Today was our first day of Orientation. I actually slept pretty well last night so I was up early and had a chance to get up and walk around the home base where we are staying and see it in the daylight. The grounds are well maintained and it really has exceeded expectations. We had a long day of orientation and getting used to Tanzania time, which we found out on many levels is very different to our time. For starters, 7 a.m. is 1 in the morning. Noon is 6 and 6 p.m. is 12. After that it is 1 in the evening= 7 p.m. and so forth. It is based on that you start your day at 1 which is 7 a.m. Sounds confusing.... it is :)
The first orientation activity was pairing us up and sending us out into the community with a task. I was paired with Sammie and Jenna and we were told to go find the river in the community and find out it's name. We were given a list of Swahili words. Well, I decided to download an translator app, since we do have wifi at the home ;) and then we ventured off. Sam and Yvette were told to go meet some neighbors and find out their names and something about them. It was a great exercise since we hadn't even seen the area and allowed us to get right out into the community and see our surroundings and become comfortable. It was fun. We met a girl named Rehema that was walking back home after church with some friends. She actually spoke some English and took us down to the river. She then took us to her home, which was a nice little courtyard and had a nice garden and chicken coup right near the river. We met her mom and brother. She wants to be a Dr one day and her brother is studying to be a guide. It was fun as we explored along little dirt paths and over streams to their place. Very friendly and inviting people. That is one of the things CCS wanted us to learn, that it's ok to visit and get to know the people around you. They are welcoming and friendly and open to visit and welcome you to their homes.
We have two really cute girls we get along with "brilliantly which are in our group. They are so fun and game and are about 19 years old. They graduated from high school last January. They are on a gap year and have been traveling for 4.5 months so far. We had a great time with them today and finished up the night laughing and having a great time playing Hearts in the dining area after dinner. Sam and I are happy to have more people to play cards with, so that we can also play other games. During lunch we played Kemps, a new game for me that we learned, but Sam was good at it and had fun playing with the college kids.
We learned about our assignment today, what we will be doing each day for the next 2 weeks. We are working with Yvette too in the Step Up Nursery School, ages 2-7 yrs old. We met with the leader there Hussein Abdhalla. Sounds like we will be working with the kids on reading, teaching songs and writing and learning games. We are supporting the teachers that have about 25 kids per class. Tomorrow we will know more. It is about 20 mins away and we work there from 7:30-11:30 a..m CCS supports schools like these and many other schools and organizations in the area helping teachers with huge classes and supporting the teachers in sharing our knowledge. I am learning more about the CCS organization is really here to lift the community and really it's primary focus is crossing cultures, giving people a chance and real meaningful opportunities to interact and share your ideas between people of two different worlds.
In the afternoon part of our orientation was visiting with the women that run the organization. Them telling us more about their culture, how they live, and asking us questions about how we live. Arranged marriage still takes place. There is still a dowry/bride price. In smaller villages like these the bride's value is based on several things- more cows or cash for a woman that is heavier and lighter skinned. Marriage is still a strong institution but weddings are pricey and elaborate affairs- small weddings begin with 200 people. People contribute to weddings and friends of friends may come since they pay a small price to help pay for the wedding. When you are married you are expected to have children. Average families have 6 children.
Currency here is in Tanzanian Shillings are 1694 shillings per US Dollar. That makes for a lot of math;) Everything is to be bargained for.
After several hours of orientation I asked for a break so we could go walk around and explore. Yvette, Sam and I took an hour stroll up out of the community we were in to the main road. There there were some local shops and hairdressers. The women had their hair all teased out and little boys were in the shop next door getting buzzes. There were many kids and people coming from this main road into their villages. It was nice to get out and walk and really a nice community actually.
The first orientation activity was pairing us up and sending us out into the community with a task. I was paired with Sammie and Jenna and we were told to go find the river in the community and find out it's name. We were given a list of Swahili words. Well, I decided to download an translator app, since we do have wifi at the home ;) and then we ventured off. Sam and Yvette were told to go meet some neighbors and find out their names and something about them. It was a great exercise since we hadn't even seen the area and allowed us to get right out into the community and see our surroundings and become comfortable. It was fun. We met a girl named Rehema that was walking back home after church with some friends. She actually spoke some English and took us down to the river. She then took us to her home, which was a nice little courtyard and had a nice garden and chicken coup right near the river. We met her mom and brother. She wants to be a Dr one day and her brother is studying to be a guide. It was fun as we explored along little dirt paths and over streams to their place. Very friendly and inviting people. That is one of the things CCS wanted us to learn, that it's ok to visit and get to know the people around you. They are welcoming and friendly and open to visit and welcome you to their homes.
We have two really cute girls we get along with "brilliantly which are in our group. They are so fun and game and are about 19 years old. They graduated from high school last January. They are on a gap year and have been traveling for 4.5 months so far. We had a great time with them today and finished up the night laughing and having a great time playing Hearts in the dining area after dinner. Sam and I are happy to have more people to play cards with, so that we can also play other games. During lunch we played Kemps, a new game for me that we learned, but Sam was good at it and had fun playing with the college kids.
We learned about our assignment today, what we will be doing each day for the next 2 weeks. We are working with Yvette too in the Step Up Nursery School, ages 2-7 yrs old. We met with the leader there Hussein Abdhalla. Sounds like we will be working with the kids on reading, teaching songs and writing and learning games. We are supporting the teachers that have about 25 kids per class. Tomorrow we will know more. It is about 20 mins away and we work there from 7:30-11:30 a..m CCS supports schools like these and many other schools and organizations in the area helping teachers with huge classes and supporting the teachers in sharing our knowledge. I am learning more about the CCS organization is really here to lift the community and really it's primary focus is crossing cultures, giving people a chance and real meaningful opportunities to interact and share your ideas between people of two different worlds.
In the afternoon part of our orientation was visiting with the women that run the organization. Them telling us more about their culture, how they live, and asking us questions about how we live. Arranged marriage still takes place. There is still a dowry/bride price. In smaller villages like these the bride's value is based on several things- more cows or cash for a woman that is heavier and lighter skinned. Marriage is still a strong institution but weddings are pricey and elaborate affairs- small weddings begin with 200 people. People contribute to weddings and friends of friends may come since they pay a small price to help pay for the wedding. When you are married you are expected to have children. Average families have 6 children.
Currency here is in Tanzanian Shillings are 1694 shillings per US Dollar. That makes for a lot of math;) Everything is to be bargained for.
After several hours of orientation I asked for a break so we could go walk around and explore. Yvette, Sam and I took an hour stroll up out of the community we were in to the main road. There there were some local shops and hairdressers. The women had their hair all teased out and little boys were in the shop next door getting buzzes. There were many kids and people coming from this main road into their villages. It was nice to get out and walk and really a nice community actually.
Looking down on the kitchen and laundry area
Our room and beds. Mosquito nets are necessary. Malaria mosquitos are in this country and yes we are taking our Malarone
The front of the CCS Home
Garden for volunteers to hang out in. Many of volunteers are here for 6 weeks to 3.5 months
One of the guys that works here "mopeds" Classic- this is for you Nate :)
Paired up in groups this morning to go explore and Yvette and Sam hit the neighborhood to go meet the neighbors.
Sammie, Jenna and I had the task of finding the river and the name of it- Karanga. Rehema here we met coming home from church and she took us to her home and to the river. Smart cute girl that wants to be a Dr one day. Found out after high school in 5 years you can become a Doctor.
Crossing a bridge to get to Rehema's home
The Karanga River, same name as the town we are in
Walked into the little village about 25 mins away from our place
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