Ants, Gardens & Wedding Cakes
This has been an exciting week, starting from the biting safari ants that took up residence in my house, to a successful permaculture seminar, to baking a wedding cake.
I woke up one morning before dawn and stumbled out to my bathroom, where I was greeted with a pinching sensation as I sat. Upon my return with a candle it was clear I had an infestation of the bathroom and living room. I went on a killing rampage, and decided after my morning teaching I would seek advice from villagers on how to rid myself of the beasts. They suggested everything from diesel oil to smelly plants, and I settled on a tactic of kerosene and charcoal ash. I was informed by one villager that the ants could crawl into my nose and kill me, so needless to say I didn't sleep well that night. But they didn't return. They are still in my garden, and have invaded my bathroom once, but I drove them off. Once in a while I find one in my room which makes me nervous. They have now moved on to pester my neighbors, who are having a terrible time getting rid of them. If you're having second thoughts about visiting me, don't worry, they're really not that bad.
The permaculture seminar was good-- we started in the classroom and then went to my garden for the practical part. People seemed bored but everytime I thought we were losing their interest they would ask very good questions.
Today there is a wedding in the village. I was invited to help the village nurse make a cake, and we failed miserably the first time, burning the thing black. So I tried again on my own, and the thing didn't rise at all, so it is a small, dense, sweet loaf. I'm too embarrassed to show my face at the wedding, and hopefully they won't know it was me who made the cake!
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Friday, October 06, 2006
Exciting New Ideas
We just got done with a 3-day training on permaculture, which was pretty fantastic. I went with a counterpart from my village, whom everyone calls Babu (grandfather in Swahili). The idea is to learn to grow more vegetables close to your home in a small amount of space using water conservation and double digging and other cool tricks. My counterpart is so excited about it that while others were hitting the bar after the session, we were planning permaculture sessions for when we get back to our village. We are setting up a meeting with all the village leaders to organize seminars. I am excited to get back and plant my garden!
We just got done with a 3-day training on permaculture, which was pretty fantastic. I went with a counterpart from my village, whom everyone calls Babu (grandfather in Swahili). The idea is to learn to grow more vegetables close to your home in a small amount of space using water conservation and double digging and other cool tricks. My counterpart is so excited about it that while others were hitting the bar after the session, we were planning permaculture sessions for when we get back to our village. We are setting up a meeting with all the village leaders to organize seminars. I am excited to get back and plant my garden!
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Guests
Yesterday I got the rare chance to see the Prime Minister, as well as the ministers of water, education, and various other things. They came to the next village over (Mtambula, about 2.5k away) for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a small bank and maize-storage building. They have a generator, so they had a microphone and music playing. I showed up with a friend of mine, and was hanging out in the crowd hoping not to be noticed, but I guess I stick out and the agricultural extension officer called me up to stand in front with the village leaders, school principals, and bank officials. I had heard that the visitors were arriving at 11:00 am, so I showed up then. At 1:30 they arrived, and I had been standing in the line of village leaders ready to shake hands with the ministers for about an hour and a half in front of about 500 townspeople, while a couple of choirs stalled for time by singing welcoming songs. When the ministers finally did show up, they were pressed for time, so they cut the ribbons, took a few questions from the crowd, and were off within the hour (without the long awaited shaking-of-hands). It was an interesting experience, as people here will do ANYTHING for their guests, and often end up waiting for hours for guests with unspecified arrival times. I'm afraid this is what happened when I showed up in my village a day late.
Yesterday I got the rare chance to see the Prime Minister, as well as the ministers of water, education, and various other things. They came to the next village over (Mtambula, about 2.5k away) for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a small bank and maize-storage building. They have a generator, so they had a microphone and music playing. I showed up with a friend of mine, and was hanging out in the crowd hoping not to be noticed, but I guess I stick out and the agricultural extension officer called me up to stand in front with the village leaders, school principals, and bank officials. I had heard that the visitors were arriving at 11:00 am, so I showed up then. At 1:30 they arrived, and I had been standing in the line of village leaders ready to shake hands with the ministers for about an hour and a half in front of about 500 townspeople, while a couple of choirs stalled for time by singing welcoming songs. When the ministers finally did show up, they were pressed for time, so they cut the ribbons, took a few questions from the crowd, and were off within the hour (without the long awaited shaking-of-hands). It was an interesting experience, as people here will do ANYTHING for their guests, and often end up waiting for hours for guests with unspecified arrival times. I'm afraid this is what happened when I showed up in my village a day late.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Teaching & Learning
Tomorrow will be my one-monthaversary in my village! Every day I find out new things about Tanzania or my village/villagers. I am still very impressed at their hard work. One of the teachers told me the other day that on the rare occasion that he doesn’t have work to do, he likes to sleep in… until 8:00 even! (That’s a.m.) Mostly people wake up at 6:00 and start cooking and cleaning, and then head to school or the farm or garden. I feel lazy when I don’t get out of bed until 7:00.
