Settling into teaching....

The last week of teaching in Moshi has been really great. After a fairly awkward first day, I got much more comfortable with instructing. My lesson this week has been all around vocab words about professions. I had intended to teach this lesson in a day or two and move on, but it has really turned into an opportunity to expand. The first day, I taught them about ten words that were in their books, words like mechanic, tailor, butcher, grocer, etc., and gave them the definition of each. For homework that night, I told them to each try and think of a job or two that we didn't discuss, and the English definition. It's really fun teaching two classes, and seeing the differences in the things the kids come up with. The third class, we expanded on the jobs, and talked about where each person would work, so for example, we defined 'mechanic' as a person who fixes you car or lorry. So I asked the kids where I would go to find a mechanic, or a pilot, and so on, and this way they learned words like garage and airplane, and linked them to the jobs. For my last class, I thought I would get a little tricky, and I listed all of the jobs on the board, and told them that we were going to go through the jobs, one at a time, and I wanted them to tell me which jobs were for girls, and which jobs were for boys. For the last 15 minutes of class, once we got through the entire list, and all their answers were on the chalkboard, I explained to them that it had been a trick question. I told tham that ALL of the jobs were for boys AND girls. This started a very interesting discussion in which some of the old world customs of African sexism became apparent, and I hope that I helped the students see differently. Many of the girls seemed very excited to hear that they could be carpenters or pilots, and the boys seemed a bit puzzled to think of themselves as nurses. But I think that they were thinking. Another highlight of my week came on Thursday. Thanks, in part, to THE Mission, a water pump was purchased for the girl's school in Same that was without water, and I asked to come along to deliver and install it. We left very early in the morning to travel around Moshi to pick up the engineer and his team of laborers. At one point, we were way on the outskirts of town, and driving on a horribly bumpy dirt road by an old, broken down Pepsi plant. The plant was surrounded by a huge wall made of cinderblock-like bricks, like most properties are here in Africa. But these bricks were different, upon closer inspection, I noticed that every brick had the imprint of a swastika on it. Turns out that this plant, like much of the industry here in Tanzania, used to be owned by the Germans. I have never really seen swastikas so blatantly displayed before, and I was even more surprised to find out that no one in the car knew what they meant! The trip to Same was very long, they had planned on a two hour installation. Luckily, I brought a book, because after eight hours, the end was in sight, and we all stood around the well, anxiously waiting. Loud cheers were let out at hour 9, when water GUSHED out of the top of the pipe from the well. It was a pretty exciting moment, you would think that we had struck oil! I also had fun walking around the campus that day, meeting all of the students. The teenage girls in Tanzania love me, go figure :-). Another scene that stood out this week was when I was walking to work one day, I noticed about 8 kids kneeling outside of their classroom with their hands in the air. Come to find out, this is a form of corporal punishment. Although physical punishments are routine here in Africa, I have never actually witnessed anything like it, and it was pretty disturbing to see children forced to kneel on cement to induce pain. I found it interesting, when the teacher was explaining to me what was going on, he informed me where the stick for hitting the kids was kept, and encouraged me to use it. No thanks! Other than that, the week has been fairly quiet. I'm settling into a routine here, as I'm pretty much on my own. Teaching only takes up a few hours every day, so I've gotten pretty comfortable riding the dala dala into town. Being that there is so much down time, I've also finally gotten back into reading. I finished the book, Half The Sky, and would recommend that everyone go out and get a copy and read it. I was really inspired by what I read, and I know that coupled with the experience that I am having here in Africa, that this is just the beginning for me. I'm interested in exploring doing work fundraising when I get home, or maybe even starting my own NGO. Also, after much stress and aggravation, it looks as though my trip to Rwanda has come together, thanks in large part to help from my mother. It is very difficult to coordinate a trip in a country that has unreliable internet, and doesn't accept credit cards. I'm a little nervous about the legitimacy of the tour operator that I found in Kigali, but at this point, I'm just trying to have faith. As far as I know, I am booked on a flight from Kilimanjaro Airport to Kigali on Tuesday morning. Then, after a couple of days in the capital, I will be brought to Volcanoes National Park, where I will get to spend an hour with the mountain gorillas. I REALLY hope it all works out, as this has been a lifelong dream. I just couldn't go home without doing it. Oh, almost forgot. When I stayed in Old Moshi with my friend Tino's family, I met his sister Rose. She is a student at KCMC, a big government hospital here. Wednesday afternoon, I met her at KCMC, and we spent the early evening at her house with her son, and her husband's sister. Her English is very good, so it was a lot of fun to sit with her, eat a traditional ugali meal, and talk about the differences between Tanzania and the United States. It still amuses me so much that things that are so routine to us are shocking to people here in Tanzania. She couldn't believe that buses in America have enough room on the seats that you aren't touching the person next to you. She was even more shocked that people would have a problem with it if you did touch them! She was also in disbelief that we have had problems with kids and guns, especially in the schools. After a long chat and dinner, we headed into town with Paul, her 2 year old, and met her husband. It was a nice afternoon and evening. As time goes on, I feel more and more comfortable here. I can't believe that I'll be leaving Africa in two weeks....

