So, I’m a few days in already and I haven’t said much about where I’m living. For all you know, I could be living in a house made of mud in the middle of the jungle! That’s the dream, actually, but that won’t come until my last week here when I stay with the Maasai. For now, here’s my humble abode:

 It’s called the Arusha Njiro House, which is used exclusively for Work the World students. It’s very similar to a university dorm. There are rooms upstairs and a couple downstairs with 2 sets of bunk beds and a bathroom each. They also include mosquito nets around the beds, which was so funny to get used to last year. I can remember begging my mom for one of those in middle school, they looked like hanging “curtains” that some girls would put above their beds to make it look like a princess bed. Here, that’s hardly the purpose – protecting us from mosquitoes is much more important, but they look very similar. Moms, here’s a future tip: if your daughter ever pulls that out as a wish of hers, go for the cheap mosquito nets over the expensive American curtains! 

The lower level also has a living room, dining room, and kitchen. There are 2 programme managers, Brian and Fidelis, who really take care of us during our time here. Witness, the cook, prepares all of our breakfast and dinner meals during the week. Susan also helps, and we have another housekeeper too. I’m only a few days in and they already feel like family. Last night, Witness and I were dancing to her favorite song while doing the dishes. They are incredibly welcoming and gracious, as many Tanzanians are. Outside is a large patio with lots of clotheslines (say goodbye to washers and dryers) and room to sit and play and soak up some sun when the clouds aren’t in the way. The whole property is surrounded by a high wall and “electric” fence that really isn’t on too much, but the sign on it is intimidating enough. Emmanuel and Innocent are the main security guards that work around the clock to make sure we’re safe. The staff here is incredible; they make this place feel like home!

There are 28 people in the house right now, and the most it can hold is 32. The entire main house is full of students and some of the support staff live in a house next door on the property. Fun fact: right now, the count is 27 girls and 1 guy. Yes, Horned Frogs, it’s true – the TCU ratio really can follow you outside of the Fort Worth bubble. Some girls have already figured out that there’s a group of 4 guys coming in this weekend, and they’re very excited. I couldn’t help but laugh at their disappointed reaction when they found out that they were dentistry students, not doctors!

I’m expecting the number of students in the house to change quite a bit while I’m here. Most of the girls that just arrived are only staying for 2 to 3 weeks, and there are at least one or two students coming in every weekend. A lot of the others came in groups as well, especially this past weekend. The fact that I traveled here alone was pretty surprising to most of them! There are 2 girls from Canada living in the same room as me and I’ve already been mistaken as a Canadian twice today. Maybe it’s time to start working on my Canadian accent! (Okay, you’re right. There is no Canadian accent. Except for the ‘Newfies’ from Newfoundland, as they call them. I’ll keep working on that British one instead.)

I hope to be able to share more about some of the girls here as I get to know them better. So far, they are all very wonderful and their backgrounds and cultural roots are fascinating to me. I think they know me so far as the American that asks a lot of questions… I’m okay with that reputation! I haven’t lived in a dorm for about 2 years and it will be a challenge getting used to that lifestyle again. My idealistic heart wants to be friends with everyone, but my realistic mind knows that it won’t be easy to build that many friendships in such a short time. Thankfully, everyone is friendly and welcoming regardless of whether or not they came in a group. That I can thank God for!

Kesho,

Allie

Have you ever ridden in a small, 15-seat bus packed with 20 people down a bumpy dirt road? That was the most exciting part of my day today. They’re called “dala-dalas” and they’re the public transport here in Tanzania that we’ll be using to go to and from the hospital every day. We spent the morning in a welcome orientation and then explored Arusha and got acquainted with some of the spots we’ll be using the most while we’re here – the hospital, the bank, the bus stop, the Maasai market. It wasn’t too exciting of a day, so I won’t bore you with all the details. Instead, here are some fun little tidbits (or “nuggets” as I like to call them) from the trip so far. Not long enough to have a chunk of a blog post, but worth mentioning. One thing you should know is that in the next 5 weeks, I’ll be learning a lot about two very different cultures – Tanzanian and European, primarily England. So far, it’s fascinating to say the least!

