Happy 4th of July!

Well, its the fourth of July and I'm at the beach with my friends, BBQing, sipping on ice cold beers and waiting for fireworks......wait a minute...nervermind.

I started my morning by sweeping and mopping the floor. Then, I went with my Mama to the watering hole to get some water. Its about a 20 minute walk uphill. As she's scooping, she's pointing at the frogs floating in the murky water and telling we the word in Swahili, which I can't remember. I got home and took a bucket bath before walking the hour walk to get to this computer. As my Mama's pouring some water in my bucket, I notice the dead mouse floating in the water bucket she's pouring from. She looks at me and asks if the temperature is good. I tell her , oh that's great I can't wait to get "clean." It only took me 45 more minutes after waiting for this computer to upload before I could start this post. I am definitely missing the states today and wishing I was on a beach somewhere, but I am oh so far away.

The other night I was helping cook dinner. I take a seat in the back yard next to my Dada Mainda. She has a bucket of boiling water. She pulls out a chicken without a head, places it in the bucket, and begins to de-feather the bird. After she's plucked all the feathers, she uses a small knife to clean the feet. Then, my Baba comes at the bird with his knife to start to butcher it...and I mean butcher it. Luckily, thus far my main role in this preparation has been to hold the torch so they can see what they're doing. My brother comes to help out by pulling one end of the wing, while my Baba proceeds to hack it in two. He cuts the whole bird up as I sit with my flashlight trying not to gets splattered with chicken guts. Finally he gets to the innards. He pulls them out and shows me the intestines, the heart, kidneys...I don't even know what...and I just smile and nod. In my head I'm wondering how am I going to get out of eating this thing. Then my Baba tells me that this chicken was actually the rooster that was waking me up everyday at 4 in the morning which made me feel a little better, but I'm still glad I wasn't home for the actual execution. The chicken wasn't served until the following night. At dinner, I try to get away with eating as little as possible, but there is no wasting in the household. As we're sitting on the floor in the darkness, I can hear my family eating the chicken meat along with the crunching of the bones. Sorry no. Nope. I am not eating my chicken bone. The cat can have mine. I go to bed and am thankful that I got through the meal. Little did I know that there would be another piece of chicken waiting for me for breakfast. Keep in mind there is no refrigerator anywhere nearby. Needless, to say, I have definitely gotten sick since being here, but I'm finally feeling better. I heard the other day that one of the girls in a different CBT group caught malaria and was in the hospital for a day, but is doing fine now. Malaria is everywhere. A lot of people in my village are sick with it. My neighbor's mom has it.
My Swahili classes are going well. Our teacher's name is Vivian, but we call him "Big Boy." Whenever we are speaking broken Swahili he stops us and says we're speaking Chinese. Apparently Swahili is spoken differently in different countries, and Kenyan Swahili is a lot like broken Swahili. He told us that "Swahili was born in Tanzania, it got sick in Uganda, and it died in Kenya." He's pretty awesome and I'm learning a lot from him. I'm able to speak with my family more and more everyday.
Yesterday, we went to MATI, the main Peace Corps Training Center in Muheza. We had our first introduction to "permagardening," which is a gardening technique that we will use during homestay and eventually at our volunteer site. Farming is a huge way of life here, so we are learning how to most effectively use the land to increase crop yields, so that eventually we'll be able to set up a permagarden at our site that will help the community to become more sustainable, generate income, and provide more food for more people within the area. We learned about which crops have the best nutrients, which ones grow best where, how to use the water most effectively, etc. It was really cool and I can't wait to start my garden. I do have blisters all over my hands from swinging my jembe, or hoe, all day yesterday.
Not much else new thus far. I'm getting more used to my new home. The kids demand a song and dance from me every night. My Mama has taught me to wash my clothes by hand, how to light the stove, and how to iron. The iron looks ancient and you literally have to load it with hot charcoal to iron things.

