Holidays and Washing Windows

Well, following last week's unusual week, this past weekend was also rather strange. We had Friday off because of the Muslim holiday of ID. Kjirstin and I were advised to not go into town because it was a Muslim holiday. Although the relationships between Christians and Muslims in the area is quite civil, we were told it would be better to stay home. I tried to use my extra time wisely, and I managed to get a lot of work done on my graduate school applications. I'm almost finished with two of them and have made quite a significant dent in the other two. The main things I have left to do are to update my letter of intention and organize my unofficial transcripts. Also, I invited two of my piano students to come for an extra lesson in the morning if they wanted. They were both excited when I mentioned it on Thursday and agreed that they wanted to come. After the lessons, I let them hang around the house and read or check their emails if they wanted to. In the evening, I had English choir and I practiced some piano. I'm really excited because I received a package from home that contains a bunch of sheet music that I left at home. Honestly, I feel like a kid at Christmas!! :D

On Saturday, frisbee was cancelled in the morning due to people being out of town, so I had a LOT of extra free time. I ran in the morning and then returned to hang out around the house for the morning. Kjirstin and I went into town to get lunch at Oasis (which is probably my favorite restaurant here!) It's got really good Indian and Chinese food and is a nice break from Tanzanian food. Afterwards, we went to the market to get our fruits and veggies for the week. We also wanted to get a small kerosene jiko (stove) so that we will be able to cook at our house. Luckily, we were informed ahead of time that a reasonable price would be 8,000 Tsh. When the man saw two white girls, he tried to charge us over 20,000 Tsh, but I talked him down to 9,000 Tsh. which was a pretty good deal. (I mean, 1,500 Tsh = $1 US, so I guess we got over charged by .60) I started to not feel well during our time at the market, so I tried to rush us along and we ended up not getting to buy a pan (our plan is to get one this weekend). But, we did manage to make it to the two supermarkets that I frequent in town before we headed home. In the evening, I had English choir and a piano lesson with one of the ladies of the church. I'm hoping to teach some people from the church how to play piano so that when I leave, they can continue the tradition at the church and teach others!!

On Sunday, I knew that we weren't going to have the evening prayer service in town because people were still going to be gone. Thus, I decided to sleep in a bit and not run in the morning. Church was normal and afterwards Kjirstin and I went to the pastor's house to hang out and eat food. In the afternoon, I washed the windows in my room. Although we do have a member of our church coming to clean our house 2 days a week, I've decided that I'd like to clean my own room. In the morning, I was trying to swat a mosquito on the window screen and a bunch of dust flew up. So, I decided that I needed to wash them. I've watched Mama Vanessa do it before, so I got a bucket of soapy water, moved my bed out of the way and started washing. I have to say, it's a pretty disgusting job with all the dirt and spider webs. I have a lot of respect for Mama Vanessa being willing to do that for us. After the window washing adventure, I skyped home for the first time in quite a while. I've been upset because every time we try to skype, the internet seems to shut down. But, we got a good hour in on Sunday!! YAY!! I ran in the evening and hung out until dinner. After dinner, I got to skype a friend from back home that I haven't gotten to talk to in a long time. It really made me happy to be able to be able to communicate with friends and family back home after not being able to for so long.


Recently, I've made a revelation that I've reached the point in my stay here that I consider Morogoro, Tanzania my home. I know that in the next couple of months, I will have lived here for an entire year! Somehow, that just blows my mind. I've made wonderful connections and relationships with so many people here. I know my way around pretty well now and I love what I'm doing at the school. It takes so much fighting to reach this place, but now that I'm here, I couldn't be happier. I dread the day that I'm going to leave to return to the US. I know it's not for quite a few months now, but it gets closer every day. I know, in my heart, that I need to go home and I need to finish my studies. So, for now I'm just trying to take in as much as I can before I leave.

Looking into the future:
This weekend is going to be quite full of cultural experiences!! On Friday night, Kjirstin and I are going to learn how to make chapati (which is a type of bread, kind of like Nan, that they eat here). On Saturday, we are going to the orphanage where my piano student is living and we're planning to spend the night there. In the morning, I think we're going to try and go to church with them (I heard it's a FOUR hour long service!!!). It should be quite the adventure. I hope you're all looking forward to a lot of pictures!!!

I hope that you all are having a great week and that those who are being affected by Hurricane Sandy are staying safe and dry. I know that Nadine and her husband have been affected since she's now studying at a Methodist college in New Jersey. I've heard that they are both safe and well, praise God!

May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,
~Christine