5/18/14 - 5/23/18

5/18/14 

another long day at the homestead. but hey i only have 5 more! i read, folded up the clothes i am leaving here to make me feel productive/ closer to going home. laid out in the courtyard. did a workout. texted with wendy and goober. ate a delicious bowl of oatmeal. before going to bed, i went and laid down in the courtyard again. it was such a beautiful night. breezy and cool and the stars were incredible. saw a shooting star and my usual of mars of jupiter. i laid there for ever, pondering life i guess and talking to my bff - god. dont know if i ever wrote about this story before. when jacob and mcama came over to do the chicken one weekend, we were all sitting at the table and i asked mcama if jacob was his best friend. he didn't know what best friend meant so the definition i came up with at the time was that a best friend is the person that you spend the most time with. and here’s the zinger. he said no, my best friend is jesus. such an awesome moment. so yep i was spending some time with my best friend under the beautiful sky that he has given me each and every day here. 

5/1914 

last monday! brought me stud to school to give away today. i got caught in mahumis office as i was trying to give the stuff to mahumi. they were preparing to give the form 4s the local/ mock examination. they got out a big bundle of exams that I guess had been in the office long enough for what they called termites to get all in there. i told mahumi i would come back later and i ran into stream b so i could give back they exams and the little prizes for the students. i had a bag full of mostly pens and pencils. then i gave my top 4 scorers a calculator. then i went in to stream a where i actually had a period and gave back their exams and a few prizes. i caught many students begging for something, pouting, and trying to steal more. i dont think it got through to them that students were getting prizes based on their scores. many students came back to me and said that they wanted to trade for something else because they didn't know how to work what they got. so i showed each of them how to work the mechanical pencils and twistable crayons. glad i could give this to the students because i know they will really use it… even if it is just for a ‘ruler’. i hunted until i found stream c. they had been moved because of the form 3 exam. i gave back their exams with the rest of my ‘jifts’. then i went to mahumis office and gave him the gifts for the school and for him. he told me to stay at home tomorrow and to come to school wednesday to say goodbye to the students and teachers. may be something going on since he told me to come wednesday instead of tuesday. 

no gas today for the chai. so of course we couldn't get out chapati without the chai. it took forever to wait but i had fun wasting the time by playing cards with the teaching. i gave them two decks of cards and i learned their card game that everyone plays here. its called last card. so basically you can play the same suit or same number card. but then there are special cards. a 7 skips the next person and you can play as many as you have at a time. but if you skip someone who has a skip then they can play it. a 8 is a reverse and you can play multiple too. 2 means you have to draw 2 and a joker means you have to draw 5. if you play 1 or 3 jacks then you can tell the next person what suit you want them to play or you can say special card. 2 or 4 jacks means that the next person can play whatever they want. then you count up your cards at the end after someone goes out. oh and to go out you have to say last card or knock on the table the round before. king is 4 points, queen is 2, 2 is 20, jack is 25, joker is 50, and the rest are the numbers on the card.

anywho, i taught them blackjack and we played that for a second before a meeting started. i honestly don't have a clue what it was about but i am guess something having to do with discipline since that what who was sitting at the headtable. meanwhile, the chai finished right after this meeting started so still no food. i debated skipping it but i had a banana and a baby bit of pb this morning at 6:30 and its past 12 now. fyi. miley cryrus and katy perry have made it big. how do i know? well they have a headline in one of the newspapers here. ‘miley cyrus amla denda hadharani katy perry’. mahumi came and grabbed me from the meeting and gave me a lift into town.

i went to print the pictures that i want to give to the teachers and students. and i had to waste some time while waiting for them to print so i walked around the town. still starving so i bought a banana and ate that then and a pineapple that i was ready to devour when i got home. i walked around the market and tried to steal some pictures. the ladies were crazy and so excited that i had a camera so i had some willing subjects. i went back and waited on my pictures then i walked home. while waiting for the pictures, i saw crazy nasty wet-handed stinky board chairman guy and he didn’t come over to see me so that made my day. 

Kelvin

i tore into my pineapple when i walked through the door. somehow pineapples here are a single serving. hmmmmmm. i then did a bathing suit workout in the courtyard, did my laundry for the last time, and did the dishes. all in all a very productive day. veggie stew for dinner and that was so good as always. 

