first week at site

So maybe this will be "the toughest job i ever loved," as peace corps slogan says...
to be honest, life is not easy in my village, although the people are great. I've
had a rough first few days - overwhelming in every possible way - emotionally (missing the support from my friends from training - welcome to the solo life), mentally (new language), physically (biking/walking everywhere, which i love, but man, i crash every night - never slept harder), spiritually (stretching)...and not to mention trying to make a brand new empty home homey.

I was welcomed graciously last saturday by the entire village singing my name "dada taiti...furaha (the swahili name i go by, which means joy)," dancing, even having the oldest mzee in the village feel compelled to ask me to be like his grandaughter...there were older women bowing down to me, kissing my hands like i was a queen, which made my quite uncomfortable as you can imagine...and then it was all topped off by a procession of zawadi, gifts. I was so incredibly moved by the villagers' generosity, as one by one they marched forward with one cabbage, or 2 eggs, or a bag of maize (their #1 crop and life source in the village), or a sugarcane. i couldn't believe it. definitely a tearful moment, as i stood there taking, taking more than i knew these people could afford to give...

Visiting primary school (behind my house) and secondary school (7 km away - that's gonna be trip-woo!) was just as moving as the students prepared songs and dances for me when i arrived. I felt like I was in a movie, and so undeserving of the show. I usually partake in the pomp and circumstance, say a little speech, greet them, and then walk into the office with the head teacher and staff to sign their guestbook, and drink a bottled soda (a huge treat here). Such is the routine. Lots and lots of introductions. Some less formal than this...

My neighbors are fantastic - Lida (plus her precious 2 year old, Felisiana, my new sister) and Atu, the 2 nurses at the health center nextdoor. They make sure I have food for the next meal (have been bringing me their maize meal to make ugali, spinach-like green to boil, and other necessities), that my house is clean, dishes are washed, have enough water choated from the well at the center, and basically, that I'm alive everyday! Everything is done by hand here and it takes forever! I told them last night I couldn't live without them. I'm excited to teach them how to make banana bread next week. And they're going to teach me how to make their wheat bread that they eat every morning with chai.

The nearest town with fruit (hoorah) - 18 km away, Makambako, is where I just set up my postbox. WELCOME WELCOME mail of any kind:

Tait Davidson
PO Box 116
Makambako
Tanzania

Excited to visit a fellow volunteer's site this week to observe her AIDS workshop. I'll be helping a little, but mostly there to learn the ropes. Should be a great experience.

Other funny moments that come to mind:
-My closest neighbor (45 minute bike ride), Amanda, having us over for lunch, which was cooked my local woman in her kitchen; later that night, Amanda sent me a text message saying she had discovered a chicken head in a bowl - nice.
-Having milk delivered to my door by boy on bike from local village - sweet
-Seeing newborn babies in the health center I visited; asking my neighbors to help them with their next delivery in our village. Can't wait. Never seen a live birth...
-Listening to a shortwave radio for the first time - you guys have no idea what strange things you can hear on the waves...
-Seeing t-shirts worn by villagers like "Jack Daniels" or "Happy Halloween" -- seem so foreign here
-Bucket showering, looking up at the stars and swaying eucalyptus trees in my backyard
-Making jokes with Tanzanians, and having them laugh at me, like saying I'm tall like a giraffe...okay, maybe it's funnier in Swahili...

Peace to all of you. More of these moments to come...