Spiders, Bees and Bats... Oh My!

So thats why I never use suncreen...

A bat that lived under my bed.

Reach for the toilet paper (yeah i actually used some this time) and found a little friend inside.


Dont know what these are but they are huge, loud, and very tough to kill.

I stepped on them like 5 times before they died.

Cheers,

Jayce

Cessie and I at the beach.

Some random guy kept falling asleep on my shoulder during my 12-hour bus ride.

Just Feng-Shui'd a little bit, did you make the cut to be on the picture wall?

Some friends.

Enjoying the hammock.

Cheers,

Jayce

Roads Scholar

So the other night im hanging out with my 50 year old man-friend. His name's Orota andwere just having a beer in the back of his shop.

He invited his friend over and is like, "Hey Jayce meet my friend, Father Lukas, hes the catholic priest of the village"

So I meet him, feeling ashamed that im drinking and hoping he doesnt judge.

He proceeds to start throwing back Safari's like its nobody's business. He ends up getting pretty drunk and as hes about to leave he orders another beer and says (in a very funny English voice) "One for the road!?"

I die laughing and proceed to explain to him that in America we call those drinks "Roadies."

Highlight of my life, teaching the term roadie to a Catholic priest.

Did I mention this was a saturday night and he had to give a sermon the next day?

Halleujah!


Cheers,
Jayce

Breakfast of Champions

So my diet here has consisted of basically, fruits veggies and beans. I rarely cook.

I eat a lot of oats for breakfast but they have been getting old. I was bored one day and I searched around my house and found a bunch of ingredients that I figured I could add.

I was like oh I could add a little peanut butter to these oats and it would be great. Oh I could add some sugar, maybe some cocoa powder and vanilla extract and so on...

So I have been loving life the past couple weeks thinking im so original creating the most wonderful breakfast masterpiece there is.

Then the other day Cessie was telling me about a great recipe for no-bake cookies. And I am like, "no-bake" let me know beacause I can't cook.

She starts telling me the ingredients. "Oh its easy just add oats, sugar, peanut butter, cocoa, vanilla..."

She proceeds to say the EXACT ingredients I have been using.

So it turns out that the reason that I have been loving life so much is because I have basically been eating cookie dough the past couple weeks...damn.


Cheers,
Jayce

Facts of life Part Deux

-I have now become a ruthless MacGyver type person saving anything and everything I find in order to use later. If we go to a restaurant I say "Oh isn't that weird? They wrap the silverwear in toilet paper!" And I quickly grab the napkins and stuff them in my pocket. Or when I finish boiling my eggs in the morning I look and the water and am like,"I could use that for a hot bath." It nuts...

-When meeting people and writing down their names, you can usually right down what clothes they are wearing as well because odds are they will wear the same clothes very soon. Besides being an American, I am sure I am known as the guy who wears khakis and a green button up because that is pretty much what I wear every day.

-People in Tanzania think you are way older than you are. I am constantly told I look 40. They say it is because I have a beard, I say its because of my hairline. Damn...

-People here don't really know what google is. If you encounter someone with an email address, you can bet its either hotmail, or yahoo becuase that was probably the first thing they had ever heard about the internet. Once TZs are set in their ways, it is pretty difficult to change it.

Thats all I got for now. Take it easy folks...


Cheers,
Jayce

Updates...

So life is gettin in to the swing of things. I'm really liking my village, though I don't really have any friends. The first 3 months at site for Peace Corps is supposed to focus soley on learning the language, integrating into the culture of the village, and analyzing what you think you will be able to do over the next 2 years to help.

Right now there is a lot of free time. I'm meeting villagers, studying Swahili, getting a lay of the land, but still find myself sitting in my room with nothing to do. In the past 2 weeks I have read 3 books! Who said I wouldn't have time to learn guitar!?

In my home-stay village I was a celebrity. I was in the middle of town and there were kids everywhere screaming my name. Always something to do. My village now is way different. I am in the health center grounds which is on the side of the village. There are no kids around me and rarely any random visitors.

With this free time leads to a lot of ups and downs. Sometimes I sit in my room and get pretty lonely. It's boring. And you have to find new things to do to either improve village life, your life, or just keep you occupied. Things get tough dealing with the isolation but you learn to deal with it. You think about what an awesome opportunity you have to do what so few people get to do.

Being on the outskirts of town means I just have to make a more concentrated effort to get out there and meet people. So it'll just take time until I get some peeps I can just kick it with.