5/20/14 

were int he 20s! 2/3 of the way through may. 14/15 of the way done with everything. i have to say that the last 10 days have gone by pretty quickly. 

hungry this morning, prob from lack of food yesterday. packed up my bags mostly. just needed to a test run to see how much room i have. so exciting. read a book about mind readers. then a workout that was long enough for me to get a reel good sweat on. texted with mom and krisit. got a phone call from madame eva telling me to arrange my timetable to visit her home and say goodbye to her baby tomorrow. yes maam. will do. mahumi told the staff that tomorrow will be my last day.

showered and had rice and beans for dinner… for the last time! hallelujah. i can handle the other meals over and over but rice and beans just hasn't really done it for me. cabbage/mchicha and spaghetti for the last two meals for me. 

went to read in bed after dinner and found way too many bugs in my bed for my liking. so i waged a war. bug spray everywhere…. sheets, mattress, me. then took my sheets outside to air out and flipped my mattress. played a game on my computer while i waited. nick had his nighttime snack of his tanzanian pb&j. aka a tons of peanut butter with jelly on. he kills the pb! like puts me to shame sometimes… and thats quite the accomplishment. 

5/21/14 

last day at school. so crazy! and sad! but very exciting! i was very quiet/ reflective on my last phone call from mahumi and my last ride into school. mahumi brought me to parade where i gave my little goodbye speech to the whole school. then i went into streams a and b to give them an extra goodbye. very sweet. i will miss them. luchonga was my photographer all morning so that was nice. 

me at parade talking to the students 

so my last day of school is also wendy/goober’s last day. mine just happens to end earlier then theirs.. perhaps exactly 7 hours earlier. 

really chill day in the staff room. somewhat empty. only 10 teaching in there for most of the day. 

random note. my nails have been getting disgusting recently. more frequently than not, i have a french manicure with a black line under my nail. attractive. 

brought my frisbees that mom sent today soi can finish giving them away. i am shooting to go find my little kids that i pass on the way home from school.. 

morning greeting: madame kassie, you were not present to days ago. no i was just not present yesterday. ah! a single day feels like a year. we miss you. 

oh i got straight up cold this morning at parade. like goosebumps and hair standing up. 

daily argument about america v africa. one teacher said ‘being african is not a mistake. i think big’. thank you! i recorded a huge chunk of the american debate/ conversation and then we started playing card. so fun. we had a lot of people getting into it. they get so into the game and i guess it is a requirement to slap down the cards because they are intense. side note… clubs are karanga (nuts), hearts are copper (idk why) or love, diamonds are kiss (knife), and spade if jembe (hoe). during one of the games, madame haule called me into the discipline office and there were 4 different kitanges in there and they wanted me to choose which one i like the most so that they could present it to me. guess something more formal is coming for my goodbye. 

at break time, i probably had my last cup of chai and one of my last chapati but im not giving up on these guys. i soaked it all in… oiliness and all. then i went to give my pictures away to the students. that caused all kinds of drama but i knew that going into it. theres no way i could print a picture for everyone. 

so for the goodbye ‘function’. It was classic tanzanian and so perfect. Edward served at the MC (master of ceremony). They had gotten sodas for everyone and a bottle of water for me. I sat at the head table with Mahumi and the second headmaster. MC was doing all of his formal stuff when madame difficult brought him a tiny piece of paper. before i knew it, i was standing in the middle of the room with difficult singing. singing one swahili song and then blessed assurance. it was awesome. after i sat down, madame haule, the second academic master said something and then lammick, the discipline master said something. he said we know our office is a harsh room. thank you for teaching us about you ways and methods and we used them but when we did not we hope that you will forgive us and forget it and accept it as part of our culture. know that we dont want to beat kids. it is just culture. then of course sebastian had to say something. it was nice and funny. he said he would come visit me soon on hyenas. a new teacher also spoke. he was sweet saying he didn't know me long but he would miss me and that i had taught him so much that will help him in school and in life. then luzoya, the second headmaster gave a totally weird goodbye but it was so perfect. he said that he knows i miss my family and my husband very much. and if i dont have a husband i can choose here. lets just say that got the guys going. mahumi also gave a nice speech about how i was a hard worker and a good example. he told me to pack my suitcase with the good things and to leave the bad behind. then they passed out the soda and the ‘bites’ (kind of like empanadas). then we proceeded with the cheers with everyone. while we were eating, they asked the people responsible to bring in my gift. so 4 ladies went out and came back in with my kiting all opened up. they were dancing, singing, clapping, tounge-clicking ay-yi-yi-ing. then i had to go to the middle of the room and they wrapped me up in. then the paparazzi(teachers) attacked. all the guys jumped up to get a picture with me. i gave my little speech and was actually getting really sad. and lastly it was picture time. lots and lots of them. i was taken to luzoyas office for more food. rice and rubber - oh i mean meat. 

i waited a little bit for madame eva. took some pictures with the students that work so hard everyday in the staff room. then we walked to her house. but she was sure to let take me to all of my friends. i got to see my little guys for the last time. i gave them some balls and frisbees and it cause quite the scene. it was actually a fiasco. the mothers were yelling at the kids and at me. i had kids crying and fighting… yeah, it was just a mess. we stopped so eva could get a papaya (pawpaw she insists in english) for the house. she had food ready for us. cabbage, beans, rice, and papaya and pineapple. i wasnt really hungry but i kept putting the food down. took some pictures and just spend some time with them (eva, sitter, baby, daughter, and niece). when i felt i had been there an acceptable amount of time i asked to head back. i got my last walk home and it was just what i needed. i didn't make it back until 6:30. i couldn't have asked for a better day! 

