Another Night Another Dream

Hello hello. It's Tuesday evening and I'm sitting in the internet "cafe" of the hotel. I am doing a lot better than the last time I posted because I have come to terms with the fact that I am just going to have to learn to be firmer with people when they make me uncomfortable. It's a life skill I probably should have learned by now anyway :)

I realized that most of the people I have talked to don't have any idea what a normal day is like for me here because I never really explained it. So here it is. In the morning Melendy, my roommate, and I wake up under our mosquito nets when our alarms go off somewhere between 7:15 and 7:45 depending on showering/going online. Melendy and I share an apartment with Kaliya and Alainna. Across the hall (which is actually just the top of the stairs because there are only two apartments on the second floor) Sara, Rose, and Josh share an identical apartment, and Trevor has his own room in a different building because he smokes. Even though being around the same 7 people all the time is rough no matter who you are with, I really like all of them and we definitely lucked out considering we all mostly get along.

Breakfast comes with the hotel room, so after getting ready for the day we go downstairs for breakfast around 8 and eat fruit, toast, and eggs. At first I didn't like the fact that I feel so spoiled, but when I am having a moment where I am freaking out about being in a new place it is nice to have scheduled things that happen every day. After breakfast we walk to the Center (Nyerere Center for Peace Research) which is about 7-10 minutes away. There are a few ways to go and depending on how much time we have, we usually pick based on how many people trying to sell things or talk to wazungu there are on each road. It's getting better now, though, because most people know us.

Our class schedule is weird. There are four classes, but the core class is divided up into four and smooshed into the first few weeks. So three of my classes last for the full semester: International Law, Music and Cultural Identities, and Kiswahili. But the core class is made up of Environmental Management, Human Rights and Gender, Economic and Social Issues (those three are only for the first three weeks), and then Peace and Conflict Resolution for the two weeks after the other two end. So I have classes for like 6-8 hours each day for the first month and then not a lot at all (I guess so that I can volunteer) after that.

The Center is a house that has been converted and it's next to the Conference Center which is where the Rwanda War Tribunals happen. There is only one class room, and other than International Law and Music (which are electives so only some of us take them) my classes are all with just the 8 of us in that one classroom. It's good and also a lot of time with the same people and in the same place every day.

We usually walk somewhere for lunch and after classes walk back to the hotel to drop off our things before going out. Dinner is from 7 to 9 but we pretty much always show up at 6:59. I think that once the first month is over I will be able to volunteer somewhere a lot and really do my own thing. I like my classes a lot, though, and they fit in really nicely with everything I'm doing at Goucher.

Today was different because we took two field trips, one for Environmental Management, and one for Gender. The environmental one was a conservation organization called the "Malihai Club," not to be confused with "Mile High Club," which is a frequent flier organization and a group people automatically join when they manage to have sex on airplanes. Due to our professor's deceiving accent, we were under the impression that this conservation organization was also called the "Mile High Club" until we saw the sign and the whole world made sense.

Another thing I haven't mentioned is that the main Tanzanian food here is Ugali which is basically like...I don't know. It's maize powder that you put in boiling water and it's kind of like thicker grits that are rolled up into a ball and eaten with vegetables or meat. Sara and I bought some and decided to try making it despite not really knowing how, and it ended up working really well. We have decided to invent flavored Ugali, and some of the flavors are going to be: hot apple cinnamon, cheese and broccoli, pesto and avocado, baked egg and cheese, and many more. The plan is for her to transfer to Goucher so that we can open a travelling Ugali stand and make bank. After college we are moving here to open "Mzungu Play Place," an Ugali and Konyagi bar. OH! I don't think I have mentioned Konyagi yet. Oh, Konyagi. It's the cheapest drink around...It think it costs about 3 dollars for a big bottle. It's pretty much really bad vodka and really bad gin mixed together. Disgusting.

Today my mind was blown because I was told that not only does FedEx exist here, but it is like right next door. So if you want to send me something and actually want it to get here but don't mind spending money, send it via FedEx.

Tonight at the dance class I go to I met an American woman who is really awesome and is going to bring us to this informal Church service that they have at a restaurant on Sundays. I'm pretty psyched despite the whole being Jewish thing. I haven't found any synagogues here so I'm just looking forward to any kind of religious thing.