Moshi Airport School

Teaching has begun for me. Yesterday was my first day teaching at the Moshi Airport Primary School. The school is what they call an English Medium school, so all of the classes, except Kiswahili, are taught in English. There was a real need for a teacher for the 3rd grade, P3, as the current teacher was running back and forth between two streams of classes, each with about sixty students. So, the original setup was that I would take stream B for the week, and he would take stream A. The teachers were all very welcoming, and gave me the materials that I would need. It's amazing how often I realize what we in the US take for granted - you should see the textbooks that the students are using - they are completely falling apart! I was a little surprised, as I thought that I would be teaching the little first graders, so my original lesson plans included things like the song Head, shoulders, knees and toes. But the class that I stepped into was learning the difference between words like 'in, on and under,' and 'this and that,' and 'some and any.' So I had to make some quick revisions. Granted, the first day was kinda rough. I walked into a class of 60 students, was handed a piece of chalk and an eraser, and left alone! 60 eight year old's can be more intimidating than I thought! But once I got going, although I fumbled a bit, I did ok. Students are very different here, probably because of the socio-economics. They seem to REALLY realize the value of education, so even 60 eight year olds were very easy to manage behaviorally, as they all want to learn, and pay close attention. There are NO students acting up, but I'm sure part of that is the threat of corporal punishment, which is standard practice here in Tanzania (not by me though!). After class the English teacher pulled me aside and told me that stream A, his class, was FURIOUS that they did not get to have the visitor teacher, so we revised the schedule. Day 2, today, I started with stream B, and taught them for 40 minutes, while the teacher monitored studying for stream A. After first period, we switched, and I taught stream A, while stream B had monitored studying. I was also more prepared today. After talking to my buddy Erin back in the states, and getting some AMAZING lesson plans for today, the lesson went much more smoothly. I taught the kids about different jobs - vocabulary words like postman, doctor, nurse, baker, tailor, etc. I was more organized in my teaching as well, and the kids responded accordingly. There was one point that I was writing things on the board for them to copy down, and walking around monitoring, making sure that everyone was keeping up. One student was acting very shy when I would walk by him, covering his paper. Later in the class, I noticed that he was holding his pen very awkwardly with two hands, and quickly realized that he was writing with a broken pen. He was terrified when I found out what was going on, I think they get punished if they lose or damage a pen. So after class today, I bought 50 pens, and I'm very excited to distribute them tomorrow. Pens are expensive here in Tanzania, as they are imported, so the kids are forced to keep track of them. They get 2 per year!