5/22/14 

last day in bariadi! i goofed around for a while. spend time on the internet, put together a list of things i will miss, and packed!!!!! i rearranged my bags and put my engineering skills to work. did a workout in the afternoon that was interrupted 3 different times. had to say goodbye to daniel. then kelvin came by and then happiness. so glad i got to see all these guys again. happiness and kelvin were sweet as always. i took my last shower and it was perfect. no better way than to go out on a bucket shower! i did the dishes then went to say more goodbyes. to the form 5/6s at bariadi day. to the little kids i play with. to jonah and the cooks. then nick got back and we threw spaghetti together. such a great meal. meanwhile, we took pictures in front of the house and just tried to enjoy the last night. got a call from mahumi and it was quite classic. he wanted to take me to the bus tomorrow so i called to tell him what time and he wanted to make a booking for me and all this stuff. well i say it was classic because as nick says, neither of has a clue what the other person is saying. we finished extremely loud and incredibly close, which since we were already feeling blue/ emotional/ ready to get home/ stressed/ all that stuff, wasn't a great pick for the night. speaking of nights, i wrapped up the bariadi nights with another night in the courtyard checking out the night sky. somehow time just flies when i am out there. the sky was brilliant. so incredibly clear. 

5/23/14 

early early morning. i woke up at 4:57 and got a call from mahumi at 5:03 and i was already ready. yolito. i got all my bags together and left the house for one last time. he took me to the bus and i was eternally grateful for that. i would say there were no less than 15 people banging on his car, yelling at us. thats normal. and trust me i know all about it as i had head it for the past 5 months from the comfort of my bed. anyways, he had talked to the conductor last night and he had a ticket for me and got my bags put away and all of that. the ride was nice as i got to see the sunrise. it was packed as always, no change there. side note: tanzanians dont sleep. im sure of it. they don't ever go to bed and they are always awake super super early. we drove past tons of rice paddies and people harvesting. abel picked me up from the bus stand (still crazy as ever but officially my last one!) and took me to the christmas tree. i got my stuff settled down and then went out to walk around. i was looking for a souvenir that i wasn't able to find and also a good box of cereal. well neither of those happened but i did enjoy walking around. i got some oranges and a chapati and a jug of water and went back to my room. i laid in bed as i ate some peanut butter with my chapati and watched a show about crazy sports and accidents. it was in english and i was watching tv so i was happy. 

eventually i packed my bookbag and headed out for hotel tilapia. ive been here for long enough to type this up now but were struggling in the power department. excited to talk to some peeps soon. wakie wakie america! 

i am spending the night here… already tasting my indian food from tilapia that i am going to order soon. and then i am flying out tomorrow. i have a flight to dar and then to kilimanjaro. hopefully ill catch a shuttle into moshi and then a taxi to my hostel. the plans are to day a day trip on kilimanajro on sunday and then make a visit to the materuni waterfalls on tuesday with a chill day on monday. wednesday, I'm getting to dar. thursday is the end of service and then i have to waste time all day friday until i can get on my plane that night! the end is in sight folks! cant wait to see everyone! 

 happiness!! 

  

5/11/14 - 5/17/14

here’s to the last post that will be coming at you from bariadi! 

5/11/14 

Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers out there! 

typical lazy day here. stayed in bed and read, listened to music, played the gameboy. did a 15 min workout after a took a shower… yep thats real life. i just take a shower whenever we have water. ate my remaining sweet potatoes and then hash for dinner. talked with katie on her first mothers day! and also got to talk to mom too. 

