HOME

I'm home, safe and sound in the good 'ol USA. Its been quite a semester, I've learned a lot and have had many, many adventures. Even after experiencing parts of the world I never imagined I would, I'm so happy to be home.

England and back to the Netherlands

I'm back in Amsterdam for the last part of my adventure. On Thursday I took the Eurostar to London and spent two days wandering through London. I stayed with my friend from Dickinson who is studying abroad at the LSE. On Thursday night I actually attended an interesting lecture at the school by the commissioner of human rights for the Council of Europe. I got to see some of the sights of London and I went to the National Gallery.

On Saturday, I took a train up to Norwich to stay with Marianh and Brie who are studying abroad with the Dickinson program there at UEA. Norwich was a really cute town, the only downside was that it gets dark at around 3:30pm. We had a lot of fun in Norwich and I actually ran into a lot of Dickinson students on campus earlier today when I was walking around with the girls.

I'm heading back to the USA on Wednesday afternoon. I'm ready to go home and relax for a few weeks before my new semester in Washington, DC starts!

Oui Paris!

SNOW

At the Lourve!

Today is my one full day in Paris and its been a pretty packed one. This morning I had a great breakfast at my hotel and then headed over to the Lourve. It was raining when I left my hotel so it was nice that I could spend a few hours inside the almost overwhelmingly large museum. I didn't know where to start! I pretty much just went to the rooms where the most famous paintings are and looked for the crowds that formed around those works of art.

When I left the Lourve the rain had turned to a solid snow fall but it wasn't bad enough that I couldn't walk, so I started walking to Notre Dame. Once I got to the neighborhood where Notre Dame is, the snow started picking up more and it was time for lunch anyway so I had a huge pasta lunch. After lunch I browsed through the Shakespeare and Company Bookstore for a couple of hours.

Once I was finished looking through stacks of new and used books, I decided I wanted to go back to my hotel to rest for a few minutes. It took a while to find the train and the roads were grid-locked because of the snow so the bus was not an option. I eventually got back and rested until it got dark out so that I could go to the Eiffel Tower when its lit up. I walked over to the Eiffel Tower but it was closed for going to the top because of the snow. Instead I just walked around the area and took a few pictures. It was freezing cold anyway so I didn't mind just going back indoors. On the way back to my hotel I picked up a couple of macaroons, which are my new favorite cookie/dessert. (Thanks Steph for telling me about them)

Now I have the big decision of what I want for dinner- life is really tough. :)

Lots of Maroc

At the Mausoleum of Mohammed V in Rabat

The tres amigas in Casablanca

Cous cous, traditional Friday lunch

I'm currently sitting in Burt's cafe in Rabat, Morocco, exhausted after some of the most fun days I've ever had! My experience in Morocco so far has been so much fun! Being in Casablanca on Friday was wild! It is a very pretty city. I couldn't believe how big the Hossan II Mosque was! Seeing Kim and the Dickinson Malaga group was surreal but really nice, even if it was for under 2 hours.

On Friday night Julianne and I took the train to Rabat where her study abroad program is located. I met her host family who are incredibly welcoming and kind. Saturday morning we got a late start but made up for it throughout the day. We visited the Mausoleum of Mohammed V (which is one block away from Julianne's host family), Chellah, ate lunch in the Medina, walked through the Andalusian gardens, walked through the Casba, drank a lot of mint tea, watched the end of a football game at Julianne's friend's house, and ate a fabulous dinner at a restaurant where we waited for two hours to be seated.

Today was also a very busy day. We got up early to go to a place in the city across the river to go 4x4-ing but since the rains last week, the course was unusable. Instead we found this BB gun shooting range in the complex where the quads were and wound up shooting at targets for an hour and a half. Never thought I would do that! Then we went to get some lunch and hung out at cafe that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean. Even though its December, people were still surfing and playing on the beach!

In the afternoon, Julianne brought me to the hammam. The hammam is basically a public bathing place/steam room. Its a traditional practice in Morocco that I'm really glad I did because I've actually never felt so clean in my life.

I'm leaving Rabat in the morning when Julianne heads to school and taking a train to Fez to spend the day. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing Fez and doing some shopping in the Medina where I hear there is some of the best shopping in the country!

Bienvenue Morocco!

I arrived at about 8pm last night in Casablanca, Morocco. There were a few minutes that I was questioning whether I was actually going to make it to Morocco because of a problem with my plane ticket. I wound up working everything out thanks to two very nice and helpful people from Royal Air Moroc in the Amsterdam Airport. But I'm here and that's what matters.

I just ate a huge breakfast at my hotel consisting of bread, croissants, pistachio yogurt, very strong coffee, freshly squeezed orange juice, and a boiled egg. I'd say I'm officially ready to start my day. Good thing I'm going to be spending most of my time in Morocco with Julianne who speaks French because I have already felt the language barrier. I can definitely understand a lot of it because of Spanish but there is no way to respond.

Meeting Julianne at noon at the train station and I'm so excited to see her and Kim and the other Dickinson students who are in Morocco!!!

Leaving Amsterdam

I'm leaving Amsterdam in a couple of hours to make my way back to the African continent... this time the northern part. I'm landing in Casablanca, Morocco early this evening and I can not wait to visit a new city! Hopefully the rains have calmed down a bit (as I do not have a raincoat).

I went to the Van Gogh museum this morning which was actually very exhausting but really interesting. I really enjoyed seeing his different periods of art and how he was influenced by so many different artists. On the top floor of the museum I got a great view of the city with its fresh coat of snow. Pretty but a bit depressing actually.

Well, I'm onto part two of Arielle's European Adventure.

A Dutch Day

View from the Anne Frank House

That clog definitely does not fit!

Today was my first full day in Amsterdam. I woke up early and looked around the neighborhood for some breakfast but nothing opened until like 9am. Instead, I took the bus to the stop near the Anne Frank house where I was planning to go that morning and found a little deli and had a cheese sandwich and a cappuccino.

I think I was one of the first visitors in the Anne Frank house today. The museum is all self guided and really well preserved. When I got to the top of the stairs that lead to the secret annex I felt really nervous to enter. Its one of those places that I've heard about my entire life and suddenly it was in front of me and I was a little freaked out. I stood in the place where Anne's desk was for a few minutes. The most memorable part was probably seeing Anne Frank's actual diary. I'm really glad historic sites like this one exist because it really makes you think about other injustices in the world and how some people are still persecuted because of their ethnicities, religions, etc.