Last night, there was another crisis. A couple of the priests showed up very late, obviously distressed. In the back of their truck was a broken water pump from one of their schools in a place called Same. Same is VERY dry, so very little rain can be collected to be used at the school. So the situation was: 330 secondary school girls, in a VERY dry place, with three days reserve of water, and a broken water pump that cost 6 Million Shillings (4,000 USD) to replace, and NO money. The problems here are real on levels that I could never have even imagined. So I got on the phone, and I was really excited to get into contact with Sarah Jones (an angel, in this case literally). THE Mission was able to come up with 2,000 dollars for the pump. The priests will be able to get the pump, and pay the rest on credit! I can't even describe how grateful they were. This is water we're talking about here - WATER! So today, Father Innocent and I traveled into Moshi Town, and ran several errands - the bank, getting pens, immigration for me, etc. Also, Father Innocent finally took me to the right shop to get my cell phone working properly! I was also VERY excited to see more pictures from the beginning part of my trip posted on facebook. Thanks Sarah! It looks as though my plans for Rwanda are coming together, but not sure. It's tougher to plan than I had thought, especially with limited internet access. But, if all goes as planned, I will be staring into the eyes of a silverback mountain gorilla on March 5. Fingers crossed....

End of Safari

Another chapter in my Africa trip has come to an end. I am now in Moshi Town, and will be heading to Soweto in a few minutes, where the primary school is that I will be teaching at all this week. The last week has been amazing, full of surprises. Since my last post, we did do a few more game drives, but the safari focused more on the cultural aspect of Tanzania. I was a little ambivalent at first, not sure what to expect. And being that I had spent some time here already in the villages, I was curious if our 'cultural experience' would be real, or more touristy. I was in for a treat! The biggest highlight was yesterday! After a morning game drive at Lake Manyara National Park, and spending a lot of time with many baboons, we packed up camp, and started driving to a Maasai village. The Maasai are very easy to recognize around Tanzania, as they are the only tribe that has maintained their traditional practices. So in the towns, they are always easy to identify by the four pieces of fabrics they have wrapped and draped over their bodies - purple, blue and red. The men, or the warriors as they are called, also carry a knife on their belts with a blade that is 12 inches long, and a club, seriously! The women are very decorated, with beaded jewelery, stretched out ears with many dangling beaded earrings, and usually a baby strapped to their backs. So, we arrived at the village, and instantly I knew that the experience would be authentic. The Maasai all live in bomas, round houses made of sticks and cow manure, with thatched roofs. The houses are set up in a circle, and in the middle is an enclosure for the cattle. Each boma has several houses, depending on how many wives the man has. There was one man in this village that had 11 wives, so his boma had 12 houses! Anyways, we arrived at the village, and the warriors met us. I had so many questions, and the men were very willing to answer them all. Our guide, Laraha (happiness in Maasai) spoke very good english. He explained to me that there are three groups for the men. The young boys, all boys under the age of 14. These boys are responsible for the cattle, so everyday, they go out with the cattle for 12 hours while the cattle graze. There are no fenced in pastures here, the cattle and goats and sheep walk around as a herd, and the young boys MUST stay with the cattle using a long stick, and throwing rocks to keep them where he wants them. He must sit with them for 12 hours, 6 - 6, and then herd them home to the safety of the boma at night. All boys are working on gaining respect, so that when they are 14, they can become warriors. When they are 8, 2 front teeth are removed from their bottom teeth with a knife during a ceremony to strengthen and toughen them (no anesthetic)! At 14 years old, the entire village gets together, and the boys are publicly circumsized! They CANNOT cry, supposedly if they cry during the circumcision, they will be killed! I know it sounds unbelievable, but Laraha said he has never known anyone to ever cry! So, once the