3 months in country!

Tomorrow makes my 3 months in country…from there on it’s a countdown for the 2 years…
I already have a ton of ideas for projects I can start, but I am waiting patiently to make sure I am getting integrated into the community before starting anything.
Tanzania is a lot about building relationships, which takes time, but those relationships can definitely take you far. I figured I will officially start my “work” here around November. Until then I have a lot of traveling to do for workshops and different activities.
I’m still remodeling my house, one bit at a time. This week I worked on the bathroom and the toilet. I painted both and made a curtain for the shower window. The carpenter came back with estimates, and a problem. Apparently there is no wood to be found anywhere! The only wood that is available to not very good quality and can only be used to make 2 of the 4 items I wanted. At least those are the 2 most important ones…
I’m having a wall unit built for the living room, and another unit for the bathroom with cabinets, shelves and a drawer. I think its going to look nice.
This weekend I’m going to travel to the nearest main city from me, which is about 5 hours away where I can meet some of my fellow volunteers and but items that are not available here.
I also have been doing a lot of cooking, which anyone who knows me knows I like to do! Last night I made pizza - no cheeses, but it was still really good. The truth is that you can make almost anything in here, and the cookbook Peace Corps provide volunteers here is awesome! It’s a true inspiration. I have a feeling that as soon as the volunteer I’m replacing is going to leave, I won’t be cooking as much. It’s not as fun cooking for one. My resolution to that is to create a cooking club! I already mentioned it to my next door neighbor, who is a really nice mama and is respected by the community. Her response was positive and she said they can teach me how to cook Tanzanian food and I can teach them American food. Mamas here are always happy to learn about different ways of cooking, so I hope it will go well. I will have to add in some nutrition though, maybe find a place where they will make whole wheat flour for me...
Another idea I have is to build a brick oven. I know there is a volunteer couple who built one in country. I don’t think it should be hard, and it will definitely be nice!
Those are only a few ideas of many I have. Some I’m sure will never actually come into practice, because that is the nature of things in here, but it sure is something to be excited about.
Ok, that’s it for now, countdown starts tomorrow.