After going to the Anne Frank house, I took the short walk over to the Red Light District just to take a quick look around. It was a really creepy experience. I actually wanted to go there to see if there was any special activity or something to commemorate World AIDS Day which is today. To my surprise, there was nothing. I asked a random shop keeper if there was anything planned in the district and he didn't understand why that would make sense. I left the Red Light District and walked around the Dam Square area and actually bought a warm pair of boots.

I then headed back to the Museum District where I am staying and took a little rest. At about 2pm I got lunch at a little Kepab stand. The owner was from Morocco and I told him about how I am going to Morocco tomorrow. He told me everything about the floods and the heavy rains that are happening there right now. Better than the freezing cold?

After lunch I decided to go to the Rijkmuseum to see the Rembrandt collection. Its a relatively small museum but has a really great collection of Dutch art. I was so amazed by how life like Rembrandt's paintings are. I also can't believe that they were painted in the mid 17th century!

I'd say I had a very productive and busy day. I'm enjoying traveling solo, but I am also looking forward to seeing my friends in Morocco starting on Friday. I'm probably going to grab a light dinner in a couple of minutes and then have an early night. The cold is exhausting!

Amsterdam Day 1

I had a full day today in Amsterdam. First, I went shopping for warm clothes and shoes for a couple of hours. It was nice just to walk down the main shopping street going into stores and trying on boots. After a couple of hours of trying on shoes I decided just to buy a warm pair of socks instead. Then I had a huge lunch of Thai chicken soup and a huge sandwich. In the afternoon I went on a canal cruise/tour through the city. The tour was very bad but it was really nice to see more of the city. At around 4:45 the sun went down and I went back to my hotel room to rest. About two hours ago I went to get some dinner. To do this I had to go outside (which took all of my motivation I could muster up) dressed in so many layers that I couldn't more my arms. I ate a delicious McDonald's quarter pounder meal and went to this dessert place and got a waffel drenched in chocolate sauce. All of this food tasted amazing to me!!

Its been a strange day starting to adjust. I was so close to bargaining with the salespeople at H&M today. Also, I was worried that something was wrong with my food at lunch because it came so fast. Going on public transportation absolutely blew my mind because the tram actually came to a full stop to let passengers on. And there was a mechanical paying system! Oh and I was just getting used to the lack of personal space in Tanzania so the amount of space people put between themselves has kind of made me think. On the public bus there is a "comfort level" rating based on how many people are on the bus. That just makes me laugh. I got weird looks when I sat down directly next to someone at a table. This is just the beginning of "reverse culture shock."

Safe and Sound

Just writing to say that I am safe and sound in Amsterdam. The flight from Tanzania seemed really short and I got to spend a couple more hours with my friends. Its very strange being back in the very developed world. It actually feels like I never left but I keep noticing things that catch me off guard... such as thinking about brushing my teeth using tap water!

Of course I came into Amsterdam on a bitterly snowy day BUT it is still beautiful and I'm about to go out to get a bite to eat and get some warmer clothes. (Well really just a pair of warm shoes, gloves, and a hat.)

Onto my next adventure

I'm flying out of Tanzania tonight at 10:30pm with three of my amazing friends, Stephanie, Jenna, and Cassandra. When we land in Amsterdam in the morning, I'm heading straight into my new adventure. I'm spending two weeks wandering around Europe and Northern Africa. Four countries in 14 days. I'll be going to the Netherlands, Morocco, France, and England. I'm going to try my best to update everyone on this blog about my whirlwind trip. I'm most nervous about the weather! I'm coming from 80 degrees and sunny to 30 degrees and dreary. Seriously, I just came back from tanning by the pool at the hotel up the street! Guess that means I'll be having a shopping spree for gloves and possibly a warmer coat.

Currently, there are four of us left in Arusha and it is very surreal. I have moved out of my apartment for the housekeepers to clean and all of my bags are packed. I'm a lot more laid back about packing on this end compared to how I was when I was coming here. I'll probably be going back to the pool for a little while then I'll come back, shower, and get ready to leave this beautiful country.

Kwa heri!

Last full day

Today is my last full day in Arusha. Its a very bitter sweet day for me. This semester has definitely been a lot of fun and I have done some amazing things but I have also faced some serious challenges. The past week I have been trying to take in Arusha with all of my senses so that I could have a really full memory of the city. So here it is: Arusha according to my senses.

Sound: The call to prayer 5 times each day, Kiswahili being spoken everywhere, blasting music from Dala Dalas, cars whizzing by, chirping birds, the sounds of the streets being swept, pick up trucks with full bands in the back playing for a wedding, the songs "Waka Waka" and "Waving Flag"

Sight: Mount Meru, colorful flowers, dirt roads, school children in uniforms, some of the most beautiful people I've ever seen, colorful kangas and kitenges, amazing handicrafts, lots of bicycles

Touch: Dirt/dust, soft fabrics, everyone else's hands who want to shake your's or give you a high five on the street, food such as chipati and ugali in my hands

Smell: spices, maize cooking on the sidewalk, body odor, car exhaust, flowers, Indian food, the birds and turtles at the Natural History Museum, fresh fruits being sold across the street, chai, OMO clothing detergent, hand sanitizer, Swahili food, freshly baked bread

Taste: Ugali, maize, rice, stewed vegetables, beans, chili sauce, dirt, sand, mangos, pineapple, avocado, nyama choma (barbecue), goat meat, chips, sweet potatoes, chipati

Happy Thanksgiving from Tanzania

Happy Thanksgiving! It has been a different kind of Thanksgiving but a nice day nevertheless. For our feast, we went out to our favorite Chinese food restaurant- an African Thanksgiving, kind of like a Jewish Christmas!

great escape to kenya

The past couple of weeks have been really hard so my friend Stephanie and I decided to reward ourselves with a couple day getaway to he beautiful coastal town of Mombasa, Kenya. On Wednesday morning we left Arusha on a big yellow bus and drove about 9 hours into another world! (Oh, on the bus ride there I saw an elephant just hanging out near the road.)

When we got to Mombasa, we took a taxi to the northern tip of the island called Nyali which is the really nice section. Our hostel was there so we hung out there

for a couple of hours, eating dinner and hanging around this really reallynice shopping center. The hostel was in a huge mansion but it was really creepy and hot so the night was actually not that good.

On Thursday morning we got up and went to the beach! We went to this five star hotel named The Reef and hung out in the beautiful pool that overlooked the gorgeous Indian Ocean. We swam all morning, hung out at the swim up bar, and ate a light lunchat theoutdoor restaurant. In the early afternoon when the clouds were coming in, we left the pool and we to Haller Park which is a nature reserve within walkingdistance to Nyali District. The beautiful Reef

Hotel.

