homestay update...for reals

Ok so I'll try writing this again. I've been with my host family for one week now. They are really great, although different than I expected. My Mama is only 25 years old, so she's really more like a friend. She's a primary school teacher, teaching English actually, which is good for me but bad for my Swahili immersion. But she's super nice and does try to speak to me in Swahili the first time, and then again the second time if I don't understand, but will usually switch to English if I really don't understand. Her husband, Baba Isaac, is 30. I just met him briefly my first day because the next morning he had to go to Zanzibar for work...he's in the military and their prepping for the upcoming presidential election on the 31st. He's nice though, speaks fairly good english, and I've talked to him on the phone a few times since he left. The best part of my family is my little kaka (brother) Isaac. That's right, his name is Isaac, just like my newest little cousin! He's only 1 year old and I'm already in love with him. It's awesome to come home and see his adorable, smiling face everyday. I also have 2 dada (sister), Betty and Flora, who aren't actually my sisters. I think Betty is the younger sister of Mama Isaac and Flora is the housegirl (cooks and cleans...which is awkward and deserves a long blogpost in and of itself...more about that later) and may or may not be related...not sure exact ages but I'd guess both are around 13. Everyone is really nice and I feel very comfortable in the house. We have electricity, but no running water. I've got my own room with a big bed and a desk to study. A lot could be said about training itself, but I guess it could be summed up as crazy and exhausting. There is very little free time, as we have class from 8 to 5 Monday through Saturday...I really don't think it is actually possible to shove that much Kiswahili in your brain every day. Then it's back home after class, where I am lucky to get in a pumzika kidogo (little rest), help cooking dinner (takes forever!), hand wash clothes (takes forever!), talk with my family, play with Isaac, etc. Eat dinner, bath, get in bed around 9:30 and try and journal for a few minutes before passing out anywhere form 10 to 15 minutes later. But don't worry, it's not as bad as it sounds and I am really enjoying every minute of it. I am also happy to report I am cleaner than I ever have been, because in Tanzania you both TWICE a day, so I take a bucket bath every morning and night.

Swahili is going pretty well. Another girl in my group learned some Swahili before coming as well, so it's nice that we're at the same level and pick up new stuff at the same pace. It is actually a fairly easy language to learn, and the grammar is really regular once you get the hang of it. I feel really confident in class and talking with my language teacher, but everyday conversation in everyday situations is totally different. It is still pretty intimidating and I get easily flustered, but I'm sure I'll get more comfortable with time. The 2 oldest volunteers (60s?) are in my language group which has been pretty interesting. I really can't imagine trying to learn a language as an old person...they really have such a harder time picking it up. The woman is especially slow, and after just 2 days they brought in another teacher just for her. So it's better now that we're able to move forward at the pace we should be, and I do really like my language teacher. Unfortunately, none of the people I became close friends with so far are in my group or live anywhere near me, which was pretty disappointing but is probably for the best anyways as I can just focus on Swahili and integrating into my host family. All the volunteers get together once a week at our central training hub for broad training sessions, and it was really great to see everyone on Friday. After training some of us went to a nearby bar and had a couple of cold beers and pizza (first "American" food since arriving) which was a great way to end our first week of homestay.

The food with with my host family is awesome! A lot less fried stuff and more vegetables and fresh fruit with every meal (banana, watermelon, papaya). My favorite dish so far is matembele, which is made from the leaves of the sweet potato plant...it cooks down to something similar to spinach, but much tastier, and Mama Isaac cooks it with tomato, onion, grated carrot and fresh coconut milk...delicious! My dada also makes a wonderful homeade fruit juice. So I'm eating very well!

Today was a free day since it's Sunday. I slept in until 7:30 and then woke up, ate breakfast, and studied some Swahili. Then I went into to town (about a 10 minute bus ride...also another blog post in and of itself) to meet up with some of the volunteers for lunch. Went to a bar for a couple of cold beers after, and now I'm at an internet cafe as my last stop. Another long week ahead, but we're starting more teacher training and less language so it should be pretty different. That's all for now...hope you all are well!!