Welcome to Medellín

Well here we go for trip #2. I never fully wrapped up the blogging from Tanzania but, as you can tell from my vague ending, I have known for the past three years that there was going to be more. Looking at the name of my blog, I guess you could say that I was struck with the wanderlust bug before even leaving the first time. One more quick comparison to my Tanzania blogging.... if you followed that journey on here, prepare yourself for something that is much different. I promise to fill it with all the same raw, unedited information with probably just as many typos. However, I plan to be much, much busier so you will not be getting the day by day rundown.

I am somewhat overwhelmed with the information to share with you in just 3 short days but I'll give it my best. So, let's start with the trip down to Colombia (with an o not a u!). It's safe to say that I was very excited to get into Medellín late Monday night. Monday started bright an early - 2:23 am to be exact - and I got to my apartment about 8:30 pm local time which is 9:30 eastern pm. We are really in the same 'time zone' but Colombia doesn't do daylight's saving time so I will be one hour behind for half of the year and the same time the other half of the year. Mom took me to the airport and we were grateful for the 5:45 am flight because there wasn't going to be much sleeping anyways and half asleep goodbyes are always easier. After a weekend full of 'see you laters', I was emotionally exhausted by the time Monday came around. I saw tons of family for Luke's birthday party Saturday (thanks to everyone for the letters.... I've been opening them slowly) and then had to say some rough goodbyes to Katie, Sam, Luke and Logan Saturday. Thank goodness for FaceTime!!

My flights took me to Washington DC then Panama then Medellín. I met other teachers for the first time on my last flight and it was so great talking with others and putting faces with names. Needless to say, it is a fun, adventurous, easy going group of people. They are awesome! We got our bags, got all organized, and got into two different buses to finally get to our apartments. Upon landing, they gave us some money for travel reimbursement. The currency here is Colombian pesos and approximately 3000 pesos is 1 dollar.

Easy way to be a millionaire??  Do it in pesos

The apartments themselves are spread out all over the city. I am a little further from the city center and about 10 minutes away from other teachers. I am still working out some kinks in my apartment (hot water, furniture, some lights, etc) but overall I have been happy with it so far. Here are some quick pictures after a little unpacking Monday night.

 

Driving from the airport to the city took us down off the mountain and into the city bowl. I am surprised at how hilly everything is. My first view of everything was at dark (the sun rises and sets much earlier here) so I was ready for quite the treat when Tuesday morning rolled around.

Tuesday was a shopping day. We went to different stores (one mainly for home goods and one for food). Let me just tell you that it is a little stressful trying to stock a brand new apartment from scratch. A couple interesting things from the shopping trips. Buildings here are often built up and not out. That means escalators for shopping carts at store.

The grocery store has many workers/ sales people in the aisles asking you what you were looking for and trying to sell you a certain product. Its pretty fun and interesting to shop in another language. You don't always know what you are getting. But with a good attitude and a smile, it all works out. I bought the basics along with some new-to-me fruits and some that I have not had in a while. The verdict is still out on the peanut butter selection. I am hoping to find some different kinds at other supermarkets. In between the two stores, we made a quick stop for lunch. I got my first Colombian dish, ajiaco,  which was a chicken soup with potatoes and corn. It was very good.

I made it back to my apartment around 4 and worked the rest of the evening to get this place organized. Slowly but surely....

Wednesday morning I met the bus outside to head to immigration to get our cedula (government ID) and to the doctor for a checkup. We got done about 1:00 so I decided to go on a little adventure. We dropped off two teachers that live much closer to things (shopping, dining, etc) than I do and I got out with them to explore. I went to Santa Fe mall and walked around a while. I got some data on my phone and some lunch. The mall was massive and beautiful. There were four floors with multiple different wings and many American stores/ restaurants. Side note: have I talked about the weather here yet?? Its pretty perfect. Perfect enough that there is no AC or heat in most places and even doors for that matter. It is a little cool in the morning and evening, a little toasty mid day, but generally perfect. I walked back to my apartment (think straight up hill for a mile) in attempt to get the lay of the land.

'inside' the mall

The 'doors' to the mall

Okay so I think that gets me caught up. We are going on a city tour tomorrow so I am sure I will have more pictures of that. I want to include a few more random thoughts before I check out on this (much longer that usual I would believe) post.

