So the training begins

The Beginning in a Comorian Homestay and Village

The past few days have been quite a whirl wind of experiences, emotions, and education.

On Friday afternoon I learned that I will be serving on the main Island, Grand Comoros, for the next two years. After overcoming the long awaited announcement of Island placement, we had to be yet again placed in a nerve racking situation of meeting our host families for the first time. I lucked out and did not have to wait long, as once I grabbed my bags my family was already there to greet me. Once I said hello to my host mother, one of our neighbors (who has become a close friend of mine), and someone else that has a relation to my family (have not quite figured out what though), we headed off to our village, Mvouni, which is a village close by our hotel/training center. Once at the house I tried to settle in a little by putting my stuff up. Not long into being at the house our neighbor came by and picked me up to go met her sister. After some time, there I headed home for dinner and family time. Due to lack of language knowledge and exhaustion from the day I headed to bed shortly after.  On Saturday I woke up and after getting ready was greeted by our neighbor who took me over to see another volunteer, which so happens to live right behind me. We all decided to talk a walk around the village, so we grabbed our notebooks and headed out. On the way we ran into several other volunteers who were either hanging with their family or were out on walks also. After a good time walking around it was time to head home for a rest. Once home however another neighbor took me to meet some of her friends, and to invite me to her wedding that would be occurring in July (after Ramadan ends). When I finally finished with my adventures I decided to take a little nap and arrange some things around the house. A little before dinner some of the other volunteers were outside my house so I greeted them and then went back home to eat dinner. When dinner was finished my friend came and we went to see some of her friends for a short time. Then it was off to bed for me. Sunday brought a day of more adventure, meeting people (who still to this day I do not remember their names), and learning my way around the town. The day began with meeting one of the volunteers at their house and a bunch of our friends. We hung out there for a bit then decided to migrate to another volunteer’s house. After which we proceeded to walk around until one of the volunteers was called to the house. Thus we went back to her house and hung out there until I was called to go home. It was quite a fun time as all we did was hang out, talk, and learn some about the Comorian culture. Since Sunday I was fasting instead of eating lunch I went and hung out with another friend once I was home. Followed by meeting several other volunteers and talking a walk around to different houses and greeting everyone’s host families. Here it is quite different than in the USA, in the sense that most people just come over whenever and will talk for hours on end. It started to get dark out so I headed back home for dinner and after a little time with the family I went to bed to prepare for training the next morning.

Monday morning brought training and a walk to our training center. The day was basically full of learning the language and skills to help us teach English here in Comoros. Once the day was finally over we all hung out for a bit to breathe for a minute or two. Then we walked home where I ate dinner. Then that evening I went on an adventure with one of my family members to find me a Bubu (a traditional dress found here in Comoros). It was quite an interesting time, unfortunately we did not succeed in locating one, but it was nice to see the town at night and how well lite it was by moonlight. Tuesday was an exciting day for all of us volunteers as we met the 1^st group who came to Comoros last year. It was really great having a chance to mingle with them and learning about their experiences so far. It really made me excited to start teaching and to be at my site already. It was also great as we learned some pointers that they themselves wish they knew. After a nice afternoon with them I headed home for the evening. The evening was quite an interesting one as once dinner was finished my host mom asked if I wanted henna, which I agreed to. Upon completing the Henna she proceed to paint my nails with the Henna. (Personal Recommendation, DON’T DO IT). It was a very interesting time, and brought lots of laughs. However, personally the results were not as nice as I would have liked them, and probably won’t paint my nails anytime soon. Another thing which occurred Tuesday was that I learned our running water was working again. Since I came here I have been using water from a well, so that fact that I had running water was quite a surprise and an exciting moment. Here it is not common to have running water nor electricity. Wednesday was a pretty normal day of training. The evening brought some more interesting news when we learned the electricity was back on for our house, however we are fortunate enough to have solar panels at my house, it was still great news. Thursday was a very interesting day as it decided to pour down rain all day, so our adventure homely luckily was met with rides. After which me and some other volunteers walked around the village for a little. Then I returned home for dinner. After dinner I was given the experience to visit a mosque. And although I have not a clue what was going on I picked up the moments quite well. It was also nice to talk about with my friend the differences and similarities between our religions. After visiting the mosque, we went over to a volunteer’s house and hung out with some of our friends before proceeding to return home and go to bed. Friday went from a very exciting day, and looking forward to the weekend, to a very interesting one. In the morning we had training as usual. After training ended we all hung around until lunch was ready. However, when lunch finally became ready we all headed down the stairs (which were slippery from the rain) and due to my misfortune I fell landing me in the capital for the weekend. I will say I am alright, the worst part of the fall is over, it really only left me with bruises and a hurt elbow. But even with the misfortune it really has helped me to be appreciative for Group 2, Peace Corps as a whole, and my host family/village members. As although it is nothing to severe that happened to me everyone has been supportive and constantly making sure I am ok and do not need anything. It makes me feel really safe that no matter what will happen in the next two years I always have people to go to and we all will take care of each other. So as for now I am in the capital of Comoros, Moroni, for the next few days. Let’s see what occurs over the weekend and this upcoming week.

Until Then.  

FYI: Photos soon to come!