Today at the office……

Hello folks,
I’m just reporting on my first month here in my village. So far so good, I’m not having any trouble keeping busy. I’ve met all of the Officials within the district of Mbarali. I’ve had lunch with the Officials in the Rujewa and Ubaruku wards. While visiting the 4 area schools I’ve met 2 headmasters, 2 principals, between 20-25 teachers who introduced me to over 3,000 very eager students. While during an analysis of my Village I’ve accepted over 20 invitations to breakfast, lunch and or dinner, received 4 marriage proposals, a kitten, and a chicken as housewarming gifts. I gave the chicken away because it didn’t lay eggs. I kept the kitten and named it Killer so that it wont forget what it’s job is. In my spare time I’ve had a lot of cocktails with 5 catholic priests, (2 Italian, 3 Tanzanian) help start a garden, distributed mosquito nets to the women and children, assisted with voter registration, attended 2 weddings, 3 funerals, and gotten kicked out of a nightclub. Needless to say I’m enjoying myself, having a great time and helping out where needed.

I would like to thank you all for your emails, phone calls and packages that you have sent me. It means a lot to me that you would take time out of your daily routine and think of me. It means more to me than you know! Sometimes i just need to talk English and not Swahili..thank you!
Love,

Shani C.

Where am I ?

Its Tuesday....a regular day. I woke up to children playing, the African sun shinning in my window, a nice breeze blowing in across my bed. Yes, this is the life, I roll over and decide to get up around 8:30 and have my warm milk with sugar, yummy. I walk to town and chat with the store owner who has named me her best friend; we laugh and talk swahinglish for a while. I'm back home now, it's around 3pm, I did some work earlier with the Village Executive Officer, had chai in town, and came home for a mid day nap. Nothing out of the ordinary, I drank way too much chai and water so I have to pee like 9 times in an hour. I proceed to walk across my nice private courtyard where my newly built choo is. I switch on the light because it's almost dusk....Ahhh...I’m doing the pee dance because I waited until the last minute, as usual. I proceed to take the lid off the choo, pull up my skirt, squat, and I feel as if someone is looking at my goodies.....on the inside of the choo peeking back at me, wondering why I’m bothering him in his home, is an orange and black snake. Now at this point I have to pee really badly and if you know me, you know I can't hold it. When I have to go, I HAVE to go. Within a time span of oh, about 10 seconds, I look at the snake, he looks back at me, he puts his head back down, I put the lid back on the choo and pee in the middle of my yard...yup! While I was enjoying my fantasy world, brand new house with electricity, computer access, private courtyard, house help...I forgot where the hell I was...AFRICA! This was a definite jerk back to reality. I went to get the maintenance guy, and explain to him how this snake was big, ferocious, and taking over my toilet. He gets the biggest stick he can find and marches over to my choo, he creeps open the door carefully and asks, "nyoka iko wapi?" Where's the snake?...I say lift up the lid and it's in the hole....he looks at me like I’m a 5 year old kid and says "hamna shida" no biggie, everything's cool as long as he doesn’t come out. "COME OUT!", How can I live my life knowing that there is a snake somewhere near where I have to squat and pee.....I mean I got over the squatting and peeing because the choo is really nice, I got over the monkeys in the farm, I got over the lizards that hang onto my window, I even got over the bats, but come on now. Becky can only take but so much!
Well, it's Tuesday night and I’m sitting in my bed typing this blog, and planning a late night squat in my yard in case I have to pee. I've decided to give the snake time to pack up his things and find another place. I mean it was short notice, I can’t' just expect time to find somewhere else to live in a couple hours, times are hard for everyone these days. I figure I will start using my choo again by Friday,

The moral of this story is, never forget where you are and if you do, just pee in the yard.

Love From TZ,

Shani

I Swear.....