5/12/14 

i guess its my last real monday. i am trying to cram in as much as i can today and tomorrow before invigilating my terminal exam. it is nice that it is early so that i can get all graded and returned and all that. but it probably isn't so great for my readiness to get out. i feel like i should be done this week instead of next. 

morning parade 

packed up my souvenir bad on saturday. my room is feeling and looking good. nick also said we can give our clothes to father kushoka so that will be nice. easy way to give them away without making a scene. 

rooster made up for lost time this morning. over the weekend, it was very quite. but this morning was a different story. 

not gonna lie… i got a little chilly this morning. I'm so tanzanian. 

have to make a market run this afternoon. for what? pb, bananas, and water of course! 

kingi was quite the comedian today in the staff room. i don't have a clue what he was saying but everyone thought he was funny. he had the floor all morning. 

speaking of funny… i recorded some morning talk this morning on my iPhone and it was pretty great. Just the normal shenanigans. And of course, my favorite morning greeting of teachers telling me i am ‘ shinning like the moon’ 

lol at life. such a yolito. it used to bother me but now its just whatever. madame daniella just threw 2 pieces of chalk at me from clear across the room to tell me to fix my dress. i guess i was showing them too much leg again. granted i was spread eagle, straddling a desk leg in this packed prison of a staff room. you just cant win. 

random cultural tidbit… i absolutely love how welcoming tanzanians are. you cant even tell who is a new teacher and who has been here for years. granted, they don't really know each others name but at least they treat them well. 

had to wait for mahumi to take me home today. he wasn't having any of me walking home. we did have a good conversation in his office though a while before we left. he had a globe in there so we were looking for home and we were talking about flights and how long it takes. he was amazed that you can fly so far without stopping. he asked me about an airbus and a concord. we talked about fast jet here and how cheap it is to fly to dar. the only issue is that you have to buy in advance. he said ah that is easy for you but hard for us. why? because it requires them to actually make plans and know exactly what date and time you want to go. i hadn't thought about that. 

micese came back in the staff room while i was waiting to leave and he apologized for last week. apparently he notices that i was not happy with him beating my kids. he said that he is the class master and that these students had been truant for more than 10 days in one month. then he said that they lied to him. what was the lie? well when he asked why, they said they were sick. then micese asked for a note, and they said they went to the witch doctor. well, well, well. how ironic! micese was just going on and on this morning about all kinds of witch hoodoo… driving hyenas, traveling to dar and back in one day, blah blah blah. 

i had mahumi drop me off in somanda so i could get to the market, did a workout, went out to the fields because i saw some kids playing and wanted to give my frisbees away but i didn't see the kiddos i wanted to give them to, came back and took my first real shower in i dont even know how long. had stir fried rice for dinner and it was tasty. talked to mom and looked at baby stuff. did the dishes so i could get the stir fried rice pot ready to boil water in the morning. then sleepy time. i have been so so so tired recently… like more than tanzanian typical. 

5/13/14 

another day down. tomorrow i give my terminal exam. how crazy! dropped off mahumi’s wife at nada, the tuesday market this morning. apparently she is getting stuff to open up a tent at the market in somanda. wore a different shirt today and got all kinds of compliments. hehe probably because i was giving them a little bit more of a scandalous neck line. but but but, that doesn't seem to be that big of a deal here. granted nursing is everywhere so maybe thats why. but shoulders and legs seem to be more prized. 

got a school calendar today. here are some of the sayings… 1. learning has no end. 2. teaching is also entertainment. 3. teaching is humbleness. 4. teaching is about caring. 

hungry today. already excited for my chapati. 

nick texted me that we were going to have visitors tonight. anna, a biologist friend, was coming over. she has been doing rabies research throughout tanzania for the last 6 years and is based in the serengeti. works with the chicago zoo. pretty cool stuff. 

i also found out that sports was happening today too at bariadi day. so thats exciting. i love that. 

i looked at the calendar on my phone and for the first time, my first thought was positive/ happiness/ dang! thats awesome/ thats not far away at all/ I'm leaving next week/ ill be home before i know it! (yes i know that was a lot of first thoughts but i was excited sothey all kind of ran together). after spending so much time in the last 5 months staring at a calendar, it was such an awesome feeling. 

and on a random note about coming home, nick always always always talks about his coming home plan trip as inception. like we make fun of it now. but anyways, he says he is going to use a 200 tsh coin as his token. and everytime, i tell him that i am going to use a 50 tsh coin. do yourself the favor and look up just why i will use the 50 over the 200 tsh :) i just want to make sure the coin falls as quickly as possible. 

what is the difference between a robber and a bandit, you may ask? well, a robber takes money to eat but a bandit takes money and builds a house and is successful. bandits are always successful and they normally take guns and go to a bank, but robbers get killed. well, now you know. 

about to teach my last period before my terminal exam! 

walked most of the way home before osama gave me a lift the rest of the way. he really is such a gem! so sweet. thats the second time he has picked me up when he has seen me and wouldn't let me pay him. 

relaxed when i got back, ate a packet of the hickory smoked tuna, and then a little pb. texted with mom and katie for a second before going outside for the afternoon. oh and i also got another belly video! i cant believe how much you can see him move around in her tummy!! 

bariadi, kidinda, mahaha, and biashara were all playing. it is just so fun to be out there with the kids. i love watching the games and seeing them playing and having fun. i talked to all the headmaster/ headmistresses of all the school. nicks headmistress that i had never met was quite unhappy that i didnt shikamoo here. pretty funny now. awkward then. 

