Mid-PST Update: Oops, this still exists...

So… long time no see!

It’s been a little more difficult than anticipated to post anything of substance (i.e., anything, as I prefer substance). I’ll type these up offline and put them up when the opportunity arises, but I haven’t had much time to write. I won’t be able to cover everything I’d like to in this post (or ever), as a lot has happened in too short a period of time to recount it all, but hopefully it covers enough to give you an idea where I’m at right now.

The cultural experience in Tanzania has been fascinating. Tanzanians and Americans share many commonalities, but there are quite a few differences as well. For example, toilet paper is exceedingly rare in Tanzania, and usually shows up only in touristy areas. Since Peace Corps doesn’t spend much time in touristy areas (and the goal is to integrate into Tanzanian culture), we haven’t really been using toilet paper either (though we try to get away with it where we can). What I’m really trying to say is avoid my left hand next time you see me. (To be fair, once you get over the initial culture shock, Tanzanians have a relatively sanitary process for taking care of business. It’s far less painful than it sounds.)

On a similar note, being left-handed in Tanzania is a challenge. For the most part, Tanzanians avoid utensils when eating. Because “wipe with your left, eat with your right” is the mantra here, eating can be mentally taxing for southpaws like myself. I’ve forgotten which hand to use on a number of occasions, and while the reaction from many is typically indifference, I’ve also seen it range from disgust to laughter (the same goes for writing). It is what it is.

The food here is delicious. I’m eating healthier here than I ever ate back home. Peace Corps provides our homestay families with a daily stipend to take care of us. We’re getting a ton of fruits, vegetables and carbs. While the price of meat can be prohibitive, protein isn’t an issue due to the prevalence of peanuts and cashews. 

Unfortunately, the locals don’t seem to be eating as well as we are. While my host family feeds me well, my host siblings don’t get the same quantity or variety that I do. Ugali, which is essentially boiled corn flour and water, is the base food here and my family eats it almost every day. It’s filling, but is tasteless and obviously lacking in nutrient density. I try to pass around leftovers (as do other trainees) to make sure they’re getting some variety, but it’s a tough situation.

Above all though, Tanzanians have to be among the happiest people on the planet. Despite living in one of the poorest nations in the world, the collective attitude could be described as “hamna shida” (“no problem” – the Tanzanian equivalent to “hakuna matata”, which is more prevalent in Kenya than here). Tanzanians are exceedingly friendly, a characteristic exhibited at every introduction with the exchange of an exhaustive list of greetings before any substantive conversation actually begins. They are also heavily communal: sharing between neighbors is commonplace and mistakes are quickly forgiven. (By the same token, however, it’s not uncommon for mob justice to dictate how crimes are handled. We’ve been warned never to yell “Thief!” in Swahili – even if we are actually robbed – due to the likelihood that the perpetrator will be beaten to death by those within earshot.) All in all, Tanzanians have a lot to be proud of and I’m glad to be living and working with them.

As for me, training is going well. We’re past the halfway point and things are looking up. I’ll preface this part of the post by stating that Peace Corps deals quite a bit with acronyms, so sorry for that.

As mentioned in the previous post, training (PST) for health and environment trainees takes place in the Muheza district of Tanga region (northeast Tanzania). My PST group (CBT) is located in Kilulu, the village furthest from the training site (MATI) and a 50-minute walk from Muheza. Kilulu is tiny, and my homestay family’s house has no electricity or running water. My morning begins with the unrivaled pleasure of walking a kilometer downhill to fill a 10-liter* bucket– not gonna have any issues staying in shape here.

My Tanzanian family consists of my Mama and Baba, as well as three brothers and two sisters. I’m their fourth trainee and they’ve been incredibly kind inviting me into their family for a few months. The first day at homestay was surreal: we drove from Dar to Muheza, split into our CBTs and were dropped off cold turkey at the doorstep of our host family. Some of our families are able to speak some basic level of English – I was not so lucky. My first night consisted of sitting in a chair outside the house surrounded by a horde of children (at least 20) who apparently have no reservations against awkward silence (of which there was a lot). So… that was fun. Nights aren’t so awkward now, and my family has done a tremendous job of supporting me. Hopefully my Swahili will be sufficient by the time I finish training so I can thank them properly.

