Almost a Full Week

I can't believe it's already Friday, and we've been here almost a whole week, and at the same time, I feel like we've been here ages. We all seem to be adjusting very well, to the culture and how to get around, despite our language barrier. It's hard to communicate, but people here are so kind and understanding, that they don't hold it against us in any way. I know I'm extremely eager to begin Swahili courses on Monday, and we start with four hour intensive courses for the beginning so hopefully I'll gain some good knowledge of the language so I can start communicating. I've already learned the simple essentials, like greetings and farewells, some numbers, and how to order certain types of food. Even this doesn't help me a ton, though, because there are probably 100 different ways to greet people, and different for every situation depending on time of day and who in particular you're talking to. I'm eager to get comfortable with the language, as I hope it will help me get a better grasp on the culture and the people here.

Yesterday we visited the US Embassy in Dar. I had expected a large building with some sort of fence and lots of security, but it turned out to be a very highly guarded complex of sorts. The inside was very well manicured and beautiful, definitely like stepping out of Tanzania for a while. We met with a woman who works there and she explained what the embassy does in Tanzania, and also explained different things that Americans are doing in the country, like volunteers, researchers, and Peace Corps members. It was all very informative and interesting.

That afternoon we started our first course, Research Methods, which is taught by the director of the program. The course is intended to prepare us for our research projects which we'll work on in the field, so we'll know what we're doing when we're sent out to do interviews and collect data. Swahili courses start on Monday, and soon thereafter we begin Human Evolution and Ecology of the Maasai Ecosystem. Orientation itself is basically over, other than a field trip tomorrow, and I'm really glad. It's been informative and fun, but I'm really ready to get the ball rolling and start learning and taking classes. I'm really enjoying everybody on the program, here, we all get along very well and everybody is really intelligent and fun to talk to.

During our free time this week, we've been slowly venturing out and trying new things. Last night a group of us got on a Dalla Dalla and rode down to near the city center, and ate at a nice seafood restaurant. We met Abe's sister, who's here for school at a different University in the city to work on her master's degree. She studied abroad in Kenya, so has a good grasp on Swahili, and has been hanging out with us occasionally and helping us out. Dinner was delicious, and because we were out a little later, we had to negotiate a little to find our way back. We ended up taking the bus and the Dalla Dalla, but it took a bit of figuring out. We met a guy on the bus named Vincent who finished his undergrad. and is interested in coming to the US to do his master's degree. He was really interesting and very nice, and helped us find a Dalla Dalla back to campus.

Tomorrow we're taking a field trip to the city center (finally!). We're going to the National Museum and probably to the market a little bit so we know what's in the area. We'll probably get a chance to actually see the Indian Ocean, as well. I can't believe the first week is over!