Okay, the title today is one of my favorite words in Kiswahili and it means chaos, or disorganization . . . often times here I find myself in mass "shagalabagala" . .. such an appropriate word :)
So, I have had an eventful past two weeks. Mikumi National park was amazing. . . I stuck my head out the dirty bus window, let the wind blow through my hair, and took picture after picture of elephants, zebras, hippos, impalas, etc. . . but alas, no lions or leopards to be found. They were all hiding somewhere . . . I did, however, climb part of a 500 year old baobob tree, and I have a picture to prove it . .. but of course, can't upload it just yet.
I got really sick the week upon return . . in fact, many of us did, probably from some under-boiled water or something we injested on the road or at the motel (which, by Tanzanian standards, was extra fancy!) it had showers!!! However . .. freezing cold showers, which I would prefer my bucket bath over that anyday.
I am happy to say that today, I am feeling healthy- energy and apetite are back to normal! whew, I was a little worried when I didn't want to eat anything . .. that is very unlike me, very.
I got my hands on some red wine! at mikumi . .. though it was really acidic, came out of a box, and was reminiscent of "church wine" . . .
Cheese, on the other hand, is still nowhere to be found :( A really understanding volunteer who has been here for a year offered to get us some chocolate from Dar es Salaam, and he came back with a twix bar for me in exchange for 1000 shilingi .. . and my god, was it heaven. even though, I don't ever eat those in the states, it was like dreaming . .. two minutes of chocolate and caramel bliss.
seriously, you never know what you're missing until it is extremely hard to find and way out of reach.
there are rumors that we may be getting ice cream next time we visit dar .. . and we are all counting the days.
So, I have so much to talk about and so little time left at the internet cafe, so here goes:
the following weeks I will_
go to Nane Nane- the country-wide agricultural fair which we will be attending in Morogoro
after that, I will be shadowing a volunteer for an entire week, though I dont' know where yet
after that, we are in Dar es Salaam for our site announcements!
I can't wait to find out . .. I'm just itching with curiousity . . .
I will be taking my final exams soon . . . so far I have gotten b averages on my midterms (not unlike college . . .) but I hope to improve for my finals.
I will keep you all updated, and please, keep the emails, messages, letters and phone calls coming!
I appreciate any and all support, really!!!! It's what keeps me going on my down days . . .
If you would like to contact me or send a letter/package, here are my contacts:
Cristina Lalli
U.S. Peace Corps Tanzania
P.O. Box 9123
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
East Africa
I will let you all know my permanent address as soon as I get it, but this one works for now.
I love and miss you all.
Kwa herini!
love,
cristina
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Friday, July 18, 2008
Tumbo na Twiga
The title today means "elephant and giraffe"
Mikumi National Park . . . I am so excited . . . we leave tomorrow morning, and I can't wait. We will be taking two safari trips- one tomorrow evening and one sunday morning. According to Lonely Planet and Globetrotter guide books, this is a good season to go . .. we should be able to spot lions, leopards, elephants, zebras, hippos, giraffes, etc. . .. I really hope we do. I have my camera batteries charged and ready to go.
Contrary to what you may be hoping to hear, I will unfortunately not be wearing an all khaki outfit and pyth helmet, riding in an open-air jeep, toting a giant rifle and shooting exotic game . .. though I just finished reading "Out of Africa" and have a secret desire to be like Karen Blixen . . . living on her own in Africa, running a coffee plantation, and shooting random lions (only because they were eating the village cattle.) So, sorry guys, I can't bring back any zebra skin rugs for you . . .
I hope to have pictures posted at some point . . . perhaps in a few weeks when we are in Dar es Salaam- I here there are internet cafes with relatively speedy connections there.
We just finished our mid-exam week. We had a two-hour written exam and an oral proficiency exam. I haven't had to take tests in four years, so I forgot how anxious I can be. Honestly, I think I did fine, but we'll get the results on Monday.
one of my favorite things here is brushing my teeth outside in our courtyard under the moon and stars . .. on a clear night, you can see thousands of stars- there is virtually no light pollution here.
Castle milk stout is another favorite . .. it's the African equivalent to guinness, very tasty.