Back to training: the first five weeksconsisted primarily of intensive language and cultural training. We had some sporadic technical and life skills training, but for the most part the focus has been language. The goal is to have us speaking Swahili at an intermediate level in time to move to site. My mid-PST language tests (LPIs) went far better than I expected, so I’m feeling pretty good in that area.

We’ve also had the occasional reprieve: on Sunday (our day off) we often head to Muheza or Tanga (regional capital) to hang out. As well, while our homestay families met to give input to our trainers, we were sent on what amounted to an overnight mid-training break at Pangani, a relatively-western resort. Safe to say Pangani has been the high point of training so far and gave us a much-needed chance to unwind.

On the low end, I feel obligated to mention (particularly now that it appears to be resolved) that I had what I’ll simply refer to as an adverse reaction(calm down, nothing life-threatening) to the antimalarial drug (Mefloquin) that Peace Corps provides standard to Trainees/Volunteers in malaria-endemic countries. It works for some, not for others. Apparently I fall into the latter group, so I’ve been switched to another antimalarial (Doxycycline). All that matters is I’m on the up and up; nothing to worry about. Peace Corps Tanzania has what is generally considered (by Volunteers in and out of Tanzania) to be the best Peace Corps medical staff in Africa, and based on my experience I’d say they’re supremely competent.Alrighty, on to happier topics…

Last week was huge: we learned the sites we’ll be spending the next two years of our lives. I’ll be located in the far south of Tanzania in Mtwara region – a stone’s throw from the Mozambique border. (Actually, I’m writing this from Mtwara on my site visit right now.) 

Mtwara region is famous in Tanzania for its capital, Mtwara- a georgeous beach town where many Volunteers in the south head when they get time off. It’s also known for its staple: cashews. Fresh-roasted cashews are insane. Yesterday I made cashew butter with a mama in the village I was staying – huzzah!

On the flipside, Mtwara is one of the hottest and most underdeveloped regions in Tanzania.Mtwara has one of the highestrates of HIV/AIDS in Tanzania and is malaria endemic. The roads are among the worst in Tanzania, so travel can be frustratingly slow. For this reason, Mtwara is arguably the most isolated region to which Peace Corps Tanzania sends Volunteers. Mkululu (my village) is ~30km to my banking town as the crow flies, but (no bull) it takes an hour and a half in the back of a lorry to get there (that is, during the dry season - add an hour during the rainy season). It’s a challenge, but that’s mitigated in part by the adrenaline rush of standing in the back of a speeding lorryin rural Africa (almost feels like snowboarding).

Mkululu is the seat of its ward (community of villages) in the district of Masasi. I’ve spent the last week following my shadow host – a current PCV – along with another trainee who’ll be located about an hour away by lorry. We met with the leaders of the village as well as the doctor (a rarity)who runs the dispensary where I’ll be doing a lot of work. We also stopped by the primary and secondary schools to meet with the headmasters. There’s a Volunteer not far from me who’s worked with the school before and both schools are motivated to work with me.

Mkululu is a good-sized village of about 6000-8000 that has a number of issues pertaining to HIV/AIDS, maternal and early childcare, sustainable farming and water projects – all areas of focus for Peace Corps Tanzania – so the prospect for keeping myself busy with project proposals is high. I’ll obviously have to get more input from the village to see what they have in mind, but thus far it’s pretty exciting.

I also got to see the house I’ll be living in for the next two years, and I have to say I’m impressed. It’s the VEO’s (Village Executive Officer) former house, and it’s relatively big for a Volunteer. It has a large entry room with three additional rooms, and the back yard is pretty solid. It’s definitely more room than I need, but I won't complain. No electricity or running water, but that’s standard here.

All in all, it’s good to finally know where I’ll be living. It’s a little more isolated than I’d hoped, but I think I’m in a solid village with a motivated community in a beautiful part of the country. I temper my optimism with the understanding that long-term, sustainable change is a slow process that takes time, but I can’t help but think that Mkululu has the potential to make some real progress over the next two years (if it wants to). Good stuff.

