Public Transportation Makes Me Cranky

So, I live about a 10 minute daladala ride from Tukuyu. It took me 45 minutes today to get to Tukuyu. Argh. And during that 45 minutes, I had to argue with the driver about the price of the fare (he tried to charge me 1000 Ts /=, the fare is 500/=...and it's weird, even as I was arguing with him, I felt ridiculous - I was arguing about less than 50 cents. But it's the principle of it.), fend off people asking me for money (because, I'm a mzungu, I must be rich), fend off men hitting on me, and try to pretend not to be totally miserable. But after 45 minutes, I reached my destination. I am dreading going back...

Other than that, things are going well. I spent last weekend at Matema Beach (Lake Malawi) with Theo, Kate, Deb, and 5 of the kids from the Olive Branch. The Olive Branch is an NGO that takes care of orphans. I am not calling it an orphange, because it is not. There are a total of 14 kids, and they're much more like a family than an orphanage. All the kids were great. Many of them had never been to a beach before, so it was really fun to watch them swim and play in the sand...and get to be kids. Not to mention, it was really fun to be on Lake Nyasa with my friends and get to go swimming and WEAR PANTS! It was really gorgeous. Unfortunately my replacement camera broke, so there are no pictures. You'll have to take my word for it. Good news is that I should be getting my camera (the one that was stolen was found!) back in February.

Things are going really well at site. I am making some friends, and learning some Swahili. I had about a half hour argument (mind you, mostly in Swahili - some English words thrown in) yesterday with two of the teachers about how they thought I was damned to hell because I didn't think drinking beer was wrong, if done in moderation. They insisted that I never drank again becaue the bible says you shouldnt. I tried to explain that I don't think the bible should be interpretted totally literally and that you need to find the message behind the words. So, I thought the bible meant that you shouldn't drink in excess and since I don't, hamna shida. But they disagreed thoroughly, so I brought up the example of how the bible says that the sun moves across the earth. And this is obviously untrue. The sun is stationary, and the earth moves. At which point they told me I was being to scientific, and that I should never ever have even 1 beer. I changed the subject. But, no harm done...they made me dinner last night!

I hear that the snow has finally arrived back in the states! That's fun. I hope everyone is staying warm and having a great holiday season!

Home Sweet Home

So, after a 15 hour bus ride on Thanksgiving, I have arrived safely at my site. I live within the school compound, at my all-girls boarding school. Everyone, so far, has been super nice. They've fed me when I've had no food (or when I've been too incompetent to light my charcoal jiko- you'll be glad to know that i've bought hot plates), they've given me gifts of a plunger and a trash basket (very important household items), and they've really just been super nice. My house is cute: three rooms and an outside kitchen, and has electricity and running water most of the time. Within the school grounds are tons of banana and mango trees, cows, chickens, pigs, pumpkins. I also live in the mountains, so the view from my house is amazing. I look out and see green farm land that eventually becomes green mountains and when a storms coming, I can watch it travel over the mountains. It's really very quaint. And, for those who worry, it's very safe. I have lots of neighbors, a big wall around the school, and a night watchman.

Last Friday, was my first day at the school, and the last day that the students were at the school before their break. It was nice because I got to briefly meet the students and introduce myself at the morning assembly. Some of the students showed me around the compound after classes and then at night, there was a talent show. That was really fun to watch. Students dance, sang, prayed. All sorts of things. Then they invited me to give a speech. AHH. PS- the English proficiency at my school is pretty low from what I've gathered. So this speech was in Kiswahili. My speech went something like this : "I am very happy to be here. You have welcomed me nicely. I hope you have a good rest time. And I will be happy to teach you when you come back" But imagine that with tons of grammatical mistakes. Nice Katie, great first impression! That's ok, I tried. I am going to learn Swahili very quickly, because no one speaks English. Which is good.

So, I've already gotten my assignment for next year. I will be teach form 3 (junior) physics and math. I will be the headmistress of form 1B and the headmistress of one of the dorms. I have no idea what those responsibilities entail. I guess, I'll find out. Right now, since classes don't start again until January, I am just hanging out, getting to know the other teachers, making my house a home, trying to learn how to cook, and playing games with the little kids around the school.

That's about all that has been on. I still do not have my mailing address, but email me if you want it: catherineannmartin1@gmail.com. I am not going to post it publicly on here, under the advice of the Peace Corps. But I'd be more than happy to send it to people. Miss you all!