I hope all is well with you all :) Asante sana
Sarah

Honeymoon's Over

Hello Everyone! I hope everything is going well at home. I am sitting in the little internet room in the hotel trying to do my homework. Things are at that point here where I am realizing the less appealing aspects of Arusha. Don't worry, I still love it, but there is always a period of having to confront things about a place or yourself before you can really settle down.
I'm finding that you can't really know where someone is coming from until you really know. That doesn't make sense, but so far it seems impossible to just make friends with someone. I know that can't really be true, but I haven't figured this place out. Almost all the men that I have met have proven to be not as friendly as they seem. And I know I sound naive saying that, but it's in a very different way than in the States. Pretty much everyone either wants your money or to sleep with you. It's like manners are really important here so very few people are outright rude or inappropriate, but they kind of get closer and closer to crossing the line but never do. So you both never know whether or not they are creepy or not and you can't tell someone to go away because then you are the rude one. And they are persistent. I made the mistake of giving my phone number to a friend I made and he calls like 5 times a day. And I don't mean they are spread out...I mean that if I don't call back he calls four more times before he gives up. It's not just him, every other person that anyone on my group has given there number to has done that. It's ridiculous!
I think I am more pissed because I go to school and have my gender class where I learn all about how women are treated in different sects of society here, and then I walk home from school and can't take off my white girl costume. At home I can go to class, learn about a lot of upsetting stuff, and then force myself to kind of put it in the back of my mind, but when I'm here I'm really here. And I get hit on so much! People hit on you differently here so I didn't know it at first, but like WTF?! Between that "friend" that calls me 85 times a day, my gender studies class, the guy that shook my hand and did that weird thing where they rub your palm with their index finger (they do it in the States too, it's some weird sexual creeper thing), and the fact that I am ALWAYS the white girl, I pretty much am about to punch the next male that talks to me in the face. OH, and there is this guy that conveniently shows up as we are walking to lunch. He came onto our school grounds the other day and started asking about me/other Sara. Then he came to our hotel and had the front desk call my room! I sent Trevor down and he told him off, but it is just weird. I don't think anyone needs to be worried about my safety, but you may need to be worried about me coming back as a lesbian Women's Studies major. I've started wearing the wedding ring that I brought.
Anyway, sorry about all the complaining. I think that once I get over my weird white guilt, learn how to assert myself, and make some friends who don't want my money then I will be ok. That's the thing though, how do I know if someone wants my money? And how can I blame them? I notice myself kind of judging people by how much money they seem to have and then realize that deep down there is an inkling of avoiding poorer people. I would never do that in the States! But in the States my skin doesn't scream, "I'M RICH." So I think you can see my dilemma. I'm really actually dealing with it fine but I don't really have any other place to bitch about it and that's why I love this blog.
Once I find a place to volunteer and start doing things where I can meet people with common interests and feel like I have a purpose I will be better. I just want to make sure that I don't come to Africa and only hang out with my little group of Americans. They are great though. There is another Sara (without an H), and we hang out a lot and are known on the streets as "the Sarahs".
I really like my classes and even though I don't feel totally grounded here yet, I am 100% secure in my being a Peace Studies major and being on the path I'm on. It's funny though, I came here so excited to walk everywhere so I could have "a new relationship with the place I'm in" and to not have the internet most of the time and to denounce western everything. Honestly though, some days I am just like, "Get me a F***ing car, Facebook that doesn't take 2 hours to load, toilettes that work once in a while, and let me walk down the street listening to my ipod or talking on my phone and ignoring all other human beings around me." And honestly, I usually love the whole "oh Hakuna Mattata let's loiter and hang out and be slow and polite" but let's be honest. I'm from Massachusetts. I was raised in a family that you could describe as blunt but it would be an understatement. I'm mostly joking because I really do love it here, but it's funny that in some ways I am learning the complete opposite things than what I thought I would learn. So I'm not trying to seem like I am complaining, I'm still in love with this place.
Alright, I think I have written enough. I'm sorry for everyone that has emailed me and I haven't emailed back. I usually type this in my room and copy and paste it before class so I haven't had time to really sit and check email, but I will soon I promise! Also, if you send a letter it takes a minimum of three weeks, so plan ahead :) I haven't talked much about the real issues here like the poverty or illnesses, but don't think that's because it isn't all pervasive or because I haven't noticed. It's just one of those things that is going to take a lot longer than a few weeks to process.

