Not all those who wander are lost

A New Adventure

2007-04-25T01:13:00.000-04:00

Hey all, A quick update about where I am at with everything. I was accepted into Michigan State for the Fall to study Africa. I am trying to arrange to make a return visit to Tanzania, through CCS again in the Fall as an independent study abroad program. I am hoping to spend one month at the new CCS house in Bagamoyo, and then move for 2 more months in Moshi. There are a few kinks to work out, but so far it looks as if the plan is moving in the right direction. Bagamoyo is a town with a lot of history. It means "lay down my heart" in Arabic. It was recently recognized as a world heritage site. Many slaves from all over Central and Eastern Africa were brought to Bagamoyo, before being shipped to the island of Zanzibar to be sold. German missionaires came in the 1800s and helped to end the Zanzibar slave trade. It was also a town noted by explorers including Dr. David Livingstone. Moshi, of course is where I was last summer. It is at the foot of Kilimanjaro, the highest point in Africa. I am so excited to have a year of studying the grammatical aspect of Swahili under my belt. I know that I will be able to communicate so much more effectively with the children (and the adults), and that will be a wonderful asset to enhance the relationships I have built, and the ones I will build. Tanzania is a beautiful country, and I can't wait to be back, soaking up each moment. And I definitly can't wait to see the kids :D hakuna matata Maggie

2007-02-11T13:29:00.000-05:00

2007-02-11T13:21:00.000-05:00

John na James

2007-02-11T13:03:00.000-05:00

2006-11-12T00:35:00.000-05:00

Adoption

2006-11-10T19:41:00.000-05:00

It's official, I am going to do everything I can to adopt James and John. The four year old twins I fell in love with at Upendo over the summer. It is going to be a long and hard process, just to get them, let alone all of sudden having two four year olds to take care of! But I am confident that not only can I do this, I will love every minute of it, no matter how hard it gets.
It's going to be an expensive process also, and I would appreciate any donations to go towards plane tickets and other adoptions costs for the boys. If you visit http://john-na-james.livejournal.com/profile there is a link to my paypal account.
My life post Tanzania is going well. I am going to OCC for most of my classes, and Wayne State for Swahili. My Swahili class is my favorite part of my week, because I can talk to my teacher (who is from Kenya) about East Africa and everything that I miss.
I am looking forward to the year ahead to see where I end up. Stay tuned, I'll keep updating this blog through out the year with news about fundraisers, news from the orphanage about the boys (and Flora!), and how I'm doing.
Much Love,
Maggie

It's been a while!

2006-10-04T20:20:00.000-04:00

this is James

Well...it's coming up on being home for 3 months, and I haven't stopped missing everything about Moshi! I miss the orphans, and my students more and more everyday. I miss the other volunteers, the ccs employees, the neighbors, the safari guides. Everyone and everything. I just read the little summary of my blog that says "this will be my blog when i volunteer in tanzania for 12 weeks!" and I remember thinking 12 weeks was such a long time when i wrote that. Now, it seems so short. I can't wait to go back, and am hoping to go for at least six months. I am at OCC taking general classes, and at Wayne State taking Swahili. I am planning to tranfer to Michigan State next Fall to get my Bachelor's of Science in Global and Area Studies with a concentration in Africa. Eventually, I'll be working with Orphans full time when I am in Tanzania, and I'll be working for a non profit organziation when I am in Michigan. My hopes are to go back to Tanzania next summer with a program to learn Swahili.

John

John in blue and James in red.

Pictures!

2006-07-26T18:27:00.000-04:00

Top: James (in red) and John (in teal). Second: Flora (in light blue) and Ceci (in dark blue). This was before Flora was burned. Third: A lion walking past our safari car in Ngorongoro Crater. Bottom: Me at six in the morning with Kili in the back ground. I was at a lodge that is 10 thousand feet up the mountain (it's ~19,000 feet to the top).

