Mambo! Hujambo! Habari!

I don't even know how to explain the past 4 days. So much has happened that I am in overwhelm and only have 24 minutes left on the internet. Oh goodness. Well the short of it is that things are very good. I can't believe how far one can come in the span of a few days - on the planes here I was in tears, worried about what I had gotten myself into and doubting my ability to cope, and now I'm slowly learning Swahili, jumping on the dala dala at every chance, and enjoying so much. The home base where we are staying is just incredible - it is like staying in a hotel and not the roughing it that I imagined. The bucket showers aren't so bad, we have hot water it just gets a little cold between dumps of water. We brush our teeth with bottled water, which is a strange experience to change your usual habits. The food is great - mostly lots of veggies, rice and beans, so I'm feeling a little meat-withdrawals, but otherwise it is good. And I'm addicted to the tea here - I think I drink 4+ cups a day. The home base is in Tengeru, a village outside of Arusha. We have a little marketplace area close by, but it is very rundown and I don't speak enough to feel comfortable. We have a club next door, with pool and drinks (good soda) and a dressmaker so I can get clothes made.

I'm sorry, I'm feeling like I don't know what to share right now.

It is a lot like you would imagine - so many colors, people carrying things on their heads, an assortment of houses - some very nice, some shacks, and even mud huts (but they are actually very nice!). The people are so friendly. The greetings are a big deal around here and there are so many ways to say things and appropriate responses, that I get them confused. My favorite though is greeting elders, because you say "shikamoo" and they respond with "marahana" which is an exchange of respect. I wish america had a similar exchange. A summary of my last few days:

Saturday: Left the lodge and were taken to a school performance where students from 3 schools had created these plays/dances/songs performances that we were invited to watch. They were absolutely incredible and the most amazing welcome to country. I forgot my video camera in the van, but another girl videoed it, so hopefully I can share because there are no words. Then we went to the homebase and got settled, then went in to explore the town. My goal for this trip is to not be afraid or wimp out of things and just try it all. I started by exploring the market, then when we were bored with that, 4 of us with no idea what we were doing, jumped on the dala dala to town.

About the dala dala - public transportation here, so insane. They are like 15 person vans, that so far I've had as many as 27 people on. You are literally standing pushed against people or on laps, and clinging to the sides and the roof. They just stop and cram more people on all the time. Insane. My first ride I had chickens (live and tied in a bunch) on my feet. Craziness but so normal. Funny. Not to mention the driving is insane - passing with an oncoming car very close, pulling off the side of the road quickly and back on just as fast, horns honking all the time - nutso. Noone seems to crash however, so that's the good news.

Anyway, we explored Arusha town but had no idea where to go, so we came back after 2 hours. Took a little while to find our home again, but we figured it out.

Sunday: Woke up early and went to church. We were supposed to have a ride, but instead walked an hour to the church and what ended up a 4 hour service. Mostly in Swahili, but great to experience. Amazing singing and dancing, with the cutest little kids joining in the dancing. At one point, people just get up and start dancing down the aisle, and I was the first in our group of "mezugus" to get up and join. So fun. The later some other older volunteers took us back to the good part of town and to the ATM for shillings and showed us the market. They have the most amazing wood carvings and other souvenirs - I am in trouble. I was so impressed by the quality and spent some time talking to one of the carvers. It was fun and great to learn.

Monday: Orientation, finally. Sooo boring, especially after already exploring town before hand. Felt like summer camp. Didn't do much else.

Tuesday: Finally went to my placement. It is like a 10 minute drive, so we got to see some more areas. St. Lucia is not quite how I imagined it, but just as intense. There are 3 women and 12 children, all HIV+. The children seem healthy, but the women as so sick. They are there to recover and hopefully I will get to experience improvement. I spent most of my time helping to cook and hanging laundry, but other duties are playing with the children, bathing and feeding the patients, home visits for patients at their homes and cleaning. One of the women almost died today. So intense, that is all I can say. I hope to find the strength for this experience.

Now we are in town and my time is very close to up on the computer. I hate having to be so brief in my descriptions, because the details are what make this place so incredible. I will bring my camera for pictures next time, because there are no words to describe things. I miss you lots and already feel a little homesick as well as possible otherwise sick. I'm trying to fight it, but so many at the homebase are sick. I must go but hopefully less time between posts in the future. Thanks again for the support and leave comments so I know who is reading this - just be a guest if you aren't a blogger member. Miss you love you!

Kwaheri!
Kendra
PS: My favorite swahili so far: lala fofofo - sleep like a fallen banana. Nice.