I miss you all! Thanks to everyone that has read this far. You should all come visit and I'll show you around.
All my Love,
Sarah

Week 2

Goings-On:

-We tried a new place for lunch the other day. At most little lunch places the menus don't mean much because if you ask for something they will tell you, "Oh, we don't have that," and you eventually realize it's better just to ask what they do have. Vegetarianism has gone temporarily partially out the window. At the new place we tried the waiter told us just to come pick out what we want. He brought us back to where they actually slaughter the animals and pointed to chicken, beef, and goat. We picked out a whole chicken that we wanted and he brought it to our table.

-We went to a soccer game and at the stadium and I was the only woman in the entire place until my friends showed up. I think there were two Tanzanian women there. As I get used to things I'm becoming hyper aware of the fact that women have very specific roles in society here and ways that they are supposed to act.

-I'm exhausted all the time. I think between walking every where, needing to talk to everyone (people don't walk with ipods or cell phones...it's wonderful but I'm also needing to retrain myself to talk alone time in other ways because it's not like i can just go on a walk and listen to music), the sun, and taking in so many new things, I'm just so tired!

-Yesterday I washed all my laundry by hand. It was the most exercise I've ever gotten and I went ot bed at 9! The hotel has a laundry service for a small price, but basically that means someone else hand washing my clothes. I figure they are mine and I should wash them, plus it's good to learn the actual work behind the things I take for granted.

-Some of the other people in the group went to a big Valentine's thing at this club on Satuday and I really didn't want to go to anything loud. Sara, Rose, and I decided to go to a restaurant where my music professor was playing jazz. The problem was that we just layed around talking until 10 and then decided to go. Then the next problem was that neither the hotel nor the taxi driver knew where it was, and the taxi driver only spoke Swahili. Because the place we were going was an expatriate hangout and owned by an Australian, we dressed fairly Western and stood out even more than usual. So we stood around trying to decide whether or not to get into this taxi without any idea where we were going and eventually just got in and told him it was near this other hotel. At the hotel I got out and asked the guy at the desk where it was. Our conversation basically consisted of my asking where it was, him telling me it was around the corner, me asking for the directions, him telling me to get a cab, me telling him I had one and asking again for directions, him saying he needed to talk to the cab driver, and me running out to tell the driver to go in. The cab driver was like, "yes, yes, ok" but then stayed in the car because he had no idea what I was saying. So I ran back in and told the guy in the hotel that I can't speka Swahili well enough and asked if he could jsut tell me. He was like, "No I need to tell him something," which really weirded me out. He told me to say some Swahili word that I don't remember. I did and the driving was like, "OH," and ran inside. Then he took us to this place that was not at all "right around the corner" and it was empty and all the buildings has big red Xs painted on them. We pulled up and the driver talked to guys that were standing out front and then it was like a chorus of, "Mzungu? MZUNGU!" Mzungu is the Kiswahili word for white person. Finally the driver brought us down this scetchy back road and we found the back entrance and ran inside. My teacher had just finished playing and we missed the whole thing. What an adventure!
-I don’t mean to generalize, but so far the men here seem to say that they love you after knowing you for a few days/hours. You can tell when someone has been taking American movies too seriously because in the past week I have heard the most poetic professions of love ever to actually be spoken outside Hollywood. They won’t only say that they love you, but they may even call you 3-14 times in one day, or come wait outside your hotel because they didn’t get to see you all day and “won’t be able to sleep.” I have never felt unsafe, but I kind of wish I did because it’s a lot easier to tell someone to screw off if they aren’t really nice and polite. Never give your phone number to anyone that you don't want to talk to every day.
-We went to a dance class at Umoja Arts down the street from our school yesterday. It was African Contemporary and it was awweesoomeee. I’m pretty much devoting my life to becoming good at music and dance, and this class is going to be a wonderful thing to have. Tina, the teacher and one of the founders, is from Madagascar. She seems excited about me wanting to volunteer, and I’m going to teach a Lindy workshop there sometime in the next month or so.
-My music class is SO sweet. Once a week we will be taking th Dala-Dala (these vans that function like buses and pack in like 30 people in a 10 person van) to a college North of town to learn drumming and other instruments with students there. It's really, really cool.

I miss you all! The internet has been going out a lot so I'm not on much. I still love it here, but I definitely need to make some friends that aren't trying to marry me.

Done with the First Week!

