Old Entry: Sheywe March 2nd

CAVEAT – Make sure to start with the first old entry and read up – other wise it will be very confusing!!

Exhaustion is starting to set in. Lots of walking + Lots of new information + 4.5 hours of Kiswahili + new foods + meeting new coworker = very tired Erin. Sana sana sana. I’m think I’m picking up Kiswahili pretty well. Our teacher, Penina is awesome. She’s worked for the US Embassy, Peace Corps, and a ton of other places teaching Arabic and Kiswahili and culture. There are so many new cultural norms to learn (thankfully, calling Penina – panini isn’t that bad — oops!!) It’s considered very rude to look people in the eyes here for a long time, so a 1 hour meeting kinda becomes a game of how many times can i glance up and look away?!

Hard to stay conscious. So much to write about -huge storm –hardest downpour I’ve seen in my life! Hate cowpea leaves – so bitter, love lentils and chapati. trying new sodas like Stoney Tangawizi, cool peeps, really excited about being a microfinance officer for work, bit nervous about homestay, learning my way around town, wish internet was faster but love that it’s cheap. Sleep time!!