It's my third week of training and as you can imagine life in Africa is definitely interesting! I was able to email many of you to let you know of a few of the daily incidents but let me re-cap a few of them here...
Last week a Maasai (tribal African) asked me if I wanted to buy his friend for four cows. I was confused about what he wanted, but luckily my teacher happened to be nearby to translate for me. Unfortunately I didn't bring my cows with me to the market that day so I was out of luck. HOWEVER, this kind gentleman offered to pay to rent a bike for me to ride to his home to see his children and cows. I was honored by this and perhaps one day I will be able to take him up on that offer...just kidding mom.
An interesting event happened in class the other day. While I was working on constructing my Kiswahili sentences I looked down and under my foot was a dead rat. That's right, it was UNDER my foot. We don't know when it crawled under there and from what direction it came...but suddenly it was there...dead. We screamed loud enough that a man walking past our classroom came in to retrieve the deceased member. I owe that man a Pepsi for his thoughtfulness.
I train all day learning Kiswahili and such...and in the afternoons I hang out with my fellow trainees. There are five of us total in my village and we like to spend the afternoons playing soccer with the kids, walking around town and greeting everyone, and getting offered to buy men by Maasai. The other day we decided to lay in the grass and relax. We were just hanging out when we suddenly opened our eyes and realized we were surrounded by at least 30 people. They just stood there looking at us. We burst into uncomfortable laughter...but when no one else seemed to mind or find the situation awkward we decided to roll with it. We were just laughing and attempting small talk, and it turned out to be a lot of fun.
I know some of you are thinking this experience will help me mature and grow up...so far that doesn't look too promising. I laugh everytime we say the word for 'brother' which is 'kaka'. Recently I found out that the word for 'youth' is kijana...which means when it's plural is VIJANA...That's right, I'll be working with Tanzania's vijana...saving one group of vijana at a time. I know I'm making you all proud!
Every day is new and has it's ups and downs, but I can already tell this is going to be one amazing experience. In a few weeks we're going on a safari so I'll finally be able to see animals other than the chickens, pigeons and ducks that my family own and I'm really excited! Each week we have a PCV of the week who we can talk to and ask questions and they have been incredibly helpful. It's really comforting for them to reassure us that despite the hardships this experience will only better us! I'm actually enjoying training, but I'm also looking forward to my own place. I guess I should get back to greeting people! I love all of your emails and I'm sorry if I don't get a chance to email you back individually but I DO appreciate them! Love you all and can't wait to hear from you!
-Catherine
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Two Weeks
It's been two weeks now since burgers and fries...and I love Africa! I'm the typical "mzungu" that sticks out like...well... I'm sure you can imagine. I can't carry water on my head yet, but don't worry...in time I'll be a pro. My host family rocks and they make fun of me all the time. They all speak english so I've really gotten to know them well. They are so kind and loving. They killed a chicken for me the first night I was there for dinner, which is a big deal. I learned how to wash my clothes and the dishes today, and all the neighbors came to stand outside and watch me do it. Everyone is really friendly! My family feeds me entirely too much because they want me to be fat like my grandma (I showed them a picture of her one day). They said I need to be "big and strong" when I return to America...so don't be suprised if I look like Queen Latifa when I come back. I'm learning more and more kiswahili everyday...but everyone just laughs when I try to speak. I'm already a dirty hippie and proud of it. All the kids love and are a little scared of the "mzungus" in town. The other day I was playing a game I like to call "run away from the freakish mzungu ogre"...which basically meant I chased the neighbor girls around while they screamed and laughed. Good times! I hope to write more in a few weeks!
Kwa Heri!
-Catherine
Kwa Heri!
-Catherine
Monday, June 9, 2008
I Hope I Don't Get Stuck Next to Chatty Kathy
So tomorrow begins the 2 day journey to Tanzania! After checking out at 5:30am we'll be sent to the health clinic for shots (tequila, gin, etc) and then off to the airport! I just hope I don't get stuck in the middle and/or next to a Chatty Kathy for the flight(s). 2138729871 hours later I'll be in Africa.
Apparently communication during training is going to be pretty limited and sporadic so I might not update/email very often. I love you all and will post as soon as I can!
Oh, and they told us today that we have to wear our skirts and everything ON the flights there...nice.
Apparently communication during training is going to be pretty limited and sporadic so I might not update/email very often. I love you all and will post as soon as I can!