- The streets are small and very crowded. There are lots of motorcycles that weave in and out of that stopped cars. They have almost created a third lane on a two lane road by riding on the lines.
- Also, traffic, traffic, traffic. all the time. any where you go.
- everything takes time and more time than you think. (refer to the bullet above)

- there is absolutely no leniency for foreigners as far as language goes. The assumption is that you are fluent in Spanish. They is no slowing down or anything when they talk to you. I need lots more practice listening and speaking. Fortunately, I am getting that each and every day with every single thing that I do. With that said, people are generally extremely welcoming and appreciate any attempt at trying to communicate with them.
- wow at the hills.
- love all the green. its everywhere. trees. bushes. flowers. Speaking of flowers, there is a huge flower festival coming up soon.
- the other teachers are great! it has been so fun getting to know them. They are easy to talk to, interesting, and easy going. needless to say, we are all here for a reason.
- the city has some neat architecture, street art, etc. all over

One last thing... as far as getting a hold of me goes, I still have my same US number. As long as I have wifi, I will be able to talk/ text normally. It won't cost you or me. So stay in touch!


Well thats a wrap for the first post from Colombia. Talk soon.

p.s. don't worry about my safety. The people here have been very friendly and I think three (one not pictured) separate locks will suffice.

5/24/14 - 5/30/14

5/24/14

woke up and ate a big breakfast at the christmas tree. then packed up and booked it on over to hotel tilapia. i say by the late this time… away from my normal post on the top deck. it was very windy and actually a bit chilly but very nice. i interneted and then played the gameboy for a little before going to charge my laptop. i got a missi roti or something like that and it was good. 

then i left for the airport and it was official. i was heading out. traveling was very uneventful today, which i take as a great thing. they were fine with my bags and my backpack was the perfect weight (just under 20 kg). I went to dar and then kilimanjaro. both of the flights showed up and they were even early! go fastjet! from the airport, i took a shuttle to moshi town for only 10,000tsh versus at least $45 for a taxi. i got to moshi by 10pm and then took a short little taxi to my hostel, the twiga home. i walked in, they handed me the key, and i walked straight to my room and went to bed. they didn't ask my name or how long i would stay or anything. i quickly packed my bag for my kilimanjaro day trek tomorrow before i went to sleep. 

5/25/14 

the silence that i found last night only lasted so long. some kind of construction began at 5:30 and that just compounded the effect of the roosters and dogs. i went out to meet ambrose, the owner of materuni tours, and he took me to the office to pay for my trips. there, i met my guide and then we headed out. just the two of us with a driver, heading to the marangu gate. it took about 45 minutes to get there but then we got out, grabbed our stuff, registered for the permit, and were off. 

i was really surprised at how green this area was. the whole base of kilimanjaro is a rainforest. it was incredibly lush, moist, and varied. lots of moss on the trees. ferns and ivy. monkeys playing in the tree (black and white colobus monkeys and blue? monkeys). it took 2 and 1/2 hours to get to the mandara hut at 9000 ft, about 8 km. It was actually cool when we first got there but i had quite the sweat going as i was hiking. however, when i stopped to eat lunch at the madara hut, i got cold. i enjoyed lunch. something different and i was starving. as soon as we finished lunch, we walked about 20 minutes further to the maundi crater, which is really a caldera and not a crater). unfortunately, it was a cloudy day (well actually, it was cloudy every single day i was there because it was the rainy season). however, from the maundi crater on a clear day you can see both peaks of kilimanjaro and also a good bit into kenya. anyways, we walked around the crater and spotted the famous protea flower and then headed back. it took a little over 2 hours to get back. overall, gone from 10 - 4:15. my body held up really well too. i was very happy with it. on the way back, i had them stop at a supermarket for me and i got some water and cereal (which was awful). took a much needed shower when i made it back to taiga and then just messed around for the night. 

