May 26:
Today has been a very long, but enjoyable day. We all decided to get breakfast at 8am, and I had eggs, toast, and Kahawa (coffee). After breakfast, a couple of just sat on the hotel balcony talking. We had orientation where I saw Francis for the first time since being here (he is our main teacher for the course) and we met Dr. Stacey Langwick, who helped teach the course a couple years ago. We went over some safety precautions, what to expect, and other normal orientation stuff We had lunch after orientation and it was actually really good--rice, chicken, beef stew, potatoes, and veggies.
When we were done eating lunch, Francis handed everybody a "map" and told us to find him at this one restaurant. We had 45 minutes to do so. I put "map" in quotation marks because it was really a chicken scratch drawing of the town of Moshi with 1 or 2...or 20 streets missing. So yeah...we got a little lost and made it to the restaurant in an 1 hr and 20 minutes with the help of our new rafiki (friend), Dismas. Dismas was really friendly and I talked to him the majority of the walk. We went back and forth between speaking English and Swahili. He also taught me how to say some new phrases. We walked past a bar and he taught me how to say "I'm drunk"--"Ninalewa". Aside from getting lost and meeting Dismas, our walk was pretty eventful. I knew this from last time I was in TZ, but EVERYONE says hi to you. Some men shake and kiss your hand too. Laura was the first one to be proposed to--"I love you! Marry me!" he said. "Asante but hapana" (Thanks, but not) she said. All the little kids we walked by were soo cute! It was a nice walk for sure and cool to see what kinds of places are around. When we met Francis at the restaurant, we took a break to drink some water and then we took a daladala (van-like form of transportation) to Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College (KCMC), where I'll be taking class for the next 4 weeks. The campus was really pretty and when the clouds go down, we'll have a great view of the mountain.
When we were done exploring KCMC, we walked to Bwana Chuwas house (one of the other program leaders) where we were given our Tanzania phones. Old school Nokia phones featuring the game snake, oh yeah. Tonight it took me a full 5 minutes (and I promise that is not an exaggeration) to text "I'm with Adrienne 5 minutes from Bwana Chuwa's house." Lets just say I've lost my t9 skills. At Bwana Chuwa's, we also got our rooming assignments and met our homestay families! Adrienne and I are roommates living with a mama and her son, Derek. Derek is 8 years old. Mama is soo nice, and Derek is sooo cute but he doesn't speak English. In the beginning, the language barrier was a little tough with mama too but as the night went on, we started to understand each other a little easier. Adrienne and I were asking if it was okay to wear shorts and show our shoulders inside the house, which mama didn't understand. But, I was able to translate in Swahili and she told us yes we can wear whatever we want in the house! And she did a little dance as she said it. She's really cool!
Adrienne and I unpacked a little bit in our room that really doesn't have much other than two twin beds. We unpacked until it was tea time. The tea here is sooooo good and flavorful! Mama also made these things which taste like donuts minus the icing. Those were also really good. I hope mama doesn't make them too often or else I'm gonna get fat. Adrienne and I asked if we could go for a walk, so mama and Derek took us. On the way back, we stopped for a drink at the bar. We had Mt. Kilimanjaro beer! The beer bottles here are huge though. One beer here equals two in the U.S. Mama finished her hers way before Adrienne and me. Derek was really interested in my camera, so he was looking through pictures the whole time. By the time we left the bar, it had gotten really dark outside and Derek held my hand as we walked home. I looked up at the sky and the stars were amazing. You can't see the stars in America like you can see them here. It's awesome.
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| Kilimanjaro Beer |
When we got back to the house, Adrienne and I gave mama and Derek some of the gifts we brought. We gave mama a Cornell coffee mug, Cornell t-shirts, and a bracelet, and we gave Derek a Cornell soccer t-shirt, frisbee, and some chocolate. They were both soo happy and gave us kisses when we gave them their presents! It was funny because Adrienne and I didn't coordinate but we pretty much brought the same presents. We both brought Cornell t-shirts, Cornell mugs, and a box of 30 candy bars. But Adrienne also brought jewelry and I brought a Washington, D.C. hat and Virginia peanuts! We decided we would safe the rest of the gifts for later.
Mama served us rice with peas and chicken for dinner along with cucumbers and a tomato, carrot, and onion salad. It was all very good. Mama also gave us these miniature bananas which were soo sweet and so delicious. I could have eaten 10 of them! After dinner, I finished unpacking and then took my first bucket shower. I've actually never taken a bucket shower like that before. I literally had had one giant bucket filled with water, and then a smaller bucket. It took me a very long time to shower just because it was difficult to get all the soap off using the buckets. Now it's only 10pm but it feels like 2am. Tomorrow is our first day of class at KCMC!! We have to get there at 830 and it's about a 15-minute walk! I'm currently laying comfortably in bed fully surrounded by a mosquito net!
My US comment for the day: Congratulations to Rick (and the rest of my senior friends) for graduating from Cornell today!!! WOO!!!
May 27:
Today was the first day of classes! Adrienne was already awake by this time, but a little before 7am I was awoken by mama calling my name. She was leaving for work, and wanted to say goodbye before she left! She left us tea and some food for breakfast and was on her way. Adrienne and I got ready for class, and then walked the 15 minutes to campus. There are 13 Cornell students and 15 KCMC students in my class. Class is broken up into 3 segments: a 2 hour lecture from 8:30-10:30, then a 30 minute break for tea. A second class session from 11-1, then an hour break for lunch. And a third period from 2 until we are done working in our groups (basically, we are given as much time as needed).
This morning we went outside and played the name game with an orange. We stood in a circle, and whoever had the orange had to throw it to someone new and say their name. We did that for a while. It actually helped! I know most of the kids in my class already. Today we were also assigned to our case study groups. I am with Mike and Ume, two students from Cornell. And also Isack and Masumu, two students from KCMC. We worked on a mini project this afternoon, but we don't have to submit our case study topic until Friday.
After class today, the KCMC students took us on a tour of the campus and the hospital. It was really cool to see the hospital here, but also interesting to see how different the conditions are here versus what you would see in the US. There were wet floors everywhere without "CAUTION! Wet Floor!" signs, and there was a cat just roaming around freely in the hospital... All of the hospital rooms were open for people to look in, and there were sometimes up to 10 beds in one room, without dividing curtains.
The KCMC students also showed us basketball courts, volleyball courts, and soccer fields, and we walked through a sunflower field and had some photo shoots which was fun!!! Now we're all just hanging out at the school because this is the only place we will have wifi for the next month. So, if you ever want to talk to me, between 4 and 6pm Tanzanian time is the time.
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