More trauma at the orphanage

2006-07-22T03:04:00.000-04:00

Neglect and abuse is commonplace at Upendo. Most of the time it is small, but frusterating things, like hitting the children. There are worse things, like never giving the children water. This week however, things have gotten serverely worse. on Tuesday we noticed that Ceci's twin, Flora wasn't with the other children. Ceci and Flora are about 18 months old and are the most adorable children in the world. They stand around looking mad at the world, even when they are happy.
It didn't take long to find Flora. She was in her crib in the girl's bedroom. Her arm had been burned. There was a blister the size of my fist sitting on top of her little hand. There were burns all the way up to her elbow. Upon seeing this we asked why she wasn't at the doctor. They said she didn't need a doctor, it wasn't infected. We tried to explain to them that it was going to get infected as soon as the blister popped, and she would probably die. They still refused to take the girl to the hospital, even with us offering to pay the fees. When we got back to CCS, we showed the staff here, and the volunteers who are nurses, the pictures of her arm. Needless to say, everyone agreed she needed to go to a hospital. Mama Grace, one of the people in charge of CCS here, called the orphanage and asked why they wouldn't take her to the hospital. They gave her the same answer, it is not infected, she will be fine.
They told us they were giving Flora antibiotics, pain killers and burn cream. The next day at work, I sat with Flora all day long. Dispite the excruitiating pain she must be feeling, she just sits there calmly, sucking her fingers and playing with a winnie the pooh doll. I assume she must be becoming numb to the pain. No one else was with Flora, and if me or another volunteer not sat with her, she would have been alone all day long. When they came to give Flora her pain killer, I found out what their idea of a pain killer is. Children's tylenol. She should be in a burn unit on morphine and they have her in a crib with an open wound and on children's tylenol. I have come across many things here in Africa that they do differently from America, and I have accepted many of them, either because it is their culture, or they don't have the means to do things the same way the western world does things. But this is not the case with Flora. They have hospitals. They have IV's. They have treatments for injuries like the one that Flora has. The Nuns at Upendo just refuse to give the child a chance at recieving this help.
Aside from the huge blister, there is absolutely no skin left on her forearm. We are still trying to piece together how she got burned in the first place. The story told to us by the nuns and care givers was a lie. They said that there was boiling water in a pot on the ground, and Flora wanted to play in it so she stuck her arm in it. We knew this was wrong from the beginning. If she felt the boiling water, she would not have kept going up to her elbow. So we thought maybe she fell into it. But then yesterday, I looked closer at her hand. The palm of her hand is not burned. So she didn't stick her hand into water. It was spilled on her. I've been trying for months now to give these people the benefit of the doubt, but it's reached the point that I can't anymore. I don't know why they would want to fight so much to keep this child from seeing a doctor, unless they are hiding something. The story they told us doesn't match up, and we have seen, and heard from the local Tanzanians that these Nuns and Caregivers just don't care about the children.
Yesterday after placement, we went back with a doctor. He brought medicine and was there for free. They said they didn't want to take her to a hospital so we brought them a doctor. The Nuns (one Tanzanian and one German) flipped out and yelled at us for 30 minutes about how we were bad people for interfering and we were saying they were bad people and we had no right to bring a doctor. They wouldn't let the doctor see Flora. They took the medicine, but claimed it was "The same thing we are already using" (which it is not). I doubt if they will use it. We have contacted a social service worker who is assigned to Upendo. We have plans to talk to the Tanzanian Bishop. We are not giving up, but despite this, it's a race against time for Flora. The blister has popped and she is living in an orphanage filled with sick children and bacteria, and the people in charge could care less if she lives or dies.
There is nothing to do now but wait for this long, slow weekend to pass, to see how she is on Monday. You all know I am not the most religious person in the world, but please pray for this girl. She needs it.

It's Time

2006-07-11T08:47:00.000-04:00

I feel like it is time to let you in on a secret I've been harboring for the last four weeks. Their names are James and John, and they just turned 4 years old on June 22nd. They live at Upendo, and are fraternal twins. They have parents, but according to the care givers, their parents couldn't keep them because they are crazy (the parents that is). While I love all the children, and wish I could bring them all home, and find them good homes with loving familes, James and John have really captured my heart. I spend nearly all day with the two of them (amoung others, since there are usually about 10 kids per volunteer). John is more independant, he runs off and hedges bushes all day, and waters the grass (except when he gets caught by the real grounds keeper :p). James is more content to just sit with me and play silly games. James is the bully of the two, he acts tough around the other kids, but since he's warmed up to me, now he I can see that he really just wants love and attention like the rest of them, he's just hardened himself to the world, because of the unfortunate situation that being an orphan brings. I tried not to get attached, because I knew I shouldn't. But somehow it happened anyways, and now I'm struggling because I can't quite imagine leaving them here. No matter how many times I tell myself that I'm 18, and need to go to school and get a job and get married and then I can adopt some children, trying to picture what will happen to James and John keeps running through my head. I'm tired. I'm exhausted emotionally and physically, and I am starting to miss my parents, brother and dog a lot more now, but actually going home seems completely unfathomable right now, because I know I can't take them with me, and I know that becoming so attached to them will hurt them as well as me. Zeno and Zevy (who are probably getting adopted by Pete!) were very attached to Pete, and when he left Zevy completely stopped liking Mzungus (white people). She just today warmed up to me, 4 weeks after Pete left...she hasn't touched an Mzungu or allowed them to play with her for 4 weeks. And it makes perfect sense, if I had loving people coming in and being wonderful for a few weeks and then leaving forever, I think I'd stop getting close to them too. Anyways, those are my ramblings for today. Things are getting tougher because I get closer to James and John everyday and I also get closer to leaving them. Otherwise things here are great, and I love Tanzania more everyday. I wish you all could come see it. It's absolutely amazing. Nakupenda Hamna shida Maggie

