Morogoro Week 1

We arrived in Morogoro on Tuesday June 12^th. It took us about 3 hours by bus. As we went on a scale, we weighed 10,200 Kilos! And that was after everyone had left any unnecessary luggage in Dar. I ate my first ice cream cone here and it was delicious! We arrived at CCT, which will be our home base for the next two months. It is so much prettier and cleaner than the Msimbazi Center in Dar. The food is better too! We ate, did a quick introduction and then were delivered to our host families. I was really anxious about meeting my host family. When I first arrived, my mama just kept saying “Karibu sana” (You’re very welcome) over and over and over again. I thought this older man was my Baba (dad), so when my Baba came home from work later that night I was very confused. I still don’t know who the other man is or how he fits in. What I do know is that my Mama and Baba have 2 kids together, and my Mama has another kid from a previous relationship. My Mama’s mom lives here too. Then there is a mother and her two kids who stay here/maybe work for my family? So I have 5 siblings: age 1, 6, 9, 11, 13; 2 Mama’s, 2 Baba’s, and a Bibi. They are all super nice, but sometimes it gets frustrating not being able to understand each other. Thankfully, most of them know at least a few English words, but that doesn’t really help when trying to form sentences.

Our classes at CCT seem a little bit redundant to me. I would have preferred to do a little bit of language training every day instead of cramming all of it into a few days and then have days of pretty much nothing new. We did learn how to make water filters out of 5 gallon buckets. My 13 year old brother helped me make it for my family. Other than that, we have mostly been learning more health things and learning about the Tanzanian culture and educational system. Tanzanian culture is actually very similar to Arab culture, so maybe I’m just assuming everybody else already knows what I came to grow accustomed to. Next week we start our internship at a local Secondary School. All instruction is done in English at Secondary schools here.

Yesterday morning I ran into my Baba in the hallway and I forgot to put on my khanga. I was so embarrassed, even though normally I would feel very modest while wearing yoga pants. Nobody washes their hands here. There is trash everywhere on the streets. The inside of the house is always kept very clean. My house has no electricity or running water. Children (and come adults) just stare at me (and other PCVs) as we walk in the streets. If we say anything in Swahili, the kids think it is hilarious. Kids are very timid. My baby sister still won’t let me touch her. The neighbor girl seems to like me more than my siblings. I taught the kids how to play Uno today, but we called it Moja (1). Most people speak very softly, so besides not speaking the language, I can’t hear what they are saying in the first place! “Shikamoo” is a greeting for elders here. It is very important to show respect by “shikamoo”ing someone. I get “shikamoo”ed all day by people, even by some who are my own age.

Tomorrow I will go to church with my family in the morning, then get a dress made, get my hair braided and wash my clothes. Yay! On Monday we will start taking the daladalas to CCT. The very first day, Jeff, another PCV, got his whole wallet stolen while on the daladala. Hopefully no one else gets pickpocketed. Thankfully it is normal for women here to carry money in their bras, so I think that reduces my risk.

So far everything is going really well. I love all the people I’ve met and have definitely had great bonding experiences with some of them so far. The language is coming along slowly but I’m sure I’ll be fine. It is gorgeous here in Moro with the mountains looming in the distance. On July 27^th I will know where I will be placed for the next 2 years!