I began teaching English (which is not part of my job here) last week just to help out a local teacher. It is one of the weirdest experiences I’ve ever had because the kids are terrified of me. They are also incredibly obedient. If asked a question, they automatically stand up, even if they then have no idea of the answer or are too nervous to speak, which is usually the case right now. I got them to loosen up a bit when we played Simon Says. I know they will warm up to me because a few of the kids who started out like that now frequently visit my house. One girl in particular I caught in the act of counting my fingers and toes… she seemed surprised when they totaled 20—just like hers!
On Saturday the monthly market came to town. People came from all around the area to buy clothes and food and basic necessities. I went with a few teachers and enjoyed myself, besides feeling a little uncomfortable at being the only one who is greeted by everyone in either Kihehe, Kiswahili, or English. I bought a cabbage for 10 cents (haggled down from 15c) and a liter of tomatoes for 10 cents.
I am in the process now of finding out about the community and getting to know leaders. It is interesting because there are a few barriers, like the fact that people are busy in their farms, visiting their multiple wives, tending their cattle, going to funerals, etc. I will keep you updated!
Tomorrow will be my one-monthaversary in my village! Every day I find out new things about Tanzania or my village/villagers. I am still very impressed at their hard work. One of the teachers told me the other day that on the rare occasion that he doesn’t have work to do, he likes to sleep in… until 8:00 even! (That’s a.m.) Mostly people wake up at 6:00 and start cooking and cleaning, and then head to school or the farm or garden. I feel lazy when I don’t get out of bed until 7:00.
I began teaching English (which is not part of my job here) last week just to help out a local teacher. It is one of the weirdest experiences I’ve ever had because the kids are terrified of me. They are also incredibly obedient. If asked a question, they automatically stand up, even if they then have no idea of the answer or are too nervous to speak, which is usually the case right now. I got them to loosen up a bit when we played Simon Says. I know they will warm up to me because a few of the kids who started out like that now frequently visit my house. One girl in particular I caught in the act of counting my fingers and toes… she seemed surprised when they totaled 20—just like hers!
On Saturday the monthly market came to town. People came from all around the area to buy clothes and food and basic necessities. I went with a few teachers and enjoyed myself, besides feeling a little uncomfortable at being the only one who is greeted by everyone in either Kihehe, Kiswahili, or English. I bought a cabbage for 10 cents (haggled down from 15c) and a liter of tomatoes for 10 cents.
I am in the process now of finding out about the community and getting to know leaders. It is interesting because there are a few barriers, like the fact that people are busy in their farms, visiting their multiple wives, tending their cattle, going to funerals, etc. I will keep you updated!
Friday, September 01, 2006
Settling In
I had two meetings last Tuesday, which gave me a really good first impression of my village. People were on time and motivated, as well as patient with me. I know a lot of people have trouble getting projects started, but I have already been on a tour of all the water sources in the vilage, which need major repairs. It should be a good place to get work done. This week I also figured out how to make bread on my charcoal stove. It should be good to experiment because the mamas in town like to learn to bake new things. They got a taste of my cornbread last week, and said they wanted me to teach them how to make it. Go figure! Me? Giving baking lessons!?
I had two meetings last Tuesday, which gave me a really good first impression of my village. People were on time and motivated, as well as patient with me. I know a lot of people have trouble getting projects started, but I have already been on a tour of all the water sources in the vilage, which need major repairs. It should be a good place to get work done. This week I also figured out how to make bread on my charcoal stove. It should be good to experiment because the mamas in town like to learn to bake new things. They got a taste of my cornbread last week, and said they wanted me to teach them how to make it. Go figure! Me? Giving baking lessons!?
