We're Here

It's taken a few days to find reliable internet access, but finally, I'm connected. The trip was long and exhausting, but we survived...the only mishap was mistaking salt for sugar in the Amsterdam airport. Salty coffee is definitely not a great way to start the day.

Since arriving in Tanzania, it's been sensory overload at the very least. The sights and sounds are just what you would imagine - the people are poor. The homes and shops are what we would call shacks back home. There are goats, dogs and cows roaming around free.

It's a beautiful countryside though. We are very lose to Mt. Meru, a very popular hiking/climbing mountain - 2nd to Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Tourism is how people make their money. In order to get a job in tourism, the Tanzanians must speak English. That's why education is so important here. Yesterday we visited a premier school in the area, St. Jude. Government schools cost money...St. Jude is free, but it only takes the top students. They teach in English only. It's very important to them to teach the children English, so they can get jobs after school.

We're staying in volunteer rooms above a daycare center run by St. Lucia Orphanage. The children who attend are all HIV positive, many have lost their parents as well. But St. Lucia only has room for so many children, so the day care is the next best thing. The children are learning the alphabet and basic math and they get at least one hot meal a day. Some will go on to government schools if they do well.

The kids are amazingly smart and sweet. I've noticed that kids in Africa aren't much different than kids back home...they want your attention at all times. They love to learn, they love to climb trees and sing songs. We're working on "Old MacDonald Has a Farm" They definitely have the "E I E I Oh!" part down!

A little girl lost her first tooth today while rough housing in the play yard. It is just as much a rite of passage here, though I don't think a toothfairy will be coming tonight. She proudly showed off her tooth and the hole in her mouth to all the "Teachers" (I'm a teacher now...who knew!?)

Over the next couple weeks, we'll be working on more preschool education with the kids at the daycare. Plus there's work to be done at the orphanage. Travis has been tasked with building some shelves or cubbies for the kids' clothing. I'm sure I'll get to help some with that.

Most of our time spent will be jumping in and helping wherever there's a need. I've washed a lot of dishes so far, and even though the soap is a little oily/slimy, it's been fun!

I'm sure this blog post is all over the place and not very organized, but that's about how my head is after 2 full days with the children. Now that we know where to come for internet, we should be able to post every day or so.

Now we're grabbing a teksi (taxi) and heading to the Shop Rite for some essentials, peanut butter, jelly & bread.