It's only been a week?! I feel like I have been here for a month. I don't mean that in a bad way, I love it here, I just mean that I feel like I live here. Some of us went to breakfast this morning and there were so many tourists (or I guess I should say white people). I feel ridiculous because I look at them as if they are outsiders and I'm not...and it's only been a week! It's cool though because we ate at a place where a lot of tourists were eating and people who want to sell things hang around outside and wait for them to come out. We don't get hassled anymore, though, because everyone knows us. Plus I've become good friends with a few of them and hang out a lot.

On Thursday night we decided to check out a place called ViaVia. It is a club that has live music on Thursdays and it is literally a straight shot about half a mile from our apartment. We walked there to kind of test the waters as far as walking after dark goes. It was ok because we were all together and within sight of the hotel. ViaVia is really nice, its open and under the stars. The only thing is that it kind of seemed like a place where white girls go to make out with "natives" and the local guys go to find "white girls". Maybe I was just hyper sensitive to it, but I definitely am still working through all that when it comes to interacting with other tourists. Luckily I was with my group and my friend Michael was there so I stayed with them. Also we ran into our law professor decked out in his night-time garb...so funny to see your professor at a bar.

I went back with Rose and Josh earlier than the others and Michael and John, another friend, rode back in the cab with us and then went back to the club. It's so funny to me how people walk you to where you are going here. And I guess they ride back wtih you to where you are going too! It was good though because I felt a lot safer riding back with them. It only costs like $2 to get back to the hotel in a cab. Unfortunately we didn't get to bed until about 3:30 and had to get up at 7:30. We are the only ones in our classes, so the entire class was exhausted all day! Our poor professors...

Yesterday Michael took some of us around town and showed us where the stadium is, and I think we are going to see a soccer game today. It only costs about 30 cents. Also Josh, Kaliya, and I are going to try and find some bikes.

I forgot to mention earlier that there is a Mosque (or a lot of them) behind our hotel and sometimes I can hear the call to prayer at 5:30 am if I wake up. It's so beautiful!

Unfortunately Valentine's Day can't be avoided even in Tanzania. I'm a little homesick, but I also wouldn't want to leave. I can tell that I'm going to learn Swahili pretty quickly, and I think once I have it will be a lot less effort to go places. I wish it were easier to talk to people from home. The internet is slow and not in my apartment, and phone minutes cost a lot. I have written a few letters but I haven't gotten any yet hint hint HINT :)

I hope everyone is safe and happy. I have to do homework.
Love,
Sarah

First Signs of (home) Sickness

Hello! Ahhh, where to begin? As you may know, I have not been on the internet much. In order to go on, I need to go to the internet cafe in our hotel or use it here at school, but there is pretty much no where in the city where it is not really slow. I have been doing a good job of slowing myself down in general (as is the way here), but when it comes to internet, it is easier to pretend it doesn't exist. I do have a phone, though. It is free for me to receive calls. Although it is really expensive for you to call me, it maybe be cheaper if you use skype. I would really love to hear from anyone! I am 8 hours ahead of the East coast, so the best time to call is probably when it is in the morning where you are. My number is +255 0788403210



Our classes started yesterday. We had Environmental Management in the morning, then Human Rights and Gender, then Kiswahili, and then I had Music. Today the only new class was Society and Economics of Tanzania. I absolutely love the classes. I don't think everyone is as happy as me, but pretty much everything we are taking fits in perfectly with my studies at Goucher.



The music class is one of the optional choices, and there are three of us in it. We have two professors and only three students! One of the professors is from here, and the other is from Washington State. We have the class twice a week, but once a week it will be happening at the class they teach at the university uptown. So every Monday we will take the dala dala (these vans that are used like buses...the capacity is for about 8 people but they pack in about 20 with people sitting on the outside of the windows and stuff) to the class and make music and learn dances with Tanzanian students! The professor from the US was going to pick up his kids from music lessons after class, so we went with him because they also ahve dance and art there. It ends up that this place, Umoja Arts is pretty much a 5 minute walk down the dirt road behind our school! So some of us are going to take contemporary African dance and hip hop. AND I'm probably going to teach free Lindy Hop classes and begin the Lindy revolution of Africa. You know, no big deal.



After going to Umoja our professor was like, "Oh, we are just going to a market if you three want to come and I can show you where to get things cheap." So we went with him and his daughter (who is great...she is 12 and has down syndrome. She speaks Swahili and knew like half the people in the grocery store) to a market and he told us all about places where a lot of expatriates meet up, including a restaurant where he and a band are performing jazz this weekend.