boys are circumsized, they are warriors. The warriors are responsible for the safety of the cattle, as lions are a big threat. Just one week prior, the village warriors had to go together to slay a lion, as it killed several cattle. They go to kill lions in groups of no less than 100 warriors. The warriors also, according to Laraha, must be ready to fight and die at any time. They are all trained to use a spear at very long distances, and as I said before, all carry a very long knife on their belts. These guys are no joke! Once the young men reach the age of 35, they become elders, and work to advise the people of the village. The women are very subservient in this culture. The Maasai are known for practicing female circumcision (mutilation), but when I asked about this, Laraha was very evasive, as the Tanzanian government has legislated against it, but it still goes on A LOT! The women build the houses, bear the children, fetch the water, prepare the food, gather the firewood, and basically everything else. It was really weird to see all the warriors sitting around picking their teeth with a branch (very popular with the Maasai), while the women were working away like crazy. We did get a performance from about 30 of the women, and they all had wares that they had made for us to buy. The warriors, while the women were singing, chanted along with them, and did their signature jumping for us. The Maasai men are known for their jumping abilities, and it was really something to see. After the performance we walked around the village a little, and met some of Laraha's 11 brothers and sisters, and all their wives and children. Most Maasai men have at least 2 wives, usually many more. It is not uncommon for a Maasai man to have 50 or more children. At one point, we met Laraha's grandmother, who he SWORE was 116 years old. I find it pretty hard to believe, although she did look VERY old. The Maasai believe very strongly in their use of traditional medicine, to which he credited his grandmother living to be 116, and still milking cows at that! My favorite part of the experience came at night though. We set up a bush camp, and because their are several hyenas and lions in the area, several of the Maasai warriors lit a campfire at our campsite and were going to keep watch of our three tents all night. So we sat around the campfire with several of the warriors for quite a while, exchanging stories about our different cultures, and learning about one another. The Maasai men, as traditional as they are in their customs, love music, especially American music. I remembered I had my IPhone with me, so I took it out, and, with all the Maasai Warriors crowded around me, I put on the Bad Romance video by Lady Gaga. All the guys loved it, they were grinning and dancing - to Lady GAGA!!! It was so great - as one of my friends said, it was like a scene out of a movie. After my last night sleeping in a tent, we walked around the village a bit more today, saw many of the plants that they use to make local medicines, and then headed to a Maasai market. The Maasai men have a signature pair of sandals that they wear that are made out of motorcycle tires, and they took me to the man to make them. He measured my foot, cut the tire, and built the straps right onto my foot! Made to order!! I'm so happy, I've been looking all over for these sandals, and to have gotten the real thing, and not some tourist knockoff version was very exciting. They are pretty comfy! Emily also got her Maasai outfit at the market that she had been looking for, and it was really cute to see them dress her in it. Half the people at the market gathered around to watch, and just thought it was the funniest thing to see a Mzungu woman dressed like a Maasai warrior. After the market, we drove Steve and Murray back to their place, and then dropped Emily off. It was really sad to say goodbye to them, but it seems like that's traveling - meeting great people, having great experiences with them, really connecting, and then moving onto the next people and experience. I'm in Moshi now, and will be meeting Father Innocent (that's REALLY his name) soon, and he will take me to the Soweto House. It has been such an incredible week, but I'm really looking forward to sleeping in a real bed, getting a real shower, and also really excited about getting to work on Monday with the kids! Thanks for reading, I'm really enjoying sharing this trip with everyone, and love to know that people are actually following along. Feel free to comment, or email me. It's nice to hear from people.