It turned out that we got to Haller Park right at feeding time for the animals. For just 800

Kenyan Shillings ($10) we gotour ownprivate tour of the entire park, fed giraffes by hand, and got to see the hippos and the crocodiles being fed. Haller Park was definitely a really fun experience.

After going to Haller Park, we went back to our hostel to pick up our bags and headed to the place we were staying for that night. We did not know that it was so far away but we realized this after about 2 hours of traveling by 3 different matatus (Kenya version of the dala-dala), a ferry across the channel, and a taxi. (A taxi from Nyali to the south coast where we were heading was going to be about $50 so we decided to rough it). We finally got to Stilts, the tree house hotel at about 8:30, ate dinner, and got into bed. Me feeding a giraffe!

!

I was awoken on Friday morning in my little tree house by Stephanie telling me to look at two monkeys staring in at us through the cracks big enough for them to move through. That morning, I put my toothbrush, toothpaste, and inhaler on the table on our little porch and one of the monkeys swooped down and stole my inhaler!!

We spent the morning and early afternoon at the beach again this time at 40 Thieves, a really cool restaurant with a free beach. We ate some amazing food and rested on the couches right on

the beach. The water was as warm as a bath! It was amazing!

Our Treehouse at Stilts

In the later afternoon, we headed back to the north beach via matatu, ferry, and this time a tuktuk which is an auto rickshaw! We checked into this other hotel in Nyali for Friday night that seemed really nice but there were bugs in the beds :(. We got up early on Saturday morning and caught the bus back to Arusha.

The couple days away were so relaxing and now I'm re-energized to do my massive amounts of work. Its really strange to thinking about how 1 week from tomorrow I will be boarding a plane to Europe.

Karibu, short rains!

Sorry for slacking on my blog updates. Basically I have been doing school work for the past week, which has been frustrating and somewhat educational!

Good news though: it is officially the "short rainy season" in Arusha. The four season system does not really exist here, rather there are three seasons: rainy, dry, and kind of rainy. The rainy season is in the spring (according to the northern hemisphere) but the rains are called "long rains." I'm assuming the rains last for several days at a time. The "short rains" that are occurring now, come once a day and last for maybe an hour. It is very unfortunate if you happen to get caught outside during the rain though, cause they're pretty vicious. The short rainy season is beneficial to the agriculture in Tanzania and all of those fun things.

Also good news: I'm going to Mombasa, Kenya from Wednesday to Saturday. I need a break from this school craziness and what better way to do so than to spend a few days on the beach?!

Putting the "study" in "study abroad"

The semester is starting to come to a close which means that school work is starting to pick up. I have about 3 weeks left here and I have SO much work to do! I'm starting to get a little nervous about getting it all done alongside trying enjoying the rest of my time here. I just don't want the last three weeks of my semester abroad to be ruined by piles of papers to write and tests to study for! I think I just need to remind myself to do something that is fun and stress-free each day so that I do not fall into end of semester burnout.

Now, I'm getting back to work!

Camel Safari!

After talking about going since the second week of being in Arusha, 3 friends of mine and I went on a camel safari today! After an hour drive through all terrains from Arusha to Mount Meru we arrived at the Mkuru Camel Safari Project, the starting point of the safari. The camel project is located in the middle of nowhere. There are probably thirty camels and they basically roam freely which looks strange because camels are so clearly not indigenous to the region!

After a few minutes of stretching our legs from the car ride and taking pictures of the camels, the guides brought out 4 camels (meaning that each of us got to ride our own) and we climbed on! This was my second time being on a camel, the first being in Israel when I was 16, but my experience didn't make the standing up and the sitting down of the camel any less scary!! Once we got to a nice pace, through, I started to have a really nice time looking at the scenery and petting the head of the camel directly behind me.

Part of the safari was visiting a Massai village, which as I know was set up specifically for tourism purposes, but it was interesting nevertheless. The guide awkwardly brought us into a Massai boma (house) and the woman and her child who live in the house showed us around. The child, named Zawadi (Swahili for gift) took to me, according to her mother because she likes white skin. Then the other women in the village started taking out their beadwork jewelry to sell to us. I bought a bracelet and necklace.

After the Massai village we hopped onto our camels and rode back to the place we started to eat lunch, expecting to take another stroll on the camels after eating. Right when we sat down to eat our packed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches it started down-pouring. By the time we finished eating, the rain had stopped but our guide told us we could not go back out riding because it was going to rain again (he was certain of it). So we paid and got back into our car to drive back through the rough terrain back to Arusha. Lo and behold, the minute we drove out of the camel area it began pouring again. I'm glad we didn't get stuck in the rain on our camels!

Of course it didn't rain in Arusha! When we got back it was just as hot and dry as ever!

Food!

I realized today that I have not done a blog entry on food! So here we go!

The traditional Tanzanian diet consists of ugali ("stiff porridge" made from maize flour), beans, rice, greens, and meat (usually chicken or goat). Nyama choma which is basically barbecued meat is really popular and I really enjoy going out to get barbecued chicken, beef, or goat. Other popular foods are chipati, somosas, cassava, sweet potatoes, and chips (french fries). The flavors are very influenced by international cuisine, especially India and China! Anywhere you go you can get curry vegetables. Another local dish is banana stew-- which is exactly what it sounds like: bananas and beef. The bananas are not the sweet kind so they turn out to have more of the consistency and taste of potatoes. There are also many types of fresh fruits available such as oranges, pineapples, guavas, passion fruits, bananas, melons, and mangos.

Arusha has A LOT of restaurants. So far I have been to a Chinese restaurant, a Middle Eastern "inspired" restaurant, a hamburger joint, an Italian bistro, and many other types of cafe type places. There are also SO MANY Indian food restaurants, but I'm not a huge fan of Indian food so I tend to stay away. I ate at the best sandwich shop in Arusha. I ate there several weeks ago and when I was thinking about what I was going to eat for lunch today I got an incredibly strong craving for this seemingly disgusting sandwich from this shop. The sandwich is salami, cream cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise. Somehow the spicy salami and the cream cheese come together to make a rich combination of flavors that is really satisfying. A few hours later, after walking for a little too long in the mid day heat, I got another really strong craving for chips which just happened to coincide with going to the ATM and passing this little stand on the street that supposedly has the best fries. I got them "take away" and took a bite of one of the fries from the bag and IMMEDIATELY regretted getting chili sauce! It was so spicy my nose started running and my eyes were tearing!

Being in Tanzania has given me a chance to try some new food and taste some new combinations of food. Nevertheless, I am very excited to get back to the United States so I can have Mexican food and good pizza.

