OH MY GOSH
-As of June 6, 2007 at 4:37 pm, I officially felt like I was in Africa. That afternoon for the first time in since I've been here, the clouds cleared the sky and revealed one of Africa's most famous landmarks: Mount Kilimanjaro.
It was absolutely unbelievable. The moment I saw it, I literally gasped. It was a surreal, spiritual, awe-inspiring few seconds. I've never seen anything so high in the sky and been aware that it was still a part of the earth somehow. Despite being hundreds of miles away, it looked remarkably close and pristine. I probably took around 30 pictures...
Wow, I'm officially here!
DISNEY
-Speaking of natural beauty, the other night as I was brushing my teeth outside my homestay, I looked up at the sky. I saw a view that I never knew existed outside of Disney movies. You know, when the main character looks up at the sky, then it cuts to beautiful navy blue star-drenched shot, outlined with the black silhouettes of the trees. That was me on Thursday night. The sky seemed to go on forever.
HELP AROUND THE HOUSE
-I attempted to help my homestay family out with some chores on Wednesday afternoon. They were grinding a plant called "Soghum" up into flour and I helped do the grinding and sorting. Afterwards, we walked our flour to the village mill, so a machine could finish the job.
I tasted the fruit of our labor the next day when Mama made us all Soghum porridge.
ORPHANAGE VISIT-Today, I visited a local orphanage around Arusha. We played with the 20+kids living there, some of whom were orphaned by parents with AIDS. They appreciated our visit, but I think they appreciated the toys we brought even more.
After about two or three hours, we were pooped and headed back to town. That was the toughest part though...knowing that we have the freedom to decide to leave when we're finished, but that those kids are sitting there even now, as I'm typing on this computer.
MALARIA
-I've been diligent about taking my malaria prescription everyday. So far its been fine. But this one girl in our program found out she had malaria on Wednesday. She's alright now, and she is going to have an awesome story when she comes home about how she survived getting Malaria in Africa.
Its pretty scary for the citizens of Tanzania though. On Tuesday of this week, I visited my homestay family's grandparents house. They were holding a prayer vigil for the soul of their five-month-old baby cousin, who died two weeks ago from malaria.
SAFARI
-Next week, I'm going to be on Safari in Nothern Tanzania. Its a two day trip, with one full day of wild animal tracking and another full day at Ngorongoro Crater. Can't Wait!
1 comment:
wow. This all sounds so incredible. I really appreciate reading these blogs, I understand so much more about what you are experiencing. What a noble cause, that is what people tell me when I tell them about what you're doing. I'm glad you're excited about teaching, I didn't even think of how hard it will be to tell the children what you have to tell them. You are so strong... and still getting stronger. I'll keep praying for you. I can't wait to see the pictures!
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