The Wait is Never Over

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Holy crap I know I talked about all the crazy stuff that happened this year a little in my first blog post but it’s still so weird to look back and see how much I went through, both good and bad. Highs were graduating college, traveling this summer, spending time with my family, and starting the Peace Corps. I’ve decided to NOT touch on the lows (if you know you know), but I hope this new year is exciting in new ways and that my new life becomes natural and comfortable for me, more than it already has. Anyways..

A month has passed since I last blogged!! A month has passed since I got to the village! A month has passed since I ordered furniture from my fundi, who tells me every day he's bringing it, but never shows.

I'm writing this using the Wifi from Kahawa Cafe in Dodoma because YESTERDAY (more than yesterday, I was slow to publish this and also naive) I went to take my bus home and it was absolute chaos. Essentially, it needed some "fixing" but I ended up waiting six and a half hours. And sure, I could have given up earlier but I had HOPE that something - like a new bus, or new part, would come - but once it hit 8:30 pm, meaning I wouldn't get home until about midnight, I threw the towel in and checked into a hotel again.

But the thing is this happened to me a few weeks ago too. I took my bus home and about 40 minutes in it broke down for three hours so I sat on the side of the road with no service and a phone with less than 10% of battery left and just chatted with the conductors and other passengers. Then it started storming so I walked home in the dark rain and when I finally made it to my house, I was greeted by like seven scorpions (they come out at night in the rain) and I tried to kill one by stepping on it, but it's stinger poked my toe. Not in a super drastic way, but definitely I was like oh ouch. Okay addition: after I left Kahawa, the day I wrote this part, I went to get my bus, and the SAME THING HAPPENED. They said they were fixing it or a new part was coming but I waited from 1:30pm to 8:30pm and didn’t get home until midnight. Waiting, waiting, and more waiting. Utter nonsense and so frustrating but I didn’t let it get to me, I just called my friends and finished my book and waited and talked. Since I got home practically two days later than intended, I decided to stay in the village for NYE, so that’s what I did last night (went to bed at 10:30). Feeling grandma.

Other than my buses and furniture that I never stop waiting on, village life has been fun. My liar fundi is actually one of my best friends here, and he let me come to his place of work to build a different set of shelves for myself, which was actually one of my favorite days here so far. He said I can come back and build more! We also go and watch soccer matches together as much as possible and yesterday on NYE he took me to a fruit farm in my village (super rare) and I got to help farm a bit and even take home a papaya!! The papaya is not sitting in my fridge which has been my best purchase here to date. You all know how refrigeration works (thanks for this comment, Jordan), but it’s truly enabled me to cook so much more and begin eating things like ice again.   

Life in the village is fun. I LOVE my coworkers and I’ve definitely gotten in a good routine. Every day I go to the Zahanati (clinic) and help weigh babies and/or watch vaccines get administered. I sometimes walk to the sokoni (market) and buy things like eggs, tomatoes, bananas, etc.. I hang out at my mama friend’s place a lot with her twin daughters who are ten and I have begun to drink a lot of 7up or Fanta passion! Which if you know me is crazy because I never drank soda at home. Soon school will start again so I hope to visit the Primary and Secondary schools often. Also - now that I know where the fruit farm is I want to help out more! It reminded me so much of UGArden in a unique way. This year, I’m going to try to keep expectations medium since productivity is so different in the Peace Corps.

The holidays haven't really felt like the holidays but they've still been sweet. Within Peace Corps, there's a program for later professionals called Response volunteers, and we're lucky enoughgg to have a couple here in Dodoma! So, for Christmas Eve, we went over to their place and cooked and ate and played games. We did a sweet White Elephant, where I ended up with a Baobab tree sapling! On Christmas Day we went to watch the Yanga game which is one of the biggest teams here in Tanzania (everyone is either a Yanga or a Simba fan no matter what (I prefer Simba)). I love spending time in the city with everyone and am so grateful that we get to meet up and hang out like we do. We’re so spoiled with Shoppers, the big grocery store, and mom, you’d be happy to learn that I signed up for their rewards program. I’ll go to the city again soon and hopefully, finally, the wait for my bus will be over.

Visiting students at the primary school!

My wall! In the new year, I should be getting a P.O. Box in Dodoma so I'll drop my mailing address here for more postcards and letters :-)

Us for our first weekend in Dodoma after swear-in!

My chicken outfit! It’s everything to me!

Soccer is HUGE here! So we went to the Yanga game on Christmas day!

Clinton, my bestie!, teaching young boys about sexual education

Talking with mamas at the Zahanati about nutrition!