ah so the trip to Gombe was postponed. Theres some students coming from America the week after next and they want to visit Gombe with Deus so we put off the trip until they're here.
Its a bit of a shame too because Jane Goodalls only son Grub was going there the day we originally planned on going... how do I know? Because we met him at lunch!!! Okay actually I didn't meet him, I just watched him eat lunch, but Deus had already met him before so he went over and reintroduced himself while I sat there looking at my sleeves and playing with with my food. It felt really weird because I'm reading Jane Goodalls biography right now so I knew a lot more about this dude eating next to me then I should have, like his initials are HELL. awesome right. Apparently he has nothing to do with Chimps nor Science and runs his own coffee company.. not awesome.
So yeah, here I am in Kigoma, the town Deus grew up in and I am facing my first real challenge.... being left alone without someone to translate for me!!!!!
Deus left this morning to take the bus back to Musoma, a two-day trip, and will be gone for a week, meeting other visitors from the U.S. and bringing the students back for Gombe. I'll be here alone (well almost alone) for one week. As previously mentioned I am staying with Deus's aunt, his three female cousins and their hoard of four children, two girls: Christina and chow (who i sometimes accidentally call choo, which means toilet) and two boys, shoban and asu, oh and a little baby, Augustina. Every evening their neighbor comes over who speaks decent English and sits on the step and converses with me and helps me translate a little. For some reason my hosts can't grasp the whole 'please speak reaalllllyyyyy slowly please' thing.
The house is a little rustic, its made out of mud and sticks and theres no electricity. The cousin who has been more or less appointed my keeper is named Ngoro, is my age and has one three year old daughter, Chow. Ngoro really likes Celine Dion apparently and at night that awful sound competes with the sound of the worshipers and loud speakers at the mosque. I am trying to be less of a music snob honestly though because otherwise things would really be getting on my nerves right about now, everyone here listens to the same few songs over and over and over, some really bad American hip-hop imports, a lot of traditional church choir music and Shania Twain to most of them.
I've been causing a little bit of a stir staying in this town as well, from what I gather Kigoma is poorer than most places I've been staying. The commissioner of something came over while I was napping yesterday and asked them to bring me over to see my papers when I woke up, thankfully by that time Deus had come back and we all went over. Apparently it wasn't anything serious but sort of a jealous thing and some sort of stigma because the family i'm staying with is pretty poor. Luckily he wasn't home. on the way back from there we stopped at another home, we being me deus, all the womenfolk, and another male cousin, and the male cousin guy gave a thorough talking over to some ladies at the home, apparently they had been yelling at me and Deus while we were walking, I asked Deus what they were yelling but he didn't say except strong words, which I think means they were cussing at us. Apparently Deus's family rents them their home and they did turn quite sorry. people here like to be really rude, mainly when i'm walking alone. sometimes i try and tell people to go away or ask them what they want but the sight of me using swahili normally just makes them burst out laughing so i don't say anything and walk away.
my stomach hasn't been feeling that well in a few days. maybe im dehydrated or something.
I hate it because ive yet to meet an African who has as small a bladder as I do and feels my pain. i have to get up and pee at least once a night and I share a bed with Ngoro so she always wakes up and then usually since I have to move a big piece of wood and some nails in the wall to get out everyone wakes up.
Also I'm having some trouble thinking up an answer when people point at all the scars on my arm... uhh its an American thing, you wouldn't get it?
Writing this blog takes up a lot of my internet time but now my parents are reading it so I'll try and make it inclusive and nice and all that so maybe its worth it. My English is getting seriously bad and i must be hungry because my hands started shaking pretty bad about five minutes ago.
It costs about 30 cents to take a dala-dala, a 15 seater bus...normally carrying about 25+ people (the worst is when someone farts in the dala-dala, seriously) to town and lunch is never more then a few dollars, breakfast is even cheaper, today i got tea and three pastries for about 35 cents. chai in Swahili means tea and the word for breakfast is 'chai ya asubuhi' (tea of the morning) so of course I'm drinking a lot of tea.. and eating a lot of pastries and ugali, with my hands, which really burns sometimes. I'm also showering outdoors in a little plastic bag and stick made enclosure which doesn't conceal you very well.... a little awkward..
anywho... i miss my cat and some weird things and people and im still having crazy dreams, last night i drowned a chinese lady in a swimming pool for calling me a muzungu in my dream.
i think thats all for now... peace
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