Weekly Check-In

This past week has been quite an interesting experience while also been a cultural exchange. Last Friday I left off having been placed in the capital for the weekend due to falling. In positive news I am doing much better. On another note my weekend in the capital, Moroni, was helpful for recovery and also destressing. The first night there I spent enjoying the wifi and amenities that the hotel had. Saturday was quite more adventurous as some of the other volunteers came down from our host village and we spent the day relaxing and exploring the hotel grounds. It is quite a nice place, as there is a view of the water and few different access locations to the water. When dusk started to come they decided to head back to the village and I said my goodbyes. Instead of just hanging at the hotel for the evening I ended up hanging with some of group 1 volunteers and spent time learning more about Comoros and the different islands. As well as hearing about their experiences. Sunday brought an adventure with both groups to another hotel and a beach day. It was such a perfect day and the water was truly breathe taking, it was super hard to believe what I was seeing (Comoros is truly a tropical paradise). When the evening came I said goodbye to everyone and headed back to my hotel for one last evening.

 Monday was a day for readjusting and getting back into my routine. Upon returning to our training center I was thrown straight back into the usual routine of classes. Even though the hotel was a nice break from everything it was nice to go back and see everyone in my group and to get back into the swing of the daily life during PST. When our day of training ended I headed home to see my host family for the first time since going to Moroni. The greeting quite took me by shock, as we were told that here affection is quite different than that in the USA, so being greeted with hugs was both great and a surprise. Luckily our nightly schedule was not distributed with my return.

Tuesday brought an interesting experience during dinner time. Normally in my family we all eat together, it is relatively a small family (Me, my host mom, aunt, grandma, and nephew). However, instead of having our usual dinner we had a huge family get together to celebrate the breaking of fast. It was an experience as unlike normal dinners we separated into genders, women on one side of the room and men on the other. We also all sat on the floor (which I quite enjoy doing). Being as separating genders to eat, even if it is in the same room, is quite foreign to me I asked my friend about it, however she was unable to provide information besides to say that it is how it is. I guess that will be something I will try to figure out over the next few years. During dinner we also had a funny talk about married. Here married is a very important aspect and within a matter of seconds of meeting you they will ask if you are married. So during dinner I was asked if I was married, which I openly said no, (and if you know me I am quite prideful in being single and have no expectation in being married anytime in the near future). Once I said no though my friend’s mom told me that should would find me a husband by Friday, which I stated in multiple ways that I did not want to get married. They just laughed, though not sure if they believed me or not, I continued to state though how I was not wanting to marry. Then her mom said how I should get married and have kids, which I really stated no. Finally, after being asked multiple times why I did not they eventually dropped the subject and understood I was not going to give in. However, the conversation did not end. When dinner finished one of the male family members came up to ask why I was not wanting to get married. We had a very interesting conversation, unfortunately though neither of us were giving into the other’s idea nor did he understand my logistics behind it. It was however, an eye opening experience because as for them here they have a belief that being married is a responsibility for each person and that you are supposed to continue on your family heritage. Which in a way is how married was viewed many years ago in the USA. Trying though to explain how now we (in the USA) do not put an emphasis on married and that in general we view marriage as something you do when you are ready, is quite a hard aspect to explain (in particularly with the language barrier). I also know that this change of ideas will only come with time and will not be something I will try to force them to change unless they want to.

Wednesday through today have been quite normal days. During the day I continue to improve my language skills and learning about techniques to prepare for teaching for the next two years. In the evening I return home and hang out with my host family. Some evenings I take an adventure around the village to visit other volunteers or friends of my friends, but really nothing too special. The weekend has now arrived for us, which means a lot of relaxing in the village. Tomorrow my family and I are planning on going into Moroni to do some shopping. Otherwise nothing too special is planned.

So far the time is beginning to past faster and we have really begun to have a routine. The next few weeks holds lots of adventures for us, we will travel around the island to visit a beach, have a 4^th of July celebration, celebrate Comoros’s independence, Eid (the end of Ramadan celebration), and announcements of our sites.

                As for adjusting everything is coming bit by bit. It is quite different here than any other country/culture I have lived in. But every day is a learning experience with it and it gets better. The biggest challenge thus far has been the underlying gender roles, but of course it is a cultural aspect and I am not going to try and change their ideas because I do not hold the same ideals for my life. At the same time even with said roles they are very understanding that being American I have different ideas of what I can and can’t do and they respect that. I know though the learning experience will continue and understanding will advance.

Until Next Time