Safari!

Sunday morning I was picked up in Arusha by Maasai Wanderings, the safari company that I am traveling with. I was a little nervous, just because I didn't know who would make up the rest of our group. In the car was the safari guide, Dennis, and the cook, Elias. I got lucky - Dennis is extensively educated when it comes to wildlife, and has done tons of research, and has a degree in wildlife management! The first person we picked up was a girl named Emily. Very cool girl, 22, from Ohio, also here in Tanzania volunteering. We hit it off - so good there! Next we stopped at a hotel and picked up two guys in their fifties from Canada - a couple! So, we were good there, and that is our group, VERY lucky! We became fast friends on the drive out to Serengeti National Park, making a few stops along the way to see the view of Lake Manyara, and drive through Ngorongoro Conservation Area. All along the way, we got deeper and deeper into the wild parts of Africa, the horizons dotted with zebras and gazelle, impalas, and giraffe. Baboons all along the side of the roads, in the trees as well. Wild, natural beauty on a scale I have never seen or even imagined. We did stop at the famous Oldovai Gorge along the way, the place where the humanoid footprints were found that were 3.5 million years old, so that was very cool to see. It is also the place where 'Lucy' was found, so aparently, I'm where we all started! We arrived in the Serengeti, and it's like nothing I've ever seen before, very difficult to describe or even photograph the scale. Just endless grasslands as far as you can see in every direction. We stopped at the gate, and there was a small path up some rocks to an overlook, and from the rocks we could look out over the plains, and we got our first view of a herd of elephants! That night, after about 6 hours of driving, we arrived at our campsite, and it's been years since I've camped! But with a little instruction, I built my tent, and was just so into the adventure of CAMPING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SERENGETI that I didn't even mind the cold water shower or having to go the bathroom in a hole in the ground. It was just amazing at night, the starts are like nothing I've ever seen before, no pollution or other light on the ground, so there are SO many of them! Sleeping in the tent was a little scary, there were hyenas outside my tent at one point around 3 am, but it was all ok. Hakuna Matata! The following day, we woke up early and went on our first game drive, and were instantly lucky. Within the first two hours we got withing about 15 feet of the most beautiful animal I have ever seen, a leopard. Shortly after, we drove A WAYS off the road, and saw a cheetah and her three cubs. Throughout the day, we went way into the serengeti, and saw lions feeding on huge wildebeest, with cubs crawling inside the rib cage, ostriches, several hooved animals, and more lions! I just love the lions. I have to keep reminding myself that these animals are completely wild! It's just amazing to see them all in this wide open space togehter. The following day, we did a half day game drive, more amazing sightings, and at lunch time, went back to camp, took down the tent, and drove to the rim of Ngorongoro Crater. Now the crater is very difficult to explain, but it is exactly that, a huge crater, and at the bottom is the most lush beautiful grasslands, and a lake. Being on the rim was amazing, the campsite was very busy, and it was really fun to meet other travelers, exchange stories, and get tips! We left VERY early the next morning, around 5:30, and thank god! We drove down into the crater, and for about 1.5 hours, we were pretty much alone in the crater with the animals. Several lions were very active at that hour, so we were able to get really close and just watch them in all their beauty! They are truly magnificent. The crater was very different from Serengeti, in that it is all contained, and so things are a lot easier to find. We saw a few rhinos, but weren't able to get very close to them. They are VERY shy and VERY rare - almost extinct. My favorite part of the day was in the middle of the day, we found two male bachelor lions, and parked close to them to watch them. The lions don't like the heat of the day, so as soon as they saw that the jeep was casting a shadow, they came and laid down RIGHT next to the jeep, literally up against the tire. I was within about 1.5 feet of one of their heads. They are HUGE, and the teeth! Wow. We had lots of other exciting sightings, and then left the crater on a pretty scary slope. We again, packed up camp, and headed to a small campsite (last night). After spending the night there, we had our cultural experience today. I wasn't sure what to expect, having already spent a lot of time here in the villages, with the people. I figured it would be sanitized for tourists, but I was pleasently surprised. We met Paulo, who is from the Iraqw tribe, (very weirdly pronounced), and he showed us around his village for the day. First we went all around a very beautiful gorge they have, and then saw how they make bricks, and finally went to his home, where he and his wife and a few neighbors sang traditional Iraqw songs for us and served us traditional food. He was a lot of fun, and VERY African male. Tonight we are at a campsite in a town that literally translates to River of Mosquitoes, Mta Wa Mbu, so I'm COVERED in bugspray, and have been good at taking my anti-malaria pills. Tomorrow morning, we will go on a game drive through lake Manyara, then tomorrow evening we are spending the night in a Maasai village. Not sure what to expect there, but if it's anything like our Iraqw experience, it should be a treat. I'm really enamored by the Maasai, so it should be a treat! Also, very exciting, Emily, the girl I'm on the trip with, has been interested in going to Rwanda to see the mountain gorillas, so it looks as though we will be traveling to Rwanda in early March together. YAY! This safari has been beyond my wildest dreams, I feel like I'm on Noah's Arc. Africa is a dream, the people, the animals, it just goes on and on....
PS I don't have time to proofread this, so KNOCK IT OFF ERIN CONKLIN!

