Friday, June 27, 2008

Nikki anaenda sokoni...and other first week tidbits...















Well, it’s been a week now, so I figure it’s about time to make a post on this blog of brilliant observation. Where to begin….

The trip here:

Long. Many, many hours on a plane with the movie 27 Dresses. Most of the people on the trip were lucky enough to sleep through the 2nd and 3rd showings of that movie. Alas, I am not blessed with the fortunate ability to sleep on an airplane….so I watched. Again…and again. I also chatted with the people on my trip. Which leads me to my next topic of discussion….

My classmates:

On the whole, a pretty cool bunch of people. If I have to be stuck with a bunch of Americans, I'm glad it's them....

My lodging:

Well…basically we are on a secluded, gated compound located about 16km outside of Arusha….and while there are other African students here, most of them are only here for a short course and then they move on. Luckily, there is a nice little village about 2 miles down the road called Usa River. There are a couple of bars there and they have a market 2 days a week, so when we are not in class, I can go there and meet people and talk with them. I can also take the bus into Arusha….but I will probably only do that a couple of days a week. After being in class from 8-4, I don’t really have the energy to make that journey every day. Also, my brain tends to be fried by that point from thinking in Swahili all day…..

My Classes

In a word: easy. I’m am somewhat further ahead than many of my classmates, but it’s cool. I still learn a lot and get to hear and speak Swahili all day. Besides, the real learning goes on when I talk to people outside of class….like at the market…

The Market:

We’ve gone twice now. I love it….it’s so much fun talking to people and I think they appreciate that I can carry on a pretty good conversation with them in Swahili (this is what I tell myself…it makes me feel better about being a giant Mzungu). The first time we went to the Arusha market, I chatted with a couple of little boys for a while. Then they took me to their mother’s fabric/Kanga shop, where I bought some lovely Kangas (Tanzanian cloths that are worn as skirts or wraps and usually have a proverb on them. They’re really fascinating…many of you have heard me talk about them before, but for those who haven’t, maybe I’ll make a blog entry about them at a later date.) Then the woman was kind enough to offer her older son to me as a husband. When I told her that I didn’t think I’d make a very good wife because I don’t know how to cook Ugali (staple food…cornmeal porridge), she told me she’d teach me everything I needed to know. I told her I was honored, but had to respectfully decline her offer…

The smaller market in Usa River was also really fun. I met the nicest older woman and I chatted with her for a long time. I told her I like to cook and she asked if my mother had taught me how. When I told her I mostly learned from my Dad she laughed and laughed and laughed. Then she offered to teach me how to make Ugali some time…..I may take her up on that…but that means I will have to come up with new reasons why I’d be a terrible wife. The reasons are infinite, so that shouldn’t be too much of a challenge…


Well….that’s probably enough for today. Tomorrow we leave for a group trip to Ngorogoro crater (kind of like a natural animal reserve) and Olduvai gorge (cradle of humanity, people…look it up). I’m pretty stoked…I do love giraffes….

Will be back with more soon…

Saturday, June 21, 2008

How do you know you're in Africa?

When you wake up, there's a monkey in the tree outside your bedroom. Life is good.

I'm here and all is well. I'll post more once I'm a bit more settled. Right now I'm going to go get some chai...

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Anticipation + Procrastination

Few of you are likely to be surprised by this news (since my blog-reading ranks will include almost exclusively family and friends), but I'm heading to Africa for the summer. Seven weeks in Tanzania and, if all goes according to plan, three weeks in the Congo. I am beyond excited...which is why I am now ignoring the half-revised thesis draft I've been brooding over for the past week and writing my first entry in this blog. As the title to this entry suggests, anticipation and procrastination make happy bedfellows....

I'll be posting here from time to time...trying to keep everyone updated on my experiences, thoughts, and epiphanies. (Well....I don't know if there will be any epiphanies, but it can't hurt to be optimistic, right? Especially if one of those epiphanies manifests itself as a rockin' dissertation proposal....) Come on by and read all about it when you get the whim...and drop me a comment while you're at it.

Less than two weeks and counting.....the next post will be from Tanzania.