a note about swahili for uncle al

2006-07-11T08:41:00.000-04:00

Upenda is the root word meaning love/like. Kupenda makes it the verb, "to love" . Nina is basically saying "I"...Ni is one way to say I, and na just denotes that we are talking about present tense, so together it is ninakupenda...I have found however that in daily speech most people leave out the Ni and just say 'nakupenda', or ''nakutembea' (I am walking), or whatever it is they are saying.
It's a wonderful language, I am really enjoying learning it (although I haven't gotten as far as I would have liked).

The week

2006-07-09T11:24:00.000-04:00

This week has been difficult. Many of the other volunteers have left, including the last person from my original group back in May. Upendo has been crazy, there is so much abuse that me and the other volunteers don't even know where to begin to try and change the way things are done. Other than that things have been good, I'm feeling good, although I did have Malaria two weeks ago. I'm continueing to improve my swahili, and I still love it here. I hope everything at home is going well, and I hope you all have fun at Marc and Amanda's wedding this weekend! I'm planning on going to Zanzibar and on another safari before I leave, and possibly a stay at a Maasai village (we'll see if I have enough time or not). I'll try to update more frequently, I just never get to the internet anymore it seems. Hakuna Shida Love Maggie

2006-07-04T12:45:00.000-04:00

Happy 4th of July! and happy birthday uncle jerry, aunt daisy and kerri! I'll update more soon!

The Kids

2006-06-28T07:38:00.000-04:00

The hardest thing about Upendo is obviously thinking about the kids futures. There is such a slim chance that any of them will have reasonably good lives, which they all deserve so much. When I have one or a couple of the kids on my lap they are just content to sit with me, because they are just happy to have someone spend time with them and hug them and sing songs to them. It's hard not to imagine the comparison between where their lives are going now, and what would be possible for them if they were adopted by people in America. There was a volunteer here for three weeks (he just left last week), who worked at Upendo and is trying to adopt a set of twins, zendo and zevy (two year old girls). It's so exciting that they might get out of Upendo. Being at Upendo and knowing the kids makes me wish I was in a place in my life where I could adopt...but at least now I know where to come and what to do when I am ready for that.

As a side note that is a picture of me and another volunteer Niki (who left 3 weeks ago :() in the Serengeti at our campsite.

Upendo

2006-06-19T07:45:00.000-04:00

Today I started working at Upendo Orphange. I have visited before, in the afternoons, but today I got a better feel for the daily routine for the kids. They are adorable, and it is completely heart breaking to accept the reality of their lives. At the same time though, they are so loving and run up to you and give you the biggest hugs and smiles in the world. We work with kids who are 1 year to 7 years old. The infants are in special rooms where mzungu's (white people) can't go, because they don't want the babies to get strange bacteria. After 7, the children have no where to go and become street kids.
Some of them have mental disabilities, and a few have physical ones as well. There are 2 children in particular who are terrors. They spend the entire day throwing rocks and shoes at the other kids heads. But most of the kids are sweet and just want some attention. Today Barracka sat on my lap all day. I think he's 5 or 6, and he has some sort of mental disibility, and he drools literally all the time, but he is the sweetest child in the world.
When we get to the orphange all the kids and caretakers (who are 15 year old girls who were orphans themselves) line up and we go for a walk holding hands. Then we stand in a circle and sing songs. The best song is when one kid goes in the middle and sings "sina dada, sina dada" (which means, "I have no sister, I have no sister") and then she calls someone's name and they step forward and they dance together and sing "Will you be my sister?". I will video tape it so you can see it.
Everything else is going well here, I still love it, and I know I will miss it so much when I come home. Hakuna Shida (No problems)
Love, Maggie

Tanzanian Humor

2006-06-08T08:13:00.000-04:00

A joke told by a group of doctors at one of the other volunteers placements: This man goes into a restaurant and the waitress comes and asks him what he wants. "Eggs" "what kind of eggs? scrambled or boiled?" "both" Then the waitress came back with scrambled and boiled eggs. ...that's the end of the joke. the doctors thought it was hilarious. I haven't quite figured out what is funny to tanzanians but they definitly do not understand sarcasm. Things here are excellent as always. I'm off to buy cookies for my kids.