New Beginnings
After an intense two-month training period I am finally a real Peace Corpse (that's what we're called here)! I arrived at my site last weekend and began to settle in. The people of my village are very friendly and hard-working, the house I stay in is spacious and has a beautiful view of the next mountain over, and there is a lot to be done in the way of projects. I live right next to a primary school, which I will no doubt work very closely with, though right now I'm pretty sure the kids are mostly just terrified of me. They performed a welcome dance and song for me when I arrived, which was really beautiful, but I still sense fear.
So far I am healthy and happy, and just trying to adapt to the abrupt change in lifestyle from the training-site homestay. I had a lovely host family, with many kids who helped me learn the language, as well as how to cook, clean, dance etc. Tanzanian style. Leaving them behind, as well as the other volunteers and trainers was a bit hard. The Swahili training I got was excellent, but it is a bit different in this region. Most of the people in my town are Hehe, and the elders mainly speak the local language Kihehe.
My job right now is to talk to people and get to know their challenges in the village, because we are not allowed to do any projects until after our first in-service training in three months. I am sorry for being a poor correspondent for my first couple of months here, but there were no computers in my training site.
After an intense two-month training period I am finally a real Peace Corpse (that's what we're called here)! I arrived at my site last weekend and began to settle in. The people of my village are very friendly and hard-working, the house I stay in is spacious and has a beautiful view of the next mountain over, and there is a lot to be done in the way of projects. I live right next to a primary school, which I will no doubt work very closely with, though right now I'm pretty sure the kids are mostly just terrified of me. They performed a welcome dance and song for me when I arrived, which was really beautiful, but I still sense fear.
So far I am healthy and happy, and just trying to adapt to the abrupt change in lifestyle from the training-site homestay. I had a lovely host family, with many kids who helped me learn the language, as well as how to cook, clean, dance etc. Tanzanian style. Leaving them behind, as well as the other volunteers and trainers was a bit hard. The Swahili training I got was excellent, but it is a bit different in this region. Most of the people in my town are Hehe, and the elders mainly speak the local language Kihehe.
My job right now is to talk to people and get to know their challenges in the village, because we are not allowed to do any projects until after our first in-service training in three months. I am sorry for being a poor correspondent for my first couple of months here, but there were no computers in my training site.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Thanks-giving
There are a lot of people I want to thank, and I can’t wait until fall. I made a concerted effort not to use anyone’s real or full names, so you may have to look carefully. Here they are in alphabetical order:
305 Patterson: I made it through a year without catching malaria—let’s see if I can do two more. Thanks for your endless patience and support!
Acadia ENVS, Geologists and others: Thanks for swimming, snow shoeing, free-style rap and carrot cakes, 400 AD parties, occasional study sessions, button mushroom extravaganzas, Iron Chefs and Spidermanly expeditions.
Acadian Somalis: Thanks for the encouragement, Swahili lessons, and teaching me how to cook Somali pasta!
Acadia Tanzanians: Thanks for making me feel welcome in Tanzania long before I ever set foot there!
Acadia WUSC & Amnesty: Thanks for being beautiful people. Inside and out.
’banksians: Thanks for not being too cool for me four years after we graduated from high school.
Calypso farmers: Thanks for teaching me the dual arts of broad-forking and scuffle-hoeing, and for being incredibly wonderful people!
CEDUAM: Gracias para la introducción a México, a la agricultura orgánica, y al Chavo del Ocho.
Cousins: I’d probably be bumming around if it weren’t for the example you’ve set… you are all doing cool things, and I didn’t want to be left out! Thanks for the inspiration.
Former teachers: Thanks for putting up with me and imparting your knowledge on me. Your influence allowed the alphabetization of this list, among other things.
Horse: Thanks for the ride! And for putting up with bad Mexican music and a concerted lack of Feng shui.
Irmao: Thanks for putting up with me, giving me Portuguese lessons, and teaching me the wonders of Bangu, the Smiths, and caipirinha.
Jackie Chan: Thanks for being an inspirational role model.
Mom & Dad: Thanks for everything! Don’t take it personally that yet again I seem to be trying to get as far away from you as possible.
Nortons and the Chalmers: I wish I could have seen more of you! Thanks for the support!