Old Moshi and Arusha

I'm too tired to type a very long, descriptive blog tonight about the last few days. It's been interesting being away from my group, on my own. I left Sabuko a few days ago, and sadly said goodbye to Sarah, Jehane, Pam, and all the priests and headed to Old Moshi. I spent one night in Old Moshi, a VERY remote village, with my buddy Tino's family. It was REMOTE. Bathing from a bucket of cold water, going the bathroom in a hole. This was a trip - when I arrived, Tino's brother went to the chicken coup, snatched up a big rooster, and came over to me and handed it to me (alive), and told me it was a gift. 2 hours later, we were eating that very chicken! The separation between women and men was pretty striking - a feminists worst nightmare, just a totally different culture (Tino's father has two wives!). The women did all the cooking and cleaning, and did not eat any meals with us. After spending 1 night there, Furaha and I were ready to return to Arusha. We headed back on the dala dala's which are an experience in and of themselves. Any personal space issues I had were completely resolved withing a few minutes. On the way to the city, we made a couple of stops in Moshi and met a couple of Tino's sisters. Finally, we arrived in Arusha (yesterday). Furaha is interested in starting a tourism business, so I had decided that he and I would go to Arusha National Park, give him a try. There were several stressful organizational problems though, I had a really hard time getting him to nail down a price. We had agreed on one price yesterday, and today, it did end up being a lot more than he had promised. Sometimes, here in Africa, I get the feeling that Tanzanian people look at us wazungu (white people in Kiswahili) as bottomless ATM's, and it's pretty frustrating. But once we got to Arusha National Park around noon, all of my frustration melted away. It was like something out of a dream. Driving through plains, looking out at giraffes, zebras, water buffalo, waterbucks, and warthogs all doing their thing! We also saw loads of different kinds of monkeys. My favorite were the baboons. We were able to get very close to them, and just sit and watch them grooming eachother, tending to their young, and having lots of sex! LOL. It was amazing. On our way back to the park gate, there were a couple of giraffes RIGHT by the side of the dirt road. We just parked the car next to a giant male, watching him for about 30 minutes. I could have reached out and touched him practically! As we were driving around the national park, I had to keep reminding myself that we were not in a zoo, that this was these animals' home. It really came together at the end, looking out on a big grassy plain, as 100's of baboons ran across an area where there were about 50 giraffes, 100's of zebra and water buffalo, and all you could hear was the howling and screaming of the baboons. It was like watching animal planet on TV! Just incredible. I'm really glad that I got the experience of being with the people in the villages for the first couple of weeks of my trip, but I am very excited to go on my week long safari tomorrow morning. It's really become apparent that there are two very different Africa's - the reality that the native people live, which is brutal, poor, and very difficult, and the tourist's Africa, which is expensive, sanitized, and seemingly a bit extravagent. Sort of weird. So I'm about to go to sleep in Arusha, and will be picked up early in the morning by the group I am going with, and we will head to the Serengeti. After a few days in Serengeti, we head to Ngorongoro Crater, and then finish up the week at Lake Manyara. I feel like I'm in a dream....

Last few days with the women from T.H.E. Mission...

