Week One

One week down. Kristina and I went with our house mom Fatuma to the market. The market is almost identical with the ones in Peru. We had a walk down the meat section and I am now vegetarian for the time being. In over 100° weather, pieces of meat are hanging in the sun with thousands of bees and flies swarming around it.

My alarm clock is so sort of mix between the Muslim pray song, the roosters, and screaming bush babies (turns out Nicole, you don’t make up everything you say). The meals here are very good, but very repetitive and simple. Every morning, Fatuma makes homemade Chai tea, fresh coffee and then it’s the choice of bread with pineapple jelly, fresh peanut butter or butter. I usually grab a mango from one of the trees outside as well. Lunch is always left over from whatever we had the night before which Fatuma packs us when we go to our project. Dinner always has rice and beans and then usually chipati (a pancake tortilla thing), fruit mix and ugali (stiff, tasteless porridge similar to play dough but less salty) then some sort of potato or steamed vegetable mix. We always eat by oil lamp for some reason and they never put out silverware because they don’t use it. Garrett, you would get along just great here. They only eat with their right hand though because the left hand is used for other not so clean things. They don’t supply toilet paper anywhere. Not even at our hostel so that is up to us to supply.

I started my project this Thursday at KIWAKKUKI. The first day was simply orientation and an introduction into the program and the staff. I met three girls from Norway who are studying social work. We went to lunch together at a coffee shop and they gave me a bunch of tips on stores and fun places to go along with maximum prices to pay for things.

The proceeding day, Kristina came with me to my project because hers has not yet started. There were donors from Germany there and so we spent a majority of the day sitting and waiting for them to get out of their meeting. Pole pole as they say here.

On the way home we used the Dala Dala for the first time. The Dala Dala is their type of bus, which is really only a van slightly bigger than our minivan but much taller. There are about 10 seats but they will not leave until there are no less than four to a seat and at least 5 standing where ever they can. No one wears deodorant here which can lead to a very potent ride. From the outskirts of town, through town and then to the countryside where we live is only 16.66 cents so it beats walking in the scorching sun.

The girls who were on a safari, Sarika, from India and Rebecca who is from Wisconsin came back Friday. Sarika left the next morning but Rebecca is now my new roommate and we get along really well.
Saturday Ming, Kristina and I went with Sabino, one of our coordinator’s friend, to the Marangu falls. It was about a 45 minute Dala Dala ride and a half hour hike to the falls. We swam there for about 4 hours before we headed home. I have a permanent design of my Chacos and a solid, bright red color that camouflages my mosquito bites quite nicely.