Old Roomies: You are all brilliant, blinding lights from heaven. Only one word could possibly come close to describing you: scrumtrulescent. The only problem is that I feel my luck on roommates can’t possibly hold out. I’m in for a doozy.
Peace Corps in Fairbanks: Thanks for having me at your meeting and giving me great advice—thanks to you I will not be lacking peanut butter and blow-up globes in Tanzania.
Queens of the WIC: Thanks for your general amazingness!
Sis & Bro: So glad we had a little bit of a reunion. Some day we’ll make it to that bus.
Valdivians and Gringuitas: Thanks for helping me get the travel bug!
There are a lot of people I want to thank, and I can’t wait until fall. I made a concerted effort not to use anyone’s real or full names, so you may have to look carefully. Here they are in alphabetical order:
305 Patterson: I made it through a year without catching malaria—let’s see if I can do two more. Thanks for your endless patience and support!
Acadia ENVS, Geologists and others: Thanks for swimming, snow shoeing, free-style rap and carrot cakes, 400 AD parties, occasional study sessions, button mushroom extravaganzas, Iron Chefs and Spidermanly expeditions.
Acadian Somalis: Thanks for the encouragement, Swahili lessons, and teaching me how to cook Somali pasta!
Acadia Tanzanians: Thanks for making me feel welcome in Tanzania long before I ever set foot there!
Acadia WUSC & Amnesty: Thanks for being beautiful people. Inside and out.
’banksians: Thanks for not being too cool for me four years after we graduated from high school.
Calypso farmers: Thanks for teaching me the dual arts of broad-forking and scuffle-hoeing, and for being incredibly wonderful people!
CEDUAM: Gracias para la introducción a México, a la agricultura orgánica, y al Chavo del Ocho.
Cousins: I’d probably be bumming around if it weren’t for the example you’ve set… you are all doing cool things, and I didn’t want to be left out! Thanks for the inspiration.
Former teachers: Thanks for putting up with me and imparting your knowledge on me. Your influence allowed the alphabetization of this list, among other things.
Horse: Thanks for the ride! And for putting up with bad Mexican music and a concerted lack of Feng shui.
Irmao: Thanks for putting up with me, giving me Portuguese lessons, and teaching me the wonders of Bangu, the Smiths, and caipirinha.
Jackie Chan: Thanks for being an inspirational role model.
Mom & Dad: Thanks for everything! Don’t take it personally that yet again I seem to be trying to get as far away from you as possible.
Nortons and the Chalmers: I wish I could have seen more of you! Thanks for the support!
Old Roomies: You are all brilliant, blinding lights from heaven. Only one word could possibly come close to describing you: scrumtrulescent. The only problem is that I feel my luck on roommates can’t possibly hold out. I’m in for a doozy.
Peace Corps in Fairbanks: Thanks for having me at your meeting and giving me great advice—thanks to you I will not be lacking peanut butter and blow-up globes in Tanzania.
Queens of the WIC: Thanks for your general amazingness!
Sis & Bro: So glad we had a little bit of a reunion. Some day we’ll make it to that bus.
Valdivians and Gringuitas: Thanks for helping me get the travel bug!
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Hello all!
First off, can anyone guess what the roosters say in Tanzania? I will let you know when I get there! Thanks for visiting my blog. This is where you can find out about my adventures in Tanzania, where I will be in a week, working as an environment volunteer for the Peace Corps. Right now I am preparing for the trip by trying to scrape together everything from "business casual" clothes to pictures of my family that they don't hate to ziplock baggies. I am ecstatic to be going to Tanzania, but of course I will miss all of you! The first question is: will I survive the 11 hour time difference and transition from Fairbanks (where it snowed this weekend!) to Dar Es Salaam? Time will tell...
First off, can anyone guess what the roosters say in Tanzania? I will let you know when I get there! Thanks for visiting my blog. This is where you can find out about my adventures in Tanzania, where I will be in a week, working as an environment volunteer for the Peace Corps. Right now I am preparing for the trip by trying to scrape together everything from "business casual" clothes to pictures of my family that they don't hate to ziplock baggies. I am ecstatic to be going to Tanzania, but of course I will miss all of you! The first question is: will I survive the 11 hour time difference and transition from Fairbanks (where it snowed this weekend!) to Dar Es Salaam? Time will tell...
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