Kilimahewa and Lake Manyara

Kilimahewa is the nursery school where I am working. It is in 2 small rooms in a man's home. Mr. Massawe started the school so that his daughters, Jubee and Dollar (Jubilant and U.S. Dollar) wouldn't have to walk 5 kilometers to school everyday. There are over 70 children who attend school. I teach them for one hour, and then we have an hour break for porridge, then one more hour of teaching. Mostly we work on addition and writing. Many of the kids are not able to write well. There is a little girl named Sweetie who writes every thing upside down and backwards. The kids are awesome though, I am sad that I only have two more weeks with them (Then I move to another placement). The kids do the cutest dances. I video taped them on friday, so you can see when I get home! Friday I found out that two of my kids, Irene and Agnes, might have HIV/AIDS. Irene's parents both have it, and she has never been tested. Agnes' mom has it, and her dad died from it, and she has never been tested either. Agnes often doesn't feel well and just cries the entire first period, and then Mr. Massawe walks her home at porridge time.



On a happier note, I went on a day trip to Lake Manyara National Park. It was really cool. We saw all kids of baboons, a lot of blue and vervet monkeys, tons of elephants (right next to the car!), giraffe, zebra, impala, hippos, flamingos (far away), a dead water buffalo, 2 dead hyenas and lots of cool birds. We also saw three little Dik Dik's....they were so tiny and cute. It was amazing to see the animals so close, but it's hard to believe you aren't in a zoo or a busch gardens or something. The scenery is just amazing. It's unbelieveable and the pictures don't do it justice. There is so much green vegetation and there is so much depth when you look into the forest areas, that cameras just can't capture it.



We have 5 of the new volunteers already, and 12 more coming tonight (AH!). It's going to be a full house. It should be good though, most of the people here are so cool. I love it here.

Hakuna Matata

Maggie

Merangu

Today CCS took the new group (that's me!) to Merangu. It's an area about an hour away. We went to the market there, which was crazy! It was for the locals, not tourists (we've also been to a tourist market). There were lots of bananas. After that we went to a cave. It was dug by hand and it goes all the way to Mombasa, Kenya...400km away!. It was used to avoid raids by both the maasai and the europeans. We went into a traditional Chagga house and we walked to a waterfall (it took about 20 minutes and it was not nearly as dangerous as the first waterfall hike at kili lodge). The scenery here is amazing. Everything is just so green and vivid. It's so dense, I feel like I'm in the jungle (but I'm in a forest area, not a jungle). It's not too hot, there are times in the day when we get really hot and times that we have to put on sweaters, so it is a nice balance. I found out today that Moshi Town (we call it Motown) is at 2000 feet elevation from sea level. The air is definitly harder to breathe, especially because of the fumes from all the 20 year old buses that used to be in Japan. Mostly here it smells like farm animals...cows, pigs and goats are the most common. Today we went to see a 500 year old baobab tree, and behind it was a forest and we saw monkeys!! I was so excited, I tried to take pictures but it was too far away, but they were adorable. Tomorrow after placement everyone from my group is going to Zanzibar, except for me and one other girl. We are going to do a day trip on Saturday though. It should be fun. We are getting 16 new volunteers this weekend, so the house will just be crazy. The food here is really good. At lunch and dinner we always have a cumcumber, tomato, avacado and lettuce salad with a light dressing on it. We have rice, beans, spinach, and ugali (white paste) at nearly every meal and then we also have bananas and mangos. There is always some sort of main dish, which varies from hamburgers to banana soup. I'm still working on the pictures, hopefully I will get them to work soon. I miss you all! Love Maggie

Kili Lodge

Alright, I'm trying to get pictures to you guys but the computers are not being very nice! I have some amazing pictures to show you. This weekend we went to Kili Lodge ... 10,000 feet up the mountain. It's got a gorgeous view. We spent last night there, and we watched (and danced with) traditional Chagga dancers. This morning (after waking up at 6am to see the African sunrise) we hiked to a waterfall. I feel like I went to timbucktoo. It was 2 hours of hiking up and down these narrow paths that are slippery and bumby and 5 inches away from a cliff into a massive valley. When we got to the waterfall, it was gorgeous and incredibly tall. We swam at the base of it, which was great after being so sweaty. The hike back was shorter because we got picked up in a car 1/3 of the way back to kili lodge, but for my first time hiking it was awesome. Hiking on kili at 10,000 feet elevation...I'm really impressed with my lungs. The other volunteers here are awesome, and I love them. I hope everyone at home is doing good! Love Maggie

It does exist!