The children here are amazing . . . they never cry, they are always laughing, smiling, and playing soccer barefoot . . . with balls they make themselves out of rags sewn together. I feel like I've already written this before, but maybe it was just in my journal.
The other day, we went to visit a traditional healer, or "medicine man" to see how traditional, spiritual healing is still practiced in conjunction with modern medicine. The meeting was short but interesting. Afterwards, school children in the village swarmed around us . .. I don't think they are used to seeing a whole gaggle of Americans . .. and they just stared and waited for us to say something to them . . . so . .. we taught them "the hokey pokey" in English and some Swahili . .. we taught them to hula-hoop with the used bicycle tires that they are always playing with . .. and we played soccer with them. I kicked the ball to one child, and before I knew it, 20 kids were swarmed around me, only kicking the ball to me . .. as if I was the goalie . . and I was exhausted after 10 minutes . .. besides, playing soccer is a little difficult in a skirt (which we are required to wear at all times unless at home or on the weekends.) I hope that soon, when I am placed at site, I can continue to play with the enthusiastic children . .. but teach them something valuable at the same time.
Mikumi National Park . . . I am so excited . . . we leave tomorrow morning, and I can't wait. We will be taking two safari trips- one tomorrow evening and one sunday morning. According to Lonely Planet and Globetrotter guide books, this is a good season to go . .. we should be able to spot lions, leopards, elephants, zebras, hippos, giraffes, etc. . .. I really hope we do. I have my camera batteries charged and ready to go.
Contrary to what you may be hoping to hear, I will unfortunately not be wearing an all khaki outfit and pyth helmet, riding in an open-air jeep, toting a giant rifle and shooting exotic game . .. though I just finished reading "Out of Africa" and have a secret desire to be like Karen Blixen . . . living on her own in Africa, running a coffee plantation, and shooting random lions (only because they were eating the village cattle.) So, sorry guys, I can't bring back any zebra skin rugs for you . . .
I hope to have pictures posted at some point . . . perhaps in a few weeks when we are in Dar es Salaam- I here there are internet cafes with relatively speedy connections there.
We just finished our mid-exam week. We had a two-hour written exam and an oral proficiency exam. I haven't had to take tests in four years, so I forgot how anxious I can be. Honestly, I think I did fine, but we'll get the results on Monday.
one of my favorite things here is brushing my teeth outside in our courtyard under the moon and stars . .. on a clear night, you can see thousands of stars- there is virtually no light pollution here.
Castle milk stout is another favorite . .. it's the African equivalent to guinness, very tasty.
The children here are amazing . . . they never cry, they are always laughing, smiling, and playing soccer barefoot . . . with balls they make themselves out of rags sewn together. I feel like I've already written this before, but maybe it was just in my journal.
The other day, we went to visit a traditional healer, or "medicine man" to see how traditional, spiritual healing is still practiced in conjunction with modern medicine. The meeting was short but interesting. Afterwards, school children in the village swarmed around us . .. I don't think they are used to seeing a whole gaggle of Americans . .. and they just stared and waited for us to say something to them . . . so . .. we taught them "the hokey pokey" in English and some Swahili . .. we taught them to hula-hoop with the used bicycle tires that they are always playing with . .. and we played soccer with them. I kicked the ball to one child, and before I knew it, 20 kids were swarmed around me, only kicking the ball to me . .. as if I was the goalie . . and I was exhausted after 10 minutes . .. besides, playing soccer is a little difficult in a skirt (which we are required to wear at all times unless at home or on the weekends.) I hope that soon, when I am placed at site, I can continue to play with the enthusiastic children . .. but teach them something valuable at the same time.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Kitimoto
The title today means "hot seat" . . . but it also means pork . . . I don't know, don't ask why. We have been doing "kitimoto" the past few mornings at kiswahili lessons, in which we have to sit in the hot seat for 5 minutes while our instructors ask us questions on the spot in kiswahili. I didn't do so well today as I had to describe what my family does and I couldn't think of the words for "industrial design" and "finance" . . . not exactly words I'm using every day here . . .