Today, August 19th 2009, is Swearing in Day for TZ 2009 PCV's (Peace Corps Volunteers). Since I am writing this entry prior to swearing in I will be sure to give a follow up entry with the details. I want to thank all of you who helped me get through training. Thank you for your late night phone calls, texts, packages, emails, and hand written letters. The last two months have been crazy! I had no idea what training consisted of prior to joining the Peace Corps, which is probably a good thing...LOL. Although I have not seen a mirror in weeks, haven't washed my hair since I’ve been here, often didn’t shower everyday, had diarrhea for a week straight and stopped eating most of the food, I don’t regret a minute of it. I've learned how to communicate properly with Tanzanians and I’ve gained a great deal of respect their culture. There were times when I questioned what I was doing, but I never questioned why I was doing it. Even when you stumble over words in Swahili and sound like a 4 year old child it means so much to an Elderly villager, or an out of school youth that you have attempted to learn their way of life. Training has also taught me that each volunteer has something different to offer. While I may not be the most athletically inclined volunteer, or I may not pick up the language as quick as others, I may not even be able to help a farmer improve his crops. What I can offer is an example of what a young woman can grow up to be. She can be strong willed, educated, pretty, encouraging, supportive, helpful, independent, outgoing and most of all happy. That's my contribution and so far I haven’t had any complaints :-)

This coming Friday we will be disbursing to our new sites. I will be living in a village in the Mbarali district of the Mbeya region. I am about 8 Kilometers from my banking town, which is also where i will be doing most of my shopping. I am about 1 1/2 hours away from Mbeya town which i heard was great. I will be visiting there very soon. My village has about 3,000 people to whom i will be teaching and assisting with various projects. The village has given me a brand new home with 2 bedrooms and a private court yard, separate storage area, and a inside choo. There is an area for me to plant my own garden and grow fresh veggies, yummy! Not exactly the hut I was tricked into thinking i would have :-) Although i have to say it's weird that i had to travel all the way to Africa to get a home of my own built from the ground, they didn’t run my credit, ask about my student loans, and i didn’t even have to give an arm or a leg?.?.? Feel free to send me some pics from the ikea catalog so i can get some furniture built. The carpentry here is excellent, if you give them a picture they can make anything. Beds, dressers, bookshelves, desks, cabinets, anything. Some of the Volunteers have even asked the carpenters to make wooden penis' to use during life skills courses so that there is a model to demonstrate how to properly put on and remove a condom.
Any way, I will be teaching HIV/Aids awareness and life skills to secondary school students while also working at the clinic with patients teaching birth control, HIV/aids awareness, malaria prevention, and helping the clinic with data management. I will be giving special attention to new and expecting mothers, women and young girls. There is a true need for girl power here in TZ. Some upcoming events include conducting a World HIV/Aids day on Dec 1st, Tree Planting projects, and a possible Permaculture garden at the clinic which can help teach good nutrition. I am so excited to actually get started with my villagers and lend a hand where I am needed.

Until later....Shani C.

Moving on Up.....

Moving on up…..

Hello everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful week. I am having a great week, so far. The Swahili is moving along….I think I got left at the station but the language is still moving…..LOL. Remember Ku Ku, my little friend, well he is no longer little and I think he’s a she. Man you think you know someone, anyway we are still friends but she has been spending a lot of time with the birds next door so I’ve decided to give her the freedom she needs. I’m still not eating chicken but I’m also not eating a lot of other stuff, I am tired of rice, beans, cabbage, rice, beans, cabbage, rice, beans, cabbage, rice…well I hope you get the point. What I wouldn’t give for some nachos from Chili’s or some fries from McDonalds…..OMG…..a slice of pizza from Bottom’s up in Richmond. I would even pay top dollar for a pack of ramen noodles! It’s so bad that I saw a mirage the other day while I was walking 45mins to Muheza to use the freaking internet, I could have sworn I saw a Wet Willie’s sign…I’m serious! I know I saw it…..I would give my next meal of rice, beans, and cabbage for a “call a cab” with a splash of sour apple on top *sniff sniff*
Speaking of freedom, I wanted to talk about my Ba Ba situation. It’s hard for me to explain it to you, but I will try my best. The host family that I am staying with for the next 2 months is comprised of a Ma Ma, Ba Ba (father), Da Da (sister), and Ka Ka (brother). The Peace Corps has instructed the family to keep the volunteers secure while we are here in the village completing our training. I think it’s a wonderful situation and so far the Ma Ma has taught me how to cook Tanzanian food, the KaKa has shown me some of the games that the children here play, the Dada has been helpful in my studying Swahili, and my Baba……he has taken top flight security to another level! I can’t do shiznit without him being at least 5 feet away. My own Dad isn’t even that protective. I can’t walk to school by myself, All of the other kids at school can go play but me, I have to come straight home. Even when I try to sneak away, 40 mins by foot to the next village, I will be damned if he doesn’t appear out of nowhere on a bicycle asking me what’s up in Swahili…..wth! To make matters worse, he’s the chief of a village up the road, the same village I was trying to sneak to with the other trainees. The other trainees laugh at me and make jokes about my BaBa hiding in the bushes. When I come home late from class he asks “Unlichelewa kuwenda shule, Kwanini?” In English, “Yo, Why u late coming home from school?” I act as if I don’t understand what he’s saying and I just smile…..actually I do that a lot because most of the time I don’t know what he’s saying. It’s bad enough that he speaks no English but he also stutters. So imagine me trying to decipher the few words I do know in Swahili while someone is speaking a mile a minute and stuttering. I’m so lost most time, and I’m sure my facial expression shows it. The family is really nice though, honestly I don’t have to do anything, they cook for me, heat my bath water, clean my room, help me wash my clothes, they take really good care of me. I just can’t go anywhere without a security guard, it’s cool but kinda weird.

