Daily Life

I realized with all my pictures of magical sanddunes

and phosphorescent lizards, I haven't written about what my life is like a day to day basis, so here we go!

Picture 1: An example of my freckles. Yes Mom, I am wearing sunscreen, but I still have acquired lots of dots on my face which confuse the Tanzanians here. "What's wrong with your face?" is a question I have been asked more than one. My life here is a life with freckles.

Picture 2: Macaroni and Cheese- Two GIANTS POTS. We decided to cook our family American food, so we attempted macaroni and cheese, garlic bread, and meatballs. Without electricity though, using a charcoal stove with one burner was a challenge. We made WAY too many noodles, forgetting how much noodles expand when cooked. We wanted to make rice Krispies, but one box of Rice Krispies was almost $15, and marshmallows are not available, so we gave up. One of our host brothers took one look at our food and refused to eat, but the others ate and thanked us. It was fun, but I think they definitely like their own food better! My life here is amazing African food and bad American food imitations.

Picture 3: TCDC- This is the school where we stay each day. It is a little paradise, with little shaded huts and tea served twice a day. Even the workers are paid to talk to the students in Swahili. They hold fake meetings and act out plays using vocabulary from our class. It is an amazing school, but it is definitely a bit utopian. My life here is utopian.

Picture 4: Crowded Transportation: Especially on the way home from school, we pack in with half the people sitting on the seats and the other half sitting on their laps. 45 minutes later, enough people have left that we finally all get our own seats :) My life here is crowded.

Picture 5: The Darkness: This picture shows me wearing a headlamp and then I have stuck another flashlight under the band of the headlamp in order to have two lights to read my homework. The whole country is up in arms about the problem of electricity. The country is almost entirely powered by hydropower, and there has been a lack of water this year, so electricity is a real problem. We usually have it either early in the morning or late evening, but never both and even having electricity during the day for businesses to be able to function has been a struggle. My life here is darkness and following the sun early to bed and early to rise.