A day in Dar, to Homestay tomorrow

Monday June 22, 6:11 PM

I am sorry I haven’t written in a bit. They have been keeping us very busy with Kswahili and safety lessons and all sorts of fun talk about sex.

Yesterday, for the first time, we went into Dar es Salaam. They have been keeping us pretty sheltered in a nun-run complex outside of Dar, other than our trip to the Peace Corps office, which of course was another pretty sheltered space.

It was a Sunday and we were told that it was much less crowded than usual, although a lot of shops were open, I tried to imagine what it would look like on any other day. We walked about a half hour into town in small groups each with a staff member – some took dala dalas in (small buses) but our group decided to walk.

The city is beautiful, though the poverty is evident. The shopkeepers were kind, but in general people kept their distance. I bought a katenga which is a large piece of fabric that women wear either wrapped or get made into dresses our clothes. Some girls in the group got kangas which are slightly smaller and have a saying in Kiswahili on them. I also picked up some shampoo which was much more expensive than I thought it would be – and very hard to find – at least one that looked like it was meant for. . white people hair. I ended up finding a bottle of target brand 2in1 on the back of a shelf unpriced and paid about $7.50 for it. Hopefully I can stretch it for awhile.

I also got a dress, since my skirts are pushing the edge of modesty, and I want to have something to wear once I get to homestay where I will need to respect the more conservative expectations of dressing (including the before-mentioned no pants)

Dar was amass with different people – and different smells. I will have to get used to the strength of scent in this country, especially if I ever need to use the choo (bathroom) and am not near my own house.

In the afternoon part of the group rode a dala dala to a ferry, went to out to a peninsula, and way to a beach near a resort that was safe. We had 2 PCV escorts that led the way as we grasped our packs to our fronts and desperately stretched our Kiswahili skills.

The beach was beautiful, and peaceful, and it was the first break we have gotten since we got to staging however long ago that was. We all swam all afternoon and relaxed on the beach (and some even road a camel – but I was being cheap with my shillings, and decided to save for other things . . like toilet paper. )

We left the beach around dusk and climbed up the hill to where the dala dalas had dropped us off. Half the group got on one that I think had timed it’s return well to pick up our group. The rest of us split into groups of three or 4 after climbing up the long road to some houses, and stuffed (I mean STUFFED) ourselves into the dala dalas to make our way back to the ferry. We all met up safely, though, made our way to the ferry, and with the help of our savvy PCV guides, got ourselves onto another dala dala home. It was a good day.


Tomorrow, we leave for homestay. Early, around 7am. At homestay, each of us will live with a family. We will have our own room, and the family will help us learn Kiswahili, culture, cooking, cleaning, laundry, showering (bucket style) and all the other basics (like for us girls, how to make sure we dress appropriately and act appropriately, as there are SOOO many rules to follow here.)

I am nervous and excited. I will be entering into someone’s home to live with their family when I don’t know much of the language or the culture. I barely have a familiarity with my surroundings. I remind myself that they are excited to meet me and that they want to help me as a PCV, and they signed up to have someone live in their house for 8 weeks.

It will be an experience – I am sure – that will build my skillset of meeting new people even though I feel unprepared to communicate. In 8 weeks I will enter my village alone, without my fellow PCVs to turn to, and have to meet new people every day, until they become familiar, until the become friends.

I am going to try to upload some pictures with this blog post but I don’t know how it’ll go. The computers are slow in the internet café, and I have been typing some on my laptop, saving it to a USB thumbdrive and taking it over so I don’t have to fight with them (and pay for the time) The photos are of the place we are staying (that I am not allowed to tell you, in case you were wondering why it had been left out) and a few from the PC headquarters in Dar. I did not bring my camera to the trip yesterday because I didn’t want it to be a target. I brought almost nothing, after listening to stories of pick pocketing from other PCVs and being warned in particular about Dar. Three of our group where pick pocketed yesterday in Dar. I wish I could have photographed the city. The people. The beach. The pretty camel J But I have 2 years. I will need to become very comfortable with my surroundings, very aware, and probably made sure I know a lot of the people around me, before I show that I have anything of value that can be snatched.

I am sorry this is hastily written, I have to conserve laptop battery life, I don’t have much time as is. I still have some packing to do and some Kiswahili studying, and other reading. We are leaving so early tomorrow!

I hope all is well in the US of A. Please write me letters, as I will likely not have internet access for the next 8 weeks.

Now I’ll go see if I can post this. ..