The Big Five

2006-06-06T04:57:00.000-04:00

This weekend I went to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. They were both amazing, but I enjoyed the Serengeti the most. Friday night on our way to the campsite in Serengeti, we saw a leopard in a tree, and we watched it for a while and then it came down, and walked right by the car. If my window had been open I could have touched it. The same thing happened with some lions in Ngorongoro. We saw a rhino, lots of elephants, lots of buffalo, a cheetah, flamingos, ostriches, hyenas (they are HUGE), a serval cat, giraffes...basically everything. We saw the wildebeests crossing this river in the Seregeti, it was insane, they were all running like mad, and a few of them drowned/got eaten by a crocodile. My plans for this weekend are to sleep a lot. I hope you're all doing fantasically.

Maggie

Kilimahewa and Lake Manyara

2006-05-28T04:15:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-24T09:36:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-20T10:37:00.000-04:00

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!

2006-05-18T08:25:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-14T05:22:00.000-04:00

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!!

2006-05-13T04:09:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-10T13:46:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-05T13:13:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-04T17:13:00.000-04:00

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:

2006-05-02T17:00:00.000-04:00

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!

2006-05-01T14:58:00.000-04:00

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

winding down and gearing up

2006-04-21T17:29:00.000-04:00

Today was my last stressful day of school! I turned in my term project in American Government and now I can relax...for a minute! Next week is finals, but they should all be easy. I talked to my program manager today, and Moses (the in country director, who I will see a lot of while I am in Tanzania) has found a doctor that is willing to communicate with my parents and my doctors from UofM, should anything happen while I am over there! Today I went to REI and bought some of the last things on my list. I bought binoculars, sunglasses, a backpack, mosquito netting, and bug repellent that is 98.11% deet...that's a lot of deet! I'm hoping I won't have to use this a lot, because I know deet isn't good for you, but I suppose it's better than malaria. I got my drivers license (FINALLY!) on tuesday, and now am enjoying the fact that I never have to drive again. My parents keep saying "you know, it's okay if you call off the trip, or wait until next year"...I'm pretty sure they think this is a giant prank I'm pulling. They find it really hard to believe that I'm really just ecstatic to be going! Well, in a week or two I should receive my official work placement from CCS, and in 20 days I'll be off to Africa!

2006-04-11T04:20:00.000-04:00

30 days until I leave!!

Getting closer!

2006-04-01T17:15:00.000-05:00

Today I can officially say "I'm going to Africa next month"! I am so excited. I have most of my vaccinations; Yellow Fever, Polio, Typhoid, Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B. I only need the second doses of Hep A and B, and I'll be set! I am starting to actually pack, I have my big suitcase laying in my room. I'm making lots of lists of what to pack, so i dont forget anything! My plane ticket should be coming in the mail anyday, and then I can send for my visa. I am feeling good, and could not be more thrilled about this experience. I am nervous about it coming up so quickly, and having to prepare while school is wrapping up. However, I am counting my lucky stars to be able to go on a trip like this. This is one of those trips that really changes a person, and I am so looking forward to whatever it is going to bring. I know that I will feel the entire spectrum of emotion while I am in Africa, but hopefully I will come away with a positive experience that I wouldn't trade for the world. Hakuna Matata Love Maggie

The Children of Uganda

2006-03-23T22:52:00.000-05:00

Today me and my dad went to see The Children of Uganda in Ann Arbor. They are orphans, due to civil war and AIDS. They travel around America once every two years, earning enough money to send something like 750 children to school for a year. They do traditional dances, and songs. It was a really powerful show. They are 6-18 years old. They play drums, and other instuments, and they sing. It was a really cool thing to see. Uganda is a country that borders Tanzania. The website is www.childrenofuganda.org if you want to see more on them!

