Dar es Salaam

Habari za asubuhi,

Well...I have to start trying. They tell us learning the language is the most important tool to have for our safety and success.

We arrived late last night in Dar es Salaam. It was a beautiful flight where we were able to see the Alps, the Italian coast, and the Saharan desert.
It is warm and rain sprinkles every so often. I feel well cared for and very safe. We are told Tanzania is one of the very best Peace Corps organizations -- long lived and well organized. We got our shots today and met the staff that will be supporting us. Tomorrow we leave for Morogoro and Sunday we meet our host families. Our training will be in groups of 8 (5 different training schools, I think) and most of our learning/teaching will be done by our host families. Once a week we meet all together for large group trainings. Language and culture are at the top. We will also be observing and practice teaching in the schools of Morogoro. I feel confident that we will be prepared. We are also told that HIV/AIDS education will be a big part of our job and is well funded. The PC Staff seem very excited by the quality and size of the educational efforts here.

John and I have a TV in our room for these two nights. It is helpful to watch Tanzanian TV and hear them speak.


Thank you for all your e-notes to me. It is very fun to read these.

Kwaheri!

Where Are We?

Map of Africa
Tanzania is in east Africa, sub - Saharan.
We will be training in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Minnesota Good-byes

Getting ready to leave is a community task. Today, my ski-buddies came to our house and packed our entire kitchen, cleaned cupboards, and cooked dinner. Each week we have had community help to transition out of our jobs, run a garage sale, store our precious items and listen to our ups and downs. The inspiring words and protective prayers from friends and family lead the way.

Sunday is the day we pull away from shore. I can hardly wait!