Holidays in Iringa

It's not beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Sun is shining, there is no snow, and I am still wearing tank tops! But we did have a holiday party this weekend. We celebrated with all the peace corps workers who are really nice and friendly. It was really nice. I had a dress made out of katanga fabric which is used a lot around here. The dress had red and green in it so I figured it was pretty festive! I also went to a holiday church service last week. Some of my students performed a holiday play and we sang Christmas songs. We also had a class party the last day of term. We had snacks, listened to music, and played some equivalent fraction bingo.
During our first term in school we also had a service day. I took a group of students to a local orphanage. We had to walk 2 miles to get to the orphanage but it was really nice once we got there. Students from my school taught some of the orphans how to do a puzzle, how to bead a necklace, they read to them, and played football (soccer).
School is finally out and I made it through my first term. I love the kids but I am really happy to have a break. I am getting super excited to have Emily here so soon! We have a trip to Zanzibar planned and she will also go on a safari. I also have a lot of work for her in the classroom; she can do all my laminating for me and cleaning out my closet! Fun, fun, fun.
This weekend I travelled to Moshi. It was a long journey but it is nice to see a new area of Tanzania. If the clouds clear up I should be able to see the top of Kilimanjaro since we are pretty close to Arusha. They also have bagels here! I had one for breakfast and it was wonderful.
I hope everyone has a really nice holiday at home! Wish I could be with family, but I have a great new family of friends here so I will be fine (really mom, I'll be ok! )

He sure could climb!

Notice the little boy wearing snowpants! (It was about 90 degrees on this day)

First time ever seeing a puzzle.

Celebrating Halloween in Africa

This weekend we celebrated Halloween. Our school had relay races, scavenger hunts, and trick or treating. Obviously the tricking-or-treating was very different than the standard we are used to; basically 4 teachers just stood in different areas of the school and we handed out candy. We had a costume contest, scary stories, and a dance. It was really great to see all of our kids so in awe at the scary story one of the other teachers told. It made me so happy to see our very international student body enjoying a holiday together, even though so many of them don't celebrate halloween in the country they're from.
Tonight the teachers are going to a costume party that is being hosted by another American who lives in the same apartment complex as us. She was a former peace corps volunteer and is now living here. She invited a lot of the current peace corps members and previous members who still live here. I'm dressing up as Canada. I am wearing a kanga (similar to a sheet; Tanzanians wear them as skirts, dresses, or use them to carry their babies on their backs) with red leaves on it, a small Canadian flag, and some snowflake and Canada pin decorations. I have no great passion towards Canada I'm just dressing as it because there aren't very many costume stores in Iringa and the Canada materials are readily available from a Canadian teacher!
I also went to Dar recently. We went to celebrate another teacher's birthday and to have a beach vacation. It was nice to be on a white sandy beach and see right through the water. The Indian Ocean was very nice and warm. It was great to get a chance to go swimming and cool down. It was hot in Dar, it was comparable to Minnesota's summer this year (and its their winter right now). We also went out in Dar. Things there are more Western. We went to a really legit bar and restaurant. It was a relaxing get away.

We took the bus home from Dar which was a pretty interesting experience. SO HOT, SO SMELLY, NO AC- (Em, Kell, and Kayla-does that sound like our apt last summer?) But we did make it alive...8 hours later. During the jouney we stopped at a little hotel/rest stop on the side of the road. My friend Megan wanted to get some food from this little pit stop. She ordered some beef and chips (fries) that were in a brown paper bag. She asked the person serving the food if she could see it before she actually gave him the money. He said no...big red flag. She bought it anyway though and it was so funny to see her reaction when she opened the bag. She looked at me and said "It looks a bit dodgy" (in her British accent). Then she pulled the "beef" out and held it up and told me that she though it was a hoof. It was so funny! Overall, a really funny and relaxing few days!

