I am settling into my life here although I have felt lonely at times, particularly missing Ken. But other than that, I am really enjoying hanging out with the youth that lives at the center.
There are about 20 girls ages 15 to 21 who are living and working here in exchange for secondary school tuition. They were quite shy at first but are opening up. Mainly they were afraid of using their limited English. Mama Bakhita has insisted I speak English with them instead of Swahili so I am afraid I am not making very much progress with my Swahili but they need my English more than I need Swahili so I will be patient. Just by sitting around them and listening I am picking words up, and also feeling more involved with the daily life at the center.
Whenever I don’t have anything to do, I find the girls and ask them if they need help or just hang out with them. They are teens so there is much giggling, singing and occasionally dancing. They are usually working so on Friday night, I join them in the kitchen, which is in the back of the building and help them cook. I am quite excited as I hope to be able to duplicate their delicious dishes when I get back. One of them is made of peas, tomato and coconut juice. I didn’t realize it had coconut. They actually cut it fresh and very fine, then pour water over it to humidify it. They then proceed to squeeze the juice out of it by hand.
The kitchen is basically a stone hut and it’s hot in there. It’s the hub of the building as a kitchen always is the center of activity wherever you go… As I step into the back of the building, most of the kids are hanging around there, as well as the dog and her 1 week old puppies who have found the warmest place. They use wood and coal to cook everything and sit by the dishes. They grind the grain themselves. I watch, help stir the food in the pot, and bring the dishes over once they are cooked. They keep saying I am the chief cook which is not at all true as I am more their student right now. We talk about different things like our phones, our hair and such… I realize how much time and effort is put into cooking our meals and it makes me even more appreciative of what I have been eating, especially knowing there is a food shortage.
On Friday night, the other volunteers and I decide to go to a show in town called: Mr and Ms Talent 2008. We think it’s a talent show but realize it’s a beauty pageant. We get there early so we watch them rehearse while we have drinks and giggles of our own. When the show starts, every category is quite long as there are 15 contestants. At first they do a choreography which is quite bad and makes me wish the Amani girls entered this show… Then they talk about their goal in life. A lot of them talk about eradicating aids, one talks about women’s rights, the other about orphans. They all bring up serious topics and openly speak about the state of their country in front of the crowd. The night goes and people are getting more and more fired up. Especially when there is a raffle. Some are dancing. We eventually leave around 1 am. Everything goes at a very mellow pace here and the show will keep going on until 2 or 3 and we all have a very early day tomorrow. On our way back, the cab takes the back bumpy roads that a 4 weel drive should take so it is quite an experience as the car slides here and there close to trees. But the girls are singing in the car and don’t seem to notice. I sit in the front with Heather and we just laugh.
The rest of the volunteers are going to Dar Es Salaam tomorrow morning early but I am staying at the center and am going to the market.
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