 Me and Mahumi! So sweet! 

 Headmasters/mistresses at Mahaha, Biashara, and Kidinda 

returned to the house just before 6 to get dinner going. rice and beans. anna got here after 7 with her driver chunde. really nice visit. funny. just a side note, apparently the lions are struggling in the ngorongoro crater this year because it is the massai lion killing year or something like that. recently there was one incident where the massai were hunting and things got out of hand and a massai man was speared instead of the lion. yep, that just about makes sense. she left just before 10, way past my bed time. but what can i say, im a trooper. 

5/14/14 

mahumi was a little late today so we got there right at 8 but thankfully they made an announcement at parade and teachers were already recruited to help me invigilate. luckily more students are at school today. i guess they paid their feed. well, when i say luckily, i dont really know how that good that is for my results… but seriously, I am glad they are there. 

oh, yesterday, i was teaching stream b and all my students started laughing. I asked them what they were laughing at and one guy says ‘madame, its marijuana’ but pronounced more like mar-i-ju-uana with giggles. it was pretty funny. sure enough, there were two guys, stoned on the stones right outside the classroom. luckily, the left soon so we were back to the math. 

next week! next week! next week! 

took some pictures of my student bags today while they were taking the exam. perfect representation. by far, the most common type of bag is the drawstring bag. and those bags are split between bob marley and obama. 

as soon as we finished the exam, mahumi called me and said he wanted to go so i took advantage of the lift. i quickly took my tea and chapati and then we were off. 

another sports day so i spent a long time outside. lots of picture taking. they loved trying on my sunglasses. i gave a frisbee to alvin who was everywhere today. it is really hard to communicate with him but i know he was happy. and so cute. i let him pick out his color from my bag. then he kept pointing to my bag again and i thought he didn't understand it was a gift. then eventually, we realized that he wanted to change colors. 

 I could hardly balance this frisbee on my head long enough for Alvin to take a picture... so no worries. i won't be carrying stuff on my head when i get home. 

 Just a casket on the back of a bike. I normally see it on a piki piki. yolito. 

some of my crazy form 3's. hanging out at bariadi day for sports. 

i ate with everyone there. so much rice! i ate the rice that was attached to my beans and a slice of watermelon. i bit down on something super hard. it was either in the rice or the beans… both viable options. and i didn't realize until late that night that i actually chipped a baby bit out of my very back molar. it didn't hurt that bad so i think it will be just fine. yolito, baby! 

did a courtyard workout before showering and eating pasta for dinner. 

5/15/14 

mahumi gave me the okay to stay home and mark my exams since i had completed my duty. it is way to crowded in the staff room to do that. so naturally, i still go up early, and got busy. i ate banana and pb while i marked stream a. really sucky grades. then i went to my room and tried to pack up  more stuff. i packed up a drawstring bag of clothes and that plus a few of my tshirts and 2 dresses to get me through the rest of my time here will be all that i am bringing back. it felt good to clear a few more things from my room. i am trying to bring back as little as possible and to have room for any souvenirs that i want to bring back. i also have to worry with weight limits and number of bags for the domestic fastjet flights. then i ate some oatmeal and graded stream c. the results from this stream were even more disappointing. they were my strong class all year. however, because of the schedule and them moving my exam to wednesday, i hadn't seem them in nearly two weeks and they got zero review so i guess that makes sense. then i read the creepiest book ever before tackling stream b. but happiness unexpectedly showed up so i shelved stream a and just everything ready for her. whipped up cabbage and mchicha for dinner with a cheddar and broccoli rice packet. and i even got beans from jonah. good stuff. 

5/16/14 

got up and saw an anniversary post on facebook from katie. that a big fail. i totally forgot and it wasn't like i spent my usual forever staring at the calendar. technically, on their time i was only 12 minutes late… 

got ready for school but never got the phone call from mahumi so i guess thats another day off. 4 day weekend. works for me. i just finished grading my exams. stream b… my all-stars. they are getting the calculators i brought. 

booked my room at the twiga home in moshi and then stared at my room and decided i couldn't pack up anything else. i put on my bathing suit and got some sun in the courtyard. hadn't been out here in a long time so i spent a while just listening to my music and catching upu on journaling. 

and i pondered about my readjustment to home/ america life. so heres what i came up with… 

water! besides seeing family and friends (obviously what i am most excited about), water is what i am most looking forward to. i cant wait to always know that i will have it, that it is safe to drink, and that it wont have salt dancing around in it. 

energy - i dont know how or where but i am looking forward to finding it again. i am so lazy here and am just so used to not doing anything. i lay in my bed all the time. 

