Going to Mbeya

Mbeya, where I will eat loads of ndizi (bananas) I'm told. It is a new site, so I get to move myself in and customize the set up. Excellent, can't wait to get started on my garden. I'm being installed during the rainy season too, which is the right time to plant fruit trees and other crops. My site is not too far from the norther tip of Lake Nyasa (others call it L Malawi) which is supposedly home to the most beautiful beach in Tanzania's mainland, Mtema. Everything is looking excellent, I'm very pleased to be going to the Southern highlands, although I'm told it rains 10 months out of the year. The cooler weather up there will calm my sweat apparatus some, and I may even miss the climate of Morogoro some.

Not very sure what to expect at an all girls boarding school. Some of my peers have been speculating that I've been placed at the site that was intended for a 62 year old woman who left the program before finishing training. She was an IT/computer teacher and it may be related to the fact that the school I'm going to just received a donation of 20 computers. Looks like I'll be brushing up on my techno babble.

Two Weeks to Go

I'm finished learning Kiswahili in the classroom but Peace Corps training will continue for another two weeks. The high-point of this wiki iliyopita was definitely the permaculture session where I learned much about trapping water and which fruits and veges to plant in my garden when I get to post. I can't wait, eight months from now I may be eating papaya from my own plot of land. Permaculture also seems like an excellent secondary project to become involved in. Providing a source of nutritious food and a means to grow more of it seems to be an excellent way to cross into the medical profession. The best way to treat disease is to prevent it altogether. I still haven't seen the conditions I will be facing for the two years I will be in Tanzania after training, however, I plan on implementing what I've learned thus far, and see where it takes us. I believe that the most important aspect of Peace Corps service is the basic human interaction that takes place between a PCV and the people they meet in country.

Kiswahili of the week:

hadi hapo --> until then
unakuwaje? --> how are things? (like mambo)