Chama Cha Viziwi Tanzania

 There are those moments in life when you do something, something that seems impossible or insurmountable, and you succeed. It may seem like a small task to others, but to you it is a personal, meaningful accomplishment that you won't soon forget.  The feeling of this kind of success is a rare but invaluable feeling that I am proud to say I had today. 

  I went down to the CIEE office this morning apprehensive about my placement in an internship that I am supposed to have for the rest of the semester.  The program director was out so I sat in the office with two other girls and his assistant twiddling my thumbs waiting to hear if CHAVITA (Chama Cha Viziwi Tanzania) would have me.  Fortunately my advisors figured out that even though CHAVITA had a phone number listed for their organization, every person within the organization is deaf so the only way to communicate was via SMS.  There isn't really a TTY system set up in Tanzania.  We got in contact with them and the director of CHAVITA welcomed us to the office in Temeke to set up a further appointment but wondered 'how, given her language restrictions, does this girl expect to communicate with us?' I immediately realized my mistake.  I had assumed that for the first two weeks or so as I was learning TSL(because the language is different from ASL) I would be able to fingerspell (a.k.a. spell everything out) because the alphabet's are the same, and communicate that way.  I did not realize however, that I would have to fingerspell everything in Kiswahili because there was almost a zero percent chance the local deaf community knows English! I was immediately disheartened; I had wanted placement with this organization so badly and had built up how amazing the experience of working with Tanzanian deaf communities would be in my head.  But how was I supposed to be a helpful intern if I had little to no way of communicating? Almost ready to consent to another internship (teaching geography at a primary school...not my forte) I remembered that there is a TSL dictionary and my mom had found one in the US for $100.  Maybe this way I could postpone the internship a while, learn some TSL and everything would be great! But it would take a long time and cost lots of money to ship the book to Tanzania, so that idea probably wouldn't work... Again, I was just about to lose hope when my program director, now back in the office said "hey Jennifer, why don't you check the office next door? They sell language dictionaries." Wouldn't you know it, they had a TSL dictionary for 10,000TSH which is roughly SEVEN DOLLARS! Not only was this book super cheap (I bought it on the spot!) but it is written in English AND Kiswahili so I know what's going on in both languages! I took this as a good sign. 

  I rapidly began looking through the book and memorizing the signs of "want" "help you" "student" "learn" "name", etc. because I had just been informed that I was going to have an interview with the director in 30 minutes! I was terrified. My Kiswahili is coming along but I didn't think the director of such a prominent organization would care about my three to four word sentences regarding students and their ability to cook warm bread, or a teacher's love for loud music and cold beer. The taxi finally came and I went off to meet the CHAVITA director with my stash of TSL words and swahili words I could fingerspell.  Never have I felt like I was riding off to a judgement such as this. I am sure I looked like a crazy person in the back seat of the taxi signing to myself in the attempt of memorizing simple phrases.  Well, crazier than normal. 

  After an hour and a half drive and some serious hunting for the mysterious CHAVITA building we found it! The complex is a little series of houses set off from the main road with a gated entrance, and as soon as I walked in we were greeting by an obviously hearing guard.  I one of the deaf ladies carrying some water but no one else around so we followed her into a little workroom.  She spoke a little as if she lost her hearing in her childhood or had some speech therapy but of course it was in Kiswahili. So Cecilia (the assistant) translated.  

   Remember that amazing feeling of accomplishment I said I felt? I ended up having a full conversation with three deaf ladies in Tanzanian Sign Language both with signs and fingerspelling! It may seem small to you, but I went from not thinking I would get to the CHAVITA organization, to having 30 minutes to learn TSL, to communicating effectively in two languages that I have just recently been introduced to.  As self-glorifying as it may sound I have honestly never been so proud of myself. Unfortunately the director was in a meeting with another mzungu from Finland so I have to go back next week, but I am not nervous now.  I know I have a looong way to go with both languages, but if I could do it today I can do it tomorrow.  If anything communicating with those women today showed me that even though learning a new language can be hard, it is more rewarding than you could imagine.  Even if CHAVITA doesn't need an intern I know this is what I want to do with my career and I know I can do it.  I feel empowered and confident and I am eager to see what happens next. 

