Karibu Mtwara (Welcome to Mtwara)

 

I arrived in Mtwara yesterday morning which was actually a public holiday so I took the time to meet a couple of other volunteers and had the experience of going to the local market.  It was very different from anything I’ve ever seen!  It was essentially an outdoor area with loads of shops of beautifully colored materials and kangas (the garment most of the local women will wear wrapped around them), as well as shampoo soaps, the list really goes on.  At the back was a huge area with fresh vegetables and fruits, and some meats as well as assorted rice, pastas, and spices.  Everywhere you are here I will tell you there is color and everyone is always staying very busy.  No matter what time of day there is someone sewing in the streets or carrying corn or bananas or other good from the fields, the daily life is so much different from home.   I am thankful I had my new housemate with me as my Swahili is slowly improving (mainly basic greetings and suck) but I need to study more of the bargaining of prices and learn all of the numbers – I’m seeing this is a must.   I bought some material to make curtains out of and a couple of other items and headed back to the house.  The rest of the day mostly just tried to relax and get some sleep- need to get over this jet lag- it’s seriously been tough.

Today I am at VETA and looking forward to meeting everyone else and seeing how everything is running around here.  The times I do get homesick I need to remind myself why I am here and that I hope I can provide some sort of plan to be implemented after I am gone that will help these students be more successful and obtain work after finishing here at the school.   Fortunately the VETA office has a beautiful view of the Indian Ocean and I just need to keep looking out to remind myself there is a big world out there and while I can’t change the world, at least I can try and make a difference in a few lives and that will make it all worth it.

I have attached a pic here of the first group of Volunteers I met from the UK and me at dinner on the waterfront.  I will try and post more soon!

Thanks for stopping by J