Happy November!

Elections have come but they are not gone. On Sunday, Tanzanians hit the polls to vote for their favorite candidates for local government, national parliament, and president. The day was eerily quiet especially since we had been warned of potential unrest during voting times. I went to sleep on Sunday night thanking the high heavens that it was a peaceful day.

On Monday morning, while walking to class before 8am, my classmates and I walked through a small group of Chadema (opposition party) supporters standing outside of the Municipal Council. When class ended at 10am the small gathering had grown exponentially so that an entire road was filled with people wearing red, white, and blue, the colors of Chadema. I found out later that there were some disputes over the results. Police in riot gear surrounded the demonstrators. I tried my hardest to circumvent the action and spent the rest of the day in my apartment complex. At around 6pm I heard noises from outside that sounded like gunshots and then saw masses of people running down the small road that runs behind my apartment building. I found out later that the sound was the police shooting off tear gas to disperse the crowds that were forming! Luckily I was far enough away to not be affected and by the time I finished eating dinner that night the city returned to its relative calmness.

I spent some time yesterday at Women in Action sitting in on one of their Village Community Banking (VICOBA) groups. I am writing my final paper in my Gender and Development class on the organization ad their VICOBA groups. More to come later about the banking groups!

When I was catching a dala dala to go back to my apartment after spending time at WIA, I saw the strangest thing that made me stop in my tracks for several seconds. A big truck transporting prisoners passed me (which is relatively normal, I usually see these types of trucks driving in and out of the local hospital) and all of the prisoners were sticking their hands through the bars of the truck and yelling in support of the opposition party. As I looked around after the initial surprise I realized that traffic kind of stopped for those several seconds as everyone initially stared in shock and then flashed the peace sign that represents the opposition party. It just shows how EVERYONE has an opinion about politics here!

After dinner, a few friends and I watched Blood Diamond. I recommend that movie to anyone who wants to begin to understand Africa and its conflicts. While not every country in Africa is in conflict over diamonds, the movie shows how natural resources and international influences are major causes of conflict and power struggles. Nevertheless, the issue of conflict diamonds continues to cause major human rights violations.

Today was pretty calm. Ate my first mango of the mango season, did some homework, and went swimming with a few friends at the hotel up the street.

I am in shock that I am leaving at the end of this month. I am finally starting to feel comfortable here! Its all part of the adventure I guess.

Election Day Tanzanian Style

Well, today is culmination of all of those months of campaigning in Tanzania. Election day! In Tanzania, parliamentary and presidential elections occur every 5 years and Tanzanians take their elections VERY seriously.

We have been advised to stay within the apartment compound today in case any violence breaks out. One of the waiters at the hotel downstairs told me that the results will not be announced for another 2 or 3 days! I guess that means we will have to be careful for the next couple of days.

The 2010 Tanzaniain election has been making international news! Here are some articles if you are interested:

NYTimes: Serengeti Road Plan Lined With Prospect and Fears

CNN: Tanzanians vote in presidential election

Oh, and Happy Halloween!

What I have learned from living in Africa...

1. How to fit a lot of people into not a lot of space, i.e. a backseat of a car or even a chair!

2. Time is merely a suggestion. Sometimes being on time is important, but most of the time its an estimate. I've learned, at least a little bit, how to take my time.

3. How to properly ignore the creepy men who approach muzungu women like myself on the street. They usually try to offer you a good deal on safari or visit to a Massai village, but most of the time they are con-men.

4. Not to be afraid of bargaining, even if the price only dropped by a couple of cents.

5. Electricity isn't necessary all the time. It eventually comes back on!

6. How to laugh at a frustrating situation such as the bus breaking down!

7. How impressive it is that its normal to speak 3 or more languages!

8. You can charm anyone by whipping out a Swahili phrase. (Habari yako? Nzuri sana!)

9. How to wash my clothes by hand!!! (mom and dad, you should be proud)

10. What it feels like to be completely and utterly uncomfortable (have I mentioned that I thrive when I'm in this state)

Weekend Trip to Uganda

This weekend, four of my friends and I went on a road trip/adventure to Uganda to take a rafting trip at the source of the Nile. Let me tell you, it was AMAZING!!

On Wednesday afternoon, Stephanie, Cassandra, Valerie, Jenna (who is taking the photo above) and I boarded our 3:30pm bus from Arusha to Kampala. In typical African fashion, the bus didn't leave Arusha until 4:15! We drove all the way through Tanzania, Kenya, and finally Uganda, which took 18 hours!

The route we took is in red-- doesn't look too far but the roads are very slow and bumpy.

Once we got to our hostel in Kampala it immediately started raining. And when I say raining I mean pouring like I've never seen it rain before. After experiencing that rain I understood how Uganda is so lush and green!

After eating some lunch and letting the rain storm pass, the five of us took a taxi to what I consider one of the strangest places I have ever visited. Its a beach on Lake Victoria called Aero Beach and there broken down airplanes, camels, and statues of animals on the beach. It was all a little strange and creepy. At least we got to see Lake Victoria.

On Friday morning we got up very early to get picked up by the van to take us to Jinja where we were going to start our rafting the Nile journey! It was about an hour car ride, factoring in the horrible traffic in Kampala but the scenery is beautiful so the hour went by quickly.

I was originally all set to do the "mild" rafting trip but I was the only one in my group who wanted to do it so I was forced into doing the "wild" but now that I think about it I'm happy that I stepped out of my comfort zone. My raft completely flipped 3 times and I still had an absolute blast.

On Saturday we got up early and did some serious shopping in the beautiful craft markets in Kampala. We got back early this morning from another 18 hour bus ride but it was all totally worth it. Back to classes tomorrow morning at 8am :( I wish I could take adventures like this every weekend!

Shopping Spree at the Craft market

Me with my new Obama bag

My friend Stephanie and I went to the craft market this afternoon for a little shopping therapy. Cause we all know, when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping!

I am very happy with my purchases: a bag made out of fabric with Barack Obama's face on it and two beaded bracelets. I have been eyeing the fabric with Obama's face on it for two months and I saw this bag and just had to have it. The bracelets are very crafty and are made out of different types of glass, stones, and bones. Some of the beads are hand painted!

I'm positive I will be back at that craft market several times in the next 6 weeks (ah only 6 weeks left in Tanzania) to buy more from the countless artisans and shopkeepers!

Public Holiday: Nyerere Day

Today is a public holiday in Tanzania: Nyerere Day. This day commemorates the death of Tanzania's first president, Julius Nyerere. He died 11 years ago on this day and throughout the country Tanzanians are spending the day reflecting on the lessons of Nyerere.