In Dar anything is possible

  Unfortunately what I thought to be a smart, convenient way for friends and family to keep track of my adventures in Tanzania is turning out to be quite difficult.  Life in Dar is tiring for many reasons: the heat, busy schedules, being chased by baboons, an unorganized university, watching where I am going all the time so I don't fall into a ditch...so at the end of the day I have a hard time sitting myself on my bed and typing about the days' activities. This results in posts that often elaborate on the larger yet not as interesting events of my days rather than the small, subtle "oh wow that's new and intriguing" moments that happen hundreds of times throughout my day.  So just keep in mind that while there may be 'big' things going on like Bagamoyo excursions and dealing with different types of bathrooms, most of my time is spent wading my way through the culture of Dar, often making mistakes and being laughed at or experiencing the many cultural differences between Tanzania and the US.  In fact, it would be near impossible to document all of my 'learning experiences' as I am euphemistically choosing to call them.  But I can assure you I have never felt so distant and so interconnected with a group of people as I have with the people in Dar.  I also don't post many of these 'learning experiences' because really, who likes sharing with the world one's inability to order only three slices of pineapple versus six and then being stared at like a pineapple glutton by the fruit stand man? The point of all this rambling is to convey that what I am posting here is unfortunately only the tip of the iceberg of what is going on in my life, and that if you just imagine a thoroughly confused Jennifer wandering around the streets of Dar, but a Jennifer that goes to sleep happy every night because the people and experiences here are incredible, you will have a good idea of how I am doing.
   Now that is out of the way, want to hear some of what's been going on? Last time I mentioned a potential internship with an NGO called CHAVITA in Dar, but if you remember I also mentioned the complete lack of organization on the part of UDSM. So here I am, come Thursday evening, without word from CHAVITA, and a NEW set of classes. Apparently the university decided to offer some other classes to both CIEE students and some other kids from Norway, Finland, Canada and the like. While this may seem like an exciting new opportunity to learn different things, if you have gathered anything about UDSM and Dar you know it's not just that easy.  Some of the classes' assigned professors are not available to talk with, out of the country, or don't even know they are supposed to be teaching the class! So it is our job to find these professors (in buildings with unlabeled rooms) and straighten them out with a  "boy gosh, you have to teach this class!" and maybe an "or else!" for good measure. Also, being someone that loves to learn, especially about Africa, it is a little hard to only pick three classes out of the now list of fifteen.  And if I do switch then I have to coordinate with my professors at Humboldt State via email (which is down I might add) to re-write my transfer agreement to include the classes.  Oh goodness, what an adventure.  The best part of it all is that the program I am with (CIEE) has guaranteed classes that the school HAS to offer (with a definite "or else!" attached) but the other international students don't have such a guarantee. This resulted in a rather frustrating and comical meeting with a professor today in which both groups got into a time slot competition with CIEE claiming priority due to numbers and pre-designated classes and the other students based upon.......well nothing really, they were just being sassy because they could. I felt like I was in an international soap opera! Hopefully all of this will be figured out tomorrow? Monday? At some point...
 So after all of that drama I went sent off to find the mysterious Dr. A. Kwekason in the Archaeology dept. regarding a potential class I am interested in... It is a good thing the people in this country are nice because I haven't quite learned how to ask "Where is the archaeology department" and "do you know where the African Civilizations teacher's office is?" in Kiswahili. I wandered around two buildings (of which I am certain are modeled after the Minoan maze on Crete)  for fifteen minutes until I found a corridor that looked like it belonged to archaeology professors (impressively tall stacks of paper, books everywhere,  figurines poking out from behind said books) and was pointed in the direction of what I assumed was Dr. Kwekason's office. Nope, I was lead into the office of a man who knows the professor, but didn't actually know where he was. Maybe he was at the museum? Or possibly teaching a class? Or who knows...maybe he was lost in the maze? Either way I am expecting a call (yeah, teachers call students on their cell phones here..) from Dr. Kwekason, but I am a little concerned that meeting him for office hours will be an adventure every time.  However, if this class does get approved (and he actually knows he is supposed to be offering it) I will be one of four students! I like that teacher to student ratio.