oh, and about the pork thing, I don't know, but apparently if you order barbecued pork at a restaurant here, it's also called "kitimoto" ;)
It's funny how when you are in a foreign country you tend to fall back on whatever foreign language you know- although it is nowhere near the language which you are supposed to be speaking. mOst of us volunteers know at least a bit of another foreign language- many have sudied abroad, or lived or traveled abroad, and most have had some foreign language experience. This being said, many of us are throwing in German, Spanish, Italian, etc. wherever we can't think of the Swahili word for something . . .especially articles! We do this completely subconsciously, and it's pretty hilarious because we'd be way better off if we just threw in English. Most people here know some English- especially those who have attended secondary school. But the thing that throws me off completely, is that my foreign language experience happens to be in Italian and I have visited Italy as soon as last summer. This wouldn't be a problem except that there are strangely some words in Kiswahili that also exist in Italian . . . but in a completely different context.
for example:
Kiswahili: Italian:
mia- means 100 mia, means my or mine
tosha- means full toscia, means cough or cold
tuta, means "we will" tutta, means all or whole
tena, means again tena, means "to have"
. .. and so it seems as if I am in a strange dream in which people are speaking a language which I recognize and which I am familiar with, but I don't understand the meaning.
crazy.
so, here are some interesting facts about Tanzania:
The president is Jakaya Kikwete
The Swahili word for president is "rais" pronounced like rice
The word for rice is "wali", but when it's uncooked its "mchele"
Most Tanzanians are not fond of George Bush, but they love Barak Obama
Many people here are named "Baraka" which means "blessings, or prosperity"
Most people hope Obama gets elected, but they dont' believe Americans will vote for a black president ( I hope to prove them wrong, but we'll see come November .. . and we'll see if that absentee ballot ever gets here)
Tanzanians pronounce it "Tan.zah.KNEE.a" when speaking Kiswahili, but pronounce it "Tan. ZAY. nia. when speaking to English speakers.
okay, I hope you learned something today from my rantings .. . I am doing well here and miss you all very much.
kwa heri,
cristina :)
oh, and about the pork thing, I don't know, but apparently if you order barbecued pork at a restaurant here, it's also called "kitimoto" ;)
It's funny how when you are in a foreign country you tend to fall back on whatever foreign language you know- although it is nowhere near the language which you are supposed to be speaking. mOst of us volunteers know at least a bit of another foreign language- many have sudied abroad, or lived or traveled abroad, and most have had some foreign language experience. This being said, many of us are throwing in German, Spanish, Italian, etc. wherever we can't think of the Swahili word for something . . .especially articles! We do this completely subconsciously, and it's pretty hilarious because we'd be way better off if we just threw in English. Most people here know some English- especially those who have attended secondary school. But the thing that throws me off completely, is that my foreign language experience happens to be in Italian and I have visited Italy as soon as last summer. This wouldn't be a problem except that there are strangely some words in Kiswahili that also exist in Italian . . . but in a completely different context.
for example:
Kiswahili: Italian:
mia- means 100 mia, means my or mine
tosha- means full toscia, means cough or cold
tuta, means "we will" tutta, means all or whole
tena, means again tena, means "to have"
. .. and so it seems as if I am in a strange dream in which people are speaking a language which I recognize and which I am familiar with, but I don't understand the meaning.
crazy.
so, here are some interesting facts about Tanzania:
The president is Jakaya Kikwete
The Swahili word for president is "rais" pronounced like rice
The word for rice is "wali", but when it's uncooked its "mchele"
Most Tanzanians are not fond of George Bush, but they love Barak Obama
Many people here are named "Baraka" which means "blessings, or prosperity"
Most people hope Obama gets elected, but they dont' believe Americans will vote for a black president ( I hope to prove them wrong, but we'll see come November .. . and we'll see if that absentee ballot ever gets here)
Tanzanians pronounce it "Tan.zah.KNEE.a" when speaking Kiswahili, but pronounce it "Tan. ZAY. nia. when speaking to English speakers.
okay, I hope you learned something today from my rantings .. . I am doing well here and miss you all very much.
kwa heri,
cristina :)
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