Speaking of weird, if I hear one more Michael Jackson song on the radio I am going to scream! I think all of Michael’s fans live in Africa and they won’t let him rest in peace. I’ve heard “We are the World” every morning since they announced his death. Not to mention, every other hit he’s ever made. I think they have an hour dedication every night on the radio. I stay in most nights listening to the radio since I can’t go out and play…LOL. I am dog tired most of the time because I cant get a moment to rest, or a moment alone. From the time I wake up until the time I go to sleep I always have to speak to someone, or do something. Sunday is the only day that I don’t have class so I try to sleep in, YEAH RIGHT! The roosters start crowing at 4am, then they hit snooze. After that the prayers start at the Mosque, followed by the baby next door crying, the cow mooooing, the goat baaaaahing, and the donkey making a very awkward noise. By this time it’s 5am and MaMa is up sweeping the porch, backyard, and house, she always seems to spend a lot of time right outside of my door….hmmmm. The roosters have proceeded to crow again and by this time my BaBa is up with the radio blasting, music, news, I dunnoh it’s not like I know what they are saying. So by this time, it’s getting close to 8am and I’m still hiding out but I have to pee sooooooo bad and I don’t want to leave my room. I found a solution to that this morning, a water bottle. I cut the top off so I wouldn’t have to perfect my aim, and there I was still able to hide away in my room with all of the sounds outside and no one realizing that they were successful in waking me up. Once you let them know you’re up it’s over. You have to remain up for the rest of the day. There are no naps, no rests, no nothing, I can’t even study alone or for a long period of time without having to say what I’m doing. The reason is mostly because they have never seen an American, and the ones they have seen are white. They are so amazed that I am American; most of the elders think I am from another African country or that I am pretending that I can’t speak the language. They are familiar with the slave trade but they would never think to meet another person who looks like them and is able to travel from America back to Africa. I feel like a new toy that they can play with whenever they get ready. They want to do my hair, dress me, bathe me, feed me, and show me off. I hope the newness wears off soon or someone kept the receipt.

Now for the topping on the cake…..drum roll please………I have a cell phone. That’s right a cell phone. I think it was one of the first cell phones ever made but hey, it only cost me $30 bucks brand new and it works. My cell # is 255(country code)76-585-3032. You may have to dial 011 prior to entering the country code. It costs me $1.00 a min to call to the US, so it’s cheaper if you get a calling card and call me, they cost about $5 for 58 mins, I think it’s called island flavor. Other options include skype calling and international plans on house phones are usually pretty good. I get free incoming calls but all of the cell phones here are pay as you go so I have to purchase vouchers and add time. It’s kind of a hassle but at least I have a steady form of contact. I look forward to hearing from you soon. It’s always nice to get handwritten letters too. Get some kids to draw me pics or something…LOL.
I love you all and be safe!

Word of the week:
Swahili: Kunywa

English: to drink

Until next time…..

Shani C.
Peace Corps TZ
p.o. box 9123
Dar Es Salaam, TZ

Ghosts and Goblins?.?.?...nope a Bat?

