Kidogo kidogo...
Things are gradually starting set in now and Moshi is starting to feel more and more like where I want to be. When we got back from Arusha earlier this week, it definitely felt like coming home. I have finally started unpacking and arranging my room, putting up pictures and making my own space. The four of us are starting to get really comfortable with each other and regularly have meals together and wander around town. It's looking like we will all probably stay here in Moshi -- for one thing, we haven't seen too much of what Arusha has to offer us in terms of work, and also because...life just seems better here. Maybe it's because there are less expats and volunteers in Moshi and so we feel more needed and maybe even a little special. I just feel like I would like it better here.
Orientation continues to be both interesting and frustrating. We are learning a lot, very quickly -- especially Swahili. It's been about 8 days since we started and we're already overwhelmed by how much we still have to learn, but our teacher, Mama Simiono (an adorable grandmother-type), and others that we practice on say that we have already learned a lot and are further along than they would have expected. It's a fun language and relatively easy, in terms of pronunciation and grammar, but it definitely has its peculiarities and there is a lot to remember. We have now visited about 6 or so NGOs here in Moshi and still nothing has really grabbed me, but there are few places I can see myself working. They seem to have some good programs here, but with the usual problems -- no funding, cultural and religious obstacles, government bureaucracy, etc. There will definitely be a lot to learn, whatever I decide to do. We have been a bit frustrated by the fact that we aren't seeing more options, but we have to keep in mind that things take a little more time here and that not every organization wants to have foreign volunteers. Tutaona (we will see)...
Life in general is good. We're getting used to living with limited electricity -- they shut it off every Monday for the entire day, so we have to boil water and cook using a kerosene stove -- boiling our drinking water, shopping for groceries at the local markets and cooking our daily meals, hand washing our clothes, etc. We go to the market about every other day to buy fresh vegetables, fruit, and whatever else we might need. Mostly we've been living on spaghetti and homemade sauce, rice with beans or stir-fried veggies, and lots and lots of fresh fruit. We've started learning how to make local dishes like ugali -- the staple here, a kind of thick porridge-like substance made our of maize flour (it's hard to describe and it's pretty much tasteless, but you eat it with a variety of flavorful dishes and sauces). Our next goal is chapati, a fried bread similar to nan. It's excellent.
We have a housekeeper, Maggie, that comes every day to clean house, do the dishes, burn the trash, etc. She also provides a degree of security for the house during the day when we're not there (we have nightguards that watch the house while we're sleeping...). She has been working at the Visions house for years and her pay comes out of volunteers' pockets, so it was our decision whether or not to "keep" her. If we didn't want to, we would essentially have to fire her and this way we are able to provide her with a regular income that she would not otherwise have. She brings her 3 year-old daughter Karin with her every day, and we have all completely fallen for her. She helps us with our Swahili and it's exciting to try it out on her. She's pretty forgiving of our mistakes. I think we will learn a lot from her.
Unfortunately, we haven't seen a lot of Mt. Kili. As the locals say, it's a shy mountain and only shows itself when it feels like it (especially this time of year)...the rest of the time it hides behind the clouds. It's funny, you wouldn't even know it was there and then a clear day comes along and bam, it's right there in front of you.
In other news, I'm sick...but only with a cold, fortunately. That, I can handle. I will try to get some pictures up here soon...
Badai (later).
Orientation continues to be both interesting and frustrating. We are learning a lot, very quickly -- especially Swahili. It's been about 8 days since we started and we're already overwhelmed by how much we still have to learn, but our teacher, Mama Simiono (an adorable grandmother-type), and others that we practice on say that we have already learned a lot and are further along than they would have expected. It's a fun language and relatively easy, in terms of pronunciation and grammar, but it definitely has its peculiarities and there is a lot to remember. We have now visited about 6 or so NGOs here in Moshi and still nothing has really grabbed me, but there are few places I can see myself working. They seem to have some good programs here, but with the usual problems -- no funding, cultural and religious obstacles, government bureaucracy, etc. There will definitely be a lot to learn, whatever I decide to do. We have been a bit frustrated by the fact that we aren't seeing more options, but we have to keep in mind that things take a little more time here and that not every organization wants to have foreign volunteers. Tutaona (we will see)...
Life in general is good. We're getting used to living with limited electricity -- they shut it off every Monday for the entire day, so we have to boil water and cook using a kerosene stove -- boiling our drinking water, shopping for groceries at the local markets and cooking our daily meals, hand washing our clothes, etc. We go to the market about every other day to buy fresh vegetables, fruit, and whatever else we might need. Mostly we've been living on spaghetti and homemade sauce, rice with beans or stir-fried veggies, and lots and lots of fresh fruit. We've started learning how to make local dishes like ugali -- the staple here, a kind of thick porridge-like substance made our of maize flour (it's hard to describe and it's pretty much tasteless, but you eat it with a variety of flavorful dishes and sauces). Our next goal is chapati, a fried bread similar to nan. It's excellent.
We have a housekeeper, Maggie, that comes every day to clean house, do the dishes, burn the trash, etc. She also provides a degree of security for the house during the day when we're not there (we have nightguards that watch the house while we're sleeping...). She has been working at the Visions house for years and her pay comes out of volunteers' pockets, so it was our decision whether or not to "keep" her. If we didn't want to, we would essentially have to fire her and this way we are able to provide her with a regular income that she would not otherwise have. She brings her 3 year-old daughter Karin with her every day, and we have all completely fallen for her. She helps us with our Swahili and it's exciting to try it out on her. She's pretty forgiving of our mistakes. I think we will learn a lot from her.
Unfortunately, we haven't seen a lot of Mt. Kili. As the locals say, it's a shy mountain and only shows itself when it feels like it (especially this time of year)...the rest of the time it hides behind the clouds. It's funny, you wouldn't even know it was there and then a clear day comes along and bam, it's right there in front of you.
In other news, I'm sick...but only with a cold, fortunately. That, I can handle. I will try to get some pictures up here soon...
Badai (later).
posted by Ashley at
3:08 PM
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