We can’t stop here, this is bat country

Now I’ve been happy lately,
thinking about the good things to come
And I believe it could be,
something good has begun



No seriously, this IS bat country. My island, (whose name, again, I am unable to disclose due to Peace Corps policies), has these critters called flying foxes. They’re not actually foxes though, just incredibly enormous bats. My first evening here I saw some flying overhead and mistook them for hawks. I was corrected by my neighbor, who proceeded to then explain that if one ever gets near me I should hit it as hard as I can, because sometimes they get rabid and attack people. Fun. Good thing Peace Corps vaccinates against rabies. U.S. tax dollars hard at work!

It’s been a long, long week, but I’m finally settling into my home. I’m living in half of a fairly large cement duplex, (another teacher at my school lives in the other half with her husband and children). I have my own living room, porch, courtyard, kitchen, a couple of storerooms, and (of course) choo. My bedroom is fairly large, and I have 2 empty guestrooms, (any brave visitors are more than welcome!).






I’m told my home was formerly occupied by a Canadian VSO volunteer a few years back. It definitely hasn’t been lived in for a good couple of years now, as it was rocking the boarded-up basement smell when I first arrived. I’ve been airing it out though, and it’s getting a lot better. Moving in has been a slow and tedious process. Aside from a few chairs and a bed, the house was completely empty when I arrived. Needless to say, I’m getting (I think) pretty good at bartering for various things in town.

I’ve already made some very good contacts in town, and am starting to get situated at my school. There’s a huge need for computer knowledge here, as NGO’s have been pouring computers and technology into Africa during the last couple years, but have completely neglected the task of educating people in how to actually use the damn machines. I’ve got my work cut out for me, no doubt, but it will definitely be rewarding. Everyone here is really eager to learn about computers and the Internet, so student motivation is definitely not going to be an issue. It does turn out though that I’ll be doing a good amount of teaching in Swahili, as English seems to be less common here than on the mainland. It’s gonna be a steep learning curve for sure, but I have faith in my ability to conjure creative hand gestures in the meantime.

Cooking’s been the major challenge so far. When I come home I’m completely wiped out from running around all day in the heat , and the prospect of cooking dinner with a kerosene stove is more than a little daunting. Because of the lack of refrigeration food needs to be bought no more than a day before it is eaten, so cooking here takes a lot of planning. I’ll get the hang of it soon I’m sure, but right now I’m struggling a bit. Buying food is an experience in and of itself, as it requires going to the town market and bartering like a madman.

Speaking of town, I live in a pretty unique place. The town is an active port, so all sorts of goods are readily available. Staple foods from mainland Tanzania come by boat once a week and we get all manner of exotic foods and spices from all over the Indian Ocean. The island also grows a lot of spice, the major export being cloves. When evening breezes pick up, the whole island smells miraculous. Combine that with the almost supernatural sounding prayers echoing out of the (many) mosques, and the island possesses a very undeniable ambience.

The people here have been incredibly inviting as well. In recent years America has cultivated somewhat of a prejudice regarding Islam, so being a non-Muslim American arriving on an almost entirely Muslim island, I was a little bit nervous. Only a few days in, I’m already embarrassed about the preconceptions I had coming in. Everyone’s been very friendly and welcoming (dare I say, even more so than on the mainland), especially when they realize that I speak some Swahili. The culture here is so very rich, I really feel fortunate to be immersed in such a place.

After 10 weeks of being more or less on the road, it’s finally nice to be home. It’s not going to be an easy two years by any means, but something tells me it’s going to fly by. Until next time, salama.