Heri ya Mwaka Mpya!

Happy New Year!

The past month has been fairly uneventful, school opens this coming week so I've been spending my time integrating into the community. It's been an interesting mix of easy and hard -- friendly, welcoming villagers and neighbors but I feel awkward just going to a house to say hi because the conversation runs out pretty quick and I know I'll be offered a soda, tea, food, or all 3. If I do that one day, I don't want to the next because I don't want them to think I'm taking advantage. This all means that some days I only left my house for the self-imposed obligatory walk to the village stores, when I'd either buy some food or invent another errand for myself (1 day I spent a long time searching for baking powder because I figure you never know when you'll want to make pancakes). But I'm enjoying this extended vacation in Tanzania, although it's really been since my last examin May, and am not sure how I feel about school starting. I'm excited but also nervous, and a part of me would enjoy just living here and hanging out on the PC dime! It's a safe set-up, to use Kiswahili slang (safi literally means clean but is used as good/sweet,etc.) I have been getting a bit restless recently, though, so I think it'll be good for me that I'll have a (somewhat) set schedule and work to do from now on.

This past week I met a bunch of people at the mission, through someone who works there and stopped me on the road to ask if I was PC because he knows another volunteer in the area. He introduced me to the orphanage, the Father of the mission, other brothers and sisters, and the sister who makes sausages and cheeses, which I'm excited to buy (only the latter, don't worry). I've spent some time at the orphanage and hope to still be able to spend some time there after I start teaching. Since it's run by the mission and the Tz government appoints/sends kids (all under 2years) there, it's a well-run place and the kids are very well looked after. They're chubby and (mostly) happy, have some toys and plenty of clothes and cribs. They're also all HIV positive who's parents died from the same. They're so cute and there's always at least one who wants to be picked up -- so I can easy get my fill of playing with kids! Plus I can practice my kiswahili with them (although none of them talk coherently) and the nurses/caretakers. Too bad I only found out about going there the week before school's opening because it would've been less lonely for me! Although, really, I've only recently started to feel restless, which comes from a feeling of uselessness and running out of books I want to read (I'll go get some more today), so the timing's not bad at all.

I really enjoyed the holidays -- except the teasing I got when my family forgot to call me on christmas day, the day after christmas day, and the day after that... but I still love them and miss them! Anyways, I got together with some friends and we did a potluck for xmas day dinner -- and it was delicious! So much food I haven't eaten in months! And then the leftovers made for wonderful brekkie/lunch, too. I made bread, oatmeal honey and tea masala (a spice mixture I dumped in to give it some flavor, basing it off of the North African Coriander bread my dad and I make that's heavenly), and it was darn-tootin' good if I do say so myself! Not having a mixture was no problem, and even my "oven" (a pot balanced on 3 rocks inside another pot and lid) worked out ok. My first loaf cooked for an obscenely long time because my coals weren't hot enough and so even when it aws completely cooked it wasn't brown or golden at all. And then the honey oatmeal didn't rise enough... but hey, they tasted good. So, while I, of course, missed my family and friends at home over the holidays, I enjoyed myself with friends. It was so different that it didn't feel much like christmas, except for all the carols! But it turns out I don't know very many xmas carols so that didn't remind me much of home, either. I taught soem people dreidel and we even played a bit (thanks Rebecca, for your packages!), although without hershey's kisses, M&Ms, or anything to bet with it wasn't quite as much fun.

My house is slowly getting furnished; I'm keeping in touch with PCV friends and my homestay family; I'm writing letters to the states (send me your address if you haven't and want a letter); reading a lot; bathing every so often; staying healthy; eating a lot of bananas and peanut butter; practicing kiswahili; talking with lots of tanzanians; loving the packages and letters I get; and preparing to teach. Here are a few stats on Tanzania...

literacy (English, Arabic, Swahili) -- 62%women, 78%men
primary school enrollment (age 7-13) -- 97%
secondary school enrollment -- 21%
pre-univeristy/A-level (US 12th, 13th grades roughly) -- 1% of prior 21%

Fun times! Thanks again for all the communication and for keeping track of me!

ps - I've been told my someone who knows a bit more about churches than me that the church bells I hear are probably calling people to mass, not telling time... but Tanzanian time is definitely an entirely different ball game.