526/14 

i woke up at 2340 this morning and i was starving. like starving. so naturally  i crawled back in bed with my jar of peanut butter and then went back to bed. fortunately, construction was much quitter this morning and i was able to sleep in more. i ‘got up’ at 8 and read in bed until about 11. then i decided to take on my adventure for the day. i walked into town and just explored around. there really wasn't much to see out of the ordinary. i just bought some food that i wanted (fruit, roasted corn, roasted banana) and then walked on back. it was really jet an adventure to get out of the hostel and to see the city. and to buy any souvenirs if i saw any that were worth it. i was also really annoyed with people today so it was a great thing that i wasn't doing much. its also why i made it a short, fast trip into town. 

still feeling good today after the long walk yesterday so thats a big plus. only just a tiny bit sore but no pains. 

read when i got back then i go on the computer to talk to katie and mom then i did the all important journalling. i had neglected it for too long and have to finish strong. all the while, i have been spending a lot of time today on the couch which couldn't be more fun and relaxing. watched how to train your dragon this evening and enjoyed that. lastly, packed for the waterfall for hitting the sack. 

5/27/14 

last adventure today@ got picked up again today by ambrose. went with ramen, the same guide again today. however, the big difference was that today i went cheap and african which meant i took the dala dala instead of the private taxi. so yeahhh that was not too fun. we walked to the bus stand and got on a bus. luckily, we did get to sit in the front so it wasn't that tight but still… we waited over an hour and 15 minutes for the bus to fill up. and by fill up, im talking tanzanian standards. then we rode on out to the materuni village which took at 45 minutes. the scenery was very beautiful as we drove. however, honestly, i was already over it. i think i was just done with this day trip, my adventures (for right now), and i was ready to ge going home. anywayssss, the landscape was very similar to my kilimanjaro hike but with a lot more banana trees. also very muddy and slippery roads. so we got out of the dala and we walked along the main road for a while until we got to a little path. we were seriously in the thick of things, but also in the middle of nowhere.some people lived way way far back there. the walk was really beautiful… if only i could lift my eyes for the ground that was so muddy and slippery. it was also much longer than i thought it would be and i just wasn't really feeling it. ramen stopped along the way and pointed out the crops and flowers: tobacco, beans, yams, coffee, bananas, mango, avocado, guave, passion fruit, etc. its a happening place. the village here has mainly people from the chagge tribe and banana is their main food (mostly cooked bananas) so there were lots and lots of banana trees. so eventually, we got to the waterfall and i do have to say that it was quite large and quite beautiful. we took a few pictures (maybe too many? ramen wanted to take some of me which i appreciate but i think the spray was to much). then i had some of my lunch box. there was a couple there from germany and they were nice. a lotta lotta people here always vote european over american for me, particularly, sweeden and germany. then i had the adventure of going to the bathroom out there. when we had our fill, we headed on back and the walk back went much better. we stopped at oscars house on the way back though to go through the whole process of making coffee. it isn't harvesting time but ramen still took me out to where they harvest the beans. then we took the shell off them, roasted them, ground them, then made some coffee. I actually drank about a half of a cup of the coffee. it wasn't too bad. when we made it back to the office, i told them that i want to go out to buy some souvenir shops because i noticed some right around the office. and i was quite successful. got some good stuff for a good price. then i went back to twiga, showered, and stuffed my face. i was so hungry from not eating much all day so it was a busy night. i also had to pack up all my bags to get ready to go to dar and then come home!!!!

5/28/14 

i woke up early this morning and just messed around until i had my taxi driver from the first night come get me and bring me to the fast jet office in moshi, which is where the shuttle leaves from. it was a decent ride to the airport which was pretty cool. they had a tree growing perfectly in there so that it served as a roof to one ‘room’. the only other issue was when i asked a worker if i could bring a water if i bought it here on the the plane and he said yes when the real answer was no. i journalled on the plane to dar and am excited to get there because that is officially my last stop before home. but i am also really excited to see the other volunteers. 

when i got into dar, i got busy on my errand running. the goal was to spend my money on anything i found that i wanted. i got a sweet potato for lunch and it completely wrecked my stomach again. oh well, one last time. i also worked on getting roasted corn later and peanut butter and banana. i chilled out at the y and waited for the other volunteers to get to the y. as soon as they got there, we got all the luggage up to the rooms (leigh was staying with me) and then we ran to subway. although my stomach was still feeling funky, i went for a panner tikka chicken sandwich because you cant every get that in america. it was quite tasty. then we went to the rooftop bar at the holiday inn right by the ywca. and the holiday inn is like the ritz of dar. it was such a great night and so fun to see and talk with all the girls. 

