The next installment....

  Well today was supposed to be the first day of classes at UDSM but  unfortunately everything is so disorganized (at least by US educational standards) that our classes were just hammered out this afternoon. I still need to work out the logistics of the schedule but as of right now I am taking 21 units! I know I am a dork but I love to learn! And even though the classes will be super hard I don't mind...I'm taking them in Tanzania=) For any interested I am taking: Kiswahili Language and Culture Practicum, Beginning Kiswahili, Environmental Issues in East Africa (SO excited for this one!), History of East Africa, African International Relations and Foreign Policy, and Developmental Perspectives: Theories, Methods and the Case of Tanzania. I know right?? SO cool! I am also excited about the fact that 60% of my grade rests on a final exam (to be read with sarcasm and a hint of fear).  All the classes will be super fun though, and because there are only 20 international students total (10 in my group) the classes will be small.  Our "lecture" periods will only consist of about 15 students versus about 350 for other UDSM students and I am sure our "semiar" periods will be small groups of 5 versus 50! I love this program more and more every day.
 OK so enough about classes. Want to hear something SUPER exciting? Well it is to me anyway but unfortunately you are already here and reading this post so you get to know as well. An option for CIEE (that's my group) students is to participate in an internship while here in Dar in any field we would like.  Of course I jumped at the opportunity because not only is it a rare opportunity to interact so personally within a community abroad but it is just flat out hard to get an internship anywhere and CIEE can guarantee placement.    As I have mentioned life in Dar is a little....free spirited and so things aren't always completed or decided on time and this is especially true with the internship aspect of the program.  Our director faced the obvious difficulty of securing spots for us around the city while not committing us to anything because of course we are indecisive college kids and we change our minds every 10 minutes.  So even though we were tentatively 'placed' in a spot (I'll tell you where they put me in a minute, it's funny) I had some wiggle room because of the time lag to put in a recommendation. Now here comes the awesome part! There is an organization in Dar called CHIVITA (look it up!) that is an NGO that works for the empowerment, political acknowledgement, health education and economic accessibility of deaf people in Tanzania! While Tanzanian sign language is different from American sign language, the alphabet is the same as in ASL so for the first few weeks while I am learning the language I will be able to function completely normally through finger-spelling! If I get to intern with CHAVITA I will be able to provide health education services to the deaf community in Dar.  For those of you who know my strengths and ambitions, how perfect is that! I have been looking for a way to incorporate sign language into my career path and I think this would be the perfect opportunity! I am crossing my fingers that they need an intern and will have patience with me for the first few weeks while I have to stick to finger-spelling. I'll find out by Wednesday or Thursday so keep your fingers crossed too!
  School and work aside, this past weekend was actually spent having fun (though there was some learning going on).  The CIEE group went to Bagamoyo, a town north of Dar that has quite the rich history. We stopped at an archaeological site (I went a little crazy on the questions and photos) and saw the oldest mosque in East Africa from the 15th century and washed ourselves with the water from its supposedly 'blessed' well.  I found the site really interesting because due to it's age and prominent place within Islam, Bagamoyo is actually the site of a 'mini Hajj' for those that cannot make it to Mecca.  Thousands of people come from all over Africa to this place (and specifically the old mosque) on religious pilgrimage and because of the superstition surrounding the magical properties of the water. Personally I don't feel any different, but the well represents the complex interaction of Islam and animism in the area so I can't ignore it's significance. After visiting the mosque and surrounding burial sites we toured buildings from another era in Bagamoyo's history: the slave trade.  All the slaves in East Africa went through Bagamoyo or "the place of no return", often walking 9-12 months to get there, before they were shipped off to the Middle East, India and surrounding areas (often passing in Zanzibar).  Because the slave trade was owned by the Omanese and Persians for most of it's history, there is a very interesting combination of Middle Eastern, German, and British architecture and historical monuments in Bagamoyo. Unfortunately it has a sad history first dictated by conflict between Muslims and native Africans, then by slavery, and then by economic depression with the abolishment of the slave trade.  However, the people in Bagamoyo didn't miss any opportunity to wave and say hello to us, and Bagamoyo is said to be the birthplace of Kiswahili (a mix between Arabic and Bantu languages) so there is good stuff going on.  Also, they have a great local version of peanut brittle in case you were wondering. The rest of the trip was spent at a nice hotel on the beach with two girls to a bungalow.  Unfortunately the Indian Ocean in that area was covered with seaweed so swimming wasn't really a fun option, but laying under the palm trees on the beach definitely was. I had my first taste of Tanzanian ice cream at the hotel (coconut was refreshing) and enjoyed my short opportunity to eat food other than rice, beans and chapati.  This trip is really an interesting mix of luxury excursions and roughin' it at the university. All mixed with some sweat of course.  We are going to explore downtown Dar tomorrow so I need to get my rest.... I will need my wits about me.  Until next time.
Pictures will follow