Jambo!
I am sitting, sweating, in an internet cafe in Arusha town visiting with my friend Emma and the two other girls who are sharing my home stay and placement. The trip here was an adventure, complete with no sleeping even though I was taking sleeping pills! awesome! My flight from London to Nairobi was canceled, but I was able to get on another flight through Kenya Airways and arrived in time to still make my flight from Kenya down to Arusha. I met two girls in my program while in the airport in Nairobi, Sharon and Stacey. On our flight from kenya down we flew right past Kilimanjaro! It was amazing, we were above the clouds but could see where the top reached above the clouds. We got our visas and Sharon was took the prize as the first one to get sick... even before going through customs! We were picked up from the airport and delivered to a house, that we were told would be our home stay for the summer. I had planned to stay in Arusha town with Emma the first few nights before the program started. We had no idea what was going on and I had no way to get in touch with Emma. Finally, late last night I got a chance to call her. (M&D sorry you got no call....) But we made it after a day of stomach aches from not knowing what the hell was going on.
We spent the day yesterday with our host brother, Barnabus, and his friend whose name I still do not know. They walked us all around the village we will now call home. We didnt know if we were in Arusha or where we were, but learned today that we are in a village about 20 minutes in a private car outside of Arusha Town. The village is called Usa River, pronounced oosa, not USA. I spent all day yesterday seeing people in Usa River t-shirts, but assumed they were from a rafting company or something in the states, not the name of our village. Pretty funny. The children in the town called out greetings to us all through our walk, and the cutest little boy even followed us for 15 minutes singing songs to us. It was adorable. If I could bring him home I would! We were pretty unsure about water, but managed to buy a bottle for $1 for a tiny shop in the village. From there, we didnt really know where our next shared bottle would come from. We took a nap yesterday afternoon and being able to lie down was amazing after two overnight flights! We have a cute room with three beds and mosquito nets. We had dinner, a dish of rice and meat and cooked bananas- though they tasted like potatoes. Our host parents came home from work and we got to meet them. We got a more in detail intro to the house, including a lesson on water and where they boil it and put it for us. The house girl is amazing and will become our best friend I think. She was still up last night doing work and was up this morning in the middle of the washing when we woke up. Our host dad is the tour operator that our program has partnered with, so needless to say we have the best hook up for safaris! woo hoo!
Early to bed last night and I slept well til about 2.30am. I got up to pee, which is unusual for me, and then couldnt go back to sleep. I got stuck in the choo (bathroom) for a while unable to get the key to turn back to unlock the door. Anne, I thought about your Nica story... haha. Our house is very nice, pretty affluent family. We have electricity off and on and running water- I think I am relieved truthfully. Our toilet is a porcelain hole in the ground, but does actually flush. We still have yet to ask about the shower... yep, its been 4 days since I showered! This morning, Barnabus and his friend brought us into Arusha Town to meet Emma. We went to the bank and changed money and then waited for a dalla-dalla to take us into town. I have never seen so many people crammed into a 15 passenger van, even in Egypt! It was an adventure to say the least and we finally got to see the one stop light in the whole Arusha region! We are still in Arusha Town now, we had lunch and I have caught up with Emma and given her the tuna and reeces pieces I brought her. I am also the proud owner of a new mobile phone which awesomely enough is exactly like my mobile in Belfast! it makes me miss my 077 number a wee bit...
We start orientation tomorrow and will get a lot of the unknown stuff straightened out. I suppose we will start our orphanage work on Monday, though I don't know for sure. There is a huge conference here in Arusha Town starting tomorrow, so it will be a little crazy and I am glad we are out in a village. Over all, it is a little overwhelming, truthfully. It is greener than I anticipated. The weather is warm but not super hot, and ranges a lot from morning to day to night. We have not seen rain yet, and it is pretty cloudy off and on, though I have already acquired a nice sunburn on my chest. Only one bug bite so far, and a few blisters on the toes as I break the feet into chaco's again!
Alright, my time is almost up.
More soon. Know that I am well.
xoxo
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
eyes. mess. woooooooo.
JAMBO!
I thought I would create this blog and post here, instead of sending emails. That way I don't leave anyone out (feel free to share with anyone...) and I think it might be easier for me to access this page rather than opening my email and letting it load. And I am pretty sure I will have at least weekly access to internet... So first and foremost, I have to say thanks to Todo for letting me steal the words from their song for my title : ) Since it will be the end of the rainy season when I arrive, I feel it is only fitting.
So I am getting ready to go and have had a pretty insane past couple days. I woke up Saturday morning with a pretty obvious eye infection. I went to the doctor, but needless to say that started the inevitable string of anxiousness, nervousness, and just general freaking out. I have been on antibiotics and am not too sure that its getting all that much better, plus it has now spread to the other eye. AWESOME. I also tend to get homesick before I leave, and not at all once I am gone... a blessing maybe as it allows me to really enjoy where I am.... but it meant that mom and dad going out of town this weekend just wasn't so fun. So it has just been a whirlwind of a weekend and getting ready. OH and I've also just gotten 10 inches cut off my hair to donate to locks of love, and to make my hair insanely more manageable for my bucket showers!
