It is crazy that it has only been one week since I arrived in Tanzania. In many ways it feels like I have been here for over a month. In this week I have processed again why I am here and my commitment to serve, I have learned important medical and safety skills, I have begun learning Swahili and can now greet people and introduce myself in a culturally appropriate manner, I have taken almost all modes of transportation, and I have meet some amazing people. I have already become friends with many of the other PCTs (Peace Corps Trainees – there are 51 of us), received advice from the RePCV’s (Resource Peace Corps Volunteers – current volunteers one year into their service) and PCVL’s (Peace Corps Volunteer Leaders – volunteers who extended their service after their two years), learned about Tanzanian language and culture from the LCF’s (Language and Cultural Facilitators), and met all of the other Peace Corps Tanzania staff. Each day is filled with a full day of trainings with breaks for chai (tea), chakula (lunch), soda break and dinner.
Aside from all of the trainings, we also had a chance to walk around Dar es Salaam (the largest city and administrative capital where we stayed for the first four days) to be shown where some important places are and to get a feel for the city and public transportation, and many of us chose to take time to visit the beach near our hotel in the mornings and evenings. On Sunday we traveled north into the Tanga region for the rest of our PST (Pre-Service Training). Here, in our free time (which is very limited due to the trainings) we are able to walk around the town and practice Swahili with locals, do some shopping, play games with the children, or whatever we choose. Friday we will move in with our host families which are all located in the surrounding villages. We will spend three days a week doing CBT (community based training) in our host family villages and the village secondary school, three days back in town with all PCTs for training as a group and Sundays will be our “free” day in which we will spend time with our host families learning to cook Tanzanian meals, doing laundry, helping with household chores and, if we complete those, visiting other PCTs.
Overall, PST (Pre-Service Training) is a lot. We are given so much information in such a short amount of time, along with learning the language, the culture, and how to take care of basic necessities in a new way (like learning to bucket bath, use a squat toilet and wash clothes by hand). By the end of most days I am exhausted but more excited than ever to continue learning and become immersed in the culture. If I can learn and grow as much as I have in the past week, I am excited to see what the next two years brings.