If you walk into almost any building in Tanzania there will most likely be a photo of the current president, Kikwete and a photo of Nyerere. Tanzanians honor Nyerere for uniting the country and bringing prosperity and peace to the region.

A Week in Paradise aka Zanzibar

Jack Fruit, my new favorite fruit

Sultan's Bath House

Beach on eastern Zanzibar. Yep that's the Indian Ocean!

I just got back a couple of hours ago from my week long fall break trip to paradise otherwise known as Zanzibar. Everyone from my undergraduate group as well as a few graduate students went as well as a director and professor from Arcadia. Let me tell you I have never seen anywhere more beautiful. I felt as if I was transported out of Africa and placed into a middle eastern/ european city.

Last Saturday, the whole group of us loaded into a bus at 5am and drove for 11 hours down to the country's capital, Dar es Salaam. Dar is much larger and hotter than Arusha as it sits at sea level while Arusha is much more elevated. Nothing against Dar or anything but I really just wanted to get to Zanzibar so I did not pay much attention to the little time I spent there. What I can say is that was more built up than Arusha and it has the ocean...

At 7am on Sunday morning we all hopped onto a ferry from Dar to Stone Town, Zanzibar. The ride was 2 hours long and once I moved from the front of the boat which felt all of the movement to the back, I fell fast asleep. Once we got to Stone Town we checked into the hotel and headed to the east coast of the island to spend a day at a beautiful beach on the INDIAN OCEAN.

On Monday we went on a tour of the old fort in Stone Town then went on little boats out to Prison Island. We went snorkeling off of the coast of Prison Island (I saw an octopus and got a sun burn) and we went onto the island where we saw the Aldabra giant tortoises which were originally given to the island as a gift from the Seychelles government. There were several enormous tortoises that were over 100 years old! For dinner we ate at this huge outdoor food market in Stone Town. I ate octopus, squid, and barracuda!

On Tuesday several of us went to an amazingly beautiful beach on the north coast of Zanzibar island called Kendwa. I seriously felt like I had entered paradise. We spent the day just playing in the clear water and sitting in the sun. Wednesday we went on a spice tour of Zanzibar where we got to taste and see the different fruits and spices that the island produces. Cloves are still one of the largest exports of Zanzibar. As part of the tour we also went to one of the sultan's baths which was really cool.

On Thursday a few of us actually went back to the northern coast beach for the morning and went to a performance from a local music school in the afternoon. Like other aspects of Zanzibar's culture, its music is a mixture of many styles including middle eastern, Egyptian, and African.

On Friday morning we all reluctantly woke up at got back on a ferry via Dar es Salaam. After resting a little bit we headed over some very bumpy and dangerous roads to an NGO that makes sustainable stoves and ovens. To tell you the truth I was not that interested in the tour as I was hot, tired, and hungry and I could not understand the guide's accent at all. We decided at lunch that we were going to leave the next morning instead of Sunday morning because we

wanted a day to get things together before starting classes on Monday.

On Saturday morning we all piled into the bus and got about 1 hour outside of the city when our bus broke down. The bus driver found a little town in the side of the road with a mechanic shop and after some poking around they figured out that the radiator was broken because of something we drove over the day before going to the NGO. They thought they could fix it easily but that was not the case. Six hours later, we somehow got a replacement bus to drive us back to Dar where we had to spend another night. To make us feel happy our wonderful program director brought us to what I believe to be the only Subway (yes the sandwich shop) in Tanzania. It make me feel a little better but a subway sandwich is not enough to cheer me up after spending 6 hours in the scorching African sun. All I really wanted was a comfortable bed.

We finally left Dar at about 4:30 the next morning and drove the 11 hours pretty much straight through. It felt so good to be back in Arusha where although it is getting warmer, it felt freezing cold compared to Dar and Zanzibar. I'm still nursing my peeling sunburn on my back and some exhaustion from those early days and sitting on the bus but I really enjoyed the whole week so much! It was so nice to get out of town and take a break for a week.

Waiting for Zanzibar...

Me and Franciska playing around with PhotoBooth!

Me wearing my new skirt!

Since midterms ended (and my birthday) on Wednesday I have basically been waiting for Saturday morning when we leave for our week long fall break to Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.

Yesterday I slept, went to the craft market to get a konga made into a skirt, and went to the big supermarket and out to lunch with a friend. There are so many dressmakers in Arusha who can make pretty much anything out of a piece of fabric. All you need to do is show them a picture or bring a piece of clothing that you want your new clothes to look like, or even draw a little sketch and they will make it!

Today I did all of my laundry (a huge bag) which took all morning because I have to do my laundry by hand. After hanging my clothes to dry on the clothesline I went to pick up my skirt at the dressmaker and then ran over to the Arcadia Center to tutor Franciska in English. We had a lot of fun together. I helped her set up an email account and taught her different verb tenses. She remembered everything that we went over last time we met so I know she's a really hard worker and really wants to be perfect at English.

The bus leaves at 5am tomorrow morning so we can drive to Dar then take a ferry to Zanzibar on Sunday. Have to pack and go to sleep early tonight! I'll be out of touch by computer until next Sunday but I'll make sure to post some pictures of Zanzibar and tell some stories when I get back to Arusha. Have a nice week!

Birthday in Arusha

Friends and I at my Birthday Dinner

(From left: Stephanie, Me, Jenna, Melia)

Yesterday was my 21st birthday and I had a great day celebrating it in Arusha. I had two midterm exams during the day: Swahili and Gender Analysis in Development Projects but I tried to not let those get in the way! I was awoken at 7:45am by four of my friends singing to me and dancing and yelling happy birthday! It was an amazing way to wake up haha. They also put all kind of birthday signs up all around my apartment and room, even one on the inside of the bathroom door saying "Sit down and relax, its your birthday."

For dinner pretty much all of us went out to a really nice and relaxing dinner where two of my lovely friends made amazing toasts! After dinner we came back to the apartments and ate a great cake that Frida (one of my program directors) bought as well as an amazing cookie cake! Overall I had a nice birthday.

Maridadi Women's Festival

The table at the Maridadi festival and some amazing women!

This past Saturday I volunteered at the Maridadi Women's Festival working at the table for the Rape and Sexual Abuse Care Centre located at the Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre. The festival started Thursday and Friday with a fashion show and the proceeds from the weekend are going to the Rape and Sexual Abuse Care Centre.

Basically I walked around the tent that the festival was located in and gave everyone teal ribbons that represent sexual violence awareness. I met so many interesting people who are working to empower women.