Oh, and they told us today that we have to wear our skirts and everything ON the flights there...nice.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
6 Years, 4 Hours
In four hours I have to be awake to get ready and head to the airport to catch my flight to DC for my staging. How am I spending these last few hours at home (aside from not sleeping...clearly)? I'm posting, listening to old school Mariah Carey songs (pre-glitter, pre-meltdown, pre-emancipation days) and thinking about how in four short hours I'll begin a dream I've had for 6 years...
I don't even remember what I packed. I think I hit a point where everything within a 3 foot radius of my suitecase ended up in there...whether initially intended to go or not. I guess it will be like Christmas morning really...full of surprises! Wait, I take that back. Normally I open my presents, use them and re-wrap them before Christmas morning, so I know exactly what I'm getting. So maybe this is more like what Christmas morning should be? Maybe I'm thinking too much about this?
Anyway! Peanuts or pretzels? Hmm...
I don't even remember what I packed. I think I hit a point where everything within a 3 foot radius of my suitecase ended up in there...whether initially intended to go or not. I guess it will be like Christmas morning really...full of surprises! Wait, I take that back. Normally I open my presents, use them and re-wrap them before Christmas morning, so I know exactly what I'm getting. So maybe this is more like what Christmas morning should be? Maybe I'm thinking too much about this?
Anyway! Peanuts or pretzels? Hmm...
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Candy, Gum and Crappy Magazines
Ok, so I've been doing some "research", which means waiting for other people to find out what to do and then following their instructions, and my mailing address for the first TWO MONTHS will be:
Catherine Duthie, PCT
Peace Corps Training Site
PO Box 9123
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Africa
After the first two months I'll be done with training and then placed in a village. I won't know where my placement will be until I'm done, so once I get that information I'll post my new address.
I stole this from another blog...who admitted to stealing this from ANOTHER blog as well...but here is more information on mailing things:
-“There are a few things you can do to help hasten and secure the passage and delivery of your mail. Have anyone sending you a care package scribble religious symbols and biblical quotes all over the outside of the box. This sounds silly, but it works. Though many of the countries in which the Peace Corps serves are largely animist in religion, superstition runs high and even corrupt postal workers are wary of intercepting religious parcels. Along every step of the way, your mail will be subject to the whims of postal officials, customs officers, and delivery personnel who often take the liberty of rummaging through care packages in search of goodies from the U.S. If you mail is embellished with religious symbols, the odds of keeping it intact are improved. You may even want to ask the sender to write “Sister” or “Brother” before your name, the heighten the effect. Another trick is to have your mail addressed to you in red ink. I’ve been told red ink is somewhat sacrosanct in many third world societies and is reserved for only the most official of letters and correspondences. Though I’m unsure about this explanation’s validity, I can vouch for the trick’s effectiveness, having seen several packages addressed in red ink delivered safely and expeditiously.”
Also:
-Make sure you're using Airmail
-Number your letters so I know if one has been lost
-I've heard that padded envelopes have a better chance of making it than boxes
-It can help to include "educational materials'" or "feminine hygiene products" on the package in writing that looks official
I LOVE crappy kiddie candy...just throwing that out there!
Catherine Duthie, PCT
Peace Corps Training Site
PO Box 9123
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Africa
After the first two months I'll be done with training and then placed in a village. I won't know where my placement will be until I'm done, so once I get that information I'll post my new address.
I stole this from another blog...who admitted to stealing this from ANOTHER blog as well...but here is more information on mailing things:
-“There are a few things you can do to help hasten and secure the passage and delivery of your mail. Have anyone sending you a care package scribble religious symbols and biblical quotes all over the outside of the box. This sounds silly, but it works. Though many of the countries in which the Peace Corps serves are largely animist in religion, superstition runs high and even corrupt postal workers are wary of intercepting religious parcels. Along every step of the way, your mail will be subject to the whims of postal officials, customs officers, and delivery personnel who often take the liberty of rummaging through care packages in search of goodies from the U.S. If you mail is embellished with religious symbols, the odds of keeping it intact are improved. You may even want to ask the sender to write “Sister” or “Brother” before your name, the heighten the effect. Another trick is to have your mail addressed to you in red ink. I’ve been told red ink is somewhat sacrosanct in many third world societies and is reserved for only the most official of letters and correspondences. Though I’m unsure about this explanation’s validity, I can vouch for the trick’s effectiveness, having seen several packages addressed in red ink delivered safely and expeditiously.”