Last night I passed out at 9 and found out why this morning when the first signs of digestive issues arose. I won't go into detail (it's really actually not bad yet), but the toilettes here break pretty much every day so...I think you can imagine.



I feel like I am finally seeing signs of the real Arusha despite our nice hotel and excursions. I already forget what America is like, so a lot of the run down buildings seem normal. I think that most of my learning is going to come from talking with people. I ran into my friend Michael on the way to school today and he walked with me all the way. Apparently two of his brothers died last year within two days of eachother (I don't know if I should be sharing this on a public blog, but I'm thinking you probably won't run into him and I don't think it was confidential) from some kind of fever. I don't know what it was, but I'm sure it was something that could be easily prevented or treated in the States.



My friend Abraham is going to bring me to a store to get a used bike because it will be easier to get it for cheaper if he is with me. I'm pretty psyched about that because I think I will feel a lot freer once I have a bike, know my way around, and can speak Swahili. I am most definitely going to get hit by a car, though. Thank goodness for knowing so many people who walk with me and literally hold my hand because I am still relearning how to look both ways (they drive on the left).



I really miss home, but I have been able to avoid it because I don't go on the internet or talk to anyone much. I absolutely really like the 7 other students I'm with.

Until later, I miss you all :)
Sarah

Mambo?

When you are in a new place, five normal days’ worth of things happen in one day, and it is impossible to try and remember everything while still experiencing each moment. I can say so much, but really there are no words. All eight of us are here now, although there are still two bags missing (not mine thank goodness). Being in a new place with a bunch of other American students is such a bizarre experience! When I think about it, I have managed to go to a lot of the world, but rarely do I go with anyone else. Who would have thought that the part of studying abroad that takes the most adjusting is the part where I am around the people that are most familiar to me? They are all very nice, though, and I am having a lot of fun with them. I think maybe we wouldn’t all necessarily have naturally ended up in the same social groups (which is good I guess because I get that at home), but when you put us all together it is pretty cool. I think my struggle is just that I have a pretty good grasp on how I go about exploring new places and meeting new people, and all of a sudden I am doing it with seven others. And I am the oldest! I am never the oldest! That will take a bit of getting used to…

So much has happened, but it started off with a pretty funny story. While Melendy, Alaina, and I were waiting for everyone else to arrive, we decided to explore a little and time how long it would take us to walk to school in the mornings. Now remember, I am not used to traveling with others, and I have a pretty good idea of what to expect or to expect the unexpected. So I didn’t even think to suggest that they not buy anything or take their money out on the street.

We made it one block before someone came up and started asking us to buy his paintings (we stand out here). Everyone is really friendly and polite here, so I talked to people but didn’t buy anything. I looked back, though, and the other two girls were buying things! All of a sudden like 15 guys are around us. We were with them for 45 minutes! Some of them took us to their store, they all introduced themselves, it was crazy. We couldn’t get away. Two of them came all the way to school with us. I didn’t buy anything and I’m really glad because now I am pretty well established as someone that will live here for a while and not a tourist.

It was an interesting experience but the great thing was that we met so many people that I now see every day. After not buying things at all, despite people asking everyday, I am now known as a student and not someone who will buy things (I mean, I really don’t have the money…and if I have some left at the end of the semester I will buy stuff). So there are people on the street that walk with me and hang out and look out for us and stuff. That is the best part of Arusha so far. The general population is extremely friendly and manners are expected. Strangers say hello on the street and ask how you are doing, introduce themselves, and shake your hand. There is a lot of touching too, which is actually wonderful. When you shake hands you often hold hands for the whole conversation or hold the person’s shoulder with your other hand. I have learned so much Swahili already because people on the street really want to teach me. And when you ask someone for directions or a suggestion of where to go, they usually take you all the way there!