(More information about the Rape and Sexual Abuse Care Centre here http://www.almc.habari.co.tz/ALMC-Abuse.pdf ... it is a PDF that you need to download).

Fabric Market and Non Profit Work

Me with my new necklace!

Midterms are next week (I know the semester is moving very quickly) so my professors for my Wednesday and Thursday classes canceled class for those two days so I have 2 days of class and 5 days of weekend this week. I'm supposed to be using this time to study for exams but its not possible to study ALL DAY so I've been keeping myself busy these past 2 days with little adventures.

Yesterday I spent the morning studying the United Nations at the Arcadia Center and printing out the necessary documents for my Peace and Conflict Studies midterm. At about 1pm I went back to my apartment, ate lunch, and set out to the fabric market with three of my friends. Our goal was to buy several pieces of beautiful fabric so that we can go to a dressmaker and have clothing made. After walking through several alleys and dirt roads we found the first shop we were looking for. It was incredibly organized and overwhelming with all of the fabrics neatly folded lining the four walls of the shop. From this shop I bought two beautifully patterned pieces of fabric. I also bargained with the salesman and got the two pieces for half of his original asking price. (My winning line was saying that I was going to take buy the exact same thing next door for my asking price.) The second fabric store we went into was INSANE! Organizationally it was the complete opposite of the first store. There were fabrics lining the walls as well as HUGE piles of fabrics on the floor so I could not see any of the actual floor and could not avoid stepping on the fabric. Now that I think about it the second shop kind of looked like my bedroom after not cleaning it for several months. I also could not help but think about how much Grandma Evelyn would love this shop. Something about it just reminded me of her love for flea market shopping! Anyway, I did not buy anything in the second shop but thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Today I volunteered at Women in Action. I decided I wanted to see a different side of the organization today instead of volunteering at their preschool like I have been doing. Getting to the WIA office was an adventure because my friend Valerie and I decided to take a dala dala even though we were not 100% sure which routes to take. We hopped on the Njiro near our apartment and should have gotten off at the place I thought we should have gotten off, but of course we did not and about 3 minutes later after taking several turns and getting completely disoriented Valerie and I got off of the dala and attempted to walk back to the main road. I asked one woman how to get to Nairobi Road and she gave me very vague directions so I asked another woman who was with her family. After a few minutes of delegation they decided that they knew where I wanted to go and sent their son to lead us. I was very nervous about having this man walk my friend and I through a neighborhood I was not familiar with but he turned out to be one of those people who make you less skeptical about humanity. His name is Julius and he is 24 years old and he did not ask for anything from us, not even money. When Julius lead us to Nairobi Road I realized that I did not know if I should turn left or right so I pulled out my cell phone, called one of my program directors, and handed the phone to Julius. It turned out we were only about several hundred yards away from the office but for those few minutes I was getting a little nervous.

Once Valerie and I got to WIA, Mama Mosha put is right to work. I started typing an info sheet for a presentation to donors that they have tomorrow and Valerie started beading jewelry. The fact sheet took longer than expected because I needed to figure out how to make custom flow charts on microsoft word and we needed to figure out the major changes the organization has experienced since 2007. The four hours I spent at WIA gave me a good look into the basic necessities of an NGO: finding grants and donations. The incredibly nice women at WIA also fed us ugali with greens and gave each of us a beautiful necklace that Valerie made today.

Tonight I am going to Via Via with the group again to dance the night away. More studying and paper writing this weekend. :(

Tanzanian Family Part 2

Today started off pretty boring-- Gender Class from 9-11am, food shopping after class... pretty normal stuff. I sent some emails and started studying for my Kiswahili exam on Tuesday. I also texted Fransiska, the girl from my homestay last weekend, to set up a time that we could meet to start her english lessons (we decided on tomorrow afternoon).

After some alone time in my apartment, I decided to go for a walk, explore a little. With my cell phone securely tucked into my bra and 2500 Tsh in my pocket I was on my way to get lost in the central market for the afternoon when I ran into the 9 year old daughter from the family I stayed with last weekend, Gifti. She had just gotten out of school for the day and saw me and ran up to me and gave me a big hug!

I asked her to take me to a fun place, so she just took my hand and lead me to her house to spend time with her mother and older sister! Words can not describe how excited the family was to see me! We talked for a little while and Fransiska taught me a little Swahili. They put on some Massai gospel music and the mother taught me how to do the traditional dance move for the women, which involves moving your shoulders back and forth and bending our knees ever so slightly. The hospitality that this family showed me this afternoon was so amazing... they were truly happy to have me in their house and they said several times how I should feel like this is my Tanzanian family. At 6pm I had to leave because I had to get back to the apartment before dark (and it took about 45 minutes to walk back).

I am meeting Fransiska (the 21 year old daughter) tomorrow afternoon to tutor her in English. My class is meeting with the president of the ICTR tomorrow morning so I will have a full day of activities!

Another Day at Pre-School

What a daladala looks like (note: I did not take this picture, I found it on google)

Today I volunteered again at the Women in Action preschool. We pretty much did the same things today as we did last week except one of the two teachers was not there so I was assigned to teach a class. Alone.

It was SO HARD because I can't really communicate with them. I taught probably about 10 of the older children (probably about 6 years old) some addition and they did really well! I was so grateful that the teacher that was there checked on me every 10 minutes or so to make sure everyone was behaving!

After snack time, my friend Katrina and I cleaned the dishes while the teacher mopped the floors. We then went outside to round up all of the children to come back inside from their play time. The children were whinier today than they were last week so it took some cajoling to get them inside!

Once everyone was inside, it was song and story time! The teacher really put me and my friend in charge of a lot more today. I wound up taking the lead on a lot of activities because it was my friend's first time volunteering there. We taught the children the "Hokey Pokey", "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" and "If You're Happy and you Know It" I really think those songs have some good vocabulary and hand motions. The teacher would also randomly turn to me and say, "ok now you teach numbers" or "ok now you teach another song". Overall it was a very fun but tiring experience at the pre school!

Getting home from Women in Action was an adventure! Katrina and I decided to brave the dala-dala system for the first time. A dala-dala for those who don't know are the public transportation mini buses that go throughout the city. They're SO much cheaper than a taxi (only about 450 Tsh which is about $0.30 instead of 4,000 Tsh) and much more of an adventure.

