Tuesday, December 28, 2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying the winter weather!! I am so jealous of those of you getting a winter with tons of snow! Where was that when I was home last year?! In my region it is still very hot, but the rains have begun!!! Woohooo!! I'm still learning what "rainy season" means in Berege because since the first rain, which was at the end of November, I think it has only rained three or four times. I have been out of my village for most of December for PC training and then holiday travel, so I can't say for sure, but I imagined it to mean something very different. Because the season is so short and they rely so much on the rainwater for their farming and therefore sustaining their lives, I pictured rain at least three or four days a week. The first day it rained it was very short, but it poured. I was so excited! I looked out my window and saw a bunch of school kids running down the road toward their homes and then shortly after there was no one to be found. You gotta find cover! They thought I was crazy for walking around in it. I went home for a few days after training and I thought I had taken the wrong bus. I need to take a picture to show you, but the environment has changed drastically and this was after only two rains. I could not believe it. Everything is so green! Trees that I didn't even know bloomed, bushes that I didn't even know existed now have so many leaves. It was a beautiful welcoming home! The air has a bit more moisture, which just adds to the moisture content in my clothes I'm wearing everyday because I'm in a constant sweat! Oh, and the first day it rained I counted 25 frogs come out of a small hole just outside my back door. They were all over my courtyard!!
So we had a two week PC training in Morogoro beginning December 3rd. Morogoro is only about three hours east of me, but it's like a whole nother world there. It is lush with vegetation-tons of fruit trees, bamboo, there are huge, gorgeous mountains. Actually our training site was right at the base of one of the mountains so not only was the view incredible, but we did a little bit of climbing too. I frantically wrapped things up in the village before taking off for a good chunk of time. The bilogy club students finished planting all of their tree seeds and then last minute (because I had finally just received the rest of the seeds) some students at the primary school and I planted a small nursery for them. I felt like things were very organized and planned out before I left (i.e. watering schedule, weeding, etc.) but apparently not as good as it needed to be. When I returned from In-Service-Training (IST) the seedlings were very dry and not doing very well. I did some communicating with my group leaders before leaving again so we'll see how things are going when I return in a few days.
Training went pretty well. Not really what I was expecting in terms of hands-on, praparation for really getting projects started though. Often I feel very underqualified to be an environment volunteer. So many things that the villagers want I know nothing about, which is stressful. The thing is though, and I just have to keep reminding myself, is that it's okay. I don't need to be an expert in everything to be a good volunteer. It's absolutely okay, and actually better for sustainability, if I take the role of facilitator in many cases, to connect the villagers with the appropriate people and resources in our area, so that they are able to do these things on their own. When I leave, they should know how to continue doing these things without me. Obviously this does not include everything, but for many projects there are local people with the appropriate knowledge and skills.
It was really great to see all of the other volunteers from my group and spend time all together again. At first it was a bit overwhelming to be with so many people after being alone in the village and only seeing others occasionally for the last three months. But the longer we were together I just felt more and more like I didn't want to leave them, and I am still hanging on to a last few. I have begun to realize how important my peace corps friends and family are as the greatest support system during service because it is not easy and they are going through a similar roller coaster of a two year period that is very difficult for others to really be able to understand. To be honest I am feeling quite anxious about going home to my village. I have been surrounded by fabulous people for a good three weeks and it's tough to pull away. It will be great though!!!

Thanksgiving!!!
I was actually sick, so thanksgiving kinda stunk. We had a small group of get together at one volunteer's house in Mpwapwa and cook a beautiful dinner, though it was not an American Thanksgiving dinner (!) and I couldn't eat it. I was so bummed. But this was the first time I had been sick and it wasn't even that bad, so |I can't complain. I think it was jsut food poisoning. There was even a butchering of a duck, that I missed. Actually, I'm super glad I missed it!!
My birthday/Christmas!!!
So much more than I could have asked for or imagined. It was a long trip to get there, but we went to Iringa region, which is absolutely beautiful! I think it is my favorite place in Tz so far. Well,it's a toss up between here and Tanga. Small, but gorgeous mountains surrounding the city and the actual city is actually built on the hillsides. It's super cute, there are nice houses, tons of trees, lots of fruit, good shopping, and it gets cold at night!!!! I really like it here! Anyway, after spending one night in town, we went out to a friend's village for a few days. There were seven of us total and we made a very cozy and homey-feeling Christmas. Me and one other friend arrived last to find a house that was decorated like Christmas! There were paper stockings on the wall with each of our names written on one. This is totally not normal for PC housing, but Katie (the PCV whose house we were at) has a fire place! What?! I know, it was awesome!! So she had a mini christmas tree on top and mugs with our names decorated on them. One girl had decorated christmas posters and hung them on the wall. And there were some other miscellaneous decorations all over the house. It was such a fun surprise! We cooked lots of yummy food, played games, watched a movie on a computer, drank homemade bucket wine. I know it doesn't sound like village life does it? It was pretty special. They baked me a cake and had cards and a few little gifts for my birthday. They even managed to find HAPPY BIRTHDAY candles! They made it a very special day for me! That night we had a big slumber party in Katie's bedroom-a couple in the bed and then rest of us on cushions on the floor. Woke up late christmas morning, had hot cocoa and coffee and then each opened a secret santa gift. During the afternoon, we went to the orphanage that is in Katie's village and spend time giving some loves to the children. This was my first time experiencing anything like this and so it was quite emotionally exhausting, but what could be better on christmas day than spending time with these unfortunate children, showing them a little bit of love and affection. It was quite amazing! I am pretty envious of Katie that she has such an organization so close by. The orphanage is run by some Italians and they have created a beautiful home for these children.
Well, I have to go for now. sorry that I can't write very often. I feel like it means you miss out on fun little stories or details because it's really hard for me to think of everything when I finally get a chance to sit down and write. Why PC told me not to bring a computer, I have no idea. I wouldn't be able to use it in my village anyway, but there are so many other opporunities-work related too.
I love and miss you all and wish you a Happy New Year!
Randi