Hey hey! Been trying to get my act together and write a little update for y'all but keep getting distracted by coffee and granola and A/C and burritos and youtube. Like what's with that Gangnam style video going viral? Officially worried about my transition back to the states because I just don't get why it's so great! Karibu (welcome) to enlighten me on the matter. But more importantly, at least to my mother, is what I'm up to these days. I'm on the move again, currently in Dar es Salaam (hints the coffee, granola, A/C, burritos, fast internets, etc.) watching the first round of my training class buddies get their R's (go from peace corps volunteer, PCV, to returned peace corps volunteer, RPCV). It's been great to be able to celebrate with everyone and say goodbye, but honestly it has been depressing as shit listening to everyone talk about sandwiches and the like and knowing I chose another 14 months here and I'll be here without them. But all will be well once I get moved to Dodoma and start working and get used to a very different environment. But let me go back a few weeks...
I left my village on October 11th. It was strange having to say bye, but it made it a million times easier because I'll still be in TZ and able to call and visit again. At that point I was also pretty ready to leave; my replacement had taken over all my classes so I didn't really have anything to do and it just felt like I was waiting around to leave. It was also just weird timing because I left during the big national exam for my Form IVs, when I'm not allowed to be involved at all in the testing or even really be around school (they bring in outside teachers and police officers to proctor it all) and there's no classes for the other students (which seems to only be at my school). So I didn't really get to have a formal goodbye to all of my students at assembly or anything...sort of a relief because I didn't have to attempt a long, emotional speech. But I will really miss a few of my students, particularly my Form II girls, who made teaching so much better for me and I'm happy to be able to keep tabs on them through my replacement. Having no school left me plenty of time to say bye to friends in the village and nearby town and to my shitty little house that turned out to be such a great home. After leaving my vill I went to Mtwara town for a long weekend with the Mtwara/Lindi crew at my favorite place in all of Tanzania, the beach house. It was great to have one last get together with everyone and say goodbye, or rather, see y'all later if you end up in Dodoma.
Then moved on up to Dar and onto Pemba (the island north of Zanzibar) by ferry. A group of 10 from my training class spent 5 days there getting scuba certified...so so fun! There are a few pics on Facebook, but I'll try and post lots to Picasa this week. I highly recommend Pemba and diving with Swahili Divers if anyone is interested. I already can't wait to dive again! After Pemba we stopped in Zanzibar - Stonetown as well as a beach in the northeast of the island - for a couple more days of spending outrageous amounts of money and consuming outrageous amounts of fish and Konyagi (shitty Tanzanian gin, rumored to be distilled from papaya, but the little plastic bags they are sold 2 shots at a time in only list the ingredients as "konyagi flavour"). Since then I've just been continuing my spoiling in Dar...I even got to watch the debate the other night that a local bar aired for all us American expats. On Tuesday I'll hop on a 2-day train from Dar to Zambia with three friends. We'll spend a few days to see Victoria Falls, the largest (if you consider both width and height?) waterfall in the world. Should be pretty cool!
"Kathryn, travel is great, but do you ever work anymore these days?". Well, I did get my contract with WFP signed a couple days ago, so that's a step in the right direction. Still not sure exactly what I'll be doing there work wise, but after two years of never really knowing what the hell is going on around me, I'm okay with figuring it out once I get there. Now just have to get my housing and start date settled; hoping to move there after getting back from Zambia around November 7th, but again, we'll see...
I left my village on October 11th. It was strange having to say bye, but it made it a million times easier because I'll still be in TZ and able to call and visit again. At that point I was also pretty ready to leave; my replacement had taken over all my classes so I didn't really have anything to do and it just felt like I was waiting around to leave. It was also just weird timing because I left during the big national exam for my Form IVs, when I'm not allowed to be involved at all in the testing or even really be around school (they bring in outside teachers and police officers to proctor it all) and there's no classes for the other students (which seems to only be at my school). So I didn't really get to have a formal goodbye to all of my students at assembly or anything...sort of a relief because I didn't have to attempt a long, emotional speech. But I will really miss a few of my students, particularly my Form II girls, who made teaching so much better for me and I'm happy to be able to keep tabs on them through my replacement. Having no school left me plenty of time to say bye to friends in the village and nearby town and to my shitty little house that turned out to be such a great home. After leaving my vill I went to Mtwara town for a long weekend with the Mtwara/Lindi crew at my favorite place in all of Tanzania, the beach house. It was great to have one last get together with everyone and say goodbye, or rather, see y'all later if you end up in Dodoma.
Then moved on up to Dar and onto Pemba (the island north of Zanzibar) by ferry. A group of 10 from my training class spent 5 days there getting scuba certified...so so fun! There are a few pics on Facebook, but I'll try and post lots to Picasa this week. I highly recommend Pemba and diving with Swahili Divers if anyone is interested. I already can't wait to dive again! After Pemba we stopped in Zanzibar - Stonetown as well as a beach in the northeast of the island - for a couple more days of spending outrageous amounts of money and consuming outrageous amounts of fish and Konyagi (shitty Tanzanian gin, rumored to be distilled from papaya, but the little plastic bags they are sold 2 shots at a time in only list the ingredients as "konyagi flavour"). Since then I've just been continuing my spoiling in Dar...I even got to watch the debate the other night that a local bar aired for all us American expats. On Tuesday I'll hop on a 2-day train from Dar to Zambia with three friends. We'll spend a few days to see Victoria Falls, the largest (if you consider both width and height?) waterfall in the world. Should be pretty cool!
"Kathryn, travel is great, but do you ever work anymore these days?". Well, I did get my contract with WFP signed a couple days ago, so that's a step in the right direction. Still not sure exactly what I'll be doing there work wise, but after two years of never really knowing what the hell is going on around me, I'm okay with figuring it out once I get there. Now just have to get my housing and start date settled; hoping to move there after getting back from Zambia around November 7th, but again, we'll see...
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