people - i am also so used to spending my time alone. i know i am going to be on people overload. even when i am around other people at school or in town, everything is in swahili so i just block it out. 

stuff - speaking of people overload, i cant even imagine the sensory overload I will experience. lights, buildings, electronics, english, food, clothes, …. 

laughing - i cant wait to genuinely laughing again. like gut giggles. humor here is so different and i just miss laughing a lot. 

hygiene - heres your warning. im just putting it out there. it may take a minute for me to adjust to/ learn to shower more often, wear different clothes every day, wash my hands, use a napkin, etc. 

music - my music has been my saving grace and i will have to get used to not having it whit me and playing it all the time. 

food - excited for some new food and also nervous that it will wreck my stomach. i apologize for the obscene amounts of peanut butter i will probably consume. but apples, salads, yogurt, cereal, sweets, and really just some real good. with that said, i will definitely miss some of our meals here and definitely the veggie sauce but rice… i dont care if i never see it again. 

temperature - im sorry if im a pansy in the ‘cold’. i have always been cold natured but i have felt myself becoming more ‘tanzanian’ now. 

connectedness - always have a phone and internet on a relatively unlimited basis. and it will always work. overwhelming. 

daily comforts - not gonna lie, im pretty excited about this stuff. electricity and water obviously but a couch! a toilet seat, a bathroom inside the house, non-cement floor, dishwasher and laundry machine (in all honestly i kinda enjoy this though), english, sports, … 

no mosquitos - well at least there will be no life threatening malaria -inducing mosquitos. bring it on US mosquito. no annoying noises at night when you hear them flying around your room trying to get to you. and so therefore, also no mosquito nets. side note to any of you hopeless romantics, nothing about mosquito nets are romantic. they are a pain. 

time - time is pretty much irrelevant. i will miss that. also there is no planning in advance. 

clothing - it make take a while for my definition of scandalous to reform. i am excited to wear shorts or a shirt without leg gins or a dress without a shirt under it. 

greetings and handshaking - sorry if i go in for the handshake, its just what we do. 

houses - ill be excited to not have rat, bat, and lizard shit coating the walls and floors along the edges of the room. to have walls that block sounds. to not have people walking past your house while you think they are inside. 

sky and weather - cant say anything other than i will miss it like crazy! 

and, finally, being a mzungu - one of the 2 or 3 in a whole town. people staring at you all day. people talking about you all day. people asking for stuff from you all day. people hating your language all day. people waving, whistling, yelling, and honking at you all day. although i have joked around about me being on a pedestal with family and friends at home this year (admittedly true to a large degree), i am ready to go back to being a nobody. a plain jane. unexciting. I have realized that no matter what I do here to live, eat, work, play, shop, walk, talk, etc like the locals, i will always be the mzungu. 

so that enough on my sunbathing reflections. i had a great, super long talk with katie this afternoon. so fun! cant wait to be able to talk to her all the time like today! 

showered then waited to go to father kushokas for our goodbye dinner. he was so sad about especially nick leaving that it was a little awkward. he was so quite and nothing like his normal exuberant self. good food and i crashed right when i got back. 

5/17/14 

reading, blogging, eating, resting, boiling water, etc. you know the drill. went on a long walk this afternoon and stopped back by somanda to get some grub. bananas, pb, water, chapati, sweet potatoes. chapati was excellent. thick, bready, not oily. superb. came back and talked to mom while downing a chapati and a 1.5L dasani. then i ran out of internet time. so it time to get dressed again and go back into the soms life and get more airtel vouchers. i also copied my terminal exam results to give to the ministry of education as a record of the students i taught, or at least the ones that took my terminal exam. played the lottery with my vouchers and had an intense internal dialogue/ argument with airtel for a while but finally got the internet. got back on to talk to mom again and then fixed dinner. lentils tonight with a steak rice packet. 

5/5/15 - 5/10/14

5/5/14

happy cinco de mayo! we’re celebrating here b-town style with veggie stew. awww yeah. but really, we’ve both been craving veggie schtew recently so im pumped for it 

super busy/ productive day yesterday. got up, typed the blog, did dished, cooked sweet potatoes, boiled water, made my terminal exam, worked out, went to somanda, showered, worked on my tanzanian movie, and had a bbq rice packet and a packet of tuna from moms care package. definitely not my typical tanzanian sunday! 

really really really good stream a class! like the best all year. so much needed! i don't know why they were so with it but i was digging it. 

nick told me yesterday that the weather for the other volunteers has been horrendous. rain rain rain and the roads are destroyed. talk about strength. they're my heros. for so many reasons. 1. they have been there for almost a year. 2. one of the volunteers there was incredibly sick recently. 3. the weather is completely awful in their last month.. the hardest month. 

