So, when we last left our hero, he was stuck in Dar with a bum leg in some internet cafe. Turns out he did just fine: wandered back to the hotel before sundown, got a ride out to Morogoro, and managed to move in to his homestay without too much hassle. Good for him.
In any case, here I am in Morogoro. The town is much smaller than Dar, and the environment is pretty different. Instead of a hot, humid climate, we're now in a cool, dry one. Instead of having the ocean nearby, we're at the foot of a mountain. Instead of numerous, slow-moving mosquitoes that transmit malaria, we now have fast, aggressive mosquitoes... which also transmit malaria. The differences are many.
Regardless, life is good here. I moved in with my host family this past Sunday, and I've been taking Kiswahili classes everyday from 8 to 5. My family is awesome: I have a bus driver baba (Valentino), a mama (Martha), three kaka (brothers Noah, David, and Sosi), and a dada (sister Adventina). I also had a bibi (grandmother) who was staying there for the week. I'm actually the fourth PC volunteer my family has had, so all the prep PC put me through to get me ready for culture shock was kind of moot... all of them were completely unfazed by my bewildered, awkward introduction, and it took me only a day or two to feel like I fit in (at least, kind of). I spend most of my days now studying Kiswahili, interspersed with the occasional chore (fetching water, shucking peas, washing clothes, feeding cows, kicking chickens, and the like).
As for language difficulties, my oldest kaka, both my parents, and my bibi all speak perfect English, but (undoubtedly because of their previous experience with Peace Corps Trainees) they refuse to speak it to me. This is good, although it leads to a lot of situations in which they talk, talk, talk and then suddenly turn to me, leaving me utterly nonplussed and embarrassed. The awkward silence/multilingual chaos that typically ensues in these situations has gradually grown shorter as I learn more of the language, but I still definitely have a lot to learn. Here's hoping that I'll get better in the following weeks.
And for those of you who are wondering, yes, I've already gotten into trouble. As PC greenhorns, we have very strict rules regarding being out at night---namely, we can't because it's pitch black and there are thieves around. This past Friday I had a particularly long walk from our training center back to my house, and, well, I kind of misjudged the time it would take for me to get home and ended up getting back after dark. My baba, who is well-acquainted with the system, immediately alerted the PC staff when I didn't show up on time, which triggered a small-scale manhunt to find out where I was. This mini-crisis was averted when I did, in fact, get home... however, I've received stern lectures from both my baba and my language instructor regarding my ineptitude, and I anticipate one more from the training director before all this is done. See, Mom and Dad? I don't just do this to you guys!
Okay, my time's almost up. Gotta run!
No comments:
Post a Comment