Starting from Scratch

        As of November 24th Michael and I officially became Peace Corps Volunteers, after 2 months of training. We were sworn-in at the U.S. Embassy by the U.S. Ambassador Lenheardt (and I even gave a speech!) and had a wonderful Turkey day meal later at the Ambassador's home. It was definitley a treat to gorge on food we haven't had in a while such stuffing, gravy, BROCCOLI, and corn pudding, followed by brownies, apple and pumkin pie, and icecream. Of course, we both suffered afterwards but we would eat more if given another chance.  : ) I was also able to talk to all of my family that coagulated in Cinncinati, OH. The next day, our new Mkuu (headmaster), Michael and I boarded a 10 hr bus ride (that was actually very uneventful in comparison to our last) to arrive at our new home for the next two years.
       Our home is actually very big with 4 bedrooms, a courtyard, and a bathroom and two more rooms outside in the courtyard. However, since we are only two people (with absolutely no use for 4 rooms) the house was split down the middle. So, another teacher and her family use the front door to get to the first two rooms while we use the door to the courtyard to get to other two rooms and sitting room. Their is a thin wall that was placed to divide the living spaces but since our fellow teacher has an infant, Mike and I feel as though we have also inhereted the sounds of a crying baby through all hours of the day. We have no complaints, though, because the family is extremely helpful and kind and I have a huge soft spot for Tanzanian children.  The view of our house is AMAZING. We are on a hill so we can see the town below and the random mountain/hills that pop out of the savannah in the distance. The scenary so so typical africa and I love it. Our town is also full of Masai and members of other tribes. The inside of our house is completely baren except for a bed, two chairs, and a plastic table. It will take a lot of time and money to make our house into a home, but that is part of the fun. Tonight and last night, we cooked and ate our experimental dinners on the floor.
        We have also met up with another volunteer, Kieth, who lives about an hour away, and with a German anthropologist who studies a small tribe outside our area. According to him (he lives with the tribe about 30 Km away) large African animals can be found right outside of our town. We will most likely never see an animal walking around but it is still neat to think that they are so close.  As of right now, we have nothing to do but explore and meet our new neighbors. School does not start until the middle of January so we have ample time to fully adapt into the Tanzanian lifestyle. We do have electrcity and internet (a portable modem) so I should be able to write more interesting blogs about culture and lifestyles instead of our daily activities. Miss you love you.