5/29/14

end of service day! and the day that i can officially say that i am leaving tomorrow! overall it was such a nice way to go out. it was great to have a group of people together who truly understand what you experience, how it happened, how the little things bother you and the big things dont seem to matter as much. they just understand whereas i dont think other will every be able to not matter how much i talk and how much they want to. it was just a lot of reflection, discussion, comparison, closure, and laughter. we went to the national museum for lunch and then went back to the ministry of education for a little session about world teach business and about reverse culture shock. we talked about how to handle yourself and others when you return, to understand that a lot of stuff happened in our lives but that same is true of their lives while we were gone, adjustment, how to handle conversations with others, etc. we had a little bit of free time where i worked on my volunteer profile and also wrote a letter to myself that kim said she would mail to us in a year. then we walked to chefs pride for dinner. i enjoyed my vegetable curry. i have been loving me some indian food that for sure. anything with spice. we stopped at snoopy’s on the way back for ice cream and then went back to the y to chill before going to the holiday inn again for one last hurrah. we stayed there until about 1:30 when we said our goodbyes to laurel who was leaving that night and to night who was leaving the next morning for kilimanjaro. so it was a late night and a typical tanzanian morning (aka wake up 6ish). who needs sleep… 

5/30/14

nick and leigh left for the airport this morning. leigh went to pick up her brother from the airport. they are climbing kili together and then going to visit their sister who has been living and working in mongolia. katie also went to the airport last night to pick up her boyfriend. all kinds of excitement! and speaking of excitement… lets make sure that you know that i am coming home today!!! 

so coleen and ariel and i went to breakfast where kim joined up to get our last paperwork. i said my last goodbye and thank you to kim and then kept ticking away on my to do list before i left. this really just mean i needed to do some shopping. katie and her boyfriend were going to a hotel that was right beside a place that airel and i wanted to go shopping so we all shared a cab out there. ariel and i were quite successful. we went to slipway. it was far from a cheap place to go as the prices were much higher than other places but they had it all in one place and it was goof enough for me. so i got me last few things and spent most all of my money so that made me happy. we came back, starving, and went with colleen to subway again. got the sub of the day, sliced chicken, and at 6 inches then and saved 6 for later in the day. after that they were on a search for flats so we went to a few stores but came up pretty empty.i got back and pack up all my bags and just chilled with ariel, leigh, and coleen. i went out at some point to get the last few things for the supermarket. and i kinda hit me then that i was leaving. i was walking and thinking how comfortable i felt here. how normal it was to be doing what i was doing. it was a little odd but it felt so nice to know that i am so content with what i was doing and what i have done. I had to say my goodbyes to these guys, and then it was time to go! as soon as they left for dinner, i immediately got so excited and so happy. my heart started going. i grabbed my stuff and headed downstairs to meet steven. i grabbed a picture with erika, a lady at the y that is always so sweet. then steven and i journeyed on to the airport for the last time. traffic was nice to us and we made good time. steven helped me with my bags and then it was game time. my back pack was just under 20kg and my duffel was 10. i made it through all the check points fine. while waiting, i met a girl from marietta. she had been working with her methodist church to come volunteer in morogoro for a year. small world! 

the flight left at 10:55 pm so theoretically, i should shave been tired. but this body just doesn't do the whole sleeping on the plane thing. i really tried to make it work but it is what it is. we got a surprise meal at almost 1am and you bet i ate it! i also watch gravity towards the end of the flight. masterdom was pretty uneventful as well and i have been typing up this blog post on this last plane ride! my battery is almost dead but im almost done so its all good. as of right this minute, i will arrive in atlanta in 4 hours and 41 minutes. i am flying over greenland right now and you can see chunks of ice (im assuming) out the plan window. i have watched frozen and then life of pi and now i have captain phillips going. the movie choice are great on this flight. the first one… not so much. the plane is cold as always. i have my sweatpants on with the blanket they give you and i have a kikoy wrapped around my shoulders. nice and cozy, comfy. 

so how to wrap this thing up?? i know that i cannot even tell you how excited i am to see my friends and family so soon! this week is going to be exhilarating and exhausting. It may be a little while before i get back on here and wrap this thing up. ill wait for anything the resembles profound thoughts to strike me. but for now, all i can say is how glad i am that i did this. sure, there were plenty of times that were hard and trying but i am probably most thankful for them. this has been a journey of personal growth from begging to end and i am so thankful for everyone and everything that got me to this point. thank you for your support, regardless of what that support looked like! so thank you, thank you, thank you, and i cant wait to see you soon! 

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!!