Darasa...Kila Siku

Leo ni Alhamisi....today is Thursday. So I have successfully (if I may say so myself) completed four official days of class. Sunday was a day to get to know one another, watch the world cup games and go into town to see what the area was like. The group seems pretty awesome - definitely finding some really fun people to be around. Saturday night and Sunday night we all stayed in two person dorms here in the compound and Monday was the beginning of host families. I honestly had no idea what to expect - if the home would be far from campus, what other student I would be staying with, if the family would have children, what their economic and living situation was like etc. I was not disappointed.

The host families are all people who work here on the compound (baba yangu, my family dad, is one of the cooks so I see him everyday at lunch). The student I'm partnered with is a girl from the University of Florida named Kelley, who I've had a fun time exploring the host family with. We have baba yetu (our father), mama yetu (our mom), na dada wawili na kaka wawili (and two sisters and two brothers). The siblings vary from the youngest boy around age 3, the sisters are around 4 and 10 and the oldest boy around age 13. The two oldest are much more shy around us, but the two youngest are constantly teasing and playing with us. Helps to break any awkward silences. Attempting to assimilate into a completely strange family is not very easy initially, but seems to be getting a lot better. Our family is really extremely sweet and welcoming and are always reminding us to simply tell them if there is anything we don't like. They even bought us toothpaste, flip flops, soap, q-tips and peanut butter!

By the time we get home around 5:00 after being at the school compound all day, my brain is pretty worn out. Thinking, speaking and trying to listen/translate Kiswahili every second of every day is not an easy task. Kelley and I's time before bed when we're in our room (laying in our bunk beds - how cute) is a welcomed opportunity to speak English and to let our guards down. I'm constantly on guard - are they talking to me? What did they say? How do I respond, do I even understand what they're asking? The big road block is simply lack of vocabulary. Which is coming with time.

Kelley and I wake up at 6:00 am every morning (12:00 Kiswahili time?!) when its still dark outside. We take our hot water bucket showers (we have a shower head in our PRIVATE awesome bathroom but its only cold water - and we have a real toilet. Can you say awesome?) then eat breakfast. We get picked up on the main road around 7:30 and class starts at 8:30. Breaktime is almost as important as class time. 10:00 am means a 30 minute chai (tea) break under the main gazebo and then lunch from 12:30-2:00 pm. Classes have been fun - we sing songs, play games, and our learning is based around group activities. For the most part the twelve students (including myself) are all about the same level of proficiency with personal variation. Some are good at writing, some at speaking, some have a larger vocabulary than others. When speaking together though we all balance out. I'm definitely going to have some killer Kiswahili skills when I get home in August.

Big bonus for the host family: they like to watch the Kombe La Dunia (world cup) games. Holla for America scoring that literal last minute goal and securing a spot in the next round of games - same for South Africa.

Arusha Pros:
- Was not expecting to have such a nice homestay, a real toilet? In a private bathroom? Kweli?!
- Being here means I successfully escaped the risk of running into any of my Dar es Salaam creepers. Minus the emails.
- The food. I don't think I've ever had so many options in my meals. Breakfast is bread with honey and peanut butter, sausages, eggs, cereal and milk, chai, juice, porridge and fruit. Lunch and dinner can be meats, rice, ugali, tons of fruits and vegetables, chapati, pasta...and desserts. Wow.
- My little siblings here. I don't think I've ever had so much fun with little kids (the little boy cries everyday when we leave for school and when we go to bed at night).

Arusha Cons:
- Bucket showers. I really don't mind them, but I make a big mess. Having my hair braided means not really showering though. Whatevs.
- The sheer amounts of food and drinks I'm expected to consume. Breakfast and dinner mean being watched like a hawk by mama and baba, telling us over and over again to eat more. Before and after dinner there is maji (water), chai (tea) and jusi (juice) and then repeat. I really can't drink that many liquids before bed. It's an issue.
- Internet. I didn't know internet this slow still existed in the world.
- Not sure yet how to go about doing laundry. Sorry to Kelley if I smell.