Two Hippos: Spotted in the Water

Today we went to a waterfall that was a few hours away from Iringa. We went on a 5 mile hike to get there! On our hike we saw a python, cobra, and monkey. Once we finally arrived to our destination we set up a little picnic. It was a beautiful way to spend a Saturday.
Last weekend we went to a campground for dinner. The PTA was hosting a camping weekend. The food was great!
I also successfully finished my first round of parent teacher conferences. They went really well. Now we all have our half term break coming up next week. Some teachers are going to Nairobi, Kenya. I will be meeting two of the teachers in Dar after they get back from Nairobi. We are getting a little banda on the beach. It should be a nice time!

I've also started taking Zumba classes with some of the parents and other teachers at the school. Life is good and I am doing well but really missing fall!

My First Safari

My First Weekend After a Week at School

So far it has been a great weekend. Friday after school all the teachers went out for a nice celebratory lunch. By the time we were all done eating we went back to school for a PTA welcome meeting with tea and bites (snacks). All the snacks were actually really good! After that we had a little party at our head teacher's house. Here we had even more food!

On Saturday we did some rock climbing. The other teachers and I climbed to the top of Gangalonga rock. We had a view of the whole town. After our hike we went to lunch and I had a fabulous ice coffee with ice cream in it! What a treat! Then we went to a farm house where a bunch of families go every Saturday to have tea and play volleyball. It was an amazing view. I also went for a walk around the area and got to see the area where the cows get milked. I was so amused by this! After this fun adventure, I got to go home and eat some homemade pizza. Overall, a great weekend so far.

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school with Ms. Elizabeth as a teacher! All of my students were present and we all (hopefully) had a good first day. It wasn't anything too intense for the first day. We did do a reading comprehension and art lesson but the rest was mostly getting to know you, tell us something about your summer kind of stuff. All the kids seemed pretty excited to be at school. I am very happy with my class! I can't wait to get to know the students more.

All Ready to Start School

A Little Bit of Home...

Today at the market I saw a man wearing a Minnesota Gophers t-shirt! It made me smile. Everything here is still going well. We have had a lot of meetings and teacher workshops; we even worked on Saturday and Sunday. Since I have been here I have yet to go a day without actually working! It is good though because it keeps me busy and the people at the school are so wonderful! I am so lucky to be here!

Hiking through the Isimila Stone Age Site

Setting up my Classroom

Over the past few days in Iringa I have been busy with Kiswahili classes. I have been learning a lot; it is a beautiful language. In addition to the classes I have been taking I have also been busy setting up my classroom. Since I have such a small class, I also have a small classroom. My classroom is a building that stands alone; it was previously the school library which may make it sound like it is big but I have no idea how they fit all the books in there. Today I spent a lot of time contemplating how I should set it up. It was filled with all the materials from last year so I had a lot of cleaning up to do before I could do anything. I made a small amount of progress today. I will continue to work at it until it is good to go for all the kiddos! I also had a meeting today to discuss some curriculum items. I was able to get my class list and gather some ideas about what my students might be like. This all made me so excited I could barely stand it!
I have been going out to eat a lot with the other teachers. We have been going to a place called Neema Crafts. It is a little cafe that employs people who have disabilities. People with disabilities here in Tanzania have are really looked down upon and have very few opportunities. A couple who was traveling in Tanzania opened up Neema Crafts to help those with disabilities make a life for themselves. A lot of the workers are deaf so we order our food on slips of paper. It also has a nice little shop attached to the cafe as well. I also walked to the market with the other teachers. It was another successful day in Africa. I am enjoying myself but can't wait to start teaching. I am feeling very fortunate to be living in such a beautiful area with such kind people, but I really miss everyone!

Arrival in Dar es Salaam

I had a very long, but very safe trip all the way to Dar es Salaam. After many hours of sitting on a plane I finally arrived at the hotel that I am staying at while I am here. I met with a fellow teacher who got in earlier today. We went out and about around the city. It was a great night and Africa already feels like home to me! I will drive to Iringa tomorrow and will take many pictures on the way!