We asked the director of WIA which dala dala route to take back to the neighborhood where we are living and she told us the name we should look for on the vehicle but by the time we got to the place to get on to the dala dala, we had forgotten the name but we knew it started with a K. Fortunately, there was a nice guy standing near the dala dala station who pointed us in the right direction. We had to take two different routes to get home. The first dala dala we were on had maybe 5 people and everyone had a lot of room to really stretch out. We got out of that car at the central bus station and found the other dala dala we were supposed to take. Unfortunately we were the last people squeezed into this vehicle before driving away. This meant that I was standing smooshed next to the sliding door with about 24 other passengers in the van. Luckily it was less than a 5 minute ride!! I'm really glad I did that and now I'm not scared to take it again!

Now I'm taking a breath before writing a paper tonight that is due in the morning... the procrastination is BACK!

Familia Mtanzania!

Me with Franciska and the baby who was scared of me...

Church Choir

Friday night and Saturday were amazing. Exactly what I needed. I was starting to lose faith in and question why I am here and these two days have reminded me of everything I hoped Tanzania to be and more!

Last night at about 5pm, the music teacher Randall who is an American working at Malkumira University and is in Arusha working as a missionary for the Lutheran church, took us to his church to hear the choir sing. (The name of the congregation has escaped me as it was a long Swahili name!) He informed us that choirs are very popular in Tanzania and there are 800 choirs in Arusha alone! The choir that we went to see was the best out of those 800 and came in first place! They also travelled to Germany several years ago to perform at a multi faith music festival.

The choir was probably the best choir I have ever heard. They did one act of their performance in a western style church choir style. Very melodic and incredibly beautiful. They included some African drumming and dance moves and the songs were in Swahili but the arrangements were very western. The second part of their performance was in the Massai style. Their clothing was beautiful and the men did their jumping dance and chanting. It was AMAZING.

After the performance, we were matched up with our host families for the night. I was matched up with a woman named Naishiye and within the first few minutes of meeting she told me she thought I was beautiful about 10 times! I liked her already!

The walk back Naishiye's house was actually very long, but some members of the choir accompanied me through this really confusing neighborhood! While I was walking I was talking to a few younger women in the choir and they asked me my name. I said "Arielle" and they said "Harriet?" and so I said "Arielle" (pronounced like REL) and they said "Horrielle?" So I figured maybe I should have them call me Ari but it just came out sounding like Harry. I gave up and just laughed along with them!

When I got to Naishiye's house I met her two daughters, Franciska, 21, and Gifty, 9. She also has another daughter who is 23 but goes to university outside of Arusha. They too had difficulty with my name so I decided then and there that my Swahili/Tanzanian name was going to be my middle name, Esther. They were familiar with this name as it is religious and there are several stores in the area named Esther this or Esther that.

The house was nice! They had two bedrooms and a living room with a television. They cooked their food on hot plates outside and the toilet and shower were outside as well.

Franciska gave me a konga to wear in order to feel more comfortable and gave me tea to drink until dinner was ready. During the time before dinner was served, I talked with the two sisters about their lives. Franciska just finished teaching college but really wants to be a lawyer. I talked to her about learning English and we made a plan for me to tutor her in English and she can teach me a little bit more Swahili. Gifty sang me a few songs as well! At about 9pm we ate dinner, the mother, two daughters, and a cousin. We ate rice with beans and potatoes and greens. Very delicious!

Shortly after dinner it was time for bed. I had to share a bed with the younger daughter and I was fine with that until she started kicking and moving around a lot at night on top of the sounds of fighting dogs outside! I made it through though!

I woke up at about 6 the next morning. After being in a Tanzanian house, I understand Swahili time much better-- their days actually start at 6am which is the beginning of a Swahili day-- 7am being 1 o'clock, 8am being 2 o'clock, until noon which is 6o'clock.. It has not rained at all for the almost 5 weeks that I have been here but of course on this morning it was pouring and I did not bring any rain gear for the hiking we were going to do that day. Luckily Naishiye had an extra jacket that I could wear.

We set off on our hike with the rest of the Arcadia students who stayed the night and some of their families at about 8:15am. It was a much more strenuous hike than I was told it would be but it was SO WORTH IT. Also it was FREEZING COLD! It definitely did not feel like we were 3 degrees south of the equator! We hiked all the way to a waterfall at the foothills of Mount Meru. It was a beautiful waterfall and some people went under it but I did not-- fear of parasites and things like that. I did climb to the ledge that was in the middle of the waterfall and when I was climbing up there I slipped into the water all the way up to my knees and when I tried to get out of the water I fell back it. It must have been hilarious to watch!!

The hike back to the town seemed shorter but I had a chance to talk to some of the amazing people who came hiking with us. The first was a 13 year old girl named Belinda who is quiet but seems so strong and confident. I asked her what she wanted to be when she grows up and she immediately said she wants to be the president. The second was a 19 year old girl named Zawadi who is a FIRECRACKER! She's just about done with high school and can not wait to go to university. She kept being interrupted by her friends and yelling jokes in Swahili to them! I asked her also what she wants to be when she grows up and she said she wants to be a lawyer for women. She believes women need more rights and freedoms and she wants to be a person to make those changes. I gave her my contact information so we could talk about this more!

After the hike, I ate lunch of banana stew at another person's house and then went back to the house I slept at the night before. Naishiye washed my filthy pants and shoes that were covered in mud from the hike. Her neice who could not have been more than 1 year old was at the house when we got back but she was really scared of me. Every time I got near her she started crying and ran away. They told me she was afraid of my hair... I think it was because I was a stranger. The family also gave me a gift of two kongas! It was so nice of them!

Overall the time spent with the family and the members of the church was AMAZING. I feel more connected to Tanzania and its people and I am very grateful that I will be here for several more months so I can meet up with some of these amazing people again.

A Great Way to Start a New Year!

Yesterday was by far my favorite day in Arusha. It started with the beginning of my volunteer position at Women in Action for Development. I woke up early and the other girl I am volunteering with and I got a ride to the organization where we were supposed to meet the school bus of pre school students to take them to their pre school. But it turned out we got the wrong time and we were an hour late but it didn't matter, we just waited and we got a ride to the pre school which was about a 10 minute drive from the organization's office.

We got to the pre school and walked into a room of about 40 children ranging in ages from about 4-6 lined up in 3 lines. The two teachers in charge of the children lead them in welcoming us which included screaming at the top of their lungs "TEACHER TEACHER WELCOME WELCOME, TEACHER TEACHER WE LOVE YOU" or some variation on the idea. Then the children split up into their two classrooms- one for the younger children and one for the older children. I went into the classroom with the younger children where they were leaning their numbers up to 20. I helped lead exercises and assist the students who were new to the class. I also made up a dance move to help the little ones remember their numbers.