The poverty here is intense and I think that it will take a little while for me to really realize how deep it runs. It’s interesting to watch the other students I’m with interact with things here and have opinions about things. As most of you know, I’m fairly opinionated in terms of where economic disparities come from. At first I cringed when people expressed opinions that were different from mine or said things that I thought were completely…wrong? But like, I just try to remember that everyone is at different places in their educations and they deserve to get to where they are going in terms of figuring things out without me trying to do it for them. We will see how classes go ☺


Other cool things we have done:
-Our school is awesome. It is actually just one classroom in this renovated house that the old Arusha equivalent to a governor used to live in. It’s not the Nyerere Center for Peace Research. It’s beautiful.
-We visited a center (I forget the name) in a village outside of Arusha. It was started and is run by Peter and Charlotte O’Neal, two black Americans that fled the US and went to Algeria when the police were after the black panthers in the 70s. They have been in Tanzania for 30+ years and have built this community center over time. Now it is home to 17 children, it is a school, hosts cultural programs, and is really an all around amazing place.
-Today we went on a safari. It was amazing. It's also pretty goofy to see safari tourists. Their outfits are pretty unnecessary.
-Oh! Five of us went on a group run at 7:30 the other morning. Five white kids running down the streets of Arusha drew a lot of attention. It was good because I’m afraid I won’t get enough physical activity, and I think most people thought it was funny, but we turned around when it seemed like maybe we were in a part of town where people weren’t so into it.


Things I miss the most:
-SAM COOKE. I know I still have him, but I haven’t had as much time to listen to music and so far I don’t have any equally obsessed friends here like back home.
-Dancing…I need to teach someone here because I will most definitely go insane.
-Family and friends of course! Although, so far I’ve done pretty well.


Other stuff (I could go on all day but I won’t):
-It is so interesting to see who is afraid of what. People are so afraid of things! I am so thankful for my travel experience, Mom’s tendency to do things that may look risky to outsiders (like letting us go on the roof as kids or accidentally lighting campsites on fire with gasoline), and the way my Peace Studies professors don’t baby us or let us get away with being too naïve. I truly think that if you are smart about things then however significant any possible dangers may be, they are much fewer than most people think. It is just funny to watch what makes the other people on the program nervous because most of us are pretty different.
-I sleep under a mosquito net that I have to tuck into my mattress every night, then remember that I have to get into it, un-tuck part of it, shimmy under, realize I left my book and glasses outside, reach for them without making a gap in the net, and finally re-tuck it. Then I can’t extend my body without my head or feet being smooshed. I actually really like it though.
-Even though I feel a lot more free here in the way that property boundaries are (people aren’t so territorial I guess…plus all the land is owned by the government and they lease it out), I also am very restricted because I stand out so much (I’m white). I can’t really go out past sunset at 6:30-ish unless I am in a cab.
-People are much slower here, and everyone and everything is late. It’s great, though, because there is so much of what people in the States would call “loitering”.
-I realized very quickly that any attempt to show anyone in Arusha or anyone on my program “who I am” was in vain. We all have so much to share, but I have just been trying to listen a lot. I’ll be here for four months so I’m sure I’ll get to know people well and them me.



I hope everyone is well at home, I miss you all!

Love at First Sight

Hello Everyone! I do not have tons of time to write, but here are a few tid-bits so that anyone who is waiting to hear from me doesn't worry:
-This is awesome
-I met Melendy, a fellow student, in Amsterdam and we flew to Kilimanjaro together (over Greece and Egypt) where Ethel (one of our coordinators - she's great) and Tau (he drives a lot for Acadia - also great) picked us up and took us to Arusha where we stayed in a hotel before coming to our apartment (in a different hotel) today.
-It's hot but not too hot
-I haven't gotten to explore yet but it's beautiful here
-I'm homesick but not at all to the extent that I could be. So far I feel really at home and comfortable.
-Melendy and I decided to be roomates and since we got here first we picked what we thought was the best room even though they are all the same.
-The apartments are pretty much better than the one we had at Goucher (blasphemy, I know) and really good sized.
-I haven't seen a single mosquito.
-People touch you a lot. Like when they shake hands with you they hold on and sometimes touch your other arm. It's really nice.
-Tomorrow we are going on safari
-I hope that they stop being so nice too us because I feel even more privileged than I do at home
-Although it is too soon to say, coming here may be one of the best decisions I have made.
-Time difference: I am 8 hours ahead of Massachusetts and Baltimore, and (obviously) 11 hours ahead of San Diego.
-The address that I listed to the left of these posts is the one that you should send letters to.

I miss you all SO much! Get on skype and I will as soon as I can. Pictures are coming :)
Sarah

Far Too Much Posting

I think that I might know what my mailing address is. I think. This might be it:

Sarah Sullivan
Nyerere Center for Peace Research
EAC Close
P.O. Box 2771
Arusha, Tanzania

I added the "Sarah Sullivan" part, but I'm guessing that is where it goes. I don't know if it is best to send mail to the Center (the address above), or to my apartment, but I will know once I get there and this address should work. Plus I think it's really cool that my address might be at the "Center for Peace Research". So feel free to wait until I get there and tell you if this is correct, but incase you have a burning urge to start writing me five letters a day right now (which would be wonderful), I thought I'd post this.