BUT my floor is currently covered with long linen skirts, 4 cans of bug spray, a mosquito net, and water purification tablets. I am about 95% ready to go, with a quick stop at the grocery store ahead of me. I will also be getting new glasses Tuesday. I haven't had new glasses since 2003 (!!) but since I am having to wear them and will have to travel in them due to the disaster which is my eye I have to get an up-to-date prescription, since not only my frames but my lenses are also from 2003! Just a lot to do! Glad I started early!!
So Wednesday evening I will fly to Toronto then on to London, arriving thursday morning. Thursday afternoon I leave for Kenya, arriving Friday morning. Two back to back red eyes might kill me! I will arrive in Arusha, Tanzania Friday morning around 8.50. You will all be sleeping, or for some of you night owls, just going to bed. My program will meet me at the airport and then deliver me to meet my high school friend Emma Jones who is a peace corp volunteer in a town about 4 hours from Arusha. Knowing that I will arrive to a familiar face is really comforting. Emma will have a cell phone for me (she is awesome!) and will get me introduced to Tanzania before my orientation starts on Monday June 2nd.
As for the program, I am not sure if I will be in Arusha or in Moshi at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. I do not know anything about my host family or the orphanage I will be working in. Just that it will happen, and that I've requested not to have electricity! (and am still seriously considering going without running water...) There are a few other volunteers coming in at the same time as me, that I gather from emails..., so it will be good to have others in my shoes. I am sure my first post will let you know more about what I am doing specifically, etc.
So I hope you enjoy reading this and I hope I might be able to post some pictures (I just got a brilliant new camera for an early birthday presi with 8megapixles and 5x zoom so I can be sure to capture the safari shots!) Many of you have listened to me talk about sub-Saharan Africa for months or even years... of my dreams to go, of the situation in Uganda, and anything else you could stand to listen to. I am so excited to share this experience with you!
Soon, I will let you know how it feels to stand in a part of the world I have dreamed about for years!
Tutaonana (see you...)
Libby
I thought I would create this blog and post here, instead of sending emails. That way I don't leave anyone out (feel free to share with anyone...) and I think it might be easier for me to access this page rather than opening my email and letting it load. And I am pretty sure I will have at least weekly access to internet... So first and foremost, I have to say thanks to Todo for letting me steal the words from their song for my title : ) Since it will be the end of the rainy season when I arrive, I feel it is only fitting.
So I am getting ready to go and have had a pretty insane past couple days. I woke up Saturday morning with a pretty obvious eye infection. I went to the doctor, but needless to say that started the inevitable string of anxiousness, nervousness, and just general freaking out. I have been on antibiotics and am not too sure that its getting all that much better, plus it has now spread to the other eye. AWESOME. I also tend to get homesick before I leave, and not at all once I am gone... a blessing maybe as it allows me to really enjoy where I am.... but it meant that mom and dad going out of town this weekend just wasn't so fun. So it has just been a whirlwind of a weekend and getting ready. OH and I've also just gotten 10 inches cut off my hair to donate to locks of love, and to make my hair insanely more manageable for my bucket showers!
BUT my floor is currently covered with long linen skirts, 4 cans of bug spray, a mosquito net, and water purification tablets. I am about 95% ready to go, with a quick stop at the grocery store ahead of me. I will also be getting new glasses Tuesday. I haven't had new glasses since 2003 (!!) but since I am having to wear them and will have to travel in them due to the disaster which is my eye I have to get an up-to-date prescription, since not only my frames but my lenses are also from 2003! Just a lot to do! Glad I started early!!
So Wednesday evening I will fly to Toronto then on to London, arriving thursday morning. Thursday afternoon I leave for Kenya, arriving Friday morning. Two back to back red eyes might kill me! I will arrive in Arusha, Tanzania Friday morning around 8.50. You will all be sleeping, or for some of you night owls, just going to bed. My program will meet me at the airport and then deliver me to meet my high school friend Emma Jones who is a peace corp volunteer in a town about 4 hours from Arusha. Knowing that I will arrive to a familiar face is really comforting. Emma will have a cell phone for me (she is awesome!) and will get me introduced to Tanzania before my orientation starts on Monday June 2nd.
As for the program, I am not sure if I will be in Arusha or in Moshi at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. I do not know anything about my host family or the orphanage I will be working in. Just that it will happen, and that I've requested not to have electricity! (and am still seriously considering going without running water...) There are a few other volunteers coming in at the same time as me, that I gather from emails..., so it will be good to have others in my shoes. I am sure my first post will let you know more about what I am doing specifically, etc.
So I hope you enjoy reading this and I hope I might be able to post some pictures (I just got a brilliant new camera for an early birthday presi with 8megapixles and 5x zoom so I can be sure to capture the safari shots!) Many of you have listened to me talk about sub-Saharan Africa for months or even years... of my dreams to go, of the situation in Uganda, and anything else you could stand to listen to. I am so excited to share this experience with you!
Soon, I will let you know how it feels to stand in a part of the world I have dreamed about for years!
Tutaonana (see you...)
Libby
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