Is this real life?

Hard to believe that I've only been in Tanzania for 10 days!  It feels like I've already known the other trainees for years.  It's fun to be going through a really intense "friendship forging" stage; I haven't experienced anything quite like this since college started (or maybe since moving into the co-op in Chicago). 

We spent a few days in Dar Es Salaam, and have now moved to Morogoro for two months of training.  I'm staying with a really great family- two high school aged brothers, an older sister, her husband, and their little boy.  The mother of the boys and the sister has been out of town on a business trip so I haven't met her yet.  My family speaks some English; enough for us to make it by when my limited Kiswahili doesn't cut it.  They're all very friendly and are very willing to laugh at any cultural differences that come up. 

Seems like everything is at a breakneck pace; Here's a normal day in a nutshell:

up around 5:30
leave my host family's house by 7
get to the local high school (where we hold all our classes) by 8
classes in Kiswahili, Tanzanian culture, safety, AIDS response, etc with a brunch and lunch break until 5,
head home and help cook dinner, whilst trying to learn more Kiswahili from my family,
eat,
and finally it's 8 or 8:30.  Usually I get to bed fairly early, seeing as I'm tired and that it's dark (power outages are pretty common here, about 2 nights a week.  There's more demand for electricity than what's avaiable).


I feel I'm adjusting very well for the time being; some people in my group are a little overwhelmed, but I think I'm doing a good job of taking things moment by moment.  So far I feel very comfortable!

One last thought:  I'm glad to find that the ridiculously happy version of me (Dave 2.0 maybe?) that I found on my bike trip and in Chicago hasn't disappeared with the relocation.  I think a lot of you who are reading might have noticed how happy I was over the last year; part of me was worried that my happiness was situational, and that I would loose it when I left.  But never fear!  Lots of people in my training class have commented on how smiley I am, and I feel pretty upbeat in general.  Hooray for not loosing myself along the way!

Thanks for reading! Best wishes to all!