A Plethora of Lists

Things I am most Excited and/or Nervous About that will Probably Obsolete in Four Days (Hopefully because they aren't issues, not because I have bigger issues :D )

-The other students I'm going with: I have been blessed/cursed with a school and major full of people who are somewhat like-minded. I think I'm more nervous about how I will handle the culture shock of being with new Americans than how I will handle the culture shock of being in Africa :)
-The first pangs of homesickness
-Getting know Arusha
-Something happening at home that I can't be here for
-The fact that I can't carry Elham, Ailish, Seble, Fran, John, and all my other professors, friends, and family in my pocket, even though I know I wouldn't really want that
-Having to eventually leave
-First impressions
-Nervous that I will be with a group of people who want to "save African children." Sorry if that is brutal...
-Being the "girl who talks too much" in my classes
-Learning to be without a car and perpetual internet availability for the 3,000 times a day when I wonder about things and want to look them up online
-Not knowing lots of stuff (which of course is actually a good thing)


Wild Fantasies That Have Very Little Basis in Reality

-One starlit night I go to a club with my friends to dance. A jam breaks out, the best dancer in the room grabs me, and we wow everyone to tears with our powerful yet sophisticated moves. Later, he invites me to learn all sorts of new dances, become really good at them, and spend all my free time traveling with the dance company I get asked to join.
-My new dance partner wants to devote obscene amounts of time to learning Lindy Hop, but he doesn't have to because he is naturally good at it. So we start teaching free classes, running free dances, and create a Lindy scene that quickly spreads to neighboring countries.
-I buy a bicycle (hopefully this one is plausible)
-I learn more than I could imagine about peace, law, life, and Arusha. I also get to know all sorts of government/nongovernment people that take me as their humble apprentice,teach me their ways, and invite me to stay in Arusha indefinitely. I tell them I would love too, but I must first return to my Goucherian roots and finish my last year of school. I will return immediately after finishing grad school in Stockholm.
-I become a Kiswahili master in a matter of days.
-Although I become best friends with all the people on my program, I also make lots of friends that live in Arusha.
-While climbing to the top of a volcano, it erupts over Arusha causing mass amounts of non-harmful ruckus, but everyone escapes just in time, no one is hurt, and nothing is destroyed.
-I become great friends with a local family that I begin to babysit for because at some point during the past few years my maternal instincts kicked in and I became someone who likes kids.
-My new Tanzanian fiancé invites me to stay for the summer and live with his family, though before I leave we decide we are too young to marry and break it off indefinitely in hopes that we will someday meet again. We stay great friends and visit often via the new environmentally friendly airplanes that are invented while I am there.
-Every weekend I take a bus to the coast where I meet up with my new group of surfer friends and ride the waves late into the night. We build a sailboat.
-I go to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
-I find a wonderful community organization to work with and remember that I'm not going to Tanzania to surf, but to learn. I surf anyway, but maybe a little less.
-The local karaoke bar has thousands of songs in English, although it doesn't matter because I'm fluent in Kiswahili. One night after throwing a few back, I decide to give it a shot. A member of a local band spots me and asks if I will sing with them. In between my classes, surfing, lindy hop, volunteering, and such, I tour with the band.
-I play basketball and soccer on the side and create a Purple Rain sister team.
-I run "The Pilot" with Tanzanian students.
-I am humbled.


Things I have been doing to Pass the Time Before I Leave

-Meticulously highlighting my class schedule
-Talking about how worried I am about malaria pills and roommates, although I'm not worried, just bored
-Stalking my fellow trip-mates on facebook
-Worrying about how privileged I sound in all the fantasies I listed above
-Reading through all my old notes, laughing at the stuff I wrote freshmen year, and wishing I had reread the hundred books that I have forgotten all the information from
-Seeing far too many movies
-Wondering what all the friends that are back at Goucher are doing at any given moment
-Staying up until three in the morning for no good reason, sleeping until noon, eating unhealthily, and generally letting myself go
-Thinking up ridiculous fantasies
-Making lists of those fantasies
-Worrying that someone will take the lists seriously and think I'm a total idiot :D