  Even though I haven't made a convincing case in this blog that I have a life outside of school, I did actually go to the beach with the girls today. Getting to and from Konduchi beach was just half the fun! It cost 350TSH, or about 17 cents to take the dalla dalla from UDSM to Konduchi (about a 30minute ride on public transit) and a whopping 4000TSH (about $2.50) to take a taxi back for what we thought would be a safer mode of transit than the dalla dalla at night. We were wrong, but I'll get to that in a moment. So we took the dalla dalla to the end of the line which to my confusion was the entrance to a Wet-n-Wild (yes it makes me sad too) but thankfully we were pointed in the direction of the nearest beach. The nearest beach just happened to be on the property of what may be one of the nicest hotels in all of Tanzania.  The water was pristine with the island that we visited (pictures in a previous post) off in the distance.  Because we are wazungu (white people) they let us on their property without question; we took the opportunity to make ourselves at home.  We grabbed a drink from the bar and while the other girls went swimming I sat under a cabana in a lounge chair reading my favorite book to the sound of the ocean. I felt a little bad because without a doubt we are all living split lives on this trip.  On one hand we are supposed to mingle with the locals and interact with the people of Dar in what are often poor or less fortunate areas.  On the other hand we have a private air conditioned bus to take us on excursions and we spend some of our free time sipping cocktails in an obviously upscale hotel that caters to westerners.  Even though I understand the importance of  understanding the life and experiences of average people in Dar, I won't lie and say that I didn't enjoy the beautiful surrounding and relaxing atmosphere of the hotel and private beach. I will justify it by telling myself that I am experiencing ALL of Dar this way...the rich and poor! We stayed for about six hours and had dinner at the outdoor restaurant (I had Jerra chicken that was to die for and some 'strawberry' ice cream that I am convinced was actually bubblegum flavored) and had some good girl talk by the sea. Unfortunately all good things come to an end and we called a cab to take us back to the university. All was going well until, five minutes in, the cab driver pulled off onto an unlit dirt road and parked the car. Even without the eighteen safety lectures we have had here, I would have been wary. Fortunately he started the car after some "hapana, hapana, chuo kikuu dar-es-salaam not here!" and got back on the road. This was short lived however, as the taxi died in the middle of the road about five minutes later! What we thought was a sketchy stop on the side of the road was actually our driver checking to see if the car was OK. Apparently it wasn't. This is when things got a little interesting. Not only were we in a place that we were unfamiliar with at night, but the driver-not speaking a lick of English- left the car with us in it! Fearing to get out of the car we all huddled together pondering a plan B in case our driver didn't return or if the car wouldn't start. He returned shortly after our initial panic moment but gave us an ambiguous "five minutes" and left again, presumably to get petrol.  Thankfully the five minutes was, as we like to say, in American minutes and not Tanzanian minutes, or we would have been on the side of the road (some random guys pushed the car to the side) for at least an hour. But alas, petrol wasn't the answer and the car still didn't work! At this point we had nixed our plan B and were on C or D but still weren't sure about waiting on the side of the road for a dalla dalla to Mwenge (which in all honesty is super sketchy at night, and not a good place for white girls to go alone) or demanding to our Swahili-only driver that he call us a new cab. But don't worry, there is a happy ending. Some nice men pulled over their car and let us use their jumper cables (which worked!, hurray!) and I'm sure laughed at the silly white girls crammed into the back of the taxi afraid to get out, but we eventually got the car working and on the road again.  After that it was smooth sailing and we got home in one piece, if it was in a slightly ruffled state. All I could think of during the experience was "oh my gosh, if my mom knew about this right now she would be FREAKING out!". Hopefully this isn't a common occurrence with Dar's taxis, but at least we did the right thing by not getting out of the taxi. Squished wazungu or not, I would rather not be mugged or possibly left behind!
  Can you imagine how long these past two weeks have felt? What with all the taxi, bathroom, swimming, and school related adventures? Just today I witnessed an international soap opera episode, searched far and wide for a mysterious teacher, had a luxurious rest by the beach, and was in a broken down taxi on the side of the road! No day is boring in Dar, that is for certain! We will see how tomorrow goes because we are visiting the U.S. Embassy, but who knows....maybe we will race a herd of giraffes down the streets of Dar or possibly meet the Tanzanian president! In Dar anything is possible.

