O that's right, I'm here to teach...

We started micro teaching for the first time during training today. Well, we were supposed to anyways. We ended up getting the time for further planning and preparation for when we actually start micro teaching tomorrow. (I spent the time practicing writing on the chalkboard...) Micro teaching is essentially a 10 minute practice session in front of the other trainees teaching the same subject. Luckily for me, that is only 2 other people.

Next week is when things really get crazy. We start internship teaching on Monday already! We will be responsible for teaching actual students a relevant lesson in a real Tanzanian classroom! The fact that I'm here to be a teacher is finally really setting in. Teaching was never something I saw myself doing, not at the middle or high school level at least. I'm starting to get really anxious about it. What will I teach? Will it be relevant? Will I be able to control the classroom? Will I know enough about the subject to teach it? (The other ICT volunteers are VERY tech savvy. One has her MA in Computer Science and the other is a software engineer with a lot of experience. I have a BA in Communication, PR and Graphic Design... Luckily after looking at the syllabus and talking to current volunteers, it sounds like ICT has some wiggle room in what and how we teach. It sounds like it really all depends on your site.)

PC has given us a lot of really helpful instruction on teaching in a "learner centered" classroom environment, a switch from the "teacher centered" environment I guess TZ is currently in the process of making. It's been a lot of good information, but I have no idea how well any of it will work until I start actually teaching.

I do, however, think I'm just as excited as I am anxious. I really can't wait to start and see how things go.

Lazy Mzungu

SO much has happened since my last post I'm not even sure where to begin.

Since getting to Morogoro training has more or less consumed our lives. The first week was A LOT of Kiswahili, which doesn't end when we leave for the day as we go back to our home-stays to speak and learn even more language from our families. I can tell the work has started to pay off however because yesterday I had my most successful discussion with my family in Kiswahili to date. Unfortunately, the discussion was about my apparent laziness.

The plan originally was for me to do my laundry on Sunday (our only day off) but there was some sort of water problem in the village, so it didn't get done. Now, Nora, my dada, is supposed to show me how to do the laundry, as I have never done it by hand before. But, without water it was impossible, and she told me that we would do it kesho (tomorrow.) I was perfectly fine with this of course as Sunday was our first day off since being in Morogoro, and my training group took advantage of the time to work on a group project at the local bar.

I didn't think anything of it and I assumed that Nora would tell my mama, who had gone on safari for the weekend. Little did I know, this message was never passed along and the story was somehow twisted when it was told to Mama. So as we are sitting in the darkness of that night's power outage before dinner my mama asked me something that I understood completely, accept for one word. What does that mean? I asked? "Lez" they translated. "Lez?" I asked. Grace, my youngest dada was sitting on the couch to the right of me. "Lazz" she tried to enunciate. I still didn't understand. "Lazz" they all said together. "O, LAZY!" I said with excitement as I deciphered their translation. "Wait, lazy?" I reconsidered. "You think I'm lazy?!" The room exploded with laughter. "Hapana maji jana!" (No water yesterday) I exclaimed. The laughter was uncontrollable and for all of the embarrassment I should have felt, instead I felt incredibly proud as the ENTIRE conversation was in Kiswahili, minus the new vocab word for lazy that at this point escapes me.

It was really a great moment and made me feel even closer to the family. Even better, the conversation that followed (again in Kiswahili) was about at what time today we would wash my clothes which are in GREAT need of the attention...

Hope to have more photos by my next post!

First Days in Morogoro

We've been in Morogoro for a few days now and have met and moved in with our host families. I'm living with my mama, baba and two dadas, but they have extended family that have already come to visit and meet me. They are a great family and have been incredibly patient, helpful and understanding. Their home is built primarily of concrete with a tin roof and the choo is in a separate building a few steps outside. Their kitchen is also outside in the back of the house. They do, however, have a full entertainment system with cable and love to watch the news!

We've had training everyday from 7 until 5 that has consisted of cross cultural learning, language and teaching methods. The language has been incredibly overwhelming as we study it for hours everyday and while I think I've been picking it up I still struggle to actually use it. I'm sure it will come with time.

The most exciting news of the day is that we were lucky enough to be visited by Aaron Williams, the Director of the Peace Corps visiting Tanzania for the PC's 50th anniversary. We also had an opportunity to look briefly at the curriculum we will be teaching, which has me more excited to teach than ever!

Hujambo from Mikumi Sita!

(above: One of the buildings at Msimbazi Centre called “Mikumi” where our training in Dar took place and I stayed for the past 4 days in room sita, or 6.)

Our first night in Dar felt a lot like a covert operation. It was executed swiftly and with impressive precision. We were greeted very warmly at the airport by the Country Director, Andrea, a few staff members and apparently the U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania, who was sort of half introduced to us. Upon leaving the baggage claim area, we were told to look at the moon quickly, as by some strange coincidence our arrival coincided with a lunar eclipse at which we all gawked until we were instructed to grab a liter and a half bottle of water and get on the bus.

We then drove about 40 minutes to Msimbazi Centre, a Christian affiliated compound that serves a lot of purposes beyond hosting foreign trainees. (Apparently there is a group of Korean foreign service volunteers here as well.) There are a lot of students here studying and taking exams and on our last night there were two very large weddings going on at the very same time. The centre seems very removed from the rest of the city, almost as if we have been tucked away safely in a type of holding place/buffer zone for the rest of the country. They are giving us our culture in doses. That is, until this Sunday when they literally throw us to our host families. (More on this later. As anxious as I am, I really can’t wait!)

No time was wasted when we finally got to the center. We were introduced to everyone on Peace Corps staff that was present and given a medical briefing, including our first malaria suppressants. (The medical staff here is very sharp. I understand malaria better than I ever thought I would.) They briefed us on the next day and a bit on the few days ahead and then gave us our room assignments.