one of the new teachers i really don't like brought me a cup for tea and i told him thank you. he said he's trying. he said there are 3 sweethearts but only one husband. ummm no thank you  much. apparently it is title of a book of some kenyan author or something like that. and honestly i don't even know what he was saying… i assumed it to be ‘sweethearts’ but i cant understand his english at all. so yeahhh he is just really annoying, persistent, and kinda creepy. 

read a good bit of my book today. the cat who tailed a thief. i taught stream b this afternoon. it too was a good class… after i recovered from teaching them something i had already taught. haha the way i look at it is that it had to happen at least once. i have three different streams that i teacher on different days and different times each day and they learn at different paces. 

completely wiped out this afternoon. got my seven corners insurance claim sent off from being sick. looked for more songs for my movie. and i just about feel asleep but i rallied for dinner and it was a great one. we had stew and we a steak rice packet. pretty darn tasty. 

prepared some notes on geometric progressions before getting on the internet for a little. texted with mom and moose for a while. a toasty night but i feel asleep pretty quickly. 

5/6/14

1/5 of the way through may! haha I'm so excited but also in disbelief. this has been home/ my life for what seems like a pretty decent amount of time and so now i don't know what to expect to go back to my forever home. i also just cant imagine my day to day stuff not being a reality anymore. i cant believe that I'm here and that i have almost finished this chapter in my life and that i have almost pulled this off. i still love the sky, and its clarity, each and every day. the colors, the clouds, the weather in general. i seriously love this weather. yes, it gets hot. but it is perfect. cool in the morning and most nights. and so i am in a weird place of wanting to cherish and remember and enjoy and hold on to some of the little things about life here while i also want to get home more that i could ever describe. i know very soon i will long to be back here again, to enjoy the simplistic life and awesome experiences. i know now that i could never live the expat life. so mission accomplished tanzania. i just love my family and friends way way wayyyy too much! 

speaking of weather though, after this ‘rainy season’, the weather has been so great. i dont want to jinx anything but it has been windy, perfectly cool in the mornings and nice and hot and sunny in the afternoon but i will take that anyday! 

just a little glimpse into our salty water... and this isn't even a bad batch

however, i am worried about the water situation. of course i dont have much longer here so it might be appropriate for tanzania to get me a big fat goodbye wave but i know that the community will really start to struggle with no rain. mahumi said he well is almost dried up already and our water has been incredibly hit and miss. 

taught a double after break today and then bounced on out. i bought a few pelas (guava) on the way home so that was fun and tasty. so cheap too. i also stopped to research how much it is tp print pictures here. 300tsh for a 4x6 if you are interested. then i stopped and printed my terminal exam on the way home. it was a 30+ minute affair after we had trouble with the ink but eventually she figured it out. i said i knew you could do it. you're an engineer. lol 

ate the rest of the veggie stew from last night and lots of pb and j when i got home. i have been slamming the jelly mom sent me. so good. tastes like home. 

two little kids that i pass on the way home. they always run out to greet me.

i talked to mom for a little and downloaded a tummy/ luke video. then i gave my best attempt at a workout. I'm so pathetic. guess i have to give myself some credit for walking home but that doesn't change how out of shape i am. 

had beans for dinner and it was pretty good. anything tastes much better with my black pepper, garlic salt, and mixed herbs though!

internet was really good today. i would love if it kept it up. i was actually getting consistent blue. worked on my movie some more and think i am finished with it up to now. so that just means i have to say a few goodbyes, get a few pictures of kilimanjaro, a few pictures of the wt group in dar, and then head on back home! I really do enjoy working on this video though. for one, its a good way to pass time. but it also makes me look back and reflect on my experience and take it everything that i have done. and if I'm having an icky day, it certainly helps to look at all the times that i was really really happy. also, i will be super happy to have it when i get home because it has all of my favorite pictures in it and it is a good representation of my time here. its a great summarizer and a launching point for stories. 

a new letter went up on the staff board today. it said that teachers should not talk about politics and should not criticize the ruling party. the talking that they know is going on needs to stop. and if you do talk about politics and the ruling party it should only be good things. hahaha well since my teachers only know how to talk about politics or football i guess they're in trouble. 

ive been having oatmeal in the morning from moms care package and it had been delicious! plus i need to eat it all up before i go. 

no periods all morning… hence the lots of journalling. but i also completed my answer key for my terminal exam. i also gave the academic office my exam and my answer sheet that i made for it to make it easier to grade. it will be an act of god if i actually get these copies in time to give it to them before i leave. oh well. it is also totally normal to just leave the key and let another teacher grade them. not exactly what i would like but it will get done either way. 