So this morning around 4:45am I’m laying in my bed sleeping peacefully alone, or so I thought. Now for some reason I went to sleep last night without pulling down my mosquito net. Maybe it was my lack of sleep over the last couple of days, maybe it was the bread and water I had for dinner, you never can tell. Anyway, I feel this flash of wind accompanied by a quick flapping noise. I think I hear something hit the wall or stop at the wall by my bed, I’m not even sure at this point because I’m still in la la land, dreaming about a slurpee from 7-11 and a bag of doritios. Right when I was about to take the 1st sip of my slurpee (I’m dreaming of course) I hear the flapping noise again followed by 2 quick swooshes of wind….at this point I realize I’m not sleep and this thing is flying right over my head. OK! I try and pull myself together and make out whether it’s a very vivid dream caused by the Mephaquin, my malaria medicine, or if I’m really seeing a bat fly over my bed! Well folks it wasn’t the Mephaquin, although I wish it had of been. This bat is having a field day flying over my head, swooshing in and out, getting extra points for hitting the wall. All I could do is pull the covers over my head and pray that it would leave soon. I don’t know how big it was but, it’s shadow (in the dark) was the size of a small child, I’m serious! Then I remembered something from all of those vampire movies I’d seen; bats don’t like sunlight! All I have to do is wait until the sun comes up and he’ll go back to his bat cave. OK…just wait, with the covers over my head, for another hour and a half, until the sun comes up….tick tock, tick tock, ok 3 mins have passed, no sun yet…..tick tock, ok it’s been 15mins, no sun but also no bat, that’s a good sign. Tick tock, ok 30 mins, he’s still here and I think he brought a friend….what the heck! Finally the sun comes up, the roosters are crowing and I hear people moving around, this is my queue that it’s safe to come out from hiding. I hurry up and jump out the bed, no shoes, and run into the yard where my host family mama was heating water for my bath. Now I don’t know the Swahili word for bat, but I do know night and bird…..great! I tell her with my arms flapping that there is a night bird in my room. She doesn’t get it….ok bird of the night, still flapping my arms like a chicken. Finally the daughter gets my morning game of charades and screams PoPo! Aahhhh the PoPo was in my room?.?.? That’s the Swahili word for bat, popo? Any way I guess they are use to it and I was the one acting erratic because all she said was "oh it’s gone". I had a near death experience and all they had to say was oh, it’s gone now.

Don’t worry I’m ok now. I managed to escape that episode with my life dangling by a thread, who knows what other wild and crazy things I will endure while in Africa. I’ll keep you posted.

Word of the day:
Swahili: Popo
English: killer bat-very dangerous-beware

Shani C.

this post goes out to my training bff Jayce, I'm sorry I laugh at your bat episodes :-)

KILLER BUFFALO???....WTH!

Hey Folks! I want to start off by saying thank you to all of you who have shown me support these last couple of months, and especially these last couple of weeks. It means a lot to me when I open my email and there’s a message from homeJ
I am currently living in a small village outside of Muheza with a family that only speaks Swahili. So far most of our conversations have been sign language and grunts…but oddly enough we have been able to communicate more and more each day and we are learning from each other. The mother is 6 months pregnant and they have decided to name their child “Shani”, it means God’s Mysterious Gift in Swahili. I was so honored! I have to admit that living in this village is so relaxing and it’s beautiful here. I take showers outside at night and it’s just warm enough that I don’t have to heat the water and you can see all of the stars in the sky, it’s breath takinG, almost like Christams lights in the sky. The shower area has a bed of coconut shells that message and exfoliate your feet, after walking all day this feels like heaven. None of the windows have glass so the breeze blows through at night while you are sleeping…..aahhh! While walking to school I pass chickens crossing the road (no pun intended), goats nibbling on grass, and bulls roaming free.
Now I’m going tell you a little story that includes a water buffalo and an innocent young girl named Shani…LOL . So I was taking a picture of this water buffalo, the guy said it was fine as long as I didn’t have the flash on. I proceeded to snap shots without any flash, I noticed that the buffalo stopped eating his grass, and looked at me like I was a tasty new form of lettuce, he started to walk,….run a little faster so I proceeded to run….OMG! I saw my life flash before my eyes and the next thing I know this buffalo is coming for me. I ran into an area that was gated and got away. From that day on I decided that taking pictures of animals up close is probably not a good idea. Everyone needs their privacy J I have also stopped eating chicken, because of my new friend. His name is kuku, and he is a little baby chicken. He is so cute but I know he will eventually grow up into an adult chicken and fly the coop….LOL. He was just walking around the village and he wasn’t in a line with the other mother chickens and their babies so I just took him in. Now days I eat mostly rice beans and fruit and vegetables. Fish is available in small doses so I just do without meat most days. The mangos, oranges, and coconuts are so good. I eat them almost every day. Also I’ve switched to this new perfume, I don’t think it’s French maybe you’ve heard of it, No-Bite with 40% deet. I wear it every day, all day it has a fresh scent and does wonders for my skin…LOL. So as you can see I am doing fine and I will do my best to keep you posted. I have 7 more weeks of training to go and it’s going to get rough so keep those prayers coming!
Word for the week:
Kiswahili: maji
English: water
Take Care and take time to look at the stars, at that very moment I may be looking at them with you!
Shani :-)

