Interlude of ranting

Trip Start Jul 18, 2007

Trip End Ongoing

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Flag of Tanzania Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Wednesday, September 19, 2007

I would like to take a quick break from the telling of my sketchy trip to tell you about the start of classes. It is absolute hell. However I'm getting over it. Classes technically started on Monday. However, the only people that have been showing up to class are international students and maybe a few Tanzanians. No professors. A fat lot of nothing. I've been lucky and actually sort of had two sociology classes in which it was my friend Monika and I, a few Tanzanian men, and the professor. They only lasted about a half an hour and consisted of the professor telling us to remind our friends that classes have started. I don't think anyone else in my group has even had that much of a class. I'm going to Globalization and Development later today so maybe I'll get lucky again. I should also probably get around to registering at some point but no one seems to fussed about expediting that process either. Everyone keeps asking the international students why we're so uptight. We apparently need to be flexible, go with the flow. However, most of us are leaving December 22, which, since the "start" of school was pushed back a couple weeks, means we leave before the semester officially ends. Thus, we would actually like to have some class work to show our professors when we get back to the states so we can get credit for the time we spent over here. The Tanzanians just laugh at us. Oh and then there is the whole problem with roommates. So the university has known since February that there will be thirteen American students coming for the fall that need to have Tanzanian roommates as part of their program grade. When did they start trying to figure out rooms? Last week. Who were our roommates? Europeans. Interesting. We went in and tried to explain our case but they were saying there weren't enough rooms which doesn't make sense at all. Finally, a girl from the Brown University group made up a housing chart on her laptop in which everyone had a Tanzanian roommate. The warden looked at it and was like oh yes that will work. So we think it's all fine and good, but some how three of our girls still ended up with European roommates while other girls who are not required to have Tanzanian roommates, have them. Luckily (and this is a very selfish thought, I realize) I have a Tanzanian roommate and I don't have to move any more. She hasn't moved in yet but half of my room is just waiting for her. I even have the little wheat weaving thing that mom bought for whoever my roommate would end up being sitting on the desk. It was really sad last night though, not having Eva around. She has been a good roommate and I am sad that I now have to walk up three flights of stairs to visit her. I am way too lazy. Hopefully my new roommate will be friendly and outgoing. Otherwise, it may be an awkward semester. Ooooo and I need to get a kitenge and fashion it into a curtain because there is no curtain on my window at the moment, and I'm on the first floor. Problem. Ah well. Its all part of the experience.