job”
Mostly at this point my job has been to learn. To learn
about the culture in Tanzania, to learn Swahili, to learn how to survive
without many of the amenities I am used to, to learn about the education system
here, to learn about the transportation system, to learn how to stay safe, to
learn how to wash clothes by hand, etc. But now, three months after arriving in
country and about 3 weeks after swearing in as a volunteer, I have now shifted
into a new gear. I have now taken on the role of a teacher. I am teaching kids
math and physics (and English informally), I am teaching Tanzanians about the
US (the have endless curiosities about our fabled land), and I am teaching my
colleagues about our strange (but somehow, effective) alternatives to corporal
punishment in the school. This shift is a welcome one as my brain needs a
breather to digest all of the new information it took in during training. But
as I move my primary focus from learning to teaching, it is very clear that my
learning days are far from over. After my first week of teaching here at site
it is easy to see that one of the biggest challenges for secondary school
students here is the language barrier. And as much as I want to teach only in
English, both to give them practice and to make my life easier, I can see that
the kids will be lost without at least some guidance in Swahili. If I am going
to be effective as a teacher here, my Swahili will have to be more than just
“survival” Swahili. And the sooner the better.
“Survival”
Upon arrival in Tanzania it has been a gradual, but
nonetheless shocking transition to a very simple life. The first shocks
included traffic jams on the way from the airport, a cold shower with no shower
curtain (oh no!) and gross beer. Then came homestay. There was the initial
shock of being plopped down with a family who did not speak my language. After
that came the pit latrine, bucket baths, little communication with home and a
new relatively unvaried diet. But then came the latest, and probably most
dramatic transition. No family to cook for me or heat the water for my bath. No
electricity. No daily contact with volunteer friends. No formal Swahili/cultural
coaches.
I’ve now survived for 3 weeks here and I think now I can
start more-than-surviving. Today I washed dishes, took a bucket bath, set up my
solar (photo-voltaic) system, fixed my water filter, swept my room, washed my
clothes, cooked lunch and dinner, and studied some Swahili. I don’t know if
this will impress anyone in the States but I am pretty excited that I managed
to do all this and still find time to write a letter, read a couple chapters in
The Hunger Games, and add an entry to
this silly internet blog.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that there are a lot of
things here that take a lot longer (and a lot more effort) than I’m used to,
but today I proved to myself that I am becoming efficient enough to take care
of these things and still have time to enjoy myself along the way. And after a
few months of not being sure, it’s a good feeling to know that things are
getting easier. (Maybe this section will be called “Life” next time instead of
“Survival”)
I think it’s important here to also say that I do have other
PC Volunteers not too far away. A couple of them met up with me last weekend in
our banking town for the night. It’s really good every once in a while to talk
“Amurican.” We already have been making plans for Halloween and Christmas!
“Back Home”
I’ve been keeping pretty busy over here and I have a pretty
“weird” relationship with my friends and family back in the States. The people
I grew up with, the people who raised me, the people who I lived with in
college, the people I care most about are now, quite literally, the farthest
people from me in the world.
With that said, three months into my 27 month stay here in
Tanzania, I am so grateful that everyone back home has been so supportive of me
in this adventure. The letters, the phone calls, the Facebook messages, the
emails. Every time a message makes its way to me from one of you, a little
piece of the American comfort, that I didn’t know existed until I came here,
comes too. I don’t want to get too sappy and gross and make mom cry and make my
friends stop reading this, but I think I need to make sure you all know. I am
so so so lucky to have the support system I do back home and I never want that
to change.
2 Biggest Challenges Right Now:
-
Swahili
-
Becoming a part of the village community
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