Also:
-Make sure you're using Airmail
-Number your letters so I know if one has been lost
-I've heard that padded envelopes have a better chance of making it than boxes
-It can help to include "educational materials'" or "feminine hygiene products" on the package in writing that looks official
I LOVE crappy kiddie candy...just throwing that out there!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
5 Days
I have five days left of endless burgers, fries, and refills on my diet coke. On Sunday I'll be leaving for DC, and after a quick run down of all the do's and don'ts I'll swear in as a Peace Corps Volunteer and board a plane for Tanzania. There I'll serve as a Health Educator from June 2008- August 2010. I'm pretty certain I can make it 27 months without McDonald's, but the thought of no Diet Mountain Dew is a bit overwhelming. I've spent the past week and a half trying to break my habit of 6 cans per day, but with such a strong addiction it's a daily struggle.
I don't know what first attracted me to Peace Corps, but I started looking into the program in high school. In college I studied abroad in Italy for a semester and when I returned to the States I really started researching it. I've been fortunate enough to have done a few mission trips abroad, to Mexico and Germany, and with study abroad I was able to visit several other countries as well. The most surprising things I found while I was abroad were that foreigners seemed to know more about our country than some of our citizens do, and also that in many parts of the world our country is looked at in a negative way... as I'm sure many people could guess. When I looked into Peace Corps their mission statement hit home with with me:
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps to promote world peace and friendship.
The Peace Corps' mission has three simple goals:
1) Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2) Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3) Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.
I want to understand other cultures, contribute in any way to fill their needs, and also I want to promote a more positive image of the US.
I knew this is what I had to do, so I applied and requested Sub-Saharan Africa. I couldn't have been happier when I found out I was going to Tanzania, and after looking it up and finding out where in Africa it is I was even more elated!
As a Health Educator I'll be working with local schools and the health center to educate students about basic health issues and AIDS/HIV prevention. I'm calling my program "Wrap It Up with Catherine Duthie"... this title I'll only use with myself of course...and perhaps a few select volunteers.
I'm not really sure what to expect. I'll be living with a host family and training for the first two months. I hear training is intense...language, culture, cooking and basic health/survival classes all day. Oh yeah, I have to learn Swahili. For those who know me language acquisition isn't exactly my strong suit, so this should be good. Don't worry mom, I DO know "Nina sindano yangu"....."I have my own syringe".
I'm going to try to update this as much as possible, as well as send out emails! I look forward to writing about my experiences as The Village Idiot, and I hope you enjoy reading them!
I don't know what first attracted me to Peace Corps, but I started looking into the program in high school. In college I studied abroad in Italy for a semester and when I returned to the States I really started researching it. I've been fortunate enough to have done a few mission trips abroad, to Mexico and Germany, and with study abroad I was able to visit several other countries as well. The most surprising things I found while I was abroad were that foreigners seemed to know more about our country than some of our citizens do, and also that in many parts of the world our country is looked at in a negative way... as I'm sure many people could guess. When I looked into Peace Corps their mission statement hit home with with me:
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps to promote world peace and friendship.
The Peace Corps' mission has three simple goals:
1) Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2) Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3) Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.
I want to understand other cultures, contribute in any way to fill their needs, and also I want to promote a more positive image of the US.
I knew this is what I had to do, so I applied and requested Sub-Saharan Africa. I couldn't have been happier when I found out I was going to Tanzania, and after looking it up and finding out where in Africa it is I was even more elated!
As a Health Educator I'll be working with local schools and the health center to educate students about basic health issues and AIDS/HIV prevention. I'm calling my program "Wrap It Up with Catherine Duthie"... this title I'll only use with myself of course...and perhaps a few select volunteers.
I'm not really sure what to expect. I'll be living with a host family and training for the first two months. I hear training is intense...language, culture, cooking and basic health/survival classes all day. Oh yeah, I have to learn Swahili. For those who know me language acquisition isn't exactly my strong suit, so this should be good. Don't worry mom, I DO know "Nina sindano yangu"....."I have my own syringe".
I'm going to try to update this as much as possible, as well as send out emails! I look forward to writing about my experiences as The Village Idiot, and I hope you enjoy reading them!
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