Training

For the next 8 weeks I will be training in for going to post somewhere (yet unknown) in Tanzania. There are several components to the training regime. Most important is community integration. I am staying with a Tanzanian host family and every day we interact together and within the community. We are studying kiswahili 5 days a week from 8am to 4pm and I'm improving fast. Sasa ninaweza kuzumgumza kidogo na watu wa Morogoro. Baada ya kozi ya kiswahili kusema vizuri sana.

My host family is very warm and kind. They have the surname Dudu and they are currently observing the 25 days of Ramadon. Every day, they break the fast at 6:35pm.

It is surprising how quickly I can feel at home in the household, and It is excellent practicing kiswahili with them. Already I can feel myself integrating into the community and it feels great. I have always hated being simply a tourist. Each time I hear the word, muzungu (foreigner), I can stop and say, "I am not foreigner, I am called Sky." This and common greetings in kiswahili sets me far apart from westerners traveling through the area, and it helps me to stay safe. When the community knows and likes me, I will have as strong a support network as anywhere in the world.

I am enjoying the cultural differences such as eating with my hands (though not every family does this), personal contact, and extended greeting. Everything is wonderful and I have had no problems.