Keeping Up with Kathrine

I guess sporadic blogging is the best I can hope for here, so my apologies that I'm not more consistent. Most days, when I'm away from work, I find myself wanting to be anywhere but behind my computer. However, I made a promise that I would post an update, so here we go. I'm still living in Northern Tanzania, approaching my 8th month of living in a constant whirl of chaos and comfort where some days things are hard to comprehend and some days things are hard to communicate, but every day I'm growing a little more confident. Intercultural communication is rough and my Kiswahili isn't amazing, so there's definitely still room for improvement. However, for the time being, this is my home and it's about time it started feeling like it. I left East Africa for the first time since my arrival in December for my holiday. The meltdown I had when I stepped off the plane into the mayhem that was Amsterdam's airport at Christmastime was comparable to the meltdow

I started out so strong with this whole blogging thing and then really dropped the ball. Pole sana (very sorry) to everyone who has been desperately awaiting my insights from this side of the world. The past couple of months have been crazy busy (and will continue to be crazy until September). My brain has been on overload since June trying to take everything in, learn all I can, and try to speak some Kiswahili on top of that. Luckily, my students, the school staff, and my new pals have all been super gracious and patient with me. You should've seen me trying to explain what a marshmallow is to a bunch of students who had never seen one before. I got frustrated with myself and gave up after "sticky, fluffy sugar." Although I still have a lot to learn, I've definitely come a long way since you last heard from me. I had my first water-borne illness, so I'm officially a member of the Tanzanian community. In addition, I've gotten to the point where my greetings a

All that to say, HEY! It’s only been about a week and a half that I’ve been living here in Africa and it feels like it’s been an eternity. I have been learning a lot about existence here in Karatu and making a lot of new friends while simultaneously trying to learn a new language and go to work every day. Something I learned very quickly is that this is not a place for introverts (or stubborn individualists like myself). Greeting every person you see on the street isn’t just the norm, but is a sign of respect. And when I say “greet”, I mean you basically say hello 7 times in 7 different ways. It’s been a huge adjustment from just smiling at the people who pass by. For someone who is not an extraordinary small talker, this has been massively challenging. On the other hand, it has been a joy to meet so many new people and make new friends. They are all extremely kind and their English is very good which is EXTREMELY helpful for me. The staff and leaders of Tumaini welcomed me into the

Monday was a weird day. I had everything packed and ready to go to arrive at the airport for my flight. I was in a strange funk that included excitement and adventure mixed with anxiety and nervousness and crippling self-doubt, but I held it in until we got to the airport. I started thinking about the extent of the trip I was about to take and that I wouldn't see my family for about 6 months and I probably wouldn't see my dog for at least a year, and then every fear I could possibly have began to fester in my mind. I played it cool though, trying to be tough, independent, and up for a challenge. Then, my dad called around 3 PM to say goodbye and as soon as I hung up, I took one look at my mom and started sobbing. So much for playing it cool. For the next hour, every glance exchanged between my mom, sister, and I ended in tears. When it was finally time for me to go through security, I made them leave so I could stop crying, not look like a baby in front of all the airport peopl

Friday was a day I was hoping would never come to fruition. Friday was a day that we put a racist, misogynistic, self-centered, sex offender into public office to be the head of our incredible nation. Friday was a day when the questions that had been manifesting themselves in our minds became palpable worries. Will this presidency effect the legitimacy of my citizenship, of my marriage, of my job, of my gender, of my humanity? Friday was a day that I was hoping would be some elaborate prank that ended with Bernie Sanders with his normally sized hand on a stack of Bibles.  It wasn't.  But then Saturday came. Saturday was a day that brought encouragement, unity, democracy, a voice. I had been looking forward to Saturday all week because I knew the amount of creativity that would reveal itself in the form of clever posters and tweets. I fell in love with people I had never met before, carrying signs that said "GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUNdamental rights" and "I've