Alrighty, that’s all for now. No idea when the next update will be. Eventually I’ll get a dongle that’ll allow me to access the internet wirelessly from most places for a relatively low cost. Then you’ll probably see more going on here (including more pictures). Until that happens, I’ll leave you with a hodgepodge of random thoughts I couldn’t fit into this post:

The presidential elections have passed and my guy won. Well done, Ohio!
Ohio State is undefeated thus far. Thanks Dad for the updates and GO BUCKS!
I have a beard now (sort’ve). Not gonna defeat any stereotypes with this thing.
My Tanzanian phone number is +255786620495.**
Halo 4 is out and I’m in Tanzania.At least I have Morrowind to keep me company…
I spent 2% of my monthly stipend on a milkshake in Dar last week. Worth it!
I spent 3% of my monthly stipend on Pringles in Tanga last week. Worth it!
I spent 5% of my monthly stipend on pizza in Mtwara last night. Worth it!
If you’re white and wonder what it’s like to be a celebrity, move to Africa. The bubble is real.
Ideas for care packages: Skittles (LOTS!), mac ‘n cheese, tuna, beef jerky, and Propel mix.

I love and miss you all dearly. Tutakutana siku nyingine. (We will meet another day.)

*Originally said 30-liter. That'd be insane. Typo.
**Texting/calling can be expensive, but if you have Skype it’s much cheaper. If I don’t answer, don’t be offended – communication is still tricky.

Onward to Muheza...

Greetings again. A little update before we head into the tough stuff.

We’ve spent the days since our arrival isolated primarily in a large compound called Msimbazi Centre. Msimbazi contains a number of hostels, a dining hall, multiple classrooms, a bank, a couple bars and an internet café (which I’ve been too busy to use). The typical day consists of breakfast at 7:00am, classes between 8 and 4:30 with tea (chai) and lunch in-between. After that we’re left to ourselves until dinner at 7:00pm, following which we have more time to ourselves. Not too bad.

If you saw my last post, you know we’ve had running (though cold) water for showers. Despite that, many of us have been practicing bucket bathing given that we’ll inevitably have to for Pre-Service Training (PST) – it’s a far less painful experience than I’d imagined. As well, I’ve hand-washed my clothes for the first time, and my clothes are drying above me on the makeshift clothesline that is my mosquito net. Next lesson: using a squat toilet.

Today is our last day in Dar before we head out to Muheza region for PST. We were let out of the compound yesterday to explore Dar a little via Tanzania’s world-class busing system – they packed about 60 of us into a “bus” (read: large van) built for 40 and off we went. Dar itself is an interesting city; the population is dense and the poverty overwhelming. It’s also hot and humid (and this is the Tanzanian winter). We visited a local shop, an ATM, walked the street markets and ate lunch. I’m battling a bit of a stomach bug at the moment (the first of many, I’m sure), so I didn’t eat much. Nonetheless, getting out of the compound was a great experience and I got to practice some newly-learned Swahili.

Dar has been a luxury compared to what we’re about to experience over the next ten weeks during PST. Muheza is in the northeast corner of Tanzania near the Kenyan border. I’ll be staying with five other trainees in Kilulu, a tiny, isolated village about 14km from the main training hub (furthest village from training) with no electricity or running water. Huzzah! (Three current Volunteers - Chelsea, Chuck and Julie - have been guiding us around during Week 0. As it happens, two of them spent PST in Kilulu.)

During PST, trainees are essentially adopted into a native Tanzanian family. We live with them and integrate into their household, learning to live in the same manner that native Tanzanians must to get by. Oh, and we’re only supposed to speak Swahili. Needless to say, we’ve been warned that the first couple of weeks are going to be frustrating and rough, but in the long run, forcing us to use Swahili as a matter of necessity is the best way to learn on the fly. We’ll also be taking formal language classes along with technical classes during the day with our village groups, and meet once a week at the training hub with the rest of our class for vaccinations (6 shots thus far and counting…) and other discussions.

There is an internet café in Muheza town, so I’ll have the occasional opportunity to post when we’re allowed out for free time. (Not sure what that entails, but it could be worse.) One of my fellow trainees is a Michigan alum, so we’ve already agreed to sit in the café on Rivalry Saturday for three hours watch ESPN.com to refresh every 30 seconds. Loser buys the other a drink – I can taste it already.