I miss you all soooo much! We've gotten mail twice now since I got here, and I haven't gotten anything yet :( but here's my address again just in case:

Cameron Bradley, PCT
P.O. Box 9123
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

I would LOVE to get letters!

Also, everyone please send me emails or post on this site to talk to me, because a lot of times these computers are too slow to let me get on facebook to talk to you. So please email me!...even just so I have your address. I'm at cameronmbrad@gmail.com. But honestly, snail mail would be a great way to talk to me! I'm hoping to get a phone within the next two weeks, so I'm excited about that.

I hope that everyone has a nice relaxing Fourth of July. Eat lots of smores for me!! I will miss the fireworks, but honestly, the sky out here at night is like nothing I've ever seen before. The stars are amazing. I love you all! Until next time!

Kwaheri!

Is This Real Life?!

Me and my CBT (Communinity Based Training) Group are packed in our little van and put-putting up a hill to Kilulu to meet our host families. Its really beautiful here. The dirt is bright red and everything else is so green! As we pull up to my house, we slide open the door, and there are at least 20 kids crowding around me. They've all been running the whole way with the van. Everyone is really excited to see us. I grab one end of my bag with about 5 kids attached to the other end as We walk it over to my house. My new Mama is waiting for me and she greets me with a huge smile and a big hug. Mama Mwanaidi. I also meet my Baba Mgumi (dad), my Dadas, Asha and Mainda (sisters), and my little Kaka Dula (brother). At this point, I'm pretty sure the kids can speak some English, but my mama is taking my training very seriously and won't let anyone speak English to me. She helps me settle in the house. There is a small living area and three rooms, one of which is mine. The kitchen is a small mud hut behind the house where Mama cooks.

Ian, I am sorry to say this, but there are no chairs in this house. Only stools...Teeny tiny stools. We eat dinner on a mat on the floor...with our hands. There is no electricity. There is no running water. When it gets dark it stays dark.

I always help my Mama cook before dinner. She talks super slow to me so I can learn new words, learn how to cook, help with the cleaning. She's very patient. She boils my drinking water for me, and is stuffing me with food. I'm trying to get used to the food, but its all pretty much just potatoes, bread, rice, beans, and ugali, which is their staple dish, made from maize. If you'd like to try it, please feel free to drive down to Toys R Us and pick up a tub of Play-Do.I was really sick the first night, but am feeling better now. Every morning and night she heats up my water for me so that I can have a warm bucket bath....Oh what's a bucket bath you might ask?....Step one:Fill bucket with water. Step 2: scoop water. Step 3: pour water on self. Step 4: bucket bath...Blair would love it. Oh where do I take my bucket bath? That's right in the choo! The choo is basically the bathroom. Its a small cement room behind the house with a hole in the ground. Yup, just squat and aim. I'm coming home with thighs of steel, I swear. I'll post pictures of my house when I can.

I'm finding that I'm missing basic things that you otherwise wouldn't think of missing. So every time you flick a switch or turn on the faucet for some clean running water, think of me. Every time you sit down to dinner and eat a delicious fresh salad, roasted salmon, a cheese of your choice, etc, think of me. Next time you sit on the toilet, think of me. Next time you visit your local county fair and play the game where you aim the water gun at the small hole that is the clown's mouth....think of me. Because I will be thinking of all of you.

So ya I'm definitely roughing it right now, but my family is very friendly and welcoming. They laugh at me a lot. There are always people and kids coming to visit and laugh at me. There are chickens and cats running through the house. There's a rooster that crows incessantly outside my window every morning at about 5:00 and I kinda wanna punch it in the face. My Baba keeps telling me I'm gonna have to kill a chicken soon and laughing. He can't wait, but I'm pretty scared. I said, I'd be glad to cut off that freaking rooster's head! I talk to them about my American family and they're very interested to know where I came from. I haven't showed them my pictures yet, because I know I'll start crying if I look at them :(

I have language and culture classes all day 6 days a week which is going fast and helping a lot. The kids try to help me with my homework. My neighbor has a farm so we went on a walk and he showed me all his crops and told me the names of them. It is hard to study with an entourage of children crowded around you 24/7 but I'm getting used to it. Yesterday I handed out some candy and they all got really excited.