I saw the mountain! It's beautiful. This morning was really clear and on the way to work we had the best view (Aunt Daisy-I think we are in the lush valley...but I will check!).
Today was my third day at Kilimahewa Nursery School. It's a man's house, with two small rooms, one for older and one for younger. The kids are awesome, but it's very tiring. They all want to hold your hand and be picked up, and they fight and hit over you (That's only during playtime, not during lessons). Usually we do adding, or drawing. There are chickens running a muck.
Today me and another volunteer went to a place called TunaHAKI. It is an orphanage in Moshi. The kids do acrobatics and have been invited to train in san francisco for a week in November, but they need the money so Natalie and I are fundraising for them.
This weekend we are going to kililodge, which is about 1/2 way up the mountain (we will be driving) and then on sunday we are doing a 5km walk for a local organization that is fundraising.
So far everything here has been pretty amazing. It's heartbreaking, but as soon as you feel completely overwhelmed, you see something wonderful, like children laughing, or the banana lady waving (she is SO cute).
I know I promised pictures but this was another unplanned trip to town...so again I don't have my cable to hook up my camera...but soon I promise! and they will be really good ones too.
love maggie

day 2

Yesterday was really fun. The market was really really cool. On the way home we talked to so many little kids, they all run up and say "mambo" or "shikamoo" or "hello" or ... no i'm just kidding I'll stop now. We met many local young people yesterday. They are so fun. I learned "poa kichizi kama ndizi" (crazy cool like a banana). And they gave me an kiswahili name which is "sawadi" (saa waa dee) it means 'gift'. Today we are going to the market again, and then probably just hanging out at the house. Orientation is tomorrow. My group is really fun, and the other volunteers are nice too but they are so close, and have so many inside jokes and experiences that it's difficult to relate to them sometimes. Yesterday my friend and I were walking home and we didn't know where to turn so we kept asking the little ones "do you know where our house is??" and they did. Nelson took us home...he lives across from us...his mom (mama nelson) makes skirts and other clothing for us if we want her to. I bought some fabric that I might get made into a skirt but I want another fabric as well. I haven't seen the mountain yet...it's too cloudy! but I know it's right there, lurking. Thanks for the comments on the last post! I love hearing from you all. Hakuna matata badai (later) Maggie ps. I'll post pictures next time I update! :)

I'm here!!

Hey everyone! I made it to Tanzania. It was a couple of long plane rides but it wasn't too bad, and I slept really well last night! I don't feel jet lagged at all ... yet. Everyone here is really nice. There are 7 or 8 new volunteers with me, and 2 more coming today...and lots of people who have been here already. The home base is really nice, and everything is beautiful! Everything is so green. We walked into Moshi today (Muddy roads!!) and all the little kids say "hello!" and one little boy was giving everyone high fives. The cars here are crazy, they don't slow down at all you just have to leap out of the way. Today we are going to the market (it's new!). I don't know what we are doing tomorrow...but monday is orientation and until then we just get to hang around and do whatever! hakuna matata love, maggie

It's only a day away

Well, I leave tomorrow! Today has been hectic, and I still need to repack everything (the way it is right now, everything just wont fit), but I am so excited! I have plans to meet up with a few of the other volunteers in Amsterdam, as we are all on the same flight to Kilimanjaro. It should be an exciting few days, but I bet I'll be really tired by the time I get to Moshi friday night. I might be able to update this weekend, but if not I'll really try for next weekend! Maggie

My work placements

Today I received my work placements from my program director. I will be working in three different nursery schools for four weeks each. I will be working at the Kigangoni Day Care Centere, the Jiendeleze Orphans Nursery School, and the Kilimahewa Kindergarten. I will be assisting the teachers, teaching the children and playing games with them. The kids will be from 3 to 7 years old. The schools are very poor, and one of them is actually one room inside a man's house. He started the school because his own children were too young to walk 10 kilometers to the nearest school. One of the schools says that they use leaves to teach the children how to count. One of the schools doubles as a church. I have pictures of each school, and they look quite primitive. I am so thrilled to and anxious to start working with the children, I can't wait! This next week will be filled with me trying to learn as much Swahili as possible, because the younger kids don't really speak english. maggie

Mahan's

This is me with Joe and (The Lovely) Barbara Mahan. They have helped me immensely in my fundraising efforts! They have spoken at the Ferndale City Council Meetings, and the School Board meetings. Also they have reached out to their personal friends to ask for financial support for my trip. They raised $2325 for my trip. The Mahan's come over to my house and tell me stories about everyone who has donated. The latest donations came from the Ferndale Chamber of Commerce, and the Elks Club. They have been a vital part of making this trip a reality, and besides that they are the nicest people, I feel like I have a new set of grandparents! hakuna matata love maggie

Why a cystic can never be a light packer:

Shiloh is suspicious of my meds Today I got all my perscription meds from the pharmacy. All those are worth $23,407.39. That means every year I take over $93,000.00 in meds. That doesn't count all my IV's, all my hospital stays and tests and doctors fees. Thank you giant insurance companies!! Well, now I'm really ready to go! I just need to find a giant suitcase...

It's May!

I leave in 10 days! I can't believe how fast everything happens, and how I still don't know how this trip became a reality! Thank you to everyone who made this happen! Hakuna Matata! Love Maggie