Tanzania!

Ahh--It;s the last week here!! I can't believe it! Everything has gone so fast! We have finished teaching in schools as they have ended now, but we have started teaching in the cummunity instead. We are teaching a bit in our boma--the boma is like our big family. There is Bibi (grandma) holding it all together, and then all of the other mamas are wives of her sons. And all the kids run from house to house. We have also been doing quite a bit of site work now. Yesterday we worked on the garden at site, so that they can grow their own food for the kids. 

On the weekends we have been able to take trips out. (we never went river rafting mom) but we went on a waterfall hike, which was Gorgeous. And we took a trip to Zanzibar which was absolutely amazing. I got to swim with dolphins!! (At one point it was only me swimming with a troup of dolphins for probably about 10-15 mins!!) --It was quite hard to keep the tempo up. --Hahaha, one of the dolphins actually peed on me.... :o :p

Overall, I have been very lucky--I have been one of the few people who has stayed healthy. It was only one evening when I felt bad, but it went over really quickly. Yesterday all the 4 weekers went over to site (the childrens home) and made and ate dinner with them, which was nice. Then we had an intense discussion my the fire. I feel like I am thinking a lof more about everything, and I am really glad I am here. 

There is soo much to tell, and I feel it is so hard trying to write only a fraction of it on here. But I have been writing every night, so I will be able to remember everything and tell you all in detail when I get back.

I miss you all. <3 <3

Hey! So, my first week here has already flown by! There is sooo much to say, but now I just have time to write a tiny bit. I have absolutely Loved the first week. As soon as I arrived I was greeted by the OHS volunteers, all with huge smiles, and then we drove about an hour to the Meru Hostel where we were staying with Reggae music blasting, them singing along. :p So, the weekend we stayed in the Hostel, and there was an option to go on a one day Safari, which I did. It was absolutely fantastic!! There were Sooo many Tembos (elephants), Pundamilias (zebras) and twigas (giraffs)! Too bad, my camera ran out of battery after half of it.. :/ On Monday we went to site. They have a childrens home for orphanages, a few mud huts, and a garden in work. We were able to hear the stories of the children in the orphanage two days ago. It was quite a shock. I had toutored one of the kids the day before, and hearing what he, and all the other kids had gone through was crazy. So, I live with 3 other OHS Volunteers, two that were here 4 weeks before me, and one Tanzanian volunteer. My "mama" is called Mamma Lea (the name of her olders kid), and she is really really sweet. She often says "Nakupenda Sara", meaning, I love you. We live in a Masaii village, and there are a few more homes with volunteers in them, which is really nice. The whole village is like a big family. The food here is good--our mama is, I think, one of the best cooks in the village. It's a lot of food based with wheat, and rice. One favorite in the morning is the Chapati. We have also had Ugali, which is this wheat with water (I think), which you roll into a ball with one hand, and dip into sauce and eat with greens. I have taught one day so far, on Thursday. There were about 90 kids in the classroom, but it was not too hard to keep control, as they are all keen to learn. We played this one game at the end of class with CD4 cells, the HIV virus, and so, and they absolutely Loved it. As they left they all almost swarmed me, and they wanted to take my hand as they left. We then did afterschool activities, which most of the students stayed for! I was in the math and science group, which about 50 or so kids joined. We have also worked a bit at site, I have shoveled a lot of dirt, and removed rocks and such. The general motto here is "Hamna Shida" meaning no worries. There is sooo much to say, but my internet minutes are now running out. I Miss you all!! Nakupenda sana! Sara

Ok, so after a few days intense packing and getting ready, everything is finally ready!  I'll be leaving home bright and early-- 4:30 am tomorrow! :p  I still don't really feel like it's actually happening--so not that nervous yet. However I know I definitely will be--just the prospect of teaching a whole classroom of kids! And now especially with the language barrier. I have been trying to learn some Swahili through out the summer, but I feel I still only know some basic vocab. (The grammar seems impossible!!)  I will definitely be doing some last minute studying on the plane!  So, first I fly to Amsterdam, and then directly to Kilimanjaro airport, arriving at about 8:30 tomorrow evening. There I will be picked up and taken to Meru House Inn Hostel in Arusha, where all the volunteers and staff gather until the program starts on Monday.

Once the program starts I will be living with a Tanzanian family, and one other volunteer! I am definitely excited for that! It will be so great to actually feel a part of their lives, and not go back to a hostel with other volunteers at the end of the day. I have brought a sleeping bag,(and mosquito net!) and there will be a mattress for me there. There won't be any electricity or running water in the homes. (So no facebook, or hot showers for a while! But I think we have internet access at the One Heart Source site, and at internet cafes in the village Arusha, so I will try to keep in touch! (The OHS site is in Mateves) I also have my camera with me so I will take as many pictures as I can!

Amani na upendo! (Peace and Love) 

Sara