They made me sing for them last night, so I had to stand on my porch and I tried to teach them the hokey pokey, which they enjoyed. They also enjoy the high five. Oh ya, and Mom they totally encourage burping at dinner here...so ya.

Also, if anyone was planning to send a package, they said to keep them small, like shoe box size, because they tax them a lot. But I would love to get mail from anyone and everyone. I'm gonna send some out so we'll see when it gets over there!

I think that's all I have for now. I'm definitely learning a lot and adjusting right now. I still can't believe I'll be living here for the next two months. But I miss everyone and hope you're all doing well. I'll write again when I can.

Last Days before Homestay!

Ok, one more quick post, because I am leaving the Mzimbase Center Wednesday morning and don't know when I'll be back to a computer. Yesterday was our one day off from class and we took a trip into the city to do some shopping. The essentials: I got my first kanga, as well as some toiletries, including toilet paper, which I will need to bring everywhere with me. The city of Dar es Salaam was SO intimidating. We split into groups of 5 and luckily one of the training staff, Vivian helped us shop and bargain. I've never felt so on display or out of place. Although we were getting stares, people were very friendly. Before leaving the grounds, we were told not be carrying any bags. Anything I was carrying on me was either in my bra or down my pants. I would basically be a walking target as a white girl with a bag of any kind. Apparently, pick-pocketers are pretty good around here, but luckily no major issues. Vivian led us through this huge outside market with tons of vendors and piles of clothes and mountains of shoes just laid on a tarp on the street where people were selling things. This place used to be the capital city before Dodoma, and it was most definitely the ultimate instance of poverty that I have seen yet. It was pretty dirty and everyone is trying to sell you something. I can't imagine going through on my own, but some of the current PCV's were leading a couple of the groups! I got my kanga and then took it to a seamster. The kanga has to be cut into two pieces and hemmed before it is worn. Each kanga has a proverb written on it, so it was good that Vivian was there to translate for me because some proverbs are not very respectful. The one I got basically says that you have to work hard in life and that if you depend on others you will die poor. After we were done shopping, we took a "daladala" back to the center. Daladalas are the main mode of transportation around the city, and they are basically small beat down buses that are way overcrowded and drive way fast. It was fun though. It will definitely be something I'll have to get used to. After shopping, we went across the street to a local bar for a bit. It was nice to sit and get to know everyone a lot better. Everywhere we go we're watching the world cup. All the other volunteers are really nice. But soon we will be split into groups to go to our varying host villages.

I will be living in Kilulu. I was talking to a current PCV, who was assigned there for his homestay and he got me really excited about going. Although its a bit more secluded than the other villages, he said its at the top of a mountain and it was one of his favorite times during Peace Corps thus far. Apparently the landscape is going to be beautiful. I'll be sure to take pictures and try to put them up. Also, there is tons of fresh fruit!! I'm so excited for fresh juicy delicious fruit! I've been deprived. I feel like everything we eat is fried, or beans and rice. However, one good thing about Tanzania is that we must have tea time everyday. Everyday during classes, we break at 10:30 for "chai" or....teatime!

Oh ya, today I got the second Hep A shot as well as a rabies shot :) Still got a few more coming I think.

Right now, I'm a little worried about the first couple weeks of homestay, which will be awkward as my new family won't be speaking English and I know minimal Swahili at this point. But I hope they will be patient with me. I can't wait to have a Mama and a family to distract me from that fact that I'm so far away from my own.

I'm hoping that soon after getting settled at home I'll get to go into the town of Muheza, near the village, and get a phone, and make another post. Until then, I hope you're all doing well!