Everything is going very well on the African continent for me. Some of the highlights from the last few days - Sunday, we went to a Masaai village to bring the community food and attend their mass. It was amazing, as I am completely enamored by the beauty of the Masaai. All around me were people with holes in their ears that I could practically put my hand through, beaded headresses, necklaces the size of dinner plates, and DARK black skin - so so beautiful. They were a little ambivalent of us at first, but when they realized we were there to bring aid, and not just tourists snapping photos, they were VERY welcoming, and proceeded to put on a performance for us, jumping around like crazy, chanting and singing (I did take video!). I'm beyond fascinated. We also got to tour a Masaai home belonging to a student we are sponsoring, made of mud and a thatched roof. It's amazing to me that people are living like this! Their poverty is overwhelming, but their joy is infectious! Yesterday, we went to an orphan school called Niruvande. It was pretty tough - all small children that were orphans. The school was VERY poor, most children had shoes that I could see their toes in, dirty clothes, and were sleeping 2 and 3 to a single bed. We brought tons of school supplies for them, but the soccer balls (footballs here) were the biggest hit by far. As soon as the teacher gave them the go ahead, they all charged down the hill to the field and let loose. It was really touching to see kids in such a sad situation letting go for a few minutes. All the kids are completely fascinated by my arms, as they have never seen arm hair like mine before, so they will take any opportunity they can to stroke it in wonder. It's pretty amazing. I took some really moving pictures of the kindergaten students sitting in their school house classroom, which is basically a shoebox made of jagged timber. We also brought them food, which I was happy about, they looked hungry! We taught an english lesson, and I was very impressed at their english skills. Today is Tuesday, and Thursday the group of women that I am here with, THE Mission - Pam, Sarah, and Jehane, will be going home. I'm pretty sad about this, I've really gotten connected to all three of them, and being that our program has been so regimented, I haven't had to really get involved in any planning. I'm a little nervous, as once they leave I will be on my own in Africa. My Kiswahili is coming along slowly, but I'm definitely not conversational yet. Once the women leave on Thursday, I will be going to Old Moshi to visit my friend Tino's family. My friend Alison in Sebastopol, who was in the peace corps, met her husband, Tino, while she was working here in Tanzania. Tino gave me several things to bring to his family, and introduced me via email to his friend Furaha here in TZ. So, I have made plans to meet Furaha at the highway junction near where I am staying in Sanya Juu, and he and I will board one of the dala dala's, which are CRAMPED minibuses, and we will head to Tino's families house. I'm planning on staying with Tino's family for two nights, and returning to Arusha with Furaha on the 13th. I will spend one night in Arusha, and on the 14th, will meet the group I am going on safari with. I can't wait to go on safari for a week, it will be a nice break from the intensity of being in the villages. I also can't wait to see the animals, as I've been in Africa for two weeks, and aside from millions of bugs, birds, butterflies, and one monkey, haven't seen any African wildlife. When I get back from safari on the 20th, I will make my way to Moshi, because I got a job! The Moshi Airport School (has nothing to do with flying) has invited me to volunteer as an English teacher to the primary school students (1st and 2nd graders). I am ecstatic! They also will provide accommodations, so it's perfect! I think I will be more effective here teaching english, than doing medical work, because in the hospitals, most of the patients from the villages don't speak english at all. I am in love with the children here, so I think the English gig is a great job for me. I stopped by the school today, and was very excited to meet the students, and they were VERY excited to meet me. After about 5 minutes of them petting my arms, I learned all of their names, and was VERY impressed by their english already! It should be very fun. From there, I think I have decided to make the trip to Rwanda to see the mountain gorillas, but I'm not sure about that yet. I'm going to take things as they come. As they say here - Hakuna matata!

Rombo ---> Sanya Juu

After a few very intense days in Rombo, at Kiraeni School, we have stopped in Moshi on our way back to Sanya Juu. Kiraeni was pretty tough. It's a pretty remote area, and the poverty is intense. We spent the time there distributing scholarship funds that THE Mission had collected over the past year. Every school we went to thanked us, and quickly told us of SEVERAL kids that were also in severe need. The poverty here is different from anything I could have imagined. There are no welfare checks, no SSI. People live in tiny mud huts, and cook the little food they have inside their homes over a fire. Most do not go to school because every school costs money. There are no free public schools, so most children start working from the time they can walk. I could describe the poverty on and on, but basically, it's intense, and has really touched my heart. I met a couple of children that were orphaned by HIV, which was a little more than I could bear. I've shed several tears here in Africa, but I'm with a great group of very supportive people. This is the experience I came for, a deep change in my perspective. I'm not sure where this experience will take me, but I find myself thinking all the time about how I can continue to help, and if this is what I want to spend my life doing. Who knows. The accommodations were very tough for us in Rombo as well, the tiny bed that my head hung off one and and my feet hung off the other, covered by a suffocating mosquito net, with bugs buzzing around all night long. The heat is relentless, and the rooms were tiny, and shared. The food portions were small as well - one omelette in the morning for the four of us! And a shower that was either ice cold, or scalding hot! But, I keep reminding myself, it's nothing compared to what these people are living in everyday. My favorite part so far is the spirit of the people. Unlike many other places in the world, the people here are always smiling, so kind, and VERY welcoming, despite their poverty. I'm exhausted, so that's my report for today. Thanks all for reading, and as I stated before, I'm keeping a more accurate handwritten journal of my day to day movements, thoughts, and feelings, and would be glad to share it with anyone when I return. It's a different world over here....

