Sunday, October 7, 2012

For the First Time

September has been a time of many firsts for me, so I thought I'd share a few. Enjoy!

First time in Africa!
First time slaughtering a chicken.
First time to eat goat, mukimo, maandazi, ugali, arrowroot, and chapati.
First time washing clothes by hand.
First time taking a bucket shower.
First time seeing zebras in the wild.
First graduate level course.

Arrowroot
Mukimo and beef



Saturday, October 6, 2012

Next Thing You Know


My first month away has flown by; I can’t believe it’s already October! September was spent in Kenya, orienting ourselves with the culture. We were each matched with a host family, so we spent our first weekend in Nairobi with them. My mom, dad, and three siblings were very warm and welcoming. I was fortunate enough to spend the next two weekends with them as well. The other YAVs and I also took a ten day Kiswahili course and a three day graduate course on East African culture, religion, politics, and economics. We also visited a children’s home, a center for Christian/Muslim relations, and a village in the foothills of Mount Kenya. While it was great to experience Nairobi, I’m thrilled to be in Dar es Salaam, my placement for the year!