The upside to windows without glass:
Being able to hear your students sing from anywhere in your house
A cross breeze that cools you off on the hottest days
Being able to smell the fresh rain after a downpour
The downside:
Finding out how many places the 800 tests you’re grading can blow inside your house
A “water” bed in your bedroom and a swimming pool in your kitchen. Awesome.
On that note, the rainy season has begun! When it rains here, it RAINS… but only for a couple of minutes. The sound of it on the tin roof makes me turn off my music, snuggle up in my… sheet and feel all cozy inside (even at 85 degrees). The power goes in and out with the sporadic downpours, and match up with the cheers and jeers of the students at the school. The lights go off and I hear “awwwwwwwww.” The lights go on and I hear “yaaaaaaaaaaaaay!” I sit in my house and laugh as I light a candle, blow it out, light a candle, blow it out, and try to decide how hungry I am and if it’s really worth making dinner with the electricity flickering on and off. One second you’re cutting an onion, the next, your finger (just kidding). But it’s hard to cook in pitch black and a candle won’t stay lit in the kitchen because there’s too much of a breeze.
Right now, I lay in bed hiding under my net from the mosquitoes and all of the bugs that come with a summer rain (but Africa style) and I think about all that has happened in the last month and all that I’ve got ahead of me in the next. Let’s start with my trip to Dar…
The major crop here is cashew nuts. They’re EVERYWHERE and a source of pride for the Tanzanians in the south. I get asked all the time if I know what they are and they are shocked, and sometimes even unconvinced, that there are cashews in America. So when they started to show up, I started to eat them… A LOT of them. Well, apparently I’m allergic. Did you know that the cashew is in the same family as poison ivy? I’ve never had hives in my entire life, which made a physician, and a three-day trip to Dar es Salaam necessary for me to find out I was eating something I was allergic to. This was a blessing in disguise though, because I am now fully equipped to handle the big scary city all by myself… something I was extremely intimidated by. I navigated the insane dala dala system (turns out, put in the right situation, I WILL elbow my way onto a bus and I will take NO prisoners!), found my hotel (after walking around for four hours), and found my way to the Peace Corps office. I have officially covered all the ground I NEED to cover in Dar all on my own… something not all PCV’s end up doing before they finish their service. I returned to site in time to enjoy a sunrise on the beach with Liz (the RPCV I replaced) before she left the country. Three weeks later (and after a couple more minor bouts of hives) I am healthy and lovin’ life once again.
In addition to bringing me ice cream, my trip to Dar renewed my zeal and interest in the issues involved with transportation in developing countries. (In case anyone reading doesn’t know, I plan on doing my research for my master’s degree in the field of transportation in Tanzania) At one point along the insanely bumpy road to my site, the bus slowed down to a stop and started going slowly towards… something. I was intrigued, and apparently, so was the guy sitting in the middle seat next to me. As I craned my neck to see out, he stood up and leaned all the way towards the right of the bus. As we creeped along, I looked around and realized a few guys were standing up and leaning to the right but not all of them were looking out of the bus. Turns out they weren’t intrigued… they were trying to keep the bus balanced so that it wouldn’t roll on its side as we went over the insanely uneven patch of road. I’m not going to lie, I questioned whether or not they would be successful… This patch of road is just a piece of the worst road I have ever traveled. On my way to Dar, I was flying out of my seat as the driver drove… for SIX hours! As the rainy season gets going, this road will become basically impassable explaining why the south of Tanzania is so much more untouched than the rest of the country. This road is the only connection and makes one wonder about the extent of accidents, fatalities, and the accessibility to resources and food.
Right before I left Houghton, I was informed of a transportation conference happening in Tanzania. This conference is a gathering of people from countries all over Africa, Europe, and America participating in workshops, discussions, and presentations on developing safer, more reliable, and sustainable transportation in Africa. It happens once every three years and each conference is held in a different country in Africa. Can you believe it? What are the chances of it being in the country Peace Corps placed me in?? The opportunity was there but, as my first job as a Peace Corps Volunteer is to be a teacher, I was unsure of whether or not I would be able to attend. Long story short, my students will all be headed home the week before the conference, Peace Corps has given me special permission to travel, and MTU has offered to cover accommodation and registration costs for me to attend. I can’t believe it all magically worked out but I am BEYOND stoked for this opportunity. I’m hoping for research ideas, a chance to meet people interested in something similar to me, and for some intellectual stimulation in my field. There is so much to learn and I’m chomping at the bit right now. The only thing standing between me and a vast amount of new knowledge is 800 tests that need to be graded (but I’m over half way finished), a visit from the U.S. Ambassador (pretty cool, right?), and the navigation of ANOTHER big, scary city (I think I can do it).
Following my conference is IST, which is the training that Peace Corps Volunteers are required to attend after being at site for three months. Each volunteer is supposed to choose a Tanzanian counterpart who will theoretically help you with secondary projects you want to do at your school and in your community. Sometimes this is successful, sometimes it’s not. I have chosen one that is proving to be motivated, curious, and excited to learn. All things I love and respect in ANY human being and all extremely valuable qualities when it comes to a project partner. Considering my options for a counterpart were limited to THREE people, I’m thinking I got lucky… again. Having said that, all three of my options have quickly become wonderful friends and neighbors that I look forward to seeing everyday.
On top of all of this, a PCV in my region is starting a new well project at her site. She is currently in the process of writing a grant for a block press very similar to the one that was used in my senior design project for my bachelor’s degree at SCU. There are many components to that project that I have had experience with and she has asked for my help. As an ducation volunteer, my opportunities to utilize my engineering skills are somewhat rare, so I’m extremely excited to be involved in any way that I can.
Opportunity after opportunity is falling into my lap right now (trust me, this is just the tip of the iceberg as I already have a bunch of ideas for projects at my school) and I can’t help but smile. As a matter of fact, last week I walked around and quite literally could not get myself to stop smiling. After a while, I gave up and asked myself WHY I would want to make myself stop smiling and started walking around with the conviction that I MUST be the luckiest girl in the world. WOOT WOOT!