After their lessons, it was snack time. The children ate porridge while one of the teachers went out and got a plate of cassava for the "grown ups". After the children finished their porridge they went outside to play. The two teachers, Valerie and I talked a little bit over our tea and cassava and found out that one of the teachers is only a couple of months older than me. She turned 21 in June! Its so strange how much older she seems-- she has a job and is responsible for so many lives every day!

Valerie and I went outside to play with the children and it was so much fun! They are so creative with their playing... its amazing how an empty coffee can or water bottle can be the source of such a great play time. The little girls LOVED playing with my hair and spent a really long time just stroking my hair. I also thought of my pre school and the high tech playground and sandboxes we had and thought about how much it has to do with perspective. So many kids were just coming to the window who were not students to hear the class and see what the kids were doing. At one point a little "mtoto" wandered into the room because he wanted to join the fun.

After play time, the children went into their classrooms to get their homework assigned and I helped out in my classroom helping to write out each student's homework... practicing writing letters and numbers.

The bus was supposed to come at noon but it didn't come until one so the teachers improvised by having story time. One teacher told a story about "umoja" with animals and had different children act out different animals. It was great! They also sang and danced and played different games that were just too cute! Me and Valerie lead a song: if you're happy and you know it. They really enjoyed the whole yelling at the top of their lungs thing.

Once the bus came, about an hour late at 1pm we got on the bus with the kids and the 2 teachers and dropped some of the children off in their neighborhoods on the way to the WIA office. Once we got to the WIA office, an American volunteer had made cupcakes for her birthday and for the director of WIA's birthday so we ate some makeshift Tanzanian cupcakes! The American volunteer and her husband offered to drive us home as long as we wait while another woman who works at WIA gets her friend from some market on the way.

We got home safe, don't worry!

Well, Happy New Year! One of the girls in my group bought a "sweet melon" to try for the new year. Tasted like cantaloupe.

Off to Via Via to ear some local music...

NINAPENDA SAFARI!

On Friday and Saturday the entire group of undergraduates and graduates went on safari to Lake Manyara and the Ngorongoro Crater! Both places were absolutely gorgeous. I saw giraffes, lions, elephants, zebras, wildebeests, warthogs, hippos, baboons, hyenas, and many other animals whose names I have forgotten. Here are some photos I took on the safari!

2 Lions!

A baboon with her baby

Me with hippos!

Elephant family

pole pole

Sorry for not updating for a week! Eight hours of hard class time a day really got to me! So last week I felt myself reach a new level of comfort with being in Arusha. This might be a result of being able to better understand the language!

Last Wednesday and Thursday, the whole group went to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) which is only about a 15 minute walk from my apartment to watch and listen part of court proceeding. It was incredibly strange to be just one glass window away from a man who is on trial for being responsible for so many deaths in the Rwandan genocide. While I enjoyed being in the building and having a first hand experience of justice, I could not follow the witness's story and found myself frustrated by the whole proceeding. Maybe I'll go back and give it another try in a few weeks.

On Friday, I gave a group presentation with 3 other of my classmates about Tanzania and conflict in Tanzania. I really enjoyed learning more about the political and religious conflicts within this peaceful country. I now have a much better understanding of the election process in Tanzania as the country prepares for the 2010 elections. In short, Tanzania technically has a multi party democratic system but there has only ever been one party in control since the establishment of multi party elections in Tanzania. This party is named CCM which stands for Chama Cha Mapinduzi. While there are opposition parties with large followings, it seems the general sentiment is that they have no chance against CCM. In Zanzibar, CCM has been accused of rigging elections and manipulating votes in order to maintain control. The true American in me is outraged by this longterm control by one party, I can't help but support CCM because one of their presidential candidates is a woman which is huge in Tanzania where women can not run for parliament, they can only be appointed by the president.

The national elections are in October so campaigning is in full force in Arusha. I woke up on Saturday morning to BLASTING MUSIC from a truck covered in the CCM colors of green and yellow. It turns out there was a huge rally that day in support of CCM.

On Saturday, a few of us went to this snake zoo and a masaii museum. It was nice get out of town for a few hours and see a different part of the area. The most beautiful part of the drive was seeing the acres of coffee fields. It made me crave fresh coffee rather than the Africafe instant coffee... Oh well!

The power has been off and on all weekend but I have hope for today that the power will remain on! When the electricity goes out I just have to go into the "pole pole" state of mind that seems to be that of all Tanzanians. Pole pole (pronounced Po-le po-le) means slowly, without worrying. Hakuna shida is another phrase that can be used here which means no problems. I'm learning how to take a deep breath and think of everything as another part of the adventure!

Today is the first day of a normal class schedule so I don't have class again until 3pm so I'm off to the craft market with a friend of mine to find her friend a birthday present. I'm going to try to take more pictures, I promise!

Day 11

The past couple days have been filled with finally catching up on sleep and exploring the area a little more. On Saturday afternoon, two other girls and I went to the craft market which is a short walk down the street from our apartments. To tell you the truth I was very overwhelmed by the market because I was not planning on buying anything that day but it broke my heart saying no to all of the artisans who had such beautiful work. My favorite piece of the day HAD TO BE the Barack Obama themed kanga (pretty much a big piece of cloth used either as a wrap/skirt or used to make clothing). His face was on there and everything. I'll be going back to that kiosk to buy that soon! Side note: Barack Obama is EVERYWHERE! When people ask you where you are from and you say America, 9 out of 10 people will say "Oh, Obama!!!" or "Obama-land!" I saw a HUGE mural with the president's face today that was on the side of a building. I'll try to be better about taking photos so I can capture the Obamafever here in Tanzania.

Today started week 2 of classes. Instead of having our usual 8 hours of class today we just had 4 in the morning (Kiswahili) and then Roland and Friday (the program directors) took us to two NGOs in the area. The first was Shanga which employs disabled workers to be artisans, making beads, necklaces, aluminum molds, pretty much everything you can think of. We had lunch on the Shanga property which was the most amazing food I have had in a long time!!! It didn't hurt that the property looks pretty much was I imagine paradise to look like. Oh, and I saw monkeys! The second NGO was the Massai Women's Development Organization which works to empower Massai women in the area in the areas of education, economic independence, and health.

I'm really looking forward to finding somewhere to volunteer for the semester because I have a couple months to really create a relationship with a community.

Tomorrow is back to the grind of 8 hours of class.... only 4 more days of this until a normal schedule starts.

utaonana baadaye

some pictures

Here are some photos of my life in Arusha. I only had patience to put up 3...

The view of Mount Meru from the apartment.

The kitchen... There's a fridge to the right.

My room. My bed is closest to the window.

There's also a living room that I guess I never took a photo of.