Training has taken over my life, but in other news…..

Hello Everyone, I made it safely and I’ve been training heavily in the Tanzanian culture and language of Swahili. We are currently staying at Mzimbazi Center in the heart of Dar es Salaam, however we are scheduled to leave for the city of Muheza on Tuesday which is where I will begin my stay with a family in the village of Kilulu. Over the next 9 weeks I will undergo a series of environmental, health, cultural, and language classes. At the end of training I have to be proficient in the language of Swahili and be able to respect the culture and religion by dressing, eating, and integrating appropriately. Of all the training classes that I will be attending and have attended so far the language courses have been the toughest. This is where my home-stay family in Kilulu will try to assist me the most. If all goes well I will be sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer at the US Embassy in Tanzania on August 19th 2009!
After being sworn in I will be assigned to a village and given a house, or hut, of my own. There I will serve as a teacher of health and HIV/Aids awareness with many women’s groups and children’s organizations. After many weeks of assessments and interviews I will start and manage programs that I think are suitable for my village and that will sustain long after I am gone. I will write grants and motivate the community to participate in other income generation projects. So far everyone that I have met is excited and respects the work that the Peace Corps is doing. Sometimes the Tanzanians will start speaking to me in Swahili and then when I respond with my very American accent they look shocked. I try to respond back in Swahili, slowly butchering every other syllable and not wanting to stick out like a tourist. However, after helping me find the right words in Swahili they smile and accept me for me! Tanzanians are warm and friendly, I didn’t even get that feeling in Miami from American citizens or non-citizens!
So far I have learned how to boil and filter my water so that it is safe to drink and cook with. I have been washing my clothes by hand and I have “heard” how to make banana beer, I will let you know how it turns out J I sleep in a bed with a mosquito net, I just pretend that I am a princess and the net is to help me get my beauty rest. I have been eating a lot of cabbage, rice, and chicken, plenty of chicken, did I mention there was chicken, oh and they cook chicken. For breakfast I have coffee or tea with milk, bananas, and something similar to fried sweet bread, very tasty. Then we have chai at noon, which is when everyone in the country stops working for about 20-45 mins and has tea or coffee along with cookies or biscuits. I like chai, I’m going to ask Obama if we can add it to the American work day! For lunch and dinner I have chicken cooked over charcoal with rice and cabbage, it’s often seasoned differently or covered with gravy. The crazy thing is it tastes great every time I have it. We are always on time for lunch and dinner and often go back for more. Each meal is served with fresh fruit that is sooooooo good. In season now are oranges that are sweet and juicy, along with the apples and bananas.
I wear mostly long skirts and tops that cover my shoulders and cleavage. Tanzanians are mostly Muslim with a small population of Christians so out of respect we dress according to their culture and religion. Women are held in high respect and cover themselves as not to tempt or appear forward. There are areas of the larger cities where women who are in the “oldest profession” dress a little more provocatively. I am ok with wearing the long skirts and not showing cleavage, but after class when it’s 90+ degrees and I want to throw on a tank top and some shorts to walk to the store, I get over my craving for a cold soda real quick, and settle for the water in my room. Changing my way of dress and eating habits is worth it if I am able to help a mother take better care of herself for her children and show neighbors how to generate income while doing projects that strengthen their ,already, thriving community.
So if you want a nice vacation with free room and bored just let me know. You are more than welcome to stay with me in my new home after my 9 weeks of training. The only thing I ask is that you bring me something that I miss from America….You J!
Take care until next time……

Love From Tanzania,
Shani

p.s. pics will be up soon