Schools and Baboons

Where did I leave off?

Sunday I went to the University church which was supposed to be “non-denominational” but was very Presbyterian/Catholic-esque with communion and stuff. It was also in Swahili, so it got boring since I had no idea what was going on. Plus, people bring their own books, so I couldn’t even follow along. The singing was cool -- very Tanzanian with almost-tacky background electronic beats on the keyboard. The kids sang too, with hand motions. A cool 2.5 hour experience, but I am not running back every week. Sunday I also did my laundry, which took a while, but I am glad I have clean clothes!!

Yesterday we had class and then went to the orphanage again. We played Sherades (sp?), which was a HUGE hit. My hair (which I was wearing down and curly) was also a huge hit. Last night we went out to get some food variety (I eat rice, beans, peas, eggs, and fruit in some combination for EVERY meal), and I got pizza that had CILANTRO on it. Very upsetting. But, I discovered a cream-of-wheat type cereal for breakfast from South Africa called Pro-Nutro that I am super into. I wonder if they have it in the states?

Plus, the past 3 days I have seen baboons! They look kinda like huge monkeys, but since they are big, they seem really human. I haven’t had my camera lately when i see them, but I will take photos and send them. I can get pretty close without it running away.

Swahili class is going ok, but we have a guy in our class from China who really doesn’t speak English OR Swahili which slows down the process, and our teacher also doesn’t really speak English, which makes learning complicated grammar concepts really tricky. I am learning, though, which is what matters. Everyone is super motivated, so its fun. We actually ASKED the teacher to give us daily quizzes. Friday I am giving a presentation on animals, I’ll write about it later.

Today I went to a primary school where I will be teaching drama, sort of. It is not “community service” per say, but a very interesting cultural experience. I will be teaching for an hour of a 2nd grade class, probably once a week or so.

People here are great. Of course, there is rarely a group of people without some conflict or annoyances, but we have a fun, easy-going dynamic. The one guy (!) in our group plays guitar, so we frequently have Eric Clapton sing-alongs, including one during class today.

There are other groups of wazungu (white people/foreigners) here, some of which we hang out with and some of whom we don’t. I think we are the only group here now and also staying into the semester.

Mom, Dad, Megan -- I think about all of the fun things I can do with you and get so excited! I can’t wait for you to visit.

Wow, I am proud of my pretty long blog post. Posting these on the internet has been a bit of a nightmare, but I am doing my best.

Love, miss, etc.

RQ