That’ll do it for this post. Apologies if my posting has been a bit disorganized thus far. Haven’t blogged in awhile, so I’m just getting back into the swing of it. I imagine it’ll get a little more coherent with time.
‘Til next time (oh, and this is the last time I’m closing a post with that).

Habari from Dar es Salaam...

Once again, I'm posting again sooner than expected. We're visiting the Peace Corps compound and the staff's given us access to the wifi in the Volunteer lounge, so I figured I'd take advantage of it to add the disclaimer (see right) that I should've put up from the outset. Once I swear in, I'll have to get this blog approved by the admin before I can continue posting. Anyway...

We arrived in Tanzania around 9:30pm local time (2:30pm EST) yesterday. The flight was 10+ hours, but I slept through the majority of it after not sleeping at all on the flight to Amsterdam. Touching down in Dar es Salaam (henceforth Dar) was an exciting moment; I had a huge adrenaline rush walking off the plane. We were greeted by John and Joel, Directors of Training and Security, respectively. Both are native Tanzanians and are tremendously friendly.

John and Joel guided us through customs, after which we grabbed our luggage and loaded into a couple vans. We were taken through a commercial district of Dar (there was something comforting to the familiar Coca-Cola, Samsung and Toyota logos) before arriving in a church compound. A wedding reception in the same building as the welcoming session (staff introductions, snacks and anti-malarial pills) accentuated the already positive environment. Following the session, we picked our bags back up and were taken to our rooms.

My room for Week 0...

The bathroom is a size of a closet, but hey, running (cold) water!

I will survive.
There you have it.

Not sure if I'll be back before we head out to the Tanga region, where I won't have internet access, but I have to run.

'Til next time.

Greetings from Amsterdam...

We just arrived safely in Amsterdam and are now getting ready to board the plane to Dar es Salaam. I'm sitting just outside a security checkpoint waiting for a long line to dwindle. The duration of that line will determine the length of this post.

Staging was a success. Everything went well in Philadelphia, despite the fact that I spent the first 36 hours without sleep. I managed to stay awake through registration and the staging events, and then went out with some fellow trainees for our last meal in America (actually, our last meal was in the airport at Newark, but the former seems a little more romanticized).

My group is awesome and our spirits are high. All of us are facing many of the same uncertainties (some of which are mentioned in my previous post), and being open about that has been a great coping mechanism. Definitely motivated.

Things are moving quickly, particularly the security line, so I'm going to have to end this here.

'Til next time (probably three weeks or so).

Only 'til next time...

Dear Diar-... eh, no, I don't think I'll start it off like that...

Greetings and salutations!

Welcome to my blog. This blog serves two purposes: (1) to relay information back to family, friends and whoever else so they (you) can keep track of how I'm doing a third of the world away, and (2) to provide me with an out when things invariably get tough.

Speaking of tough: the last two days have been two of the most emotionally-challenging of my life. I have been blessed beyond reason with great and supportive parents, grandparents, extended family, friends and have an all-around stable life. What possesses someone to give all of that up in favor of being thrown 8000 miles away in uncertain conditions for the benefit (I hope) of an uncertain people? Frankly, I'm not certain. Saying goodbye (or, as I prefer, "'til next time") to the most important people in my life has been one the hardest things I've ever had to do, but nonetheless I am compelled to do it.

I wake up in three hours. Staging is in Philadelphia at noon and my fight departs at 6:59am. On Tuesday, my staging group departs Philadelphia and will arrive in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday evening (afternoon in Ohio). Following that, we'll be guided around Dar es Salaam for a week to set up the basics in-country and then we'll move north into the Tanga region near the Kenyan border for Pre-Service Training (PST). PST will last about ten weeks and involves intensive language (Swahili) and cultural training, during which I'll be staying with a homestay family - native Tanzanians who have offered to house Peace Corps trainees (like myself to this point) for the duration of training. Following that, we'll finally be sworn in as Volunteers. (Oh yeah, that's a capital V for Volunteer. Huzzah!) Sometime during that period, we'll learn what our specific assignments will be and where our sites will be located. I'll probably get back to this blog before that happens, but if not, you'll know I'm hard at work (or at least cursing in a new language).

One more note: once in Dar es Salaam, we'll probably be out of contact with those back home for upwards of three weeks, so it may be some time anyway before this blog gets an update.

'Til next time.