School Board

2006-03-21T19:05:00.000-05:00

Last night my parents and I attended the Ferndale Public School Board Meeting where Mr Mahan gave a short speech about my trip. It was nice to see some of my old teachers and administrators. I am so close to being able to go to Tanzania, I feel like I could leave tomorrow! Hakuna Matata! Love, Maggie

The Detroit Free Press

2006-03-15T16:33:00.000-05:00

Today I was interviewed by Bill Laitner, a journalist at the Detroit Free Press. It is a story about Mr and Mrs Mahan, who have been an enormous help in helping me fundraise around Ferndale. I am quoted in the story I believe, but really you should read it so you can see what wonderful people the Mahans are! Yesterday I started getting my many vaccinations, I got the first doses of Hepatitis A and B. Next friday I'll be getting Yellow Fever, Typhoid (CF is rumored to protect me from this anyway), and a perscription for Malaria pills. I have my plane ticket, my battery powered nebulizer, my journals, the entire CVS store (practically) and am expecting my clothing very soon. This means all I really need are my 3 month supply of meds, and to pay my program fee! Everything is coming along nicely. The picture above is the house where I will probably be staying! (There are two houses during the summer time due to a large number of volunteers). The house is in the village of Rau, near the city of Moshi, in the region of Kilimanjaro, in the country of Tanzania, on the continent of Africa. (I figured while I was at it, I might as well add the continent as well). Hakuna Matata Love, Maggie

New Journal!

2006-03-09T08:43:00.000-05:00

I have switched from livejournal.com to blogger.com because blogger just works better for me. I talked to both of my CF doctors yesterday, and they seem to think that I will have no problems on this trip. I will of course be prepared for problems, but hopefully I won't encounter any big ones. I am now busy getting vaccinations, and things that I will need to take with me! I leave in 63 days! Hakuna Matata Love, Maggie

2006-01-19T04:17:00.000-05:00

Since my last update I have recieved contributions from my cousins Jenny and Shaun, along with my Aunt Colleen and Uncle Jerry, and Sensei Karen from my old Dojo. I am up to $575. Today I was interviewed by Woodward Talk, a local newspaper. The story should be in this Wednesdays news. On Monday night I took a presentation about my trip to my old Dojo. They were having a celebration for Dr. Marthin Luther King Jr. It was wonderful. I saw many of my old Sensei's and friends, and also met some new people!Classes are going really well also. Happy Birthday Aunt Pat!! Hakuna Matata Maggie

Exciting News!

2006-01-13T04:16:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I got my first two donations, from my cousin Shaun and Jimeyer. I am so thrilled! Also, today my sister Kerri called me and told me how proud she was of me, and that Grandma Pansie was really happy for me too. That was really really nice!! It made me feel a lot better, because I had just been talking to my Mom and my Grandma about all their concerns. So it was really great to hear positive things!Also, my old Dojo, Mejishi Martial Arts called and said I could come to their Martin Luther King Jr. celebration on Monday and tell people about my trip. So that is really exciting too, hopefully I will get some donations, but at the very least I'll get to see some of my old karate friends!I just want to mention that you can comment on this journal, just please be sure to write your name at the end of the message so I know who it is! My dad commented on the entry before this one and it is a good example, so you can check that out. I had my first American Government class today. I'm really excited about school...I think it will be a good semester, and so far I like my classes so much more than I did at Aquinas, so that is REALLY exciting!Also, I took a "should you be a respiratory therpist" quiz online today and here are the results: Total points possible: 26Your total score: 21You were born to be an RT!You're warm, compassionate, outgoing, and you've never met a technology you didn't like. So, that's really encouraging! I am very excited about being a Respiratory Therapist (RT), I'm so glad I can finally envision my future! Also, I think working with the kids in Tanzania will be great experience for when I'm an RT since I plan to work in Pediatrics. What a long entry! I better get going, I have some homework to do. I hope everyone is doing well!~Maggie

2006-01-10T04:15:00.000-05:00

hi everyone!! this is the journal i will update when i'm in tanzania. it probably wont be very lively until then, but i might let everyone know how fundraising is going!speaking of fundraising, so far i have sent out the first batch of letters asking for donations, 52 letters went out on monday. many more to follow, as soon as i collect the necessary addresses. i just started school at occ today, which should take a lot of my time. hopefully in the next two weeks i will get my drivers license and a job. i'm also planning 5 different weekend trips this semester alone! 4 of them are to visit friends at college, one to jimeyers place up north. so i will be a busy, busy girl!!