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

Bathrooms and Baboons

  I knew the Jangwani beach resort was a treat, but when we moved into the dorms at UDSM I had my long overdue realization as what what exactly I had gotten myself into.  CIEE kindly transported us from the resort to campus yesterday in an air conditioned van (I would pay money for that to be my dorm room!) and dropped the girls off first, then the boys because we are living in two separate residence halls.  I appreciate CIEE's planning on that one because all of the boys chivalrously carried our bags up the flights of stairs.  Meeting my roommate was a tad awkward though because we only had time to drop off our bags and say a quick "Mambo, habari gani?" before we were whisked off to the boy's dorm.  So much for the introduction I had planned out! But no worries, because after we unloaded the boy's bags (unfortunately there weren't enough for the girls to help, poor us) and made another quick run to Mlimani City (the air conditioned shopping mall near campus) on the dalla dalla's the CIEE gang and our roommates were invited to a cultural dinner in downtown Dar.  The excursion was pretty interesting for both groups of students because there was a group preforming traditional Tanzanian dance and music before, during and after dinner. Of course all of the American's were flabbergasted by the skillful dancing but I'm pretty certain the Tanzanian roommates got an equal kick out of watching our looks of awe and excitement.  I know my jaw dropped a few times.  My roommate Asman is pretty quiet and opted to sit next to some of her friends at the dinner table, but I did get to have some interesting conversations with our Tanzanian student assistant Polycarp and some other Tanzanian students.  Dinner ended, eventually, and we traveled back to our dorms in style (the air conditioned bus from before) only to be greeted by the impressively warm night time temperatures of Dar and the many hungry, hungry mosquitoes (about 79F) that live here.  Asman generously helped me put up my mosquito net and was quite amused to hear that yes, I am afraid of malaria. I was a little disconcerted she wasn't.  It was quite a process to get the net up, but finally with lots of help from Asman (who actually knows what she is doing)  I had my little mosquito-free sanctuary in our room.
  Speaking of rooms and for those interested (that's you mom and dad) here are some pictures of my room. Keep in mind that it isn't fully decorated yet and is still a little messy.

View from my side of the room-balcony off to right

My bed

My desk!