Getting to my room was exciting and turning on the light for the first time was nerve-racking. I flipped the switch and waited. Nothing. Then a flicker. More darkness. As I waited, I couldn’t help but see the success or failure of the light as an omen for the days that were to follow. It struggled to turn on, but the longer I waited and willed it to, the more it flickered and eventually the entire room lit up. Even more than an omen the light sort of turned out to be a metaphor for our first 4 days in Dar. It has definitely taken awhile to get rolling, but at this point every day looks brighter than the last.

These last 4 days have felt like weeks considering the amount we have been learning. Every day is filled with safety and security training, cultural briefings and language training. I was really concerned about my ability to pick up the language before we arrived, and I still worry about how well I’m doing, but I really think that studying language in the past as made the experience up until now SO much easier. I know what to look for and how and why things work. I can even make comparisons to how things work in Spanish. I do, however, catch myself about to speak in Spanish when I’m trying to speak in Kiswahili at times, which can be confusing. The language training staff has been incredible so far and apparently they’re the best in the country, which at this point I would have no problem believing.

One of our very first lessons was how to use the Choo. A.k.a. cleverly shaped hole in the ground. I haven’t had to use it much yet as our rooms all have working toilets but I need to start remembering to carry toilet paper when we leave tomorrow. I’m all for assimilation, but the whole left hand bucket of water and ladle thing might take me awhile…

For as little as we have really scene of the country so far I have still very quickly fallen in love. The people are incredibly nice (apparently long 5 minute greeting are VERY common when seeing people you know here, even before any business is actually discussed) and the scenery here in the centre (as well as the 10 minutes a few of us escaped to look just past the entrance of the center one night) were everything I had hoped for but don’t believe is actually real. I wake up every morning to a rooster crowing and the call for morning prayers at about 5:30 and go to bed listening to some pretty serious parties at what must be a club across the street. Tonight it is some sort of special drum group I think, the night before sounded like one right out of Pazzo’s.

We leave tomorrow at 6:30 for the city we will spend the next 10 weeks in with our new mamas, babas and maybe even a few cacas and dadas. (moms, dads, brothers and sisters.) I think all of us are a little anxious to meet our new families. We probably know enough of the language for maybe a 10-minute conversation, and that’s including the time spent looking up the words I am likely to forget in the moment. We have met a few current volunteers during our time in Dar as well, which has been INCREDIBLY helpful. They’re great at answering all of the questions the staff can’t and have given a lot of helpful insight and advice. They all also say that their time with their host families was some of the best, and they speak of them as if they really are family. Once again, I can’t wait to wake up in the morning.

Staging in Philadelphia

Just wanted to post a quick update from staging in Philadelphia before we leave for the airport in Newark -

Everyone in my staging group is incredible and seems to be especially diverse. We have people from a wide range of ethnic groups and all over the country, essentially an equal amount of men and women and even have a strong diversity of age. Two of the volunteers in my group are RPCV's (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) getting ready for their second term of service!

Most of the trainees in my group seem to be teaching English and Math, there are only 2 other ICT volunteers besides myself.

We woke up early this morning to get our Yellow Fever vaccination and will be leaving in about 10 minutes for the airport. Our plane to Amsterdam leaves at 6 this evening.

Part of me wishes we would have had a bit more time in Philly, it seems like an exciting city with a lot of history. Luckily on our way back from getting our vaccinations a few of us took a longer route and walked past the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. It was a nice little American history reminder before we leave for Tanzania.

Next update will be in country! Tanzania here I come!

Just a few FAQs

Hi and welcome to my blog! The more I read and talk with friends and family about my upcoming Peace Corps adventure the more necessary a blog seems to become. So, here it is, my first official blog post!

I suppose it might be beneficial to answer some of the FAQs right out of the gate:

Why the Peace Corps?

There were a number of elements that factored in to my decision to volunteer, all of which played a relatively equal role. However, the challenge and adventure that the Peace Corps offers was a leading factor, if in fact there was one.

I knew that long-term international experience in a new environment would test me in ways that I haven’t been tested before. It would also offer an opportunity to explore a new perspective and the perspectives of others that I would have otherwise never encountered. Also, I won’t have a microwave or washing machine, which will probably be challenge enough.

The desire for long-term international experience itself was a driving factor in my decision. When I was a senior in high school one of our teachers asked us to write letters to ourselves in 5 years. Now, graduating college in May four years later, I never forgot the very first thing I wrote to myself in that letter. “If you aren’t living in another country when you read this, leave tomorrow.” I can’t imagine disappointing my past self like that, so I knew I had to beat the delivery of that letter.

Another factor, of course, was the opportunity to contribute to our global community. This type of contribution has been a consistent goal for me and I am excited to have the ability to do so at this level. I hope that I will not only be able to teach the Communication and Information Technology tools that are continually altering our world (in ways that if I were to list would surely impress my Communication Theory professors, but bore you) but to inspire those I will be teaching to use those tools in all of their influential (unlisted) ways. That being said, I remain convinced that I will ultimately learn more from the people I will live and work with in Tanzania than I will ever be able to teach myself.

The answer to this first FAQ has proven to be longer than I had originally expected (which is probably a good thing) and I could say even more (maybe in a post to come). However, in the interest of keeping your attention (and avoiding obnoxiously long blog posts) I will end with a few shorter FAQ answers. (And try not to say anything else in parenthesis. Why am I doing that?)

Where? Tanzania

More specifically? I will let you know when I know.

How long? 27 months

What? Teaching Communication and Information Technology to Secondary Education students. (Our high school equivalent (Sorry, I can’t seem to stop))

When? Leaving June 13, 2011