Settling In

As the one month mark has come and gone, I have found myself settled into a relatively normal routine. Each morning, I rush out of the house by 8:15 and head straight to a dala dala, the Tanzanian version of a bus. A dala dala is essentially a 1980’s minivan, with 10 seats that often holds closer to 30 people. This means that, quite frequently, people are hanging out of the van, and you often find yourself almost sitting in the lap of another town-goer. On top of the intense heat that Africa is so well known for, when you find yourself in an over-stuffed van, often with the windows closed, with people who can't afford deodorant, that heat seems to triple. But I enjoy my dala dala experiences. When I finally get off the dala dala, I walk the short distance to Moshi's Juvenile Detention Home. 

From 9am until noon, I work with the 25 boys who live at Juvie. Paul, my Swahili teacher, is a local volunteer for Cross Cultural Solutions (the program that my family and I did here in 2007) and he works at Juvie. He brought me with him one day, and I instantly fell in love with the work there. With two volunteers from CCS, I teach basic math and create a variety of other activities. Each week, we focus on a different theme. For example, one week we completed different science experiments every day--ranging from throwing different objects with one's right and left hand and measuring which went farther, to creating a makeshift volcano and showing mini explosions with baking soda and vinegar. 

We have found that many of the boys are in Juvie for unjust reasons, such as talking back to a teacher or as the result of being framed by adults who determined that a kid going to Juvie for a couple of months is not nearly as bad as an adult going to jail for much longer. We were even informed that two boys are in because they could not provide authorities with an accurate reason for their presence in town. The stories that we have heard all seem quite corrupt, but for the majority of the boys, we have been given no reason for their appearance in Juvie. The boys are all incredibly sweet and respectful, and seem to really appreciate our attempts at teaching--but they were particularly excited when they figured out that I was no more than a year or two older than some of them.

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I spend an hour after Juvie with Paul learning Swahili, but I typically spend the rest of the afternoon with Kim, running various errands, visiting Matumaini (the orphanage), or going to the gym. 

The gym is quite an experience. It is located at a hotel in town and is stocked full of various weight machines, a stationary bike, an erg, and a strange elliptical machine (while you're on it, it feels like you are falling forward). The gym equipment is not what provides the experiences, instead, it's those who frequent the gym. With a few other wazungu (white people), typically men, Kim and I frequently find ourselves seeing uncommonly large Tanzanian and Indian men flailing awkwardly on the elliptical. The gym also offers kick-boxing and aerobic classes that Kim and I have yet to try, but have watched. The classes are made up of mostly said Tanzanian and Indian men in 80's style aerobics classes. It is quite a sight to behold. 

With our gym attendance providing the justification, we have had more cake this month than I normally have in a year. More often than not, the cake is from some sort of celebration, such as birthdays, or a graduation, but Edward also has been known to crave chocolate cake, and to come home offering 3 inhumanly large slices. While quite delicious, it has come to be slightly over-indulgent. 

I am now able to get to, from, and around town confidently, which has allowed me (and Kim) to regain some independence. In town, I am constantly running into people I know, and I am slowly starting to understand what people are saying. (The other day I was able to successfully purchase onions and credit for my phone completely in Swahili!)

I miss everyone, but I am having an incredible time!