  Before this trip I got all sorts of advice from all different kinds of people, some helpful and some not so much. I was often warned that the bathroom situation was going to be "different" "difficult" or "strange" but I think that in this situation I just sort of tuned it out after hearing it so often. I thought "yeah, yeah it will be different, but no worries" and went on to think about other things like medicine and what clothes to bring.
The moment that reality came crashing into view was in those hurried minutes of saying hello to my roommate and dropping off my bags when I decided to use the bathroom facilities.  The door to the bathroom is missing the doorknob so I had to put my fingers through the open space where it should have been and push the door open a little.  As I entered I stepped in the 1/2 inch of murky water that stays on the floor all the way from the shower, into the toilet stalls, and to the opposite side of the room with the sinks.  The mirrors above the sink are clouded and broken around the corners and ants and tiny bugs were crawling around the edges of the sinks, not because there were piles of filth everywhere but because there are cracks in the walls and windows. I noticed that the water on the floor was most likely from the showers- without curtains and one without a door- and there was no drain anywhere in sight for the excess or overflow liquid to go.  As I tiptoed through the water into the stall I noticed a drowning beetle  in the corner, struggling to get out of the water. And of course, when I opened the door to the toilet I startled a moth who then startled me.  No toilet paper (but I had been informed of that many times) and the building had run out of water for the next two hours so the toilet wouldn't flush. Part of the top to the tank on the back of the toilet had been broken or cracked off. I know that my explaining of this on a blog may seem gross to some, or that the conditions are obviously what I should have expected, but I feel I need to express that moment when I realized, I mean really first-hand realized the privileges and luxuries we have in the U.S. and the conditions that exist in the rest of the world.  We are always told that the "other half" or the third-world live in extreme poverty, filth and general misery but I don't think any human can understand what that really means until they travel to those places. I am afraid for when I travel to those places because even though the UDSM conditions are a huge step below anything found in the U.S. they are leagues above how the majority of this world live every day. The the fact that the girls in this hall are provided with toilets, showers, running water (most of the time) or means to wash, all in an enclosed and relatively safe environment is very fortunate.  I hope I don't seem like I am complaining about the bathroom conditions but rather describing the eye-opening experience that made me realize how lucky I am to have the things and people that I do.  And what I find most amazing about where I am living on campus is that everyone is extremely grateful for the facilities, either because they did not have them at home/another university, or because UDSM has taken great care into looking after its students with the funds they have.  Of course after a night and day using the facilities on campus I am used to the "difficult" and "strange" ways of Tanzanian bathrooms and my reaction to the bathroom in the dorm yesterday seems silly, but prior to moving in I had been surrounded by things trying to replicate life in the Western world as much as possible. I am excited to see how things go from here and to truly experience  how my Tanzanian friends live.
  So back on track as to my activities in the past 12 hours (all of them exciting I assure you).... Morning begins with first light here and at 6am most everyone was up and about washing clothes, bucket showering, studying or getting other activities done before it got too hot out.  Even the roosters were doing their part.  Thankfully I had showered the night before when there was still running water because, just as promised, the water had run out by around 6:30 in our hall.  Even though I got out of bed at 6:30 I was already sweating by the time we walked out the door at 7:20.  Unfortunately my spoiled Humboldtian skin is not used to humidity and temperatures of 79 in the morning! Breakfast was taken in one of the many lovely UDSM cafeterias, and on our way there we saw the resident baboon and his other monkey companions (and their babies...aw!!) chilling in the grassy lawns. He seems to be quite the celebrity among foreign students and apparently doesn't have the bad reputation all of those other baboons have. Still, I think I will keep a safe distance. I had my first Kiswahili class this morning and learned more in two hours than I have with 3 weeks in French (no insult meant to my French professor)...it is exciting to be communicating with the locals! I had my first 'greetings conversation' today and it was quite the confidence boost.  On the downside of today, it seems that my body is having an allergic/poor reaction to the bites that the dozens of little bugs gave me while at the marine reserve. My feet and now my ankles are swollen and it isn't helping that it is so hot here! But no fear, ibuprofen is here! All will be well (that reassurance is for you mom) and I promise I will take excellent care of myself. I am just amused because this seems to be the one medical problem I didn't plan for! Oh well, that is live no?
 Well it is off to bed for a nap and then some more language study. What a crazy 48 hours, no? Everything from bathrooms to baboons.

Bongoyo Marine Reserve-pics

view from Jangwani

our boat!

Kim and I on our way to the marine reserve

view of Jangwani from the Indian Ocean

the gang!

How mzungu get to Zanzabar...in style!

Bongoyo

Look dad! I ate fresh fish!

Super cool starfish

Kim and I getting a little sunburned =(

Ken-CIEE resident director

Where we swam

I finally made it!

  I know it is three days after the fact, but I finally made it to Tanzania! The flights were long as to be expected, and I tried to sleep as much as possible, but of course from LHR to DAR there were about 35 Danish teenagers that I swear each drank 3 redbulls before getting on the flight. The gentleman next to me was very nice and kept to himself so I did end up getting some rest.  It turns out there were 3 other CIEE kids on my flight (hidden amongst the crazy Danes).  Immigration and what little booth they consider customs went really well for three of us, but unfortunately one of the boys' luggage was left in Heathrow! This was on Sunday and as I am writing this (Tuesday) his luggage just arrived! Everything runs just a little late in East Africa...
  Despite many warnings from the program director Ken I was near losing consciousness and was forced to spend much of Sunday napping...so much for warding off jetlag! It all worked out anyway because our group dinner (intended to last maybe 2 hours?) and get together went on until the late hours of the night.  Dinner was served on the beach side of the hotel (rooms are across the road with the bar/restaurant on the other side)  and we were lucky enough to have our first get together on a designated party night.  There was East African music playing and lots of people dancing on the dance floor...even some of the CIEE kids got up and tried to do some African moves! I hadn't quite recovered from the lack of sleep so I didn't get up and groove with them, but I assure you it will happen! I was a little disheartened to hear that "Fly like a G6" has made it to Africa. Anyway, dinner was ordered around 730 and didn't show up until around 830 which would usually have really bothered me, but I really enjoyed the relaxed meal experience.  No one is in a hurry in Dar and I really enjoy it.
 Monday was packed full of events from a delicious breakfast in the morning to a campus tour  in the afternoon (so hot!!) and another lovely dinner at the Jangwani beach resort in the evening (that yes, took a loooong time).  Breakfast consists of fresh squeezed juices (Passionfruit, Pineapple, Watermelon), chapati, and assorted meats and fresh fruits.  Before I go on I need to note that literally every meal is either a curry or fish (with rice, rice and more rice) and I don't mind a bit! The curries are served either in the Chinese, Indian or East African style and guess what! They come with rice...! Everything is fresh and delicious=)
 The tour of the campus and the shopping trip to Mlimani City (an air conditioned mall near UDSM), while extremely hot and resulting in a super sweaty Jennifer, were amazing and eye opening.  The campus is beautiful and covered with palms and other flowering African trees.  There is apparently even a local group of baboons that have made the UDSM campus their home! It was nice to see that the majority of the students spend their time in between classes studying in the many grassy and shaded areas around campus.  While it may be hot and humid, I know I will enjoy living on campus...how can I not?
  Today is another packed day and it isn't over yet! Another lovely, healthy breakfast followed by some boring but important paperwork (you know, updating my visa and stuff so I don't get kicked out of the country...no big).  But after all of that we got to go out to Bongoyo marine reserve and study Swahili under a cabana on the beach. I vote all classes are taught this way from now on!! The waters of the Indian ocean are pristine and warm and I actually worked up the courage to swim a far way out! Thankfully there were no sharks to nibble on my legs.