Here’s what I’ve got:

• The most frequently used adjective I’ve heard so far is “brilliant”. Ex. Did you see those trousers in the market? They were brilliant! I kind of love it and I’m trying to work it into my vocabulary.
• Instead of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, they call it breakfast, dinner, and tea. So when they ask you “What did you have for tea?” and you tell them you chose the masala tea, they will laugh at you… and then graciously correct you.
• Last night, we accidentally used the wrong pan to make popcorn. Instead of hearing the pleasant ‘pop’ sound of the kernels, we heard one BIG ‘pop’ and found the bottom of the pan caved up like a big bubble. Turns out we ruined one of Witness’s pans, so the next day she came back from the store with microwave popcorn. Whoops!
• When you’re the only American living with 28 other people, 25 of whom all have accents, it’s very hard not to want to talk in an accent with them. Side note: one day I want to ask them whether or not this is offensive. Stay tuned for an update.
• UPDATE! I asked them. They laughed when I said people in America LOVE trying to imitate British accents, and they said it was the same for American accents in their countries but for them it’s much harder to imitate. Get excited for my perfected British accent when I get home!
• 3 girls here don’t have their luggage yet. 2 who came through Heathrow Airport from Canada said that the main luggage belt at the airport broke down that day and 200 people on their flight alone didn’t receive their bags in Nairobi – 18,000 bags never made it on the right aircraft. YIKES.
• Mom and Dad, try not to read this one – apparently 2 of the terrorists behind a bombing in Arusha towards the end of May are patients at Mt. Meru Hospital. One of them is waiting to get an artificial leg! My protective side is skeptical but my medical side thinks this is so cool and is hoping to sneak around and find them one day.
• In England, their “public” schools are the same as our “private” schools and vice versa. Why? I have no idea. Confusing? Yes.
• They can also start specialty schools like med school and physical therapy school when they’re 18. For them, that’s university. One of the girls will be a doctor when she’s 24! Dang. For all my pre-med friends – I recommend moving to England stat.
• The streets of Arusha are full of people trying to sell you things. When you let just one of them talk to you and if they go so far as to convince you to buy something, you are the new target for all of the nearby sellers. Prepare to be swarmed! Luckily, I came home today without a single purchase outside of a cheap phone and SIM card. I call that a win.
• Canada Day is tomorrow, July 1^st! Two of my roomies are from outside of Toronto. Get out those flags and celebrate, Canadians.

Those are all my nuggets for today. Get excited for future posts full of interesting cultural facts and funny tidbits… or just my random list of notes. I’ve embarrassed myself enough already trying to get integrated into two different cultures, I’m sure this isn’t the end of it! Wish me luck 🙂

Lots of love from Arusha!

– Allie

As a kid, my favorite holiday was Christmas. Before I really understood the spiritual meaning behind it, I loved the immense excitement that surrounded that one day. A whole month dedicated to shopping for gifts, decorating the house and tree, baking Christmas cookies, and going to countless parties and White Elephant gift exchanges and family reunions to celebrate the “most wonderful time of the year”.  The minute the weather started to get colder in the fall, most of my attention was directed toward the anticipation of Christmas. And yet every year that month goes by faster than all the others and before I know it we’re buying champagne (okay.. sparking grape juice) and ringing in the New Year again. 

The best way I can think of to describe today is like Christmas. Since December 2013 when I spent almost my entire winter break convincing my parents to let me go on (and financially support – thanks ‘rents!) this adventure, I have been waiting for this day. I would even argue to say that this anticipation started on June 21st, 2013 when I returned from my first trip to Tanzania last summer. 2 weeks was a perfect amount of time to get my first exposure to all that is Tanzania… but when I sat in the airport waiting to board my flight home and hoped that it would get cancelled more than I desired to be back on home soil, I knew that just 2 weeks wasn’t enough.

Now, I’m sitting at the dining room table of my temporary home (#kiltzlandia) trying to soak up my last moments here and wondering if I’ve gone just a leetle crazy. 5 weeks is no quick trip; by the time I get back a whole month will have passed, the World Cup will be over, and my 10-month-old niece Talitha will be one week away from her first birthday. But just like the Christmas season, I have a feeling this may be one of the fastest 5 weeks of my life. I have a theory that the best & most exciting seasons of life also happen to pass by the fastest. Even though 5 weeks seems like an eternity from where I’m standing now, one of my biggest prayers is that it will go by so slowly. I hope that I will have enough time to soak in as much as I can of the culture, the people, & the adventures that are waiting for me on the other side of the ocean. 

At this very moment my emotions are battling between nervous anticipation and joy-filled excitement. Amidst all of my anxiety and last-minute jitters, my biggest comfort has come from knowing that the Lord is going to be with me on this entire trip. I pray that each day the hope that He gives me will anchor my soul in Him (Hebrews 6:19). 

SO… here we go. 🙂 My most anticipated adventure of the summer, my dream come true, crossin’ my fingers that it’s God’s plan too. Try to excuse that unintentional rhyme. The next time you hear from me, I’ll be in my Tanzanian home! 

– Allie