so for an update on my end of service/ getting outta here plans… 

may 23 or 24- travel to mwanza 

may 24- fly from mwanza to dar and then dar to kilimanjaro 

may 25- explore moshi town, shop, etc 

may 26- day hike on kilimanjaro 

may 27- day trip- hike to a waterfall, coffee plantation 

may 28- fly to dar 

may 29- end of service conference 

may 30- spend any money i have and buy any souvenirs i have room for in my bags. get to the airport to catch my plane at 10:55pm

may 31- land in atlanta at 1:03pm! HOMEEEEEEEEE :) 

5/8/14 

Happy end of education week. yep, thats right… another day of no school. second thursday in a row. i called mahumi last night and he said ‘you just stay’ so i didn't join in on the demonstration that went down. all of the schools in the town gathered together for a demonstration. they were apparently supposed to plan a message but my school didn't find out about it until yesterday so they decided that they would retaliate by not planning anything. anyways, the students from all the schools and the teachers all walked from their schools and got together at one place. there was music and crazy dancing and a speaker. nick went to this so i was able to see his pictures and videos of the day. 

it was also a great day for me to have no school because i really felt like crap all day. last night, my stomach was very unhappy and today my body was aching and i was just tired. so i just pretty much did nothing all day. i stayed in bed most of the day and read. the one productive, exciting thing i did was going through my room to decided what needed to come home with me and what all i was going to give away. so that was fun. cabbage and mcheech for dinner… with an thai curry rice packet. good stuff. 

5/9/14 

friday, friday, fridayyyyyy. a super busy day at school. one the way to school mahumi told me that i needed to move my exam from the 19th to the 16th. apparently there is a sports competition in mwasa on the 20th, about 50km away and he was afraid that i would not have many students there because they would be traveling on the 19th. so friday, the 16th it was. i thought that would be nice because that would give me the weekend to grade and all that. well i was teaching my first double of the day and simba, a teacher that works with the academic office came into my class and told me that i needed to give me exam on wednesday, the 14th. i tried to argue with him and tell him that mahumi said i could give in on the 16th. and he said we have talked and have decided it is better. so thats that. end of story. the 14th it is. i hate that i am losing even more time with my students, but as nick told me, haven't you realized this isn't about the students… so anyways, a very busy day. i taught a double, then i stole a single period, had break, taught a double, and that was the day. my classes were empty today. they had a huge chunk of form 3 still gathered after parade this morning and i asked my first stream why. they were all the students who hadn't paid their fees this year. so they met with them for over and hour and then sent them on home. streams b and c still had a fairly good proportion of their students in the class… probably about 60-70%. but stream a…. they only had about 15 people in there! the class normally has about 100! 

the walk home was uneventful. well for the most part. one guy, who was obviously riding his bike until he saw me, got off his bike and walked behind me for a while. then he called at me and walked with me for probably about 15 minutes. it was pretty typical tanzanian male talk. he asked me how much money he could pay me to be my friend. i told him you cant buy friends. i also said that i am only here for 2 more weeks and we will not be friends. this will be the end of our friendship. then he asked me if i had friends at home. i said of course i have friends at home. then he asked do you have a boyfriend at home. i said no i do not have a boyfriend at home and i do not know how to make this more clear but you will never be my boyfriend and i will never be your girlfriend. game. set. match. see you never. the whole thing really was funny though. i was laughing and he was laughing at how up front i was. 

had a packet of strawberry oatmeal when i got home, read a book, then actually took a nap. i woke up to do the dishes and then fix dinner. stew again tonight with the mexican rice packet. i texted with mom, talked with dad on his big birthday, and then got to talk to katie!! it had been way too long since we had talked. i couldn't fall asleep so i read more, listened to music, stared at the calendar on my phone, and played on my gameboy. yep i brought my gameboy to tanzania. but you may be more surprised at my favorite past time of staring at a calendar. you would be surprised at how long the calendar can hold my attention. i think i am working towards a world record or something. 

5/10/14 

got up a little too early for my liking… only because sleeping wastes more time. hehe. but i got up, boiled a pot of water, ate some pb, played on my gameboy, packed up one of my bags!, and typed up the blog. as i was typing the blog i heard someone getting water from out tank. so i immediately jumped up and ran to fill up our buckets. simultaneously, nick was lying in his bed reading game of thrones and we about had a head on collision racing to get water! its the little things. mood instantly uplifted. we were getting low and were going to have to make a water run today. we hadn't had it since monday. so it was absolutely perfect timing. so anyways, i filled up all of our buckets and its still just now 10. then i did my laundry for what will most likely be the last time here. the rest of the day has lots more reading and some gamboying in it. eating. talking to home folks. reading news articles that i have pulled up.