Jangwani resort

Everyone touring UDSM

the transportation of Dar

UDSM

UDSM

Breakfast area at Jangwani

The other side of Jangwani

Bar and party area!

The best combination...ice cream and sheesha

The gang

 Well it is almost time for dinner and I have to practice my Swahili! Kwa herini!!

Cannolis, cousins and farewells

  Well today is my last day in the U.S. for nearly five months, and in celebration it has started snowing! Being from Southern California I don't get to see the snow all that often, much less it actually coming from the sky. I think that this last and exciting event is the perfect farewell to a relaxing stay with my aunt, uncle and cousins in Boston. Of course I will keep my fingers crossed that the lovely snow doesn't decide to keep me and my plane in Boston  for very long. I had best be on my way to Dar  and I cannot say that I would openly welcome any delays.
  I flew out of San Diego (rather tearfully I may add) to Boston on a red-eye about two days ago and unfortunately didn't get too much sleep (...chatty neighbor) so I was a little loopy when I was picked up from the airport.  Thankfully I had lots of time to unwind before seeing my cousins and uncle again, so I don't think I frightened them too much! The first day was pretty relaxing and filled with conversations by the fireplace...oh, and lots of good food. Thursday, Cindy (my aunt) gave me a tour of Boston as well as some of the surrounding universities. Unfortunately our walking tour turned into a driven tour because it was just a little too cold out, though I must say I enjoyed being warm and toasty in the car.  After being shown around we drove to the North End (Italian quarter of Boston) and looked, and looked, and looked for a parking spot. If I move to a big city remind me to never bring a car! Finally, just as we were about through with searching we found a spot (hurray!) and quickly hurried into one of the dozens of Italian restaurants in the area. Lunch was lovely (pasta of course!) and it was entertaining to listen to some Christmas music even though the holiday is over.  After lunch Cindy took me to the local pastry shop in the North End and I tried my first (real) cannoli. For anyone that has not had one, I STRONGLY recommended it!  I wonder if they will have cannolis in Dar....? With the tour over, our bellies full and some errands completed we headed back to the house where, only a few hours later, we ate again! I hope I am not as gluttonous in Dar or I'll come back big as a house!
  It was very nice to stop in Boston on the way to Dar for both family and sleep reasons, and I look forward to a break in Heathrow during which I will get to visit my cousins Paul and Michelle! I am truly appreciative of all these opportunities to see family, especially those that we live so far away from.

In front of the Italian restaurant!

  Well, it is time to say farewell (until next time) to America, family, and  most likely those yummy cannolis.  Everything is going well so far, so hopefully that carries over into good flights, new friends, and good exchange rates! Again, I have no idea what the internet connection/availability will be like in Dar for the first couple of weeks so don't panic if there aren't posts for a while. It is most likely that I wasn't attacked by a water buffalo but rather swept up in the busy schedule held by CIEE.