Tanzania, Day 5

Wow! So much since the last post! Rob and I traveled to the airport together on Thursday morning, and as sad as it was to say goodbye, my excitement was overwhelming. I found my group without a problem, and we all boarded the LONG flight to Tanzania. From the moment I stepped out of the plane, I feel like I have been in a movie, or a dream. I keep thinking, this is how Africa looks on TV, and have to remember that I am actually here, that this is REAL, and that people are actually living like this. I can't go into all the details of the last several days, because I'm sitting in a STEAMING hot internet cafe, and have only 22 minutes left on the clock, several emails to write, etc. I have been handwriting a personal journal, and taking several (!!) pictures, so I will be very excited to share this experience with whoever is interested upon my return. The people here are amazing, and so poor, beyond what I could have ever imagined. The group that I am with for this first two weeks is Catholic, so most of our interactions with people have been through the Catholic churches here. 1/3 of the population is catholic, and it has been very interesting to see. The people live on next to nothing, walk endlessly all day, and do EVERYTHING by hand. Whenever we drive anywhere, the streets are flanked with people walking, women carrying HUGE bundles of sticks on their heads, young men leading their cattle and goat herds along the roads, and VERY young children walking without any adults! The lifestyle is very different here, but the people all seem very happy, as I guess they have never known anything different. The language barrier is very difficult, not many people speak very much English at all, and my Swahili is not good, but I am learning pole pole (little by little). The 'cities' that I have been to are Moshi and Arusha, and both are chaotic at best. There are no street signs or stoplights, and between the motorcycles, walkers, mules, oxen, goats, trucks, and cars, it's CRAZY. The heat is intense. BUT, despite all of this, it is amazing. We are staying at a complex for a group of priests called Sanya Juu. It is at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro, and Mt. Meru. It is in a village called Sanya Juu, and not a place that sees a lot of tourists. The priests are so kind, and very amused by our American ways. Just last night, the priests were hysterically laughing that we keep animals as pets. They couldn't believe that people would pay money to have surgery done to a dog! My perspective has changed so much already. I feel so comfortable and welcome here. It's hard to explain the emotion, but it's intense. I feel like I am getting everything out of this trip that I had hoped to, and more! I will continue to post as often as possible, which at this point, seems like it won't be more than once a week. I have no way of loading photos onto the computer, but I will be more than happy to share them when I get home. Lastly - the group that I am here with is involved in sponsoring children to go to school. There are many different schools here, the catholic boarding schools being the most expensive (900$/year), and the government day schools being the least expensive (200$/year). I am going to sponsor a student independently of the group I'm with. I will meet the child personally, and deal with the school on my own, and am inviting any and all of my friends to join me in this. Only 200 dollars is less than anyone I know is paying for rent for 1 MONTH, and it is enough to put a child through school for a full year, which is the only chance these kids will have to get out of this poverty. If you are interested, email me directly, jbsf@mac.com, and I will meet the child myself, personally, and handle the school as well. Much better than donating money to some 800 number, where you have no idea where it goes. I hate asking, and don't expect anyone to contribute, but wanted to share that the opportunity is here, and it takes VERY little to make a huge difference for a human being! Karibu sana.