Cheers,
Jayce

NEW ADDRESS

Holler!

I got a new address. This is my personal P.O. Box in my town.

I have heard nothing but good things about the mail in town but I would still try and be cautious when sending stuff. Try and put educational materials, or religious materials on the box. Just don't put "GIFT" or something like that, you might as well put "STEAL ME." Haha.

But yeah, on the right side of the blog is my wish list. BY NO MEANS is this anything that I need.

Things are great and I am totally fine, these would all be luxury items. So if you feel the need to send stuff, feel free! But don't feel obligated. Nothing is necessary.

Even if you just wanna send a picture or a letter to show me some love, that would be awesome as well! I would love to hear from you!


Cheers,
Jayce

My Best Friend the Eating Disorder

So the closest person from my training class is a girl named Cessie. Shes a badass chick from Alabama and about an hour away from me and I love her to death. So expect to hear a lot about our shenanigans over the next 2 years together.

I posted her blog on the right, its

http://cessieintanzania.wordpress.com

Just so you can keep up on all things Singida. And also her village gave her an awesome tribal name. Its Balima. Pronounced buh-lee-muh. THIS CLOSE away from being Buhlimia!

She sat us down and said, "Guys, I have something serious to tell you...I think I'm Balima."

I died.


Cheers,
Jayce

Stranded at the Drive-In...

So the other night I am studying on the fronch porch of a local store. My usual hangout.

The owner invites me to watch the Man U v Arsenal game. I accept because I need to make friends. Who cares if hes 55, I need friends. We exchange numbers and agree to meet later.

7pm rolls around and I give him a call. Since I don't know the way he agrees to meet me at the health center. I go to the center and await his arrival.

715 rolls around...nothing
730 comes...no answer on his phone
745... his phone is off
8pm I return home

I felt like an ugly girl who got stood up at her senior prom. I went home, sat on my bed, and ate peanut butter out of a jar.

Was it simply bad luck? Did his phone just happen to break? Or did I just get stood up by a 55 year old Tanzanian man?


Cheers,
Jayce

Decisions, Decisions

The Peace Corps has really given me a chance to evaluate how I view charity work around the globe. At first I would see someone coming to Africa and digging a well or planting trees and think so highly.

But what I realize now that there is such a difference between developing sustainable improvements, as opposed to one time hand-outs. Not good or bad, just different.

Granted, the acts these people do are awesome and I do not want to talk down about them but at the same time I can see how simply handing out money or food only forces the culture to be dependant upon outside sources rather than looking at what they can do to be sustainable and successful on their own.

That brings me to the other day.

I am sitting in my house and get a knock on my door. A young girl is there, small, dirty and helpless, and begins to start mumbling something. I can't understand her and think it is just because of my shitty Swahili. I keep asking her what she wants and she motions to food and money with her hands. I'm confused. I realize what is going on when her speaking isn't Swahili at all. It turns out that the girl is deaf!

I keep saying no, trying to convey my message without words until the girl drops to her knees and clutches onto my legs. Begging me for anything I can give her.

This leads me to my dilemma.

Do I give this child money? Food? Would this be a kind gesture or simply promoting the dependance the culture has on others. Is this situation different because shes a child? Because shes deaf? Will I live with the reputaion of the American who can hand out gifts whenever and have many more visitors in the future? Or is it just the right thing to do?

Here I am with a young deaf child on the ground, grasping my legs and begging for help.

What do you do?


Cheers,
Jayce

Catch-Up 4

Pangani.

Another family portrait.



My host sisters playing in the yard. That building is the kitchen.

Busses here say the weirdest things...

I managed to hangup my hammock in my courtyard. Its closed off yet open-air, so it's pretty legit. 1st door is my room, middle is my kitchen, 3rd is my bathroom.

Cheers,

Jayce

Catch-Up 3

Me and my ladies at swearing in.

In the barn during Euchre.



Some lady friends.

Can't remember if I posted this picture before.

Indian Ocean.

Cheers,

Jayce

Catch-Up 2

Scenic.

The road in my homestay village, lush green with an awesome red dirt road.



Hiked up a mountain and looked down on my homestay village. The white building is where I went to school everyday.

At MATI, the place we went once a week. I just couldn't get over the colors.

Some mountain.

Cheers,

Jayce

Playing Catch-Up

Pano of my backyard.